The entire group, now including Lilliwood-san and the Seven Princesses, moved toward the Forest Castle. It certainly lived up to its name; it possessed the grand, dignified air of a magnificent wooden fortress.
While it seemed to be integrated with the surrounding giant trees, the castle also exuded a certain nobility—a refined presence. It was the kind of place where Lilliwood-san herself wouldn't have looked out of place living.
Well, since Lilliwood-san didn't personally care for flashy, castle-like exteriors, she probably wouldn't actually live in a building like this, but the atmosphere certainly felt right for her.
That aside, the group had grown much larger than I’d expected. Our original group of ten, plus Fate-san, Fortune-san, Elis-san, Cornelia-san, and then Lilliwood-san and the Seven Princesses—we were now a party of twenty-two.
Twenty-two people was quite the crowd. Since the Forest Castle was a large building, we could all fit inside together, but it was pretty impressive for over twenty people to be moving as a single unit at an amusement park. It felt like being a student on a school trip. My high school trip had been a vote between Hokkaido and Okinawa, and since my year chose Hokkaido, we didn't visit any amusement parks... but I imagine some students do go to them on their trips... probably.
In any case, what kind of attraction was this Forest Castle exactly? Judging by the atmosphere, it didn't seem like it would be a thrill ride.
While pondering this, we stepped inside the building to find ourselves in a spacious hall. There were partitions that looked like fences, and it seemed we were meant to proceed into the castle’s interior after completing the admission process.
As I looked around with interest, a staff member standing near the entrance approached us.
"Welcome to the Forest Castle. May I offer a brief explanation of this attraction?"
"Ah, yes. Please."
...Hm? Wait. This staff member... wasn't it Alice in disguise? As usual, I had no proof, but I just had a feeling.
Ah, since people like Fate-san and Lilliwood-san were here, maybe she thought it would be too much for a normal staff member to handle and came to attend to us herself?
"The Forest Castle is an attraction where you aim for the throne by overcoming the gimmicks and puzzles in each room. Once you stand upon the Central Magic Circle you see over there, you will be teleported into several separate rooms at random, and you will proceed while clearing each area."
"Um... is it okay even with this many people?"
"Yes, it is no problem at all. Given your current numbers... you will be randomly teleported in a way that splits you into groups of four and five. The challenges are designed so there is almost no advantage or disadvantage based on group size, so please rest easy on that front."
"I see..."
Alice was speaking directly to me, so I ended up being the one responding, but it seemed the attraction was something the entire group could participate in together.
The concept sounded like a larger version of the rooms in Shiro-san’s amusement park where you had to clear challenges to move forward. Shiro-san’s had been focused on romance, but this one seemed to be centered on puzzles... something like an escape game?
"...Or so she says. What does everyone think?"
"Sounds good! Kai-chan, I’m going to use my Authority, so accept it~ Let’s go around together~"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I mean, my Authority basically doesn't work on you, Kai-chan, but it's fine if you're willing to accept it. So, I’m going to use my Authority to make sure you and I are sorted into the same group. I just need you to think about accepting that... Well, with your luck, Kai-chan, I think it would turn out that way just by you wishing to be in the same group as me anyway..."
"Oh, I see... Understood."
Fate-san immediately declared her intent to cheat the random sorting with her Authority... but thinking about it calmly, I felt it was better if Fate-san stayed with me.
Fate-san has grown as a person, so I doubted she’d be unkind to whoever she ended up with, but there was a high possibility she’d get lazy and stop moving. Besides, simply being in her presence would probably make some people incredibly nervous.
In that sense, would it be better if Lilliwood-san was with me too? Well, Lilliwood-san was kind and would be fine with anyone... As for people like Lilia-san, they tended to get the short end of the stick if left to chance, so I offered a small prayer that they’d be blessed with a good group.
While thinking such things, since everyone else was also on board, the twenty-two of us proceeded to the massive Central Magic Circle to participate in the attraction.
The staff had asked if anyone was prone to teleportation sickness, but no one in this lineup was particularly affected by it, so we were all set.
The magic circle began to glow slowly. Just as I thought we were about to be teleported, I caught sight of Cornelia-san out of the corner of my eye.
Come to think of it, because we were a cluster of twenty-two people in the middle of a path, I hadn't been able to introduce Cornelia-san to Lilliwood-san and the others yet... Should I do it after the attraction? No, even then, twenty-two people crowded together would just get in the way of other visitors... Hmm, maybe I should give up for now and wait for the next opportunity?
Right after that thought crossed my mind, the magic circle emitted a blinding light, and we were enveloped in the radiance of the teleportation.
When the light cleared, I found myself in a fairly large room. Nearby were Fate-san and Lilliwood-san... and Cornelia-san, whose face was so pale it looked as if every drop of blood had been drained from it.
Serious-senpai: "He actually did it!? It backfired completely because he hadn't introduced her yet... Because that guy with the freakish Luck Correction thought 'when should I introduce her,' she's been tossed right into the group from hell!?"