It might sound crazy, but what I'm trying to say is that the reason I know as much as I do... is because I've been able to speak with Rita all this time," Ryner said.
"That's absurd! Don't think you can lie your way out of this, Ryner. I didn't think you were the type to lie so easily," Charlotte said with a sigh of disappointment.
"You said you wanted the truth, so I told you the truth. Ever since I was a child, I've been able to see ghosts. And it just so happened that snooping around and following a figure that looked like my sister's dead friend got me wrapped up in this mess. I followed her. She walked through walls, defying the laws of physics. Eventually, she realized I could see her, and one thing led to another. Now here we are, trying to figure out how to fix a problem that's way over our heads."
Charlotte took a deep breath, shaking her head. "As I said earlier, ghosts don't exist, and I don't appreciate you making up stories instead of providing me with the useful information I need."
She stood up and turned to leave.
"Wait! I'll prove what I'm saying is true. I'll prove that Rita still exists. Shimoya, go ahead and show her the photos you took of me and Rita talking," Ryner said.
"Um... okay," Shimoya replied, almost surprised. Her voice softened. "I finally feel like I'm needed," she whispered to herself.
She pulled up the pictures on her phone and showed them to Charlotte. In them, Ryner and Rita were walking together. Rita was clearly paler than Ryner and slightly floating above the ground.
But Charlotte remained unfazed. "You'd go as far as photoshopping a picture of her? That's unforgivable," she said coldly. "I'll take my leave now. But let me leave you with a warning, Ryner: don't snoop around anymore. You're just a kid, and this is serious stuff. To make it even worse, you're trying to play me for a fool with images and letters that could've been faked by you."
She sighed, her voice deflating. "See ya."
"Wait, Charlotte!" Ryner called out as she walked away.
"Well, there goes our one chance. You blew it, you idiot," Thomas muttered, floating overhead.
"You're not helping," Rita said, smacking him on the head.
Rita floated quickly after Charlotte before she could leave and, on impulse, embraced her from behind. Charlotte felt an unexplainable chill run down her spine. She gasped.
"What... what's happening? Why do I feel like this?" she said, startled.
Ryner strolled over, trying to suppress a smirk. "That was Rita just now. She was hugging you."
"I told you to stop making up nonsense. I must be tired from overworking... Yes, that's it," Charlotte muttered, trying to convince herself.
"Rita, pounce on her again," Ryner said with no remorse.
Rita grinned mischievously and dove at Charlotte again, wrapping her arms around her. The second hug sent another wave of shivers down Charlotte's spine.
"Please, no more! Tell her to stop!" Charlotte cried, nearly on the verge of passing out.
"Alright, Rita, that's enough for now. High five," Ryner said with a grin as he held up his hand.
Rita returned the gesture with a smile, their hands meeting midair.
"They're really enjoying themselves, aren't they?" Shimoya said, rolling her eyes.
Charlotte sat back down, her body still trembling.
"For a person who denies the existence of ghosts, you look really shaken up," Ryner said with a smug grin.
"Oh, shut up," Charlotte snapped, blushing in embarrassment. She cleared her throat and regained some composure. "So then... what I just felt—you're saying that was Rita?"
"Yes. She's with us now, as we speak."
"Well, that's very reassuring," Charlotte said sarcastically, looking around with clear unease.
"The reason we started working together was to help her pass on. But later, we found out she's not really dead. Her soul was extracted from her body in some kind of ritual. We learned this after encountering an exorcist who could see her too."
"A ritual? And what do you mean she's not dead? It's been five years!" Charlotte said, eyes wide with disbelief.
"It's hard to explain. Rita's spirit is here with us, so naturally we thought she had died. But when the exorcist tried to bind her with talismans and purification rituals, nothing worked. He said she was a soul that had been unnaturally and unlawfully extracted from her body."
Ryner paused to let that sink in.
"A living soul separated from the body. And as we know, if she's considered 'living,' that means her body is still being preserved somewhere. That's probably why no corpse was found at the crime scene."
Charlotte's mouth fell slightly open. "I... I can't believe it. What you're telling me... it all adds up now. Still, I can't bring myself to believe that ghosts exist."
"Want Rita to hug you again?" Shimoya asked with a cheeky grin.
"Um, no thanks," Charlotte said quickly.
Ryner chuckled softly. "You know, I feel a lot better finally talking to someone about this. Aside from Shimoya and the exorcist, everyone else would just think I'm crazy."
Ryner sighed. "Crap, it's getting late. I'm on house duty today, so I should go. Amelia is going to kill me. Send me the photos and the pic of the pendant. I'll need to do some checks to see if it's tied to all of this."
"Okay, I understand. I also need some rest to wrap my head around all this craziness," Charlotte replied.
As Charlotte walked toward the park's exit, she turned her head slightly, her eyes not quite meeting his. "And Ryner? Just... don't do anything reckless."
"Don't worry," Ryner said. "I've got ghosts watching my back."
Rita giggled behind him, and even Thomas cracked a smile.
"Still not funny," Charlotte muttered.