Amagi Brilliant Park: Volume 2 (Premium) Read online

  Prologue

  By resorting to arson, he’s managed to save an amusement park from being shut down.

  That much was fine (though it actually wasn’t), but they weren’t out of the woods yet.

  One month ago, Kanie Seiya had accepted the position of acting manager for Amagi Brilliant Park, an amusement park in western Tokyo. Now it was April, and as he entered his second year of high school, Seiya would have to deal with the many issues he had kicked down the road.

  The consequences of their prolonged discount campaign; the drop in attendance as they went back to their usual prices; renewed slacking on the part of the cast, now that the immediate danger was behind them... all kinds of things.

  They may have earned themselves another year of relief, but the essential problems still remained. AmaBri was still a crummy amusement park, and if they didn’t bring in 600,000 guests by next March, this time, it really would close. Diverting a soccer stadium’s worth of guests to the park wasn’t going to work a second time; if they wanted to boost attendance, they would have to engage with their problems head-on.

  In other words, even though it was only April, they had to get moving right away.

  And in the mind of Acting Manager Seiya, their most urgent problem was—

  1: Not Enough People!

  “Not enough people!” Kanie Seiya shouted to the conference room. It was the first week of April.

  The others gathered around the cheap tables were the most crucial members of Amagi Brilliant Park’s cast. They weren’t all old men in suits, either. Many of them were strange creatures, three heads’ tall: plush-bodied rodents, strange dinosaur-like beings with scales and horns—an eclectic lineup of fantastical beings, all wearing dismal expressions. These were “real” mascots that had all come from one magical realm or another to work in this mortal amusement park.

  “We don’t have enough people,” Seiya repeated. “Actually, there’s a whole lot we don’t have enough of, but people is high on the list. Maintenance, food prep, clean-up... We need to boost staff in all of those fields!”

  While Seiya was riled up and clenching his fists tightly, the others present at the meeting all looked rather apathetic.

  “I thought we had enough staff...” the crimson-clad Sento Isuzu murmured.

  Isuzu was a member of the royal guard of a magical realm called Maple Land. She had been given the official title “Secretarial Department Head” starting in April.

  “We do not! Let’s take an example. Sento, you have that lofty-sounding title ‘Secretarial Department Head,’ correct? But how many people are in that department? Speak!”

  “One.”

  “Yes, one! We... well, we probably don’t need more secretaries, but... The point is, we have too many departments being staffed only by one person! And what’s more... Security Chief Okuro!”

  “Ah, yes?” Okuro, the security guard, raised his hand when called upon. He was just an ordinary mortal, not from any magical realm. There was another elderly security guard who oversaw the night shift, and in general, the security staff were all mortals.

  “How many people are there on the security team?” Seiya demanded.

  “Four,” Okuro answered him, “although two of them are part-timers...” On a three-shift system, that meant there would always be exactly one person in the security center at all times.

  “Exactly! And that’s all the people we have providing security for a 500,000 square meter territory? It’s insane! What if a madman with a kitchen knife went on a rampage onstage? Would you be enough to stop it, Okuro?!”

  “Now, don’t you worry, Kanie-san,” the security guard said reassuringly. “I’d throw my life away to stop any hooligan.”

  “You’d throw your life away, would you?” Seiya retorted. “And what happens then? While you’re lying prone in a sea of blood with a dozen stab wounds, he’ll be moving on to the other guests! Idiot!”

  “Ah, fair enough!” Okuro sat down, sticking out his tongue (a gesture that was doubly annoying) and rubbing the back of his head self-effacingly.

  “No need for concern, Seiya. I’ll gladly kill any hooligans that try me, fumo,” said Moffle, the cast leader.

  Moffle was AmaBri’s headlining character. He had a short, stout, plush body like a wombat or a mouse, and wore a stylish hat and bow tie.

  “You’d kill them? Really? Can you imagine the headlines the next day?” Seiya suggested. “‘Amagi Brilliant Park Headliner Slays Hooligan with Excessive Force.’ You really think that’ll bring in the guests?”

