Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: A Fun Amusement Park?
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Today was a special day.
The children were riding in Red's car, heading to a faraway place for a day of fun.
None of them complained or seemed tired.
On the contrary, their faces were filled with joy and anticipation, and for good reason—the place we were going was very special.
After leaving early in the morning and traveling for a long time, we finally entered that special place.
The children jumped up and down in excitement, letting out cheers.
“Amazing, this is amazing! It's full of incredible things.”
“There's a crowd of people over there. What could that be?”
“There are lots of people wearing masks, just like Lily.”
“Happy music is playing everywhere.”
It was a place that didn't fit in with the bleak city.
Cheerful music blared loudly, and the air buzzed with the energy of the crowd.
It was filled not with sorrow and despair, but with the sound of people's laughter.
A warm, vibrant atmosphere, rare in this barren world, dominated the scene.
In this place, a veritable paradise on earth, were various races, people in masks, and others in cute and comical mascot costumes.
It was bustling with people, and everyone, adult and child alike, wore a happy expression.
This place was an amusement park.
It was also known by other names, like a recreation ground or a theme park.
‘She found a good place. It must have been hard to find.’
In this day and age, amusement parks are hard to come by.
For two reasons.
Money and the environment.
The cost to build and maintain an amusement park would naturally be enormous, and that cost would have to be covered by the visitors. But people living in the outer city districts couldn't possibly have that kind of money.
In other words, it just wasn't profitable. I'd heard that entertainment facilities like amusement parks could only be found in the neighborhoods where the wealthy lived.
Furthermore, the outer districts had poor security, so one's life was always under threat.
Naturally, people had to be on edge every single day.
For those living in the outskirts, a moment of carelessness could lead to death, and relaxation was a luxury.
That's why I was inwardly surprised.
Not only was there an amusement park in an outer district, but the admission fee was also incredibly cheap.
According to Red, it was an amusement park sponsored by a famous, wealthy philanthropist for the people, and it opened irregularly throughout the year.
Red had heard it was opening and brought the children here just in time.
Hmm.
Acting charitably out of goodwill is a fine sentiment.
But I'm not so sure.
Just how rich would someone have to be to sponsor such an expensive facility?
Is it really out of pure intentions?
Something about it smelled fishy, but since Red vouched for the place, it should be fine.
“Kids, there are a lot of people, so make sure you stay close to me.”
"""Yeees!"""
Red looked at the pamphlet in her hand, and we all moved together.
Seeing the line for the ride, a slight shadow crossed Red's face.
I know the feeling.
The line was long.
Even if the ride could hold a lot of people and the line moved quickly, we would still have to wait a long time for our turn.
Ahaha.
I'd forgotten that an amusement park is a time for fun, but also a time for patience.
But to get on the rides, one must endure the pain of waiting.
While we waited, the children didn't whine about it being difficult.
There wasn't a trace of exhaustion on their faces.
They'd be chatting amongst themselves about which ride to go on next.
Then, hearing the excited screams from the ride we were waiting for, they would whip their heads around, their eyes sparkling.
The way they watched with their mouths half-open, it was clear they found it fascinating.
When people got off the ride with happy faces.
The children would fidget with anticipation and excitement.
I found the waiting tedious, but for the children, even the waiting seemed to be part of the fun.
I was so pleased by the sight of them that I let out a faint smile behind my mask.
Tap, tap.
“Look over there, people are dancing.”
Where Lena pointed, a performance was underway.
People in various masks were dancing to the music.
They moved their hands and feet gracefully, showing off dazzling moves.
The people watching the performance were clapping along, enjoying it with them.
Lena swayed her shoulders to the lively atmosphere.
I chuckled and observed the faces of the people around us.
It was completely different from the outside.
In the barren city, people's faces were endlessly gloomy. Their eyes, too, were lifeless.
Everyone was worn out by their harsh lives, clinging to a life of mere survival.
But everyone here looked happy.
The cheerful songs, the fun rides, the festival-like atmosphere—everything here had lit a fire in people's darkened hearts.
Happiness overflowed, making the streets seem to shine.
For as long as they were here, everyone forgot their terrible lives and savored their happiness.
It wasn't a bad sight at all.
Seeing things like this makes me feel that even this godforsaken world is still worth living in.
Yes. There should at least be places like this where you can breathe.
“It's our turn now!”
It seemed our turn had come while I was looking around.
We all sat down and fastened our seatbelts.
The children's eyes were full of anticipation.
The signal sounded, and the ride began to move.
The children burst out in joyful screams.
The ride stopped, and the children got off with satisfied looks on their faces.
They looked at each other, exchanging glances.
And then they shouted in unison.
"""That was fun!"""
The excited children couldn't seem to calm down.
“I want to ride it again.”
“Let's hurry and go to the next one!”
The children grabbed both of Red's arms, trying to drag her to the next destination.
At their enthusiastic attitude, a faint smile graced Red's lips, and she walked on with the children.
