Some time after the game [The Flying Dutchman's Trial] finished.

Relief, tension, joy, fear, pride, anger were drawn on the faces of the Estres who managed to survive. The look on their faces didn't change, even though they were finally able to regroup with their familiar faces. Not a single mouth that can utter a single word, except for one person.

“That was hell of a ride! The game made me feel how good it is to survive. It really cracked me up! GHAHAHAHAHA! " A stocky old man named Farkas laughed himself firmly in the middle of the crowd.

"Oh, it turns out that there are also those who enjoy playing these... Death games... Huh." Makoto's head was drawn to Farkas due to his howls of joy at his victory.

“Well… I'm glad I'm not alone. Surely this world makes me appreciate and give meaning to what I call… Life. I'm more grateful when I can survive in this world than… 'That' world…”

“Too bad that I have to go back and forth between the worlds.” Makoto put his hand in his trouser pocket and accidentally pulled out a piece of paper still sticky from the duct tape.

“Speaking of that world, what should I do with this, huh? I'm not interested in this kind of thing." Makoto scratched his head in confusion amidst the crowd. He then glanced here and there, seeing the faces that looked like zombies, even his mates, but he growled in annoyance that he couldn't find the right person.

He became annoyed with himself because he had found the paper right when he 'boarded' on his ship, long before Revon made the announcement, “Grrh! I thought this paper was useful, for example, discount coupons for online shopping! I'm in need of a new keyboard! Now my pocket is full of trash again, huh!... Oh!”

That's when Makoto found someone he thought could be granted the useless (according to him) sheet of paper. Well, he thought who knew 'that person' could be a help to fulfil his desires.

Namely, to conquer the land of the Chronosseum.

“Ah, hey, you were the one throwing the basketball! Your 'handling' of that burly man is commendable!”

*THUD!* Grey nudges Makoto, who is praising his heroic action.

“Huh… He doesn't need it either, apparently... In that case, this can't be used as material to negotiate with him…”

Makoto then glanced once more at the crowd, only to scratch his head again.

“Fuck it! I'll just throw it away then!" Makoto tore up [Golden Pass to the Dreamland's Grand Opening] and threw it away. Something that irritated Revon a little when he found it among the green grass (thanks to a report from one of his crows).

No. The fact is that Revon is in his worst mood because apart from Luci who interfered with the closing of the event, he found two 'junk' papers of [Golden Pass to the Dreamland's Grand Opening], one floating in the lake and one belonging to Makoto earlier. Meanwhile, the other twelve tickets were still firmly attached to the main mast of the respective twelve ships.

THIS IS NO DIFFERENT THAN BURNING MY MONEY, FUCK! Revon shouted to the cloudless sky as the crows carried him away.

***

Somewhere in the Chronosseum, Chrono's Chateau.

“Ah, the crow tamer! Home sweet home! How did you feel after the game?”

"...Shut your mouth, I don't want to talk about it."

"Hmm? What's the problem, Revon ho-"

“*BLAM!!* L-Luci! Are all the reports true?”

“Tsk… Again!”

“V-Very! I can't be kidding! If you don't believe me, I'll share the tablet pc one by one to all of you…”

“Wow, it's always entertaining, isn't it, your Paragon. I will never tire of watching you cut off your fingers and toes to turn them into electronics!”

“U-Ugh, I have to go back and forth to the earth… Err… I mean the mortal world… Just to regenerate my body! After all, it hurts, you know! Luckily we have Verna who can relieve pain with her saliva."

“Oh~ Are you into that kinky stuff, Luci?”

“I have no other option! All of you are useless too because y'all can only stare at the fountain of blood coming from my fingers!”

"True, true! Because of you guys who can't take care of your bodies, you're also Luci, and also this suck Paragon, my mouth is always dry. Luckily we have Carlow with his Paragon who can turn his own blood into any liquid! My thirst is always satisfied."

“Well, whatever I do for you, woman. But I still don't want to be skinny like that crow maniac, so don't take advantage of me! Especially after you rejected my love! Well, as long as it's a woman it doesn't matter, hehe. After all, luckily we have-”

"STOP! This chain will not break if it continues! The point is, we can all help each other in our own way, right?”

"Agree. But there are more important things to discuss, Luci.”

"What's that?"