  “It certainly will, fumo,” Moffle retorted. “I’d be a hero.”

  “Your job is to make the guests happy, not to kill people!”

  “If you insist, fumo...” Moffle didn’t seem convinced, but Seiya decided to move on anyway. “It’s not just security,” he continued. “We’re shorthanded in every single job we have. The onstage cast have been filling in where they can, but the burden negatively affects their performance. It’s not sustainable.”

  “...You’re saying we should hire more people?” Isuzu asked him.

  “Yes.”

  “Even though we don’t have any money?” she pushed.

  “I’m working on that, too,” he told her. “...What’s with that look? Quit worrying. I really am working on it.”

  In reality, the plans he had were still vague, but it was important for him to project confidence right now.

  “Anyway,” Seiya continued, “I’ve put out an ad for part-timers, and I’ve gotten quite a few bites. Interviews will start next week, so be ready for that!” he declared resolutely.

  “Do you really think we’ll get any decent applicants?” Isuzu whispered. It was a serious question with no sarcasm behind it at all.

  “I don’t know if we will or not,” he said firmly, “but we still have to try.”

  “Well, I suppose...”

  That’s when the head of the PR department, Tricen, spoke up. “Kanie-san is quite correct, Isuzu-san. We might get a flood of people brimming with talent! Like beautiful women, or beautiful women, or even beautiful women! The park will be like the world of a PC game, and the male cast will surely hunch over in appreciation.”

  “Stop that,” Seiya said with a snarl. “And don’t lump all PC games together. As a Western gamer, it offends me.”

  “Oh, my! Are you one of those, Kanie-san...?” Tricen gushed. “I’d assumed you were the closeted type. Acting all hardcore, going to Akiba just for Trader Chaos or PC parts shops... then secretly buying 18+ games off of Amazon.”

  “Unfortunately, I think I know the kind of person you’re talking about...” Seiya muttered. “But I’m in high school, anyway. I don’t play 18+ stuff.”

  “I beg your utmost pardon,” Tricen apologized. “...But what I was saying is that we might even get applicants who could threaten Isuzu-san’s position as Kanie-san’s beautiful secretary.”

  “Ridiculous. Hey, Sento. Tell him off, would you?” Seiya looked at Isuzu in exasperation.

  She turned her gaze downward, thought for a moment, and then spoke: “...Well, if the person is more capable than I am, then I would gladly yield my current position.” Her response immediately brought down the mood in the conference room.

  No one knew what to say to such a straight-faced response.

  Seiya thought about pointing that out, but he decided to just give up with a sigh. This was the kind of person Sento Isuzu was: she couldn’t parse humor. She couldn’t roll with the punches, or give as good as she got.

  He’d heard that she was a member of the royal guard for Maple Land, the magical kingdom that built AmaBri. He didn’t know much about what things were like t
here, but he’d gotten the impression that she was some kind of highly-trained, elite soldier. But, even taking that into account, there were things about her behavior that remained inscrutable...

  “Well, anyway,” he said quickly, “Let’s move on to the next subject...”

  AmaBri was facing a mountain of problems, after all. Seiya’s next topic was their extremely important (but also extremely boring) budgetary issues.

  There was nothing strange about Isuzu’s behavior for the rest of the meeting.

  The night after the conference, Sento Isuzu had a strange dream. They were interviewing part-time applicants, and every single one of them was a gorgeous woman. The interviewers were Isuzu and Seiya—for some reason, just them.

  The first applicant was a female college student. She was taller than Isuzu, with a motherly face and a voluptuous figure.

  “The position I want is to be your secretary,” the woman said sweetly to Seiya. “Despite what my appearance may suggest, I have passed the level two secretary proficiency test. I could surely be of use to you in many ways...”

  Kanie Seiya leaned forward, eyes shining and intrigued. “I see, I see. You’re hired, then. Your ‘big sister’ charms will comfort me in my darkest moments.”

