"This guy..."
The moment her wrist was grabbed, Hayasaka understood what Natsuki wanted to do.
So she neither struggled nor resisted, allowing Natsuki to pull her into his embrace—if this were any other situation, she'd definitely use a clean shoulder throw to let Natsuki know what it meant to ask for trouble.
Stay calm.
Keep composure.
As a spy, sometimes sacrificing one's body really was necessary to complete missions. She could accept this.
And then...
Hayasaka miscalculated.
She'd received systematic spy training, yes—but the master who'd taught her spy skills was female. At this moment, being tightly held in a boy's arms, bodies pressed intimately together—this was a first in her sixteen years of life.
Hayasaka felt a scorching heat transmitting through their clothes. The burning warmth enveloped her entire body, making the spy maid instinctively tense up.
"Stay calm. Don't panic."
"It's just being held for a bit... It's not like we're not wearing clothes!"
Smelling the fresh scent of laundry detergent on Natsuki, Hayasaka quickly redirected her attention.
"This guy's scent is actually quite pleasant... it's a pine fragrance."
"He didn't abandon his companion at the critical moment. For now, he counts as a good person."
"..."
By comparison.
Natsuki had absolutely no distracting thoughts whatsoever.
In his field of vision, the player ghost that had already become a ghost crewmate was about to arrive at the corner.
Danger was right before his eyes. Forget an ordinary stranger—even if it were a once-in-four-thousand-years beauty in his arms, he had no mind for idle thoughts.
The player ghost quickly arrived at the corner.
One could see this unlucky player had been a short-haired girl in life—she looked like a college student. Her body had turned the same transparent ghostly blue as the ghost captain. Her face still retained an expression of painful despair. Her eyes were vacant and hollow. Her head turned now and then—clearly searching for hidden players.
The Hamster Cloak's concealment effect was quite good.
Natsuki wore the cloak with the spy maid in his arms, standing quietly in the shadowy corner. The player ghost's gaze swept over the two of them, then slowly moved away—clearly not discovering their presence.
The player ghost had no intention of rummaging through crates. She silently walked up the stairs—clearly intending to head to the deck.
At that moment, Natsuki suddenly felt the girl in his arms move slightly, as though wanting to struggle.
"Don't move."
Natsuki's arm exerted slight force, quickly securing Hayasaka in place. Immediately after, he used his chin to press down on the spy maid's small head.
You were just so smart—why are you dropping the ball at the critical moment?
"...Why are boys' heads always filled with nothing but turbid fluids?!"
Hayasaka was both embarrassed and angry—she wanted to kick someone.
A moment ago, she'd thought Natsuki's character was decent enough to barely pass—but the next second, she felt something [beep—]against her lower abdomen.
Aside from that thing, what else could it be?!
A ghost is right behind us, yet he can still have that kind of reaction—he's a pervert, right?
He has to be!
Fortunately, their small movements didn't attract the player ghost's attention.
The unlucky ghost silently walked up to the deck and quickly vanished.
"It's safe now."
Natsuki released the spy maid from his embrace.
Hayasaka quickly retreated two steps, putting distance between herself and Natsuki. Her teeth bit down on her lower lip, her eyes clearly containing a hint of embarrassment and anger.
"What were you moving around for just now?" Natsuki furrowed his brow slightly.
You have the nerve to ask?!
Hayasaka said nothing, her gaze drifting slightly downward.
Natsuki froze, then quickly understood:
"You misunderstood. I didn't have that kind of reaction just now... I'll take it out and show you—then you'll believe me."
H-he's actually going to take it out and show me?!
Because the game was dangerous, had someone's mental state collapsed under pressure, leading to moral depravity and twisted humanity?!
Denied.
She absolutely wouldn't let the young miss be with a male beast who only knew how to go into heat!
"No need—I believe Amamiya-kun." Hayasaka drew in a deep breath. Her face showed a timid, pitiful expression as she continued playing the fragile girl. "If Amamiya-kun says there wasn't, then there wasn't."
"Now that you've said that, I need to prove my innocence even more."
"..."
Exhibitionist!
Pervert!
Hayasaka bit down lightly on her teeth, having already made up her mind—if Natsuki dared take it out, she'd absolutely kick him without mercy.
When facing evil deeds, one must retaliate. Otherwise, it would only make the other party escalate further and become even more excessive!
