Asakura Miyuki ended up skipping school like this. However, as someone who was practically invisible at Senba Academy and had no friends, even if she skipped, probably no one would notice.
How impulsive. She had actually followed Hero-sama all the way out of Nagazora City to Chiba. On the Shinkansen, Asakura Miyuki secretly glanced at Shun, who was staring blankly out the window.
Japan was not a large island country. Although it was long and narrow from north to south, at the speed of the Shinkansen, they reached their destination in just over an hour.
"Hero-sama, there seem to be a lot of people queuing to buy tickets…" The foot traffic at Tokyo Disney was comparable to Ueno Zoo. There were at least hundreds of thousands of visitors every day. Just from a rough look, Asakura Miyuki saw nearly a thousand people queuing in front of them.
"It's fine. We'll go straight in." Shun nodded indifferently. Today, the park would be closed for maintenance. Everyone appearing here right now were actors hired by Gray Serpent.
"Eh? Go straight in? Hero-sama?" Shun walked directly into the park, and Asakura Miyuki followed closely behind. Sure enough, no one stopped them.
Asakura Miyuki simply attributed it to Shun's great capabilities. However… she hoped this Cinderella magic could last a little longer.
Asakura Miyuki's gaze swept across the "Cinderella Castle" near the main entrance. This was a place she had always wanted to visit. But even though she had finally come to Disney today and could fulfill her dream, she didn't want to get close.
Perhaps it was jealousy. After Cinderella's magic ended, there would still be a devoted prince to find her. But after her own Cinderella magic ended, what would happen?
Never mind. Before the midnight bell rang, she would enjoy herself to the fullest. At least right now, she was very happy!
"Strange, why are there so few people in the park?" Asakura Miyuki was a little puzzled. There had clearly been many people queuing at the entrance earlier, but after entering, she didn't see the expected crowds.
"Ummm, maybe because it just opened." In truth, this was also something Shun couldn't help. It was already impressive enough that Gray Serpent had temporarily gathered several thousand extras and booked the entire Disney park before it opened.
Although Gray Serpent always called him godfather, Shun always felt like he himself was the godson.
"Mm, probably. By the way, Hero-sama, we didn't eat breakfast before coming, right? Let's go to that Diamond Horseshoe restaurant. I heard there are performances inside."
Asakura Miyuki mercilessly ignored the game invitations from several people in mascot costumes "Donald Duck," "Goofy," and other classic characters. She pointed at a medieval-style building in the distance and said.
"Sure, let's go." Thinking of the dining table that had been swept clean by the pig known as Kiana, Shun touched his somewhat empty stomach and suddenly felt hungry again.
Was this really Disney? Shun felt that eating only took ten minutes, but watching the performance took half an hour.
After leaving the Diamond Horseshoe restaurant, they next went to the Beauty and the Beast area. Shun had never been very interested in Disney's fairy tales, so most of the time it was Asakura Miyuki getting excited alone.
Shun could only act as an unqualified cheerleader and occasionally echo her. Even so, Asakura Miyuki was still enjoying herself. But Japanese people had the strange ability to read the atmosphere…
Looking at Asakura Miyuki, who was troubled while looking at various small decorations, Shun couldn't help but say, "If you want it, just buy it."
He had never understood why girls liked to pick things up but not buy them. In his opinion, if you saw something you wanted and could afford it, why not just take it?
Hearing Shun's words, Asakura Miyuki revealed a bitter smile. "No need. Buying it would just be a waste anyway…"
Shun was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Mm, you're right." Then he reached out and took down everything Asakura Miyuki had just been looking at from the shelves.
"How much could it cost? Calling it a waste?" With that, he shoved everything into Asakura Miyuki's arms and walked out of the store.
"Eh? Hero-sama?" Asakura Miyuki, hugging a large pile of items, was stunned. She looked at Shun's departing back, thought for a moment, and casually tossed aside the things she had treasured just moments ago, then chased after him.
Asakura Miyuki jogged to catch up with Shun and stopped a few dozen centimeters away from him. She carefully touched his arm.
"Hero-sama, let's go to the next place!" Asakura Miyuki revealed a happy expression again.
