Chapter 384: Amusement Parks are Irresistible (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 384: Amusement Parks are Irresistible (3)
The power of money, tasted for the first time in a long while, was incredibly sweet. Being the center of attention while entering through the Free Pass lane didn’t feel bad at all.
“Luna, you mustn’t lose your bracelet. You can’t go on the rides without it.”
“Yes!”
What? You think this is bad for a child’s upbringing? Our Luna is a polite girl, so it’s fine.
She even gave a deep, polite bow to the person checking tickets at the entrance.
“Hah, money really is great. This means we don’t have to wait in line for the rides either, right?”
“That’s the idea, but it doesn’t mean we own the place. It just means we wait significantly less than others. If there are other people using Free Passes, we’ll have to wait behind them.”
“Are there other people who use these besides us?”
“Doesn’t look like it today, but I’m sure there are sometimes.”
“Yeah, in my sister’s case, she basically lives at these kinds of amusement facilities,” Cheon Yu-hak added.
Cheon Yu-hak said that, but honestly, his sister is so wealthy that her personal assets alone—excluding the family fortune—make her a poor example of a ‘normal’ person.
“So, what are we riding first?”
At Luna’s question, her eyes sparkling with anticipation, two men stepped forward with absolute confidence.
“If there are no other plans, how about this? I’ve mapped out a route to visit every single ride with maximum efficiency.”
“Hey, do we really need to ride everything? I thought a route children would enjoy would be better. How about a safari tour followed by a path with lots of cute dolls?”
Silver Arm Cheon Yu-hak and Requiem’s Lilac, who had been relatively quiet lately, had apparently both come prepared with their own plans.
“While tastes may differ, since we’ve purchased Free Passes, it would be quite illogical to ignore the opportunity to achieve peak efficiency.”
“What does that matter when you’re trying to have fun? We’re not here to work. The zoo here is also top-notch, so it’s very popular with kids. You can touch small animals directly or even feed them.”
Both were presenting reasonable arguments and expressing confidence in their respective routes, but no matter how I looked at it, both were using amateurish methods.
If I had to pick, Lilac’s was slightly better, but the real answer was this.
“Luna.”
“Yes! Papa!”
“Look, Papa brought a map earlier. Let’s look at it and decide. Where do you want to go first?”
“Uh, um… there are so many, I’m not sure…”
“It’s okay. We have plenty of time, and if you want to play more, tomorrow is a holiday too, so we can just rest at the lodging. So, take your time and choose for yourself, Luna. Don’t feel pressured.”
There’s a certain joy in choosing for yourself.
When you’re young, you often have to follow where others lead and can’t go where you want. But children have their own thoughts and things they want to do.
We came here for Luna, so it’s only right to fulfill her wishes as much as possible.
“Then…”
Luna’s gaze was fixed on a ride where people spun around in giant cups.
It was a popular family ride. Safe, too.
“The Roller Coaster Hyper Express Hell Course. It says this one is the fastest!”
“…Huh?”
Ah, she wasn’t looking at the coffee cups, but the thing behind them? It was a pick quite different from my expectations, but if Luna liked it, I figured it would be fine…
“Um, Luna. Rides like that usually have a height restriction. Since you’re still little, you might not be able to ride it.”
“Oh…? Really?”
Normally she wouldn’t have missed it, but she must have been so excited that she didn’t see the warning sign. Seeing her face instantly turn somber was heartbreaking.
“It’s okay, Luna. It’s a height restriction, not an age restriction.”
“Pardon?”
People often forget, but among Sun Wukong’s Taoist arts, there are techniques of a very high level besides just Cloning and the Nimbus Cloud.
“Luna, could you close your eyes for a moment?”
That’s right—Transformation Art.
It’s a Taoist magic that allows one to change their form, excluding the tail and the Golden Hoop, and it appears quite frequently in the legends.
As Luna tightly closed her eyes upon my request, I shared some of my life force with her. Her body, enveloped in light, began to change little by little.
She grew from the appearance of an elementary schooler to that of a middle schooler in an instant.
“Oh? Uh? I got bigger!”
“Normally, I shouldn’t do this, but Papa is trying to make it up to you today. It’s only for a little while.”
“Wow…! Papa!”