"So when are you going to give me-"

“I WOULD NEVER SACRIFICE EVEN MY EPIDERMIS FOR YOUR PERVERT HOBBY, CARLOW! Oh my gosh, I'm going crazy at this table. Just don't waste readers' time! Pay attention to the tablet pc I gave you!”

“Or maybe watch your finger, am I right? Khikhikhiki."

“STOP JOKING AROUND!”

…….

“Hmm… These flashing emblems in front of their faces… Estre has the potential to get their Paragon already? 'They'… Already made a move to pick the Estres?”

“This shouldn't have happened in just the first two programmes! Isn't it too soon to make a decision?”

“I told you, this 'Millenia' is truly unbelievable! Or maybe it's because we're pushing ourselves now, huh?”

"Hey, what were you guys talking about? I really don't understand."

“YOU HAVE NOT TURNED ON THE TABLEEEET!”

“Oh… Ahem… That's right. *click* …… Eh? THEY HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO GET A PARAGON ALREADY?”

"My head is going to burst from shaking all the time... Please, can you guys be serious for a second?"

…

…

…

“GETTING SERIOUS DOESN'T MEAN TO SHUT YOUR MOUTH!”

*Creaaaak*

"Oh, thank god, sir! You finally come… Help me!"

"Hmm."

"....."

“U-Ugh… This person's presence really made the situation unfun…”

"Hmm?"

"Hmm??"

“CRAP! I FORGOT TO FLUSH THE TOILET! THAT BALD OLD MAN WOULD BE IN RAGE IF SOMETHING STILL FLOATED!”

“(everyone) HAHAHAHA!”

"He entered the room just to get out! What a stupid."

"It's just that his face is scary, but that person really is an idiot!"

“Grrr… That's right, he's the one who's always been the cause of the mess… Am I really just the normal one?”

“But even though he's an idiot, only he can call President by 'bald old man'...”

“Well… He is terrible in both positive and negative ways. Even our strongest, Ull, doesn't dare to call President by that.”

“*sigh* a complete 180 degree opposite, those two… If only he could be more serious… Uh? Ull haven't come either?"

“Well as usual, strong people seem to be busy looking for information, wandering off somewhere. He's been like a lost dog."

"He's indeed a dog, isn't he?"

"Ha ha ha! That's true!"

“*ZZzzzzZZ…* *Plop!* WHAT?! The Estres already have the potential to have their Paragon?!”

“YOU JUST REALIZED THAT? WAAA YOUR SNOT BALLOONS BLEW UP!”

…

"Sorry, Enthony. Your first meeting was a mess. Ugh… Even though it's never serious either…”

“Ahaha… It's fine, senior Luci! Isn't it better to be lively like this?"

“Enthony… You too…”

"HA HA HA! The kid just got it!"

"Eh? Wait, wait a minute… What's this crest? It's the first time I've seen it…”

"It's obvious isn't it? The arrival of a new 'manufacturer' after a long time.”

“Humm.. The crest is cute too… What is this… This is like… HEY! THIS IS THAT 'POOP' EMOJI! IT MUST BE YOUR WORK, LOKHI!”

"Ha ha ha!"

"Don't pretend you don't do anything!"

"He's our joker, of course that's his job..."

“H-Hey… Wait a minute… Speaking of the crest… Take a look at Estre number 7… The flashes light of sapphire blue and the hourglass…”

“CHRONO'S TIMEPIECE?!”

"....."

"....."

"....."

"Well, well, well. Just realized that, and then quiet and serious. You guys."

"....."

“I… I didn't expect such a naive young man to be caught by the manufacturer that invests their inventions the least… Moreover, isn't that old man a stingy and careful person?”

"But, you saw the video I sent you earlier, right?"

“I-Indeed… Seeing him in that game, it seems that the young man has quite the potential… Well, hopefully his Paragon is the weakest among the ones they created...”

“Even though it's the weakest, it's still Chronos's Timepiece!”

“Then, what should we do?”

"Isn't it obvious? They are too dangerous for us! They must have a plan. This young man must be removed quickly! We have to make him lose—no, die!”

“But… Can't that young man be used?”

“No buts. He should be removed, right, Lokhi?”

“*cough* Suppress your killing urge! *cough* You too Lokhi, lower your knife. Who are you trying to mutilate, anyway?”

