Amagi Brilliant Park: The Lazy Daily Operations Log
The park is dying. Twenty-eight thousand visitors a month, a target of one hundred thousand, and only three months to pull off a miracle. For Kanie Seiya—former child star, current acting manager, and self-proclaimed genius—the solution is obvious: a TV documentary. Free advertising, nationwide attention, and he'll play the perfect leader in front of the cameras. There's just one problem. The last thing he wants is to become the person he used to be.
But the cameras aren't the only thing he can
Amagi Brilliant Park: The Lazy Daily Operations Log - Beneath the mask of the perfect manager
"…A hundred thousand, huh."
The low, dry words dropped into the quiet room.
Five forty-seven in the morning. At an hour when the color of night still clung stubbornly to the window, Kanie Seiya sat at the office desk. Beneath the forelock of well-kept black hair swept diagonally across his brow, deep brown eyes glared at a single sheet of paper. White shirt, black vest, black slacks. His usual getup inside the park made him look less like a high schooler and more like some young company president.
"Current monthly attendance, twenty-eight thousand. Target, one hundred thousand. …You've gotta be kidding me."
He spat the words and let himself fall back against the seat. The old office chair creaked. The fluorescent light overhead flickered faintly now and then.
This was the manager's office on the second floor of the administration building at Amagi Brilliant Park. Originally Latifa's workspace, but these days Seiya used it in all but name. The desk was buried under a year's sales charts, repair estimates for the aging attractions, last month's shift schedule, and a list of conditions sent down from the board of directors.
Amagawa City, Kanata Prefecture. Ninety minutes north of Tokyo by train. The park sat on the outskirts of a regional town of a hundred eighty thousand people. Twenty-six years since it opened. At its peak it had drawn 1.2 million visitors a year — the largest fantasy park in the Kanto region — and now it was down to two hundred eighty thousand. Thirty minutes away by car, a powerful competitor called Green Hills Family Park had opened, and the customers had flowed there instead.
"A hundred thousand in three months. …I can do it."
Seiya said it and let a thin smile touch his lips. But the smile vanished at once.
(Can I, though?)
Deep inside, another version of himself whispered.
Twenty-eight thousand. That's reality. More than triple the current number. Think about it normally and it's impossible. No matter what event you throw, no matter how you advertise, there's no reason for people to stampede to a dying regional theme park.
"…I'm special."
Seiya murmured it softly.
That's right. I'm special. I took the world by storm as a child actor — acting, singing, dancing, all flawless. Brilliant mind, superb athleticism, excellent looks. I don't have friends in high school, but that's because I'm better than everyone around me. I don't need ordinary people to understand me.
"If I get serious, a park like this would turn around in no time—"
He stopped there and let his eyes fall on the pamphlet on the desk. The faded cover showed a row of smiling mascot characters. Moffle, Macaron, Tiramy. And the castle towering at the center of the park.
(If I get serious, huh.)
Seiya picked up the pamphlet and looked at it for a while.
He thought back to three months ago.
It was after school when Latifa summoned him. Inside the castle's barrier, the blind girl had spoken to him quietly.
"I want you to protect this park in my place."
At first he'd meant to refuse. Acting manager of a theme park wasn't a job for a high schooler. Besides, it had nothing to do with him. That's what he'd thought.
But as he walked the park, he changed his mind.
The battered attractions. The unmotivated cast. The empty grounds. And yet Moffle was inspecting the rides early in the morning. Macaron was singing children's songs even while drunk. Tiramy was tending the flower beds while the female cast yelled at him.
(These guys are seriously trying to protect this park.)
When that hit him, for some reason it made him angry.
A dump like this — just let it go under. Why go that far to protect it? Why won't you give up?
…Why did watching it make me feel so bitter?
"…So I'll rebuild it."
Seiya set the pamphlet down on the desk.
Three months since taking over as acting manager. Monthly attendance had climbed to three and a half times what it was. And still only twenty-eight thousand. A hundred thousand was far too far away.
He looked out the window. The quiet park stretched out before opening time. In the distance, a white fluffy shape was moving. Moffle. Doing the morning inspection. With that small body, alone again today.
"…Can't tell anyone, can I."
Seiya gave a small laugh.
There was no one to show weakness to. No friends at school. Things weren't good with his family either. The park's cast thought of him as an arrogant acting manager. That was fine. That was good.
(I have to stay perfect.)
Yes. The perfect manager. The perfect leader. The perfect genius.
Seiya let out a deep breath and picked up his phone. He looked at his own face on the screen. Well-formed features. A confident expression. Unchanged from when he'd been on TV.
"TV, huh."
In that moment, an idea surfaced in Seiya's head.
A TV documentary.
A program following a day in the life of the park. If the cast's personalities reached the whole country, attention would spike at once. If they got entertaining footage, it would trend online too. Above all, it was free advertising.
"…That'll work."
Seiya stood.
"If I play the perfect manager, the customers will come. In front of the cameras, I'll show them the ideal leader."
But right after those words, Seiya's expression clouded slightly.
(Acting perfect in front of a camera.)
That reminded him of his child-actor days. Kodama Seiya. The genius child star who once took the world by storm. When the camera rolled, the business smile came out unconsciously. The perfect smile. The perfect answers. The perfect performance.
(That's not me.)
Seiya gripped his phone.
Kodama Seiya is gone. The one here now is Kanie Seiya. The acting manager of the park. And yet, point a camera at him and his body moved on its own. It made the smile. It fawned. It performed.
"…Makes me sick."
Seiya muttered it and set the phone on the desk.
Even so, he had no choice. To protect this park, he'd use any means.
