Chapter 23: Volume 1 - CH 4.5

Part 5

Things became increasingly chaotic the next day.

The announcement of the match’s change in venue had been broadcasted throughout many different television channels last night. There was no turning back now.

The influx of staff members created a shortage of parking lots for their vehicles, which in turn led to a traffic jam on the road. Unfortunately, they could not afford to slack off on their service amidst the mayhem that unfolded backstage. On top of that, the cast members onstage were expected to help out with the preparations in the 2nd park during their free time.

Macaron finished inflating the balloons in the entrance square and returned to the backstage, only to be greeted with another task to help the people from ‘Nakamura Construction’ in the stadium’s B wing. And then, as he scurried over, a stranger gestured for him to come over and help him set up the booths.

“Why me…”

He carried the heavy furniture up the flight of stairs. The elevator was already operating at full capacity carrying people from one floor to another, so they were instructed to use the stairs.

“Come to think of it, wouldn’t it be more comfortable if you took off that suit?”

Oh yeah, I forgot to put on the Lala Patch. I should’ve worn it so that I’d be seen as an ordinary person. Sadly, I left it in the locker room. Meh, whatever.

“It’s the park’s rules. Anyway, clearly there’s nobody inside of me.”

“Hah! Cut the crap, it’s not like you’re Mackey from Dejima Land…”

“Just hearing that name makes me pissed, ron.”

Right after Macaron had brought the stuff to the booth, he noticed Tiramie carrying a roll of thick electrical wires walking by with unsteady footsteps.

“Mi…Mi…so heavy…”

And on the other side, Wanipi was seen pushing a trolley full of boxes stuffed with various goods for the booths.

“Outta my way, or I’ll roll you over, pi!”

Things have gotten to the point where anyone, be it Wanipi who never had things to do, or lead mascots like Tiramie and I, is deployed for such work. Are things really going to be all right?

The next one up was Moffle. Macaron had been busy the moment he entered the park, so he hadn’t seen him till now.

“Yo.”

“Mofu.”

Moffle was holding on to a writing board with some documents on it, appearing to be striking things off a checklist. He must have been inspecting and ensuring that each area had been assigned ample support staff.

“Macaron, you’ve done enough. Go back onstage.”

“Give me a break…I just came here after carrying some boxes, and now you want me to go back, ron?”

Despite Macaron’s scornful remark, Moffle did not waver one bit.

“There’s a commotion we have to deal with, fumo. From the looks of it, things ain’t getting better ‘till the end of tomorrow,” Moffle said as if he had already predicted tomorrow’s situation.

“You’re surprisingly calm, ron.”

“You think so, fumo?”

Because of the fire that broke out at Kajinomoto Stadium, the match would be held at Amaburi’s stadium instead. If they add the number of spectators into the visitor count, the number would spike by tens of thousands in just that one night.

All the cast members harbored excitement in the face of an imminent miracle. Even Macaron was having trouble keeping his heart from beating out of his chest. However, Moffle did not appear to be having any mood of that sort. He was just duly carrying out his duties.

And that did not make sense. It was obvious, given the fact that they had worked with each other for so long.

Sensing some skepticism from Macaron, Moffle shrugged, “I guess we can save the talk for later, fumo. For now let’s focus on the task at hand.”

Saying only that, Moffle set off once again.

*

The operations continued even after the park’s closing hours.

Things had been carefully set in place, with the once-empty infirmary loaded with medicine and first aid equipment. The banners for their sponsors had also been put up in their assigned locations. Everything from lighting checks, fire drills, and visitor maps were fine-tuned numerous times and meetings with their clients and other miscellaneous operations continued throughout the night.

And so Friday came to an end with 3,573 guests having visited the park. This was slightly more than last week’s count, but none of the cast members paid attention to that detail.

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*

It was Saturday, the day of the match.

Because of the intense work yesterday, all of the staff were dead tired in the morning. Each and every one of the cast members slept over at Amaburi.

