Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 80, 11. "Epilogue: Amusement Park"

After saying goodbye to Mr. Hojo at 2:34 p.m., the six of them first deposited the souvenirs they had bought at the aquarium shop, and then strolled leisurely in the amusement park.

"What kind of rides do you want to try?"

Linyin lowered her head and flipped through the map book she had just received from the staff.

"Before coming here, I looked at a few popular routes on SNS, but we don't have much time, so we'll have to skip some of the projects that are too far apart and time-consuming."

"Rin'in-chan actually checked the guide, is she looking forward to it?"

"It's just my first time here, so I thought I'd at least make some preparations," Linyin said calmly. If she didn't make a plan, she would always feel uneasy.

"It's okay, it's nice to just walk around." Mami smiled and said, "If you have regrets this time, you will have the opportunity to come back next time."

"Ah."

"Masumi, how about we go to the haunted house?"

Kurokawa Mio tugged at the corner of his clothes, her obsidian eyes fixed on Masumi as she suggested this.

When it comes to amusement rides that can naturally lead to physical contact, the haunted house is the one that comes to mind. It is also a frequent site for accidents involving the suspension bridge effect and a great place for couples to warm up their relationship.

"It's boring, I don't want to go."

Masumi flatly refused. The girls in the haunted house were much scarier than the ghosts.

"Masumi-san, let's go play bumper cars together."

This time it’s Qian Ai.

"You can't go without a driver's license."

"Hey—you don't need a license to drive a bumper car." Qian Ai frowned. "It's better to say that only licensed drivers can't drive well. Bumper cars are designed to cause traffic accidents."

Masumi shook his head firmly upon hearing this: "Wouldn't that be even more dangerous? I don't want to go even more."

"Masumi-kun, you're so stubborn." Asami sighed, "So what do you want to play?"

"casual."

"..."

Asami sighed loudly again, suppressing the urge to nudge Masumi with her elbow, and then looked at Kaizuki, who had remained silent.

"Xiao Haiyue, what do you want to do? The interactive theater here seems very interesting, or do you want to watch a performance?"

“I want to sit on that…”

Haiyue pointed at the amusement facilities in the distance with an expressionless face.

"A carousel." Mami nodded: "Sure..."

Haiyue shook her head slightly.

"No...it's...the one on the Trojan horse..."

"Eh?"

Haiyue's answer made Mami slightly stunned, and the smile on her face froze.

◇

"Really, really, really, Cheng-kun, you are so useless. I can even hear the sound of your teeth chattering..."

"Haven't you noticed you've become a stutterer?"

Sitting in the last row, Masumi could only see Asami's arm stretched out from the safety device, the afternoon light trembling and shaking on it.

"Is there? Since it's not Masumi-kun, then, then is it... Kaizuki-chan, Chiai-chan, or Miss Mio?"

"Sister Mami, you're the one who's really scared, aren't you?" Qian Ai sighed, "It's not too late for you to get off the chair now."

"S-Stop joking!" Mami's voice couldn't help but tremble, but she still tried her best to pretend that nothing had happened: "It's just a roller coaster, why would I be scared!"

"...Masumi, if you feel scared, you can tell me."

In the front row, Kurokawa Mio tried hard to turn her head from her seat, but due to the restraints of the safety device, only her profile could be seen through the gap between her blonde hair.

"I wanted to sit in the same row with Masumi."

She twisted the safety lever with a look of reluctance, "Hey, Rinyin, let's change seats?"

"Dear guest! Please do not pull the lever. The roller coaster is about to start. It is very dangerous."

The staff at the nearby amusement park quickly stepped forward to stop it.

"..."

Masumi withdrew his gaze from the front and turned to look at Rinne who was sitting on his right.

The girl with long straight black hair was carefully checking the safety equipment on her body, and her expression seemed a little stiff.

Remember she just said it was her first time here... "First time in an amusement park?" Masumi asked.

"No." Lin Yin shook her head: "But this is my first time riding a roller coaster."

“When I was little, I went to an amusement park in Tomioka City with my parents, but I was too young to ride the roller coaster.”

