Mary's Special Attention

The Mary Cruise Ship had sailed the high seas for decades.

Every year, it hosted a new set of distinguished guests, yet the masquerade balls were always the same.

However, in all that time, no one had ever noticed a peculiar fact. The waitresses on the cruise ship were never replaced. Their appearances seemed frozen at the peak of their beauty.

In the outside world, these women were striking enough to be unforgettable after a single glance. But here, in the eyes of the upper-class elite, a waitress was just a waitress, not someone worth remembering.

They would rather focus their energy on the other high-status guests on the ship. After all, an invitation to the Mary was a mark of extraordinary standing, and only the other young ladies and gentlemen were partners worthy of their time.

Waitress Number Five had served countless guests. On behalf of the entity in her mind, she had witnessed the true nature of all sorts of people.

Some treated her as a mere tool to be ordered around. Some spat vitriol at her after being rejected by other female guests. Some even made filthy, unspeakable requests.

It seemed that everyone at the top of the pyramid harbored a dark side. These dark parts were observed by the ever-present waitresses, who moved through the ship like silent shadows.

Of course, those kinds of requests were never fulfilled.

【Please respect the personal emotions of the waitresses.】

At first, many people dismissed this rule.

But they always learned their lesson. When they pushed a waitress too far, her professional smile would vanish. Then came broken limbs, followed by a one-way trip overboard to feed the fish. Only then, it seemed, did they realize their mistake.

Number Five didn't understand.

Why did they have to feel pain before they understood they had done wrong?

But it didn't matter. No matter how distinguished these guests were, they had to obey the rules once they boarded the ship. As long as they violated a rule, she had the right to deal with them.

Quite a few guests had died at her hands.

But this year, during a masquerade ball that should have been no different from the rest, she encountered a strange person.

Everything about him was odd. He even seemed willing to gamble his own life on the ship's rules.

From him, she felt Her curiosity. So, Number Five decided to follow Her choice.

She did her best to satisfy his every request and answer his every question.

But when she finally asked him about his true purpose, his answer stunned her.

"What do I want to do?"

He had said.

"I want to understand the real you."

"I don't know how long you've been on this ship, but I bet you've only ever seen it as a waitress. You've painstakingly cared for guests, fulfilled all their bizarre requests… No wonder you don't like to talk."

"How about this? Starting now, you be the guest."

"Go experience the wonder this journey has to offer. Go enjoy the feeling of being served and supported by others."

"This is my request. Can you fulfill it?"

With that, the strange guest had led her to a deserted corner and removed his magenta tokusatsu suit. Underneath, he revealed a face completely identical to her own.

He claimed it was an ancient Eastern disguise art. His voice, he explained, was an imitation learned through professional vocal training.

He handed the Tokusatsu Suit, which completely concealed one's face and figure, to her. Then he slipped into a restroom and emerged moments later, somehow having procured a Bunny Girl costume, which he now wore.

This request did not violate the rules.

The guest hadn't asked her to do anything excessive or harmful, nor had he asked for any secrets she couldn't reveal.

And just like that, she became a guest, and he took her place as a waitress.

A tiny bluetooth speaker was hidden inside the Decade Suit. The guest would hide nearby and speak through a connected earpiece, carrying on conversations for her or instructing her on what to do.

That was why Number Five, impersonating Decade, would wave at other guests and spout familiar, cheesy lines. It was all Wu Wang's instruction.

After all, a request to wave and say hello didn't violate the rules.

So it was that Number Five, who should have been standing by the wall with her colleagues, entered the dance floor because of Wu Wang's request.

The feeling was marvelous.

Normally, she only entered the ballroom to clean the venue. She had never set foot on the dance floor while a ball was in progress.

Now, he was asking her to dance.

This request still didn't violate the rules.

She didn't sense any lewdness from his gaze. Even his hands, resting on her waist, were perfectly proper, following the etiquette of ballroom dance to the letter.

It was such a normal dance that, compared to the other guests around them, it seemed utterly bizarre.

Decade paired with a Bunny Girl.

