Volume 3 - CH 1.07

Part 7

Two hours later—

“I’m terribly sorry, (fumo/ron/mi)!”

Moffle-san and gang were kneeling in a parking lot behind a hostess club, apologizing in tears.

Isuzu-senpai had rushed all the way over here upon receiving my SOS by phone, half-butchered the mascots who had been flirting with the hostesses inside, and brought them out of the bar. She then thrust her musket at their faces and demanded a sincere apology.

The sight of the 3 mascots begging for mercy in a parking lot was a pitiful sight. It definitely wasn’t something you’d want to show to kids. Speaking of which, I didn’t want to look at this either…

“If you three were just bullying her at work, that’d be easy to settle… But what on earth were you guys thinking, bringing her to an adult only place like this!?”

Isuzu-senpai’s voice was full of killing intent. I guess she really was as scary as the mascots…

“B-But we didn’t make her drink any alcohol, mi!”

“Yeah! At least we were considerate, ron!”

Macaron-san and Tiramie-san were desperately trying to seek understanding for their deeds. To be honest, Macaron-san had actually said “Drink it, ron~ You know you want to!” but I’ll keep silent about it.

“That’s not the point! In the first place, Lord Moffle, why did you even let them do what they wanted? I never thought you’d do such a thing!”

“Mofu… My bad, fumo. I drank too much…”

Moffle-san’s voice sounded like he received a severe punishment from her as well. It was as if his back teeth (did he even have back teeth?) had literally bit a bullet.

“Hey newbie, I’m sorry for what we did to you tonight, fumo. You’d better be going…has the last train departed?”

“What do you think? It’s 1 in the morning.”

“Ah, you’re right, fumo. Here’s some money for a taxi, I hope it’s enough, fumo.”

Moffle-san brought out a wallet from seemingly nowhere and took out a few 1000-yen notes.

“Eh!? B-But I’ve never ridden a taxi before…”

Seeing me in panic, Isuzu-senpai stepped in and returned the notes.

“She doesn’t live far from here. I’ll walk her home.”

“O-Okay. Thanks, fumo.”

Moffle-san stood up, supported the wobbly Tiramie-san, and began to leave while struggling to maintain his balance.

“There’s a rehearsal for a performance tomorrow. Do you think you can make it?”

“Y-Yeah, we’ll be fine, fumo…”

“Mi… I wanna eat some ramen, mi. With lots of tonkotsu…”

“Give us a break, ron. You’ll definitely puke… Ugh…”

The 3 of them walked away. For some reason, I wasn’t angry as I watched them from behind, but felt bad instead.

“It must’ve been scary. I apologize for their actions.”

“I-It’s okay…”

I wasn’t able to say anything apart from those words, considering how she came to my rescue after receiving my plea for help. Of course, I won’t deny that this had been a scary and troubling experience, but now that I think of it—

—never mind, forget I said anything.

*

In the end, I decided that I’d continue working at Amaburi for a little longer. There was, however, a little change in my workplace. Isuzu-senpai had reassigned me to Macaron’s Music Theater, while Adachi Eiko-san moved into Moffle’s Sweet House. When asked, “…that’s because the two of you did not seem to be on good terms” was her explanation.

Despite my mental preparation to ask for a cancellation in reassignment, I couldn’t bring myself to do so. Besides, being separated from Moffle-san should make my life a lot easier.

Macaron-san’s working style was a lot more laid-back, making my time at Moffle’s Sweet House look even more like a nightmare. Hearing that I had stage fright, Macaron-san also did not give me any duties on stage. I was tasked to work behind the scenes, and I was finally able to be of use, for once.

While working backstage, I bumped into Moffle-san several times. He’d ask me how I was doing, and I’d reply with “I’m fine, thank you.” He’d then give an emotionless “I see” before leaving. For some reason, I could sense loneliness in his words. Then again, I could just be over-thinking things…

By the way, Kanie-senpai did not seem to care much about my existence, even until today. We’d cross paths occasionally at work, and he’d give nothing but a “Hey” before walking off. I guess that couldn’t be helped—Kanie-senpai always seemed so busy, to the extent where he even had to play truant from school.

As for the park, we’d been focusing a lot on the renovation of the attractions, recently. The mole-like mascots—called the Diggeries, or so I heard—were incredible; they managed to reconstruct infrastructure in a matter of days. Perhaps this was another one of the many magic powers that fairies from Maple Land possessed? (Even then, this was still a really big feat for the park, considering how the renovations costed a bomb, or so I heard…)

And so, while struggling to decide if I should resign or not, I somehow survived a full week at Amaburi.

However, things did not seem to be getting better at school because I reverted to my old self—unable to carry out a proper conversation, always getting bullied by my PE teacher, et cetera. Then again, it was unrealistic to expect my character to change in such a short period.