"Where to?" Since Asakura Miyuki had been leading the way the whole time, Shun didn't mind wherever they went.
"Pooh's Hunny Hunt!" Alright, Shun still cared a little. To be honest, even going to Mickey's Toontown would have been fine.
At least he could still make jokes in his heart. But Winnie the Pooh… Never mind, he would just go along with her.
"Fine." If only he liked Winnie the Pooh as much as Chu Zihang did. After boarding the ride in this area, there would be no turning back…
"How was it? How was it?" Ever since they left the area, Asakura Miyuki had been asking nonstop, seemingly very eager to hear Shun's evaluation.
"Ummm, it was okay. It had a dreamy feeling." Shun had never been someone who spoke harshly. Although the scenes and stories inside were very childish, the experience wasn't bad.
"Hehe, I knew it. Someone as gentle as Hero-sama would definitely like Winnie the Pooh."
Me? Gentle? Maybe… "Asakura, anywhere else you want to go?"
"Of course there's a lot more! Our luck today is surprisingly good. In that case, it wouldn't be impossible to visit the entire park, right?"
"Since we just finished Pooh's Hunny Hunt, let's change the flavor next. Let me think…"
"Oh right, let's go to the Tower of Terror!"
As the name suggested, the Tower of Terror was Tokyo Disney's haunted house. Opening a haunted house in a fairy-tale-themed park? Its popularity was probably very low…
Actually, no. The Tower of Terror was one of the top two most popular attractions at Tokyo Disney.
"Asakura, going to a haunted house you're not scared?" Shun searched it up and found that the reviews for this haunted house were very good, all saying it was extremely terrifying.
"Eh? Terrifying? It's fine. With Hero-sama here, even a haunted house isn't scary!"
Really, Hero-sama, compared to the fake ghosts in the haunted house, the human heart is much scarier! Asakura Miyuki sighed inwardly and deeply felt Shun's dullness, but… this was good.
Anyway, she was really very happy today! Thank you, Hero-sama…
"This should be the last attraction, right?" As the roller coaster emerged from the dark tunnel, Shun comfortably leaned back in the front-row seat, listening to the whistling wind.
Along with the wind came Asakura Miyuki's repeated exclamations. Really, she had already ridden quite a few roller coasters of this level today, yet she was still so excited…
To be honest, this speed wasn't even as fast as Shun running at full speed, so riding the roller coaster only made his neck feel a little sore. He really didn't feel anything special.
"Roar roar roar roar, go faster!" Asakura Miyuki beside him was already shouting loudly. It seemed she really wasn't that afraid of this thing? But who was the one with a pale face after the previous ride just now?
Sure enough, Shun turned his head and looked at the pale-faced girl sitting beside him. She was still forcing herself.
"Asakura, today… are you happy?" He hadn't asked all day, but when Shun finally asked, he still felt a little nervous.
What if she wasn't happy today? Wouldn't everything he had done be in vain?
Shun's voice was swallowed by the howling wind around them. The only response was the brilliant smile on the girl's face. Her bright, large eyes were like twinkling stars in the night sky clear and lively now gazing at Shun full of smiles.
Even though the wind around them was still deafening, Shun seemed to clearly hear the girl's crisp, silver-bell-like laughter.
I see. Shun peacefully closed his eyes. Since you're so happy, I can rest assured.
After getting off the roller coaster, Shun still looked completely normal. This level of speed really wasn't impressive. Meanwhile, Asakura Miyuki had turned pale and collapsed onto a bench, looking exactly like someone who had gotten motion sickness.
"You rode three roller coasters in a row. Are you okay?" Shun pressed a bottle of ice water against Asakura Miyuki's forehead. She took the ice water and gave Shun a weak smile.
"Hehe, actually I still have plenty of energy. But it feels so amazing that we managed to tour all of Disney in one day." Asakura Miyuki smiled contentedly.
"Hero-sama, what time does the park close?" Asakura Miyuki gazed at the night sky, silently feeling the passage of time. A trace of sadness that was not easily noticed flashed in her eyes.
