Slumpia Plaza.
"Waahhh! Take this!"
Momoi shouted with great gusto, her finger locked on the trigger, the muzzle steadily tracking the target until she emptied an entire magazine.
After that, she pouted and let out a mournful cry. "Uuugh, so unfair!"
The reason for Momoi's reaction was that even after going that far, the "enemy" opposite her showed no damage at all. Not only was it completely unscathed in appearance, even the rhythm and range of its movements had not changed in the slightest. It grinned like a living creature, as if mocking Momoi.
The reason her efforts had so little effect was not because Momoi's accuracy was poor, but because the "enemy" itself seemed to be a rather special type.
It was a black cartoon doll with beast ears, installed inside a jack-in-the-box. Connected to the bottom of the box by a spring, it kept bouncing left and right under the spring's tension, while emitting a strange white glow from within.
At the same time, this was also the first presence we had encountered after entering Slumpia and beginning our exploration, something that could perhaps be regarded as an "enemy."
Just as the information provided by the Federal Student Council had stated, there were indeed many amusement facilities within Slumpia that were old and poorly maintained, yet still remained operational.
Although Himari was adamant that this was absolutely some kind of supernatural phenomenon, I personally leaned more toward the idea that someone had modified these facilities, adding internal power sources to achieve some kind of spooky effect.
That said, this was Kivotos after all. Even if some kind of paranormal incident really did happen one day, it would not feel entirely unacceptable.
But it would still be better if it did not happen.
All in all, during the early stages of our exploration, we did not encounter any real danger.
Aside from the absence of staff and other visitors, it felt just like entering an ordinary amusement park.
Momoi, who had a strong heart, had barely been inside Slumpia for long before she noticed a carousel that was still operating. She suddenly grew interested and, using information gathering as an excuse, dragged me along to ride it several times.
As a result, nothing happened.
There was not the slightest difference from an ordinary carousel.
The rumored claim that "self-operating amusement facilities will devour anyone who approaches them," based on our firsthand experiment, could preliminarily be judged as nothing more than hearsay.
And to further verify the accuracy of this judgment, the five girls participating in this operation and I tried many other attractions as well. It truly felt like we were at a normal amusement park, and we gradually relaxed from the tension of carrying out a mission.
Yuzu in particular said that because she tended to have difficulty breathing and weakness in her limbs whenever she was in crowded places, she had not gone to a real amusement park for a long time. A place like Slumpia, which did not even have staff, happened to suit her perfectly.
Even Saori, who gave off the coldest impression, seemed to show faint hints of a smile between her brows and eyes after I invited her to experience a few attractions. Even though she still claimed verbally that she had no interest whatsoever.
I began to suspect that she might be a tsundere.
Only Himari, who was responsible for remote support, seemed somewhat disappointed, wearing a listless and uninterested expression.
I felt that this was because, due to various factors, she could not participate and could only watch from the sidelines as the me she secretly admired played around with other girls, which gave rise to feelings of envy and even jealousy.
In the end, it was all my excessive charm's fault.
Next time I had the chance, I should invite Himari out on a date alone as compensation.
Aside from the surface-level "mission," the true objective of this trip was also progressing quite favorably.
To be precise, no progress at all was the best possible progress.
Arisu, visiting an amusement park for the first time, displayed an intense interest in everything around her, exactly as I had hoped. At first, she obediently restrained her desire to try out the various attractions, until Momoi set an example and she saw that I did not object, at which point she finally released that impulse.
Every time we arrived at a new attraction, Arisu would always be the first to rush over, then turn back and, in a coquettish tone, ask me to tell her how to play.
Then, more often than not, Momoi or Midori would rush to answer Arisu before I could.
Clearly, someone was getting jealous. To think that such despicable tactics would be used without restraint even against a companion as childlike as her.
As for whether it was just Midori alone, or Momoi included as well, I honestly could not say.
Logically speaking, Momoi was probably just satisfying her own desire to teach.
But Momoi's magical thought processes were simply too difficult to understand. The occasional flash of world-shaking wisdom was not entirely unexpected.
In any case, it all came down to me being too handsome on the outside and too perfect on the inside, making it far too easy for girls in the bloom of youth to develop fond feelings and end up competing over me.
I felt quite guilty about this situation, yet there was nothing I could do about it. All I could do was silently bear this sin and do my best to control my expression.
At the very least, I should not smile too obviously and give people the impression that I was enjoying it.
This pleasant, spring-outing-like atmosphere lasted until we arrived in front of Slumpia's First Plaza.
Arisu, with her extraordinary perception, noticed from afar a black gift box with white patterns, neatly placed at the center of the plaza, standing in stark contrast to the surrounding disorderly scenery.
Because of how relaxed things had been earlier, Momoi shouted, "I'll do it," and charged forward ahead of everyone else, wanting to open the gift box and see what kind of good stuff was hidden inside.
However, the moment she got close, it was as if she had triggered some kind of sensor. The hand crank beside the gift box spun several times out of nowhere, and then the lid automatically opened. Nearly ten black and white balloons emitting a fluorescent glow broke free and floated into the sky, followed closely by that strange doll popping out.
The sudden change startled everyone badly, even though we all had basic precautions in place.
And given the simple and honest customs of Kivotos, when students encounter danger or are frightened, their first reaction is…
To pull the trigger and pour out firepower.
Saori, who possessed relatively high tactical literacy, was the fastest to react and stopped the others from wasting ammunition with their reckless actions.
After calming down, we realized that even after being attacked by us, that strange doll showed no intention of counterattacking at all, and…
"Hehe, it's finally getting interesting." Himari, who had looked drowsy just moments ago, immediately perked up. "Momoi, give it another burst and confirm its defensive performance!"
And so, Momoi fired with great gusto. The jack-in-the-box and the doll did not budge in the slightest.
Momoi, having failed again, wore a miserable expression, while Himari, having obtained her answer, smiled brightly.
"As expected, this is a supernatural phenomenon! Then next…"
"Let's take a detour."
I said calmly.