We had a quick lunch at the restaurant, then spent time wandering around the amusement park again. And every time I saw a classmate, Saten's words came to mind and I naturally avoided their gaze.
*Don't ever show interest in other people...*
I wasn't particularly interested anyway, but hearing that made me more conscious of it. When you start being conscious of any action you were doing naturally, it becomes unnecessarily bothersome.
For example, when asked questions like "You are now becoming conscious of your breathing. Are you breathing through your nose? Or through your mouth?" something you were doing naturally suddenly feels stifling.
"Once you start being conscious of it, there's no end."
Hare responded to my muttering.
"What are you being conscious of...?"
"Just that after hearing what Saten said earlier, I'm starting to be conscious of behavior I wasn't even doing before, and it's frustrating."
"Th-then there's an effective solution...!"
Hare stopped walking for a moment. She stopped me and grabbed both my hands. It was a pose like she was performing some kind of ritual.
"I-I read something online... Modern people move in the opposite direction when told to do something... Is it called oppositional psychology...? Anyway, they say it's common..."
"So?"
"Saten told you not to show interest in other people, right...? Then this time, I'll remove Saten's curse...!"
Whooo—
Hare exhaled deeply and spoke with a determined expression.
"Absolutely! Show interest in other people...!"
"Huh?"
"No matter what! Look over those people passing by! Engrave their faces in your head! Show interest! Absolutely...!"
Hearing Hare's words, an unintended question arose in my head.
*Why should I?*
Why should I look at people passing by and engrave their faces in my head? There's no need for that—they're strangers anyway and I'll only see them today. After thinking about it a bit after hearing Hare's words, I immediately stopped being conscious of people.
"Is this oppositional psychology...?"
The effect was tremendous. Seeing this, Hare raised her voice, happy that she had been helpful.
"I-I'm glad I could help you, mister...! How was it...! It worked, right...!"
"Yeah, when you told me to do it, I didn't want to. I think I understand why I didn't want to study when my mom told me to."
Was it because of her good insight? Hare saw through modern psychology and broke my curse. But she wasn't finished yet. She grabbed my hands again and said to me.
"Th-then this time! Don't love me! Absolutely! You must not love me!"
Oh. I see. I nodded and answered.
"Okay."
"...Huh?"
"You said to absolutely not love you. I'll do that starting today."
"...Why are you listening to me this time?"
Good question. It seemed that certain conditions were needed for oppositional psychology to work. Probably this time those conditions weren't met, so I followed Hare's words. Though I did want to tease her a little too.
When oppositional psychology didn't work, Hare started using a different method.
"...Then, love me."
"No."
"...Wh-why?"
"This time I wanted to be oppositional."
Squeeze—
Hare tightened her grip on my hand.
"Love me."
"W-wait. That hurts, Hare. Will you take responsibility if my hand breaks?"
"I-I can take responsibility even if you're just breathing, mister. So hurry up and say you'll love me."
"Cr-crazy..."
This wasn't oppositional psychology, it was just one-sided threats, wasn't it? Hare had dead eyes as she squeezed my hand tightly.
Was my bone going to be crushed at this rate?
I looked at Hare's expression to stop her. Was it because I teased her too much? Hare's eyes seemed to see nothing.
*I should have teased her in moderation...*
Was this karma?
"S-say you love me..."
"..."
"Answer."
"Save me..."
And so I had to remain under Hare's grip until Luna came to rescue me. It was an absolutely hellish time.
"...I'm sorry, mister. I must have lost my mind for a moment. Here's some ice cream."
"Yeah, thanks."
Hare and I were sitting on a bench eating ice cream. Hare looked restless, knowing her mistake. As we rested for a bit, a high-speed roller coaster passed overhead.
"Uh, uwaaa—!! Mister—!!"
"This is fun! Hehe!"
"..."
Saten remained silent. And Luna and Estia were screaming with enjoyment. Hare and I watched them from the bench for a rest.
"They're having fun though. Screaming with excitement."
"Isn't Luna screaming in terror...?"
"...It does seem that way."
But I didn't force her. Luna sat in the roller coaster seat herself and pulled down the safety bar.
*A Hero never gives in! I-I won't be scared of something like this!*
Well, it was a simple reason involving pride. Still, even though she wasn't good with rides, I thought her challenging spirit was admirable.
