"...Huh?"
I let out a dumbfounded voice. I was told to put my feet in the cardboard bike, but my feet were still on tiptoe on the ground to keep the bike from falling over.
Being short was frustrating enough, but staying in this position was starting to give me cramps in my legs.
As soon as the start signal sounded, Sera, Aria, and Karen raced across the large space. There wasn't any "vroom!" sound, but seeing them laughing and riding made me groan with envy.
But I couldn't do it.
Of course not. I knew the engine used magical formulas, but I'd never heard you had to inject Mana to make it go, so I hadn't practiced that separately.
The corners of my mouth twitched. I gripped the handlebars tightly with a frustrated expression.
This is hell. Only I, only I can't play.
Just as I was about to distort my lips with a whimper, the girls who had been riding the cardboard bikes stopped beside me.
"Urr, what's wrong?"
Sera pulled her bike up close beside me. Aria and Karen were watching quietly from behind, wondering what was happening, which made my frustration explode into a tearful voice as I pointed at the bike.
"The bike won't... go... I don't know how to... put in Mana..."
My throat felt choked. After forcing out the words, Aria parked her bike properly and came over to me. She examined the magic circle that served as the engine for a moment.
I hoped she might do something, but apparently tampering with someone else's magic circle wasn't allowed, so she discreetly called over another staff member.
"Urr doesn't know how to inject Mana. Is there any way to start it without having to inject Mana separately?"
"...Ah, I don't think that's possible. This was made by a club, so they didn't prepare for that level of accommodation."
Aria returned with the bad news.
I had thought the bike bumper cars would be fun even without deliberately crashing into others—just enjoying the speed—but apparently that was just my dream.
I stood there blankly holding the bike, then pouted and got off.
I parked the bike and approached the staff.
"I just won't ride..."
This should be exciting to attract guests and for me to have fun too, but where else would you find such a static bumper car? I couldn't even start moving and would just be taking up space, making it difficult for others to ride freely, so getting out of the way seemed best.
Disappointing, but what can I do?
Let's just think I couldn't ride because I'm too short. I'm only about 140cm tall, so I wasn't supposed to ride anyway.
If it had been a regular mechanical bike, could I have started it? No, then they couldn't have made it into a bumper car in the first place.
All sorts of thoughts crossed my mind out of disappointment. As I tried to leave through the mat-covered entrance, someone grabbed my clothes to stop me. When I turned around blankly, I realized it was Karen holding me back.
Sera and Aria were talking to the staff about various things, and eventually something must have worked out because another staff member took my bike away.
Only three bikes remained, but the girls pulled me over and sat me on one.
"Urr, let's ride together."
Sera sat me in front of her.
"Huh? But they said it's dangerous..."
"Can't be helped. You wanted to ride, and it would be sad if you had to leave without riding, right? Besides, I'm actually pretty good at games, so I'm used to this kind of thing."
While I was making a dumbfounded expression, Aria and Karen smiled and sat back on their bikes.
[Ready to start again?]
Even the operator seemed unsure how to handle the situation and announced the restart signal in an awkward tone.
Nestled in Sera's arms, I quietly gripped the side of the handlebars. Seeing this, Sera chuckled.
"Urr, hold on tight, okay?"
"Okay."
Just a moment ago I felt like crying, but now I was fine. The moment I nodded, the wheels spun with a scraping sound before suddenly accelerating with a bang!
Oh.
"Aaaaaahhhhh!"
"Hold tight!"
Sera shouted as she instantly made a complete turn.
Compared to a car, I couldn't say the speed was incredible, but there was a world of difference between accelerating in a stable position in a stable space and racing like this in an unstable position with the wind hitting your entire body.
I felt dizzy. I tried to hold onto the handlebars tightly to avoid falling off the bike, but my hands weren't that strong, so I ended up mostly entrusting my body to Sera's embrace.
I frowned slightly at the wind. Looking ahead, I could see Aria driving smoothly while Karen was driving a bit awkwardly.
Would it have been more fun if I could have ridden by myself?
