Amagi Brilliant Park - Volume 1 - Chapter Pr

“This may be a bit sudden, Kanie-kun... But would you join me at an amusement park this Sunday?” 
Indeed, it was sudden. 
A transfer student he barely knew was pointing an old-fashioned musket at his head in their classroom after school. It was nothing if not “sudden.” 
Kanie Seiya froze up for precisely three seconds, then whispered back: 
“Amusement park?” 
“Yes.” 
“Why?” 
“I can’t tell you yet.” 
“And... why the musket?” 
“So that you can’t run away.” 
It was a beautiful gun, white and lined with intricate metal ornamentation. It should have been quite heavy, yet she held it steadily, muzzle pressed firmly against his head. 
The transfer student—Sento Isuzu, wasn’t it? He had a vague recollection of her from the way the other guys in his class talked about her. She was slender, with glossy hair and large eyes; flawless skin; quiet, cold features; and full, soft lips. 
She was a faultless beauty (or would be, if not for the musket). 
She was the kind of girl any man would jump at the chance to date (or would be, if not for the musket). 
It was flattering to have a girl who’d been the talk of the school since her arrival propositioning him (or would be, etc.). 
“Ah... First, I want to make sure we’re on the same page on a few things,” Seiya said. 
“Proceed.” 
“Are you using that weapon and its implied lethal force in an attempt to pressure me—Kanie Seiya—to fulfill your request?” 

“Yes,” she affirmed. 
“And if I refuse, you kill me?” 
“Yes.” 
“Your request, then, was ‘join me at an amusement park.’ In other words, you’re asking me on a date, under threat of armed retaliation. Is this interpretation valid?” 
Sento Isuzu kept her gaze locked firmly on Seiya and gave him a short nod. “Correct. Your response, if you please?” 
“Well, I’ll need to give it some thought...” 
A gunshot rang in his ear. The musket ball put a radial fracture in the wall behind Seiya. She fired again, and a second shot pierced the wall. So it’s not a toy; it’s real? And how can she fire a muzzle-loading gun like that multiple times? As Seiya stood there, shaken, he felt the hot muzzle press hard against his temple once more. 
“Your response, if you please.” 
After a pause that felt like forever, Seiya concluded, “...I’ll go.” After all, what choice did he have? What other answer could he give?

He’d been in the third term of his first year of high school when this mysterious, beautiful girl had transferred into his class. She’d been swarmed by guys asking her out from the start, but she’d rebuffed every one of them—to choose, in the end, the honor student, Kanie Seiya. 
In theory, he should have been pleased about the situation, but that only applied if the girl in question was normal. The musket was a deal-breaker. 
Seiya loved being popular with women; it added to his reputation. But he hated the idea of being tied to any one woman because it clashed with his personal style. 
In truth, Kanie Seiya was a narcissist; a tried-and-true egomaniac. Given the circumstances, it was practically inevitable that he would be arrogant: He had a keen mind that put him, academically, at the top of his class. He was naturally handsome, with refinement to spare. He was also incredibly athletic, had a wide array of talents, and could generally succeed at anything he set his mind to. 
It was bad enough that whenever he was out in town, if he happened to catch sight of himself in a reflective surface, he’d find himself nonchalantly running his fingers through his hair and telling himself: “Still looking good, Seiya.” 
If a boy in his class told him, “You’re lucky, Kanie. Your grades are so good,” he’d respond, “Of course they are. I have a superior mind, after all.” 
If a girl in his class told him, “Kanie-kun, you’re so handsome,” he’d respond, “I don’t need you to tell me that. It’s a well-established fact.” 
That’s why I have no friends and no girlfriend. I’m not lonely, though. Not lonely at all, dammit—for a genius(?) of my caliber, solitude is inevitable. 
So why, now, was he—the great and brilliant Kanie Seiya—being forced on a date with a dangerous, unstable woman like her?