Chapter 15: Dream!

It had been a while since I rode a merry-go-round.

As for my impression of the ride, it was rather unemotional; I found that plastic was surprisingly hard. Unlike me, Nina-chan was in high spirits and didn’t seem to share my indifference.

“How was it, Nina-chan?”

“It was so much fun!”

Her smiling response made me smile involuntarily.

Nina-chan had started smiling a lot more.

I believed this strongly because I knew her from a year ago. I knew the Nina-chan who had come to Japan, having been rejected by Irena-san and determined to beat me to earn Irena-san’s recognition.

That’s why when Nina-chan smiled, I couldn’t help but smile too.

“What should we go on next?”

“Well, let’s see. I want to ride that spinning one.”

Nina-chan pointed at the teacup ride.

When she mentioned the teacup ride, I recalled a memory from a previous life. I had ridden it without knowing anything about it and ended up spinning it like an idiot, feeling nauseous afterward. It was a bit of a trauma.

“Sure, but let’s not spin it too fast.”

“Spin it…?”

Nina-chan tilted her head.

I lined up without answering, thinking she would understand once we got on it.

To the tune of lively music, colorful teacups spun around.

As I watched them from outside the line, I noticed Nina-chan staring intently at something ahead.

“What’s wrong?”

“…”

I thought she might have spotted a clue about the monster, so I asked, but she didn’t respond. Instead, after a moment of seeming lost in thought, she turned to me.

“No, it’s nothing.”

Then, she quietly shook her head.

While Nina-chan’s reaction didn’t seem to indicate the presence of a monster, I couldn’t help but be a little concerned. I followed her gaze from earlier, but I only saw ordinary families.

Maybe she had wanted to come here with Irena-san, I thought, but I didn’t dwell on my worries. As soon as the cheerful music stopped, and the teacups came to a halt, Nina-chan grabbed my hand.

“Let’s go, Itsuki.”

“Huh? Yeah, sure.”

In exchange for my surprise at her speed, I followed Nina-chan onto the teacup ride.

As soon as we got on, Nina-chan pointed at the silver handle in the middle.

“What’s this?”

“Oh, that’s the one that makes it spin…”

“Hmm?”

Nina-chan made an indescribable noise.

Then, the lively music began, and the teacup ride slowly started to move.

Out of curiosity, Nina-chan put her hand on the handle.

“Is it okay if I turn it?”

“Slowly, okay?”

I replied in a slightly quiet voice, and Nina-chan turned the handle all the way around.

“Wow! It spun!”

“Yeah. Slowly, please.”

“Itsuki! What happens if I spin it as hard as I can?”

“It’ll be really tough.”

My warning was in vain. Nina-chan turned the handle vigorously.

I said to spin it slowly!

However, Nina-chan was only seven years old. If you could stop a seven-year-old’s curiosity with just words, life would be much easier.

Inside the rapidly spinning teacup, I just watched Nina-chan intently. When your field of vision is moving rapidly, you can fix your gaze on something to avoid getting dizzy. I had learned this from watching video game playthroughs.

In other words, Nina-chan was the motion sickness prevention for me.

As soon as the fun time inside the teacup ended, Nina-chan nodded seriously.

“That was fun.”

“Yeah, it was…”

Well, to cut to the chase, it wasn’t so bad that I felt like throwing up.

Maybe it was because my vestibular system had been trained during my usual special training, or perhaps it was my knowledge from watching video game playthroughs in my previous life. I’ll just think it was a combination of both.

But with this, I conquered an attraction I wasn’t very fond of. I wondered what ride Nina-chan would want to go on next, but she seemed to be completely hooked on the spinning teacup ride and requested another turn.

Unable to refuse, I boarded the teacup again before she could ask for a third round.

I wondered if all dads in the world felt like this.

After getting off the teacup ride for the second time, I took preemptive action with Nina-chan before she could request a third round.

“…How about a snack?”

“Sure, what do they have?”

“They have churros over there.”

I pointed to a shop that seemed to be selling churros, the kind of shop you’d find in any amusement park.