  Isuzu attempted to scold Seiya for his flippant decision, but she couldn’t. She just flapped her mouth uselessly as no sound emerged from her throat. It was as if she was trying to talk in the vacuum of space.

  Seiya stamped “Hired” on her resume. Then, rather than leaving the interview room, the woman rounded the desk and draped herself over his left shoulder.

  “Hmm, good,” he commented. “I enjoy the pressure of your breast against my shoulder. It feels good. What a high-pressure interview! Bwahahaha!”

  “You are wonderful, Kanie-san,” she simpered. “Such wit!”

  “Cut it out, you’re making me blush. Bwahahaha!” He seemed to notice Isuzu’s scolding glance, but brushed it off with a grin. “What are you glaring at, Sento? Go on, call in the next one.”

  Reluctantly, she led the next applicant into the interview room.

  The next one was a lively-looking female high school student. She had short chestnut hair, large eyes and a mischievous face. She had an athletic body and—almost obligatorily—a large chest.

  “Um... thanks for having me! The position I want is to be your secretary!” she proclaimed boldly, despite her nervous expression. “I-I’m a first degree black belt in secretary certifications! I’m sure I’ll be useful!”

  Since when did secretary certifications have belt rankings? the dreaming Isuzu wondered.

  Isuzu’s brow knitted as Seiya gave the high school student’s resume a stamp.

  “Hired! Now, come here. Let’s give those breasts a nice new home! Bwahahaha!”

  “Y-Yes sir...” She scampered around the desk and draped herself over Seiya’s right side.

  “A double high-pressure interview!” he snickered.

  “You’re so wonderful, Kanie-san,” she gushed.

  “Such wit!” the first girl chimed in again.

  What on Earth is going on? Isuzu wondered. I want them all to die. I want to go home.

  Seiya, on the other hand, just laughed uproariously, then ordered Isuzu to send in the next applicant.

  The next applicant was an elementary school girl. She had long black hair and slender legs and arms. Despite her cherubic appearance, though, her eyes flashed with intelligence.

  “The position I want is to be your secretary,” she said, looking down on Seiya and the others with a vaguely sadistic gaze. “I can revitalize this park in ways you incompetents couldn’t dream of. Get it? So hire me right now.”

  “Yeah, you’re hired!” he told her. “Now, come sit on my lap!”

  “If I must... but just this once.” She, too, rounded the desk to take a seat on Seiya’s lap.

  “I like that weight of your lower half!” he leered. “Triple high-pressure interview!”

  “You’re so wonderful, Kanie-san!” the second girl told him.

  “Such wit!” added the first.

  “Really... what a silly boy you are...” chided the new girl.

  Seiya laughed uproariously side-by-side with his new secretaries. Isuzu tried to say something about this bizarre situation, but her voice still wouldn’t come. While her mouth continued to flap uselessly, Seiya and the three girls turned to glare at her coldly.

  “Oh, Sento. Are you still here?” he asked. “As you can see, your services are no longer required. Please leave at once. Go be an attendant to that princess of yours, Latifah—like the faceless extra you are.”

  This is insufferable, Isuzu fumed. How dare you—

  The sound of a shot blasting through the ceiling caused her to open her eyes. In her hands was an ivory musket with ornamental gold trim. Above her was a black bullet hole in the ceiling.

  She was in her bedroom in the park’s employee dorm. She narrowed her eyes against the bits of plaster that were crumbling down on her.

  Ahh, a dream. Of course it was...

  Those three beautiful secretary applicants were a fabrication. They were symbols of things she didn’t have—of things she would never have, no matter how she struggled.

  The idea that he would fawn over them like that was also pure fiction. She’d never seen him behave like that, and she knew very well that he wasn’t that kind of man. And yet—

  “Mm...” She sat up in bed and put her musket away.

