Editing Rapid Fire King:Volume1 Chapter 4 (section)

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Once inside, the noise grew even louder. It seemed to envelop him.

And inside…

“Oh.”

The place was full of students. He could tell this was not when he was usually here. Most of them were high school aged and the next most noticeable group was the elementary school kids.

There were enough of them to clog up the aisles between cabinets.

There would normally be more open space, but it was so crowded walking around was a challenge.

“Incredible.”

His honest opinion slipped out.

He parted the wave of students near the entrance and made his way to the game he was interested in.

It was a shoot ‘em up game.

It was the game the Freeter had beaten.

It was Super Rapid Fire.

He cut through the crowd and pulled his bag on through to arrive in front of that cabinet.

Once there, the crowds had lightened up around him. The people had been gathered around the popular fighting games, but the shoot ‘em up game section was less popular. A lot of the people here were sitting down to watch a friend play instead of playing for themselves.

And the seat at the Super Rapid Fire cabinet was open.

He looked straight at that cabinet. However…

“Eh?”

It was another game.

The screen displayed an unfamiliar title. It did seem to be a shoot ‘em up, but it had a medieval setting and was not Super Rapid Fire.

…''Huh?

Super Rapid Fire was not there.

“Um.”

Unsure what this meant, he looked around but did not see the red ship of Super Rapid Fire on any of the screens.

It was not there. So…

“Huh?”

…''I came all this way to play that game.

His vision briefly grew dark at its absence. Not finding what he had been hoping for seemed to even erase all the surrounding noise.

“Hold on. Is this for real?”

He shook his head. The elementary school kids bumping into him as they swarmed past snapped him out of it and he looked at the cabinet in front of him again.

But it really was not Super Rapid Fire.

“Then where is it?”

He gulped.

…''What if it’s gone?

He realized his pulse was racing.

That may have been why he was so quick to take his next action.

He forcibly avoided a group in school uniforms standing in the aisle and walked to the counter.

Once there, he placed his hands on the wooden edge.

The Owner was sitting behind the counter with his back to Takamura, but he was not working. He was reading a weekly manga magazine some student must have left behind.

Takamura called out to him. But…

“Excuse me.”

His voice was drowned out by all the other noise.

The games and voices were loud. The elementary school kids were particularly loud, so he could not be heard. That was why he leaned out over the counter and tried again.

He used his excellent lung capacity to shout like he was at an athletics festival.

“Excuse me!”

The Owner’s shoulders shook and he dropped the manga magazine.

He turned around in a hurry, his mouth opened in an “ah” or “eh” shape, and his eyes focused on Takamura. Then he stuck a hand in his pants pocket and started to stand up.

He must have thought a coin was jammed in a machine.

That was not it.

So Takamura asked a question when the Owner came to a stop. He made sure to shout again.

“Where is the shoot ‘em up game over there!?”

“Where…what?”

Takamura thought about his question.

…''That was kind of contradictory, wasn’t it?

He pointed at the cabinet behind him and tried again.

“Th-the game that was in that cabinet! Where did it go!?”

He noticed he had stuttered a bit, but the Owner opened his mouth, nodded, and then pointed up.

He pointed at the ceiling. No, at what lay beyond the ceiling.

“The second floor. The games that were here are taken upstairs for a while, so it’s up there.”

“Upstairs?”

“On the second floor, yes.”

Takamura looked up, which of course only showed him the ceiling.

…''So that’s where it is.

He had been on the second floor a few times and he could imagine the rows of cabinets there. He could picture Super Rapid Fire being among those.

“Upstairs, huh?”

He made up his mind.

He briefly clenched his back teeth and strength filled his eyes.

When he looked forward again, he saw the Owner looking back at him.

He looked the man in the eye, and…

“Thank you.”

That was all he said before turning around.