Amagi Brilliant Park: Volume 3 (Premium)

by Shouji Gatou

  That’s when she decided to rub it in. “You don’t mean any of it! You can’t fool me! Do you even understand the concept of romance?!” Terano stamped her foot down in front of him, with the force one might use to crush someone’s head. The dust cloud kicked up from her toes landed on the crown of Moffle’s bodysuit.

  He may have looked like Seiya now, but still, he had reached the limits of what he could take. “Don’t push your luck, little girl!”

  “Ah...” Terano cried out in surprise.

  He swept Terano’s legs out from under her and stood up, then started screaming at the fallen girl. “I can take all your nonsense about memories and innocence! But a child like you, talking about love?! Don’t make me laugh, fumo!”

  “General, calm down,” Isuzu said.

  “Shut up! I’m telling her off, fumo!”

  This time it was Isuzu who had tried to do the restraining, but Moffle brushed her off and laid into the dumbstruck girls. “All this talk about pain, just to serve your high school clique nonsense... what do you people think life is, fumo?! ‘Ooh, look how mad I can get on Tsuchida-san’s behalf! I’m so cool!’ Cut. The. Crap!!!!” As Moffle screamed, he lashed his arms forward, unleashing a sonic boom that cut a nearby tree into three parts. He’d never used a move like that before, but apparently his sheer rage had made it possible. Well, anyone could do that if they got angry enough. “You’re all just playing at love anyway, fumo!”

  “Hey!” the girls objected.

  “The true pain and agony of love—how could you understand it, fumo?! You can’t! Think... watching the woman you’ve loved for a decade go off on her honeymoon with a man that you hate! Do you know how that feels?! It’s torture! It’s pain beyond imagining! But you have to endure it! No matter how much it hurts, you can’t tell anyone! You bear it for another dozen years! Then the girl you love tells you ‘take care of my daughter!’ Do you understand how that makes a man feel?! No, I don’t think you do, fumo!” He ranted on and on, turning the blame back on them as the girls just stood there in stunned silence.

  “Are you talking about the princess?” Isuzu asked him, which snapped Moffle back to his senses.

  “Sh-Shut up! That’s a hypothetical! I’m just making a point, fumo!” He wasn’t quite sure what he was saying himself, but one way or another, he wasn’t going to go along with this farce any longer. “You little girls! If you want to make Seiya a villain, go ahead and do it! No one cares about Seiya! But let me give you one word of warning: you’ll never marry a good man, and that’s for sure! Remember my words in twenty years and bite your tongues off in misery!”

  His abuse had certainly gone too far. On top of that, he’d forgotten any pretense of the role he was playing, causing the girls to become confused and angry. “What is he talking about?” “It’s so gross,” they whispered to each other. At the very least, there were no signs that it had inspired any regret or sympathy in them.

  Behind him, Isuzu said in a gloomy voice, “It’s all over...” There was vanishingly small chance of ever restoring Seiya’s reputation at school now.

  “Yes... I think we’re done here. You’ve made it perfectly clear that you’re absolute trash.” Looking disgusted, the girls turned to leave. But it was just then that a new student arrived.

  “Ah, excuse me! Could you wait a minute?” the boy called out.

  It was a boy in his second year whom Moffle didn’t recognize. Isuzu did seem to recognize him, although only superficially.

  “Kimura-kun? I thought you were staying home today,” Terano said.

  The boy—Kimura something, apparently—came running up to them. He arrived next to Moffle (Seiya) and stopped, shoulders heaving. “Well... I realized things might be getting a little crazy here... so I changed my mind and came to school earlier. Then I overheard the confrontation...” After catching his breath, Kimura faced the group, put his hands together and bowed down low. “I’m sorry, all of you!”

  “Wait. Why are you apologizing, Kimura-kun?” Terano asked.

  “Kanie, he... he... he did all this crazy stuff for me!” Kimura claimed.

  “Huh?”

  “All those weird things he said, all the passes he made at those girls... he was trying to get Tsuchida-san to hate him, to get things back to normal,” Kimura explained. “Isn’t that right, Kanie?”

  Moffle stared for a moment, dumbstruck as the question was turned to him. “Fumo? Um...”

