by Shouji Gatou
“Huh? Why would I... what?” Then, he remembered: After all the chaos in the maze, they had run back to the administration building, changed into their suits, and then met in the elevator up to the meeting room. At that time, Isuzu had pointed out that his necktie was crooked, and when she had leaned in to fix it, her bangs had tickled his cheek. It had flustered him a bit at the time.
“Oh, I remember...” he stuttered. “It was, uh... She was just helping me... I mean, there was a little contact between us, but it’s nothing serious...”
Latifah giggled again. “I was merely teasing. She is your secretary; it is natural that you would smell like her.”
“...Y-Yeah.” Feeling a little smothered, Seiya loosened his tie.
Her sense of smell was seriously impressive if she could pick up on a brief moment of contact from hours ago. He’d have to be conscious of his scent from now on.
“But I admit... I do envy the way that she is with you constantly,” Latifah commented.
“R-Really?”
“Yes. Very much so.” This time, it was hard to tell if she was serious or joking.
Seiya wondered how he should react to her comment. As a nicety, as teasing, as serious...? I have no idea, he realized. Just minutes ago, he’d been conducting negotiations with adults with perfect confidence. Why did dealing with this girl always completely demolish his poise?
Just as he started to worry that she might hear his heart pounding, Latifah moved away in a perfectly natural manner. “Were the negotiations fruitful?” she asked.
“Huh?”
“You had a crucial negotiation regarding the second park today, did you not?” Latifah had already given permission for the sale of the second park. She had been a bit wistful about it, naturally, but in the end, her cast members’ livelihood was more important to her than any land. After having the situation explained to her, she just couldn’t say ‘no.’
“Oh, that?” Seiya remembered. “I think we got the deal together.”
“I am so glad to hear it.”
“But... they’re raising our yearly attendance quota,” he admitted. “That means our feet are to the fire more than ever before.”
“But money will not be a concern, at least?” Latifah asked.
“Not for a while, no,” he answered her. “And... well, before the negotiation, I checked out the second park.”
“Yes?”
“And... well. I excavated something there, you could say... It’s put me in kind of a sticky situation...”
“...?”
He was talking about the Mogute Clan and the underground labyrinth. Over ten years ago, when they’d been run out of some country or other, the manager who had saved them and given them the land in secret was, obviously, Latifah. Thanks to her curse, though, she had lost all memory of the situation, which put him at a loss as to exactly how he should explain things to her.
“What is it?” she asked. “Is it something that would pain me to hear?”
“Hmm... well, kind of. Let’s just say, Latifah... Say you were a landlord for a big apartment complex somewhere.”
“Ahh?”
“And you let some refugees stay in that apartment. And then, for some unavoidable reason, you had to kick them out... Uh, let’s say the apartment is aging and has to be torn down, or something. And, um...”
“Ah,” Latifah confessed, “I fear I do not follow...”
Ugh, it was so annoying. “Look, I’ll just tell it to you straight. What’s going on is—” Seiya decided to ditch the analogies and just tell her.
Latifah heard him out to the end, politely prompting and nodding at all the right points. “You mean, it was I who offered protection to this Mogute Clan?”
“Yeah,” he admitted.
“And today, you made the decision to drive them out. Is that what you are saying?”
“Yeah.” He’d used the term ‘refugees’ in his analogy, but that wasn’t far from the truth. He didn’t know the exact political situation in that magical realm of theirs, but the fact was that they had been run out of their homeland and they were in trouble. And now, he had to destroy their new home and sell it off.
But Latifah’s reaction was far from recriminating. “I am sorry...” she whispered, looking downcast. Her wavy blonde hair hung over her face, obscuring her expression. “It was my irresponsible actions that forced you to make this painful decision...”
“N-No...,” Seiya protested. “It wasn’t especially painful. And the person you are now hasn’t done anything wrong.”
