Don't use Type-Moon references in Oregairu!

67. Ateng, don't try to learn the spirit of craftsmanship!

"It's said that every piece of clothing worn by the dolls in It's a Small World is hand-sewn inch by inch by Disney's in-house tailors under the guidance of the designers. Moreover, they take into account the country the dolls live in when making the clothes. All the clothes are made from authentic materials from the dolls' home countries. The Indian sari is made of silk, and the Scottish organist's pleated skirt is made of pure wool..."

Among the group, Fujimaru Ritsuka and a group of girls explained some of the background and settings of the small world. Even the nearby tourists slowed down and pretended to listen to the temporary tour guide's explanation.

Abigail was alright; as an American, she wasn't very familiar with Japanese traditional culture. But the Japanese high school girls from the island nation, upon hearing this, developed goosebumps on their arms that lingered for a long time.

The reason they felt uneasy was entirely due to the island nation's doll culture.

Since ancient times, in island nations, people have regarded dolls as dwelling places where souls can reside. During Girls' Day, it is a traditional custom for every household to offer exquisite dolls to pray for their daughters' well-being. This love and worship of dolls has given rise to many strange legends.

Legends of Kikuko, a doll whose hair keeps growing, and the tale of a doll possessed by a girl who died young, or the legend of a tsukumogami (spirit of a ghost) whose life force is possessed by a doll that has been left for a hundred years, all add a strange color to the seemingly exquisite dolls.

"Ah, just thinking about how dim the lighting inside is, with layers of yellow or colored light shining on the faces of those dolls, and whether they might suddenly smile secretly under the shadows... just imagining these scenes gives me the creeps." Several high school girls, looking miserable, whispered among themselves about the possible scenes they might encounter, and none of them really wanted to go in.

“Sisters are so timid~” Abigail pouted in dissatisfaction, put her hands on her hips and scolded a few unruly girls, looking like a little adult. “I’ve heard a lot of scary stories about Miss Mary, the doll that was abandoned and then returned, but I’m not necessarily not scared. Back in our day, everyone played with the cursed dolls from the Witch Doctor’s Church.”

Everyone was speechless for a moment—back in your time, the Puritans were driven to the Americas to pioneer, so it's not surprising that there were a few people who liked to play with this kind of thing.

Only Sakura Hibiki looked curious: "Huh? What is Mist City Beauty? Is it a brand? And what is Cursed Poison Doll?"

"It's a boat-building doll, a brand that focuses on creating wilderness survival-themed products. The boat-building doll is an educational and fun model that teaches people how to build a canoe." Fujimaru Ritsuka hadn't noticed for a moment and could only rack her brains to make up a lie.

After saying that, he gave Eriri a look: Forgot about this Yiban person, Eriri, you need to think of a way to get rid of her!

Who is Zhai Li?

Eriri was a little annoyed, but then she suddenly realized this was a good opportunity to escape: what ordinary person would want to watch superheroes fight ghosts and monsters? Running away was definitely the best option. As for how to deal with Hibiki Sakura, that was simple.

Eriri stopped, embarrassed, and rubbed her stomach, looking listless. "Aren't you guys hungry? I didn't eat well at lunch, and I'm starting to feel a little hungry~~"

Everyone else said they were fine, but Sakura Hibiki curiously touched Eriri's chubby little belly: "Wow, you're hungry so soon? It's not even mealtime yet. Eriri, you're such a perpetually hungry woman."

You ate from beginning to end at the lunch gathering, and the portions were just enough for two people. How can you say that?

If this were a Taoist priest, it would be absolutely infuriating. If it were a manga character, Eriri's # symbol would probably have over a dozen layers of buffs on it.

Unfortunately, Eriri couldn't vent her anger. In order to make her escape plan a success, she had no choice but to swallow her anger and say, "We haven't eaten enough, have we? Hibiki, why don't we go find something to eat first and let them go do their business?"

Hibiki Sakura felt a little embarrassed, scratched her cheek, and said awkwardly, "Isn't this a bit inappropriate? Eriri, why don't you just bear with it a little longer, and we can go out to eat together later?"

"But I'm hungry, and I heard that seats at Tokyo Disneyland restaurants are in high demand and you won't get a seat if you don't go early."

"......"

"Moreover, many dishes at Tokyo Disneyland are limited in quantity, and they will be sold out if you go too late."

"!"

At this moment, Eriri described one by one the exquisite foods she had seen on the promotional website, making Sakura Hibiki's stomach rumble slightly.

Sakura Hibiki struggled, turning to look at the others. Everyone encouraged her with tolerant smiles, urging her to bravely pursue her dreams.

"Everyone..." Hibiki Sakura looked at everyone with emotion and made a resolute decision, "Alright! In order to take care of Eriri and to ensure that no one loses a place to eat, Eriri and I will go ahead first to reserve seats for everyone and eat until you return!"

You've made quite a sacrifice, planning to eat until we get back.

