"Hmm... We did come to the jet coaster, but..."
“The line is way too long.”
“Way, way too long.”
“The line is incredibly long. Does that mean it’s that popular?”
“I guess so. Roller coasters are usually the most popular ride in an amusement park.”
“Oh, sounds fun.”
“My heart’s pounding..."
『Are you okay~? Yoshino~? It’s super high~ and super fast~?』
“Yoshino, are you really all right?”
“Y-yes... I’m okay, yes.”
I was worried about Yoshino, but since she said she was fine, I trusted her and looked for the front of the line.
“How long is this thing if I can’t even see the end...”
But my efforts were in vain; I couldn’t see the front of the line at all.
I’d never seen a line this long in my life.
“Hi. Over here. There’s a sign saying the end of the line is here. Confirmed. It’ll take about 60 minutes from your current position until boarding.”
“Wow.”
At Yuzuru’s words that we’d have to wait 60 minutes, I let out an involuntary exclamation.
“We have to wait a whole hour...”
What a hopeless amount of time.
An entire hour. An hour!
Think of how much you can do in an hour!
“Shock. It seems like enough time to watch a short movie...”
“Hmm. Maybe it’d be better to give up.”
Honestly, with a wait that long, it might be better to just ride other attractions instead.
Still, this was supposedly the most popular ride. Was it really okay not to ride it even once?
“We came all this way, so let’s just wait the hour!”
“Ooh!”
So we decided to ride the jet coaster and lined up at the very back of the queue one by one.
*****
How much time had passed?
Just watching the line inch forward was making me restless.
Looking closely, the people waiting in line were all passing the time with their phones or handheld game consoles.
Maybe I should check my phone too?
As I was thinking that, I noticed Maria running around here and there, moving all over the place.
For some reason, she’d been moving her body around without ever stepping out of line.
“...Um, Maria, what have you been doing this whole time? Did you see something interesting?”
When I called out to Maria, she stopped moving and said,
“Human observation... would that be the right way to put it?”
“Human observation?”
“Yes. Age, gender, number of companions... observing the different behaviors is very interesting.”
“That does make sense.”
Right. People-watching.
Watching the people moving around you can be entertaining in its own way.
“Everyone who comes to this amusement park has a completely different background.”
“Well, sure. Families come together, friends come together, or couples. Everyone has a different way of enjoying themselves and a different way of waiting in line.”
That said, the fact that this place was a virtual space meant those people were all NPCs, which was still amazing.
Every movement and reaction looked exactly like the real thing.
I was once again impressed by [Ratatoskr]’s technology.
“That group over there is drawing lots.”
“Oh, they’re deciding who sits where on the jet coaster.”
Elsewhere, a group that looked like a family was checking their camera, while what looked like a couple was spending some sweet time together.
As I looked around like that, I spotted orange and blue off to the side, away from the line.
They were Yuzuru and Mana, each carrying food in their hands.
“Yuzuru?”
“Return. Sorry, Hai. We just got back.”
“No, never mind getting back—when did you even leave?”
“We stepped out of line a little while ago and stopped by the snack stand!”
Mana answered my question.
“Supplies. An hour is a long time, after all. I thought you might be getting hungry.”
As she said that, Yuzuru began handing out the food she’d brought for everyone.
Mana was also distributing the food she’d been carrying in both arms when the commander’s voice came from behind us.
“I finished making them!”
“Hm?”
Wondering what was going on now, I turned around and saw a container full of sticks in the commander’s hands.
“Kotori. What did you make?”
When Itsuka-kun asked, the commander hummed to herself and said proudly,
“Heh-heh~ After listening to those two talk, I made a lottery with Yoshino! Now we can decide what pairings to sit in~”
“W-well made, I think...”
It was a lottery made after hearing the conversation Maria and I had a little while ago.
Everyone looked at it with interest.
“Nice. Then let’s draw, shall we?”
The stick Itsuka-kun drew had the number 1 written on it.