  The magical gun Steinberger, handed down through generations of her family, was a magical weapon that had merged with her body and mind. It could be pulled from or stored in any exposed skin on her body. Since her thighs constituted the greatest area of this, it was most efficient to draw it from there, even if that did mean it looked like she was pulling it out of her skirt.

  Still, she had never fired her gun in her sleep before, and it was even more annoying to know that she had fired it in anger over a silly dream.

  It was a little bit after 6:00 a.m. She felt too alert to go back to bed, for some reason, so she decided to give up on trying. Instead, she got out of bed and took a shower.

  If Isuzu didn’t get three showers per day, she’d start feeling like she was going to die. She hadn’t been exaggerating when she’d said that to Seiya—she really did start to feel like she would die. Of course, she wouldn’t actually die...

  She stripped off her underwear and immersed her naked body in the hot water spray.

  Water flowed across her flushed skin and fell off of her in droplets. As she gazed at the ripples the drops created in the tub below, she thought to herself: I wonder where that dream came from...

  The answer flickered in the back of her mind. Dreams like these are often a reflection of your anxieties, it said. What am I anxious about, my own insufficiency? she wondered. It was possible.

  I was sent to this park last year to turn things around, yet I accomplished absolutely nothing in the time that I had. I acted like an imperious soldier, which did nothing but make the cast hate me. In the end, it was Kanie Seiya, the mortal chosen by the revelation, who saved the park... and while I was glad for that, it did reflect poorly on me.

  Although, that by itself she didn’t mind...

  I was fully prepared to be relieved of duty and called back to Maple Land. I had been proven insufficient to the task, after all.

  Curling up in the bathtub and bathing in the hot water from the shower head, Isuzu continued to think. I don’t think my feelings of insufficiency would be enough to inspire a dream like that... Could I be jealous of Kanie Seiya, then? Regardless of how he did it, in a mere two weeks he brought in a number of guests that we once thought impossible. Am I jealous of his ability?

  No, that wasn’t quite right either...

  To be quite honest, the main thing she felt for his abilities was admiration. Were she more comfortable with herself, she might have swept him into her arms and thanked him profusely, tears streaming from her eyes.

&
nbsp; But she hadn’t done that. She couldn’t do it.

  Why? she pondered. If I wasn’t jealous...

  Then it must be—

  No, no, no... She thrust away the answer that presented itself to her, shook her head slightly, then turned off the shower.

  I must be going crazy, Isuzu told herself. I can’t be having feelings like that. I just can’t.

  For one thing, he’d laugh at me. Everyone in the park would laugh at me, she repeated to herself, as she wiped down with a clean towel.

  Then, as was her usual practice, she put her stockings on first. Her underwear would go on after. This was just how she had done it since she was little; there was no particular reason for it.

  It reminded her of the incident at his apartment. She had gotten out of the bath and was dressing herself as she was doing now, when he just happened to step into the dressing room.

  In that moment, she had applied what she believed was known in the mortal world as a “poker face.” What else could she do?

  Isuzu had pretended that she was perfectly calm, but of course, she wasn’t. She just had a personality that allowed her to appear more cool-headed the greater the emergency she found herself in. Even if bombs were going off nearby, she would always remain the perfect image of calm.

  After putting on her underwear and using a dryer on her lustrous hair, she brushed her teeth, and then peered into the mirror. She tried a smile, then tried crying.

  There was slight movement around the corners of her eyes and mouth, but in general, her face maintained its usual indifference. Isuzu had always had a hard time expressing even the slightest emotion.

  She put on her more-or-less obligatory lip gloss, then tried puckering her lips; this time it worked. There was something a bit sexy about it.

  Isuzu tried to do it again, putting in all her effort, but this time she failed. Her lips just twisted awkwardly, then ended up in a scowl.

  The food served at AmaBri’s employee cafeteria, AM, was extremely bad.

  Nobody knew why the cafeteria was known as AM. It offered three specials—which hadn’t changed once in the three years she’d been there—as well as foul-smelling gyudon, dry napolitan spaghetti, and chicken curry.