"Probably… nine o'clock." In truth, the entire place had been booked by Gray Serpent. Shun could use it for as long as he wanted. This Disney had become an alternate version of The Truman Show.
"Nine o'clock… Then what time is it now?" It seemed her Cinderella magic couldn't last until the midnight bell rang.
"Eight forty-four." Shun accurately reported the time.
Asakura Miyuki suddenly stood up. "I've rested enough. Hero-sama, can I ask you to accompany me to one more place?"
"Mm, sure." Shun nodded and followed Asakura Miyuki back to the area beside the main entrance of Disney, the place they had skipped at the very beginning the only place they had skipped.
Cinderella Castle.
"Let's stop here. How strange… It's right at the main entrance, yet there's no one around." Asakura Miyuki looked left and right, but there wasn't a single person in sight.
Shun stood quietly, waiting for Asakura Miyuki's next move.
Asakura Miyuki took out a sachet with a cherry blossom pattern from her bag.
"Thank you, Hero-sama." Asakura Miyuki handed the sachet she was holding to Shun.
"This sachet is called Three Years of Cherry Blossoms. The ancient text Miscellaneous Talks of the Flower-Blooming Princess of Mount Fuji says that if a girl uses petals from the same cherry blossom tree to make a sachet during her 14th, 15th, and 16th years, the Flower-Blooming Princess of Mount Fuji will bless her love. I… hope Hero-sama can accept it…"
There was once a girl from a well-off family with excellent grades and proper conduct a genuine young lady. But one day her life was destroyed. She lost her purity and became a doll that men could toy with at will. From then on, her eyes could no longer see even a glimmer of light.
Of course, some people had reached out to help her. The girl thought they had fallen in love with her, so she confessed, only to be rejected. But it didn't matter. Since they couldn't be together, she would "become one" with them.
Now another critical moment had arrived, but Asakura Miyuki felt unusually calm. Even if Hero-sama rejected her, it was fine. Today… she was already very satisfied.
Because someone had finally truly pulled her out of the quagmire. Finally… she had seen the first ray of light.
Three Years of Cherry Blossoms she had only given it to him.
Shun looked at Asakura Miyuki, who seemed to have mustered the greatest courage of her life, and revealed a gentle smile.
"Sure, Miyuki-chan."
Tears flowed from the corners of the girl's eyes. Finally… her courageous confession had been accepted for the first time. The original psychological shadow was swept away. Right now, she was the happiest person in the world.
The girl's frail body weakly fell to the side. Shun quickly supported her. The girl had died died at the happiest moment of her life.
On her face was still a happy smile.
"I'm sorry…" Shun said softly, but the girl could no longer hear him.
Shun touched his own chest. For some reason, it felt a little painful. He actually felt heartache over the death of a girl he had only known for one day?
He could clearly feel at ease sacrificing three million people. Was this hypocrisy?
At this moment, he couldn't help but recall Asakura Miyuki's words.
"Am I… a gentle person? But can this kind of belated gentleness really be called gentleness?" Shun fell into deep thought.
Come to think of it, he hadn't known Ana for very long either. It felt like everything had happened in a flash. When exactly had he fallen for Ana?
Perhaps it was that long conversation one night. "Many years later. You grow up, you regain your memories, and you narrate a story. A little story you experienced with Ana Schariac. Don't forget me many years later, okay? Hmph!"
Maybe from that night onward when he hadn't regained his memories and hadn't recognized his own feelings he had already fallen for her.
What about Ana? Was it because of his comfort back then that she had been taken advantage of by him? Just like Asakura Miyuki…
Shun suddenly wanted to make a phone call and ask Ana. Even though they had only been apart for a short time, the confused him now desperately wanted to hear her voice again, wanted to receive her usual greeting, wanted…
Shun took a deep breath and tried hard to calm his heart, which was surging like a stormy sea. He tightly closed his eyes, attempting to suppress the complex emotions that kept surging like a tide.
After a long while, when he opened his eyes again, he looked at the girl who was still tightly clutching the "Three Years of Cherry Blossoms" in her hand.
Hey, what a silly girl.
Shun placed her into Cosmic Juggernaut and set off on the road home.