This strangely dressed pair began their dance, standing out even in a masquerade of a thousand people.

They moved from Waltz to Tango, from Quickstep to Jive, from Paso Doble to Rumba. He even perfectly matched her rhythm in Disco, a dance with no set moves that relied entirely on improvisation.

By now, not just Number Five, but even the entity in her mind known as "Mary" was astonished. The people who boarded this ship were all of distinguished status, so it was normal for them to know some ballroom dancing.

But who would practice a social skill to such perfection, surpassing even professional dancers?

And so, under the Decade mask, Number Five spoke with Mary's curiosity.

"Sir, who exactly are you?"

Wu Wang's voice came through the earpiece.

"Me? A passing Kamen… oh, wait, you're the Kamen Rider now. In that case, I'm the Bunny Girl who can appear in a library, Sakurajima Mai!"

Even with a woman's face, it was hard for Wu Wang to hide his usual dramatic flair. These words made Number Five laugh.

She subconsciously retorted, "What kind of Bunny Girl would appear in a library?"

Wu Wang immediately shot back, "People live for Sakurajima Mai! You can't insult Mai-senpai!"

Sensing Mary's consciousness guiding her, Number Five continued her questions.

"At the Starlight Tavern during the day, if the person under the suit was you, how many cocktails could you have drunk?"

She was referring to earlier, when the two had already swapped identities. The reason was simple, Number Five had suddenly wanted to experience the feeling of drinking alcohol. This, too, was Mary's will driving her.

By default, the waitresses on the cruise ship were not allowed to drink. It wasn't a formal rule, just an unspoken agreement. But under Wu Wang's request to "be a guest," she was free to ignore it.

"Heh, I'm a better bartender than you are, believe it or not?" Wu Wang said, his voice laced with confidence.

"If you don't believe me, we can go again tomorrow. I can even mix cocktails that have never been on the menu, and they'll taste just as exquisite."

His confidence was absolute. Number Five couldn't find any flaw in it.

Yes, this person could do it.

The ball was coming to an end. After hours of non-stop dancing, most of the guests had collapsed from exhaustion. The surrounding waitresses approached in sequence, picking up the unconscious dancers to carry them back to their rooms.

Of course, the players were not among the collapsed. They had their own ways of maintaining stamina. As the ball drew to a close, their minds began to clear.

They stared at the dance partners they were still holding.

Everyone's expression soured. They couldn't remember a thing that had just happened.

Miss Rose had no idea how many partners she had danced with. She looked down at her formal dress and saw her silk gloves were nearly worn through. Her face turned ugly.

What in the world happened? Did they just dance uncontrollably for an entire night?

Still, she felt a small sense of relief. Though the situation was a mystery, at least no one had died. All the players were still alive.

Only Wu Wang knew they were all about to be screwed.

This ball wasn't just about making the guests dance.

Because floating above Number Five's head, visible only to him, was a series of notifications.

【Mary is quite curious about you.】

【Partial Hidden Area Access has been opened for you.】

【Your Ball Mark has been temporarily nullified.】

That last sentence sent a chill down Wu Wang's spine.

Bro, I take you out for a night of dancing, and you were secretly trying to mark me?

He didn't know what the 【Ball Mark】 was, but he understood one thing. Any external mark that wasn't immediately devoured by his own Abyss God's Mark was bound to be trouble.

Thinking about the other players' main quests, Wu Wang was almost certain of the trap. A new mark would be applied at every ball for the next four days, branding every guest who participated.

This would directly determine whether the players lived or died.

It was highly likely that when the final ball arrived, if the players hadn't met some other condition, the 【Ball Mark】 would be their doom.

A Nightmare-level instance was never so simple that you could clear it just by dancing.

"Oh, it seems like this has nothing to do with me," Wu Wang thought, a grin spreading across his disguised face as he considered Mary's special treatment. "I wasn't marked, and this Hidden Area Access sounds interesting."

The cruise ship had public areas and private areas, but there shouldn't be any hidden areas.

Unless it was… the nonexistent back kitchen.

Could that be what was in the hidden area?