Sand Sculpture of the Heart - Track 10
Translated by jelly
(At long lastā¦ The first day of HAMA Toursā second feature tour is here! A lot of Kinari-kun and Kuguri-sanās fans have come, itās pretty much a full house!)
(Kuguri-san didnāt do much after what happenedā¦ but Kinari-kun said that he did listen to the bare minimum of his requestsā¦)
(Regardless, I hope this feature tour will be a successā¦!)
(So the next tour after Ward 2 is in Ward 11ā¦ Really? An escape game? Can anyone even enjoy this but the whippersnappers nowadays?)
(Hmph, letās see what theyāve gotā¦.)
OOH! OOH-OOH-OOOOH!
COULD IT BEā¦ COULD IT BEEEEEEEEE!!!!!
Kodama hastily walks towards Hassaku.
!? Eek!? Y-Youāre that weirdo from beforeā¦!
IāVE BEEN DYING TO SEE YOU! DYING, I TELL YOU! MY SOULMAAAATEEE!!!!
C-Cut it out! Stop hugging meā¦!
You, my brother-in-arms who was there to watch Ev3nsā first tour with me on that fateful day!
The man, the myth, the legend, Shigetake Hassaku! As Ev3nsā OG fanboy, Iāve been DREAMING of this reuniooonnnnn!!
(Huff huff). Okay, okay, I get it, now would you please release meā¦
Amazing! Weāre sticking together this time too, Hassaku!
(NOOOOOOā¦.! Why does it always end up like this when the Evening Team is involved?!?!?!)
Welcome. Please put on this helmet to dive straight into the āMystery Desert Tour: Walk Down Memory Laneā experience.
(An immersive experience within a special space in the metaverse, all inside a shopping mall. I see what theyāre going for now.)
FWWWWOOOO!! The one and only Ice Prince of Ev3ns, the Shortcake Cutie himself, Kinyari, is the one who designed this tourā¦
This is the once-in-lifetime, holy-grail-level event where I can literally dive headfirst into the very soul of my biasā¦!! Here I come, Kinyari!!
(I see, for a fan, this is a chance to understand the inner workings of their bias. What a truly profound worldā¦ However, I, for one, do not really understand!)
Participants warp into virtual space.
Oh myā¦ This isā¦
(The wind, the humidity, even the feel of the sandā¦ It is all so realistic. Yet, I donāt feel any discomfort in my body at allā¦)
āWelcome, Kodama, Shigetake. Thank you for participating in our tour. This is a space where you are able to experience walking alongside your childhood self as you aim to find the oasis amidst the desert.ā
K-Kinyari! Oh youāre still the forever king of the kawaii factorā¦..!
A walk with my younger selfā¦? What does that entail, exactly?
āā¦In a moment, your childhood self shall appear before you. This is the version of yourself that resides dormant within your heart on a daily basis, your other self.ā
āPlease, reach the goal together, hand-in-hand.ā
Kinariās hologram disappears.
(Gasp), Kinyari vanished!
(What does he mean by my childhood self appearingā¦..?)
Hey, grownup me.
Hm? Whoās tugging at my sleeveā¦?
Itās me.
Myā¦ childhood selfā¦!?
Ehehe. Letās find the oasis together!
UUUOOOOOGGHHHH, ITāS LITTLE ME! H-H-Heās so stinkinā cuteā¦!!! My heart canāt take this level of killer cutenessā¦!
(Heāsā¦ crying, no, sobbing at the sight of his younger selfā¦!?)
Tatsuji, stop crying! Those tears should only be for your bias!
Yeah, thatās right!!! Cāmon, kid-me, hop on my back!! Weāre off to meet our bias!!!
ā¦ā¦
(Some people never really change, even after all these yearsā¦)
Compared to thatā¦ Iā¦
Letās hold hands! Okay?
ā¦Alright, alright, if you insist.
āOMG! You guys made it~! Chii has been waiting like foreeeverrr! Your first hint to reach the oasis will be given by the one and only Chii-sama~ā Yay!ā
Hauh, Chiiā¦!!! Having your ult-biasās apparate right in front of you all of a suddenā¦ my heart is TOO WEAK for thisā¦!!
Uwahhh, so cuteā¦!!! Makes me wanna stan himā¦!
I see your tastes have not changedā¦ since childhood.
Hey, walking together like this is really fun. When we get to the oasis, letās make a wish!
I do believe this is not that sort of game, howeverā¦
But youāll be happy to reach the goal right? Hey, the truth is, I have a lot of dreams!
