Chapter 0152: The Date Continues—
Shokugeki World.
New Tokyo Meow Meow Amusement Park.
"Although I'm not sure how fun this amusement park is, one thing's for certain—the owner must really love cats."
Hayashi, dressed in casual pants and a white T-shirt, smiled as he looked at the cat-themed logo on the entrance sign. "Too bad I don't know much about cats. I can only recognize blue cats, ragdolls, and orange tabbies."
The 'weighty orange' was unmistakable—its plump figure stood out among the crowd of cats at a glance.
"The one mostly white but with a black patch right in the center of its face is a Siamese cat."
"To its left, the one with white on the lower half and black on the upper is a Norwegian Forest Cat."
"The really big one further out, with lots of cats, is a Maine Coon—"
Erina clung affectionately to Hayashi's arm, then raised her left hand to point them out.
Hayashi looked at her with mild surprise. "You like cats?"
Erina replied sheepishly, "It's not that I like cats per se. When designing Chocolate and Vanilla, Yunyun and I looked up a lot of cat references, so I remember some of them now."
Hayashi nodded in understanding, then turned his gaze away from the sign and said softly, "Alright, let's head in—today, we're going all out and trying every single attraction!"
"Yeah!"
Erina enthusiastically raised both hands. "Pirate ship, drop tower, roller coaster, and bungee jumping—I want to try them all!"
"Uh..." Hayashi hesitated for a moment before whispering in her ear, "At your current strength, your running speed probably surpasses a roller coaster, right?"
Would you even be scared of that?
Isn't that as ridiculous as Conan claiming he's afraid of corpses? He'd probably be more excited than anyone—woohoo, another case to solve!
Erina shot him an exasperated look. "Idiot! It's about the atmosphere, the atmosphere! Haven't you heard the saying? No matter how delicious stir-fried noodles are, they can't compare to slightly burnt, overcooked ones bought from a festival stall with someone you love during fireworks!"
Hayashi, completely missing the romantic undertone, retorted, "I might believe that from someone else, but you're Erina Nakiri. Would you even eat street stall noodles?"
Frustrated, Erina poked his side with her finger. "It's a metaphor, a metaphor! Do you get it?"
"Got it, got it! I'm the expert here, I understand everything." Hayashi said with a resigned expression as he pulled Erina toward the amusement park entrance. "Alright, let's hurry and get in line! Otherwise, we'll end up spending all our time just waiting—"
As the two stepped inside the park, several figures in sunglasses, masks, and trench coats emerged from a corner behind them.
Old Master: "Excellent! The atmosphere seems quite nice!"
Mana: "Their daily interactions are so affectionate! They're even hugging, and Erina isn't blushing at all. Why does she become so useless at night?"
Hisako: "Go, Young Mistress! Go, Young Master!"
Yunyun: "I-Is this really something I should be watching?"
While the four were stroking their chins and commenting on Hayashi and Erina, further behind them...
The silver-haired sister-in-law was watching the scene with sparkling eyes. "I knew following them would be worth it! My cousin and brother-in-law are on a date, while Auntie and Grandpa are stalking them... This whole situation just reeks of entertainment!"
I want in on this too, desu!
...
...
"Wow—"
Upon entering the amusement park, Hayashi and Erina couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
The couple had thought arriving at 8:30 AM would be early enough, but the moment they stepped inside, they were stunned by the overwhelming crowd.
"Damn, this crowd is insane. I'd believe you if you told me this was a Beijing highway!" Hayashi clicked his tongue, wincing slightly. "Seriously, are there always this many people?"
Erina thought for a moment before her expression cleared, and she gave Hayashi a wry smile. "Hayashi, I think I just realized—in our world, it's summer vacation right now, and today's also a weekend..."
"Ah—"
Hayashi had an epiphany too. Summer vacation plus a weekend—no wonder the crowd was explosive! But still...
Standing helplessly at the park entrance, Hayashi and Erina muttered in unison, "But with this many people... how long are we going to have to wait in line?"
As the two of them were worrying about the crowd, a young man who looked like a college student approached with a smile and handed a flyer to Hayashi, enthusiastically saying, "Check out Didi Queue Proxy!"
Hayashi instinctively took the flyer, and the young man continued on his way with a smile, handing the same flyer to the next couple while repeating, "Check out Didi Queue Proxy!"
Didi Queue Proxy?
Hayashi and Erina exchanged glances before lowering their eyes to read the contents of the flyer. Almost simultaneously, they both made strange expressions.
