by Shouji Gatou
“Whew... huff... I can’t worry about that right now, ron. I’ll just gut it out, ron.” It was 2:59. He grabbed the flowers he’d prepared in advance, then staggered his way out of the break room.
“Oh, right. We asked Adachi to show Lalapa around, fumo.”
“She said ‘Please let me help somehow,’ and looked really sad, mii. It seemed like perfect timing, so I left it to her, mii.”
“I... I see... Thanks, ron!” It really is good to have friends, Macaron thought as he ran for the gate to the underground passage. “Ngh... Lalapa’s waiting, ron!”
“Good luck, fumo.”
“Mii.”
The two saw him off with an easygoing air.
Macaron dashed from backstage to Entrance Square. His daughter was standing at a kiosk with Adachi Eiko, playing with a Moffle mask and cackling. She didn’t seem to have noticed him yet.
“Lalapa...” It was his first time seeing her in two whole years.
She’d matured so much since he last saw her. She’d become a lovely young lady, with long arms and legs, a slender waist, brown hair that fell just to her shoulders, and an energetic air.
Her skin was as white as porcelain, her wide eyes a charming almond shape. She was a classic Macaronian beauty. He’d been worried she’d look exactly like her mother, but the color of her eyes and her hair were just like his.
“Lalapa!” He called his daughter’s name.
Given that they were onstage, this of course drew shocked looks from the nearby guests, but Macaron ignored them all as he ran up to his daughter. He was just so emotional!
“Hey, Dad.” Lalapa noticed him and smiled, while Eiko gave him a small bow. “Look! It’s a mask of Uncle Moffle. Isn’t it hilarious?”
Lalapa’s manner was shockingly indifferent. They hadn’t seen each other in two years, but here she was, acting like he’d just run off to fetch ice cream.
“Ron...”
“I don’t see any masks of you, though, Dad. Are you like, not that popular or something?”
“R-Ron... Never mind that. Lalapa! I’ve missed you so much, ron!”
“Oh, yeah? I’ve been okay, actually.”
“O.........Okay, ron?”
“Yeah. Okay.”
“A-Anyway... these are for you, ron!” Macaron said, offering her the flowers. They were white roses, the kind Lalapa had loved since she was little. He’d had them ordered just for today.
“Hey, thanks. But I can’t really walk around with those, so... You hold onto them, Dad.”
“Ah... right. L-Lalapa... I thought you loved white roses, ron.” He still remembered that little girl Lalapa... Four or five years old, when she still looked like a sheep...
“When I grow up, I’m gonna marry Daddy, ron!” Her eyes had shone, and she spoke to him in her cute Macaronian accent. “So when you propose, cover the whole floor in white roses! I love white roses, ron! Promise, ron!” It was that memory that had led him to prepare white roses for today.
But the Lalapa before him now just smiled awkwardly at the flowers. “Hmm... Yeah, I did when I was little. Not so much now.”
“I... I see... I should have done more research, ron. I’m sorry.”
“Eh, no big.”
“But Lalapa, the way you’re talking... wh-what happened, ron? You sound like a mortal city-dweller.”
“Huh? Well, I mean, the Macaronian accent’s just so lame.”
“N-Not true, ron!”
“Nobody talks that way anymore, even in Maple Land schools. ...So, where to first? You’re gonna show me around, right?”
“Ron. W-Well...” Macaron clenched his hooves tight. What he really wanted to do was cast everything else aside and walk around the park with Lalapa. But he had a duty—an important duty. A duty to butter up the man who could bring the park down!
“I’m sorry, ron,” he said, mustering up his courage. “I have a little more work to do... I’ll be back soon, so please let Adachi-san show you around for a while longer. Okay, ron?” He was worried that she would be angry, but surprisingly, the news didn’t seem to faze her in the slightest.
“Oh, okay,” Lalapa said. “Sure, we’ll do that.”
“I t-tried to get out of it, but I couldn’t, ron. Please, Lalapa. Don’t take it personally...”
“Seriously, it’s fine. Me and Eiko-san are having lots of fun together. Right?”
“Well, I suppose...” Eiko pasted on a smile. Perhaps she was being considerate of him. “I’m sorry, Macaron-san. I promise to keep her safe. Please, go on.” Eiko bowed to him deeply.
