Seiya was staying in an unfamiliar bed, with an unfamiliar pillow, and he’d just had a rough night. He could usually sleep almost anywhere, but this time, he only managed to spend about three hours in a light doze.
They had room service for breakfast, too. Isuzu munched on her toast as if nothing had happened, made full use of the jacuzzi bath she’d filled up during the meal, and then tidied up. “I’m ready,” she announced.
“Okay.”
“Shall we?”
“...Sure,” Seiya agreed. He paid the final room fee and the two left the hotel. It was sunny outside; the morning light was almost blinding. At the same time, it seemed to Seiya that the sun was a little bit dimmer today.
He watched Isuzu from behind as they walked to the closest bus stop, bathed in the still-intense light of September. His head was fuzzy from sleep deprivation, and the events of last night almost seemed like a dream. Seiya wondered if they were never going to talk about that night again... and the thought filled him with dissatisfaction.
The bus came. They silently got on board. There were only four or five others there. Seiya took a seat in the back, and Isuzu sat in front of him. She was acting distant—no, was she lonely? He didn’t know for sure which one it was.
The bus was nearly empty, yet something inside him told him that they couldn’t keep sitting in separate seats like this. He felt something like a premonition—difficult to put into words—that things might stay this way forever if they did. Was this one of those times when you had to fight the urge to run away? Why not just move forward instead?
If he didn’t make any progress at all, he’d eventually lose everything, so Seiya stood up and then sat down next to Isuzu. “Scoot in,” he ordered, shoving her shoulder with a little intentional roughness.
Though surprised, she obediently let him push her to the window seat. “There’s not much room,” she cautioned.
“So what? We’ll be fine,” Seiya said coldly, turning away.
“...You’re strange,” she commented.
“Hmph,” he grumbled. Each time the bus rocked, their arms touched. It felt nice.
It took about ten minutes to reach Sanami Lake Station. It was only about 10:00 in the morning; if they got on the next train, they could make it in time for their morning conference.
Around the time the bus entered the station, Seiya got a call from Handa-san at Kagaya Estates. He apologized about the trouble yesterday, and she did the same. This was only natural— she had basically abandoned a customer deep in the mountains, after all. “I am so sorry!” she boomed. “Did you make it out safely?!”
“Well, yes... We made it in time for the last train out,” Seiya answered, turning down the smartphone’s volume as he got off the bus.
“Great to hear it! The only places to stay around there are love hotels! Ahaha!”
“I... I see,” he agreed neutrally. She really is an exhausting person... he thought. Of course, she obviously didn’t mean any harm.
“So, how did you like the property?” Handa-san asked. “Did you get a good look around?!”
“Well... I’ll need to bring it back to my company, then go over the conditions again. I’ll need to negotiate with the local government, too. But... personally, I don’t think I’m going to find a better offer,” Seiya admitted.
Isuzu’s eyes went wide as she heard his words.
“Great to hear it! Ahaha!”
“But... there appears to be a squatter on the land,” he continued, “so I’d like you to do something about that, first.”
“A squatter? On that land?” Handa-san repeated, confused.
“Yes,” Seiya told her. “An old man, growing crops among the ruins. He looked like he’d been living there for years.”
“I... I don’t think that’s really possible?” Handa-san questioned. “The maintenance company sends regular patrols, so if there were someone there, they’d have noticed right away!”
“But I saw it,” Seiya insisted.
“Not possible! Just not possible! Ahaha!” Handa-san said confidently.
“Hmm...”
“You were probably just tired! Ahaha! You should eat more vegetables! Vegetables! They’re good! Vegetables!”
“Ah-ha...” Seiya said, unsure of how to reply in the face of such strident optimism.
“Well, I’ll call back later! Ahaha! Gotta go now!”
The moment he hung up, Isuzu spoke. “Have you decided to take the land?”
“I think so...” Seiya said. “Another real estate agent sent some proposals too, but... this seems like the best we’re going to get.”
“I see...”
“You don’t like that?”
“No. You’re right about everything,” Isuzu told him. “Three million attendance is impossible; moving is the only alternative.”
“That’s right.”
“But it still frustrates me,” she sighed. “It feels like running away.”
“We don’t have a choice,” Seiya told her bluntly.
“Of course,” Isuzu dutifully agreed again.
Frustrates me—like running away. Her words lingered for a while in Seiya’s ears. Still, there was nothing else to be done. Everyone in the park had worked their hardest, and they’d already exceeded last year’s total attendance. Their growth was miraculous by any standard, but it wasn’t enough.
No matter how he struggled, 2.5 million was the most they’d get by next March. And even that would be difficult to reach. Their projections left no doubt whatsoever. It wasn’t a question of popularity but of physics; they simply couldn’t accommodate any more guests. It was impossible.
That’s why he’d come to his conclusion: EXODUS. They had to move. They had to run. They had to get away from Amagi City.
“It’ll be hard at first,” Seiya told her. “But down the line, I think we’ll see the move as a positive thing.”
“Of course...” Isuzu trailed off.
“I’m sure everyone will understand. ‘Running away’ has a bad ring to it, but...”
“...Evacuation?” Isuzu suggested.
“Pretty much. There’s no point in fighting a war we can’t win. I mean...” Seiya went on. “Fight? Why should we? It’s exhausting. I’m sick of it.”
“......” Isuzu said nothing.
“Let’s just take it easy, take life as it comes,” he said. “I shouldn’t have to torture myself so that other people can have fun.”
“I... suppose.”
“I’ve had enough desperation,” Seiya finished.
They entered the empty station and looked at the timetable; the next train looked like it would arrive in five minutes. They passed through the ticket gate and stepped onto the platform.
Let’s go right home, he thought. I’m so exhausted... The events of the night before felt like a distant dream. How had things even turned out that way? It’s probably what happened at the ruins that caused it. I chased that tapir, met that old man... Then somehow, time leaped forward, the sun was on the horizon... we got lost and ended up staying at the love hotel...
That old man; Seiya just couldn’t get his head around it. Handa-san had to be right. She had explained yesterday, too, that maintenance company staff came through once a month. There couldn’t be a homeless man staying there, tending crops. And two days ago, when Seiya had done research on an urban explorer site, he’d seen nothing written there about that old man, either.