  “Isn’t that right, Kanie?” Kimura asked again.

  “Ah... yeah,” Moffle agreed. “Well...”

  “I’m really sorry. Things just got out of control.” Kimura let out a sigh and put a hand on Moffle’s shoulder. “Two nights ago, I had a conversation with Kanie. It seemed like Tsuchida-san had stopped having feelings for me. I didn’t know what to do, but Kanie said, ‘I just have to get her to hate me, then. Simple.’ But he went way too far, and now people are spreading awful rumors about him... Right, Terano?” Kimura glanced at her, and Terano averted her eyes awkwardly. Moffle was starting to get an idea of who it was who had spread those rumors.

  “But I’ve changed my mind,” Kimura continued. “It’s not okay to put that burden on Kanie, you know? It’s been hard on Tsuchida-san, too... So I’ve decided to forget the whole thing. I’m going to work on my own to become worthy of you, Tsuchida-san! So please, Terano...”

  “R-Right...” the girl said.

  “Just let this go, okay? I know I’ve made a lot of trouble for you, but...” Moffle didn’t know why it was, but Kimura’s words seemed strangely forceful.

  Terano had no reason to refuse his request, and this would preserve Tsuchida’s reputation, too. After a lot of ups and downs, it felt like things were finally resolving.

  “I... If you’re both all right with it, I won’t say anything else about it...” Terano agreed.

  “Thanks,” Kimura said sincerely. “How about you, Tsuchida-san?”

  “Huh? Oh... right,” said Tsuchida. “I... if you’re all right with it, Kimura-kun...”

  The two main parties involved had agreed, and in the end, Kimura bowed low to Moffle (Seiya) and Isuzu as well.

  “That should cover everything. Also Kanie, Sento... I know you guys are just coworkers, so I’m sorry for adding fuel to that weird misunderstanding!”

  After breathing, “I rushed down here, but I’m still feeling pretty sick,” and dashing away, Kimura moved to an emergency stairway a little ways away, and watched the rest unfold in secret.

  Though probably feeling a little disoriented over the problem being resolved so easily, the group of girls, Kanie Seiya, and Sento Isuzu all gave perfunctory apologies to each other, then dispersed to prepare for fifth period.

  “Whew. You think this will really calm things down?” Kimura groaned to the girl—Chujo Shiina—who had met him by the stairway.

  “Hmm... I don’t really know. But... your performance was excellent, Senpai,” Shiina complimented him.

  “Heh. Some things you never forget.” As he spoke, “Kimura” pulled off his head in a manner suggestive of a person pulling off a mask. The face beneath was that of Kanie Seiya. Slightly unnerved, he gazed at the “Gulley Bodysuit” he’d removed, a mask that resembled Kimura’s face. “It was a rush job, but I think it fooled them. I have to say, those Mogutes really know their stuff...”

  After learning everything, Seiya had commissioned them that morning, and they had turned it around in just two hours. They only needed to model a head rather than the full body, of course, but it was still an impressive rush job. Luckily, since they only had to make a head, they had just enough material to finish it.

  “It’s... a magic bodysuit, right?” Shiina asked. “I guess that explains why you’ve been acting so strangely these last few days... After everything I’ve been through, I’m not surprised by a whole lot anymore, but that one sure threw me for a loop...”

  “You certainly seem like an adaptable person, Chujo,” Seiya smiled maliciously, and Shiina averted her e
yes.

  “D-Don’t tease me...”

  “Anyway, thanks for all your help. I’d like to raise your wage, but... well, maybe someday. I’ll treat you to something later if you can make do with that.”

  “Ehm...” Her response was unenthusiastic. Of course, he couldn’t just raise her wage that easily; once he did, it would be tricky to lower it again, and he needed to be frugal with these things.

  It had been late last night when Seiya first realized that something was wrong. It had been a total coincidence—he’d had a few things he needed to confirm with Chujo Shiina regarding her CD recording schedule, so he’d given her a call. Her reactions to him had been unusual, so he’d pressed her for answers. In response, she mentioned something about him “flirting with some second-year girl.”

