The Ghost Captain’s Tale and a Faltering Search

‘How could you not know about such an important relic from your deceased wife?’

“‘There’s… there’s nothing I can do! A thousand years have passed; it’s only natural I wouldn’t remember!'”

‘A thousand years? Shouldn’t that pendant have long since deteriorated? Besides, whether it’s even here is still an unknown.’

Eileen, nestled in my arms, finally spoke.

It seemed that with her fear somewhat appeased, her ability to speak had returned to normal.

“‘No! I assure you! The pendant is absolutely here! And it’s completely unharmed!'”

“‘Why are you so certain?'”

I countered.

The Ghost Captain, lowering his head, then began to recount his past tale:

“‘That day… our ship was attacked by pirates. We fought desperately, and in the end, we went down with them, taking them with us…’

“‘After the ship sank, I thought I was surely dead. But when I opened my eyes again, I found myself here—as a ghost.’

“‘Besides myself, I also saw my former crewmates. They too had turned into ghosts… but they seemed to lack consciousness. I called out to them, but they never responded.’

“‘And I even saw members of that pirate ship! They also appeared to be mindless, simply wandering here… Yet, they still carried the items they had plundered! And for some reason, these items remained undamaged!’

“‘That’s why I’m certain my pendant must be here!'”

‘…Come to think of it, we encountered many skeleton pirates along the way. Unlike the ghosts, they all carried various trinkets. I had merely assumed it was to make them appear more realistic; I never imagined there was such a story behind it.’

‘There’s no other way! To clear this level, even with this unreliable Ghost Captain, we have no choice but to bite the bullet and search for the lost pendant.’

‘Even if it’s akin to searching for a needle in a haystack…’

“‘Oh, Eileen, can you conjure some light with your magic?'”

‘Since Eileen was no longer as frightened, it was the perfect opportunity to have her use magic to illuminate our surroundings.’

‘The area was simply too dim; without a light source, it would be all too easy to miss something crucial.’

However, after a brief attempt, Eileen shook her head.

“‘No… it seems that fire, no matter what, always carries some potential for harm. Since it’s not being cast for defense, I can’t release it…'”

A look of regret crossed Eileen’s face as she spoke.

“‘If only I had an affinity for light magic. Light magic has spells that can illuminate without causing harm… and it’s even brighter than fire magic.'”

“‘Hmm? You want a light source? That’s easily done!'”

The Ghost Captain suddenly spoke… ‘Could he truly conjure light?’

As I pondered this, the Ghost Captain stroked his beard, then raised his hand;

“‘Let there be light!'”

With his command, several clumps of eerie green flames materialized out of thin air all around us.

‘…Their appearance, I felt, would surely frighten Eileen.’

Indeed, Eileen shivered in my embrace, then cast a look of disdain at the green flames.

‘…Her reaction was somewhat different from what I had expected.’

‘It seemed that knowing the perpetrator behind these strange things prevented Eileen from being overly afraid of them.’

However, the Ghost Captain paid no mind to Eileen’s expression. Instead, he puffed out his chest and declared proudly:

“‘Heh heh~ Ever since I became a ghost, this is the only thing I’ve been able to do! I never thought it would actually come in handy!'”

I observed these flames at close range.

They emitted almost no heat; a wooden stick placed upon them wouldn’t ignite, nor did approaching them cause any burning sensation… Perhaps it was precisely because they were harmless that they could be conjured.

However, their flaw was their unsatisfactory brightness… They only made the surroundings slightly brighter than before.

Still, for the purpose of searching, they were more or less sufficient.

As I was observing these will-o’-the-wisps, Eileen spoke up:

“‘Couldn’t they be a more pleasant color? Like warm tones, red or yellow, for instance?'”

“‘Er…'”

Faced with Eileen’s question, the Ghost Captain scratched the back of his head, appearing somewhat awkward.

“‘That… I can’t control myself. I can only make them appear and move; when it comes to color, I’m powerless…'”

“‘Oh… alright then.'”

Eileen sighed, resigning herself to the situation.

‘…All in all, our exploration had finally begun.’

‘While I had known early on that this wouldn’t be an easy task, I hadn’t anticipated it would be quite so arduous.’

‘We had scoured almost every corner of this Shrieking House, yet found absolutely nothing.’

‘…Or perhaps not entirely nothing. We had encountered numerous skeleton pirates along the way and confiscated quite a few pendants from them. However, when we asked the Ghost Captain, his answer was always “Not this one.”

‘…Which was hardly different from having no findings at all. After all, I had no interest in these other ornaments and jewels… and they were likely the possessions of the ghost crewmates, so taking them wouldn’t sit well with me.’

****

‘Along the way, I had come to understand that the captain’s crewmates were the ones who had become ghosts, while the skeletons were all pirates… As for the zombies, I had no idea what they were.’

“‘Is the pendant you’re looking for truly here?'”

Eileen couldn’t help but voice her doubt… Judging by her slightly pouted lips, she seemed rather displeased.

‘—In the search for the pendant, Eileen had also left my embrace to explore on her own.’

‘Precisely because of this, she had been startled countless times along the way… Each time she was scared, she would cling tightly to my thigh, clutching at the hem of my clothes.’

‘…So adorable it was almost nosebleed-inducing.’

‘After enduring so many unpleasant encounters, it was perfectly normal for her to be upset.’

‘Though, I was quite happy about it.’

“‘I’m certain! It must be here!'”

The Ghost Captain retorted, facing Eileen’s skepticism.

“‘But we’ve already searched everywhere here, haven’t we? There’s no trace of it at all.'”

“‘This…'”

His confident demeanor instantly faltered.

Following Eileen’s words, I also voiced a question:

“‘And have you perhaps forgotten what the pendant even looks like? It’s possible we’ve already found it, but you didn’t recognize it, causing us to overlook it entirely?'”

“‘…No! Impossible! The moment I see the pendant, I’m certain I’ll remember it! I guarantee it!'”

‘Another one of these vague, unreliable assurances…’

I couldn’t help but shoot the Ghost Captain a disdainful glance.

‘This fellow was truly untrustworthy… Yet, without completing his task, we wouldn’t be able to leave this building.’

‘—Through our recent exploration, I had discovered there were no exits here, only the entrance we had arrived through.’

‘It seemed that until we completed the Ghost Captain’s mission and obtained the ‘Joyful Sticker’, we were trapped here.’

Unlike my grumbling, Eileen had lowered her head, deep in thought.

Soon, she looked up, questioning the Captain once more:

“‘Speaking of which, you said your pendant was stolen by a pirate. Do you remember what that pirate looked like?'”

‘…He couldn’t even remember what his important pendant looked like, so how could he possibly remember what the pirate looked like?’

“‘I don’t remember…'”

“‘See? Just as I thought.'”

“‘But, I vaguely recall, that fellow was the pirate leader! His attire was distinctly different from the other pirates! And he was laden with an extraordinary amount of jewelry! All of it must have been plundered!'”

‘Hmm… a lot of jewelry, and distinct attire…’

A memory seemed to stir within me.

“‘My Lady!'”

Evidently, Eileen had also grasped the clue, just as I had.