Chapter: 152. The Last Amusement Park
It was summer.
The heat in the air made even Kanade feel uncomfortable, and her back quickly became damp with sweat.
It seemed that while her rewrite had strengthened her physical strength, it was ultimately a modification meant for combating chimeras, and she still lacked resistance to the ordinary heat.
Thinking this way, Kanade curiously turned her gaze toward Nagi.
Today, she was dressed casually for the heat, wearing a dark sleeveless dress adorned with lace, looking both fashionable and cute.
Nagi still wore her oversized sunglasses to conceal her overly beautiful features.
Because it was summer, it was not suitable for significant disguises; otherwise, someone dressed so fully in such hot weather would surely raise suspicions.
Thus, even though Kanade and Nagi had returned to Kawayano City, they had only made minimal changes to their appearance.
Apart from the sunglasses, Nagi’s most significant change was tying her waist-length black hair into a refreshing high ponytail.
Kanade merely tidied her bangs to cover her eyes, ensuring that she and Nagi looked like ordinary students enjoying their vacation.
The two had decided to quietly return to Nagi’s home after nightfall.
So, they needed to kill time during the day in Kawayano City.
Initially, Kanade had some worries about the risky move of returning to Kawayano City, but then she thought that the most dangerous places might actually be safer.
Even if Special Circumstances SEGA would indeed take precautions, they likely would not deploy too many personnel, as clearly other locations required more manpower for investigation; in contrast, Kawayano City was merely a hypothetical location.
—Even in the worst-case scenario, as long as she used “rewrite”…
That was also Kanade’s greatest reliance.
Even if she was wrong about her gamble, as long as she spent “one” chance at rewriting, escaping the encirclement of Special Circumstances SEGA with Nagi would not be difficult.
“Subaru-kun, Subaru-kun~” Nagi’s call brought Kanade back to reality.
The two had no specific plans for their day in Kawayano City; after all, it was a place they’d lived in since childhood, so they merely intended to wander around casually, checking out scenes from their past memories.
At that moment, Kanade looked in the direction Nagi was pointing, and her eyes fell upon a promotional poster.
“…an amusement park?” Kanade read the text aloud.
“Yes, it seems like the little amusement park we used to go to has reopened after renovations~” Nagi replied excitedly. “And apparently, it’s free for the next couple of days; we can experience the attractions without tickets! Can we go check it out?”
Posters about the amusement park’s reopening were plastered across the promotional walls near the station.
Passersby spotted the news and expressed excitement, planning to invite their friends for a fun experience.
For students living in a small, remote mountain city like Kawayano City, nothing was more appealing than a free amusement park during the summer vacation.
“Well… it’s not out of the question.” Kanade pondered for a moment before slowly answering.
Although she would prefer to avoid overly crowded places, as a battle against Special Circumstances SEGA or fantasy monsters in such locations would surely harm innocent bystanders, if she thought about it from the opposite perspective, Special Circumstances SEGA would probably also avoid engaging in open confrontation in such lively public spaces to prevent hurting innocents, which indirectly provided her a kind of early warning.
Thus, Kanade agreed.
“Great! It’s been a long time since I’ve been to an amusement park with… Subaru-kun~” Nagi’s radiant smile brightened at her response, and she quickly took Kanade’s hand, leading her toward the amusement park.
A white dove flew across the deep blue sky, and a snow-white feather gently drifted down to the station where Kanade and Nagi had just been.
Meanwhile, a crowd stood quietly, watching the two leave, with some already moving a ladder to tear down the posters from the promotional wall, the glow of magical power flickering slowly in their eyes.
Naturally, Special Circumstances SEGA would avoid taking action in front of ordinary people, but in places without “ordinary people,” the rules would be different.
An invisible domain now enveloped Kawayano City, and the chaotic power caused Kanade’s usual primal instincts to become “confused.”
—————–
“…Where did you get this thing, Renji-niichan?”
In an empty small park.
Mana stared blankly at the emblem of Hoshizora Academy in her hand, slowly lifting her head to look at Renji.
“A few days ago, a man who claimed to be ‘Nihikari’ approached me.” Renji spoke calmly, his gaze fixed on Mana’s face as if trying to gain more information from her expression.
“He showed me something very special and informed me about Nagi and Kanade’s current situation.”
Mana could obviously tell that this so-called “very special” thing referred to supernatural powers.
What surprised her was that the black-haired man boldly violated the rules of being a supernatural being to actively approach ordinary people and reveal the true face of this world to them.
It is important to note that the power of fantasy monsters originates from humanity itself; therefore, the more humans know about them, the stronger they become. Thus, both official organizations led by Special Circumstances SEGA and the three major academies and anti-supernatural organizations strictly adhere to the rules and carefully guard the truth of this world.
“What… did he say to you, Renji-niichan?” Mana clenched the emblem in her hand tightly, showing a serious expression.
Since that man from Hoshizora Academy went through the trouble of violating the rules to inform Renji, it indicated that the situation had become urgent to a certain degree.
“To be honest, I didn’t quite understand all the rambling he did about memories and settings, but if my deduction is correct—” Renji said, briefly glancing up at the sky as if recalling that day’s scene.
“He told me that Nagi is in great danger now, and Special Circumstances SEGA intends to eliminate her at all costs.” At this point, there was a noticeable change in Renji’s subtle expression. Although he still maintained a calm and aloof demeanor on the surface, some minute details betrayed his evident anger.
“Eliminate… Nagi-chan? Why?” Mana was taken aback, as this information contradicted what she knew.
Special Circumstances SEGA should merely want to detain Nagi to threaten Kanade into becoming the protagonist. If they chose to kill Nagi, then Kanade could never possibly become the savior they envisioned.
“I thought you would know about this,” Renji continued after realizing that Mana was not lying. “Of course, he also mentioned other things that caught my attention.”
“Such as the supernatural powers and the authority he referred to, which should be the extraordinary powers he demonstrated. He believes that our Hoshigumi family possesses something called authority.”
“The Hoshigumi family has authority?!” Mana nearly exclaimed, but quickly realized they were in a park and hurriedly lowered her voice.
“If what he said is true, it’s a pity that he seems to have lost some memories and can’t recall what the so-called authority is. I couldn’t find anything matching at home either,” Renji explained, looking as if he had thoroughly searched his house over the past few days.
“However, that’s not the key point. The crucial part is that if Nagi were to die, it would definitely be in Kawayano City… Mana, tell me, is Nagi currently in Kawayano City?”
“Though I’m not very inclined to believe in prophetic sayings, there are parts of what he showed me that I can’t help but believe, so—”
“If Nagi is in Kawayano City, can you help me tell her to leave quickly?”
—————–
The newly opened amusement park was packed with people.
The laughter and joy of the crowd helped ease the tense nerves that Kanade had been holding onto. After all, it was hard to imagine that Special Circumstances SEGA would choose to take action in such a lively location.
Moreover, while the amusement park had been renovated, some areas still clearly bore the marks of the past.
These traces made Kanade reminisce about the happy times she and Nagi once had in Kawayano City.
Just as Kanade was lost in happy memories of the past, Nagi, who had been leading her, came to a halt.
“Excuse me, young couple, we are currently holding a promotional event at our wedding dress memorial store for our grand opening. You can experience our bridal photography service for free. Would the two of you be interested?”