  He grilled Tiramii, who had been on duty that day, just before he went home. Then he talked to Macaron, who’d been on duty the day before, and everything fell into place. He’d thought about questioning Isuzu, too, but eventually decided against it; he could roughly guess what trouble she’d gotten into as his stand-in on the first day. But now he had to figure out what to do about it.

  He expected that he (or rather, Moffle) was probably going to get a grilling from Terano’s gang in the morning. It wasn’t hard to imagine how that might degrade his standing at school. It was true that he had no friends, but he didn’t want things to get even less comfortable than they were—and so, he’d come up with a plan.

  That morning, he met up with Kimura on the way to school and asked for his help. More specifically, he’d asked “what is the most embarrassing memory of your life?” and used his magic to read the answer. He’d felt a little bad about that, but he hadn’t had time to explain. He then used that information to blackmail Kimura into letting him take a few dozen pictures of his face, and also to take the day off from school.

  He sent the image files to the Mogute Clan members he’d asked to be on standby, and they immediately set to work making the Kimura mask. Just a few hours later, he’d been able to pick up the costume. Then he just managed to make it to school in time for lunch break. He got in touch with Shiina, whom he’d asked before to keep an eye on them for him, and she’d reported that they were behind the school. It seemed he’d just managed to make it there in time. Then, he’d spouted that made-up story, and the problem was resolved.

  “But I was wondering, Kanie-senpai...” Shiina said, hesitantly. “Why didn’t you tell Moffle-san and Isuzu-senpai that it was you? I thought that after the girls left, you’d take off the mask and really yell at them...”

  “I thought about it...” Seiya frowned. Of course he was mad about what his stand-ins had gotten up to while he was away; it was ridiculous for them to be so irresponsible just because it wasn’t their own lives on the line. But when he’d seen Moffle and Isuzu standing in front of that gang, desperately doing everything they could, he’d found he wasn’t mad anymore. To the contrary, he almost felt like he was the one who should apologize. “Well... they’ve been going out of their way to be my stand-ins,” he finally said. “I’m not actually in any position to be angry at them.” Seiya wasn’t just being polite; that was how he really felt.

  In response, Shiina fell silent. An expression came over her face that was somehow both sad and a little bit amused. “Senpai, seriously...”

  “...?” Seiya waited for her to continue.

  “You told me not to tell anyone, so I won’t...” Shiina said, “But you’re making me really want to tell Moffle-san and the others about this someday.”

  What are you talking about, kid? Seiya wondered. Did you even hear what I said? “What did I swear you to secrecy for, then?” he demanded. “Seriously, don’t tell.”

  “But it’s going to come out soon enough, right?” Shiina coaxed. “Macaron-san and Tiramii-san and the Mogute Clan already know about it.”

  “Hmm... I suppose it is only a matter of time,” he admitted. “But I don’t want anyone feeling indebted to me over this, particularly Sento and Moffle.”

  “Okay. I won’t tell anyone,” she promised. “Don’t worry.”

  “Really?” he asked. “I can count on you?”

  “Yes!”

  Why did she look so happy about it? Seiya thought about using his magic to peer into her mind, but then he remembered his “grenade rule,” and opted against it.

  ●

  That night...

  Isuzu stopped by the rooftop garden to report in. Just like the last few days, Seiya and Latifah were both there, chatting pleasantly. “Excuse me, Your Highness.”

  “Oh, Isuzu-san. I simply must tell you the funniest thing...” Latifah let out an elegant laugh. “It appears that Kanie-sama always puts half a bottle of strawberry jam on his pancakes. Do you really love strawberry jam that much?”

  “Hmm... I guess you could say it’s my favorite food. Is that strange?” Seiya tilted his head.

  “It certainly is,” Latifah told him. “How do you ever have enough jam to feed yourself?”

  “Hmm... I guess I do finish up a bottle every three days or so,” Seiya said. “But there’s a bargain sale at the nearby supermarket every now and then, so I always stock up when that happens...”

  “Then next time,” she promised, “I shall make the jam myself.”

  “Hey, that sounds great.”

  “It is easily done,” Latifah said dismissively. “Do you really prefer sweet things?”

