Volume 1 - CH 1.1

Part 1

It was Sunday.

They’d planned to meet up at Amagi Station on the Kyoto line. Seiya was standing by a police post, lost deep in thought, when an officer approached him.

“Is something the matter?”

“Not really…”

Seiya shook his head. Assuming he did decide to tell the truth—

“Actually, I’m being forced to go on a date with a musket-wielding student. No, really, a musket. Looks like it came straight out ofThe Three Musketeers. It’s a pretty popular weapon that’s been used by mahou shoujo recently. Would you please arrest her?”

There’s no way he’d buy that.

In addition to the officer, Seiya had considered seeking help from his teachers and parents, yet every single time he had arrived at that same conclusion.

“…Huh?”

The police officer looked perplexed. Things were starting to look awkward, so Seiya retreated to a neighboring convenience store.

He took a brief look at his reflection in the glass. Handsome, as always. His clothing choice, though minimalistic, accentuated his slender build; a dark jacket draped over a plain white V-neck, coupled with a pair of dark-blue pants. These were complemented with a pair of piercing eyes that were shaded by a fastidious hairdo. If anything, it made him look sharp.

Spicing things up with a pinch of elegance and talent created the perfect aphrodisiac. Just splendid! He’d fall for himself any day of the week. Being a heartthrob with excellent grades in school, it wouldn’t be strange for a girl he’d never spoken with to ask him out on a date.

…The only problem being that it wasn’t an invitation, but a threat.

As he’d thought, that girl must be one of those people. You know, a yandere. Loving and gentle on the surface, these vile, overly-attached beings often used lethal violence as an outlet of their affection.

Wait, hold on a sec.

I’d understand if she used a normal weapon like a fruit knife or an ice pick. For her to brandish a damned musket scares the hell out of me. Speaking of which, just where did she draw that gun from? I could have sworn I saw her empty-handed as she approached. And just as soon as I had asked “What do you want?”, her musket seemed to appear from out of nowhere. Now that’s something I have to find out…

“Sorry for the wait.”

“Whoa!!”

Seiya nearly jumped out of his skin. He quickly turned around to face her, only to be taken aback once more.

Isuzu was wearing a casual outfit, yet her appearance was still supremely dazzling. More importantly, she did not seem to be carrying her weapon. That alone was enough to surprise Seiya.

“Let’s go,” Isuzu said in her usual emotionless tone.

“Where to?”

“Amaburi.”

“Eh?”

“Amaburi. Short for Amagi Brilliant Park.”

Amagi Brilliant Park—an old theme park located 10 minutes from the train station.

“Our bus will depart from the second terminal. Follow me.”

Seiya tried to stop Isuzu.

“Hey, hold on!”

“There’s no time to waste.”

“I said hold on! Just why are we going to that amusement park, anyway?”

“It’s a theme park, not an amusement park.”

“Whatever. Before that, perhaps you should explain why I have to follow a complete stranger to some shady theme park?”

“Shady…”

With a swift maneuver, Isuzu drew the musket from under her skirt, spinning it in a 260-degree arc before pointing it between Seiya’s eyebrows.

Nearby, a mother and her child froze in shock.

“Mom, look at that! That girl’s wearing blue-striped panties! Basic equipment!”

Upon hearing that, the mother covered the child’s mouth and said, “Shh! Be a gentleman and pretend you’re not looking!”

Seiya stood rooted in a defensive stance, unable to verify the kid’s claim. Children seemed to be getting bolder these days, having the guts to spout things like that. But he had more important things to worry about right now.

“Why are you mad?” Seiya asked.

“…”

“You’re clearly hiding something from me. There are many things I’d like an explanation for, such as how you draw your musket and whatnot.”

“Let’s go.”

He was ignored.

Isuzu withdrew her weapon in a manner similar to before, and headed for the terminal.

*

There had to be a reason why this theme park was located in a commuter town in eastern Tokyo.

Amagi Brilliant Park. Just who in their right mind came up with a name like that, anyway?

Amagi Brilliant Park (Amaburi) was an amusement park (or theme park, according to Isuzu) built during the ‘80s on the heels of Japan’s three-decade long ‘Economic Miracle’. Back then, it was trendy for young delinquents to get pompadour haircuts, and for idols to sport mushroom-like hairstyles. In this day and age, it’s no wonder why Amaburi received atrocious reviews compared to the other world-class theme parks.

Some call it, “the strange legacy of Japan’s bubble economy.” Others call it, “a couple’s nightmare.” The rest simply label it as, “trash.” And recently, residents of eastern Tokyo have regarded ‘Amaburi’ as the definition of a bad dating spot.