“I cannot agree... Even if I have no memory of it, it was I who made the decision. I do not know this Mogute Clan, yet I was surely moved to pity, and kicked the issue down the road with no thought to the future. It was not the right thing to do. How can I ever make it up to you?” Though her voice was resolute, she couldn’t hide the fact that she was shaken.
Seiya said nothing in response. Unable to bear that silence, perhaps, Latifah began to whisper again in fits and starts: “...I am certain that... this happens every year, and yet I... I feel as though I do not even know who I am. ...I attempt to act in ways appropriate to my royal station, yet I am haunted by shadows of... a weaker, more foolish self. I cannot help but wonder what unforgivable errors I have made in the past... Perhaps I even treated you terribly last year...”
“You didn’t,” he reassured her. “Really, you didn’t. You were fine.”
“Your kindness is most appreciated. But I cannot... expel the thought from my mind. It frightens me,” Latifah admitted.
To live in constant fear of things you didn’t remember doing... Seiya couldn’t even imagine what it would be like. Maybe a heavy drinker like Moffle would understand a bit better, but binge drinking could make you forget one night at best. The thought of forgetting a whole year was horrifying.
“So when I hear about things like this... about the Mogute Clan... I grow so angry with my past self. ‘That was not me. Surely, the person I am now would have handled things with greater skill and dignity.’ Of course, I know that that cannot be true... and yet I wish so much to believe it... and then I feel ashamed, and angry. I cannot forgive myself.”
Seiya didn’t know what to say to her. She’d always acted so bravely, with her kind smile so ever-present, that he’d assumed that nothing fazed her. He’d never realized that she felt so conflicted, deep down. All this time, should he have been thinking of the girl he met three months ago and the girl before him now as different people? He didn’t know what to say. All he knew was that she was suffering.
They remained sitting where they were, silently, until the steam stopped billowing from the freshly-poured tea.
“I... I know that I must take responsibility, even so,” she confessed. “But I do not even know how I might begin to do so...”
“Ah, hey, come on...” Seiya said, forcing cheer in his address to the disheartened Latifah. “D-Don’t worry about it. I’ll work something out. The employee cafeteria, the warehouse... I can at least find them a place to crash for the night.”
“But they are being hunted, are they not?” Latifah questioned. “We cannot give them asylum.”
“Well... umm...” He didn’t know the political relationships among the magical realms, but they were probably complicated. What would happen if the rulers who tried to bury the Mogute Clan learned that they were here, and demanded their return? What if some kind of magical gate opened, sending a hostile army to invade the park? Seiya had no frame of reference for such things; he could barely even conceive of it.
“No need to worry about that, fumo.” They turned. Moffle was standing beneath the terrace. Seiya had last left him to stand watch over the Mogute Clan, so he must have abandoned that post without leave.
“H-How long have you been standing there?” he demanded to know.
“Since the awkward silence. You act like somebody died or something, fumo.”
“Wh-Whatever. Weren’t you supposed to be standing watch?”
> “I got bored sitting around in that cave, so I brought them with me, fumo. ...Hey, everyone, come on in!”
Just then, the members of the Mogute Clan swarmed in through the entrance to the rooftop garden. They looked around in wonderment, poked at the flowers, and checked the condition of the flagstones.
“Mog, mog... what a tasteful garden, mog.”
“Hmm, whoever laid the tiles wasn’t exactly a master mason, mog...”
“The mortar in the walls is well laid, though, mog.”
Seiya exploded. “Did you bring them all here?! The cast isn’t even supposed to know about them, remember?”
“Well, cat’s out of the bag now, fumo.”
“Damn you!” Seiya cursed. “We were sitting here, racking our brains over what to do with them, and you—and what’s that loud flapping so—gwah?!”
The source of the flapping that Seiya had heard was immediately spotted. The red dragon Rubrum, flying through the night sky, now slowly touched down in the garden.
《Sorry, I couldn’t fit through the employee entrance. No big deal, right?》
“The hell it isn’t! Did you fly over the highway like that? Tons of people must have seen you!”
