"Then we're counting on you." Natsuki took off the Hamster Cloak and handed it to Hayasaka. "The cloak is yours."
"Mm."
Hayasaka didn't refuse and accepted the cloak.
"We already verified that as long as you break eye contact, your body won't be controlled, so..." Natsuki turned to find a rope. "Just in case, I'll also tie you with a rope."
"I understand the reasoning..." Hayasaka couldn't help but glare at him. "Why are you looking at my neck?"
Tying it around the waist is one thing—you don't actually want to tie it around my neck, do you?!
"I'm not, I didn't, don't make things up."
Natsuki issued a triple denial.
Tying the rope around Hayasaka's waist, the spy maid quietly made a "ready" gesture, then activated stealth mode.
Once the rope tensed, the group would pull together to yank Hayasaka back.
Fortunately, no accidents occurred along the way.
Or rather, Hayasaka's stealth skills were quite superb. Combined with the Hamster Cloak, they produced a one-plus-one-greater-than-two effect.
A moment later.
The spy maid quietly returned.
"I saw it clearly." Hayasaka let out a quiet breath. "The last coral key is at the ghost captain's waist."
As expected—the worst-case scenario had occurred.
"The key is actually on the ghost captain." Kitagawa Marin bit her lower lip. "Unless someone can turn invisible, there's no way to get it, right?"
Physical contact meant death.
Eye contact meant being controlled.
Trying to approach the ghost captain undetected and steal the key from it was practically impossible.
Hayasaka furrowed her brow slightly, considering countermeasures.
No good.
Can't think of a method.
If they had more time and the ghost captain needed rest, they might find an opportunity for stealth theft. Right now, she really couldn't think of anything.
At that moment, Natsuki's calm voice suddenly spoke:
"I've thought of a method."
"Eh?"
The three girls all looked over.
"Amamiya-kun, what method can get the key?" Kitagawa Marin quickly asked.
"When people have victory in hand, they're most likely to let their guard down, so..." Natsuki lightly pressed the bridge of his nose. "I thought of the blind eye tactic."
Hayasaka couldn't help but cover her forehead: "I've never heard of such a strange tactic!"
Natsuki smiled: "You're hearing about it now."
"..."
Without wasting time, Natsuki quietly explained the method he'd thought of.
After listening, the three girls showed different expressions.
Hayasaka looked thoughtful: "...It does sound like there's a possibility of success."
Kitagawa Marin bit her lower lip and grabbed the corner of Natsuki's clothes: "Doing that is too dangerous."
The petite girl's eyes widened in surprise: "This boy has such courage... When others encounter monsters, they try to stay as far away as possible. He actually knows there's a tiger on the mountain yet heads toward Tiger Mountain anyway."
"Doing nothing is the most dangerous choice." Natsuki spoke softly. "Don't forget—two players have already become ghost crewmates. The longer time drags on, the greater the chance of being caught... First find a room and prepare things."
"..."
A moment later.
Preparations complete.
Hayasaka wore the Hamster Cloak and scouted ahead. She quickly found the ghost captain on the second level.
"Target located."
Natsuki said: "What about the other two player ghosts?"
"Already lured away." Kitagawa Marin answered quietly.
"Then..." Natsuki drew in a quiet breath. "Begin the operation."
"..."
Davy Jones, captain of the Flying Henan Man.
Hobbies: smoking, drinking, getting perms.
He'd originally sunk forever to the ocean floor along with the Flying Henan Man, but suddenly regained consciousness under the influence of an unknown power—with corresponding instructions appearing in his mind.
A hide and seek game. Find the bugs hiding on the ship, then eliminate them.
It had to be said—for a vengeful spirit who'd slept for several hundred years, the game was quite interesting.
Precisely because it was interesting, he wanted to enjoy it a while longer.
The voice in his mind clearly told him that once the game ended, he'd fall back into slumber.
So there was no need to rush.
Slowly enjoy the game, find amusement—just transform all the bugs into his crew before the hide and seek time ended.
"There's still more than half the time left. It'd be nice if there could be a bit more fun..."
Davy Jones walked at an unhurried pace, emerging from an empty room.
The next moment.
The ghost captain suddenly turned his head and looked at the boy attempting to slip past in the corridor.
"It's that bug who escaped before."
Their eyes met.
Natsuki's body suddenly tensed, then he took stiff steps, walking toward the ghost captain one step at a time.
Boring.
Prey that delivered itself had no fun of the game at all.
However, since he'd already come, Davy Jones naturally wouldn't pass up prey walking into the trap. He extended his right hand, preparing to wait until Natsuki came close before transforming him into a ghost crewmate.
Only when Natsuki walked right up to him did the ghost captain finally notice something was off.
"This bug... why doesn't he have any expression of fear or despair at all?"
You had to know—the previous two bugs he'd caught each showed expressions of terror, helplessness, and despair, which was especially satisfying.
Was this human not afraid?
Or was he just expressionless?
The doubt flashed through his mind and vanished.
Watching Natsuki approach, the ghost captain extended his right hand, preparing to grab the top of Natsuki's head and extract his ghost. Natsuki cooperatively half-knelt down.
The next moment.
Natsuki's clenched right hand suddenly smashed toward the ground. A cloud of smoke billowed and spread rapidly, quickly obscuring the corridor.
"Now."
Natsuki's eyes snapped open. He grabbed the coral key at the ghost captain's waist in one motion, then rolled on the ground and disappeared into the smoke.
By the time the smoke cleared, Natsuki's figure could no longer be seen in the corridor.
"What's with that human?" A rare expression of surprise appeared on the ghost captain's barnacle-covered face. "He actually broke free from the dark magic's control?"
"..."
"Natsuki, are you injured anywhere?"
Hiding on the third level, Kitagawa Marin had piled a stack of ropes on wooden planks, waiting nervously. Only when Natsuki jumped down and landed on the ropes did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"I'm fine." Natsuki blinked his eyes. "Successfully obtained the key."
"Hurry and tear off those drawn-on eyes." Kitagawa Marin couldn't help but complain. "They look so creepy."
"I think they're pretty."
Natsuki tore off the eyes pasted on his eyelids.
Just now in the room, Hayasaka had drawn a pair of eyes on paper. After carefully cutting them out, she'd pasted the paper on his eyelids, disguising them as real eyes.
In fact, Natsuki's eyes had never opened at all.
Without making eye contact, naturally his body wouldn't be controlled. Combined with the corridor's sinister darkness, he'd successfully fooled the ghost captain.
The only flaw in this plan was—after closing his eyes, how could he ensure his movements were accurate and flawless?
Others couldn't do it, but Natsuki found it quite easy, because...
"Little Natsuki, mission accomplished." Mrs. Kaguya made a peace sign, her smile sweet. "Telepathic communication really drains stamina. You have to refill my mana when we get back, or I won't be able to play on my phone."