Amagi Brilliant Park: Volume 2 (Premium)

by Shouji Gatou

  “S-Sento?” he began cautiously.

  “...hmmmmgh!” She looked up, removed her hand, opened her mouth wide as if to speak... then shut her eyes tightly, grabbed Seiya’s ear, and dragged him roughly toward her.

  “Ow!” he objected. “Hey, what are you—”

  Her lips were close enough to bite his earlobe, and he could feel her breath on his neck as she whispered to him, urgently: “Kanie-kun. Do not ask me for aid. I’m struggling more than you are right now, for the following three reasons: One, she looks exactly like an applicant I saw in my dream this morning. Two, you seem surprisingly fond of her. Three, when she brought up her history, you were shaken more badly than I’ve ever seen you before!”

  “Wh-What?” he whispered back.

  “I’d rather not say any more than that, but I still seem to be under the influence of the druth nut, so it appears that I’ll have to. I thought of you as a competent man who wasn’t easily shaken, and seeing you go weak in the knees over a large-breasted older sister type with all of the social graces and life experience that I lack on top of a superdreadnought-class sexual history makes me indescribably angry. Yes, I said angry. You’re going to take her as your secretary while I—” She suddenly pinched her nose shut and moaned again. “Hmmmmmmmgh!!”

  “S-Sento?” Seiya was shocked again.

  She was panting heavily, elbows planted on the long table and head drooping while they all looked on in concern. “Why not ask... why she’s applying?” she whispered at last in an exhausted voice.

  “Y-Yeah... Yeah, good idea.”

  Yes, ask why she’s applying, Seiya told himself. That couldn’t possibly come off as sexual harassment.

  “Moffu. Ask her stage name already!”

  “Shut up!” Seiya cleared his throat loudly, then turned back to Eiko-san. “Ah... I’m sorry about that, Adachi Eiko-san.”

  “Of course,” she replied with unwavering calm.

  “I know that this has been a rather difficult experience,” Seiya apologized again, “but one last question... could I ask why you want to work at this park?”

  Yes, that was the one thing he couldn’t understand. Why would a woman with a history like hers, who could make gobs of money in the nightlife if she wanted, choose to work for this crummy amusement park?

  “Ah. Let me see...” Eiko-san seemed to consider the question. She put a finger to her shapely lip and looked up at the ceiling; there was something unbelievably seductive about this mannerism.

  What Is she thinking about? He wondered if he should use his magic. The magic he received from the princess of Maple Land, to read any person’s mind just once...

  No... This wasn’t the time, he decided. If they did hire her, and she started working with them, it would be better saved for a more auspicious time. Call it underhanded if you wish, but Kanie Seiya was not a man who wasted his grenades.

  “...ergh,” he whispered. Isuzu was staring in his direction with a scowl. Could she tell what he was thinking? No, no, she wasn’t that perceptive...

  Some time later, Eiko-san spoke again: “...I just don’t think my last job was for me. I certainly enjoyed it, of course, but I wanted to see the smiles of the people I was entertaining. That’s why I applied here.”

  “Ah... hahh,” Seiya said uncertainly.

  “Is that not enough?” Eiko wanted to know.

  “Well, U-um...” He felt tears forming in his eyes, but he held them back. A woman who could give such an articulate answer... how, when, why? The world was growing more and more incomprehensible. The phrase “I enjoyed it, of course” was the most traumatic blow of all—it was that everyday fashion in which she said it. For some reason, it just made him feel even more miserable. Seriously, he asked himself, how is this possible? Dammit...

  Anyway, just calm down.

  Seiya took in a deep breath, and found it in him to say: “Thank you very much. We’ll tell you our decision soon.”

  After Eiko-san left the conference room, Moffle immediately lashed out at Seiya. “Why didn’t you ask for her stage name, fumo?! You’re the worst manager I’ve ever seen! I’m so disappointed! I despair for you wannabe ‘gentlemen’!”

  “I could not ask!” Seiya retorted. “And if you’re that disappointed, go hang yourself!”

  “Hah! Look at my body, fumo. You can’t kill me with hanging,” Moffle replied scornfully. “I’d just dangle there looking like a teru-teru bozu!”

