The first attraction, Dragon Adventure, was honestly much more polished than I had imagined. Despite its simplicity, it had a clear narrative flow, and the various gimmicks—like the dynamic shifts in movement and the coaster swiveling to show us the pursuit from behind—made it incredibly fun.
"That was amazing! I never expected the attractions here to be of such a high caliber!" Hina exclaimed.
"It was certainly quite the spectacle," Aoi agreed. "The footsteps and roars realistically captured the feeling of being hunted, and the sudden twist at the Dragon Orb—making us feel safe for a moment before plunging us back into chaos—gave it a nice sense of tension. Still, I have to say, the speed felt a bit sluggish."
"Ah, well, that's probably unavoidable," Hina replied. "I felt the same way. Speed isn't the main draw here, but the influence of magic definitely makes a difference in our perception."
I thought it was reasonably fast, but apparently, it didn't amount to much for Aoi and Hina. Hina could run significantly faster than a jet coaster anyway, and Aoi could comfortably break the sound barrier. From their perspective, it was only natural that this pace felt lacking.
In fact, comparing it to the jet coaster I had ridden with Shiro-san, it definitely felt slow. Even to my own senses, it was merely "fairly fast." Since, as Hina said, the attraction didn't focus on speed, the velocity itself probably wasn't set that high.
"It was a magnificent attraction!" Lilia-san exclaimed. "Being able to see so many rare dragon species that are usually difficult to encounter is one thing, but by providing a fictional secret treasure like the Dragon Orb, we were able to witness combinations of species that would normally be impossible... combinations that can only be seen in this attraction. It truly was marvelous. Though the speed of the vehicle did catch me off guard..."
"I was actually most surprised by that part. That vehicle moves at an incredible speed," Sieg-san remarked.
"It felt similar to the cars that appear in the games Kaito-san has, but the fact that it can carry this many people at such a velocity is impressive," Lunamaria added. "It would likely be difficult to implement, but if this were established as a means of transportation, it would change the common sense of the world."
Lilia-san's excitement over the dragon-related aspects was a given, but surprisingly, it was Luna-san and Sieg-san who were most impressed by the coaster's speed.
However, after listening to them, I could understand their perspective to some extent. To our senses, it was slow compared to a jet coaster, but for Lilia-san and the others, a vehicle that could carry this many people faster than a self-propelled carriage was a fresh and startling innovation.
Indeed, since there are no railways in this world, travel is primarily handled by carriages, Wyvern Service, ships, or Teleportation Magic.
In terms of pure velocity, I felt like the Wyvern Service might be faster, but because those fly through the open sky, it’s difficult to truly perceive the speed. Compared to that, a coaster racing along the ground probably felt much more visceral.
"In Master's world, you treat vehicles of this speed as playthings. I am in awe," Anima remarked.
"Ah, well, I don't think it's very fast for a coaster. As Hina mentioned, it wasn't an attraction that sold itself on speed..."
"...Hmm, if you're looking for an attraction that sells itself on speed... how about that one over there?"
As I answered Anima's question, Caraway pointed toward a spot a short distance away, drawing everyone's attention.
There stood a large sign with bold lettering: "An ultra-fast attraction for a new era! Sonic Coaster!"
"Sonic Coaster... Is it an attraction named after the Sonic Dragon, which is capable of extremely high-speed flight even among other dragon species?" Lilia-san asked.
"As expected of Milady, you recognized the motif instantly," Lunamaria noted.
"..."
While listening to the conversation between Lilia-san and Lunamaria, the three of us—Aoi, Hina, and I—stared at the sign with troubled expressions. I knew exactly how they felt; they were undoubtedly thinking the same thing I was.
"...You three? You have quite dubious looks on your faces. Is there something strange about that to those who know of amusement parks?" Luna-san asked.
"Ah, no... I think it's just a type of jet coaster. It's a classic, if anything," Hina replied.
"As Hina says, it's an attraction so famous and standard that even I, who had never been to an amusement park before, knew about it," Aoi added hesitantly.
Their responses were perplexed. It was as if they sensed a fundamental incongruity but found it difficult to put into words.
"...How should I put it? Just as Cara says, that is definitely an attraction focused on speed... but honestly, we have no idea what standard they used to build it. To someone who can use Physical Enhancement Magic, the jet coasters from our world would feel incredibly slow. But if this is tuned specifically for those using Physical Enhancement, it would reach a level that is life-threatening for anyone who can't use magic... We're wondering if a jet coaster can even function in a world where the disparity in individual abilities is this vast."
Exactly. For instance, if the ride was adjusted to my standards, it wouldn't feel fast to the others—it would feel sluggish. Conversely, if it was tuned for someone at the level of the high-tier members of our group, it would be a machine for turning someone like Lilia-san into a meat slab.
Yet, considering they put up such a massive sign boasting "ultra-fast" speeds... did they have some kind of special trick up their sleeve?
Serious-senpai: "Alice is one thing, but Kuro has experienced a jet coaster before too, so it's hard to believe they haven't considered the impact of the difference in physical abilities... I wonder how they intend to solve this..."