Volume 1 - CH 2.5

Part 5

Meanwhile in Amaburi, an announcement was made at the end of the day asking the “‘real cast members’ to assemble at the sky garden.”

The ‘real cast’ referred to the staff members who came from Maple Land. Moffle was one of them, just like Macaron and Tiramie. Of course, Isuzu as well. The people of the land were simply referred to as the ‘cast’.

So the time has finally come— Moffle thought to himself while finishing the cleanup.

Latifa and Isuzu had important news to break. Bad news, in fact. Moffle met up with Macaron, the sheep-like mascot, on the way there. Among the mascots, he had been friends with Moffle for the longest.

“Why hello there, ‘fairy of sweets’,” said Macaron.

“Same to you, ‘fairy of music’.”

The two of them greeted each other with unbefitting nuances.

Though Moffle was the fairy of sweets, he did not like sweet things. Instead, he preferred things like salami and dried cuttlefish. As a result, he was often teased because those were appetizers rather than snacks.

On the other hand, Macaron was known as the fairy of music, but he couldn’t care less about children’s tunes. He was a fan of funk and rap, especially American ‘gangsta’ music that propagated violence and sexism. His favorite verses depicted rival gangs shooting at each other and lewd acts done to hot chicks.

“You were drunk as hell last night. Are you alright, ron?”

“Not really, I don’t have any memory of what happened after we left the bar, fumo…”

Last night, Moffle went for a drink with Macaron and Tiramie and ended up getting drunk. At the beginning, all he spouted were nonsensical remarks, but as it got worse, he became all gloomy and lamented about the future of the theme park.

The next morning he found himself in his kitchen with no recollection of what happened. For some reason, it appeared that he had cold spaghetti all over him, and had fallen flat on the floor the night before. While enduring a hangover and preparing for work, he found an empty carbonara packet in his mailbox. He didn’t know where the contents had gone, though he guessed they probably went into his stomach. At any rate, it had been awhile since he had been this drunk.

“Moffle, you were talking a lot about Latifa last night, ron.”

“I see, fumo.”

“You also mentioned something about a curse, and something about a kid that was selected by the oracle…you even cried at the end.”

“Mofu. Seriously?”

“Dead serious.”

“I must have caused a lot of trouble for you guys. Please forget what I said, fumo.”

Macaron patted his back.

“Moffle, we’ll never despise you, ron. You never say bad things about others. Even when you were drunk, all you did was praise people.”

“Is…that so, fumo?”

“Even the kid; you said that he had a lot of guts.”

“That was…definitely not a compliment for that weakling, fumo.”

“Whatever you say, ron.”

Macaron skipped happily into the elevator. There were other ‘real’ cast members boarding the elevator as well, and it filled up quickly.

“Erm…Moffle-san.”

A girl with butterfly wings and a slightly revealing costume called out to him in a soft voice.

She was Muse, one of the fairies that performed for the musical at Sorcerers’ Hill. She was one of the younger fairies, but despite that, she always did her best.

“What’s up, fumo?”

“It’s pretty rare for them to call for an assembly, don’t you think? Could this be…bad news?”

Everyone in the elevator stayed silent, waiting for a reply. Moffle was a senior and was a relative of Latifa, the royalty of Maple Land. His answer had the potential to affect everyone’s mood.

Moffle glanced at Macaron for help. Though Macaron already knew the answer, he grimaced, hinting that it was “up to Moffle”.

“…I’m not sure myself, fumo.”

“I-Is that so…but…”

“But you’re probably right.”

As he spoke, the elevator had reached the top floor and the doors opened. The ‘real’ cast members walked out and separated from there.

Seeing the worried looks on their faces, Macaron waited for everyone else to put some distance between them before whispering, “Moffle, that’s not how you do it, ron.”

“Says the one who pushed the responsibility onto me, fumo.”

“I know but…they were counting on you, ron. You shouldn’t have been so direct.”

“No matter how much I sugarcoat it, the truth remains unchanged, fumo.”

“Well…that’s true…”

The two of them entered the sky garden. The scenery was as beautiful as ever. Most of the ‘real’ cast members had already gathered, and were discussing among themselves with unease. In addition to Maple Land, there were members from other magical realms present.

