Chapter 17: The End of the Dream

The disappearance of the gondola and our leap from the Ferris wheel seemed to have become common knowledge among the amusement park staff in an instant.

The reason I say “seemed” is that I had no detailed information about what happened after we purified the monster. I had left all the subsequent tasks, or whatever you might call them, to the black-suited older brother who had come with us.

Actually, he had insisted, saying, “This is my job.”

So, with our work done, Nina-chan and I spent the day at the amusement park, partly to wait for the older brother to finish his work.

We went on attractions we hadn’t tried yet, indulged in snacks with the allowance we received, and took souvenir photos.

Honestly, in my past life, I couldn’t really understand why people enjoyed amusement parks.

After all, once you’ve ridden an attraction once, you might get bored, it’s crowded, and walking around makes you tired. So, I used to think that going there willingly was a bit strange.

However, spending the day playing with Nina-chan gradually changed my perspective.

It’s true that attractions might get boring after one ride. But if you ride them with someone else, you won’t get bored, and even though there are many people, chatting with friends during the waiting times makes time fly by. If you get tired from walking, you can take a break or have a snack.

Thinking about it that way, I couldn’t help but conclude that the reason I couldn’t enjoy amusement parks in my past life was because I didn’t have any friends. It was an unpleasant realization.

But that wasn’t the only thing that changed my mind.

I also thought it would be good to take a break from practicing magic and training my body occasionally and play with someone.

To stay alive and keep others from dying, I had been training without rest until today. However, that alone wouldn’t leave me with any enjoyable memories. I realized this very common sense thing, albeit a bit belatedly.

“Hey, Itsuki, isn’t this strap nice?”

“Isn’t it a bit small?”

“Really? How about this larger one then?”

We were in the souvenir shop, choosing something to buy for Hina and my mother.

While we were making our selections, the music announcing the park’s closing time began to play.

Families around us started hurrying to the registers as if urged by the music.

Wanting to finish our choices quickly, I focused on the merchandise. At that moment, Nina-chan mumbled quietly.

“The Ferris wheel. We never got to ride it properly in the end.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

I affirmed Nina-chan’s words slowly.

The Ferris wheel we had fought the monster in just a few hours ago had stopped running due to the “unforeseen accident.”

When I looked at the Ferris wheel across from the merchandise area, it reflected the evening light, with one gondola conspicuously missing.

The Ferris wheel had stopped running after our ride, as it was deemed “dangerous” with the missing gondola. The sight of something missing where it should be reminded me of a person with a missing tooth.

“But I still got to ride partway with you, Nina-chan, and that was fun.”

I gave a harmless answer while looking at the Ferris wheel.

Still, I couldn’t help but think that witnessing us using magic so openly against a monster in broad daylight might make people wonder why we were hiding our magic in the first place. Well, this time, it was an emergency situation, and I had used magic in plain view of everyone.

Thinking about that, I decided to buy a mascot character plush toy for Hina and a pack of assorted snacks for my mother. By the way, Nina-chan had bought the same things for Irina-san.

We had our souvenirs put in the same bag and left the souvenir shop.

Then, we headed for the exit of the amusement park.

That was where we were supposed to meet the black-suited older brother.

As the sun slowly set behind the buildings, casting elongated shadows, I tightened my grip on the bag with Nina-chan’s souvenirs to make sure they wouldn’t fall and suddenly asked her:

“By the way, Nina-chan.”

“What is it?”

“You mentioned that you had been to the amusement park for ‘work,’ right? Who did you come with?”

“I said something like that? I don’t remember.”

“Yes. It was when we were on the Ferris wheel.”

Nina-chan tilted her head, but it had been bothering me for a while.

After all, there was a period during which Nina-chan was rejected by Irina-san after she started teaching her magic.

During that period of rejection, there was no way Irina-san would have brought Nina-chan to the amusement park for “work.”

That’s why I was wondering who came with him.

However, Nina-chan just tilts her head.

“Hmm…I don’t remember. After all, I’ve only ever worked with Itsuki.”

“……right”

So, I couldn’t help but wonder if it had been a misunderstanding on Nina-chan’s part.

I stopped pressing the issue and stopped walking.

We had reached the exit, which was supposed to be the meeting place with the older brother in black.

However, it was crowded with people who were trying to enjoy the park and not in a situation where we could easily spot him.

Nina-chan and I looked around the crowd for a while, but as expected, we couldn’t find him. I couldn’t help but comment:

“He’s not here.”

“Yeah, maybe he’s still working?”

Nina-chan gave a casual reply and I nodded vaguely.

Apparently, his job included explaining things to the staff without using the word “magic.”

It certainly seemed like it would take some time.

Ironically, even though I used magic myself, I didn’t feel confident that I could explain these events well to the staff, nor did I think they would accept such explanations.

With that in mind, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the older brother.

However, if his work wasn’t finished yet, there was nothing we could do but wait. So, we found a spot a little away from the crowd and decided to wait for him to arrive.

“Today was fun, Nina-chan.”

“Yeah, I’d like to come again.”

While chatting with Nina-chan and passing the time, I noticed a small blue rabbit plush toy had fallen to the ground among the crowd’s feet.

It was a very small plush toy, no bigger than a strap. I had been recommended a similar one by Nina-chan in the souvenir shop we visited earlier, so it seemed like someone who bought it from the same store had accidentally dropped it.

Passersby didn’t seem to notice it, and they kept stepping on it after another.

Feeling sorry for it, I watched as a man in his thirties unknowingly kicked the rabbit, causing it to roll along the ground.

The plush toy spun round and round, changing direction as it rolled over the bricks.

As I watched it, absentmindedly, its round eyes met mine.

Would someone throw it away during cleaning, or would someone come to pick it up?

Thinking about such things, I watched as the crowd dispersed, and suddenly, the plush toy stood up.

After standing up, it patted its soft-looking hand.

“Hey! Hey! Congratulations! You purified the monster I made, even at your age!”

While clapping, it opened its mouth.

“As for my name… Oh, I shouldn’t make a big deal out of it, so you can call me whatever you like! My current appearance is a bit severe, so it’s hard to come up with a good nickname. How about calling me ‘Blue Bunny,’ like ‘Aoi Usa’? Ahaha! It sounds like a fish’s name, doesn’t it?”

The plush toy looked down at its own body, then burst into laughter and said such things.

From the way it spoke, it seemed to be a different monster from the pink rabbit.

“Well, the name doesn’t really matter.”

Reflectively, I created “Guiding thread silvate” in an instant.

“Everyone calls me ‘Theater Troupe Member Actor,’ so that’s fine too.”

With a strangely theatrical gesture, the rabbit plush toy said so.

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