Hayashi said with admiration, "I'll take a wild guess—this is probably a group of students from one university club, or maybe even multiple clubs, teaming up to make some money."
Erina nodded as well and said, "I can't believe they thought of this—but it's actually a pretty good way to earn money!"
In essence, it was just a bunch of students taking advantage of their free time during the holidays to queue up early at the amusement park and then sell their spots to those in need. Compared to part-time jobs, this kind of work—just standing in line—was much easier and paid several times more per hour.
Hayashi tilted his head toward Erina and asked, "Should we give it a try? Judging by the crowd right now, I'd conservatively estimate we'd have to wait two hours just to get on one ride."
"Tsk—"
Erina clicked her tongue and said, "Buy it! I don't want to stand stupidly under the sun for two hours!"
If they were strapped for cash, that would be one thing—but when had anyone from the Nakiri Family ever been strapped for cash? If Erina wanted, she could probably rent out the entire amusement park for a day of fun.
"Alright! Then let's head to the Flume Ride first!" Hayashi pointed at the map near the entrance and said, "Then the Drop Tower next to it, followed by the Carousel and the Pirate Ship..."
Erina naturally had no objections. For her, what they played wasn't important—what mattered was playing with Hayashi. Without him, she wouldn't have come to the amusement park in the first place.
...
...
At the front of the Flume Ride queue.
"Speaking of which, I'm a little curious—" Hayashi said as he paid for the two spots at the very front, then turned to Erina. "What if—just hypothetically—they reach the front but haven't sold their spots? Wouldn't they lose out?"
"Dummy, they can just swap numbers with the group behind them," Erina said, giving her boyfriend a helpless look. "As long as they make sure their number is up soon, it's fine."
Hayashi followed the staff's directions and boarded the boat while saying, "Oh, right—that's a way to do it. Here, put on the raincoat so you don't get splashed."
Erina obediently spread her arms and let Hayashi help her into the disposable raincoat handed out by the staff. Then, giggling, she hugged Hayashi's arm and waited for the ride to start.
Quickly, the rubber boat, propelled by mechanical power, slowly climbed to the top of the track before plunging downward. Amid the screams of "Waaahhh—" from the participants, it plunged into the waterway below, splashing water everywhere—Hayashi even noticed a few guys who had been tricked by their friends into standing on the sides getting drenched in the face.
After tossing the rain poncho into the trash, Hayashi took Erina's hand and walked out through the exit, grumbling, "Spent so much money just for two minutes of fun. Feels kinda weird, you know?"
Like an early-ejaculator hiring an hourly escort? Doesn't it feel like a waste?
Erina looked at him, torn between laughter and exasperation, and scolded lightly, "Don't think about that when we're out having fun. Besides, our family isn't short on money."
"I was just complaining a little, not trying to ruin the mood," Hayashi replied. He knew well that constantly worrying about money during a rare outing would spoil the fun, so after explaining, he tugged Erina's hand and dashed toward the next attraction. "Come on, next up is the drop tower!"
After paying for priority tickets, Hayashi and Erina boarded the brand-new drop tower, slowly ascending over sixty meters with the other riders.
"Scared?"
"Surprisingly, not really."
"Haha, figures. We've pretty much gotten used to this kind of view in Sky City."
"Though the drop might be a bit more thrilling."
"I hope so—oh ho!"
Before he could finish, the drop tower suddenly plummeted. Hayashi could clearly hear the screams of "Yaaahhh—" from the other riders, along with the desperate wail of what sounded like a livestreamer: "MY PHONE—!"
Hayashi managed a glance and spotted the latest iPhone 13! Pro Max! Sierra Blue! 1TB edition!
It was currently tracing a graceful parabola through the air—unless something unexpected happened, it would land on the ground far below and turn into scrap.
So, if you can't hold it steady, maybe don't do something this risky!
After landing, Hayashi and Erina strode confidently away from the drop tower, a stark contrast to the other players trembling on shaky legs.
"Not as thrilling as I expected."
"That thrill probably comes from fear. Too bad we don't feel any."
"True enough." Hayashi nodded, then glanced at a nearby couple and remarked with a strange expression, "One perk of dating you is not having to buy all kinds of snacks."
"Hm?"
Following his gaze, Erina saw a young, stylish girl buying a specialty ice cream from the amusement park. After posing for several photos and taking a single bite, she promptly handed it to her boyfriend before happily skipping off to the next shop. By then, the boyfriend was already holding a grilled squid, takoyaki, and a sausage skewer.
Boyfriend x
Food disposal unit √