Fujimaru Ritsuka waved goodbye to the two with a subtle expression.

Hibiki Sakura had already dragged Eriri away and sped off, disappearing in less than a minute.

"Eri was dragged so far that her feet were dangling in mid-air, are you alright?" Yui Yuigahama asked, concerned about Eriri's ordeal, out of their shared experience of the roller coaster ride.

"I'll be fine, right?" Fujimaru Ritsuka offered a completely unfaithful blessing and pulled everyone along as they continued towards the small world.

There were indeed quite a few people queuing up here. Hideaki Taiga arrived a little earlier and was about in the middle of the queue, about one or two groups of tourists away from Fujimaru Ritsuka and his group.

"Uh, seeing so many people crammed together, ready to do something stupid, gives me a bad feeling." Fujimaru Ritsuka rubbed her eyes, her blood pressure rising.

Tokyo Disneyland is located in Chiba Prefecture!

This is somewhat of my territory, even though it seems I only acquired Chiba City, not the surrounding towns. But I'm not wrong to consider myself a partial owner, am I?

Although Chiba's jurisdiction has not been fully handed over yet—and it can't be handed over anyway, since the personnel and the base haven't been officially handed over yet, Chaldea is still just an empty shell, with only him, Yukino, Yui, Abigail, and Utaha as its only members.

The commander of the bachelors is out of control. Everyone's rushing to send their troops away, how am I supposed to go?

However, there shouldn't be any problem with issuing warnings.

While the group was still moving slowly, he decisively dialed the number: "Sister Yang, save me!"

Yang Nai answered the phone, sounding a bit stressed: "No, although Disneyland is in Chiba Prefecture, there seems to be some administrative jurisdiction issues. I need to check before I can draw a conclusion. Why don't you wait a moment, and I'll ask my colleagues in Tokyo?"

"Huh? If it's not under Chiba's jurisdiction, then I don't care."

Although she spoke softly, Yukino and the others still heard her and couldn't help but cast accusing glances at her: "You've already mastered the non-stick pan technique of craftsmanship so quickly? Fujimaru Ritsuka, you're still a scumbag!"

68. An old capitalist (3 or more chapters today)

"Mr. Fujimaru, why are you trying to emulate the bureaucratic spirit of my great island nation? Have you taken the wrong medicine lately?"

Yang Nai was constantly flipping through the document and typing away on the keyboard, seemingly sending an email to a friend, while also making her usual teasing remarks.

"Sigh, it's not about avoiding sticking to the pan, it's just that once this involves administrative wrangling, it's all a hassle." Fujimaru Ritsuka held her phone, looking like she was reminiscing about the past, and complained about various things. "For example, in some places, they'll ask you to prove that you are who you are. In other places, they'll tell the public that we were wrong about privacy and then blame nothing. It's all just a manifestation of bureaucracy, but the former might be corrected, while the latter will just bow down."

"For example, if this involves a dispute between Chiba and Tokyo, then needless to say, Tokyo will definitely take the lead at the official level. But given how far apart they are, how will the reaction be? And will they even believe someone like me, a country bumpkin from Chiba?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't quite agree with his point of view: "This kind of thing involves strange events, so the Special Affairs Bureau wouldn't just ignore it, would they?"

"Sister Yang, how's it going? Have you gotten any inside information from your friend?"

"Uh, you're right. I learned from a friend that this area is an enclave of Tokyo, managed jointly by a mysterious conglomerate in Tokyo and the Disney Company. Administrative authority is given priority to Tokyo, and even the special police stationed there were appointed by them. It seems that the Special Affairs Bureau can't get involved and can only report it."

"I understand, I understand. After all, it's our American daddy. Even if it's his dog, we can't just take any action easily. So at least, has the Special Affairs Bureau contacted that conglomerate? Have they told them to temporarily shut down the project for inspection?"

Yukino's bitter laugh was heard even by the girls who had unknowingly gathered around: "No. Today, the person in charge only replied, 'I understand, we will handle it ourselves.' And that was the end of it."

"That's why I said it doesn't matter~ As long as it doesn't involve our management of Chiba, we'll just be anonymous volunteers. Thank you, Haruno-nee, I'll get back to you later." Fujimaru Ritsuka hung up the phone, shrugged and spread her hands at the girls around her, indicating, "It's almost certainly up to us."

Probably not? After all, it involves the safety of tourists. Maybe the facility will stop operating soon, and then we can report it and work together to resolve the issue.

None of them said it aloud. The few words that had just leaked from their phones had made them waver. They decided to just stand there and wait and see.

One group of guests after another went in, and Hideaki Taiga's family had quietly moved to the front of the line. The project remained unchanged, and no other staff members were seen coming over. Everything was operating as usual, without any changes.

"So, with a 50% profit margin, capitalists dare to take risks. A 100% profit margin is enough for them to trample on the law. Temporarily stopping a project will have a chain reaction on the outside world, creating a bad impression, and more importantly, today's profits will also decrease." Fujimaru Ritsuka told the still somewhat confused girls, expounding on her prejudices against the operators of Disneyland.