  “Hmm... I guess I do prefer things on the sweeter side.”

  “Yes, I see.” She giggled.

  Isuzu rarely saw Latifah laugh this way. Still respectful, yet still truly enjoying herself, as if she were standing in a warm, gentle breeze—

  “Is it really that funny?” Seiya asked. “I think you’re the strange one...”

  Seiya, too... His expression, so gentle. Isuzu only ever saw him when he was neck-deep in work, which kept his profile always stern and serious.

  “So, what did you need?” he said, looking at Isuzu after a chuckle.

  “I’m here to pass on the stand-in job,” Isuzu told him. “You may have forgotten, but tomorrow is your day to go to school.”

  “Oh, that’s right. Did you have any problems?”

  “...No, I don’t believe so. Please enjoy your lonely school life in peace.” She found, abruptly, that there was an edge to her voice.

  Isuzu had been wondering all day how best to report the nonsense she had caused because of her blunder. Kimura’s appearance today had wrapped everything up neatly, but things could just as easily have plunged into disaster. Still, in that moment, she had lost her desire to report to him about it. Things had resolved, certainly, but they had taken a toll on her. Seeing him now, leisurely chatting with the princess about strawberry jam... why, she wondered, should she bow and scrape and apologize to him? She was angry. But at the same time, she felt guilty.

  “Hmm...” Seiya went silent for a while, a relaxed, amused smile on his face. Isuzu found something strangely disconcerting about the mannerism, but before she could speculate any further, he declared: “All right. Then please keep this up next week!”

  Even as she felt relief flood through her, Isuzu responded awkwardly. “If that is what you want, Kanie-kun...”

  “You bet it is. I can get all my credits and also hold a part-time job. It’s a real win-win! Heh heh,” Seiya laughed with a wicked smile.

  “Oh Kanie-sama, how silly you are... But you must not come crying to me if you fail to keep up with your studies,” Latifah chided him. She used a small gesture to encourage Isuzu to take a seat, then poured tea into a cup she had prepared.

  “Don’t worry. I’m smart,” he said.

  “It is not merely about academics; there is a moral issue at play. What you are doing is not unlike cheating. Of course, I would never dream of chastising you, but—” Latifah paused. Her hand holding the pot trembled, and hot water began to spill out. “I would never dream of... but...”

  “Your Highness?” Isuzu as
ked with alarm.

  “Latifah?” Seiya was concerned, too.

  Latifah dropped the tea pot and collapsed onto the table with a crash. The pot didn’t break, but hot water spilled out onto the mat and the coasters.

  “Hey!”

  “Your Highness!” Isuzu rushed to help her up, while Seiya sopped up the water with his napkin.

  “Forgive me... I am... fine...” Latifah said. Her breathing was shallow.

  “But...”

  “I really am fine. This is not... so unusual...” She was forcing herself to smile, which somehow made the situation even more painful. “I experience vertigo from time to time. My head begins swimming... and I go limp...”

  “You should lie down. Get her to that bench—no, her bedroom would be better,” Seiya decided. “Which way is it? I wish I knew this place better... Ah, dammit!”

  “This way,” Isuzu told him.

  They put Latifah to bed in the penthouse room near the rooftop garden. It was a simple bedroom that could be entered through a glass door on the upper terrace. Seiya had carried her, and Isuzu led the way.

  “Forgive me,” Latifah sighed. “I feel so... so ashamed...”

  “Don’t sweat it,” Seiya told her. “Just rest.”

  “Yes... I do believe... that I will.”

  Once she was settled in, Seiya suggested contacting the park infirmary, but there was no one staffing it at this time of night. He even recommended calling an ambulance, but Latifah repeatedly insisted that she was fine, and so he eventually relented.

  “I’ll watch over her,” Isuzu decided. “As a man, you should leave.”

  He couldn’t argue with Isuzu there. Seiya did as he was told and went back to the garden. Isuzu unbuttoned Latifah’s blouse to make her more comfortable, and eventually, the princess smiled sadly.

  “I’m sorry, Isuzu-san...”

  “Why apologize to me?” Isuzu asked. “It’s best to rest when the season is changing...”