Moffle and Macaron found a spot at a corner of the garden and waited for the announcement. The Pomeranian mascot arrived and sat beside them.

“What’s up, mi! Bad news, I guess?”

“Probably, ron. Well, the park’s 30 years old now; we did our best.”

“It’s 29, not 30, fumo…” Moffle said in melancholy.

Amaburi, which was built out of extra funds from the Showa era’s economic bubble, was supposed to turn 30 soon. Of course, that had become nothing more than an unattainable dream now.

“Attention! Attention!” A girl’s voice reverberated throughout the garden.

Isuzu, wearing the park’s uniform, spoke from the terrace as she looked at everyone.

“Honorable cast of Amagi Brilliant Park, the First Princess of Maple Land and appointed manager, Her Highness Latifa Fleuranza, will now address you. Please pay attention!”

The announcement carried a solemn atmosphere, and if there were soldiers, they’d be standing at attention by now. But the real cast members around Moffle were still talking among themselves in apathy.

Enough with that arrogant attitude already…

Just cut to the chase…

It’s definitely about Amaburi’s closure, isn’t it…?

There were grumbles and whispers everywhere. It was obvious that those remarks were directed towards Isuzu.

A year ago, Isuzu was sent from the imperial regiment to aid the theme park. However, she failed to deliver any tangible results. While it was true that she was an elite among the royal guards, she was only a soldier and thus lacked the necessary business management skills and didn’t understand the entertainment industry.

She was strict about the cast’s conduct and used her weapon to threaten uncooperative members. Along with that, she never backed down from their investors. An outstanding officer for sure, but even so, her methods couldn’t save the park. Although Isuzu was serious in fulfilling her duties, her overbearing attitude garnered unhappiness amongst the cast members. People had their own strengths and weaknesses, and Isuzu was simply not cut out for the job.

“The cast have all gathered, Your Highness. Please, grace them with your words!”

Her voice contained vigor, different from her usual expressionless tone. To be fair, she was a royal guard, so someone like Moffle, an ex-soldier, could never have projected as majestically as she had.

Latifa appeared from within the terrace.

For Moffle, seeing her frail physique and dainty dress was painful enough to make him want to bear the burden in her stead.

Isuzu extended her hand and guided her. After balancing herself, Latifa spoke.

“Thank you for coming, everyone.”

Her tone was bright and cheery, yet everyone knew that her next few words would be just the opposite.

“I regret to inform you all that I have bad news for everyone. Within the next two weeks, Amagi Brilliant Park will close.”

Sighs of concession and mumbles could be heard everywhere.

“The reason is that we didn’t have enough guests visit the park this year. According to the contract, the rights to the park and land will be given to Amagi Development in the event that we fail to meet the annual guest quota for 5 consecutive years.”

The crowd fell silent. Of course, this was something everyone knew by now.

“The time has come. We have determined that it is impossible to gather enough visitors within this short a timeframe. As such…”

Latifa hesitated for a moment.

“…We will soon part ways with the park. I’ll do my best to find each of you a new place to work. Although there might be difficulties along the way…”

“Difficulties? Difficulties, pi!?” One of the ‘real’ cast members raised his voice. In turn, all eyes were on him.

The one who shouted was Wanipi, a reptilian mascot who worked in an area next to Sorcerers’ Hill named ‘Wild Valley’. Wanipi was not as adorable as Moffle and co., and his tongue stuck out from his elongated beak. His comical personality and scary face made him primarily popular among tourists.

“Latifa-sama! Difficulties, you say? I have close to zero popularity, pi! How can I build a reputation anywhere else!?”

“We don’t know for sure. If you work hard enough…”

“It’s no use, pi!”

Wanipi’s words spelled agony.

“I’ll just end up selling tissues at a train station, pi! And as people forget about me, I’ll lose animus and disappear, pi!”

Other people were getting worried as well, for they harbored the same concern as Wanipi. When the time came that people forgot about the fairies, they would be unable to return to Maple Land and eventually vanish.

“It’s not just me, pi! Everyone…everyone will disappear! We won’t even be able to go back home to enjoy our lives… It’s the end, we’re all doomed, pi!”