“Ah… W-We didn't realize you were occupying Luci's body… Sorry for our ruckus and negligence…”

"Khukhukhukhu! It's okay, right? All of you are absolutely interesting human, thanks to you, this castle is much more lively, so behave to your heart's content!”

“Duh, even President agreed… Poor Luci…”

“Well, isn't that the reason why President took over his body? To make Luci indirectly agree with our insanity?”

"Ha ha ha! That is true!"

“*cough* *cough* Remember our business principles… Whatever the manufacturer, we must respect them. Isn't it because of all of them that we can live as we are now?”

“...”

“… President is right.”

“So, we have a responsibility to bring out that young man's potential and see how he can use his Paragon. That young man was truly overflowing with his extraordinary kindness! It sure is absolutely interesting! I also want to see how he survives! *cough* You guys really want to kill someone like him and harm our organization?”

“…But President… The Paragon might harm us…”

“*cough* That's why I chose you all to be the executives. *cough* ”

"President..."

“*cough* Khukhukhu… Don't worry about me. Now, take a closer look at that young man, and Estre as a whole! There is something even more interesting.”

"....."

“One… Two… Three… Four… Six…”

“You've been counting it slowly and wrong! There were about 20 Estres with the crest burning even brighter! Err, wait… Doesn't this mean…”

“Right… *cough* * cough* they just need to be… ‘Lured’…”

“Wow, this is crazy… Revon! What kind of game did you create? You are able to get Estre's potential unleashed so quickly! Wow… How do you plan a game like that.”

“Uh… Yeah? You're welcome?"

"That's why we have to intervene faster, huh..."

"Then let's share the responsibility!"

“Hmm… That means each Executives gets 1-2 Estre?”

"Well, it's still manageable then..."

“Ull, of course, will eventually agree with our decision. But that idiot doesn't seem to want to accept our decision whatever it is."

"Let him be. In the middle of the road he will surely grab one that suits his taste. Now let's just focus on this [Exceed] task."

“*sigh*… Really vexing…”

“Then, what about the rest of Estre?”

“Although they all have potential, these twenty are certainly the individuals we should prioritize. It's like an urgent request."

“*cough* Do not hesitate… *cough* you can use useless Estre as a sacrifice… I have no taste for uninteresting people. It's better to focus on awakening a sleeping lion than incubating a dragon egg. *cough*”

"If President has said that, then..."

"Yes, let's immediately determine the division!"

…

“Well, now there are only two of these people! S-Soo… About that Estre number 7…”

"Why doesn't anyone want to?"

“*sigh* who wants to deal with that old geezer… The people in charge were always hit by the stone.”

“Hey! Lokhi raised his hand almost all the time! You must have pretended not to see! Ah... Right... At most he just wants permission to go to the toilet!”

"..... Okay. Yeah, what is it ,Lokhi?”

“... Let me [Exceed] that Estre number 7... And also 26, pretty please~”

"Eh? Could this be the reason you've been silent all this time? You waited for this young man to be called?”

"No, no! You must want to trick—kill him right?”

"No. I promise~ I won't be able to go against President~ I already have an idea to [Exceed] both Estres one hundred percent at the same time. And I… I want to play tic tac toe~”

"Huh?"

“You heard it right~”

"Okay, okay. Lokhi can take the grand prize… Again. Don't tease him, okay?"

“I'm the man of my word~”

“*cough* It settled. We can immediately start the stage of Exceeding. Come on, quickly make them realize how blessed they really are in this country… After all, they don't have… Anything… in the mortal world.”

"(Everyone) understood!"

“This is sure to be absolutely interesting… Hahaha—ahem, Khukhukhu *cough*”

"Eh?"

"Huh?"

“LUCI! Don't say that you've been pretending to be President all these times?"

“A-Asshole… How dare you…”

“If I don't do that, we won't have a proper discussion! I really am a genius! Err… W-Wait, wait, your crows are out of control! W-Whoa don't splurt your blood everywhere! S-Snake? N-NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

…

"Hey, Lokhi."

“Yes, lord crow?~”

“I know you must want to tease the young man. You can't hide your naughty lust, can you."

“Aiya~ Animal tamers are the most sensitive being, huh~”

“I just wanna tell you, he's not an easy target for you. So I can't wait to see you back with that disappointed look on your face."