"so."

Masumi nodded: "How do you feel?"

"It hasn't started yet."

As soon as she finished speaking, the seat beneath her suddenly rose and fell, and Linyin's shoulders shook, and she subconsciously grasped the armrests with both hands.

"Don't be afraid, it's just started, and it will take some time before it reaches a high altitude."

"I'm not afraid."

Linyin's tone remained calm, and her fingers were still tightly gripping the armrest.

"Don't get me wrong, I just feel that this kind of amusement ride where your fate is not in your own hands always makes you feel uneasy."

Except for bumper cars, all the equipment in the amusement park should be like this.

"The roller coaster's safety equipment is quite safe." Masumi said in a relaxed tone, "You can rely on it, it's okay."

"Ah."

Rinyin let go of the armrest as if nothing had happened, her fingertips turning slightly white.

The carriage started and moved slowly along the track.

Thrilling music started to play over the radio. Masumi looked ahead and saw the carriage climbing up the track little by little, ending up inside the body of a giant jellyfish.

A giant jellyfish monster that devours everything.

Adventurers will experience a thrilling adventure inside the jellyfish's body.

It is actually a roller coaster combined with tunnel elements.

"...This roller coaster is much higher than the one in Tomioka."

He heard Rin's comment in a calm tone.

As if to show his calmness, his hands were placed naturally on both sides.

The slope suddenly became steep, almost vertical.

There were excited cheers from the front row.

"Bang--"

The car climbs to the top and then stops in front of the jellyfish's huge mouth. This is the second highest point in the entire park. Looking down from both sides of the car, you can see the beautiful scenery from high in the sky.

"Look, Mami-sister! It's so beautiful down there, maybe you can even see the stars! Don't close your eyes."

"No, no, let me get off the bus."

“…It’s… too late…”

"Masumi, if you feel scared, you can call my name."

"..."

Amidst a noisy exchange of voices, some excited, some flustered, the carriage began to move again.

The front of the car slowly tilted downwards.

My body was pushed forward uncontrollably by inertia, but fortunately I was stopped by the safety bar. Only a feeling of dizziness rushed to my head.

In an instant, Masumi's hanging right hand was tightly grasped by another hand.

At the same time, panicked screams were heard from the front.

"--Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!!!"

The roller coaster crashed into the tunnel.

The feeling of weightlessness and dizziness that followed made my heart beat "thump thump" in my chest, and the screams or cheers of people around me shook my eardrums.

◇

"Am I still alive?"

Mami's face was pale. She was helped to stand up by Qian Ai. She looked back at the giant jellyfish with lingering fear.

"As expected of a terrifying monster that devours everything, I can no longer sense the existence of the semicircular canals."

"I told you not to be so stubborn." Qian Ai tried to support the staggering Mami: "Uh, Mami-sister...you're so heavy."

"It's not heavy! It must be the roller coaster I just rode that caused the gravity distribution in my body to be unbalanced."

"There's no such sci-fi setting at all."

Qian Ai sighed.

"Come to think of it, Xiao Haiyue is really calm."

Looking at the girl still sitting in the car, looking as if nothing had happened, as if she still wanted to see more? Asami showed an expression of disbelief.

"After all, it was Haiyue who suggested this." Qian Ai nodded and said to Haiyue, "It's time to go, Haiyue. Even if you want to ride it again, you have to queue up again."

"My body feels weak...I can't stand up..."

"Eh?"

◇ "Are you okay?"

After the roller coaster stopped smoothly, Masumi subconsciously turned his head and asked softly.

He saw Linyin staring at him closely, and their intertwined breathing gave him the illusion of being slightly disordered.

"fine."

Rinne answered with a sigh of relief, gently releasing the hand that was holding Masumi.

Just now in the tunnel, the two of them kept their hands tightly clasped together, and they did not relax whether they were sprinting, turning, or hanging in the air.

"Really?"

Masumi stared at his hands. Because he had just held them so tightly, there were red marks between his fingers and on his palms.

