Chapter 116 – Ghost Ship (1)

On the second morning aboard the luxury liner, I woke up and lazed around in bed as usual, but Shizu never came no matter how long I waited.
With no choice, I got up and decided to start my morning routine myself.

As long as it isn’t something complicated like putting on a kimono, I can handle most things alone. Don’t underestimate a woman with a past life as an around-forty, I thought—then froze in front of the mirror.

“Eh?”

I couldn’t even get proper words out. A few seconds later, I started moving my hands and shifting my expressions in front of the full-length mirror.

It was unmistakably me. But it was also the real-life version of the sixteen-year-old Reika Hououin from the game, perfectly mirroring my every move from the other side of the glass. 

And she really was a stunningly gorgeous girl.

“Uh, are you… the owner of my body?”

I immediately voiced the first thought that came to mind, but no reply came from the mirror. Still, I felt some kind of wrongness. Realizing what it was, I touched myself here and there, then compared my body to the furnishings around me.

(Yep. It’s not just the mirror—it’s me. I’m in sixteen-year-old mode. What’s going on here?)

Without thinking, I crossed my arms and sank into thought. In the mirror, Reika Hououin only looked back at me with a slightly puzzled expression, as if pondering the same thing.

Then it hit me—something so obvious that I clapped both hands together.

“This is a dream. It has to be a dream.”

I said it aloud on purpose and, following the cliché, pinched my cheek.

“Ow… roula’rre… no (what’s going on)?”

Still pinching hard, I muttered, and sure enough, my words came out garbled.
Too well-made for just a dream.

(Reincarnation again? No, no way that could happen twice. Then maybe I’m seeing the memories of this body’s original owner? Ugh, I don’t know. Anyway, I need to gather information… Well, I guess I can only think of it as a dream for now.)

Even while thinking it was a dream, I started checking my belongings. I checked the closet. I checked around the room. Everything was for my sixteen-year-old self. Even the underwear—high-quality silk, age-appropriate, perfectly prepared.

“I always wanted to try wearing something like this,” I muttered, instinctively slipping into escapism. But if it was a dream, that at least made some sense.

But once I finished checking, I looked around the room again and noticed another change.

“Huh? The room looks a little newer?”

Yes—newer. The Olympic had been completed nearly twenty years ago, so its fittings and furnishings had already begun to show age and character. But the first-class special suite I was seeing now looked brand-new.

(No way… it can’t be… Oh, that’s right, Kouryuu-sensei.)

I decided to leave the thinking for later and first changed into a dress decent enough that I wouldn’t be embarrassed walking out into the corridor. But at the stage of changing my underwear, I was struck speechless.

A breathtakingly beautiful girl with a flawless figure was changing clothes in the mirror.

“Whoa, that’s way too good a figure for nothing. Seriously, is she really supposed to be a Japanese girl from the early Showa era?”

Without thinking, I stood in front of the mirror in a shameless state, staring at the sight. I stared so much that I probably wasted a few minutes, but it didn’t feel like a waste at all. Even if my body grew into this for real, I’d probably end up letting it go to waste—it was just that stunning.

Still, I couldn’t keep staring forever. Snapping back to myself, I hurriedly finished dressing and stepped out of the room.

(The hallway looks the same. Well, not that I’d be able to tell even if there were differences.)

Looking around wasn’t going to solve anything, so I knocked a few times on the next room, where Kouryuu-sensei should have been sleeping.

Immediately, a “Yes?” came back in English. At that moment, I had no choice but to realize something was wrong.
I quickly slipped away and returned to my own room. Even so, peeking through the crack of my door toward the neighbor’s, I saw a white man I had never seen before glancing around nervously. 

Of course, it wasn’t Kouryuu-sensei.

After confirming that, I locked the door and went deeper into the room—then I noticed a card placed on the desk, and the words on it jumped out at me.

“Welcome aboard the Titanic! Our ship offers you a luxurious and comfortable voyage.”

The moment I read it, I couldn’t help but collapse face-down onto the bed.

“No way… so this really is the Titanic? I don’t know the exact differences compared to the Olympic, but… come on. Sure, this is a world where my body’s original owner could curse something or summon me, so I figured maybe there’s some genuine occult stuff around, but this? This is too much.

