Amamiya held the silver object, about the size of a car key, in his hand. Curious, he pressed the button instinctively.
And then...
A sudden wave of dizziness hit him. When he came to, he was surprised to see Kaguya, the young lady in the iron cage, blushing furiously for some inexplicable reason.
"Why is your face so red all of a sudden?" Amamiya asked, puzzled.
"I don't know," Kaguya replied, shaking her head. Confusion flickered in her eyes. "I feel like I forgot something... but I can't remember what."
[You just suffered a special attack: Crimson King.]
A system prompt flashed in front of Amamiya.
[Your memory has been erased.]
[This attack originates from a high-dimensional entity known as the Auditor. It cannot be blocked, resisted, or avoided.]
Amamiya felt a chill run down his spine. "I think I know what happened..."
"What is it?" Kaguya asked, her concern growing.
Amamiya frowned seriously. "It's... something terrifying. But I can't talk about it. Let's just pretend nothing happened."
"By the way, did you shout, 'Don't press it' just now?" Amamiya asked.
Kaguya blinked in confusion. "I think I did..."
"Next time, be quicker about it," Amamiya chided lightly. "That was dangerous."
"I have no idea what you're talking about, but I don't feel too well."
"Funny, I was about to say the same thing."
"..."
The dreaded 'Crimson King'...
"So..." Amamiya raised the silver remote-like device in his hand. "Do you know what this is?"
Kaguya averted her gaze, her cheeks still flushed with embarrassment. "...I have no idea."
"Be honest," Amamiya said, his tone teasing. "Even Chika wouldn't fall for that."
"That's not necessarily true."
"In your mind, Chika's intelligence is on par with a zoo gorilla!"
"..."
Kaguya inhaled deeply, trying to maintain her composure. "...I've only seen something like this before."
In truth, she had seen it in a comic Hayasaka had once given her. The story involved a female manga artist who went on an adventure with her boyfriend for inspiration, and... the situations were uncannily similar to this one.
"Is it really a remote control?" Amamiya mused. "Does it control the collar around your neck?"
"It seems likely."
Looking at the remaining buttons on the "key," a mischievous thought briefly flickered through Amamiya's mind.
'Stare--'
Kaguya narrowed her eyes and glared at him. "Natsuki-san, I advise you to abandon any dangerous ideas."
"And what if I don't?"
"Then I'd suggest turning yourself in."
"..."
Reluctantly, Amamiya reined in his playful urges. With Kaguya's pride, she might forgive a stray press, but if he kept toying with her, there'd be no choice but to surrender himself.
No sane person would trade a lifetime of freedom for a few fleeting moments of amusement.
Grabbing the actual key from the table, Amamiya knelt by the iron cage and began trying to unlock it.
After a while...
"Wrong key," Amamiya muttered, frowning.
He had tried every key, but none of them worked.
"Are there any other keys?" Kaguya asked, her own brows knitting together in frustration.
"None."
Amamiya shook his head.
At that moment, the door creaked open. A puppet butler, dressed in a small, immaculate suit, rode in on a unicycle from the hallway.
"My esteemed guests, time is running short," the puppet butler announced. Wearing white gloves, he meticulously pulled a handkerchief from his suit pocket, wiped his hands, and gave a polite bow. "Please follow me to dine."
Amamiya didn't try to hide. There was no place to conceal himself in the small room aside from behind the iron cage or under the table. Moreover, the puppet butler had clearly noticed them already.
Since the situation could be negotiated, there was no need to hide.
"Mr. Butler, my companion is still locked in the cage," Amamiya said calmly. "Could you release her first?"
The puppet butler adjusted his bow tie, his wooden eyes shifting slightly as he glanced at the lady in the cage.
"I'm afraid I can't offer any direct assistance to you, as a butler," the puppet said in a low voice. "But... we could play a game."
Another game? Seriously?
"What kind of game?" Amamiya asked.
The puppet butler reached into his jacket and pulled out a large transparent glass bottle, almost as tall as he was, shaped like a beer bottle.
"Dear guest, your childhood was far from joyful. Your parents were always occupied with work, neglecting your school activities, and because you moved frequently, you never made any lasting friends," the puppet butler began, his voice hollow.
"When you were eight years old, you caught a cold and were left alone in your room with a fever. You survived, but from that moment on, you believed that emotions between people are fake—that family and friendship are meaningless, and loneliness is the true essence of life."
Amamiya listened, expressionless, as the puppet butler continued.
"But recently, your beliefs seem to have wavered. You've started to develop feelings for a certain girl, and words like 'friendship' and 'partnership' have found their way back into your vocabulary." The butler glanced at Kaguya in the cage before continuing, his voice rasping, "Now... make your choice."
Amamiya stole a quick glance at Kaguya, noticing the faint curve of her lips.
What's she smiling about?
The girl he's talking about might not be you. It could even be your good friend!
"The game is simple," the butler said, placing the glass bottle on the table. Inside was a translucent liquid, with a small piece of wood floating on the surface. "Your task is to remove the wooden block from the bottle without touching it." He wiped his hands once more with a handkerchief. "If you succeed, I'll tell you how to unlock the cage."
Amamiya stared at the glass bottle and couldn't help but scoff. "Isn't this just the old 'crow drinks water' trick? This is way too easy."
The challenge reminded him of a classic fable: a crow, unable to drink water from a bottle, drops stones into it until the water rises high enough to reach. Even elementary school kids know this game.
"Then please, begin," the puppet butler gestured politely.
Amamiya scanned the room. Besides the table, the cage, and a bunch of useless keys, the room was spotless—there weren't even stones around to use.
"So, throwing stones is out of the question," Amamiya remarked, glancing back at the butler. "If we add a different liquid, will that raise the water level too?"
"Yes," the butler confirmed.
"Other liquids..." Amamiya murmured, deep in thought.
Kaguya, quickly realizing the butler's insidious implication, furrowed her brows. There was nothing else in the room, which meant the only way to fill the bottle was...
Her eyes widened in shock as she caught Amamiya glancing down at his pants. Horrified, she shouted, "What on earth are you thinking?!"