"......~ Thanks for worrying about me~ *grin* We'll see."

***

It's the weekend, Sunday to be precise, the day after the formal 'Opening' by the Chronosseum government. Actually, I'm fed up with the word 'opening'. Imagine, last Friday, I was faced with the 'opening' game as well. But here I am; sitting on a plastic unicorn pony in the carousel, with a stranger's child on my lap, at Dreamland's premiere 'opening'.

I finally bought the ticket online yesterday afternoon with my savings. The price certainly made me bite my fingers. This took up about half a month of my meal rations for the next month. But it's okay, apart from what I already promised, I also need to change my memory about an amusement park. If I don't hang out with Marie today, I guarantee I'll never go to an amusement park for the rest of my life.

The three of us always go for the rides where Marie's tiny index finger is pointing. Mrs Sophia always offers me to ride the Milky Speedway or Daydream Tower with her, because she thought it might not be enough for a 'brave' man if he didn't take the adrenaline-packed rides at the amusement park. Oh, Mrs Sophia doesn't know yet (and better not know) that I'm completely fine with accompanying Marie on child-safe rides, which means it's also safe for Grey. It might be a different story if Nora came here with us, though… He he.

We didn't go straight home once Marie was exhausted.

Mrs Sophia took me to the burial grounds where Mr Wayne rested.

“Seeing the look on your face… You seem to know 'that' already, don't you?” Mrs Sophia carried Marie who was snoring sweetly on her shoulders. Then the woman placed five yellow tulips on her husband's tombstone. While I can only lower my head and close my eyes behind.

“Well, that's how it was. I have struggled for years in our marriage. When Marie was born, I thought he would stop all his vile deeds. But as you are probably aware, he can even commit violence in front of my innocent girl.”

God had started painting the sky orange. A fairly cool wind blew strong enough to fly some cherry blossom petals towards us.

“I can endure all the violence he has on me. But, not if it will ruin my little angel's life.” Mrs Sophia tucked a stalk of white tulip among the yellows.

“But I was helpless in front of Wayne. I'm too naive! I thought I can't live without him, I thought I would risk my and Marie's lives if I took us away from my own house!” Her hands trembled as he gripped another stalk of a white tulip in his right hand, before placing it down with a slight slam. Tears of regret started trickling down her cheeks.

“It was already too late when I realized that his behavior was unhealthy for us. One day I finally decided to rebel, and since that night, I've been racking my brains trying to figure out how to get rid of that control-crazy man!"

Mrs Sophia stood up straight, turning her body slightly to look at me. Her glaring eyes quivered with anger and a feeling of pride, as did her mouth, which smiled evilly and contentedly,

"Until the opportunity comes. I think I am truly blessed by God.”

I… I really didn't expect her to give such a sinister expression. However, I understand how she feels. Living by violence is not easy. Moreover, it comes from people you truly love in the first place. She really looks desperate. I feel mixed emotions inside her. Every time her words quivered, I could also see that she snapped one last stalk of the white tulip in her hand.

Mrs Sophia turned around, again facing the gravestone of her late husband, “I am also blessed by God for having a neighbor who is also my best friend. He saved Marie first. Of course, you also saved her, Grey. I don't know what will happen to me, to us, if it's way too late."

She then bent down again to put down the broken white tulip stalk, “I… Don't regret reporting it to the anti-violence community… They promised me to take care of Wayne… But before they could do anything, he had already died. Not that I'm grateful for Wayne's death, but… I think I could live a happier life without his disturbances forever… But… I…”

Mrs Sophia lowered her head in front of me and couldn't hold back her sobs. I tried my best to avoid the awkward feeling of hugging her. Surely the death of Mr Wayne is also a dilemma for her.

“You have endured and fought well…”

Not long after, a taxi came to pick them up. Mrs Sophia actually offered to give me a ride, but it would have been better for me if I had given her some time for herself. Seeing her like that, I'm sure this is the first time Mrs Sophia has expressed her emotions. The train station is not far from this cemetery anyway.

When I saw the figure away with the yellow transport, for some reason I knew that this would not be our last meeting. It wasn't that I wanted to be Marie's playmate; Well, maybe that too, but there's something else that could bring us back together.