The Amusement Park and Party Bear

This may be a sudden question, but…

What, in all the world, has harmed the greatest number of people?

Animals, plants, tangible or intangible — nothing off the table.

Lions and tigers?

Mosquitoes?

Asbestos? Radiation?

Granted, those are all strong contenders. Strong enough to show up in the historical body-count statistics, even.

But there is one thing that outranks them all. No — one thing that swallows every last one of them whole.

A little creature called Surely Not.

This thing possesses a supernatural power more potent than any magic or mana — something closer to fate itself.

The moment Surely Not enters a sentence, that sentence becomes reality.

Surely I won't run into a lion on the street?

A lion that escaped from the zoo will maul you to death.

Surely I won't die from one little mosquito bite?

You will. Because that was no ordinary mosquito — it was an African dengue carrier that hitchhiked in on a cargo freighter.

"Uh… Unnie. Hehe."

And right now was no different.

I had only briefly thought, Surely she didn't put Yena inside the gate? — and reality answered.

I sat cross-legged with my arms folded.

In front of me, Yena was drenched in cold sweat. Whether from guilt or sheer confusion, she couldn't meet my eyes, her gaze skittering every which way.

So even this cheeky little girl was capable of panicking.

I started with a question.

"How did you get in here?"

No matter how distracted I'd been, there was no way I would have shoved someone through and not noticed.

And there was no way Yena could have slipped past me either. She was just an ordinary seven-year-old girl.

Yena answered.

"I got in the box…"

"The box?"

"I was curious what Unnie was doing, so I hid inside to scare you. Then it suddenly floated up and threw me in here."

"…"

That about covered it.

In hindsight, the fact that she'd actually gone off when I told her to "go play over there" had been suspicious from the start. This was a kid who normally stuck to my side like glue.

And seven-year-olds were nothing if not curious. Even if it hadn't been Yena, I'd been careless.

"Aigoo. Fine. It's not your fault."

But my heart was surprisingly calm.

Honestly, was this ever something that could stay hidden forever? Sooner or later, the amusement park gate would open on its own.

Watching how ordinary people reacted to this place might not be such a bad idea either.

First things first — I checked Yena over.

"Yena, come here."

For a non-mana-user to pass through a gate, complicated procedures were required. Force your way through without the proper safeguards and your body could be flung back out — or suffer serious internal and external injuries.

She looks fine, at least.

"Does anything hurt? Anything feel weird?"

"Nope. But Unnie."

"Hm?"

"Can I ride that?"

Yena pointed at the carousel.

Eyes sparkling with pure anticipation.

Looking at that face, I couldn't bring myself to say no.

We have to wait for my mana to recover anyway.

I'd forced the gate open while completely drained, so I was fully discharged. We were stuck here for at least a few dozen minutes.

If Yena could spend that time laughing instead of being scared, I'd be grateful. She seemed fine physically, so it should be okay.

"Alright. Let's ride."

In the end, I scooped Yena up and climbed onto the carousel with her.

She was grinning so hard I asked if she'd ever been to an amusement park before. She said she'd gone once, back when her dad was still around.

After that, her mom had been too busy. There'd been nowhere to go.

"I wanna come with Mom too. And I wish there were lots of people."

Oof.

Just hearing it made my chest ache.

No matter how well she put on a brave face, seven was still seven. Left alone at home without her mother, loneliness and emptiness were inevitable.

Sometimes you can hear the sadness inside a person's laugh. This was one of those times. Of course, Yena had said it without thinking.

And so, for the first time, I let myself imagine it.

This strange space filled with people, growing rich and lively. A paradise free of terrorist threats and monster worries — a place made just for kids like Yena.

…Not bad?

I didn't use this place much anyway.

It was so empty it depressed me just looking at it, and the slaughter scenes I'd seen in the game kept floating up unbidden.

But if people came in, that would change everything. Even just Yena alone was enough to make the air feel warmer.

"Want to try the other rides too?"

"Yeah!"

Besides the carousel, we tried the Ferris wheel, the teacups — all the gentler attractions. Surprisingly, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I found no safety issues.

Since the rides ran on the power of the world itself, there was no risk of the motors failing.

The only downside was that without staff, you couldn't stop a ride at will. Everything else was perfect.

If I stationed dolls around the park the way I'd seen in the game, this place would be even better. A lot less lonely, too.

True to any amusement park, time flew by in a blur.

Once we'd had a decent amount of fun, Yena asked me something.

"Hey, Unnie."

"Hm?"

"Do I have to keep coming here a secret too?"

"…"

I looked at her for a long moment, then answered.

"No. You don't have to."

"Party Bear Crafting!"

It had been a coincidence, but today's events had made something clear to me.

I could no longer live with my back turned to the world. If I'd never met Kang Jiye and her daughter, maybe. But now that we'd grown close, they were part of my life.

And the world they lived in had become part of me too.

Sitting on power like this and doing nothing is just plain stupid.

Looking back, I'd been far too full of worry.

Afraid of this, afraid of that — never leaving my room, never even starting. A shut-in life.

