Ch.121Chapter 121

The amusement park was packed with people. From the moment we bought tickets until we entered, we had to face an enormous crowd. While staring blankly at the scene, I glanced to the side.

Sure enough, Ouroboros, who was seeing such a crowd for the first time, couldn’t take her eyes off the sight. While she had limited experience being around people in general, being mixed in with such a crowd was an entirely different experience, so she couldn’t help but enjoy just watching people.

But since we came to an amusement park, we couldn’t just watch people and go home. The goal of doing something, even if it meant waiting in line, grew stronger within me.

On my wrist was an all-day pass bracelet. The Professor, claiming she had become wealthy, confidently gave one to both me and Ouroboros. Since the Professor needed to accompany us as a guardian, we decided to think about what rides the three of us would try together.

I led the way with Ouroboros following. As I observed the scenery alongside Ouro, whose red eyes scanned everything around us, I pointed at something.

“Ouro, how about that?”

“You said this is your first time too, so how would you know what that is?”

“I have a pamphlet.”

“What is a pamphlet?”

I had grabbed a pamphlet at the entrance. It contained a map of the amusement park along with brief descriptions of the rides according to their locations. If you weren’t sure where to go or what to do first, opening this was the priority.

“Ahem.”

I opened the pamphlet wide with a smug voice.

Then I casually pointed with my finger, slowly guiding it to indicate the ride I had shown earlier.

“That’s called a Viking ship. When people get on, it swings back and forth like that.”

“…I see.”

Ouroboros nodded. When I glanced back at the Professor standing behind us, she nodded as well.

“Alright, shall we go there first?”

“Fine by me.”

“Let’s go!”

Ouroboros agreed with the Professor’s suggestion. Since we all decided to go, we headed straight there.

After getting in line and waiting for a bit, Ouroboros looked up at the giant ship swinging left and right.

She seemed a bit taken aback by the intense movement that couldn’t be experienced in everyday life. After hearing people screaming “Kyaaaa!” her gaze began to waver.

“…Professor, is that really okay?”

Since I was the one who suggested it first, Ouroboros judged it would be difficult to convince me otherwise, so she tugged slightly at the Professor’s sleeve and asked if this was really alright.

The Professor looked at it seriously with a “hmm” and then turned her head. While there were many rides scattered throughout the spacious area, not just in this section, we didn’t necessarily have to ride the Viking ship first.

“Ourr, may I see the pamphlet?”

“Yes.”

The Professor stood for a moment, reading through the pamphlet. While everything seemed fine, she didn’t want something too static.

It wasn’t about enjoying thrills so much as remembering how I hadn’t been able to move around at home during my bloated period. I wanted to be a bit more active.

I wanted an activity that would release my pent-up feelings. If it was too static, it would be no different from just going outside on a hot day.

“Then shall we start with something that moves slowly?”

“Slowly?”

When I asked that, the Professor showed the pamphlet to me and Ouroboros. The place the Professor’s finger pointed to was none other than the carousel.

I wondered if it would be fun. I worried it might be boring since it just spins around. However, since there was no point in standing in line if we weren’t going to ride the Viking ship right now, I just nodded and moved along.

After leaving the line and heading to where the carousel was, for some reason, the line was incredibly long.

“Huh…?”

“Wow, there are so many people…”

Contrary to my thoughts that it would be dull and boring, there was an enormous crowd. It wasn’t just children—there were even adult couples, which gave me a strange feeling.

I wondered why so many people gathered for something that just spins slowly. While I was staring for a long time, before I knew it, it was my turn.

I didn’t expect my turn to come so quickly. It felt like I hadn’t noticed because I was just mindlessly watching. The moment I opened my eyes wide, the Professor put me on a horse and then got on behind me with Ouroboros.

For a moment, I wondered why the Professor wasn’t riding with me, but then I realized it was because of Ouroboros.

But that was fine. I was an adult and a senior, so it was natural to make this kind of concession.

I bounced up and down on the horse. After finding a comfortable position, I firmly gripped the fixed pole with both hands and turned my head. Outside the carousel, people waiting their turn were crowded together, and on the opposite side, the Professor and Ouroboros were adjusting their posture, finally settling in.

