I personally think that Ozaki really did just think "no, she's really dead" and didn't consider Seishin's logic of "it's not dead if they come back." As Seishin says, it goes against his common sense, so much so that I don't think it's unreasonable that even a very sharp person like Ozaki wouldn't think "if I keep the corpse from rising up, it's the same as killing somebody since it is ending their life." He didn't even notice until halfway through the conversation, a few lines after Seishin's been frozen with shock and disgust, that Seishin even COULD see a problem with this. Particularly given that Ozaki works in a medical profession, death for him is much less likely to mean personality death unless someone (say, an overly introspective monk/author who deals with individuality and spirituality as his own profession?) specifically presents him with that framework.

So in this case I don't think Toshio is using any specific "card" but is just speaking honestly and off the cuff about how he thinks about it; he doesn't even understand that Seishin COULD have a problem until a bit later into the conversation, so I don't think anything is done to save face or that any of it isn't a reason he fully believes in. On the contrary, I actually like this chapter because I feel it's an honest, raw confrontation of their unadorned, irreconcilable differences. And for once, Toshio wins the even philosophical argument.


I think Sunako is specifically supposed to be seen as invasive here. Invading and writing on the manuscripts shows "the temple's not as safe a place to hole up as you think, herbivore." as much as anything, even if that's not her in-character intention.