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A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Part 02

As they walked, Kazuya’s mind began to wander. Without thinking, he poked Victorique’s round cheek with his index finger. Each poke was met with a faint groan from her.

“You are the embodiment of goodwill and ideals, not me,” she growled. “You’ve always been a middling brainiac and a rare softhearted fool since childhood.”

“Is that so?” Kazuya asked, genuinely surprised.

“Yes. That’s why you ended up partnered with an oddball at your job.”

“Huh?” Kazuya exclaimed quietly, turning to look.

Nico was proudly spreading his arms wide, boasting, “Our meatballs are this huge!” while Kelly Sue listened with admiration.

“But we also have a hundred bicycles at our store. And every one of them is incredible!”

“R-Really? That’s amazing.”

Kazuya pulled his eyes away from them and sighed. “I’m actually mad at that guy,” he muttered.

“It’s rare for you to dislike someone.”

“Oh, stop it.”

Victorique took a drag of her pipe, puffing out her chest with an exaggerated air of pomp. The frills of her dress swayed gently.

“But Kujou, I’m not like you. Even if I collected every book from every library in the world, it wouldn’t be enough. All I have is this brain. A cold bisque doll filled with wisdom and knowledge. It’s hollow inside, but sometimes it stirs.”

“So, you still don’t know the real you that I know.”

“Huh?”

“Compared to the version you think you know, the you I know is the real you.”

Victorique cast her gaze down, fiddling with her golden pipe. Kazuya nodded firmly and continued walking, staying close by her side as they moved through the crowd.

They eventually reached the other side of the street, stepping onto the sidewalk next to Central Park.

The area was getting even more crowded with both people and cars. There was shouting. The air was stuffy. A hat flew past, and a windblown tie struck someone’s face.

Victorique let out a weird-sounding yelp. Kazuya looked down with a start, only to see her lying face down on the pavement. She slowly sat up, her tearful eyes glaring at something.

Kazuya rushed to help her up. “Are you okay? You tripped because you move too much.”

“No! I was run over!” she snapped.

“What? You were?!”

Kazuya looked around frantically and spotted an elderly-looking man with gray hair in a silver wheelchair. He wore a silk top hat and a white silk shirt with diamond cufflinks, exuding an air of affluence. His stern face was framed by a white beard. In contrast to his broad shoulders, his legs were shriveled up like mummies beneath him.

“Hm? I think I’ve seen that face before,” Victorique murmured.

“He does look familiar,” Kazuya agreed. “Who is he again?”

They exchanged glances.

“You were standing there so I hit you!” the man barked. “And because of that, you fell!”

Kazuya was taken aback by the blunt response. He immediately positioned himself in front of Victorique to shield her.

Victorique’s green eyes gleamed. “Do you run over people when they’re in your way? That sounds like the brutal invasions of the ancient Roman Empire.”

“Brutal you say? Oh dear!” The man spread his strong arms wide. “Rome was great. Just like me!”

“Yet it fell pretty quickly, didn’t it?” Victorique retorted.

“Hmm? Why do you think the empire fell, little girl?”

“A good question,” Victorique said, placing the pipe in her mouth. She hid her expression as she took a puff. Thin white smoke rose lazily into the clear sky. She raised her chin just as proudly and arrogantly. “Perhaps they were so reckless and hasty that they ran over something dangerous by mistake.”

“Well, well, a little immigrant with such a novel sense of pride. It’s been a while since anyone dared to stand up to me!” The man’s broad shoulders tensed as he laughed heartily.

He then curled his lips and looked down at Victorique, reaching out a wrinkled hand to ruffle her small head. Victorique frowned in disgust, swatting his hand away with her palm.

The man tried to maneuver through the crowd, but the wheelchair tires only made strange squeaking noises and wouldn’t budge.

“Oh dear,” he said. “I seem to have broken my wheelchair after running you over. It’s the latest model, too. A special order from Wolf Company.”