“Eiko-san, you don’t have to bow to that old geezer! He’s just your boss, right?”
“Ro...” ‘That old geezer’ she had said. Macaron locked up, speechless with shock.
“But Lalapa-san...” Eiko attempted.
“Look, it’s fine! Just go already, Dad.” Lalapa made a shooing motion, like she was driving off sheep.
“L-Lalapa...”
“Just go already.”
“Ah... right. But I’ll be back soon, ron. I mean it, ron!” he insisted, spurred on by feelings of guilt.
“Yeah, I get it. How long will you be?”
“Er... Forty... no, how about thirty minutes?”
“Okay. Thirty minutes?”
“Wait for me. I’ll be right back, ron!” Clutching his white rose bouquet, Macaron dashed for the employee door.
He’d put in a call to Tiramii, and the Pomeranian was waiting for him in the break room when he arrived.
“How’d it go, mii?”
“Ah, er...” he dissembled. “It was a... touching reunion, ron. Anyway, I need to get back to Papa Adachi, so I’ll take the express course, ron.” He shoved the flowers into Tiramii’s arms and flopped into the Iron Phore. The needles pricked him hard, but he didn’t care.
“A-Are you sure, mii?”
“Just do it, ron!”
“R-Roger that, mii...” He snapped down the lid and hit the switch.
“Graaaaah! Bring it on! Bring it on, ron! Ya big pussy! Ahaha... hahahaha!” The pain was a relieving, in a way. Lalapa... In his mind, he had imagined them running to each other, and sharing a tearful embrace. But in reality, she had kept him at arms’ length. What went wrong? he wondered. Have I... Have I done something wrong? Iron Phore! Torture me, ron! “Ahaha, hahahahahahaha!”
Three minutes passed, and then there was a ding: Transformation complete. He was once again a gentle-faced human male.
“Macaron... are you sure you’re okay, mii? You were sounding a little more unhinged in there than usual, mii...”
“I’m fine, ron. See you later, ron.” Macaron (human form) said, his eyes hollow.
“Mii. Wait!”
“...?” Macaron waited.
“...Maybe I’m overthinking it, but when you write it ‘Macaron (human form)’ it makes you sound like a monster from a tokusatsu art book, or maybe a strategy guide, mii. Like there’s going to be a Macaron (perfect form) or a Macaron (final form), mii... What I’m saying is, you’re putting out real ‘final boss’ vibes right now, mii...”
“Ahh, well... I really couldn’t care less about that, ron...” Spitting out the words, Macaron (human form) mussed his brown hair with his hands and left the break room.
“Sorry I’m late!” He caught up to Papa Adachi’s group in the back room at Aquario, and bowed low in apology.
“Magiwa-san,” Papa Adachi greeted him. “Did you take care of your business?”
“Yes. I had to adjust the audio equipment at another attraction and it ended up taking a while... I’m very sorry for the trouble.”
“Oh, that’s all right. I’ve really been enjoying myself,” Papa Adachi said with a bright smile. They had apparently watched one of the Aquario shows, and he must have enjoyed that quite a lot.
The elemental spirits had nice bodies and wore revealing costumes, and the show was very popular with fathers. Macaron felt grateful to the girls.
“Well, let’s move on. Wo
uld you like to try another area? Wild Valley or Splash Ocean, perhaps?” Seiya asked. He was hoping that, after all they’d been through, he’d be ready to say “No, I’ve seen enough,” but—
“Hmm, let me think... Yes, let’s do it,” Papa Adachi said without any particular explanation of his reasoning. “Of course, you’ll be my guide, won’t you, Magiwa-san?”
“Yes, certainly. This way, if you please...” Macaron said with a stiff smile.
They left Sorcerer’s Hill and moved on to Splash Open.
“Splash Ocean is an ocean-themed area, all pirate ships and submarines. There’s also a large pool that’s only open in summer. We have plans to build a dome over it to keep it open all year round, but that’s still in the testing stages...” Though his explanation came out smoothly, Macaron was fighting with his inner annoyance.