“Pull yourself together, fumo,” Moffle interrupted.

“Moffle…but…”

“How many years has it been since you came here?”

“T-Twelve years, pi.”

“If so, you’ve had plenty of chances, fumo. You failed to seize the opportunity to build a stable fan base when you were popular, so there’s no point in crying over spilt milk, fumo.”

“But…but…”

“Don’t worry about it, fumo. I’ll sell tissues with you. You’ve been on stage several times, haven’t you? If you work hard, there’s still a chance that you’ll become popular among the kids, fumo!”

Wanipi relaxed his shoulders, but disdainfully replied, “A chance…to be popular?”

“What about it?”

“Easy for you to say; you’re the park’s lead mascot, pi! With all that recognition, you’d have no problems finding a new theme park,pi!”

“Cut it out, fumo! I—”

“I know that you’re good friends with Mackey, the star of Dejima Land! You’d have no problems with connections like that!”

Mackey was a top-rated mascot in Dejima Land that everyone knew about, and one who wouldn’t be out of place at the Oscars in Hollywood.

“I said cut it out, fumo…!”

Moffle grabbed his scruff, controlling his own anger. Wanipi murmured in fear.

“Listen up. I’m no friend of Mackey; he’s just an old acquaintance. There’s no way I’m going to ask him for help, fumo! The next time you insult me, I’ll be sure to pluck out your scales one at a time until you apologize, fumo!”

“If that’s the case then why don’t you…ouch! It hurts, pi! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, pi!”

“Stop it, the two of you!”

Seeing that Moffle hurt Wanipi, who was writhing in pain, Macaron pulled the two of them apart.

“Quit embarrassing yourselves in front of Latifa-sama! You two should know that she’s the one who’s suffering the most, ron!”

Hearing that, Moffle turned around. There Latifa stood, downcast in silence. Despite knowing that Latifa was in the most pain, Moffle gave into anger and stirred up a commotion.

“…I’m really sorry, fumo.”

“It’s okay…”

Latifa gave a sorrowful smile, and gestured for Isuzu to lower her musket. It appeared that she was about to fire at the two of them for making a scene.

“But I don’t understand, mi.”

Tiramie, who had remained silent until now, spoke up.

“Why would you go through all this trouble just to tell us that?”

Latifa’s shoulders stiffened in response.

“That’s because today…the oracle’s chosen candidate has officially declined our request for help.”

“The candidate…for the manager?”

“Yes. We asked for help as sincerely as we could, but—”

“The fault lies with me,” Isuzu added before Latifa could continue. “Again, I overstepped my boundaries as a royal guard and used too much force when I approached the candidate. And probably because of that, he got angry and went home.”

It figures…

Everyone, including Moffle, made a similar remark. That was Isuzu’s personality, after all. Nonetheless, the oracle’s chosen one was nothing more than an ordinary human being. There was no way he could have done anything to save this park.

“I do not know if this was for better or worse. But regardless, he was the oracle’s final candidate, and now we’ve exhausted all our options.”

Isuzu sighed and bowed her head.

“It has finally come to this. I’m sorry for letting you down, everyone…”

What Isuzu did was admirable, but at the same time, everyone had thought that a mere human being would not be able to solve the problem. Rumors on what kind of person the candidate was had also spread.

However, the truth was that the oracle’s chosen one was nothing more than an ordinary high school student without even any experience in business. There was really nothing he could have done.

“I regret to say this, but…” Latifa continued, “Ever since moving here, we’ve been facing a shortage in funds. There is nothing more I can offer apart from a sincere apology.”

Nobody was blaming her for this. The atmosphere around the sky garden became grim. Having lost all hope, the real cast members could only accept their tragic fate. Everyone was either lowering their heads, looking up at the sky or weeping.

“I’m sorry, everyone… I’m really sorry…”

With that, Latifa ended her announcement.

No matter how depressed they felt or how much they lamented, their fate would not change. Everyone realized that fact, and as they were about to dismiss themselves—

“Isn’t it too early for an apology?” shouted a stranger.

The one who just entered the sky garden was none other than Kanie Seiya.