Feeling a little exhausted, Mei and I walked through the coaster exit and wandered over to a bench.
「Are oneechan and Amane-san okay?」
「Yeah, sort of.」
「I’m somewhat okay. How about you, Iori?」
「Yes, I had fun! I want to ride it again.」
Are you serious? I can’t do this kind of thing with my feet on the ground and the way that it made my feet off the ground made things worse. If there’s no loop, I might have been okay with it.
「Where do we go next?」
Mei, who seemed to be the most overwhelmed, stood up from the bench and asked me that. Iori-chan is appealing to ride it again but I don’t want to.
「If you really want to, we’ll stay here and watch you.」
「Right…there’s still a lot of other things out there.」
「Then, that!」
At the tip of Iori-chan’s finger is a long distance coaster with a course length of nearly 1km. This is also a main attraction of the park. Well, this isn’t going to be bad since it’s not a standing ride. I walked behind Iori-chan who had already started going there and said “okay”.
「Are you okay?」
「Yes yes, no problem.」
「It’s scary to not feel your feet on the ground, right?」
Mei nodded and said “yeah”. I was worried about her because she looked terrible just now but she seems to be fine now. We walked behind Iori-chan talking about our impression of the previous coaster and in no time, we were at the next coaster. The line was also quite long.
「It’s a bit too long. Is it okay to line up?」
「Yeah.」
「I know it’s a little late but, if there’s anywhere oneechan and Amane-san want to go, please let me know.」
When it was almost time for us to ride, Iori-chan said so. She probably wants us to decide which one to ride next.
「Ah, okay. However, I don’t come to this kind of place very often so I don’t know much about it.」
「Come to think of it, Souta said he hadn’t come here for a while.」
「Yeah, I haven’t been here for years. Does Mei has a place you want to go?」
「No, I’m fine with the places Iori wants to go.」
「Then, I’ll take your word for it.」
Iori-chan’s eyes shine as she looks at the pamphlet. She doesn’t look like her usual “grown up” girl but smiling like someone of her age should do.
「She doesn’t really get to come to places like this very often because we usually need to take care of the little ones.」
「Isn’t that the same for you, Mei?」
「No, I kind of come once in a while with Risa and the others and during those times, they usually listens to my requests.」
Mei added “Risa knows our circumstances.”.
Ashi-san seems to be a better person than I thought. She’s like the gentle elder sister of their group. Ah, I want to be sprinkled with her kindness even a little. I would at least want her to stop glaring at me.
「Ah, it’s our turn now.」
「Yeah.」
We put down our luggage again and got on the ride. The order was the same as before but this time, my feet were on the ground which made me feel much safer. Soon, the ride began to move slowly but surely.
And finally, we reached the top where I could see the whole park. Greenery is spreading in front of us and the park is spreading below us. As I was admiring the view, which is not bad at all, the ride seemed to have accelerated at once. I’ve heard many people say that you should raise your hands when you’re in a situation like this but when I actually raised my hands, my arms were slightly taken backwards. As we approached the curve, I felt the G as my body swung from side to side.
As we approach the loop that gave me such a fright on the previous coaster, I feel something gently wrap my hand. As I shifted my gaze slightly, I saw Mei’s left hand grabbing my right hand.
The ride continues to progress after going through that loop. Mei’s left hand, which had wrapped around my right hand, is somehow back on holding the bar. Then, as we approached another loop, she grabbed my right hand again.
After a few repetitions, the ride coaster returns to the platform.
「That was fun」
「That was great」
My heart was pounding for another reason though. I’ve even forgotten that I was being swept by the roller coaster. No, in a way, I’m really being swept away.
「Next time, let’s ride a coaster without a loop.」
As expected, if we keep riding this kind of ride again and again, I won’t make it.
Iori-chan said “fine” and removed another coaster with a loop. Even so, she picked up the rest of the scream inducing rides in the screaming area.
The short hand of the clock passed through the top a little. The three of us reunited with their mother, Akari-chan, and Takuya-kun at the plaza by the entrance gate.
Takuya-kun looked a little unsatisfied but I guess that was because they were trying to keep up with Akari-chan. I’d like to take care of her in the afternoon but will she go with me? In addition, will I have the strength?
We walked into a nearby restaurant while chatting with the two who seemed to be enjoying talking about their morning.