After a quick check of the pamphlet to get the lay of the land, our preparations for entry were complete.
"Well then, it's about time we head—"
"Wait just a second!"
"...Hina-san?"
Just as we were about to walk through the gates, Hina-san cut in with a deadly serious expression. She was radiating an intensity I had never seen from her before.
"We haven't even decided on the order of our route yet!"
"...Can't we just figure that out as we go...?"
"You're sweet, Aoi-senpai! Sweeter than a chocolate parfait!!"
"I—is that so?"
It was a rare sight to see Aoi being so thoroughly overwhelmed by Hina-san. Her spirit was so fierce that neither Lilia-san nor I could find a gap to interject.
Since Hina-san was undoubtedly the most knowledgeable among us regarding amusement parks—and likely the one most excited to be here—her insistence carried a lot of weight. Deciding on a route beforehand might actually be crucial.
"Listen, okay? This is a theme park on a massive scale. It's impossible to hit every single attraction in a single day. In fact, if we just charge in without a plan, we'll struggle to even visit every area! Conquering every attraction is chronologically impossible, so let's set that aside and at least make sure we hit all seven areas! To do that, prior planning is essential!"
"I—I see... Indeed, just as Hina-san says, if we consider that I will be providing comments later, it would be best to tour every area."
Hina-san had a point. We weren't just here to play; Kuro had specifically asked Lilia-san for feedback to use in their promotions. Even if we couldn't do every ride, we at least wanted to see each zone.
Still, this amusement park was absurdly huge. I had a feeling each individual area was roughly the size of a standard amusement park on its own, and the sheer number of attractions listed in the pamphlet was staggering.
Alice and Kuro had clearly aimed for the maximum scale possible, intending this to be the 'Largest Amusement Facility in the Demon Realm'. Walking around aimlessly would definitely make it hard to cover everything.
Lilia-san nodded, clearly convinced, and we gathered around the pamphlet once more to map out our route.
"...Since amusement parks are an entirely new experience for us, I would like to ask Yuzuki-sama to take the lead. Strictly speaking, how many attractions should we aim for in each area?"
"Let's see... I think we should cap it at two or three per zone. Since we're invited guests today, I don't expect it to be so crowded that we'll be stuck in hour-long lines, but I'm sure the other invited guests are here in families or groups just like us. Given the scale of the place, if there’s a decent crowd, we should still account for about ten minutes of wait time. That way, if we find an attraction that catches our eye along the way, we'll still have time to enjoy it. We should keep our pre-selected list focused."
Hina-san was exuding an intellectual aura unlike anything before, but at the heart of it, she simply wanted to enjoy the park to its absolute fullest. She was someone who thrived in large groups, and this kind of venue was perfectly suited to her tastes. Her absolute earnestness came through in her fierce determination.
"...Kaito-san, in the amusement parks of your world, do people really wait for an hour for a single attraction?"
"It depends on the season. During peak times, popular attractions can have waits of several hours... but since this is a pre-opening and it hasn't been established which ones are the most popular yet, I don't think we'll have to wait that long today."
I gave a brief explanation to Sieg-san, who was looking surprised at the concept. Once this park officially opened and became a hit, long wait times were a definite possibility. Knowing Alice, she’d probably start selling something like a Fest Pass later on, but for today, we likely wouldn't be standing in long queues.
The place was simply too vast and the attractions too numerous—and mostly unknown—so most people would probably choose to move on to something else rather than wait in a line.
"The most important thing is deciding where we're going to eat in advance. Ideally, we should hit about two areas, eat lunch, and then tackle the rest. Since the central area feels like the main event, I want to save that for the grand finale. That leaves the question: do we go clockwise or counter-clockwise...?"
"...Honestly, I feel like we should just let Hina-chan decide everything..."
Aoi whispered as she watched Hina-san muttering to herself while staring intensely at the pamphlet. To be honest, that felt like the correct move. Her passion was in a league of its own, so letting her handle the logistics was probably for the best. Then again, Hina-san herself likely wanted this to be a group decision... it was a bit of a dilemma.
"Since we're at the South Entrance, going right takes us toward the Dark Area, and left takes us toward the Aqua Area... Hina-chan, which one do you think is better?"
"The Aqua Area, absolutely!"
When I asked which way to head first, Hina-san didn't hesitate for a second.
"Out of curiosity, what's the reason?"
"...Because... the Dark Area will definitely have... scary things like Haunted Houses, right...?"
After all that strategic intensity, I thought she had some grand plan... but it turned out she just couldn't handle scary attractions. Her adorable reaction made me let out a bitter smile.
Serious-senpai: "With Alice running the show, there is a one hundred percent chance of a Haunted House or horror house equivalent... however, the decision to avoid it is sound. Those types of places have a high Lovey-dovey Threat Level... easily exceeding 7 Stars. They are quite dangerous."
???: "There she goes with those strange unique standards again..."