Lalapa is waiting! he thought. You don’t need me for this everyday crap! I bet he’s just trying to sniff me out! What are you, an editor taking a new writer to a hostess club?!
After walking around several of the attractions, Macaron looked at the time, then cast a glance at his smartphone, then whispered a theatrical, “Ah, darn it.”
“Magiwa-san,” Papa Adachi asked, “is something the matter?”
“Sorry, another one of my workers needs my help with something,” Macaron said apologetically.
“Oh?”
“I’ll be right back. Tric—er, Toride-san will show you around while I’m gone. I’ll be right back, I promise. Goodbye!”
It was, of course, complete and utter nonsense. The real issue was that it was almost 3:30.
Macaron ran to the Sorcerer’s Hill break room and dove into the Iron Phore. “Do it, ron!” he shouted, closing the lid with an air of desperation. Tiramii, who had been on standby, looked deeply concerned, but... “Just do it, ron!”
“R-Roger that, mii!” He hit the switch.
“Graaaaah, hngaaaaah! (abridged) It d-don’t hurt at all, you damn piece of crap!” Transformation complete. He was a sheep again.
“Be back later, ron!”
“See you, mii...”
Lalapa and Eiko seemed a bit giddy as they got down off of Thrill Coaster: Blackout. Blackout was a major renovation of their earlier coaster; as the name suggested, it pounded the guests with Gs just short of the safety limit. It did spins and loops at such speeds that it concentrated the blood in the riders’ lower halves, sometimes causing them to lose consciousness. It was enough that they were obligated to provide G-suits, which used air pressure to restrict blood flow to a person’s legs.
It was said that there were fanatics who would ride the coaster upside down to experience a redout (a blood rush to the head that turned field of vision red)... but that was likely just a silly rumor, of course.
“Ah, that was fun!” Lalapa smiled cheerfully at Eiko, seeming to have enjoyed the powerful scream machine.
“Lalapa!” Macaron called out. “Sorry I’m late, ron!”
“Oh. Hey, Dad. Back already?” Lalapa’s manner remained distant. “So, where do you want to go?”
“Ah, well... actually...” he huffed, “I still have a little more work to take care of, ron...”
“Oh. Cool.” Lalapa still wasn’t angry. Though he might feel better if she were...
Eiko looked worried, but seemed to think this was a family affair, so she simply looked on without comment.
“I’ll be right back, ron! I’ll be right back, ron!”
“When?” Lalapa asked.
“Um... in about thirty minutes!”
“Okay,” she said. “But it’s no big deal if it’s after.”
“I’m sorry, Lalapa. I didn’t mean for it to be like this, ron...”
“It’s fine, just go on.”
“Roooon!” Macaron ran backstage, weeping. An email from Isuzu informed him that Papa Adachi and the others were heading down the underground passage towards Wild Valley. Hurry, hurry! I need to finish the talks with that old man!
“Sorry for the wait!” He caught up with the group, shoulders heaving. For some reason, they were staring at him, wide-eyed. “I’m so sorry. There was a complaint, and it took forever to deal with it... But everything’s fine now. I can lead the tour again... eh?”
“Magiwa-san... is that you?” Papa Adachi stared at him dubiously. Seiya looked absolutely furious.
At last, Macaron finally realized it: He was still in his fleecy sheep form. “Roooon!” He had forgotten to transform. “Oh, er... I’m sorry about that... I was in such a hurry, I forgot to take off my costume...”
“You were dealing with complaints in-costume?” Papa Adachi questioned.
“Yes... well... It was a special kind of complaint,” Macaron explained. “There was a family with children who wanted a face-to-face with Macaron...”
It was an unconvincing excuse, but Papa Adachi didn’t press him on it. “Ah-ha. That sounds hard.”
“I’ll take it off now. Just wait five... no, four minutes!” He didn’t even wait for an answer before dashing off. He leaped into the casket in the break room. “Do it, ron!”
“Got it, mii.”
“Graaaaah! (abridged)” Ding. Transformation complete. “Huff... huff...”
“Maybe you should take it easy, mii...”
“Shut up! I’m fine! He ran towards Wild Valley in human form.
