Chapter 385: Amusement Parks are Irresistible (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 385: Amusement Parks are Irresistible (4)
“Hehe, this is so much fun! What about you, Dad?”
“Hmm? Oh, if my Luna is having fun, then Dad is happy too.”
“Dad? Is something wrong?”
“Ah, it’s really nothing. It’s gotten quite cold out, but there was a fly buzzing around. I just spaced out for a second. I’m okay now.”
As we stepped out of the haunted house together, memories flowed in from the clone I’d stationed nearby just in case. It seemed he’d handled things properly.
There was a scumbag who had been eyeing our group since the entrance while harboring some filthy thoughts. When I looked a bit deeper, it turned out he was a villain.
Some low-life trash was trying to ruin the rare break Luna and the girls were having.
He must have a death wish.
By the way, Luna had returned to her younger form. She seemed to have worn herself out from playing and was currently asking me to carry her.
Mhm, mhm. A child should know how to act spoiled.
Being able to act like this only works when you’re little, after all.
“Wow! That was so realistic! Everyone in there seemed like a pro.”
“I agree. Honestly, I was a bit worried since it hasn’t been that long since we returned from Hell, but that was more fun than I expected.”
Aside from Aisha, none of the others seemed particularly frightened.
Well, regardless of the original purpose of a haunted house, everyone enjoyed it while marveling at the high-quality makeup and the staff’s acting, so I suppose that’s all that matters.
“What should we ride next, Luna?”
Luna, who had been quietly staring at the map, held it out to me.
“Let’s ride what Dad wants to ride next.”
“Huh? What I want? I’m fine, though. Today is about me apologizing and asking for your forgiveness.”
“Even so. I’m not mad anymore, so let’s ride what Dad wants.”
Everyone looked at Luna with proud expressions at her words, but honestly, I was in a bit of a bind.
Even if she told me to pick a ride, there wasn’t really anything I particularly wanted to go on.
…To begin with, I’ve never really liked amusement parks.
How should I put it?
It’s not that I hate amusement parks themselves, but rather that I’ve made promises to go so many times, only for those promises to be broken every single time. It’s become a place I’m a bit reluctant to visit.
The very first time was likely back when I was very young, before I came to this world, when my mother promised to take me.
She told me that if I slept for just a hundred more nights and behaved myself, we would go. But I was abandoned on my birthday, before those hundred days could pass.
After that, I remember Professor Cathy promising that we’d all go together from the orphanage. But before she could keep that promise, she was caught in an accident and we were separated, so of course, that promise went unfulfilled too.
I tried to go with Seo-ha once as well, but at the time, she wasn’t in a position to travel far, so we never went.
The last time a promise was made to go to an amusement park was on my birthday… the day I went to the department store with my mother and the terror incident occurred. We had been talking about going to an amusement park next to celebrate her recovery.
…Even I have to admit, my life has been pretty tragic.
Anyway, that’s why even now, hearing the words ‘department store’ or ‘amusement park’ brings back memories of that day and sours my mood.
Come to think of it, in the past, my first thought would have been one of dislike, but this time, the thought didn’t even cross my mind until I actively tried to remember.
Is it because I finally got to meet my mother, or is it because I’ve found a bit of peace in my heart?
“Probably both.”
“Yes? What is?”
“Hmm, since our Luna was kind enough to yield, I was just thinking about what I want to ride the most~”
— Sky, if you went to an amusement park with Mom, where would you want to go?
— What do you want to do, Sky? Should we eat churros with Teacher? Churros! They’re sweet and delicious, right? Or do you like the rides better?
— …When I become independent, you’re going with me, okay? There’s that thing you’ve wanted to ride for a long time.
— So-hyun! Mom is healthy now, so let’s definitely go to the amusement park next time! Is there anything you want to try when we go?
The ride I wanted to go on was incredibly cliché and nothing special.
It was just that the scenery the protagonist looked at on the TV screen when I was a kid looked so beautiful. With that simple motivation, I had longed for something so trivial.
Well, looking back now, it’s nothing grand. If anything, the fact that I kept failing to ride something so minor probably just made me stubborn about it.
“I’m going to save what I want to ride for last, though. It’s prettier when the sun starts to set.”
“Really? Then let’s ride what Mom or the Unnies want to ride!”
“Shall we? But we should probably ride just one more thing before lunch, so let’s pick something light.”
