Amagi Brilliant Park: Volume 1

by Shouji Gatou

  Isuzu’s eyes had gone wide. It was as if she couldn’t believe the words coming out of Seiya’s mouth.

  (Now I’ve gone and done it...) Seiya thought, immediately filled with regret. He’d been so careful never to say anything like that in front of anyone.

  “‘If you want to make people dream, first, you need to believe in that dream’... That does hurt to hear,” she admitted.

  Seiya said nothing.

  “I don’t think an ordinary high school student would be able to come up with something like that.”

  “Don’t give me the credit. I just read it in a book somewhere.” He looked out the window, feigning ignorance.

  But Isuzu wouldn’t let him off the hook. “I thought you were angry because you were threatened by a girl you barely knew into wandering aimlessly around a theme park,” she mused. “But you were angry for a completely different reason. It’s as if you’re mad at the theme park itself. That’s interesting.”

  “What’s this? It’s almost like you realize what a pain in the neck you’ve been.” His voice was dripping with sarcasm, but she didn’t show any sign of being hurt by it.

  “I didn’t say that to make you angry,” Isuzu said. “I was just impressed by your insight about the ‘monster’ that is entertainment.”

  “Look, what are you getting at?” he wanted to know. “What exactly are you after with me?”

  “...‘Kodama Seiya.’” The moment the words left Isuzu’s lips, Seiya’s face tensed. “He was a brilliant child performer from a few years back, I’m told. He was an amazing talent with incredible charm; he played the piano at a professional level; and he had an excellent singing voice. He could be a bit bratty, but he was always earnest when it mattered, and he could even play perfectly off of veteran entertainers. He was society’s idea of the perfect child, and in high demand for commercials and dramas.”

  Seiya remained silent in the face of her accusation.

  “But about five years ago, Kodama Seiya suddenly retired from show business. The talent agencies and companies he canceled on saw terrible losses as a result, I believe. The reason he gave was ‘I want to focus on school and family,’ but nobody knows if that’s true. Kodama Seiya fell off the map after that...” Isuzu turned her gaze out the window, looking out over Amagi Brilliant Park. “He would be in high school by now... I wonder what he’d say if he saw an amusement park like this.”

  “I see now...” A completely new kind of anger began to rise up in Seiya’s chest. “...You knew everything. That’s why you brought me out here.”

  “Who would ever ask an egomaniac like you on a date otherwise?” Isuzu replied without even a hint of a smile.

  “I don’t know what you’re after, but Kodama Seiya died a long time ago. Wiped from the face of the earth. If you’re thinking you can get some stupid child actor to do something for you, you’ve got another thing coming.” Seiya stood up. “I’m out of here. Threaten me with your freak weapon if you want to.”

  “...Very well,” she concluded. “But first, eat these croquettes.” Rather than drawing her weapon, she offered the croquettes on the table to Seiya. He’d been forced to buy them when they didn’t have any yakisoba.

  “Hmm?”

  “They’re best when they’re still hot.”

  “Who cares about the stupid croquettes?”

  “Just try them.” For some reason, her voice was utterly resolute.

  Seiya relented, took a croquette, and brought it to his mouth. It was just some item off a cheap snack shop menu. It couldn’t possibly be any good.

  That was what he was thinking as he took his first bite, but—

  “...Muh.”

  What on earth? It was great. Absolutely delicious.

  The breading wasn’t too thick, just nicely crunchy, and inside it was juicy and fluffy. The plentiful minced meat blended with the potatoes, which had been painstakingly mashed, to create a perfect flavor balance. To be quite honest, he had never had a croquette like it before.

  “Delicious, isn’t it?”

  “Mm... Yeah,” he said thoughtfully. “It is.”

  “They make these here,” she told him. “You can’t get them anywhere else.”

  “Did you make them?” he asked. Given the way she’d been talking all this time, it seemed like she was connected to AmaBri somehow. Which meant—

  “No,” she responded, “someone else did. Would you like to meet them before you go?”

  “Meet them? I don’t understand.”