Isuzu was no exception, having slept no more than 2 hours. Furthermore, being unable to take a shower for more than 12 hours had left her in a grim state.

The guests who visited the park when it opened were easily managed. The weather was perfect, and the guests who were greeted by Moffle at the entrance square smiled in excitement. One look at the plaza and one would believe the park was as lively as ever. It was hard to believe that several tens of thousands would arrive later.

It was after lunch break when things became different. A group of people wearing yellow and blue uniforms alighted the bus and entered the park. They were Melody Shibazaki’s supporters. They scanned their surroundings briefly, and referred to a notice board before heading for the 2nd park.

Of course, there were people who were dissatisfied at the sudden change in venue, but one of them said he was just glad that the match wasn’t cancelled.

As Isuzu was standing by at the gates, Muse came over and said, “They’re here.”

“More of them are coming. In fact, we’d be in trouble if there weren’t.”

An increasing number of spectators were flowing in at a rapid pace. After crossing the gates, they followed the map and walked towards the 2nd park.

Their numbers increased from tens, to hundreds—to thousands.

The shuttle buses that picked up the spectators from various meeting venues came streaming in. Supporters wearing colorful T-shirts alighted and split up according to their teams before entering the park. There were also buses that carried spectators who turned up at Kajinomoto Stadium without knowing about the change in venue. The operation was carried out smoothly despite the large distance.

“Amazing…”

The staff members who took charge of crowd control suppressed the disorder for the security team to conduct their inspections. The gate was now roaring with activity, a huge contrast compared to that morning where even bird chirps could be heard.

Muse was utterly taken aback.

“I’ve only seen such a huge crowd gathered like this in Ariake.”

“I don’t know about this Ariake thing you speak of, but you’re right. I’d say it’s been more than 20 years since we’ve had a crowd as big as this.”

The counter at the gate spun like defunct machinery.

There was also a large number of spectators who took the opportunity to visit the attractions before the match officially began. The mascots worked like crazy to please the humongous crowd of unimaginable numbers. Because of the 30 yen campaign, the refreshments depleted rapidly, and they had to borrow from tomorrow’s reserve stockpile.

Guests came pouring in relentlessly and the attractions had to operate non-stop to cater to the demand. The sickbay used to hold guests who felt sick was reaching its maximum capacity, whereas the number of complaints skyrocketed and the staff struggled to address their problems.

Isuzu could also be seen running all over the place. She had thought of taking a shower when she had the chance, but the guests weren’t that generous. She was on the verge of breaking down—but she assured herself that she would get over this turmoil.

The brass band marched about while conducting their performances.

Muse and gang danced and received applause.

Macaron was being kicked by the young kids.

Tiramie was scanning the surroundings for chicks.

Wanipi ran away and sought refuge in a corner.

The other cast members were all busy with their tasks.

The staff were so busy dealing with matters onstage that they could not find time to check on the people at the stadium.

Eventually the number of people wearing their supporting team shirts dwindled, signaling that they were drawing near to the start of the match. The sun began to set down west, and the night crept up from the east. Roars of joy, cheers, clapping, and feet stomping could be heard from the 2nd park. The forest and stadium that had drowned in inactivity for the past 20 years had come back afloat, livelier than ever.

Looks like the match started without any problems.

Isuzu stood from a distance and gazed at the stadium that had finally come back to life. She was overwhelmed by indescribable emotions. Perhaps it could have been a sense of isolation or loneliness, but it was certainly beyond mere feelings of relief and happiness. An apt analogy would probably be like a child watching other children playing among themselves from far away.

“The people down there didn’t come for the park, fumo.”

It appeared that Moffle had come over without her noticing. He was busy manning his Sweet House the whole day and had not appeared until now. Just like Isuzu, Moffle stared into the distance towards the stadium.

“If this were a live concert, we’d only be considered the curtain-raiser, fumo. Nothing has changed…not a single bit…”

Before they knew it, the other cast members had also appeared. Having finished their job, they gazed at the stadium without saying a word. Traces of loneliness like what Isuzu had experienced could be seen in their eyes.

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