ā¦
Participants and children running.
I can see it! Thatās the tent the band of thieves uses as their baseā¦!
Thereās a freakishly handsome guy by the tent!
āHello, well done coming this far. Iāll give you the next hint. But before that, would you like to chat if youāre feeling tired?ā
WH-WH-WH-WHAT!? I get to chat with Ev3nsā leader, the Rizz King himself!?
WH-WH-WH-WHAT AN AMAAAAZIIIING TOOOUUUR!! ALL THIS!?!?!? FOR FREE!?!?!?
āLately, Iāve begun to think that there might be some sort of connection between the way ramen tastes and the phases of the moonā¦ā
āIf I were to make stock from pork bones naturally fermented in the ground on the night of a full moonā¦ā
Wh-What is he talking aboutā¦ A horror movieā¦?
Ahaha, this Nii-chanās funny!
āGood work so far! Youāre nearing the finish line.ā
āDo you think you can keep up this pace for just a little longer?ā
(Solving all these puzzles has gotten surprisingly fun. When it gets too difficult, our childhood holograms appear and give us hintsā¦)
AHEM! Taotao, I have a question!
āHm? What is it, Kodama-san?ā
GHā¦ My heart does backflips like crazy when you call my name. BUT! This is my only chance! RESIST, TATSUJI KODAMAā¦.!
Hey, just what are you trying to askā¦
SO! That mug in Chiiās dazzle post from two days agoā¦
IS IT YOURS, TAOTAOOOO!?
āHuh? Uh, I dunno, I donāt really check dazzleā¦ Weāre roommates, though, so something like that could happen.ā
Arrghh, Iām soā¦ torn. Iām burning with envy, but their chemistry is just too PEAKā¦! My fragile heartās in a blend of joy and jealousy right now!!
āUmā¦ Youāre faithfully following Chihiroās dazzle, arenāt you? I think that stuff makes him real happy. ā
THESE FEELS! WHAT DO I DO WITH THESE FEELINGS! BUT TAOTAO AND CHII ARE SUCH A PERFECT PAIR, I CANāT HELP BUT SHED TEARS OF HAPPINESS!!!
(J-Just what feelings is he talking aboutā¦ I really donāt understand this manā¦)
That uncle is very serious about the things he likes! Watching him is getting me all excited, too!
ā¦ā¦
I SEE IT! THE OASISSSSSSSSSS!
At the entrance isā¦ the 14th Ward Mayor, Domeki Kuguriā¦
āHey there. Nice job making it this far.ā
āDid you really choose to walk through all this sand? Youāre quite the strange bunch. Iāll give you a little reward for it.ā
Kuguri presents a reward.
OH MY IDOL! Is thisā¦ a special VIP pass to Kinyari and Kugurinās duet live!?
The fandom Gods have smiled upon me! I, Tatsuji Kodama, have officially reached the PEAK of my lifeā¦!!!
(I do not believe Gods can apparate in the virtual worldā¦? And, as we dilly-dallied, ward 14ās mayor has vanished on usā¦)
Sound of crowd speaking.
Weāve made it~! Those puzzles were so fun!
We dragged a little bit over time to talk to the members of Ev3ns!
Thanks for coming along with me, little me. You were suuuper reliable~.
(So there were this many participants. There seems to be a setting which prevents encounters with those who you did not log in together with.)
(However, why is itā¦)
This is where we part, adult me.
ā¦!
This is what Kinari envisioned, you know. In order to spend time with your childhood self as much as possible, you were made to not encounter other participants until you reached the goal.
ā¦I see.
Can I have a hug before we say goodbye?
ā¦! T-To do such an outlandish thingā¦!!
But everyone else is doing it?
Children laughing.
N-NOOOOOOOO! HOW CAN I PART WAYS WITH SUCH A CUTIE-PATOOTIE VERSION OF MYSELF!!?? I CANāT HANDLE THIS! BIG HUG, NOW!!!
Right back at you, adult me!! I love you soooooo much!!
ā¦
Grown-up me.
Ahem. Well, I suppose if everyone else is partaking.
Hassaku gives Child Hakkei a hug.
(ā¦How petit. Despite being a hologram, heās warm.)
Youāre always giving it your best. Thatās pretty awesome, Hakkei.
ā¦!
You donāt have to give up on things yet.
Iāll always believe in you. Farewell.
The hologram disappears.
He vanishedā¦
(Did my younger self really act that wayā¦? Abundant with hope and confidence, always aiming ahead.)
ā¦That warmth still remains on my hands.