Chapter 19: Volume 1 - CH 4.1

Part 1

It was the third day since accepting the role of park manager.

Seiya, who had endured the whole night without sleep, headed for school with his back slouched. He figured he should show up to school at least once in a while to prevent any students from getting suspicious. With nothing better to do on the packed train, Seiya whipped out his smartphone and checked the view count of his video.

“…?”

His eyes widened. The video announcing the commencement of the 30 yen campaign had 8,873 views. He had checked the video before sleeping last night, and it had only 218 views back then. Seiya couldn’t believe that the viewership had jumped 40 times in such a short time span. From 218 to 8,873. How could this have happened?

Having endured his excitement throughout the lessons, Seiya checked on the views again during the break between classes. Within 2 hours, the view counts had jumped to 12,031. That number escalated to 21,230 by lunchtime. After 6 more hours passed, the view count had surpassed 40,000, and with every refresh Seiya made the views increased by the hundreds.

*

“It seems the other video had become quite the controversy. And as a result the people who followed the link over to this announcement had increased…” Isuzu reported to Seiya, who had rushed over to the office after school.

“The other video…?”

“The one involving Moffle. It appears that someone took a video of the fight between the two and uploaded it online.”

“What on earth?”

He opened the lid of his laptop and immediately started searching. He had not noticed this when he was using his phone earlier, but it was clear as day.

One of the related videos on his announcement video page was titled “Mascot KO’s DQN in Theme Park” and had more than 190,000 views. The video had indeed recorded the whole incident involving the scuffle between Moffle and the man. It must have been uploaded by one of the families who retreated when Seiya jumped onto the scene.

It was like any other video of recent disputes posted online. The man was presumably hurling rude remarks at Moffle, who was not on screen, and there was no explanation on how the fight started. The unpleasant scene lasted for several tens of seconds.

Because of the terrible sound quality, it was difficult to make out what exactly Moffle was saying. It could only be interpreted as “Fumomo, fumo, fumomomomo!”

And then, the man ran towards Moffle. Just when things started to look bad, Moffle dodged the punch with incredible agility and executed a swift punch to his jaw. The man was defeated in one strike, and Moffle struck a pose as if preparing for follow-up attacks. The video ended there.

“Oh God…”

For the audience who didn’t know the full story, they must have felt it was exhilarating, though in truth Moffle was also at fault.

About half of the comments on the video were in favor of Moffle. Some of the comments included “Good job. Really relieved my urge to do the same to my customers”, “That strike wasn’t a fluke. This mascot knows his stuff “, and “What’s this theme park’s name? Thinking of checking it out myself”.

Of course, there were comments criticizing the actions of Moffle, saying things like “He shouldn’t be treating customers like this. How rude” and “This was obviously staged, publicity stunt much?”, but most of the commenters had indicated interest in the showdown.

Its view counts were about to break the 200,000 milestone. The announcement video involving the 3 girls was at the top of its ‘related videos’ list. It looked like Seiya wasn’t wrong about his idea of attracting viewers. To sum it up, the video of the fight had attracted an enormous number of viewers, who in turn got linked to the announcement video posted by Seiya.

“Our viewership is still rising. This is a good sign.”

“Ugh…”

“Why the look on your face?”

“I guess this isn’t bad news but…”

Seiya had mixed feelings about this. And the reason being—

“Mofu.”

Moffle was standing at the entrance of the office with a smirk on his face.

“Moffle, your video garnered quite a lot of support.”

“I know, fumo. Well, my title as the lead mascot isn’t just for show. What do you call it, charisma?”

This rat…he’s just riding the popularity wave!

“I’d say I have some scary talent there, being able to create such a spectacle when facing a pinch, fumo. In other words, no matter how much an amateur tries to fake having skill, he’ll never surpass the real deal, fumo.”

Moffle grinned and looked down on Seiya. No, Moffle was actually shorter than Seiya but just then, it felt like Moffle was standing on a much taller pedestal of pride.