This was a diversion strategy to distract Nina-chan’s interest.

As expected, Nina-chan accepted my suggestion, and we moved to a new location.

Through the black-suited big brother who had been our intermediary for this job, I had received some pocket money from Akane-san. She had said, “Use it however you like; it’s considered an expense for the mission.” I had been unsure how to use it, but now seemed like a good opportunity.

I lined up with Nina-chan, and we bought some snacks.

Nina-chan got churros, and I settled for orange juice since they didn’t have my favorite curry bread.

Amusement parks don’t sell curry bread, huh? That was a bit disappointing.

So, we sat on an empty bench, and the two of us relaxed while having our snacks. Nina-chan immediately took a bite of her churros.

“Is it good?”

“Yeah.”

Nina-chan nodded slightly.

Watching her, I took a sip of the orange juice.

Sweet. Delicious.

When we were relaxing like this, it was easy to forget why we had come here.

But we had to stay alert.

We were here to defeat the monster.

I regained my focus slightly and looked around.

A pink rabbit mascot that was said to appear if only children were playing.

However, when I looked around, all I saw were families walking by.

We were the only children playing alone.

It wouldn’t be strange if we were targeted at any moment. Complacency was our greatest enemy.

While I was cautiously surveying the area, Nina-chan munched on her churros.

To avoid keeping Nina-chan waiting, I hurriedly finished my orange juice.

I matched my timing with how fast Nina-chan was eating, and the plastic cup was soon empty. It seemed she was quite hungry.

I threw the empty cup into a nearby trash bin, and Nina-chan asked a question.

“Hey, Itsuki, don’t you want to go on something?”

“Me?”

“Because it’s not just about things I like.”

“Is that so? But I’m having fun too.”

When I said that, Nina-chan pouted slightly unhappily.

“You might not be going on anything you want, so the monster might not appear, you know.”

“Do you think so?”

“It’s possible. After all, we’re dealing with a monster.”

Nina-chan said that, and I couldn’t help but think about it for a moment. She did have a point.

After all, there were various conditions for the monster to appear.

The condition of “children playing alone” this time was just one of them. It was entirely possible.

I thought for a moment about what I wanted to ride, then pointed to the biggest attraction at the back.

Well, I’m not sure if you can call it an attraction because what I pointed to was the Ferris wheel.

“I want to try that.”

“The Ferris wheel? Sure, let’s go.”

The roller coaster was too scary as it was a thrill ride, and besides, there should be a height restriction. We had already played on the merry-go-round and the teacup ride. I couldn’t play go-karts with Nina-chan, and there were mostly thrill rides in this amusement park.

So, I chose the Ferris wheel by process of elimination.

Also, from an exorcist’s perspective, it might be easier to spot the monster from above, if it was there.

So, the two of us headed for the Ferris wheel.

There wasn’t much of a line for the Ferris wheel, and our turn came quickly. We got on together.

Inside the small, slowly swaying gondola.

There was a faint smell of iron and a sweet smell of sugar in the air.

Perhaps someone had eaten sweets inside this gondola.

With a clank, the door closed from the outside, and we began to rise slowly.

In a four-seat box, Nina-chan and I sat facing each other.

As I gazed out the window, hoping to spot the monster, Nina-chan suddenly spoke.

“Something about this feels like I’ve done it before.”

“Before?”

I tilted my head at Nina-chan’s words, and she, who had brought it up, also tilted her head as if searching deep in her memory.

“Yeah, that’s right. I have a feeling I came to an amusement park before for ‘work.'”

Just as she was about to say more, something suddenly covered the window.

For a moment, I thought a cloud had blocked the sun, but before I could convince myself of that, my body reacted reflexively.

“Do you know the privilege of being a child? Boy.”

There was a pink mascot costume.

In a tattered state, it held two pink balloons in one hand, floating outside the window.

Even though there was no place outside to stand, the monster was outside the window.

No, it was floating.

In that state, the stuffed rabbit released a soft voice.

“You see, it’s about having dreams.”

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