“It was definitely scary at first.”

After hesitating for a moment, Rinone chose to tell Masumi her true feelings frankly.

“No wonder my parents didn’t want to take me there when I was little.”

Although it was also because she was too short at the time.

"However, that kind of earth-shattering sensory experience is indeed very exciting, like another unpredictable life."

Linyin was savoring the feeling, as if she was still not satisfied.

"There's only a short queue, how about... playing again?"

The warm sunshine enveloped her, as if to compensate her for the happiness she had not been able to experience in the past.

"Okay! Let's play again, and this time I want to sit with Masumi."

Lifting the safety bar, Kurokawa Mio walked straight up and gently lifted Masumi's right hand.

"Masumi was holding onto the handrail so tightly that his hands are covered in red marks."

"You can hold my hand this time. My hands are very soft and definitely feel much better than the armrests."

"Um... no thanks." Masumi pretended to be carsick. "One ride is enough for this kind of experience."

"Are you okay? Masumi."

Kurokawa Mio looked dazed, took out a handkerchief from her bag, and put it on Masumi's forehead while he was still sitting on the chair.

"If you feel uncomfortable anywhere, please tell me..."

Her concern was suddenly interrupted by a staff member who came over:
"Dear guests, I'm very sorry to bother you. This roller coaster ride has ended. Please leave this way..."

◇

After getting off the roller coaster, Mami and Haiyue collapsed on the bench, looking like they were burned out.

"It turns out that Xiao Haiyue wanted to ride the roller coaster just because of that jellyfish." Qian Ai sighed.

"Where are we going next?" asked Kurokawa Mio.

"Given the state these two are in, they probably can't even ride the carousel." Masumi thought for a moment and said, "Let's find an activity that doesn't move at all."

Qian Ai wondered, "Is there such a place?"

"Yes." Lin Yin nodded and placed her finger on the atlas: "Theater."

After waiting for the two to rest for more than ten minutes, they followed the map and walked into the theater of "Amagi Seaside Theme Park".

The play currently being performed in the venue is Shakespeare's famous tragedy, "Othello".

The story takes place in Renaissance Europe. A Venetian general named "Othello" strangled his innocent wife "Desdemona" to death with his own hands because he believed the slander of others. After learning the truth, he was filled with remorse and committed suicide by drawing his sword.

"Performing a tragedy in an amusement park doesn't seem right," Masumi said.

But it was unexpectedly popular, with the auditorium packed, which was consistent with the social phenomenon in cinemas, with most of the audience being young women.

"This is a popular show at this amusement park," Asami said. "Maybe the audience isn't satisfied with just a simple family-friendly show anymore."

The warm lights came on, focusing on the two actors on the stage.

"Othello" is wearing a velvet shawl, with affectionate eyes, and gently puts his arms around "Desdemona's" waist.

It is worth mentioning that the actor who plays "Othello" is a tall and handsome beauty.

Should we say that Hyogo Prefecture is worthy of being the birthplace of the Takarazuka Revue?

"I remember that according to the aesthetic taste of the ancient Greeks, the more grand the festival, the more people liked to choose to perform and appreciate tragedies." Rin replied to what Masumi had just said.

"Maybe they think tragedy is more touching than comedy."

"Is the sadness greater than the joy?"

Mami had been watching the performance with little interest, but when she heard their small talk, she turned with interest and leaned over the back of her chair. "I've heard this saying: 'Girls like boys who make them laugh, but they eventually fall in love with boys who make them cry.'"

"Eh? Is that really the case?"

Qian Ai opened her eyes wide with curiosity.

"I don't know about that." Mami shrugged helplessly, "After all, we've never been in a relationship."

"Come to think of it...it seems that the only one with experience in love is Ms. Mio."

When the topic turned to herself, Kurokawa Mio said firmly:

"No matter what others do, I only like Masumi. It doesn't matter whether he makes me laugh or cry."

"...As expected of Ms. Mio."

They were sitting relatively close to the back, so a few girls became even more unscrupulous and started whispering to each other in a very rude manner in the audience.