  “Is that bragging or self-deprecation?” Seiya wanted to know.

  “Moffu...” Moffle ignored him, then took a snapshot of Adachi Eiko’s resume picture with his cell phone and sent it off somewhere, accompanied by a short message.

  “Could you not take pictures of her resume?” Seiya requested pointedly. “Where did you send it, anyway?”

  “To Tricen. I’m asking if he recognizes her, fumo. He knows a lot about AVs.”

  More things Seiya didn’t want to know. So that chibi-triceratops character knew a lot about AVs, did he? Disgusting. “Listen, you...”

  “Now I just wait for a response, fumo.”

  There was no way he’d be able to identify her from a tiny photo where she was facing the camera with no makeup on, though. After all, beautiful women all tended to look the same.

  As if reading Seiya’s thoughts, Isuzu glared at him again. “You’re not going to scold him, are you? You really want to know, don’t you? That’s disgusting.”

  “Hey!” Seiya objected. “What a rude thing to say.”

  “I’m not entirely angry, though,” she mused. “Knowing that you have interest in such things as well... If you like, I could show you my own—hmmmmmgh!!!” Isuzu clasped her hands over her face with all the force she could muster, then banged her forehead on the table.

  Seiya scooted back, disturbed by her behavior. “S-Sento?”

  “Don’t... worry...” Isuzu said weakly.

  She’s definitely acting strangely today, Seiya thought suspiciously. She was usually so calm and aloof—this was seeming less like a physical illness and more like an emotional breakdown.

  Just then, Moffle’s cell phone buzzed. “A reply from Tricen already, fumo. Hmm... Yes, I see... fumo, fumo...” Moffle peered at the LCD screen and nodded sharply. Then he let out a deep sigh and gazed into the distance. “...Well, call in the next one, fumo,” he declared as he put his cell phone away.

  “...Did he recognize her?” Seiya asked.

  “Recognize who?” Moffle asked innocently.

  “Well... Eiko-san.”

  “Yeah, he figured out her stage name, fumo. So?”

  “W-Well...”

  “He knows her label and her best-known works.” Moffle said appreciatively. “That Tricen, fumo. He’s always on the ball! Now, on to the next applicant.” As Moffle flipped to the next applicant’s resume, Seiya caught the corners of his mouth curling upwards.

  That bastard. He knows and he isn’t going to tell me, Seiya realized. He knows I can’t just come out and ask him! And what’s more, he moves right on to the next applicant! That mascot is utterly perverse!

  “The boys and I might stop by a rental shop tonight, get a little drunk and a little hot and bothered, fumo,” Moffle remarked to no one in particular. “Ahh, that’ll be fun. I can’t wait, fumo.”

  “Ngh...” Seiya groaned.

  “Want to know, fumo? Want to know, fumo?”

  “Guh... of course I don’t! Call in the next applicant!” Seiya commanded the general affairs employee, thrusting out his right hand like the captain of a certain space battleship.

  Just then, Isuzu said something unbelievable. “I want to know. Lord Moffle, tell m—hmmmmmmmgh!”

  “S-Sento?” Seiya was shocked.

  Moffle’s eyes glinted with curiosity. “Oh-ho? Our royal guardsman expresses interest in the most unlikely things. I’d love to know why, fumo.”

  “O-Obviously, to see if hiring her would lead to complaints about our park... I mean, to learn the secrets of how she charm
s men so effortlessl—hmmmmmgh!” For the umpteenth time now, she pinched her nose and banged her head on the table.

  Maybe she really wasn’t feeling well? She had mentioned feeling ill during the chaos earlier... Seiya was starting to get really worried. “Hey... are you okay?”

  “I’m not okay at all.” Isuzu looked at him, her hand pressed against her injured forehead. There were tears in her eyes. “I haven’t felt like this since I was in kindergarten, needing to go to the bathroom but being unable to say it and desperately having to clamp down on my—hmmmgh!”

  Seiya was just starting to think he should call an ambulance when there was a knock at the door.

  “Excuse me! Sorry I’m late!” The second applicant came in.