《Aw... I’ve just been shut away for so long, I thought it would be nice to fly again. You could at least show me some appreciation...》
“Shut up!” Seiya fumed.
“Now, now... Kanie-sama,” Latifah said soothingly. “Uncle—rather, Moffle-san is correct. The fact is that they are here now, and that cannot be undone.”
“Hrmm... I guess you’re right...”
Just then, the Mogute Clan realized that Latifah was there. Their little button eyes opened wide and they waved their hands in the air.
“Manager!”
“Oh! Miss Manager! How we’ve missed you, mog!”
“You’re as beautiful as ever, mog!”
The Mogute clan fell to their knees, grateful tears streaming down their cheeks as they expressed their deep and wholehearted respect for Latifah. She didn’t seem to know how to react. Although she was blind, it was probably clear from the sounds what the situation was. But as far as this year’s Latifah was concerned, this was her first meeting with the Mogute Clan. “Ah... I fear... you have me at a loss.”
“Just ignore them,” Seiya advised her. “Let them do what they want. ...Hmm?”
Standing at the rear of the Mogute Clan group was Isuzu, holding a flag that read “end of the line.” Strange—he was sure that she had stayed behind in the administration building after the conference to tidy up some paperwork.
“Sento. Why did you let them through? I told you to leave them in that cave!”
“Sir, I believe Moffle has something to say regarding that,” Isuzu said, still holding the flag.
“Fine... I’ll hear you out,” Seiya said from between clenched teeth. “Talk!”
Moffle, who had been waiting with a neutral expression, now cleared his throat: “After you left, I had a talk with the clan leader, Taramo. It was the Polytear Kingdom that tried to bury them alive, fumo.”
“We already knew that,” Seiya said.
They had hired them to dig the palace’s secret escape tunnels, then buried them alive to shut them up. It was a common story in human history, too.
“Ah, but here’s the crucial part, fumo. The Polytear Kingdom—More properly known, now, as the Polytear Republic.”
“...?”
“Oh. Do you mean...” Latifah put a small fingertip to her lips, seeming to realize something. Seiya was still completely in the dark.
“That’s right, fumo. Around four years ago, there was a revolution in Polytear. The wicked royals got exiled and a peaceful animal democracy formed, fumo.”
“What?” Seiya asked incredulously.
“You see, Facebook got popular over there, and that allowed the people to organize a revolution,” Moffle explained. “There were riots, the government and army fell apart... and then, the palace fell. It’s a revolution museum now, fumo.”
“Wait,” said Seiya, trying to catch up. “Does that mean that the people who were after the Mogute Clan are gone now?”
“I’d say it stands to reason, fumo. What do you think, Taramo?”
“I agree, mog. We fought with some of the other realms... but if Polytear holds us no ill will, then we’re probably safe, mog.”
“What?” This was quite an unexpected windfall.
“We’d been hiding out underground so long, we had no idea, mog. Four years wasted... I don’t know whether to be disappointed or relieved, mog...”
“It seems that only Dornell ever connected to the mortal Internet, which is why nobody ever caught on, fumo. Well, I suppose stranger things have happened...” Moffle folded his arms and nodded firmly.
All that worry for nothing. Seiya felt strange, like a rug had been swept out from under him.
“Thank goodness,” Latifah said, her tone deeply relieved. “I am... so very glad. Does that mean that you can all be free?”
“Well, I suppose we can...” Taramo said.
Now, how to deal with them? Seiya wondered. One option would just be to say, “You’ve been through a lot, so now you can do whatever you like.” But before he’d left that maze, Seiya had had an idea. The construction of that maze had been truly excellent. And if what they’d said was true, they’d completed it in a very short time. If only—
“Manager!” Taramo cried, thrusting his hands out towards Latifah. “We have been in your debt for all these years, mog! Please, allow us to use our attraction for the sake of the park, mog!”