The next second.
A bone-white color entered Hayasaka's field of vision.
"Eh... why is it white?"
Hayasaka glanced over with the corner of her eye and was surprised to discover Natsuki was actually holding a white bone.
"This is a bone I picked up on deck earlier. I thought it might come in handy at a critical moment." Natsuki explained. "For instance, feinting—throwing it to attract a monster's attention."
"Sorry. I misunderstood you."
After two seconds of silence, Hayasaka bowed in apology.
When you make a mistake, admit it. When you're beaten, stand straight. One sentence of apology isn't shameful.
Immediately after, Hayasaka raised her eyes and extended her right hand toward Natsuki.
"What?"
Natsuki raised a brow in confusion.
"Do you have more bones?" The spy maid's tone was calm. "Give me a few. My throwing technique is fairly decent."
"..."
Their eyes met.
After exchanging glances.
The blonde girl with a bun hairstyle before him was absolutely not some fragile little white rabbit. Even her name was probably a lie.
Ordinary newbie players would stay as far from corpses as possible—let alone play with bones.
"Here."
The player ghost wandering on deck could come back down at any moment. Natsuki didn't waste time. He pulled two bones from his pocket and handed them to Hayasaka, then began clearing the miscellaneous items from the crate.
Hayasaka stepped forward to help.
Working together, the two quickly opened the wooden crate.
"Phew..."
Kitagawa Marin let out a long breath. Seeing the two unharmed, she immediately relaxed and spoke quietly: "Did that ghost leave?"
Natsuki said: "It went up to the deck."
"That's good." Kitagawa Marin pitifully extended her hands. "Amamiya-kun, my legs are weak."
Natsuki squinted at her: "You're a veteran player—and your legs are already weak?"
"There wasn't a single bit of light inside the crate. It was just like the movie Buried—super scary." Kitagawa Marin acted spoiled. "Hurry and lift me out."
Natsuki relented helplessly and reached out to lift the blonde gyaru out.
"I almost couldn't lift you."
"That's so mean." Kitagawa Marin puffed out her cheeks like a bun. "I'm not that heavy."
"Let's leave first. Who knows when that ghost will come back down." Natsuki spoke quietly. "We're going to check out that room from earlier."
The three quickly arrived outside the room.
"The door won't open." Kitagawa Marin spoke quietly. "Could it be locked from the inside?"
Natsuki peered through the wide door gap: "It's not locked—something's blocking the door from inside."
"Looking at the height and outline, it should be a table."
Hayasaka's observation was more careful.
"I'll try to push it open."
Natsuki drew in a quiet breath, exerted force with his body, and pushed the door open partway—but soon felt the door get stuck and couldn't continue.
"It seems stuck." Natsuki spoke quietly. "One of you go in and move the table."
"Leave it to me."
Kitagawa Marin volunteered for the task.
The blonde girl turned sideways, preparing to slip through the gap.
At first, it was fine—her arms and shoulders easily passed through the gap. But the rest couldn't get through.
To be precise, the fatty aggregates at the girl's chest clearly exceeded the gap's clearance level.
"Mmph..."
Kitagawa Marin drew in a deep breath and continued exerting force, trying to squeeze through.
Hey now—at a time like this, you shouldn't be breathing in—you should be exhaling as quickly as possible! They're already big—when you inhale like that, you can get through even less!
"Give up. Don't force it."
Natsuki called a quiet halt and turned to look at Hayasaka.
"No good—my chest is stuck." Kitagawa Marin could only give up reluctantly, making way, then looking at Hayasaka. "Hanamori, please."
Hayasaka: "..."
Damn it.
Is having big breasts something to be proud of?
I feel somewhat offended.
"I'll try."
Hayasaka silently agreed, turned sideways, and prepared to slip through the gap into the room.
And then... smooth sailing. Not stuck at all.
"Hanamori is amazing." Kitagawa Marin praised quietly. "You got through so easily."
Natsuki glanced over and complained quietly:
"I don't think this sort of thing needs praise at all."
"Oops, I forgot." Kitagawa slapped her forehead and quickly said: "I didn't mean Hanamori-chan has small breasts."
"..."
Hayasaka bit down lightly on her teeth.
Ōpai aliens really are super annoying creatures.
A soft sound came from behind the door. Immediately after, Hayasaka pulled the door open and spoke quietly:
"You can come in now."