Mm, our Luna is cute even when she’s grown up.
As I stroked the head of the Luna who had lunged into my arms, I felt warm gazes from the surroundings…
‘I’m jealous.’
‘I want to be treated like that too.’
‘It’s okay for now. For now.’
…Wait? Usually, they look on with such heartwarming expressions, so why are their inner thoughts like this?
Are they jealous? Of a child? No, maybe it’s not quite jealousy?
“Hehe, Papa! Let’s go, quick!”
Well, anyway, Luna looked happy as she laughed and held my hand, so I suppose that’s all that matters.
After riding two thrill-seeking attractions, including the roller coaster and a drop tower, most of the group was laughing, saying how fun it was.
Even Ga-eul, who is the most faint-hearted, was smiling and saying it was more fun than she expected. In truth, these weren’t built with Superhumans in mind, so few Superhumans would actually find them scary.
If they really wanted to, they could jump and land from similar heights on their own.
“O-Ohohoho! I-it was nothing. It was my f-first time, but it’s quite alright!?”
‘What is this? They enjoy this? Is everyone sane? You crazy thrill-addicts…! What if we fell! What if it derailed…!’
Ah, I was wrong. There was one person who had rarely felt pain and was surprisingly cowardly.
Aisha did not seem to handle thrill rides well.
“Hey.”
“Yes!? What! I’m perfectly fine!? Shall we go one more time!?”
“…No, Luna wants to ride something gentle next, so I was asking if you wanted to rest.”
“Pardon? Ho-ho! Rest? It might be a bit boring since it’s a ‘gentle’ ride, but if our Lady Luna wants to ride it, how could I possibly refuse!?”
‘Coffee cups. The coffee cups. You can squeeze five people into those if you try. I might have a chance…! More importantly, no more fast things! Gentle is the best!’
Sometimes I really can’t tell if she’s brave or a coward.
“…Is that so? Then let’s go. Luna, what did you say you wanted to ride this time?”
“The Haunted House!”
“…Excuse me?”
…Well, the Haunted House.
It’s not fast. And it’s technically ‘gentle,’ right? If you just think of them as ghost-type monsters, there’s nothing to be afraid of…
“Everyone, if you’re scared, you’re more than welcome to stay close to my side.”
‘I’m a pure tanker with only high physical resistance…! How am I supposed to beat a ghost…!’
…No, you’re not supposed to beat them. They aren’t real ghosts; they’re just Superhumans whose talents lie in that area.
Why do I assume they’re Superhumans?
In this world, a frightened Superhuman can cause accidents. Therefore, unless it’s an amusement park specifically for ordinary people, only Superhumans are allowed to work part-time in Haunted Houses.
The quality is also incomparable to mere makeup.
Anyway…
“Since Aisha says she’s fine with it, let’s head to the Haunted House next.”
“Yes!”
Luna’s wishes are more important than Aisha’s inner thoughts, right? If things get out of hand, I’ll just step in.
* * *
“…No, I’m asking why those punks get to go in without waiting in line!”
Meanwhile, as they were enjoying the park, a man was causing a scene at the Free Pass entrance.
“As I explained, those customers have purchased high-priced Free Passes…”
“Ah, so you’re discriminating against customers now? Those brats who look barely old enough to shave are skipping the line so rudely—does having money mean you don’t have to wait!?”
The employee guarding the entrance suppressed the urge to answer, ‘Yes, you hobo. Obviously,’ and instead attempted to explain again with a professional, full-faced smile.
“That is…”
Or rather, they were about to attempt it.
“Forget it. My mood is ruined.”
That was until the man glared at them and raised his arm.
Even those standing in other lines were frowning at his aggressive behavior, but he instead glared back at them threateningly.
“I’ve memorized the faces of every single one of you who just rolled your eyes. Be prepared.”
The employee, who had initially responded thinking he was just a difficult customer, moved quickly to subdue him. However, the man easily evaded the employee’s grasp and conjured flames in his outstretched hand.
“I was going to let this slide quietly! But you people never realize someone is being considerate until you get beaten half to death!”
Judging by the way he burst into laughter, it almost seemed as if he had wanted things to turn out this way. But because of the fireball held in his hand, no one dared to point that out.
