292 A Critical Piece of the Puzzle! (2/2)

Why did this brother and sister have different family names?

The most likely possibility that Mai could think of was that the siblings' parents had divorced, and each parent had taken custody of one child. After that, the children took the family name of the parent they'd gone with.

Mai didn't intend to investigate this, as it wasn't important.

The important part was that Reo Tachibana's mother was Hinako Haza—the literature club president who was the host of the Story of a Hundred Demons game from ten years ago!

Just as her junior had guessed, there was a connection between the two incidents.

Mai instantly called Seiji and told him about her findings. When Seiji heard this, he instantly felt like he had just received a critical piece of the puzzle!

”Where is Hinako Haza currently?” Seiji asked.

”She's already passed away,” Mai answered.

Apparently, one year ago, the Tachibana family had been out on a vacation when a traffic accident occurred.

Both parents died at the scene, and only Reo survived. Afterwards, she was taken in by her uncle Shouhei Hirai.

They were dead already, and the one-year anniversary of their death was yesterday!

Seiji's brain raced at top speed. Reo's mother was Hinako Haza, the literature club president from ten years ago who had been cursed just like Mayuzumi Amami and had passed away already.

As Reo was Hinako's daughter, could it be that she ”inherited” something from her mother?

Assuming that Hinako Haza also had some sort of mysterious power affecting her just like Peach-sensei did, could this power be passed down and also affect her daughter?

And if it was inherited?

Taking this inference one step further, what if this power had been activated within Reo Tachibana!?

The catalyst might very well have been the anniversary of her parents' deaths!

Perhaps Shouhei Hirai took Reo Tachibana to visit her parents' graves and something might have occurred, causing a change within her.

When he came to this realization, Seiji felt that this must have been the case.

He also thought about how Shouhei Hirai had never touched Sensei during the school festival.

But as for Reo Tachibana…

Seiji quickly turned to the manga author that already had woken up. ”Sensei, I have a question for you! During the school festival, did Reo Tachibana, that is to say, Shouhei Hirai's niece, touch you?”

”Er… yes.” Mayuzumi was surprised by this question, and she pondered for a moment before replying. ”At that time when she was lost… it was because she ran into me that I noticed her.”

The story of the Hundred Demons game from ten years ago. The coincidental meeting at the school festival ten years later.

Was it truly just a coincidence?

Seiji didn't know.

But what he had now confirmed was that Reo Tachibana had indeed come into physical contact with Mayuzumi Amami.

Mayuzumi's nightmares began from the second night after the festival, and she was even ambushed by Shouhei Hirai, who was possessed by an undead spirit. Meanwhile, Reo Tachibana had gone missing, and it was likely that she was taken away by a Spiritual Ability user…

Regardless of who or what beat up Hirai, was Reo's disappearance really caused by someone forcefully taking her away? Or was it that she herself…