Seiya sat back down and opened his laptop. He'd write a proposal. Pitch it to a TV station. He knew who to go to. He had connections in the entertainment world. Use the ties from his child-actor days and things would move fast.
"I won't let this park go under."
Seiya began to type.
———
That morning.
Seiya was walking the park's corridors. In his hand, a draft proposal. In his head, he was composing the email to the TV station.
"Seiya-kun."
A voice came from behind him.
He turned. Sento Isuzu stood there. Flaxen hair tied in a ponytail, watching him with large eyes that carried almost no emotion. A slender, glossy sheen to her hair. A striking figure, with an exceptional build. As the park's head of security, she carried a musket — a Steinberger — at her hip.
"…What."
Seiya said it as if it were a hassle.
"I have something to discuss."
Isuzu held out the documents in her hand. Security regulation materials.
"I heard you're bringing an outside film crew into the park all day. The security risk is high. I'm against it."
Her voice was flat. Unreadable.
Seiya didn't take the papers. He crossed his arms.
"Are you here to get in my way?"
His tone was imperious. Isuzu's large eyes lifted toward him, just slightly.
"It's for your sake."
Without changing expression, Isuzu spoke.
"…Huh?"
"If a film crew comes in, there will be more places security can't cover. I can't guarantee the safety of the cast, or of the guests. And there's also the chance the true nature of the real cast gets caught on camera—"
"I know."
Seiya cut her off.
"That's why I'll draw up a security plan. That's your job."
"…If it's my job, then say so from the start."
Isuzu hugged the documents to her chest and looked steadily at Seiya.
"It's for your sake."
She repeated the same words.
Seiya couldn't gauge what they meant. This one — for my sake? Why? Because it's her duty as head of security? Or something else—
"…Do what you want."
Seiya flung the words out irritably and walked past her.
Behind him, he sensed Isuzu give a small sigh.
He didn't look back.
———
Back in the security room, Isuzu stood before the park map pinned to the wall.
She traced the film crew's routes in red pen. From the entrance to Main Street, Brilliant Town, Fantasy Forest, Adventure Zone. Where the cameras would roll, where the crew would rest, the emergency evacuation routes.
"…Seiya-kun."
Isuzu murmured softly.
He always decides everything alone. Consults no one. Even with me, it's always after the fact.
(But it's for your sake.)
Isuzu kept her red pen moving. She hadn't told Seiya, but she'd already been drafting a security plan of her own. The moment she'd learned the film crew was coming, she'd finished confirming the necessary staffing and routes.
"Security regulation article seven. Unauthorized use of magic carries a ten-thousand-yen fine. …If someone uses magic during filming, it gets caught on camera. If that happens, the whole park could be shut down."
Isuzu marked a single point on the map with a red circle.
"I will protect you."
She murmured it to no one.
———
Evening.
Seiya had come to the castle at the back of the park.
The castle was wrapped in a barrier. Ordinary guests couldn't enter. It was a vital place for maintaining the park's magical contract, and also where Latifa lived.
Seiya passed through the castle gate and walked the quiet corridor. Only his footsteps echoed.
"Seiya-san."
When he reached the room, a voice came from inside.
"Come in."
Seiya opened the door.
Latifa Fleuranza sat in a chair by the window. Her long straight blonde hair glowed softly in the setting sun. Her eyes, which reflected no light because she was blind, still held a gentle hue. A small frame. Pale skin. The first princess of Maple Land was smiling quietly today as well.
"Good work. You look a little tired today."
Latifa spoke without looking at Seiya's face. No — precisely because she couldn't see, she'd sensed his fatigue and unease from his footsteps and the tone of his voice alone.
"…It's nothing."
Seiya sat in a nearby chair.
"Liar. Your footsteps are a little slower than usual."
Latifa gave a soft laugh.
Seiya said nothing and looked out the window. The park, seen from within the castle's barrier, glowed orange in the sunset.
"…Hey."
"What is it?"
"If the park disappears, what happens to you?"
Seiya looked at Latifa.
Latifa was silent for a moment.
"I just won't be able to stay here anymore."
Her voice was quiet.
"You just won't be able to stay here anymore?"
"Yes. This park is the place that lets me remain in the human world. If the park is gone, I'll have to return to Maple Land."
"…Is that all?"
"That's all."
Latifa smiled.
"But when you're enjoying yourself, my body feels a little lighter."
"Huh?"
Seiya furrowed his brow.
"I wonder if it's the curse. Your feeling of 'fun' becomes my strength. So when you're suffering, I suffer too."
Latifa turned her face to the window.
"…I don't get it."
Seiya sighed.
"I'm sorry. I'm not good at explaining it."
Latifa said it apologetically.
"But it's true. Your hard work reaches me too. So you don't have to push yourself."
"I'm not pushing myself."
"…Seiya-san."
Latifa shook her head quietly.
"You always carry everything alone. That's your kindness, but sometimes it worries me."
Seiya fell silent.
"There's little I can do, but at least I can listen."
Latifa smiled.
Seiya couldn't say anything for a while.
(At least listen, huh.)
What was he supposed to tell a girl like this? The park might go under. A hundred thousand in three months is impossible. I have to play the perfect manager. There was no way he could say weakness like that to her.
"…I—"
Seiya opened his mouth.
"I'm probably… scared."
His voice was so small it surprised even him.
Latifa said nothing and turned toward him.
"If the park disappears, I go back to being nothing again. Just a high schooler. No friends. Things aren't good with my family. Only the past of being a child actor clings to me."
Seiya looked at his own hands.
"That'
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