The moment the condensed flame was fired and the employee was sent flying by the explosion, screams erupted from the other lines.
“It’s noisy, so shut up! You brat over there, stop crying! Do you have any idea who I am!?”
The villain, whose body was tinged red, shouted arrogantly.
“I’m a major terrorist with a bounty on my head! I’m still B-rank, but I’m about to be promoted to A-rank!”
At his words, people began to beg for their lives.
A B-rank villain is considered a veteran who has successfully carried out major acts of terrorism and survived. Furthermore, the talent he wielded—the flames—was indeed quite fierce.
Pyrokinesis.
As a talent for manipulating fire, its destructive power isn’t bad even at B-rank.
At the very least, ordinary people wouldn’t be able to resist until a hero arrived, and because a Superhuman was handling fire and explosions, it wouldn’t be easy to deal with him without causing collateral damage.
“You bastards. You should have played fair. Fair. I just came here for some pure fun, but you made me lose my temper by discriminating with your money~”
Even as he said that, he burst into laughter while stomping on the collapsed employee.
Being the sole focus of terrified gazes—this had always been his favorite thing.
Now, he would just grab a hostage, play around for a bit, and when the heroes arrived, he’d stage a hostage situation to make his escape.
He figured his bounty would increase once he hit A-rank. The only flaw was that the Association was being such a pain lately that he wasn’t sure if his rank would be updated properly.
‘Well, if the heroes are late, I can play longer, so I guess that’s a win.’
Just as he thought that and opened his eyes to enter the amusement park…
“Huh?”
He let out a confused sound as he saw a black shadow opening its maw toward him.
By the time he regained his senses, he couldn’t see anything and was unable to move. All he could do was listen to the sounds around him and try to deduce the situation.
“Thank you so much for your cooperation, Cadet.”
“Ah, no. I noticed his eyes looked a bit suspicious earlier. So I prepared just in case.”
“Still… you came here as a guest, and we’ve caused you such trouble.”
“Haha, we should help each other out. Instead, there’s almost no civilian damage, and I’ve already treated the injuries, so… could you perhaps delay the official report a bit?”
“It’s not a difficult request, but why?”
“He needs to be interrogated, but there’s a child who was really looking forward to today. I’d like her to enjoy the day without any incidents if possible.”
“But he’s a B-rank villain. If he happens to escape…”
“Pardon? This guy is B-rank? He must be bluffing. If he were a real B-rank, would a mere cadet like me have caught him so easily?”
“What? But his flames were quite fierce…”
“It looked like he was using an artifact to boost his power. I’ve already confiscated the artifact.”
“Aha…! I see. Then I’ll trust that you’ll keep him secure and leave it to you, Cadet.”
“Yes, thank you. Keep up the good work.”
…He had no idea what any of that meant, but it seemed he wouldn’t be handed over to the heroes immediately.
In that case, he just had to break this restraint somehow and escape…
“…Don’t be a nuisance, you piece of shit.”
…Huh?
What was that? It was definitely the same voice he had heard just a moment ago, but it sounded completely different.
It was like a difference in temperature.
Could this really be the same voice that was acting all friendly just seconds ago?
“Those eyes of yours were annoying me since the entrance. You finally went and caused trouble, didn’t you?”
“Mmph…! Mmph…!”
It was dangerous. He didn’t know why, but this was truly dangerous.
“Everyone’s in a good mood for once, so you should have just stayed curled up in a corner instead of interfering.”
No matter how frantically he struggled, the restraints didn’t budge; instead, they tightened even further.
“If everyone’s mood is ruined because of a piece of trash like you, are you going to take responsibility~?”
“Mmph…!!!!”
“Hmm? You piece of garbage.”
A sickening crack, crunch sound echoed, yet the strangeness was that he felt no pain.
“I’m allowed to summarily execute anyone from C-rank villain and up. And you said you were B-rank, right?”
“Hmph…!!!”
He wanted to at least shake his head, but his body wouldn’t move.
“No complaints, right?”
“Mmph…!”
“Chew him up well, Black Shadow. Hmm? You think he’ll taste bad? I’ll feed you something delicious soon. Haha, good boy.”
“Mmmmmm!!!!!!”
That was the last thing he heard while he still remained conscious.