“I agree! I’m all for something light…!”
Laughter broke out, centered around Aisha, who was frantically shouting her agreement.
At any rate, chatting happily like that, the place we headed to was the arcade.
“…Wait, an arcade at an amusement park?”
We can do this in the VR room back at the Academy, can’t we?
Granted, it’s hard to find retro-style arcades like this in this world, but the condition of the machines doesn’t look that great.
“I guess the only ones that look decent are the claw machines and the shooting games.”
“The claw machines probably have weak grips. Shall we try a light round of the shooting game?”
“Wow! Then let’s have the winner get a wish granted!”
“That sounds good. Instead of being mean and making the loser do it, how about the winner gets to pick whoever they want to grant the wish?”
“I’m in. I’m fairly confident in my marksmanship.”
Mhm. They all acted so confident that I almost fell for it, but unfortunately, I could see their inner thoughts.
I don’t know when they planned it, but it seemed they had all conspired to come here at least once.
‘This is merely a temporary alliance. Professor Cathy has great kinetic vision, but her long-range accuracy isn’t particularly high. My junior is going to owe me another one.’
That was Baek Seol.
‘Plum Blossom Sword Technique is a sword style, but it has many projectile-type techniques and requires heightened senses. This shouldn’t be a particularly disadvantageous condition.’
That was Master.
‘Hah! Do you think I’m a witch who calculates coordinates and fires predictive magic just for show? Shooting is my specialty. I even beat Cathy with double her score once!’
That was Professor Park A-ram, of course.
‘…It looks like everyone is aiming for So-hyun, so I have to do my best. Who knows what they’ll ask for as a wish?’
Even my Elder Sister was secretly using her word soul to boost her own skills.
It seemed everyone was desperate to win by any means necessary.
For the record, Ga-eul was even drawing on her demonic energy, and Ha-ni looked awkward since she wasn’t holding a sword, but she was trying her best in her own way.
And when it came to Cathy Noona, she took it a step further.
Clear Mirror Still Water—or should I call it a state of absolute stillness? She was completely motionless, except for her eyes, wrists, and fingers, pulling the trigger with brutal precision.
This is a bit unfair. Everyone is planning to make a wish of me.
Aside from Lee Yu-na, Lilac, Cheon Yu-hak, and Ju Ri-ra, no one was even playing casually for fun.
“Ugh…! Argh…! Wait, this can’t be happening…! I’m only on Stage 8…! Just let me fight with my fists…!!!! In reality, those teeth wouldn’t even scratch my armor…!”
Aisha was the first to become zombie food due to a reload error.
“Ah, oh? Is it because it’s not a sword?”
Master was the next victim. She held out well at first, but as she focused too hard, she seemed to forget that she was holding a gun and not a sword. She tried to perform a sword form and became zombie food on Stage 9.
“Ah, wa—! Wait! Time…! Time out…!”
Then Professor Park A-ram was out, having failed to account for the fact that, unlike mana arrows, the game’s gun had a limited magazine capacity.
“Ah, damn it, this is bull…!”
Ha-ni was disqualified after shooting a civilian NPC as a result of pushing her reflexes to the limit.
“What? How is anyone supposed to dodge this if they don’t know it’s coming…!”
And my Elder Sister was eliminated during a pattern where she had to accurately burst suddenly appearing circles in succession.
“Oh, dear. I made a mistake.”
Rose, who had been doing surprisingly well, was eliminated when her aim wavered.
Luna had said from the start that she was fine just watching since she was too short, so only three shooters remained.
Baek Seol, Cathy Noona, and—quite surprisingly, given the lineup—Ga-eul.
‘Everyone probably thought I’d be the first to be eliminated…! But I’ve played this game before…!’
Aha, so that’s how it was. Trust Ga-eul to be lucky in the strangest ways.
However, I suppose experience can’t suppress natural talent forever.
‘I’m starting to get the hang of it. It’s a battle of concentration. It’s a relief Ha-ru made a mistake early; it would have been dangerous if she’d found her rhythm too.’
‘I will win.’
Baek Seol and Cathy Noona were already completely immersed in the game.
‘It looks like a random pattern, but there are tells. They don’t always happen, and the cycle is more regular than I thought. It looks impossible, but if I stay calm, I can catch them all with my kinetic vision.’
‘I’m definitely winning.’