  “Don’t worry,” Isuzu advised, “Just eat.”

  “......” Spurred on by the exquisite flavor, Seiya silently polished off the remaining croquettes. They really were delicious. It was an amusement park lacking in hopes and dreams, but these croquettes, at least, were something else.

  He wouldn’t say, exactly, that the croquettes had charmed him into it, but Seiya decided to hang out with Isuzu a bit longer.

  After passing through a door labeled “Authorized Personnel Only,” he was led around Amagi Brilliant Park’s backstage area by Isuzu. It appeared she had a key for the “employees only” doors.

  “I knew you had some connection to this place,” Seiya accused.

  “I didn’t mention it?” Isuzu replied carelessly.

  “You didn’t,” he grumbled. “Though it was easy enough to guess from the way you talked about it...”

  “Wear this pass around your neck,” she said, and handed him a card on a lanyard. It was a guest pass with the words “LEVEL 4” printed in large letters.

  “What’s this ‘LEVEL 4’ part mean?” he asked.

  “That’s your security clearance,” she told him. “The newest part-time workers are limited to level one sections. The highest level is five. Dangerous areas—like the generator facilities and those housing important company secrets—require level five clearance.”

  “That’s some tight security you’ve got going there...” he said, stifling the urge to add “...for such a crummy amusement park.”

  “This is fairly standard, actually,” Isuzu explained. “The level four pass I gave you will get you into most places.”

  “You’re entrusting some pretty major security clearance to an outsider like me...” Seiya sounded suspicious.

  “That’s because you’ll need it to get where we’re going—to see the manager of the park.”

  “Manager?”

  Isuzu continued to lead him through the backstage area.

  He’d never been backstage at an amusement park before, but he shouldn’t have been too surprised to see it was a typical boring employee passageway: flavorless, colorless, and charmless. Here and there lay stacks of cleaning tools and cardboard boxes, alongside ever-present signs enumerating disaster guidelines and cast shift schedules. If he showed someone a picture of just this area and told them he’d been inside a military base, they might actually believe him.

  They took a stairway down to an underground passage. Then, after a little more walking, they reached an elevator. It was at this point that Isuzu spoke again: “We’re currently at the center of the park, directly below Maple Castle. We can take this elevator to the castle’s top floor.”

  “Maple Castle?” Seiya questioned. He suddenly remembered that excessively imposing castle he’d seen from the park entrance. That hadn’t been a fairy tale castle by any means; it was a fortress designed for practicality, with loopholes and a moat. It radiated austere fortitude. It felt like the kind of place where attacking armies would be met with rains of bacteria-infected feces and cauldrons of boiling hot oil.

  They took the elevator up to the top floor, passed through a short hallway straight ahead, and arrived at a rooftop garden.

  A rooftop garden. That was the only way to describe the place he’d found himself.

  Above him lay a sky glowing with the first tinges of sunset. Before him lay flowers starting to bud with the warmth of spring. And at the center of it all lay a small, still pond. There was a breathtaking mix of light a
nd shadow in the garden, accompanied by an overwhelming sense of tranquility and refinement. It was, by far, the most wondrous thing he’d seen in all the time he’d spent in this amusement park.

  At the edge of the garden stood a girl. Her silver hair had a whitish cast, which seemed to sparkle beneath the blazing red sky, and the breezy material of her long, white dress gently embraced a delicate frame. She ran her fingers over a flower whose name he did not know, then murmured something to a small bird who had alighted nearby.

  Seiya was struck by a strange sense of déjà vu; it was almost as if he had been here before. As he watched, too spellbound to act, Isuzu spoke up from beside him. “Go on. I’ll wait here.”

  “Huh? But...”

  “Go.”

  Reluctantly, he stepped out into the garden. The unfamiliar girl turned to face him, and the bird, perched on her finger, flew away.

  What was she, fourteen? Fifteen? The closer Seiya got, the better he could make out her face. There was something mysterious about her features—something that inspired strong affection in him. He was so enchanted that all other thoughts flew from his mind. Had he ever been so taken with anyone in his life?