"But aren't they afraid that if a real accident happens, it will affect their reputation and future income?" As a natural-born descendant of capitalists, Yukino naturally understood what Fujimaru Ritsuka meant, but she was puzzled.

“Yukino, you need to understand. For most ordinary people, the supernatural is still an urban legend. If someone really disappeared inside, it would just be considered a ghost story, and might even attract curious people. Besides, they might have thought carefully that if there really were strange things happening inside, people would just disappear silently, and there wouldn't be any major trouble.” Fujimaru Ritsuka pointed out the point that Yukino and the others hadn't grasped either. “How could it really affect the operation of Disneyland? Only when there are safety issues with the equipment, or when a dead body is actually found, something that [tangibly] affects the safety of visitors, will the operators take it seriously.”

Abigail clenched her little fists, angrily waving her long coat sleeves, and said with a smug look, "How can the amusement park owner be so mean? I'm so angry! Does he think he can just ignore other people's safety for a little money?"

"After all, capitalists are willing to sell even the rope that would hang themselves. Ah, but I think it's most likely the local operations team's doing. You know, the so-called craftsmanship spirit is about not making mistakes. If you make a mistake, that's your own problem. If it were someone from the US headquarters, they might at least consider brand value. But if it's a Japanese local operations team..."

Fujimaru Ritsuka chuckled, and a vivid image involuntarily flashed into her mind—

Operations from the US headquarters: This means we are the number one theme park! Restoring Disney's glory is our inescapable duty.

Japanese local operations: If today's profits don't drop, then we've won.

After he recreated an intangible cultural heritage (?) theater in his mind, the team was about to undergo another round of adjustments.

Fujimaru Ritsuka counted the distances. Between Hideaki Ogawa's family and them, there seemed to be three more groups of people, which meant they would have to wait until the next wave to enter.

That's not good. Each tour takes about 10 minutes, including the time spent organizing equipment and preparing for entry. Fujimaru Ritsuka might have to wait 15 minutes after Taiga Hideaki's family goes in before she can go in herself.

Won't the daylily be cold by 15 minutes?

However, if they could advance one position, perhaps emergency treatment would be possible.

Fujimaru Ritsuka decided to adjust the order, and gently patted the tourist in front of him: "Excuse me..."

Ahead was a young couple discussing their sightseeing experiences. Their sweet moment was abruptly interrupted, and the man turned around, a little annoyed: "Excuse me, is there anything I can help you with?"

"We wanted to discuss changing seats with you..." Fujimaru Ritsuka said with a sunny and warm business smile, trying her best to exude the charm of a host. "There are some friends we haven't seen in a long time ahead, and we were thinking of giving them a surprise when we leave, but if we wait for the next group, we might miss them."

Hmm, it doesn't seem like it's impossible...

The man thought it wasn't a big deal and that waiting another ten minutes or so was fine. Just as he was about to agree, he glanced at his girlfriend.

His girlfriend smiled infatuatedly, her eyes sparkling as if they were electrifying him.

And behind this guy! There were beautiful girls everywhere, some plump, some slender, and even little girls!

The man said he couldn't tolerate this, he had to refuse...

A cool voice quickly interjected: "We can offer you two some insignificant compensation."

Several 10,000 yen bills appeared in front of the man.

You'll have to pay more.

The man changed his mind.

69. People can't understand each other, but once you've dealt with someone, there's no need for understanding anymore.

"Money can indeed solve many problems, and at the very least, it can get rid of the person who caused the problem." Fujimaru Ritsuka sighed as she watched the young couple make way for her and happily count their money behind them. She couldn't help but feel that Yukinoshita, as the daughter of a capitalist, had grown up.

It would be even better if the money wasn't taken out of one's own wallet!

When did you take your wallet out of my pocket?

Fujimaru Ritsuka reluctantly accepted the wallet from Yukino Yukinoshita, muttering to herself.

Yukino Yukinoshita declared, "I'm not taking the blame for this: I was trying to salvage the situation you caused, you idiot! Look at the look in her eyes back then, she was already ready to reject you."

Sigh, being a male slammer isn't easy, and being a male slammer surrounded by a bunch of girls is even harder. You have to pay with money and your looks just to survive in this consumer society.

A tough guy shed tears.

Using the same method, they once again bribed the family of three ahead of them, finally managing to catch up with the group that was with Hideaki Taiga. With the minor incident resolved, Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others began moving with the group.

It's a Small World began checking tickets, and people in the queue began boarding the provided boats in order. Each boat at Tokyo Disneyland can hold about 20 people at a time, and Fujimaru Ritsuka and her friends boarded the boats one by one.

Although it's called a small boat, it can actually hold 20 people, with enough space to move around a bit besides the seats. However, precisely because of this, Hideaki Taiga and his family noticed Ritsuka Fujimaru and her group who boarded the same boat.