However, cruelly, the first elimination among the three happened for a very unfair reason.
She had clearly pulled the trigger, but no bullets came out of Baek Seol’s gun.
‘A mechanical failure!?’
This was something that should never happen to Baek Seol, who always perfectly maintained the tools and artifacts she used.
However, the machines here were old, and since there weren’t many visitors, they weren’t strictly managed.
So, it wouldn’t be strange for one or two of the machines to have a defect.
If this had been an early-stage mistake, Baek Seol would have covered for it perfectly.
But the stage Baek Seol had reached was Stage 19—a battlefield where even a single tick of error was fatal.
As a result, despite her efforts to endure, Baek Seol became zombie food.
“Ah, what a shame. I had a good wish in mind.”
Only two duelists remained: Cathy Noona and Ga-eul.
However, the one whose defeat was already certain was clear.
‘Wh-what…! Even I’ve never made it this far!? Professor, you said this was your first time! Liar! Hmph…!’
It looked like our cute Ga-eul would reach her limit first.
‘Win. Just one more. I will win. It’s mine. My wish. Don’t get in my way.’
…This is getting a bit scary.
She was definitely thinking of nothing but crushing Ga-eul right now, albeit unconsciously.
Stage 27.
She silently mowed down zombies, and her score climbed, but Ga-eul was increasingly backed into a corner.
Just as Ga-eul was about to fall into a tearful panic at her impending defeat…
Out of nowhere, the Goddess of Victory smiled upon Ga-eul.
“Excuse me.”
“Hmm? What is it, dear?”
The two of them were practically strangers.
Luna had spoken to my Elder Sister. Luna kept tilting her head while looking at her, then asked a very bizarre question.
“Are you my Aunt? My Mom? Or my Big Sis?”
In the middle of a match that everyone was watching with bated breath, the bomb Luna dropped was enough to completely shatter the concentration of not just those two, but everyone watching as well.
“Ah.”
“Oh.”
By a margin of exactly one tick, the screen showed that Cathy Noona had been hit before Ga-eul.
A result of pure luck.
Cathy Noona looked this way with a despairing yet complicated expression, while Ga-eul looked at Luna as if she were the Goddess of Victory herself, though she also seemed conflicted.
And my Elder Sister, who had frozen instantly upon hearing Luna’s question.
In that incredibly chaotic space, the first one to speak was my Sister.
“Wouldn’t… wouldn’t ‘Aunt’ be the most accurate…?”
“Hmm, really? All three seem about the same to me?”
…What on earth are you talking about, Luna? How are those three even remotely the same?
It was a shame I couldn’t see into Luna’s mind.
I was dying to know what her criteria for categorizing them were.
“A-anyway, since I’m first, the person I ask has to grant my wish, right!?”
“Huh? That’s not right.”
“Eh? Why? It is. I think I won?”
Ga-eul seemed to think I was just being mean, but unfortunately, I really wasn’t.
“I haven’t played yet.”
“Ah.”
That’s right. Because there weren’t enough machines, I had been watching with Luna.
Well, normally I’d just lose and grant a wish, but Luna was looking at me with expectant eyes.
“Luna, do you want Dad to win? Or do you want him to lose?”
“Yes! I want to see Dad look cool!”
“You heard her, right? I’m not going easy.”
“F-fine. But it’ll be hard! Stage 27 is almost the end; this game is really difficult!”
I know. It looked hard from watching.
But you know, Ga-eul.
“You never know until you try.”
“…Can’t we just call it a draw and grant each other’s wishes?”
“Ga-eul, there’s no such thing as a draw.”
Since everyone else was doping, it’s not cheating if I use my ‘Eye’ a little, right?
As the game started and I focused power into my eyes…
In a frozen world, I alone moved.
And a short while later.
Stage 31. Enemies annihilated. Clear.
Hits taken: 0. Total coins used: 1.
Those were the stats displayed on my screen.
“Luna. Look, I can put in initials since I set a record. Should I put Luna’s name?”
“Yes! Wow! Dad, you’re the best!”
“Mhm, if Luna is happy, then Dad is happy too!”
And it’s a bonus that I got a wish ticket, too.
“Th-this.”
And then.
“This is total BS!!!!!!”
With Ga-eul’s sorrowful cry, the morning schedule came to an end.
Goddess of Victory my foot. Ga-eul, victory is something you seize for yourself.