Seeing Seiya avert his gaze and tremble in anger, Moffle continued, “So, Kanie-kun. The video you recorded about…what was it again…the one with the girls in swimsuits was, ahem, quite the excitement, huh? Bet you thought its views would explode but what a pity. This world is a cruel one, hehehe.”

Screw this shit. This rat’s getting on my nerves.

Seiya was in a pathetic position, being unable to argue with him.

“It was out of mere luck that your video became viral,” Isuzu interrupted. “We don’t know who uploaded the video, but you must be thankful to the editor of this video. Depending on how it turned out, you might have been portrayed as the bad guy, you know?”

“Mofu…”

Hearing that valid argument, Moffle’s expression became downcast.

“Also, putting that pride aside, don’t you have something to say to Moffle, Kanie-kun?”

“If you say so…”

Seiya took a deep breath, wiping any traces of humiliation and anger away.

“…The announcement video of the 30 yen campaign has about 50,000 views. Chances are that it’ll reach its peak tonight and won’t get many more views starting tomorrow. We’ll be lucky if this video even reaches 100,000 views.”

“Fumo…”

“Furthermore, the demographic spreads far and wide across Japan. Even if they become interested in Amaburi, not many would live near enough to visit us. In the first place, just how many people can we attract using this video? 1 in 10 people? No, far fewer. About 1 in 50.”

2 percent. And that was an optimistic estimation.

“In the unlikely event that we even get 100,000 views, only 2,000 of them would actually come. No, it might be even fewer than that. Perhaps a thousand or less… In other words, this video won’t help us with our shortage of guests.”

“Then why did you make us dress in those outfits?”

It was no surprise that Isuzu began to give reproachful comments.

“Because 1,001 guests are more than 1,000.”

Seiya made an outright statement. Both Moffle and Isuzu stood dumbfounded at his response.

“We’re in a spot where even an extra person means a lot.”

A secret plan for success? Such a thing did not exist. At any rate, every extra guest counted, and Seiya would do whatever it took to get that. He could think of no other solution apart from brute force.

“…”

Seiya wasn’t exactly a fan of making desperate statements like this, but it seemed that Moffle and Isuzu were greatly affected by it.

“…I get where you’re coming from, fumo,” Moffle said. He had long wiped the smirk off his face. “I’m leaving. The guests are waiting for me, fumo.”

Moffle walked out of the office, leaving Seiya and Isuzu behind.

“I believe Moffle has realized you’re serious now.”

“You think so?”

“Yes. I think your words gave him a real slap on the face.”

“A slap?”

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That’s an odd way to phrase it. I was only talking about my approach on this matter.

“You’re set on doing anything it takes, even if it only draws an extra person here. On the other hand, Moffle ran away from the plaza just to spite you. Hearing you say that, I’d say he wouldn’t be very pleased with his own conduct.”

“Ah, I see.”

That rat, if anything else, has a pride that matches no other. He won’t be able to loaf around after hearing me say that.

Isuzu peered out of the office and confirmed that no one was present in the hallway. Then, she shut the door to the office and walked towards Seiya.

“Kanie-kun.”

“W-What’s up?”

Her face was close, and her pupils stared straight into his soul. Seiya inadvertently stiffened his posture.

“I will complain no further. If you need another video, I’ll gladly contribute as an actor. Likewise, if you ask me to strip, I’ll do so right away.”

“W-Wait, stripping is a little too…”

“…You’re right. I might just pass on that. What I mean to say is that you’re a good commander.”

“Okay…”

While using that word as a filler for his lack of things to say, Seiya could feel her words sinking into him.

A good commander? I wonder about that. The chances of this whole issue ending in an ugly manner is…high to say the least.

Isuzu took a step back, ending their conversation.

“I’ll be heading onstage too. I’m thinking of entertaining some guests with some shooting performances.”

“Spare some thought for their lives, will you?”

“I’ll try.”

Wielding her musket in hand, Isuzu stepped out of the office.

*

Seiya carried on with his usual work: gathering reports from various departments, handing out tasks, and conducting meetings between the cast members. He oversaw the maintenance and restructuring of infrastructure, along with confirming the details with the press.