The red dragon Rubrum joined in. 《Um, could you hire me, too? I’ll do everything I can to scare the visitors...》
Ah, thank goodness. They were already hoping to stay in the park, so he didn’t have to propose the idea himself. That would make salary negotiations easier. He had been hoping to employ them as cheaply as possible—preferably at his own rate of 850 yen per hour. Maybe he could even get them to accept 600 yen an hour during their trial period...
“Ah, Kanie-sama? What do you say?”
“Right. Actually...” Seiya rubbed the back of his head as he took a step forward. “We can’t.”
“Wh-Why not, mog?!”
“Because the second park is being sold.”
The garden launched into an uproar. Moffle, enraged, shouted “How dare you! You’ll pay, fumo!” and lunged at him.
Isuzu stopped the fight with Moffle and Latifah rebuked him. Once things had calmed down, Seiya was finally able to explain.
It was an entirely reasonable story, so everyone, including Moffle, accepted it quickly.
The Mogute Clan would stay in the employee cafeteria and warehouses while building a more permanent home elsewhere on the grounds. The large red dragon, Rubrum, would stay in the cast parking lot for now, under strict orders that he ensure no outsiders see him, no matter what.
Dornell ended up rejoining the cast after his ten years away. Since Tiramii was the current Fairy of Flowers, he’d be an onstage greeter for the time being—though, a part of him seemed to regret leaving his shut-in lifestyle behind.
Moffle didn’t seem completely satisfied about the sale of the second park, but since Latifah had given her permission on the matter, he ended up leaving (albeit not happily).
“Manager, Manager!” Just before he left the garden, the Chief of the Mogute Clan, Taramo, produced an old envelope and offered it to Latifah. “Here. You gave this to us before we went underground.”
“...? Ah, yes... Th-Thank you.”
“I gave it back to you, as promised. I hope we can keep working with you!” Then the Mogute Clan filed out and the garden was quiet again, at last.
“Sheesh... 50 new employees, just like that.” Seiya, who had remained in the garden, let out a sigh. He was working with Isuzu to right the benches and chairs knocked over in the scuffle, and trying to settle the anxieties churning in his gut.
It was only then that he real
ized that Latifah was standing there, blankly, with the envelope in her hands.
“Should I read that for you?” he inquired.
“Wh-What?” Latifah stammered.
“It’s a letter, right? If you don’t mind me doing it...,” he trailed off. “Or would you prefer Sento?”
“Ah... well...” After a moment’s hesitation, Latifah seemed to steel herself, and proffered the letter to him. “Not at all. Kanie-sama, I insist that you read it.”
The envelope was slightly yellowed with age and sealed with red wax. Seiya carefully broke the seal and produced the letter from within.
“Okay, then. ...Let’s see.” He passed his eyes over the words, then shook his head. “...I can’t read it. What language is this?” “Ah, I beg your pardon... it must be in Maplese,” Latifah said. “Isuzu-san, would you?”
“Yes, Your Highness.” She must have been anticipating this, as she promptly snatched the letter away and began poring through it.
“If you would, though, Kanie-sama... I hope that you will stay and hear it.”
“Are you sure?” he asked doubtfully.
“Yes,” Latifah affirmed. “I am asking you, as acting manager, to stay. I do not know what that letter might contain... but I do not wish to hide anything from you.”
“Okay.”
“May I, then? I shall now commence.” Isuzu read the entire letter, translating on the fly:
Hello. If you are reading this letter, it means that the curse has not yet been lifted. Or perhaps, by some miracle, the curse has been lifted, yet I am still serving as manager of this park. (I hope that this is the case, but I realize that it is unlikely. Therefore, I am writing this under the assumption that the curse is still in place.)
I am sorry for the trouble I have caused you with my decision to house the Mogute Clan. I simply could not abandon people who had nowhere else to go. I have asked the secondary manager to hide them in the second park. Because he would surely be against this decision, due to my station, I am keeping this from Uncle.
The Mogute Clan, including their chief, Taramo-san, are very peaceful and kind. Please, be kind to them.