To couple with that, the feeling of “freshness” I had as a newcomer in Amaburi was starting wear off. I began to question why was I even working in the first place. I originally sought a part-time job in an attempt to change myself for the better, but from the looks of it, nothing much had changed—I rarely even got to speak with anyone in school, save the occasional chatting sessions I had with Isuzu-senpai. At work, I’d just be spending my time cleaning, carrying equipment, or checking the inventory in the storage.

During the preparation for Golden Week, work behind the scenes was a lot tougher than onstage. The renovation works and countless rehearsals worked every cast member to the bone. Even after hours, they had to help with the shifting of supplies and sound checks, which often continued past midnight.

I could tell things had gotten very bad when Isuzu-senpai started to skip school as well. Even if I did see her in school, she’d be dozing off by herself.

Thankfully, I wasn’t in their department, so I had a rather routine work schedule. It was so bland that I actually felt a greater sense of achievement during my first two days of suffering under Moffle-san’s supervision.

May was coming soon.

I got to work early on the last Saturday of April, thinking I’d finish work once and for all, and tender my resignation. I sent an email to Isuzu-senpai, asking to speak with her personally after work today.

*

It was the first day of Golden Week.

Everyone was busy throughout the morning. To be exact, they’d been busy ever since last night, working nonstop on the renovations and putting up flyers around the park. It looked like there would be a really big show later in the afternoon. They even said reporters from news stations would be coming down.

Despite the cast members’ prolonged suffering, they were told to “assemble in front of Maple Castle before opening hours.”

Maple Castle was located opposite of the entrance square. Contrary to what its name suggested, the castle wasn’t cute at all, and was more like a rugged fortress designed to fight off a Napolean invasion. A huge crowd had gathered at its entrance. There were a few hundred people, including part-timers like me, suit actors, and actual mascots. The speakers gave a brief howl before quieting down.

“Okay, looks like you’re all here. We’re short on time, so I’ll make this quick!”

The person standing on the huge stage and addressing the entire cast population was none other than Kanie-senpai. He was wearing a really cool suit that had a gold lanyard hooked to his shoulder. From this distance, I was barely able to make out the words on the band that was pinned to his sleeve. It read “Acting Manager.”

Him? The acting manager, and not just a group supervisor?

“So, today’s the first day of Golden Week; I’m pretty sure you’re all aware of how important this period is to our park! You could say our performance for this week will determine our future for the rest of the year! We’ve been doing our best in the preparation—a lot of our attractions have been renovated and revamped, and we’ve even secured a segment in the newspapers for our advertisements! We’re all set; all we need is for each and every one of you to give your best this week! You hear me!? Each and every one of you!”

There were some apathetic and emotionless cast members among the pack, but most of the people gathered today remained fixated on Kanie-senpai, especially the fairies from the “Realm of Magic.”

“Show me the fruits of your month’s worth of rehearsals and practices! Don’t make any mistakes! Entertain our guests with everything you’ve got! If you’re professionals, this should be nothing to you! Anyone who doesn’t feel like they can take the challenge, leave now! We have no need for wimps in our park!”

Kanie-senpai’s words came out harshly, as if he were a general preparing his men for a war. It was hard to understand why a cool person like him would use such threatening tactics. His speech even scared me stiff.

“But never forget…that there’s something even more important than everything I just said. You hear me? And that is—”

Just when everyone was eagerly awaiting the continuation, Kanie-senpai paused.

“—And that is to enjoy yourselves.”

Right when he finished his sentence, a mysterious silence enveloped the area. There were mixed reactions among the cast members—some were disappointed, while others nodded in agreement. Regardless, Kanie-senpai’s point was something that each cast member should have already known. People around me began to smile.

“And that’s all. …Everyone, time’s up. Let us enjoy the week we’ve worked so hard to prepare for! To your positions!”

We all cheered and clapped our hands, and left for our posts while others wolf-whistled. Everyone was hyped up!

“Seriously, that guy knows how to deal with his men, ron.”

Macaron-san mumbled to himself as he walked beside me.

“And there I was, getting all nervous for nothing, ron. Who would’ve thought Kanie-kun could fire us all up like this?”

“E-Erm, just what is his role in the park…?”

“He’s our savior, ron.”

On our way back to Macaron’s Music Theater, Macaron-san briefly walked me through the things that happened before I joined.

It turned out that Amagi Brilliant Park was supposed to have closed by March. However, Kanie-senpai—or Oracle, according to them—was invited to help manage the park. And through some miracle, they were allowed to continue operating here.

“Most of us screw around and cause trouble for him, but we respect the effort he’s put in to save us all, ron. That guy’s hiding some kind of power in him, I tell you.”

I honestly couldn’t believe his words. What could a loner in school have done that could save an entire theme park?

And compared to him, I’m just a—

No…comparing the two of us like this wasn’t accurate. Kanie-senpai might be a meanie, but he was certainly talented in ways I could only wish to be.

And thus, through my contemplation, I ended up being the only miserable one among the cast members.