Descending a flight of stairs, Seiya decided that he would check on how they were doing onstage.

“Alright…”

He put his hands through the sleeves of his park uniform. The dark-blue suit with a gold lanyard had an armband that read “Acting Manager”. It might seem like some childish attempt at role play, but wearing the uniform while onstage was a rule that was decided long ago.

He left the office building and headed for the entrance plaza. The sky was gradually turning dark. There was still some time before the park closed for the day, but most of the guests were already streaming out.

“…?”

The Entrance Square was strangely still buzzing with activity. It could be said that a lot of the guests were gathering around it. To be fair, there weren’t many guests to begin with due to the season, but those who passed by on their way out stopped to enjoy the cast’s performance.

“Mofu! Mofu!”

Moffle was walking around juggling balls, increasing the number as he got faster. It was certainly a rare skill to have, given his short arms. About 5 people applauded at the end of his performance, and Moffle gave a bow in appreciation.

“Ron! Ron!”

Macaron was dancing to some hip-hop music from an old radio cassette. According to the records in his office, Macaron had supposedly specialized in social dancing, but this was clearly breakdancing. He was moving to the beat of the tune by Run-D.M.C., and the guests were cheering to his dance moves.

“Mi! Mi!”

Tiramie was doing a balancing act on some bamboo stilts. However, these ‘stilts’ were more than 3 meters tall and any mascot of that size would find difficulty standing with them on. Nonetheless, Tiramie was maneuvering them effortlessly, running around the plaza and doing acrobatic stunts that seemed second nature to him. The guests walking by roared in approval.

“…“

Isuzu was also onstage. She took careful aim at balloons on Wanipi’s and Tricen’s heads. Their pale faces could be seen through the blindfolds, and after every successful shot, the 5 to 6 guests standing around would applaud for them.

There were other cast members around the plaza too, busy entertaining the guests who were leaving the park. It appeared that those were the “sounds of laughter” that the security guard was referring to. It was certainly different from what he’d seen when he first visited this place. These cast members were entertaining their guests. They were doing it in earnest. And the laughter and smiles of their guests were in turn making the cast happy.

Seiya spent about 2 to 3 minutes standing at the entrance gazing at the sight.

“You guys should’ve done this from the very beginning…”

These thoughts subconsciously leaked out from him.

“No, this is all thanks to you.”

Seiya turned around in surprise and saw Latifa beside him. She must have walked here with aid from Muse.

“Latifa.”

“Kanie-sama.”

With her eyelids still shut, Latifa addressed Seiya with a faint smile on her face. However, Muse, who extended her hand to support Latifa, looked rather uneasy.

“I can tell that things have changed ever since you came. I’d always thought that there was no hope…yet knowing this makes me feel that things might actually be different this time. Can you see, uncle…I mean Moffle-san?”

After his juggling act had finished, Moffle released some pigeons from his hat and bowed to the applauding guests.

“It’s been a while since Moffle has worked so hard.”

“I see…”

Moffle’s show certainly did not seem like just an act.

“His efforts have impacted the performance of the other cast members too. It feels like a statement to you that even if this park were to eventually close, ‘I bet you’ve never seen an entertainment service as good as this’.”

“So you’re saying I’m giving them hope?”

“Yes. I believe humans call this a ‘miracle’.”

A miracle, huh? Give me a break.

Seiya somehow suppressed his urge to lament about her statement.

I see. The mood here has changed quite a bit since my arrival. But attracting 100,000 guests is no easy feat. I’d say we’d have hope if we managed to reach max capacity every day, but that won’t be the case. The crowd assembling around the mascots equates to about 2 families at most. I’ll admit that every extra guest counts, but at this rate we’ll never—

“Kanie-sama, shall we take a walk for a bit?”

“?”

“We still have about an hour before the park closes for the day. So, if possible…”

Latifa hesitated for a moment and her cheeks reddened.

“Please go on a date with me.”

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