This wasn't the end.
It was time to enjoy the amusement park in earnest.
*
We rode the bumper cars, expertly turning the wheel and crashing into others.
There were no teams in bumper cars, but a strange current flowed as they all fought over me.
“Don't touch Lily!”
“You're the ones who should back off!”
‘Um, excuse me...’
We rode a boat that moved along a current, a ride that explored a dark cave.
Faint, small lights illuminated the darkness as we went deeper inside.
In the seemingly endless darkness, everyone was tense. Suddenly, a mechanical figure popped out, and they all screamed and clung to me tightly.
“Eek!”
“Waaah! What is that?!”
‘Whoa! I can't breathe!’
We rode the carousel.
The children, riding the spinning horses, waved at Red, who was standing on the ground.
I followed the children's lead and waved to Red as well.
Red returned the excited children's greetings with a bright smile.
“Red, over here!”
“Red-!”
‘Haha...’
After riding a few more rides, it was soon lunchtime.
We decided to eat at a restaurant inside the park, and surprisingly, the prices were cheap.
The problem was that the food matched the price—the portion size, the presentation, and most importantly, the taste were all just so-so.
It was, quite literally, an honest establishment.
After leaving the restaurant, Red bought us snacks to satisfy our still-wanting mouths.
Since we came all this way, we couldn't just skip the snacks they sold here, could we?
Cotton candy, churros, hot dogs—snacks that were a rare sight.
Of course, it was all synthetic food, but they did a decent job of mimicking the taste.
The children looked happier eating the snacks than they did eating their meal at the restaurant.
Nom nom.
While deciding which ride to go on next, we saw an arcade.
The children seemed interested. Naturally, unable to contain their curiosity, they headed over.
The arcade had games you'd expect to see at a festival.
From ordinary games to games where you could pay a little money to win a prize.
“Want to give it a try?”
Red encouraged the children to play a game.
The children looked at each other, then nodded.
The game was simple.
There were moving targets, and you had to throw a ball to hit them.
The farther the target you hit, the higher your score, and you received a prize based on your points.
The game was divided into a kids' version and an adults' version.
The kids' version had a ton of extravagant prizes, while the adults' version had more ordinary ones.
I looked at the game stall and let out a small, wry laugh.
‘They rigged the machine.’
The adults' version was fine.
The problem was the kids' version.
The kids' version had some kind of device in it.
Simply put, they'd rigged it so you couldn't get a high score.
Indeed, whenever the children tried for a high score by aiming at the distant targets...
...a strange gust of wind would blow, or the target's movement would change slightly, causing them to miss every time.
“Damn. So close.”
“Ah, I almost had it.”
Seeing Red's furrowed brow, it seemed she had noticed something was off.
It was an unfair game from the start.
Meaning, we should complain to the owner, but there was no need to ruin the fun atmosphere.
But it felt wrong to just let it go.
If the game isn't fair, you just have to flip the board.
I had originally planned to just watch, but I stepped forward.
I picked up a ball and threw it at a distant target.
The ball flew in a straight line and struck the faraway target.
“Huh?”
The owner's eyes widened, clearly not expecting that.
The children, on the other hand...
“She hit it!”
“Amazing!”
Spurred on by the children's cheers, I kept throwing.
Naturally, I hit the farthest targets every time and got the highest score.
The first-place prize.
The owner forced a smile and reluctantly handed over the prize.
I could see the vein in his temple twitching.
Hehe.
This isn't the end.
I asked Red to pay for another round.
I played the game again and, once more, easily got the highest score.
I received another prize.
Hmm. Still feels like something's missing.
I kept asking Red to pay as many times as she would, and in doing so, I cleaned out all the first-place prizes.
After getting sufficient revenge for the children...
I flashed a V-sign with my fingers at them.
The children burst into cheers and crowded around me.
I could almost hear the owner crying on the inside.
He shouldn't have rigged the game.
I got revenge, won prizes, and became a hero to the children. It was a very satisfying game.
*
We rode the rides, played the games.
As the children were happily wandering through the park, a commotion broke out somewhere.
Unlike the cheerful music, it was a noise that brought chaos.
A beastman was causing a disturbance.
He had a nervous, frightened look on his face.
The beastman shouted loudly enough for everyone to hear.
“I've been to this amusement park before! If you stay here, you'll all die!!”
The beastman repeated only those words.
Many people seemed very uncomfortable with the beastman's behavior.
Who would appreciate someone saying things like that while they're trying to have fun?
Unable to tolerate the beastman's rampage, someone stepped forward.
“What are you talking about, you crazy mutt!”
“You have to believe me!”
“If what you say is true, then why are you still alive! And huh? If you knew you were going to die, why would you come back here?”
Just then, a security robot rushed over and dragged away the disruptive beastman.
Even as he was being dragged away, the beastman kept repeating the same words.
His words were extremely unsettling.