  She was a girl of high school age, with short, chestnut brown hair and large, twinkling eyes. Her movements were brisk and energetic.

  Her face was flushed and she was panting hard as she strode up to the interviewers’ table. “I’m Bando Biino! It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

  She expressed herself with clarity and articulation. Plus two points for that, Seiya thought.

  Isuzu whispered something about a dream again, but Seiya ignored it. He’d decided it was best not to think too hard about anything she said today.

  Bando Biino was wearing a school uniform, a khaki cardigan over the old-fashioned sailor style. According to her resume, she was a first year in high school in the same city Seiya lived in.

  She was cheerful and cute, with nice curves, and an aura that guests would probably find charming. Plus one point.

  The main problem was—

  “Um... Bando Biino-san. Before we start, could I ask you a question?”

  “Absolutely!”

  “...What’s with the blood stain?”

  There was a bright red patch that extended from her left side down to her hip. Wait—that wasn’t a blood stain. It was the lustrous, sparkling color of fresh blood. It continued to soak, as he watched, further into the cloth of her cardigan.

  Minus 200 points.

  “Ooh, sorry! I was just in such a hurry...” Biino tried to cover her blood-stained side, bashfully.

  “Bashful” was an unexpected reaction... And what did being in a hurry have to do with it?

  “D-Did you hurt yourself?”

  “Ah! I’m fine, I’m fine! This is nothing, really!” Biino waved her hands hastily. Droplets of blood flew from her fingertips, speckling the conference room floor with ominous red.

  Seiya flinched, Isuzu knitted her brows, and Moffle tilted his head thoughtfully.

  “Er... are you sure you’re fine?” Seiya asked.

  It occurred to him that Biino wasn’t as animated as he’d initially thought. Her breathing was ragged, her legs were trembling a little, and she was growing paler and paler by the minute.

  Their last applicant, Eiko-san, had certainly made an impression—but Biino-san was blowing them away in a totally different sense.

  “If you wouldn’t mind... explaining how you got injured?”

  “O-Oh, no need! I don’t want to make... excuses... for why I’m late! Please... hahh... hahh... continue the interview!”

  It was a ridiculous time to start acting like the hero of a shonen manga. “I won’t make excuses” was an admirable attitude to have, but the active bleeding sort of took it out of that realm.

  He turned to Isuzu and whispered, “What do you think?”

  (I’m not sure. I think she’s trying to use the suspension bridge effect to make you care about h—hmmmmgh!)

  Then she went about her strange ritual again (details omitted for your convenience).

  Yeah, right, Seiya thought. Forget her.

  Then he whispered to Moffle, “What do you think?”

  (It looks to me like a stab wound. She’s probably lost about a liter of blood. Given her build, she’ll likely stay conscious and answering questions for about ten more minutes.) His comment was practical yet strangely unhelpful.

  “L-Let’s call you an ambulance...”

  “No, don’t!” Biino insisted. “I don’t want to cause trouble over a silly little wound. My... my... My life is riding on this interview!”

  Oh, for the love of... How could her life possibly be riding on this crummy amusement park?

  (She’s certainly got passion, fumo. You don’t think it’s... kagebara?) Moffle whispered with a tremble.

  Kagebara was an act through which a samurai would admonish his lord by slitting his own stomach, requesting an audience, and then dying in front of his eyes.

  It wasn’t something you’d do at a part-time job interview. Even if you got the job, you’d be dead.

  (I’m sure... it’s not kagebara.)

  (Well, I suppose not... Hmm?) Just then, an incoming call sound chimed out from Moffle’s smartphone, which he’d left on the desk. (It’s from the security center, fumo. Hold on a minute.)

  He thrust out a paw to silence Seiya, then started engaging in a quiet conversation. Meanwhile, Biino was leaning over and pleading with Seiya.

  “Please. Please... ngh... the interview... Blugh...” Fresh blood trailed from a corner of her pretty lips.

  (Looks like she’s got some internal bleeding, fumo. Better hurry,) Moffle said, briefly interrupting his phone call to warn him.

  (H-Hurry?!)

  “Hurry! A-Ask me a question... please! While I’m still conscious!”