When he caught up with the tour group, he found Papa Adachi looking at him in concern. “Magiwa-san... are you all right? You’re looking pale... and your eyes are bloodshot.
“Er... I just... didn’t get enough sleep last night,” Macaron said hastily. “Shall we?”
“Maybe you should lie down?”
“I said I’m fine, ron!”
“Excuse me?” Papa Adachi said.
“Ah, nothing. It’s fine. I’m sorry,” Macaron apologized. “Let’s keep going.”
“......” Papa Adachi made no reply.
They gave him a whirlwind tour around Wild Valley. Macaron’s explanations remained smooth, but his eyes were glazed over and his movements were so mechanical that it was putting the entire group on edge. Time passed, and his 30 minute promise to Lalapa came due. Papa Adachi said he wanted to see other places besides Wild Valley.
“Of course. But... if you’ll excuse me, I’m being called away again...”
“Ah... yes. I see.” Papa Adachi, cowed by the sheer despair in Macaron’s tone, simply nodded his approval.
“I’ll be back soon. Goodbye.” He dashed to the break room. He screamed in pain. Three minutes, ding. Sheep again.
“M-Macaron...”
“See you later, ron!”
Eiko emailed him their present location. They were enjoying the attractions in Splash Ocean.
“Lalapa!” Ignoring the gazes of the other guests, he ran right for her.
“I-I’m really sorry, ron. It’s just... work keeps coming up...”
“Look, just forget it,” Lalapa said with a groan.
“Huh?”
“If you’re too busy, you don’t have to be here. I’ll just wander a little more and then go.”
“L-Lalapa... Don’t be like that. Please... wait a little while longer, ron. I just have a very important job to do right now, ron. The future of the park depends on it...”
“I know, and I get it,” she replied shortly. “So just forget it. I’m not a kid anymore. You’re busy with work, right? So don’t sweat it.”
“Lalapa...”
“I only came because Mom nagged me into it. You’ve done your big fatherly duty, right? So I’m gonna go. See you.” She turned around and started to walk off. Eiko seemed flustered, but told Macaron that she’d handle it and followed after Lalapa.
“Oh, no...” Macaron fell to his knees and sat emptily in place.
At last, Macaron dragged himself back to Dr. Adachi. The group was currently backstage at Astro City.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” Macaron whispered, downcast. The whole group looked confused.
�
��Magiwa-san?” Papa Adachi was confused again. “Weren’t you going to take that off?”
“What? Ahh...” He finally realized it. He’d been so depressed, he’d forgotten to transform in the Iron Phore. He currently looked like a sheep. “Well... who even cares what I look like,” he muttered indifferently.
Even the mild-mannered Dr. Adachi couldn’t help but take offense.
“M-Magiwa-kun. Please!” Tricen, playing the role of vice president, scolded him. “Dr. Adachi is taking time out of his busy schedule to see our park! And you keep leaving your post! Don’t you realize how rude you’re being? What’s come over you?” Tricen was probably trying to cover for him. It wasn’t much of a cover, but that, too, was typical of Tricen. “Dr. Adachi, forgive us. Magiwa-kun here is very industrious, and he’s popular with the work force, and it seems today has just been no end of trouble...”
“No, that’s all right,” Papa Adachi told them. “I think I’m finally getting a handle on what kind of man he is.”
“Ah...” Tricen hedged. “Could you be more specific...?”
“At the very least, time management doesn’t seem to be one of his skills. Dr. Adachi shrugged. “He seems to be a master of making speeches, though... Yes, it would be easy enough for someone like that to take in a wide-eyed, innocent girl.” They were words steeped in venom.
It was clear now that Dr. Adachi had never cared for Macaron; he’d only put on a genial face so he could spend the whole time searching for flaws. And now, he was saying, he’d found more than enough.
“Ah, Dr. Adachi,” Tricen began, “please allow us to apologize—”
“No, thank you. I’ve seen enough,” Dr. Adachi said dismissively. “I appreciate you giving up your precious time. You do have a very nice park, but it’s not a suitable environment for my daughter. It seems to be full of bad influences.”
“Dr. Adachi, he’s an important part of the park. Please, just get to know him a bit better...” Seiya tried to mediate, but Dr. Adachi wasn’t having it.