  It was only when he came within a few steps of her that he realized it: She wasn’t looking at him. Her eyes were focused on a point somewhere over his head—some vacant space in the evening sky above. Could it be... is she blind?

  While Seiya wrestled with himself over what to say, she spoke. “Would you be Kanie Seiya-sama, by chance?”

  “Huh?” he spluttered, caught off guard by her question. “Oh... Yes, I am...”

  He was right. She was blind.

  “I am very glad to have you here, Kanie-sama. I am Latifah... Latifah Fleuranza. I am the manager of this theme park. I must offer you my warmest thanks for coming here to see me.”

  A foreign name? I wasn’t expecting that... Then again, she did look foreign. And... she was the manager? This young girl?

  “S-Sure... I don’t get most of this, but... er, it’s nice to meet you,” he answered, still disoriented.

  The girl who called herself Latifah smiled and let out a soft noise of excitement. It was as if she was saying “I’ve been waiting so long to meet you.”

  “I pray that Isuzu-san has done nothing to offend you,” Latifah apologized on behalf of her employee. “If she has upset you in any way, I hope that you will forgive her—she has very little experience in interacting with gentlemen.”

  “Oh. Well... I’ve been afraid for my life a few times,” Seiya admitted, “but I’m still in one piece, I guess.”

  “I see.” There was a diplomatic pause, and then Latifah continued, “...I must confess, it is I who asked her to bring you here. For there is something that I must ask of you.”

  “Ask of me?” Seiya said doubtfully.

  “Yes,” she affirmed. “Follow me this way, and I shall explain.” Her dress rippling behind her, Latifah began walking down the flagstone pathway, and further into the garden. Despite her apparent blindness, she must have known the garden like the back of her hand—there was no uncertainty in her gait whatsoever.

  A little ways down the path, they found a terrace. There was a table with a mosaic-patterned marble top waiting there, flanked by elegantly wrought iron chairs. Atop the table sat a china tea set.

  “Do sit.” Latifah invited him.

  “S-Sure...”

  Latifah made them tea. Her every movement was the epitome of grace. She poured hot water into the cups, first, and carefully steamed the tea leaves while waiting for them to warm. “You smell of fried foods,” she said.

  “Huh?”

  “Have you been eating croquettes at Maple Kitchen, by chance? I hope very much that you enjoyed them,” she said, a playful note in her tone.

  “Did you make those?” Seiya wanted to know.

  “Yes, I did,” Latifah admitted modestly. “I make them every day, hoping only that the guests might enjoy them.”

  I see. So she’s the one who made them...

  “Those croquettes were...” he trailed off, briefly recalling their taste and texture, “...delicious.”

  “Thank you,” said Latifah, graciously accepting the compliment. “As you may have noticed, I am blind, but I can tell when they are cooked by listening to the sounds of the frying oil.”

  Seiya was concerned. “You cook them yourself? Isn’t that dangerous?”

  “Not at all,” she laughed. “Those croquettes are my pride and joy. Though I fear that my tea may be somewhat less pleasing... Please, help yourself.”

  She placed a teacup in front of Seiya. It was billowing with fragrant steam with a calming aroma. He blew on it lightly, then took a sip.

  Delicious. He was far from an expert on black tea, but in his opinion, it was incredible.

  “Is it to your taste?” she wanted to know.

  “It’s incredible,” Seiya replied.

  “I am very glad to hear that.” Latifah smiled quietly. It was a smile like the sun behind the mountains at twilight.

  Enraptured, Seiya gazed at that smile for a few moments, before clearing his throat. “...I don’t really understand any of this. What did you want to ask me to do? And who are you?” he asked. “I’m already reeling at the fact that there’s a place like this at the center of an amusement park that’s so... you know.”

  “Of course,” she said soothingly. “Have you seen our Amagi Brilliant Park?”

  “In exhaustive detail.” Yeah, definitely. “Exhaustive” was the right word...

  “How did you find it?”

  It’s the worst amusement park I’ve ever been to... It would be easy enough for him to say that, but for some reason, the words caught on his tongue.