But this didn't include Hanekawa Kaizuki, who had already fallen asleep in the second act. Her breathing was long and even, and suddenly her eyelashes trembled a few times, and she murmured:

"Ouch... I'm going to be swallowed by the jellyfish..."

Rinyin stared at the performance on the stage with an expressionless face.

In the fourth act of the play, Desdemona lowered her head and tears rolled down her cheeks.

She was distressed by Othello's misunderstanding and neglect, and said to her maid Emilia:
"My tears are a testimony of love, not a manifestation of fear."

Then comes the climax of the whole play, "Desdemona" is sleeping in bed, and a light illuminates the room.

"Othello" kisses "Desdemona"'s sleeping face. The beautiful scene makes the female audience in the audience scream in suppressed voices.

That handsome face twisted, revealing an expression of fascination and pain, and he recited the lines in a beautiful voice like an aria:
"O sweet breath! Thou hast almost tempted the heart of justice to break her sword!"

"One more kiss, one more kiss. May you stay like this until you die. I will kill you and then love you again."

"One more kiss, the last! Such ecstasy, yet such agony! I must weep, but these are pitiless tears. These waves of sorrow are sacred, for they punish the one whom they love most."

"Desdemona" slowly woke up and faced her husband who was furious because of a misunderstanding.

She tried to explain, but the person she loved deeply didn't give her a chance to defend herself.

"Othello" strangled "Desdemona's" skin, which was whiter than snow and smoother than plaster, and extinguished the flame of her life like blowing out a bright lamp.

The stage dimmed.

There was only a faint light on the bed where Othello strangled Desdemona.

The solemn and sad atmosphere immediately made Mami and the others stop discussing and focus their attention on the stage.

In the last scene of Act 5, Othello is filled with remorse after learning the truth, but having plucked the rose, he can no longer give it the life it has lost, so he has to let it wither and die.

He performed his last monologue alone, then drew his sword and committed suicide, falling on Desdemona and dying in a pool of blood. This marked the end of the entire play.

The moment the curtain fell and the performance ended, thunderous applause broke out from the audience.

After watching the theater, the sky gradually darkened. The lights of the Ferris wheel were lit, and the night sky was glowing faintly.

"Do you want to ride the Ferris wheel?" Masumi asked.

"Eh? No, I'm already very tired." Asami showed her fatigue.

Haiyue also shook her head slightly and silently licked the pink assorted berry ice cream she bought from the food truck.

The two of them clearly refused, and with the two centrists, Masumi and Rinne, coming to an end, this trip to the amusement park came to an end.

Everyone then went back to the safe to take out the souvenirs they had stored there.

On the way back from the seaside theme park.

The long day is coming to an end.

"I had a lot of fun today, except for that roller coaster." Asami was in a good mood, humming a song while walking, but she still felt a lingering fear when the roller coaster was mentioned.

"The aquarium is the best after all. I'm going to give it a full score on Google Maps."

"After that, I'll have to work hard for the review competition at the Sea House."

"Well, let's work hard together for the summer operation of Fanxing!"

"It's rare to see Mami-san so motivated."

"After all, I really want to know what that special surprise prize is."

"Okay! Then I'll also help design the summer uniforms for the Sea House."

"Yeah! Thank you, Qian Ai."

"..."

Masumi was carrying a bag of souvenirs and walking at the end of the group, keeping a distance from the backs of the girls.

I could faintly hear the sound of a whistle, but this place is not near Kobe Port, so it should be the sound effect of an amusement facility.

The evening breeze is light, carrying the scent of the sea, the smell of burning cigarettes, and the fragrance of girls' shampoo, gently floating to the tip of the nose.

He suddenly remembered a passage from the novel he had read some time ago:
"It's been a while since I've felt the breath of summer."

"The fragrance of the ocean tide, the sound of a distant whistle, the touch of a girl's body, the scent of shampoo, the gentle evening breeze, vague longings, and summer dreams..."

"However, all of this is like carbon paper that has been moved, with only slight but irreversible differences."

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(End of this chapter)