Or what, is ruin destined to follow me wherever I go? I can’t deal with this! Ugh, what a pain! Fine, I’ll just assume it’s that thing—like the souls of the dead called me here, or this is some kind of ghost ship dream. If I uncover the secret, I’ll go back—that sort of cliché you always see in movies. Yes, that’s it. I’ve decided!”

As I grumbled on and on with that momentum, somehow my resolve settled.

Besides, this was the perfect escape I had longed for—a place completely free of society’s constraints. The thought of indulging in it to the fullest welled up inside me, for no good reason, but with plenty of force.

“Ah, I get it! Since I wanted to escape reality, the master of this body prepared an attraction for me! There’s even a similar ship at Disney! Ahh, I wanna go again~! Yes, that must be it! This is an attraction! If that’s the case, then let’s go!”

Hyping myself up, I launched straight into action.

Riding that momentum, I stepped into the corridor again and made my way to the grand staircase hall—only to realize something.

(…I thought it was morning when I woke up, but it’s night. This isn’t that cliché sinking night, right?)

With that thought, I suddenly wanted to know the exact date and time. But there was no clock in the grand staircase, and of course no calendar hanging on the wall.

“What seems to be the matter, miss?”

Turning toward the voice, I saw a white man dressed in a white officer’s uniform—a middle-aged gentleman whose neat mustache was his charm point.

“Um, I was hoping to find out the date and time.”

“The date and time? Were you perhaps confirming it for a dinner reservation?”

“I’m embarrassed to admit it, but it seems I slept for over a day—an incredibly long time—and now I’ve lost track of when it is.”

“I see,” he nodded deeply, then pulled a pocket watch from his chest.

“The time is just past 8 p.m. And today is the 14th. Still, if you slept so long, might you be unwell?”

“No, before going to sleep, I’m embarrassed to say, I stayed up all night making a racket, so this is just the rebound from that—I ended up sleeping a lot. Truly, how shameful of me.”

“My apologies then. Is there anything else you need? Please don’t hesitate to ask.”

Even so, I couldn’t just come right out and ask, “Is this ship the Titanic?”
But then, something clicked.

“Haven’t we met before? Perhaps on another ship besides the Titanic?”

“I’m sorry, but I do not know you. However, before I was assigned to this ship, I served aboard her sister ship, the Olympic. Perhaps you may have seen me there.”

(Bingo! That confirms it’s the Titanic. Wait—Olympic? That’s the one I was just on!)

“Ah, ahh, yes, that may be so. My apologies. Well then, I’ll take my leave.”

“Yes, of course. Please enjoy your time aboard the Titanic.”

“Thank you. Still, this ship truly is amazing.”

“Yes, we of the crew are very proud of her.”

With that, he answered with a pleasant smile, gave a slight bow, and went on his way.
And thus, I had obtained the information I sought.

That this ship is the Titanic, and that there are only about three and a half hours left before the iceberg collision.

(To think that the records of the Titanic incident I skimmed out of idle curiosity before boarding the Olympic would end up being useful like this. Information really is important.)

Yes—during my last few days in New York, once it was decided I’d be boarding the Olympic, I had them gather information on the Titanic. I went through it all as a way to kill time.
I’m sure the details aren’t as accurate as the information handed down in the 21st century, but having it is worlds better than not.

As a result, I now knew that there were only about six hours left until the sinking.

The Titanic struck an iceberg just before midnight on April 14, 1912, during her maiden voyage. She sank a little after 2 a.m. on the 15th.

And this isn’t reality—it’s a dream built from my wishful perception. Or else some kind of occult phenomenon. In the worst case, maybe the Titanic’s sister ship, the Olympic, has been taken over by a ghost or something.

But since my cabin was exactly the same, it probably isn’t a sudden time slip.

What’s more, the Olympic is running in the opposite direction of the Titanic, it’s late autumn instead of early spring, and too many other things don’t match up.

So, from the standpoint of my wishful perception, the likelihood that this is the Olympic is extremely low.

“Still, what should I even do… Well, for now, let’s just go around and check things one by one. In novels and games, the first step is always to explore everything, right?”

And so began the opening of my very own special attraction.

Titanic:
On her maiden voyage, she struck an iceberg late at night on April 14, 1912, and sank in the early hours of the 15th.
Well, there’s no need to write any more than that.

Or rather, I already ended up writing it.
Even though I had intended to avoid telling stories with occult elements as much as possible.

“Disney has a similar ship too!”
For the record, that one is Columbia.