"Luna is simple yet admirable."
"S-suddenly praising Luna...? To be honest, I think so too..."
"That's a bit unexpected."
"Wh-why...?"
"You seemed like you'd never acknowledge anyone else."
Everyone is my enemy. Hare always seemed to give off that feeling. However, contrary to my expectations, Hare acknowledged Luna in her own way.
"I-if I don't acknowledge Luna, I'm not qualified to be your bride, mister... I'm here because of Luna..."
"Was Luna that important?"
"You might not believe it from what you see now, but... if you see Luna fighting, you'll see her differently..."
Hare told me stories from the previous world. About how Luna dodged all attacks, saved people, and defeated monsters. However, back then her personality wasn't as bright as now.
"After mister... no, after that incident happened, Luna had a hard time. It wouldn't have been strange if her mind broke. But strangely, Luna's mind didn't break."
"The Hero's mentality. Something like that?"
"I don't know exactly, but it's probably similar... But unlike Luna, I think it's right to break when you should break."
If you break easily, you can fix it again. But if you endure and endure and then break, you break so badly you can't fix it. Hare said this while looking at the Hero Party walking out of the exit.
"Saten broke once too, and Estia is always in a broken state."
"Saten broke?"
"Yes, even though she looks solid on the outside... inside she has a glass mentality."
Nod—
I agreed with Hare's words. After losing all her coins and being banned from coin trading by me, Saten's mind snapped and she locked herself in her room, refusing food and drink. Though she seemed to have the strongest spirit, Saten's mentality was surprisingly weak.
*As for Estia...*
Her personality was round to begin with, and that talk about being broken was somewhat accurate. But even if Estia had walked a normal path, I felt she wouldn't be much different from now. Estia just...
"Uhaha!! Oppa, let's ride that one more time! That's the most fun for me!"
Only showed interest in things she found fun and interesting.
"Okay, got it."
And so I was led away by Estia's hand to stand in line. Was it because she always lounged around at home? Estia went around every place in the amusement park as if using up all her stored energy.
*It's good that the kids are having fun, but... I'm exhausted.*
In the end, I had to stay at the amusement park until Estia was fully satisfied. Evening had already darkened, and the students had left long ago.
Rattle— Rattle—
On the train heading home, Estia was leaning on my shoulder, fast asleep.
"Kua... uwa... hmm..."
"She's completely knocked out."
"Haaah... Tell me about it."
Saten, sitting across from me, let out a yawn. She seemed sleepy like Estia too, but was desperately trying to stay awake, unable to sleep outside.
"You can sleep. I'll wake you up."
"No, I can't do that. This is a scarier world than you think. If I fall asleep, I might reach the last stop. So I must stay awake."
"Fine, do what you want, Saten."
Do what you want, Saten. Even if I told her to sleep, she'd never fall asleep anyway. Once Saten was convinced of something, she absolutely did things her way.
However.
Today's schedule seemed to have been tough for Saten with her poor stamina.
"Saten, you asleep?"
"..."
Saten had fallen asleep with both eyes open. You could see at a glance that she tried not to sleep.
*Now the remaining members are...*
Me, Hare, Luna. Hare would absolutely not sleep until we got home. And Luna...
"Wow! Mister! That's sparkling over there! What is that!?"
"Just a shining building made by overtime workers. A modern-day SOS."
"O-ooh!!"
Had stamina like steel, so she'd definitely stay awake. Looking out the window and sightseeing, she probably wouldn't even notice time passing.
*...I'm bored, maybe I'll talk to Luna.*
With that thought, I asked Luna. I mixed truth and lies half and half.
"Luna, haven't you gained weight from eating so much lately?"
"Hey, what are you talking about! Why would I gain weight! Heroes don't gain weight!"
"Modern food has pretty high calories even in small portions. So to my eyes, you look like you've gained some..."
"Th-that can't be! Heroes don't gain weight! Let's check when we get home!"
Squeak—
Luna shouted at me that it absolutely couldn't be true. Was that really the case?
As soon as we got home, we immediately checked Luna's scale.
"...Huh?"
"I was right. You gained weight."
Crack—
And so the scale revealed the truth and lost its life under Luna's foot.
"How dare a mere scale look at me so rudely! It deserves to die!"
The end of the one who spoke the truth was tragic.
*The sacrifice of the martyr scale. I will never forget.*