Natsuki stepped into the room. Kitagawa followed close behind.
"Close the door."
"Mm."
Pale moonlight spilled in through the small latticed window—barely enough to see by.
Natsuki surveyed the room. The area was very small. The furnishings inside were only a bed and a table. After all, this was a pirate ship—doing the dangerous work of robbery. What kind of bicycle did they need? Having a bed to sleep on was already good enough.
The first unlucky player to fail at hide and seek now lay alone in the cold, dim cabin—silent and unattended. Her eyes still hadn't closed, but had completely lost their luster.
This was a complete stranger—a girl Natsuki had never met. Their first meeting was already a separation of life and death.
Natsuki walked over and crouched down. He reached out to close the stranger's eyes, then checked her breathing and pulse. He spoke quietly:
"Both heartbeat and breathing have stopped."
"If you die in this game, what happens in reality?" Hayasaka asked.
Kitagawa Marin sighed lightly and spoke quietly:
"I heard from others that you apparently die accidentally in reality, or directly vanish."
Hayasaka's gaze grew grave.
The game's cruelty and danger were vividly displayed in this moment.
"Come here." Natsuki turned his head. "Check if there are any external injuries on her body."
"Eh?"
Kitagawa Marin froze, her expression confused.
Hayasaka reacted immediately, walked forward, and began checking. She quickly said:
"No external injuries found, but her hair is somewhat wet."
Natsuki said:
"There's no water in the room."
"Ah, I understand." Kitagawa Marin had a sudden realization. "If her forehead was damp, it could still be sweat—but now her hair is wet. It definitely has something to do with that ghost captain."
Kitagawa Marin continued analyzing: "No external injuries, and the ghost captain touched her head... is it physical contact?"
"Once you make physical contact with the ghost captain, your soul gets pulled from your body and you become a puppet?"
Natsuki nodded slightly: "Continue."
"Eh?" Kitagawa Marin froze, not understanding. "Continue what?"
Natsuki said: "The position is wrong."
"Meow?"
Kitagawa Marin still hadn't caught on.
"When ordinary girls encounter a monster, generally speaking, their instinct should be to retreat backward." Natsuki said. "This girl's fallen position is wrong."
"You're right—it's wrong." Hayasaka furrowed her brow slightly. "She should be pressed tightly against the wall, staying as far as possible from the monster entering the room... But her fallen position now is clearly some distance from the wall."
"Either at the last moment, she decided to fight desperately."
"Or else, she walked forward uncontrollably..." Hayasaka turned to look at him. "Do all monsters have the ability to control others?"
Natsuki spoke quietly:
"Not all monsters do, but the ghost captain very likely possesses the ability to control people's minds. We must be careful."
In fact, a prompt had already appeared before Natsuki's eyes.
[After careful observation, you deduce that the ghost captain can control others with its eyes. You decide to gouge out your own eyes]
Who would gouge out their own eyes?! Without eyes, I'd just be waiting to die!
The hint was clear—as long as you didn't look at the ghost captain's eyes, there would be no danger.
"Eh, she has something in her hand." Kitagawa Marin pried open the girl's right hand and spoke quietly. "It's a fragment... so strange."
Natsuki reached out to take it. He discovered it was a finely textured object with a cool touch—he couldn't tell what it was.
[You have discovered a coral key. You believe it's necessary to make a trip to the treasure room—there may be something you need inside]
This thing couldn't be stored in his inventory—clearly it wasn't a game item. It could only be something from the ghost ship.
It should be an item the female player had found. Unfortunately, she'd ultimately been too afraid. She hadn't dared leave the room and had chosen to be an ostrich instead.
"Let's put it away for now."
Natsuki placed the item in his pocket.
"Where do we go now?" Kitagawa Marin's tone was somewhat confused.
Whether hiding in rooms or going to the corridors, there were no safe places anywhere on this ghost ship.
"Where to go?" Natsuki smiled slightly. "To clear the hide and seek game, of course."
The ghost captain could ignore terrain and pass through walls everywhere. Unlucky players it caught would be transformed into ghost crewmates in a pyramid-scheme-style recruitment. It also possessed the ability to control others with its gaze... In short, the longer the game dragged on, the more dangerous it became.
So basically, wouldn't it be better to kill that captain sooner rather than later?
Well then—next up was speedrun time.