When I stood there, speechless, Gloria blinked at me and asked again, “If it’s not reincarnation, then is it… possession?”

“… Huh?”

“Didn’t you come from another world like me?”

It was here that I needed to make a choice.

Would I choose to continue listening to Gloria, or treat everything she had said up until now as complete nonsense, heft her up, and carry her to the infirmary?

Common sense dictated the latter, of course, but I was also curious despite myself.

What was reincarnation and what did she mean by another world? And what was that she was saying that we were inside a novel?

“I’m… not like one of those,” I answered Gloria, who was blinking at me, waiting for an answer.

“I’ve been Kaitlyn Blair from the start. I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but…”

Mumbling through my words, I abruptly lifted up my head.

“But what did you mean by all of that?”

“Oh, so that was…”

Her mouth parted slightly in understanding, then she rubbed her face with both hands as she muttered, “All right, okay, I got it.”

“…”

“Wow, this is really embarrassing.”

So she knew that.

I was standing stiffly next to the table feeling out of place when Gloria pulled out a chair and said, “For now, would you like to sit down? It feels like it’s going to take a long time to explain, doesn’t it?”

Nodding, I sat down timidly on the chair.

Sitting next to me, Gloria cast a look around then whispered secretly into my ear, “The truth is, I used to live in another world, but after I was stabbed to death, I opened my eyes to discover that I’d become the villain from the novel I’d read in my previous life.”

Listening to all this quietly, I furrowed my brows slightly.

When it came to my superiors and especially to my upperclassmen, I never really went this far, but she… she kind of sounded like a nutcase.

Ack, maybe this was a new bullying technique. Was she planning on going through with this until she finally made me say she was crazy, then throw me into jail for blasphemy?

Such were the absurd thoughts in my head, but for that to be true, Gloria’s expression was much too serious.

“Then you’re saying that this is your second life.”

“That’s right.”

“…”

When my face stiffened, Gloria opened her palms and waved them around as if to tell me to hold up there.

“Don’t worry. I’m not that Gloria.”

Wait, what?

I felt a shiver run straight up my spine.

“Th-Then who are you?! Get out of that body!”

Snatching up the book with trembling hands, I wielded it against Gloria like a weapon.

Since the Book of Prophecy was a holy object if nothing else, I was half-expecting it to have some kind of power, but seeing how nothing happened, my expectations must have been too high.

“No, no, I’m Gloria, but I’m not that Gloria. I’m saying I reincarnated as the Gloria in the novel!”

“H-How do I know that you’re telling the truth?”

“I know what’s written in that book you read.”

As I lowered my arms in hesitation, Gloria continued speaking confidently. “That’s a romance novel, isn’t it? Noah Yurielle as the male lead, Flora as the female lead, and you and me as the villainesses.”

“…”

“I’m neither the devil nor an evil spirit. So relax your defenses and sit down.”

I pulled in my chair begrudgingly.

“If you still don’t believe me, then just say so. I know exactly when and where those two are going to kiss, too.”

“Th-That’s enough.”

When I shook my head with a red face, Gloria laughed boisterously.

Biting my lips, my eyes darted left and right.

For now, I decided to trust what she was saying, seeing how she had known things from the book that only I could see.

Though of course, it was hard to believe in her reincarnation rant and whatnot.

“Wait, then how do you know the existence of the original?” Tapping on the surface of the desk with her long fingers, Gloria threw me this question out of the blue.

“The original…? Oh, I picked up this book, but nobody else could see what was inside it except for me. Even though it looks like an ordinary book that doesn’t have any magic on it on the surface.”

“That’s true.”

Gloria opened the book I handed to her, then closed it again matter-of-factly.

“I can’t see it either.”

“Yes, which is why I thought it was a book of prophecy, and so…. Wait, if you can’t see it, then how did you know?”

“Prophecy? Oh, it’s because I read that book several times in my past life. I can tell it apart just by looking at its cover.”

Answering me calmly, Gloria plopped her chin on her hand and grinned.

“I’m not a weird person, so you don’t have to be that tense. If you keep looking at me like that, I’m going to feel a little sad.”

“… Oh, okay.”

“That’s better.”

When I relaxed my tense shoulders and stiff expression, Gloria stroked my head saying I’d done well, then stared at me for a long time. The serious expression on her face made me nervous for nothing.

“But by the way, do you… like Noah Yurielle?”

“… Yes.”

Flushing, I gave her a minuscule nod.

“I… like him. Though I know he’s way out of my league.”

“… You’re really adorable,” said Gloria as she squished my cheeks.

Wah, what in the world?

“Then, hm, don’t tell me you’re trying to act as a wing-girl to Flora and Noah Yurielle, or…”

“I’m not that nice,” I mumbled, lowering my eyes aloofly.

Though it wasn’t like I hadn’t ever thought of that.

“Mmhmm, good. Let’s not get caught up in clichés. It’s been a long time since the original plot has gone off track.”

Gloria murmured more incomprehensible things, then scratched her head.