By the time everyone was seated, an employee’s voice came through the speakers, and we slowly began to move forward. Though “forward” just meant spinning around like a microwave.

At least I felt like I was moving forward. The speed wasn’t completely nonexistent, so I felt the gentle breeze on my face as we moved. At the same time, the up-and-down motion of the horse made me feel even better.

Up and down. While spinning around and feeling like we were moving forward, I closed my eyes and tilted my head back slightly.

“Ourr! Sit properly! It’s dangerous!”

The Professor said something to me from behind. I must have been too immersed. I corrected my posture and looked back at where the Professor was with an embarrassed smile.

Now that I was riding it, I thought it would have been fun to keep riding, but unfortunately, we had to get off soon. It ended too quickly, leaving me feeling disappointed.

With lingering regret, I glanced at the carousel area, and Ouroboros, seemingly sharing the same thought, tugged firmly on the Professor’s sleeve.

“Why must we get off?”

“Ah, it’s because there are people waiting behind us to ride. If you want to ride again, you have to go to the back of the line and wait.”

“…That’s harsh. Can’t those already riding just keep riding?”

“Then Ouro wouldn’t have had the chance to ride earlier when she was waiting, right?”

At the Professor’s kind explanation, Ouroboros pouted. She made a small groan like “uuugh” before lowering her head. She seemed to understand there was no choice.

“I suppose it can’t be helped… Shall we wait then?”

“Ride again?”

“Ouro! How about that?”

Just as the Professor was surprised, I pointed to another ride.

With such a spacious area and all-day passes, I didn’t want to just ride the carousel and go home, so I was desperate to ride something else.

Though not as popular as the carousel, there was still quite a long line.

“What is that?”

“Spinning teacups?”

I wasn’t sure of the name either, so I gently placed my hand on the pamphlet the Professor was holding. The Professor nodded, confirming I was right.

“That should feel similar to what we just rode?”

“It seems different somehow…”

Ouroboros tilted her head but nodded in agreement after seeing the speed, saying it looked fine.

When we got on, we could sit differently than before. Instead of riding separately, the three of us got on one teacup together.

In the center was a strange circular table-like thing. When the ride started, the cups next to us were spinning around, but our cup just rotated slowly. Wondering what was happening, I stared blankly at the neighboring cups until the Professor made an “Ah!” sound as if realizing something.

“Like this, if you grab this and turn it, the cup spins.”

When the Professor grabbed the table and turned it, the cup suddenly started moving. Due to the spinning, I felt my body being pushed slightly toward the backrest.

“Oh, ohhh…!”

“I want to try too.”

“Here, Ourr and Ouro, you try.”

Just as I was marveling and enjoying the breeze, Ouroboros was given a turn at the table by the Professor. Well, it was more of a handle than a table.

Ouro grabbed it and turned it with effort. I watched quietly. It seemed she turned it in the opposite direction from how the Professor had been turning it. The spinning cup made a creaking sound as if stopping, then began to spin in the opposite direction.

My body, which had grown accustomed to spinning from right to left, felt slightly dizzy with the unfamiliar sensation of spinning from left to right.

I blinked and shook my head. The Professor saw me struggling to regain my composure and chuckled.

Carousel, spinning teacups. We’d only ridden two attractions, but it was fun. After getting off, I looked around to see what to do next, reading through the pamphlet. After checking locations, we moved on, saying let’s go anywhere.

After riding a few more attractions, I grabbed the Professor, saying we should go to the area with animals.

“How about that one?”

“…That might be a bit much, don’t you think? We haven’t even ridden the Viking ship yet.”

The ride I pointed to was a roller coaster. The Professor cautioned with slight concern at the sight of the train racing at tremendous speed along a fixed track.

Ouroboros also shook her head, looking a bit tense.

“It’s okay, Ouroboros. Fear comes from death anyway. Isn’t it natural for us not to feel fear?”

I tried to persuade Ouroboros with those words.

Ouroboros stared at me blankly before glancing at the Professor. Since she seemed to want to try it herself, the Professor just nodded.

And after boarding, Ouroboros, who had been quiet until we slowly climbed up, screamed at the top of her lungs next to me as we plummeted.

“You, Ourr—!”

“Hieeeeek!”

I was too busy screaming the same way to respond.