"Don't you find it thrilling?"
"Huh? What? Thrilling?"
"You know—peering down from the height, heart pounding, that flutter of fear, the urge to clutch something steady."
"Mm, peering down… I don't really feel that."
"Well, those of us who call Schicksal Headquarters home could scarcely fear heights…"
The roller coaster carrying Otto and Cecilia had slowly crested its apex, now poised on the brink of descent. Clouds drifted close enough to graze with outstretched fingers.
According to the attendant, once it tipped over the edge, it would rocket at two hundred kilometers per hour, free-falling more than one hundred forty meters.
The track twisted through eighteen full loops—enough to dizzy even the stoutest soul.
Otto hadn't intended to begin so intensely; he had planned to ease in with a pirate ship, building gradually—the classic suspension-bridge effect on a proud Schicksal Valkyrie.
Yet Cecilia had fixed her gaze upon this ride from the moment it appeared. Her lips murmured "whatever Onii-sama decides," while her eyes betrayed pure, undisguised longing.
Very well. Whatever brings joy to my girl.
Just as he registered a fleeting shadow—a black silhouette flickering on the ground below—the coaster surged to life. Howling wind devoured all sound; vision shuddered violently.
Otto, naturally, felt no fear. In his previous life, he had adored extreme pursuits; his most romantic imagined demise was BASE jumping from Everest, surrendering to nature's embrace.
It was why he always appeared unflappable—even when it was mere performance.
The man even possessed leisure to turn and observe Cecilia.
Well—she was calmly tucking stray silver strands behind her ear.
Otto had forgotten: this woman once treated Ferris wheels like everyday elevators, chatting idly with him mid-ride…
Predictable. Employing amusement park thrills for the suspension-bridge effect on a battle-hardened Valkyrie was amateur play.
The other passengers, however, performed admirably—ghostly wails and primal howls echoing across the horizon, especially as the coaster clanged into sharp turns.
Adrenaline surged through everyone; they screamed with abandon, as though expelling every breath to faint from oxygen deprivation—and escape the terror.
Whether their cries pierced the clouds was uncertain, but birds overhead faltered mid-flight, plummeting abruptly in altitude.
"What the fuck?!"
"Motherfucker!!!"
"Too scary! WAAAAAHHH!!!"
"Damn it, my shoe flew off!"
Yet after one near-vertical plunge, the screams abruptly quieted—even during the deliberate pause at the summit for the backward run.
Faces drained of color, stares vacant, breaths labored—yet as though something choked their throats, voices trapped within.
Aww…
Otto felt a pang of regret. The atmosphere had been flawless!
A coaster without others' screams was like encountering Fu Hua flat-chested in doujinshi—lacking the essential flavor!
The machine thundered onward; vertigo assaulted from every angle. Otto tapped the handrail idly, gaze distant, thoughts elsewhere.
Then his wrist brushed cool softness. Glancing down, a slender, fair hand reached tentatively toward him.
Otto arched a brow, flipped his palm, and clasped those delicate fingers—warming her chilled tips.
Three minutes stretched eternal for ordinary riders. Weightlessness battered from all sides, forcing eyes shut, death-grips upon safety bars.
Otto and Cecilia merely held hands in serene silence amid the ferocious thrill. Roaring wind permitted no words, yet they felt each other's pulse through their fingertips—as though sharing a single breath.
Perhaps, for them, time passed swiftly.
As the coaster finally decelerated, the others rediscovered their voices—complaints rising in waves.
"God, I'm never riding that demonic thing again!"
"I need to go find my shoe…"
"Lily! If you ever invite me on something like this again, I swear I'll ram a giant rod right up your—"
"Haha, best news I've heard all day…"
Otto glanced at Cecilia. As though in perfect sync, she turned—face betraying no fear, only playful mischief as she winked at him.
Wink~
He nodded in return, released her hand, and stretched languidly.
Once the coaster halted, Otto disembarked, circled to Cecilia's side, unfastened her safety belt, then extended one hand while placing the other over his chest—executing a flawless gentleman's bow.
Cecilia smiled knowingly, gracefully placing her hand in his. Toes testing the platform, she leaped lightly—like a noble lady descending from a carriage.
Some fragments of etiquette lingered.
"The view up there was breathtaking," she said brightly. "Just like home!"
"…"
Otto noticed several gazes turning their way.
Of course the view is splendid—we reside at Schicksal Headquarters.
He kept the thought to himself; Otto harbored no habit of boasting before ordinary folk.
He patted Cecilia's shoulder, guided her away from the coaster, then retrieved the newly purchased gloves from her pocket and fixed her with a mild glare.
Cecilia blinked in initial confusion, then understood.
"Hehe… I only took them off just now. Not long."
She smiled sheepishly, obediently extending her fair, chilled hands.
"How did you only notice the cold on the coaster?"
Otto gently warmed her hands until frost yielded to faint pink, then slipped the gloves on.
"Keep them on next time."
Cecilia offered a silly grin, attempting to shift topics.
"Onii-sama, I want to try that one…"
She pointed into the distance. Otto did not press further, nodded, and headed toward the drop tower.
—yet mere approach brought wave upon wave of screams.
"It's already running…"
Cecilia watched the ascending machine, voice tinged with disappointment.
"Wait for the next round, or try something else?"
Otto inquired, finding a bench to sit.
"My suggestion is…"
His voice abruptly halted. Curious Cecilia followed his gaze—Otto's lips pressed tight, staring with complicated intensity at bushes to the right, as though yearning to speak yet restraining himself.
"Onii-sama?"
"I'm here," Otto frowned, displeasure deepening his expression. "My suggestion is no suggestion. We can't play anymore."
Nearby cries erupted anew—this time tearful, terrified, words carrying clearly to all.
"Run! Hurry! Zombies!!!"