The scratches on the starboard side were crystal clear in the sunset's glow.
It was their own boat, the one that went missing near the pier that afternoon.
At that moment, Hidaka Kōryō had already shed his shoes and waded into the shallow waters, climbing into the cabin with hands and feet. Soon, he raised a cluster of small white objects, vigorously waving them toward the two friends and his sister on the shore: "Look! What is this?"
"Is it an amulet? The kind obtained at a shrine." Shimokawa Yōji adjusted the glasses on his nose.
"But there wasn't anything like this on our boat." Kōryō counted the white amulets in his hand, "Hmm—exactly four, not more, not less."
Takahashi Fumiya took one and examined it closely: "Strange, there's not a single character on this amulet."
A plain-faced white pouch, devoid of any embroidery or printed words, so simple as to be almost unusual.
Mirai took one too.
