Though it was the middle of a weekday, Tenchido Eternaland was completely packed. There was a group of girls walking along, eating huge pancake sandwiches and drinking cream sodas. Probably college students with flexible schedules. There were also several groups of what were probably foreign tourists, using up some of their vacation time.
I also saw a few families with kids who were the right age to be in school—I was more confused about them being here than anybody else. They couldn’t be taking their education seriously if they were out here skipping school to come to Eternaland. Oops, my Japanese conformist nature is showing...
None of those kids were that old, though—junior high age at most—so they probably couldn’t see the value in education just yet. I could understand why they might want to play truant. I still thought it was dumb to risk your grades over a trip to a theme park, though. An honor student would never dream of doing such a thing, nor would someone pretending to be an honor student—like Iroha. Obviously Midori, the most serious girl I knew, wouldn’t either.
What about Mashiro, then?
I glanced at the face of my childhood friend as I walked next to her. She was looking at the pamphlet a costumed character at the entrance had given her, her expression serious as she considered our next move.
Mashiro used to be a shut-in. I doubted she’d feel any actual guilt in skipping school at this point, but since then, she’d plucked up the courage to step outside. She no longer needed me as her boyfriend-slash-protector. With how she’d grown, I didn’t think she’d ditch school anymore without a very good reason.
I suddenly realized I’d been staring a hole into her this entire time, something that she was bound to notice if I kept it up. It wouldn’t do to let myself be captivated too much.
“Wanna go here first?” Mashiro asked, hesitant, pointing at a section of the pamphlet.
“The Hyper Marco attraction? Looks good to me.”
“He’s Tenchido’s flagship character. That’s why I think that’s the best place to start.”
“Let’s do it, then.”
“Yeah.”
It was a surprisingly unsentimental first pick coming from her. I would have expected a girl to go for that FPS where the characters battle over territory while dressed in fashion from various subcultures, or the fitness adventure where you have to manipulate the ring controller; something along those lines.
Instead, she made a choice that displayed her deep respect towards one of Japan’s leading game developers. Her face looked like she was a soldier setting out beyond the city walls to face a race of rampant, giant men instead of a girl facing a day of fun at the theme park. It impressed me, but I also wasn’t surprised. This was the aspiring writer who was being trained by a top-tier editor, not just some average Jane who didn’t know the hard work that went into creating.
We arrived at the area the pamphlet called “Hyper Marco Mountain” and were greeted by a long line. An attendant held up a sign informing us that there was a one-hour wait for a general seat. A whole damn hour.
Just as I was despairing at the prospect of so much wasted time, I felt a tug on my sleeve.
“Let’s go, Aki.”
“Seriously?”
It was the mighty Mashiro, who cowered not in the face of such a lengthy line. Daunted by her courage, and without the dating experience needed to suggest we go somewhere else first, I let her lead me by the sleeve to the end of the line.
Ugh, I could hardly think of a less efficient use of time.
“Eek!”
I suddenly heard a stifled scream and when I looked, I saw that one half of the couple in front of us had turned to look at Mashiro and me. Her eyes were as wide as if she’d seen a ghost.
The heck is her problem?
Was it because Mashiro was clearly out of my league in the looks department? Well, she didn’t have to scream about it. Stuff like that hits hard.
“What’s the matter? Why are you— Gaaah!” This time her boyfriend turned around and it was his turn to scream. Except he didn’t hold back.
The people in front of them then turned to look with a “Gyaah!” and the people in front of them gave us an “Ooorgh!” while the people in front of them full on “Aaaaargh”’d at us, like a chain reaction of terror.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, something was up. This just wasn’t normal.
“Aki? What’s going on?” Mashiro looked up at me, anxious.
“Damned if I know.”
The only thing I could think to do was to casually step in front of Mashiro so that she was protected from the inexplicable stares.
“L-Look, there’s an attendant coming this way.”
“Yeah... Don’t worry, we’ve done nothing wrong. I’m sure he’ll understand if we just act like we’re not intimidated.”