  “R-Right...” Cowed by the demonic frenzy in Biino-san’s eyes, Seiya found himself complying. He whispered to Isuzu, “call an ambulance,” then began an entirely cursory interview.

  “So, um... for your preferred working times, y-you said after 4:00 p.m. on weekdays, right? You’d mainly be working closing shifts—”

  “Blugh!”

  “Um?”

  “Blugh... khlugh... I c-can work... after 4:00!” she confirmed through the blood-stained fingers she held over her mouth.

  “I g-guess I should hurry. The jobs you applied for... guest control and merchandising. Why did you want those positions?”

  Guest control mainly meant directing and guiding guests, while merchandising meant working in the shops. These were both jobs with a lot of human contact.

  “Yes... huff... huff... I want to see... hurgh... the customers... blugh! Smile...” Beads of sweat clung to her pale face as she bared her teeth desperately.

  A face like that wouldn’t bring a smile to anyone—except maybe her mortal enemies.

  “You also asked about the daycare. The trial period for that one is double the standard length... is that all right?”

  “O-Of course... I... hlugh... I love to see... hng... happy... guh... children!”

  Her expression was truly chilling. Her dedication was admirable, but seeing Biino’s face right now would make 100% of the children cry, no question.

  “U-Understood.” Even to prolong the conversation, he couldn’t think of anything to ask that would teach him more than he already knew. He really hoped the ambulance would arrive soon.

  “We’ll let you know in a few days if you get the job or not. For now, please get treatment!”

  “I-I can’t!”

  “Get treatment, dammit!”

  “I-I’m sorry... I still have so much more... cough! To tell you... blugh! About myself!”

  “Uh...”

  Biino grabbed her knees, trembling, shoulders heaving. It was then that Moffle finished his call with the security center and nudged Seiya in the shoulder.

  (What?)

  (According to security, there was a slasher incident at Amagi Station earlier. Some madman stabbed a high school girl in front of the station...)

  (What the hell!)

  (The attacker’s apparently been taken into custody, but the girl he stabbed just said ‘I’m fine’ repeatedly, then rode off on her moped, fumo.)

  (I... I see...)

  (It’s apparently on the news right now, fumo. That’s why security got worried and called me...)

  Ah, that explains it al
l.

  Seiya could admire the bravery it took to race to an interview, even after getting attacked by a slasher. Plus one point. But she could have had a bit more consideration about the position she was putting them in. Minus 100 points.

  At any rate, for now, they just had to deal with the strange situation they had found themselves in.

  “Um... Bando Biino-san. We understand that you’re passionate about the job. W-We can’t guarantee we’ll hire you, but you can be optimistic about your chances.”

  “Th-Thank... hnn... you... gluh!”

  “So, please go with the ambulance right now. Forgive our presumption, but we’ve already called 119. Come on. Don’t push yourself too hard. Ah... don’t look at me with those hollow eyes, it’s going to haunt my nightmares. Oh, come on...”

  Unable to just keep talking to her from the interviewer’s table, Seiya stood up. He barely managed to catch Biino as she pitched out of the folding chair.

  “Sorry... sorry...” Biina repeated from within Seiya’s bloodstained arms.

  “Is that ambulance here yet? Let’s carry her outside. Hey, Moffle, get off the phone and help me!” he yelled at Moffle, who was talking on his smartphone once more.

  “Wait, fumo. I got another call from the security center...”

  “Oh, come on!”

  “I didn’t... hrr... want... to be late...”

  “Yes, that’s very n-noble of you...”

  “But I need to apologize... for one more thing...”

  Just then, the conference room door banged open.

  The person who came in was a half-naked man carrying a kitchen knife.

  “Huh? What?”

  “Whew... whew...”

  He was breathing heavily. His knife was smeared in blood. He was wearing nothing but underwear and a stocking that covered his face. He was, to put it lightly, a pervert—and not the subtle kind of pervert.

  Was this their next applicant? No, surely no one would come to an interview dressed like this... What the hell—

  “Seiya, Seiya.”

  “Wh-What?”

  “I got an update from the security center. The earlier report got it wrong. The man who stabbed her hasn’t been caught yet, fumo.”