An announcement came over the platform: the inbound train had arrived. His mind still burning with questions, Seiya got on board.
Can I really afford to go back like this? he wondered. Then he told himself, Of course you can. Let’s just go.
No, something’s wrong... he thought. And then, Just go home, hold a meeting to announce the move, make the preparations, and go.
But is that enough? he wondered. But afterwards, Of course it is. You have your conclusion.
Is this really my conclusion? his thoughts insisted. I know it’s not great, but you’re tired of being tired, aren’t you? It’s time to go home. You want to take things easy from now on. You’re sick of dealing with all of this nonsense.
Am I really? he wondered, second-guessing himself yet again. Yes, you are. Thinking and making decisions for yourself is exhausting. You want to end it already.
Do I really? Really?
......
The next thing he knew, Seiya had jumped from the train back onto the platform.
“Seiya-kun?!” Isuzu, still on board, pressed herself against the doors in surprise.
“Isuzu!” he shouted back. “Go back without me!”
“What?!”
“I need to take one last look at that place!” he hollered. The train pulled away and Isuzu receded into the distance. He thought she might be mad about his impulsiveness, but it seemed she wasn’t. For some reason, her face was flushed. “What’s with her?” he wondered. The train continued its departure, and soon left his sight.
He was just walking the steps back up to the ticket gate when his smartphone rang. It was Isuzu. “What are you doing?” she asked.
“Just what I said,” he told her. “I need to have another look at those ruins.”
“I’ll join you,” she said. “Wait for me at the station; I’ll turn back now.”
“No, you should go back without me,” Seiya insisted. “Lead the project meeting.”
“But—”
“Don’t worry. This time, I’ll make it back by noon.”
“...Very well,” she agreed reluctantly. “But don’t go anywhere dangerous. And... contact me when you’re in a place with reception, even if it’s just a one-word message.”
“Sure thing,” he promised. “Okay, talk to you later.” Something was there. He had to investigate. That’s right, he told himself. Let’s get moving. Seiya hung up and then strode through the ticket gate.
Ding-dong. The ticket gate snapped shut on him and nearly sent him tumbling forward.
He got out of the taxi he’d hailed at the station. The gate to old Sanami Amusement Park stood open for him. That was as expected—they’d left it that way when they’d come out the night before. Normally he’d let Handa-san know he was going in, but knowing it would just complicate things, Seiya opted against it. There was no way she would give him the chance to just roam around, the way he needed to.
The driver asked if he should wait, but Seiya sent him away; he’d spent enough money, and he could call another taxi to the entrance later if he needed to. There shouldn’t be any danger of running out of battery this time—he’d bought a spare battery at a convenience store at the station. A two-pack, in fact! Kanie Seiya was nothing if not prepared.
Still, he thought, he should probably let her know... The signal in the area was weak, which was the reason they’d had such trouble yesterday. Nevertheless, he sent Isuzu a message saying, “I’m at the front gate now. I’m going in.”
Seiya strode quickly into the ruins, after realizing it was silly to wait for a reply. Everything looked just the same as yesterday. He headed for the hall of mirrors, where they’d gotten separated before. He didn’t trust his memory, but at least the building was there—he wasn’t wearing his safety helmet now, and it seemed excessively dangerous to go in without it, so he went right around to the back.
There was nothing there. It wasn’t like in his memory. Yesterday, he had walked straight out and come to the old man’s farm, but now there was nothing but ruins around him.
Nothing... no signs of a makeshift lodging. No bucket of water with bugs floating in it. No room full of old books. No hamster cage. The trashed old stage where the old man had performed wasn’t there, either.
What’s going on here? he wondered. Was it all just a dream after all? Just as Seiya was starting to doubt his senses, he caught sight of the tapir. It was right in the middle of the cracked asphalt that made up the path. It stood on its four legs, head tilted, looking straight at Seiya.
“You came, baku,” the tapir said.
“What the...” Seiya started to ask.
“I was starting to think you’d leave last night without giving any more thought to yesterday’s events... but you didn’t, baku,” the tapir observed. “I’m surprised, baku.”
“What... did you say?” It was strange to see a tapir talking, but Seiya didn’t reject the idea; he hung out with talking animals all the time.
The tapir stood up on its two hind legs. This wasn’t too surprising either; Seiya hung out with anthropomorphic animals all the time, too.
The tapir had a watch on its arm: a Rolex. This was surprising. How’d it get a Rolex? Seiya wondered curiously. Don’t those cost about a million yen?
“I am the Fairy of Time, Bacross.” The fairy named Bacross bowed to him politely. “I was born in the magical realm of Polytear, baku. My special move is the Bacross Cannon. It’s a super-powered beam that pierces the bacro sky.”
“What are you talking about?” Seiya asked.
“It’s a joke, baku,” the tapir chuckled. “I don’t actually fire beams, baku.”
Is everyone from the magical realms like this? While Seiya fumed quietly with his usual rhetorical question, Bacross approached him. He didn’t hesitate to sniff at Seiya as he walked around him.
“Hey,” Seiya objected.
“Hmm, I thought so,” the tapir observed. “You’ve got some powerful mana in you.”
“You can tell that?”
“Sort of,” the tapir hedged.
Seiya had been given “royal magic” by Latifah, the princess of Maple Land. He didn’t really know how it worked, but it appeared to be very powerful. He still wasn’t quite sure what “mana” referred to, but he figured it was a bit like MP in a video game.
“When most people come to this amusement park, I usually give them simple dreams and that’s that, baku. But you have strong mana, so I got curious, baku.”
“A dream?” Seiya questioned. “You gave me that dream?”
“Well, I am a tapir,” Bacross pointed out.
“I thought tapirs ate dreams... nightmares and such,” Seiya mused. “And that’s only in folklore, anyway.”
“Some tapirs do that, baku, though they need a first-class Dream Handler’s license. I have a Special Major Dream Handler’s license, baku.”
“What’s the difference?” Seiya wanted to know.