  Nevertheless, a look of melancholy fell over her face, suggesting that she could read his thoughts from his manner. “You are dissatisfied. You found it displeasing, then?”

  “Well... I...” he trailed off, unsure of what to say next.

  “This is what I wished to ask you, Kanie-sama: Will you take this amusement park, which hangs on the verge of ruin, and revive it?” It was an earnest proposal.

  “Wha...?” Seiya couldn’t believe his ears. What the hell? Revive this crummy amusement park? Me?

  “I want you to become the manager of Amagi Brilliant Park,” Latifah explained. “I officially ask this of you, Kanie Seiya, as a member of the royal family of the magical realm, Maple Land.”

  What the hell are you babbling about? That’s what he’d say under most circumstances—challenging her sanity—but this girl, Latifah, seemed far too rational and refined for that to be a likely explanation.

  While Seiya was still struggling to figure out what to say, she spoke again. “Do you think me mad?”

  “Well, I...”

  “But I swear to you,” she told him solemnly, “this is a matter of utmost seriousness. I am asking you to save our amusement park, because I believe that you can do it.”

  “Okay,” he managed to respond, “but... this is all pretty out of nowhere. I can’t say ‘oh, sure’ just like that... you know?”

  “Yes... of course, you are correct.” The girl smiled peacefully, her face lowered. “It must sound like nonsense to you, an inhabitant of the mortal realm. But this amusement park is an important dream ager constructed here in your world by the magical realm, Maple Land.”

  So this amusement park... was built by a... “magical realm?” And what was a dream ager?

  “A... magical realm, huh?”

  “There are many other realms like it,” Latifah told him, and went on to explain further. “The Dream Kingdom, Regnum Somni; the Animal Republic, Polytear; the Schubert Empire with its swords and sorcery; the future land Avenir... There are many such realms, and Maple Land is one of them. It exists in the threshold between the sea and the land. Many of these realms build ager here in the mortal world—ager is a word that means ‘field’ in your language—Digimaland is one of the most famous; Cosmic Studios and Highlander Fuji
mi are ager as well.”

  “Uhh...”

  “An ager is a happiness farm. It allows us to gather together feelings of joy and excitement from those who visit the park and crystallize them into animus, which is an important source of energy for us.”

  “......”

  Latifah seemed to pick up on Seiya’s dumbfounded reaction. “It must all sound very unbelievable... It is not common knowledge among inhabitants of the mortal world. That is why... first, I shall give you the gift of magic.”

  “Magic?” Seiya parroted in confusion.

  “I do not know what kind of magic it will be,” Latifah mused. “That is up to the whim of the goddess Libra. But perhaps the magic will enable you to understand...”

  “Huh?”

  The girl leaned over the table with a slight flush in her cheeks. A sense of bashfulness and hesitance appeared in the vast pools of her eyes. “Kanie-sama. Please, stay right where you are.”

  “Huh?”

  “N-Now then... pardon me...”

  “Huh?” He didn’t even have time to get away.

  Her small, pretty lips touched his in a kiss. It was a soft sensation. A warm sensation. That’s all it was, so why was it hitting him so hard? Why did he feel this powerful electricity shooting down his neck?

  A kiss from a girl who had seemed so utterly chaste— His mind went blank. It was hard to breathe. As the gentle sensation moved away—slowly, lingeringly, wistfully—Seiya felt something else rushing into his mind. Limitless emotion—a powerful, indescribable something that was burrowing deep, deep inside a part of his humanity.

  I don’t understand, Seiya thought. I just came out here on this shady date because a weird girl threatened me. How did it come to this? Why is this happening?

  Something was coming. Magic—a mysterious magic that someone, somewhere, had prepared for him through means he would never know.

  “Do not forget—” the girl told him from across a gulf of vast whiteness. “My feelings—the first and last time that you will ever know them...”

  The first thing he felt was love, followed by an unendurable melancholy, and then timeworn nostalgia. A small boy, walking away in twilight. He looked back and said this: “I’m with you. I will save you—”