Seiya had a vague memory of visiting the place with someone when he was younger, though he had completely forgotten who that person was.

5 minutes into their journey they arrived at a hilly road covered with fallen leaves. As they moved further away from the residential areas, a large castle colored in pastel-blue came in view. That’s pretty impressive. He’d expected it to be a run-down facility given its age, but some serious thought must have been put into this place. Even the paint job was well done.

The bus was approaching the entrance of the castle.

“The next stop is ‘Amagi Brilliant Park’, please press the—”

As Seiya reached out, Isuzu tugged on his shirt.

“What’s up?”

“It’s the stop after this.”

“Wasn’t that castle the main entrance to the park?”

“That’s—” Isuzu muttered, but her voice was drowned out by the rev of the engine.

“I can’t hear you.”

“That’s a—”

“Like I said, I can’t hear what you’re saying!”

Isuzu moved closer, and with a reluctant expression, she took a deep breath.

“That’s a love hotel. It has nothing to do with the theme park.”

“I-Is that so…”

“It’s a common misunderstanding. Amaburi’s the next stop. That stop used to be the entrance to the park, but it moved about 10 years ago during a renovation. And the love hotel was built on…the leftover land.”

Upon closer examination, there was a sign saying ‘Hotel Alamo’, and an electric notice board next to the sign showed that there were ‘Rooms Available’.

‘Alamo’…? Such a stupid name! The Alamo wasn’t a castle, but a fort. It used to be a key defensive structure during the war between Texas and Mexico—a bloody battleground! Definitely not a place for maidens in fairy-tales to dance with glass shoes!

Talk about misleading! How are they going to repay their customers for the confusion they’ve caused?

Seiya’s heart was about to burst from anger, but he suppressed it and calmly replied, “How deceiving. Shouldn’t they have renamed the bus stop by now?”

“A request was submitted a while back, but was put off due to various reasons. All this causing their guests to get off the bus by mistake, and having to walk their way to the real entrance…”

“Guests?”

“Most theme parks call their visitors ‘guests’, and their staff members make up the ‘‘cast’’. Keep that in mind.”

“Oh really? You seem to have some strangely specific knowledge of this matter.”

Isuzu kept quiet, ignoring the statement once again.

After passing the hotel, they arrived at the next stop, ‘Nishifutomaru’, probably named after the residence nearby.

“We’ve arrived.”

Following that, Isuzu and Seiya got off the bus.

After they walked about 80 metres up a gentle slope, the main entrance came into view. Cracks webbed the road leading up to the deserted gate. Though a rusty signboard read ‘“Welcome to Amagi Brilliant Park, the Land of Dreams!’,” he didn’t feel welcome at all.

How should I put this…? It gives the impression that I’m being served half-assed food by a retiring old chef. To be honest, that love hotel deserved the title of ‘The Land of Dreams’ more.

Isuzu produced her admission ticket and entered the park. Seiya followed suit, and took a step in.

In front of him was a plaza with a fountain in the center.

“…”

Everything seemed normal, save the fact that there was no water flowing from the fountain. In fact, the fountain was dry enough to kill the moss growing inside.

There was a huge citadel straight ahead, not too far from them. Unlike the ‘castle’ earlier, it looked rugged. Like it was built to resemble Jerusalem, designed to combat any invading pagan troops. On top of that, their Sunday crowd, when theme parks should be at their liveliest, was pathetic. Putting aside the fact that Seiya didn’t frequent theme parks, this was the first time he’d seen a place this sparsely populated in his life.

Cleanliness didn’t seem to rank too high in their priority lists, either.

“There’s garbage everywhere…” Seiya muttered.

Isuzu looked back, and asked, “Where shall we start?”

As she turned, her skirt swayed a little. It was only for a brief moment, but right then, Seiya felt like he was actually on a date.

“You’re the one who brought me here, so you call the shots,” Seiya said in an irritated tone.

Isuzu thought briefly and replied, “If that’s the case, let’s start with Sorcerers’ Hill.”

“Sorcerers’ Hill?”

“It’s one of the five areas in Amaburi, and where the mascots from Maple Land, the realm of magic, reside. A magical place, just like a fairy-tale.”

“But your expressionless face doesn’t give that impression at all.”

“Follow me.”

Isuzu walked north. According to the pamphlet, they were indeed headed to a place called ‘Sorcerers’ Hill’.

“Good grief…”

There wasn’t any trace of affection. Could this even be called a date? Seiya was finding it hard to believe that she was bringing him here for fun.

But if not for fun, then for what…? He couldn’t figure out her motives no matter how he tried. I guess I should just tag along for now—

In this shady theme park.