Being driven by someone else and driving yourself would definitely feel different.
If I wait just one more year, maybe I could really participate and have fun then? But next year, Sera and Aria won't be here. That thought made me sad.
If only I could enjoy this more right now.
But this isn't bad either.
"Hee, heehee."
I smiled while nestled in Sera's arms. I let out a silly laugh as I enjoyed the wind.
[It's about time to wrap things up!]
At the operator's voice signaling the end, Sera whispered to me again.
"Hold on tight, okay? We're going to crash into Karen."
"Karen?"
"Yes, Karen! Aria, ram her!"
Before I could say anything, Sera shouted loudly.
Karen's eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly nodded and increased her speed. Aria's surprised eyes immediately changed to a glare.
So that's how you want to play? That was the expression on Aria's face as she also increased her speed.
Of course, we were the target.
I was scared. I was afraid it might turn into something like a traffic accident, but remembering the earlier crashes, I didn't think it would be that dangerous, so I could relax.
And then with a soft thud! The cardboard bikes, letting out a weak whoosh of air, all collapsed at the very end, with only the wheels rolling on the ground.
Rising from the box, I shook my head from side to side and looked at each of the girls.
"Hee."
I think I've made good friends.
If I had just left, it really would have been boring. It would have been the worst festival, right? But that didn't happen. Even though I needed help from the others, even though I rode with Sera, the speed still gave me a thrill. The feeling of crashing and being crashed into still lingered vividly.
On our way out, I grabbed Sera and Aria and pointed to where the food trucks were.
"Sera, Aria. I tried it earlier with Karen, and it was really delicious over there. I'll treat you."
"What did you eat?"
"Stir-fried udon. Karen, it was delicious, right?"
Karen seemed momentarily dazed and shrugged her shoulders. Then, recalling my question, she nodded a beat late.
"Yes, it was delicious."
"See? Let's go! Professor, would you like to have some more too?"
"No, I'm good."
The Professor declined with a bitter smile.
"By the way, that was thrilling. It's amazing they could make something like that out of cardboard."
Aria brought up the bike bumper cars we had just ridden, smiling beside me. The experience still lingered, making me nod unconsciously.
"It's amazing that someone thought of making bikes out of cardboard. To keep them from collapsing when someone sits on them, they must have designed them quite seriously, right?"
"That's probably why they were a bit expensive."
Karen, seemingly excited from the unusual experience, spoke in a voice more animated than usual. Sera just shrugged her shoulders.
We had reached the food truck. I ran ahead and held out a bill to the owner.
"Three udons, please!"
"Regular udon?"
"No, stir-fried udon!"
As the owner was about to take the money from my hand, a hand from behind snatched it away. I turned my head with a "Huh?" to see Sera smiling wryly.
"We already got to ride the bumper cars for free, we can't get free food too. Right, Aria?"
"Right."
Aria nodded at Sera's words and then pulled out her card with an exaggerated pose.
It even seemed to sparkle.
"Today, I'll buy whatever you all want to eat."
"...I'm full."
While Aria spoke with a solemn expression, Karen clutched her stomach and shook her head.
Aria froze. She turned her head stiffly and then carefully asked.
"You don't want to eat more?"
"Not yet."
"What about you, Professor?"
"I ate a lot for breakfast. Thanks for asking. But after imposing on Urr, I'm quite full."
Aria seemed unable to accept that the Professor and Karen were full, and quietly approached the food truck.
"...Five portions, please."
"Hey, hey. They just said two people can't eat. Why are you casually ordering five portions?"
"You can eat two portions, and Urr can eat two portions, and it works out perfectly."
"No, I don't feel like eating that much from the morning."
Sera grabbed Aria's arm as she was handing over her card, and after some bickering, they finally changed the order to three portions.
Seemingly tired after the commotion, Sera gently hugged me from behind and stroked my head.
"Watching her act like that sometimes is exhausting."
"Aria is cool."
"Urr, don't encourage her like that."
Sera pinched and pulled both my cheeks.
"Nnngghhh."