"Then I'll leave it to you," Amamiya said, handing the hamster cloak to Hayasaka. "Here's the cloak for you."
"Got it."
Hayasaka accepted the cloak without hesitation.
"As we've confirmed earlier, as long as you break eye contact, your body won't be controlled," Amamiya explained while looking around for a rope. "Just in case, I'll use this to guide you."
"I get the idea..." Hayasaka said, narrowing her eyes. "But why are you looking at my neck?"
'Why not tie it around the waist instead?' she thought.
"I wasn't! I didn't! Stop jumping to conclusions!" Amamiya denied it instantly, his protest coming in rapid succession.
After securing the rope around her waist, Hayasaka made a silent gesture, indicating she was ready, then activated her stealth mode.
The plan was simple: once the rope became taut, the others would pull Hayasaka back to safety.
Luckily, everything went smoothly. No mishaps occurred during her stealth mission.
'Credit goes to her impressive skills', Amamiya thought. Her stealth abilities, combined with the hamster cloak, were an impeccable pairing, making her practically invisible.
Moments later, Hayasaka quietly returned.
"I saw it," she exhaled softly, "the last coral key is hanging from the ghost captain's waist."
As they feared, the worst had come to pass.
"The key... is actually on the ghost captain," Umi muttered, biting her lower lip. "How can anyone grab it? Unless someone can turn invisible, there's no way to get close."
'Physical contact means death. Eye contact means control.'
Stealing the key from the ghost captain undetected was next to impossible.
Hayasaka frowned, mentally assessing the situation, but every scenario she envisioned ended in failure. If only they had more time—maybe they could wait for the ghost captain to let his guard down and strike then. But right now, no solution came to mind.
At that moment, Amamiya's calm voice broke the silence:
"I've thought of a way."
"Huh?"
All three girls turned to face him.
"Amamiya-kun, is there really a way to get the key?" Umi asked eagerly.
"Yes. People are most likely to drop their guard when they feel certain of victory. So..." Amamiya adjusted his glasses and smiled slightly. "I thought of using a 'blind tactic'."
Hayasaka facepalmed. "I've never heard of such a ridiculous tactic!"
"Well, you've heard of it now," Amamiya said with a grin.
"..."
Without wasting any more time, Amamiya quickly laid out his plan in a hushed voice.
The girls listened intently, each reacting differently.
Hayasaka's eyes narrowed in contemplation. "It... actually sounds like it could work."
Umi bit her lip, concern evident in her expression as she grasped the edge of Amamiya's shirt. "But it's too dangerous."
The petite girl widened her eyes in astonishment. "This guy... He's so brave. When most people encounter monsters, they try to get as far away as possible. But he's heading straight into the lion's den."
"Doing nothing is the riskiest choice of all," Amamiya said softly. "Don't forget, two players have already been turned into ghost crew members. The longer we wait, the more likely we are to be next... Let's find a room and get everything ready."
"..."
A moment later, everything was ready.
Hayasaka donned the hamster cloak and scouted ahead, quickly spotting the ghost captain on the second floor.
"Target located," she whispered.
Amamiya asked, "Where are the other two player ghosts?"
"They've been lured away," Umi responded quietly.
"Good," Amamiya took a deep breath. "Let's get started."
---
Captain Davy Jones of the 'Flying Dutchman'.
Known for smoking, drinking, and perming his hair.
He had sunk to the bottom of the sea with his ship long ago, but under the influence of some unknown force, his consciousness had been revived. A single command echoed in his mind: 'Play hide and seek. Find the intruders on the ship, and destroy them.'
For a vengeful spirit, asleep for centuries, this game was actually somewhat amusing. The rules were clear—find and convert the humans into ghost crew members.
'The longer this game lasts, the more fun it becomes,' Jones thought.
He was in no rush. The voice in his head reminded him that once the game ended, he would return to eternal slumber. So why not enjoy it while it lasted?
"There's still more than half the time left," he mused. "Plenty of time for more fun…"
As Captain Jones strolled casually out of an empty room, his thoughts were interrupted. His gaze snapped toward a figure creeping through the corridor.
'It's that bug from earlier,' Jones thought with mild amusement as he locked eyes with the boy.
Amamiya's body froze, his limbs stiffened, and then, as if compelled, he began walking toward the ghost captain in slow, jerky steps.
'How boring,' Jones thought. 'There's no thrill when the prey walks right into your hands.'
Still, he wasn't going to let the opportunity slip away. As Amamiya approached, Captain Jones reached out, ready to claim another victim for his crew.
It wasn't until Amamiya was close that Jones noticed something unusual.
'Why doesn't this bug show any fear? No panic, no despair...'
The first two humans he had caught had been filled with dread, their faces twisted in terror. That had been satisfying. But this one... This one seemed unnervingly calm.
'Is he not afraid? Or does he have facial paralysis?'
For a split second, confusion crossed the ghost captain's mind.
Just as Jones reached out to grab him, Amamiya suddenly dropped to one knee and slammed his clenched fist onto the floor. A dense cloud of smoke erupted, enveloping the entire corridor.
"Now!" Amamiya's eyes flashed open as he lunged forward, grabbing the coral key from the captain's waist. In one swift roll, he vanished into the smoke.
By the time the haze cleared, Amamiya had disappeared.
"What... just happened?" Jones's barnacle-covered face twisted in rare surprise. 'That human escaped the black magic's control?'
---
"Amamiya-kun, are you hurt?" Umi asked anxiously, peeking over the wooden board on the third floor. She had been nervously waiting, surrounded by coils of rope, until Amamiya leapt down and landed safely on the pile.
"I'm fine," Amamiya replied with a smile. "And I got the key."
Umi sighed in relief but couldn't help adding, "Please, take off those fake eyes! They look creepy."
"They're clearly cute," Amamiya countered as he peeled off the paper eyes that had been stuck to his eyelids.
Earlier, in preparation for the plan, Hayasaka had drawn a pair of eyes on paper, cut them out carefully, and stuck them onto Amamiya's closed eyelids. In the dim, eerie corridor, it had been enough to fool the ghost captain.
In reality, Amamiya's eyes had been closed the entire time, which meant there was no eye contact and, thus, no risk of being controlled by the captain's magic.
The only challenge in the plan had been navigating precisely with his eyes closed.
That would've been impossible for most people, but Amamiya was different because...
"Excellent work on the mission, Mrs. Shimizu."
With a sweet smile, Shimizu made a scissor gesture. "Telepathic communication drains a lot of energy, you know. You'll have to replenish my magic when we get back—otherwise, I won't even be able to use my phone."
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