Chapter 32
Time flew by, and before anyone realized it, the New Year was approaching once again.
Planning the Naruto-themed amusement park had taken three months, while construction of its first section took only two.
Several additional areas based on different parts of the story were already included in the long-term plan.
How many of those expansions would actually be built, however, depended entirely on how much money the first section earned.
Running an amusement park was expensive.
Employee wages, equipment maintenance, and the constant consumption of Magic Lacrima all required considerable funding.
The park had not been built as an act of charity.
At the end of the day, it needed to make a profit.
The first section was scheduled to begin trial operations after the New Year.
Before it officially opened, Fairy Tail’s members were invited to spend an entire day testing every attraction for free as a guild benefit.
That was how Marshall found himself arriving with a group of children at the first completed section of the Naruto amusement park—
Konohagakure.
The moment they passed through the entrance, they were greeted by five enormous stone faces carved into the mountainside with Earth Magic.
It was the Hokage Rock.
Upon closer inspection, however, an enormous Ferris wheel could be seen circling around the outside of the monument.
The two attractions somehow looked strangely harmonious together.
"WHOOOAAAH! So this is an amusement park?!" Natsu roared. "THIS IS AWESOME! I’M ALL FIRED UP!"
The most troublesome child immediately tried to breathe fire into the sky.
He coughed several times, but not even a spark came out.
"Hahaha! You’re an idiot, Natsu," Freed said smugly. "Didn’t you notice the Rune Enchantments at the entrance?"
He pointed toward the glowing inscriptions.
[Magic is prohibited within the amusement park.]
[Magical items are disabled within the amusement park.]
[Visitors are forbidden from harming others within the amusement park.]
Freed was an enthusiastic admirer of Laxus who had joined Fairy Tail not long ago largely because of him.
"Then why is Marshall still floating?!" Natsu demanded.
Everyone turned toward Marshall.
They had already grown accustomed to seeing him drift around the guildhall every day, but they were naturally curious about how he could still use magic inside the park’s Rune Enchantments.
"Because I don’t want to look up whenever I talk to you."
"That isn’t what we asked, you bastard!" ten voices shouted together.
Marshall produced a badge labeled STAFF.
"To deal with emergencies, authorized employees are exempt from some of the restrictions. Anyone carrying this badge can use magic inside the park."
"Marshall, let me borrow it!"
Natsu lunged toward him.
Marshall immediately flew higher, leaving Natsu to grab empty air.
"Hmph! There’s no chance I’m giving this to any of you. Instead of wasting your time chasing me, you should hurry up and try more attractions."
Marshall pointed ahead.
"Laxus is already leaving without you~"
"NANI?!"
Freed spun around and saw Laxus walking toward the Ferris wheel with one arm wrapped around a beautiful girl’s waist.
They had almost reached the entrance.
"Waaah... Why won’t Laxus-sama go on a date with me...?"
A wide empty circle immediately formed around Freed.
Something about that boy was strange.
Everyone silently decided to keep their distance.
Jet, Droy, Max, and several others were all recent additions to the guild, roughly the same age as Natsu and Gray.
Natsu soon abandoned his attempt to steal Marshall’s badge and ran off with Gray, the two arguing all the way to the Uzumaki Bumper Cars.
Every attraction had been rather deliberately tied to the park’s theme.
There was the Uchiha Balloon Range, the Nara Haunted House, the Sarutobi Giant Pendulum, the Root Roller Coaster, and the still-unopened Akimichi Food Street, among many others.
"Well, everyone else has run off." Cana narrowed her eyes at Levy and Erza. "Why don’t you two form a group? Marshall and I can go together. That divides us perfectly~"
"Dream on!" Levy immediately protested. "Marshall already promised to ride the Land of Waves Pirate Ship and the Konoha Ferris Wheel with me. Stop trying to keep him all to yourself, Cana!"
Erza firmly opposed the idea as well.
"Exactly! Marshall and I also agreed to ride Naruto’s Free-Fall Tower together. At a time like this, Marshall should belong to everyone."
"..."
Marshall was beginning to consider flying away alone.
Being surrounded by all three girls at once was far too stressful.
"Haha... Why don’t we all stay together? It’ll be more fun with a bigger group."
"Hmph! Then let’s go to the carousel in Ino’s Flower Garden first!"
"Cana, you cheater! Wait for us!"
Marshall accompanied the girls from one attraction to the next.
An amusement park in a magical world was even more entertaining than the ones he remembered hearing about on Earth.
After all, this world possessed real magic.
Laughter filled the park without pause.
Happiness was universal, no matter the world, and Marshall enjoyed himself immensely.
