Rebirth From Ordinary Person To The Strongest

It seemed like the disappearance of the gondola and our jump from the Ferris wheel became known to the amusement park staff in no time.

I say "seemed" because I didn't really know the details of what happened after we dealt with the monster. I left everything to the man in the black suit who had accompanied us, assuming he was in charge of the clean-up… or whatever you want to call it.

Well, it was actually the man himself who said, "This is my job," and took it upon himself to handle everything.

So, with our work done, Nina-chan and I spent the rest of the day enjoying the amusement park while waiting for the black-suited man to finish his work.

We rode on the attractions we hadn't gotten to yet, used our pocket money to buy snacks, and even took some pictures as souvenirs.

To be honest, in my previous life, I never really understood why people liked going to amusement parks.

After all, once you rode an attraction once, it got boring. There were too many people, and walking around all day just made you tired. I always wondered why anyone would willingly go to such a place.

But spending the day with Nina-chan slowly changed my mind.

Sure, riding the same attraction over and over could get boring. But if you're riding it with someone, it doesn't feel that way. And yes, there are crowds, but chatting with a friend while waiting makes the time fly by. If you get tired from walking, you can just take a break and enjoy a snack.

Reflecting on this, I realized that the reason I hadn't enjoyed amusement parks in my past life was simply that I didn't have anyone to go with. It's a depressing conclusion, but it's the truth.

But it wasn't just that realization that changed my perspective.

I also came to think that it's okay to take a break from practicing magic and strengthening my body every once in a while to just have fun with someone else.

Up until now, I've been relentlessly training to ensure I don't die and to protect others from dying. But that alone doesn't leave you with any enjoyable memories. I only now realized something so simple: there's more to life than just surviving.

"Hey, Itsuki, what about this keychain? Don't you think it's cute?" Nina-chan asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Hmm, maybe it's a little small?"

"Really? Then how about this bigger one?" she replied, pointing to another.

We were at the souvenir shop, picking out gifts to bring back for Hina and my mom.

As we were making our selections, a familiar tune indicating the park was closing began to play. Families around us, hurried by the music, started rushing to the cash registers to pay.

I also hastened to make my final choice when Nina-chan suddenly murmured something.

"We never really got to ride the Ferris wheel, did we?"

"…Yeah, you're right," I said, agreeing with her softly.

The Ferris wheel where we had fought the costumed monster a few hours earlier had been shut down.

Looking through the shelves of souvenirs, I glanced over at the Ferris wheel. One gondola was missing, and the evening light reflected off the remaining cars.

The ride had been stopped after our encounter, with an announcement citing "an unforeseen accident." The image of a Ferris wheel missing a part reminded me of someone with a missing tooth, an odd gap in an otherwise complete picture.

"But hey, we got to ride together, even if it wasn't all the way. I had fun," I said, trying to sound cheerful as I continued to look at the Ferris wheel.

When they shut the ride down, they claimed it was due to an "unforeseen accident," but there must have been people at the park who had seen the gondola disappear. And if magic was used so openly in broad daylight like that, it kind of made me question why we even bother keeping magic hidden.

Well, I wasn't in any position to point fingers. After all, I had used magic in plain sight during an emergency myself.

Pushing those thoughts aside, I settled on buying a stuffed animal of the park's mascot for Hina and a box of assorted sweets for my mom.

Incidentally, Nina-chan bought the exact same thing for Irena-san.

With our souvenirs packed up, we left the shop and made our way to the park's exit. That's where we were supposed to meet up with the man in the black suit.

The sun was setting behind the buildings, casting long, comical shadows across the ground. I adjusted my grip on the shopping bag holding our souvenirs, making sure nothing would fall out, and then casually asked Nina-chan a question that had been on my mind.

"By the way, Nina-chan, earlier you said something about coming to an amusement park for 'work,' right? Who did you come with back then?"

"Did I say that?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Yeah, when we were riding the Ferris wheel."

Nina-chan looked puzzled, as if she couldn't remember, but it was something I'd been thinking about for a while.

There was a time when Irena-san had rejected Nina-chan after she began learning magic. It seemed unlikely that she would have brought Nina-chan here for any kind of "work" during that time.

So, who had she come with? I was curious.

But Nina-chan just shook her head.

"Hmmm… I don't really remember. Besides, I've only ever done 'work' with you, Itsuki."

"…Yeah, I guess that's right," I said, feeling a bit puzzled myself.

So, was it just a misunderstanding on Nina-chan's part?

I let the topic drop and stopped walking as we reached the park exit, where we were supposed to meet the black-suited man.

But the area was packed with people leaving the park, and it was impossible to spot him in the crowd.

Nina-chan and I scanned the crowd for a while but couldn't find him, and I muttered under my breath.

"He's not here."

"Maybe he's still dealing with his work?" Nina-chan suggested casually.

I nodded vaguely in agreement.

Apparently, his job involved explaining to the park staff how the gondola had disappeared and how I had jumped from midair and survived—all without using the word "magic."

That probably would take some time.

Even though I was the one who used magic, I couldn't imagine explaining it in a way that would make sense to the staff. I had no idea how he would pull it off, and I didn't envy him for having to try.

Feeling a little bad for putting him in that position, I realized all we could do was wait for him to finish. So, we moved away from the crowd a bit to wait for his return.

"That was fun, wasn't it, Nina-chan?"

"Yeah. I'd love to come again."

As we chatted to pass the time, I noticed a small blue rabbit plush toy lying on the ground, having fallen at someone's feet in the crowd.

It was a tiny plush, no bigger than a keychain. I remembered Nina-chan had suggested something similar at the souvenir shop earlier. It seemed someone had dropped it after buying it there.

People passing by didn't notice it and kept stepping on it. As I watched, a man, probably in his thirties, accidentally kicked the plush, sending it rolling across the ground.

The little plush tumbled across the brick pavement, spinning around and around. As it finally came to a stop, I found myself staring into its round, beady eyes.

I wondered if it would just get thrown away during cleaning or if someone would pick it up.

Just as I was thinking that and watching the crowds thin out, the plush toy suddenly stood up.

It got to its feet, then patted its fluffy hands together with a soft "pof-pof" sound.

"Hey, hey, hey! Congratulations! It's impressive for someone your age to defeat a monster I created!"

The plush clapped its hands and spoke in a lively voice.

"My name is… well, names aren't really important. You can call me whatever you like! Although, I suppose this form isn't exactly the best for coming up with a cool nickname. How about Ao-Usa, since I'm a blue rabbit? Haha! Sounds like a fish, doesn't it?"

Looking down at its own body, the plush laughed heartily.

This was definitely a different monster from the pink rabbit we fought earlier.

"But you can just call me Theater Troupe Actor, like everyone else does."

As soon as I reflexively summoned Silveit threads, the blue rabbit introduced itself with an overly dramatic, theatrical gesture.