But the world is a jungle either way.

A wild place where predators and venomous snakes can leap out at any moment.

Sit still in one spot and you might be safe for a while. Eventually, though, something will get you — or you'll starve.

And if you've got a body like a bulldozer, shouldn't you be pushing forward?

I still hadn't figured out how to run the amusement park, or how to share it with anyone.

But one way or another, I intended to make a move before the gate forced itself open.

First, I needed to confirm whether the Party Bears would actually obey my commands.

"Craft one!"

I decided to make a single one as a test.

The moment I activated the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠skill, my hands moved on their own, kneading Mana Cloth and cotton together.

I thought it'd be sewing?

It felt more like working clay.

The cotton took rough shape first — a round face, little bear-ear accents on either side, then a torso and limbs forming below.

Once the cotton form was set, I layered Mana Cloth over it.

The silk-smooth fabric immediately sprouted a fuzzy nap on contact with the cotton, taking on the texture of a real teddy bear's fur.

If the cotton had been clay, this was more like rubber putty.

Once the bear shape fully settled, something wriggled across its face.

Pop. Pop.

Two doll eyes bulged into place.

Plonk.

A black nose formed.

And then…

Pat-pat.

It slipped free of my hands on its own, planted both feet on the ground, and stood. It looked around the amusement park this way and that, then flapped its arms and started wandering about.

It seemed pretty excited.

"Woooow!!!"

But the most excited one was, of course, Yena.

I'd told her to stay put until I finished crafting — but the second she saw the teddy bear walking around, she couldn't hold back the squeal.

At that moment, the Party Bear looked at Yena and drew a pair of steel needles, each about twenty centimeters long, from its hands.

Shing!

"…!"

I nearly jumped out of my skin and smacked the Party Bear upside the head.

Thwack!

"Eliminate, my foot. Put those away — now."

I pulled Yena into my arms and spoke firmly.

"This is a child you will protect with your life from now on. You will not harm her or put her in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠danger in any way. Understood?"

The Party Bear stared at Yena for a moment, then gave both arms a little shake.

Swoop!

The steel needles vanished back into its body.

It looked up at me and nodded.

Whew.

"Unnie! I wanna touch it!"

"Just wait a second."

I still couldn't fully relax.

This thing was a full-fledged monster. As the weakest creature in the amusement park, subduing it wouldn't be hard — but if it stabbed Yena right next to me, that would be a problem.

"Check Info."

…Oh ho. Not bad at all.

The monsters of the amusement park uniquely displayed a mood status.

Probably tied to the game's original design.

The shortest route through the amusement park involved tricking the toys into revealing Pecia's location, after all.

Back then, of course, there was no convenient status window like this — you had to read their moods from body language and facial expressions alone.

"Teddy!!"

Yena suddenly bolted forward and threw her arms around the Party Bear.

I flinched for a second, then forced myself to stay calm and watch. Its mood was still displaying as Friendly.

Thankfully, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Party Bear started gently patting Yena on the back.

Sturdier than I expected.

The Party Bear stood about a meter tall. Shorter than Yena by height alone, but built wide and plump.

Even with Yena flinging herself into it, its stance didn't budge.

Well — for a D-class monster, that was only natural.

I turned to Yena.

"Yena, want to keep that one?"

"Huh?"

"You can have it."

The corners of Yena's mouth stretched so wide they looked ready to split.

In the end, I only managed to craft about three Party Bears total.

I needed the remaining mana to get us back out through the gate.

I should probably buy some mana potions. And level up a bit while I'm at it.

Being inside the amusement park did speed up mana recovery somewhat, but it was still slow. Aside from opening and closing the gate, the mana I could actually use was extremely limited.

"…So you're saying you and Unnie went to an amusement park today?"

"Yeah!"

Kang Jiye wore a thoroughly bewildered expression.

The moment we got home, Yena had launched into an excited play-by-play, leaving her mother completely flummoxed. She'd probably thought it was just another campaign to get taken to a real amusement park.

But Yena's account was absurdly detailed.

Ask what she'd ridden, how she'd played — the answers came flying out without hesitation. Kang Jiye's brow furrowed tighter and tighter.

Eventually, while Yena had her face buried in tteokbokki, Kang Jiye mouthed a silent question at me.

Did she dream it?

"…"

I shook my head without a word.

This time she asked out loud.

"Then what?"

"Well…"

"Ah, wait! Mom! I made a new friend I wanna introduce!"

"A friend?"

Yena thundered into her bedroom and came back out, struggling to haul the Party Bear in her arms.

Kang Jiye let out a short, incredulous laugh.

"What on earth is that?"

"Teddy! You can call him Tori! Say hello!"

"Good grief… When did you even buy something like this?"

Kang Jiye stroked the Party Bear's head as she spoke.

"Hello? So you're my daughter's friend. Take good care of her."

At that, the Party Bear sprang up onto both feet and waved its right hand in a big, enthusiastic arc.

Kang Jiye's eyes went wide enough to split.