In a way, it made up for never having visited an amusement park during his previous life.
He doubted he would have many opportunities to return once the park officially opened.
The side effect of his Telepathy Magic still remained.
Once the grounds became packed with visitors, the flood of thoughts would probably make him avoid the place entirely.
The four of them eventually explored nearly every corner of the park. Once they were exhausted, they decided to finish the day with a ride on the Ferris wheel.
"Wow! You can see all of Magnolia from here!" Levy pressed close to the window. "There’s Kardia Cathedral!"
"Look over there!" Cana pointed excitedly. "That’s our guildhall—and the girls’ dormitory!"
"This amusement park you built is wonderful, Marshall..." Erza said, a happy smile spreading across her face.
"This place truly feels like paradise."
No one noticed the faint bitterness hidden beneath that smile.
[I wish I could come here with everyone from the Tower someday... with Sho and the others.]
"..."
’What exactly is this "Tower" Erza keeps remembering?’
Marshall remained outwardly calm, though his curiosity only deepened.
Erza was much more resilient than Cana and rarely allowed herself to dwell on emotional attachments.
Ever since resolving to become stronger, she had pursued that goal without hesitation.
She spent more time traveling, training, and completing jobs than she did inside the guildhall.
Marshall sometimes felt as though he had become Erza’s personal charging station.
Whenever she returned exhausted from the outside world, she would spend some time beside him, replenish her supply of little-brother energy, then throw herself back into training with renewed determination.
She never hesitated or looked back.
When it came to remaining faithful to one’s convictions, even Marshall had to admit that Erza was far better than him.
As the Ferris wheel approached its highest point, Marshall reached inside his coat and produced the gifts he had prepared.
"Here. These cards are for all of you. Consider them my New Year’s presents~"
There were three cards, each bearing a chibi illustration of Marshall.
The tiny Marshall pictured on them held a circular sign marked with a check in one hand and another marked with an X in the other.
The cards had a luxurious finish and had clearly been made from expensive materials.
Erza and Levy happily accepted theirs.
Cana, however, seemed to realize something and stared at him in shock.
"Marshall! Don’t tell me... You succeeded?!"
Marshall smiled proudly, though he tried to maintain a modest expression.
"I’m very close to true success. These cards are the first completed products!"
Levy carefully examined the beautifully crafted card in her hands.
"Is this a magical item? Does Card Magic create an image of you when it’s activated?"
"Hehe. Wrong!"
Marshall waved one finger smugly.
"These aren’t ordinary Magic Cards. They’re Summoning Cards. Activating one allows you to summon my Thought Projection~"
He proudly began explaining his creation.
"Normal Card Magic works somewhat like Pict Magic. The constructs it produces have very little combat ability. These cards are completely different."
"When one is activated, it transports a Thought Projection carrying a portion of my magic power directly to the user."
"The projection possesses all my abilities and shares my thoughts in real time. As long as it receives enough magic power, there’s practically no difference between summoning it and having me appear in person!"
He pointed at the two symbols on the card.
"However, I can currently maintain only one Thought Projection, so the cards can’t all summon me at the same time."
"Normally, the little version of me will hold up the check mark. If you see him holding up the X, it means somebody else is already using the summon."
"Since it’s only a Thought Projection, even a fatal injury won’t harm my real body. And if the situation becomes genuinely dangerous, I’ll receive all the projection’s memories and spatial coordinates."
"Then my real body can teleport over with reinforcements immediately."
Marshall planted his hands on his hips.
"It’s the perfect spell!"
He raised his chin proudly.
"Applause, please!"
The inspiration had come from Minato flying raijin and Marshall had combined that idea with the principles of Celestial Spirit Magic, added several personal modifications, and somehow turned it into a genuine spell.
Creating his own original magic had caused his Inspiration to surge repeatedly.
He had barely managed to keep the cards secret while waiting for the perfect moment to present them.
"Marshall, you’re amazing!"
[He created this magic for me! Yes!]
"This is incredible! Thank you, Marshall~"
[Doesn’t this mean Marshall can always be beside me? That’s wonderful~]
"As expected of Marshall!"
[With this card, I might finally be able to enter places that were too dangerous before. Marshall really is incredible.]
Marshall wiped his face... it was covered in kisses!
These girls had taken advantage of the opportunity to steal kisses from him again!
"Once I solve the problem of making Magical Beasts passively separate their own Thought Projections, true Card Summoning Magic will finally be complete!"
He grinned at Cana.
"When that happens, your strength should increase dramatically!"
Cana said nothing.
Instead, she snatched Marshall away from the other girls and squeezed him tightly against her chest.
"Waaah! Marshall, how can you possibly be this adorable?!"