I guess he must’ve noticed the crowd acting weird. The attendant was walking around enthusiastically with his sleeves rolled up, clearly eager to do away with any troublemakers. But the second he stepped out in front of us, his eyes seemed to jump out of his skull, turned bloodshot with a single blink, and his teeth started chattering. His body was shaking like he’d downed a poison whose effects were instantaneous. I was surprised he wasn’t foaming at the mouth by this point, actually. Then, with a shaking finger, he pointed right at us...
No, not at us—at the passes that hung around our necks.
“I-Is that an LVIP pass?! They really exist?!”
More murmurs, stronger than before, rippled through the line.
“LVIP?”
“No... You mean the legends are true?”
“What?! But no one’s ever seen one of those passes before!”
I tried to gather as much intel as I could from the snippets of conversation I picked up, but none of it was enough to explain the situation fully. It’d be nice if someone could give us some details but, unlike manga, you couldn’t always count on there being someone with you at all times to hand out exposition.
Though maybe there were exceptions.
“A-Are those LVIP—short for Legendary VIP—passes?!” A long-haired man, covered from head to toe in pin badges featuring Tenchido characters, eagerly wiggled his glasses up and down as he spoke.
Ah yes, the famed nerd who looked like he knew everything there was to know about Tenchido. He was sure to launch into an explanation for us, spoken at a rate faster than your average human.
“Tenchido Eternaland sells three different types of annual passes that get you perks above ordinary tickets. The first is the light pass, which allows the holder to ride a small selection of rides for free, and can only be used on certain days. The second is the middle pass—it’s like the light pass, but it’s good for more rides and more days. The third is the VIP pass, a pass that grants access to every single available perk. Those are the passes available to the general public—us—but there actually exists a pass that sits a level higher. A legendary pass that everyone and his dog yearns for! That’s the LVIP pass. Its issuing requires the CEO’s permission, and the holder can skip the line for any attraction, boarding it via a special LVIP entrance. You will be given special treatment, and—”
Got it.
He was still talking at an amazing speed, but I’d already heard everything I needed to, so I zoned out. Thanks, nerdy stranger.
The point was, this was a pass that granted us huge benefits.
“I-I-I’m so sorry for not recognizing that you were LVIPs!” Flustered, the attendant bowed his head to us. At some point, his rolled-up sleeves had been smoothed down so they were covering his wrists again, completely crease-free. With all the courtesy of an elderly butler who had been serving us, his wealthy masters, for many years, he gestured for us to step away from the line. “Please, this way!”
“Thank you, Jeeves.” Mashiro was quick to raise her chin by an inch and allow the attendant to treat her like a princess as she stepped forward with a smug smile on her face.
You’re getting way too into this, Mashiro.
And that was how Mashiro and I walked straight past the regular line and got into the attraction via the deserted LVIP entrance. In no time at all, we were already boarding the coaster, printed with pictures of Marco himself.
“Huh,” I said. “I thought roller coasters usually had a bunch of restraints and stuff.”
“I guess it’s ’cause this isn’t exactly a roller coaster; they call it an ‘experience,’ where the goal is to just enjoy the world around you.”
“Oh, right. Makes sense, since it’s aimed at kids. And just because it looks like a roller coaster doesn’t mean it’s been built to go as fast as possible.”
“Yeah. Look at those 3D images too. They look so clean!”
Our conversation might have been a little too sterile for a high school couple—but that was just how we spoke with each other. The whole time, I kept my eyes glued to Mashiro’s face.
I couldn’t help it. So much of this just didn’t make sense. What was she thinking? What was her objective in all of this?
Why did she suddenly put an end to our fake relationship? Had her feelings for me changed at all? If they had, why did she choose to spend our free day together?
I thought she might be planning something for when we arrived at TEL, but so far she’d shown no signs of doing anything out of the ordinary. If anything, she had stuck closer to me when we went to the summer festival together. Now, it was like she was keeping at least a step’s distance between us; enough space for a whole other person to fit into. Maybe it was only natural: genuineness aside, we weren’t in a relationship anymore.
“Wow, look at the quality and detail they’ve put into this production! That’s Tenchido for you.”
An enemy in the shape of a mustache came jumping out from the screen, right at us. It felt so real, but Mashiro didn’t even flinch; she observed the character head-on, unblinking.