“Oh, I’m number 1.”
“Then I’m next!”
The next turn was Kaguya’s.
“Oh! Number 3!”
What she drew was number 3.
And so, one by one, everyone drew lots, and I took the last remaining stick.
“Oh, so the seating combinations are...”
1. Itsuka-kun, me
2. Maria, Yoshino
3. Mana, Kaguya
4. the young lady, Yuzuru
5. Miku, Mayuri
6. Rinne, Tohka
That was how it turned out.
*****
After arranging everyone’s seats, we were supposed to go to our places and ride the jet coaster... but we couldn’t.
“I didn’t expect the seating arrangement to be like this...”
This roller coaster had a strange layout.
Or maybe unique was the better word?
One person sat in the very front, and three people rode behind them.
That meant Itsuka-kun ended up riding alone in the front, and I was seated between Yoshino and Maria.
“For some reason, I’m nervous.”
“M-me too...”
“It’ll be fine.”
As I soothed the two nervous girls, I felt the jet coaster carrying us begin to move slowly.
“This coaster is way slower than the one we saw earlier, isn’t it?”
That was what Maria said to me as the coaster climbed uphill.
I smiled and said to her,
“That’s how these rides start.”
The jet coaster was gradually approaching the summit.
“Now it’ll speed up.”
“...I see. So it’ll get faster little by little?”
“Haha, Maria. Are you ready?”
“Ready for what?”
Maria’s face said she had no idea what I was talking about.
She didn’t understand a word I was saying.
Well, seeing is believing.
It’d probably be easier to understand by experiencing it firsthand than by having it explained.
“Maria! It’s all going to hit at once!”
“At once...? What do you mea—”
As if cutting Maria off, the jet coaster, which had reached the top, suddenly plunged downward.
The view that had only shown the sky was instantly replaced by the amusement park spread out below, and the sensation of my body being hurled into the air washed over me.
“Aaaaaaah――!!!”
“H-Hai...”
Itsuka-kun’s scream from the front seat slammed into my ears, and Yoshino’s voice came from right beside me.
“Hehe. This is fun.”
“Kyah~ It’s scary, Mayuri!”
“Don’t sneakily hold my hand, Miku!”
“This is nothing!”
Everyone else seemed to be holding up pretty well.
“Kukukuku! Did you think mere wind like this could delight the princess of the wind?”
“Safety. If you talk too much, you’ll bite your tongue, Kaguya.”
Especially Kaguya and Yuzuru seemed used to it, since they controlled wind.
“Hai. Should I scream at times like this?”
At Maria’s strange question, I gave a simple answer.
“Aaaaaagh!!!”
With my scream, that is.
For the record, I’m actually not good with this kind of thing.
I’d been holding out until now, but I couldn’t keep the scream in anymore.
“Then... kyyaaaah!!!”
Maria said something like she was preparing herself, then let out a cute scream.
“Kyyaaaah!!!”
Maria screamed again.
“This is really fun!”
Before long, I could tell from her voice that she was genuinely enjoying herself.
“Y-yeahhh!!!”
I squeezed my eyes shut and yelled back at Maria.
“Kyyaaaah!!!”
“Nooo!!!”
“Heh, ngh! Haaahhh!!!”
“This is great! Great! Such wonderful wind!”
“Calm down. Keep that up and you might fall off, Kaguya.”
“O almighty Akarat, protect me with eternal light. O almighty Akarat, protect me with eternal light. O almighty Akarat, protect me with eternal light.”
Inside the jet coaster, which kept going up and down again and again, the screams, laughter, and prayers never stopped.
I’m the one praying here.
“S-save meeee!!!”
I shouldn’t have gotten on this thing!!!
“This is insanely fun!!!”
“Holy one! Holy one! This is fun!”
“How are all of you holding up so welllll!!!”
How are those people doing so well when this is probably their first time!
“We’re going down again!”
“Aaaagh!!!!”
That day, my screams echoed all across the amusement park.
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