Kazuya was about to give the man a piece of his mind, when Kelly Sue quickly jumped off the bike and stumbled forward.

“Old man, stop! You shouldn’t ride a broken wheelchair. It’s dangerous.”

“Hey, are you okay?” Nico asked.

“I-I’m fine.” Kelly Sue quickly rose. “Leave the wheelchair to me. Okay, turn this screw here, and this one too… there! All fixed.”

“Thank you, kind lady,” the man said. “Let me buy you something from that shop over there as a token of appreciation.”

“Yay! I’ll take the A to Z chocolate box!” Kelly Sue beamed.

The man in the wheelchair bought a cylindrical box of chocolate from a nearby stall. For some odd reason, he placed it roughly on Kelly Sue’s head with a strange grin.

“Oh, come on.” Kelly Sue frowned, reaching for her head. “What a strange fellow.”

Kazuya glanced around at the growing crowd on the sidewalk. Kelly Sue climbed back onto the bike, and Kazuya handed the handlebars to Nico.

“It’s so heavy,” Nico grumbled.

Kazuya gently lifted Victorique with both hands and placed her in the front basket. Her green satin and pink organdy frills spilled over the edge, her dress flaring out like a blooming flower.

“You should be safe here,” Kazuya said. “You’re much lighter than an elephant.”

Victorique gave a small nod.

The man in the wheelchair snorted. “I’ll buy something for that dangerous little lady too.” He bought a tourist map of New York and hurled it at Victorique.

Victorique reluctantly took it. “A map for me? Why?”

“Ha! You’re an immigrant! Judging by your looks, you’re one of those penniless folks who just arrived in town.”

Victorique stared at the man, then frowned. Pressing her palm to her head, she sniffed the scent of potpourri. Squinting, she said slowly, “Hmm, I have a feeling. One day, you might run over something even more dangerous and fall sooner than expected.”

“Ha! Nonsense!” the man huffed.

Victorique spread her arms dramatically. “Just like Rome.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

As Victorique and the old man bickered, Kazuya took the map from the basket and unfolded it. Nico peered over from the right side of the bike to study it. Meanwhile, Kelly Sue hummed to herself, swaying her head as she sat in the saddle.

Victorique stretched her neck from the front basket, peeking at the map. “By the way, Kujou, do you know what grid plan is?”

“What’s that?”

Kelly Sue shook her head. “Nope, never heard of it.”

The man in the wheelchair, about to leave, suddenly froze. He glanced at Victorique, then, using his strong shoulders and arms, hoisted himself from the wheelchair onto the bicycle’s rear cargo rack. He craned his neck, listening intently.

“Grid plan uses vertical and horizontal lines to plan a city, like a chessboard,” Victorique explained.

“Oh, you’re right,” Kazuya said. “Manhattan really does look like a long chessboard.”

“Exactly. It’s an ancient technique, dating back to Mohenjo-daro in the 26th century B.C., and used by the Roman Empire and ancient China too.”

“Really?”

“If people built roads and houses randomly, there would be winding streets, oddly-shaped intersections, and overall a confusing townscape. People would easily get lost. But with proper planning by the government, you get cities like this.”

“Makes sense. For immigrants like us, it’s a lifesaver. New York is so…” Kazuya pointed at the map. “The vertical lines are avenues—twelve of them, from one side to the other. The horizontal lines are streets—220 in total. The Federal Reserve Bank is right here… 5th Avenue, 71st Street.”

Kelly Sue nodded. “Right. And Central Park is a rectangle, stretching from 5th Avenue to 8th Avenue, and from 59th Street to 110th Street.”

“R-Right?” Nico finally chimed in. His lips had been twitching for a while. “Even if you can’t read… I mean, even if you don’t know English, you just need two numbers to find your way. Perfect for a city full of immigrants.”

Kazuya smiled at Nico, then they both awkwardly looked away. Victorique, puffing on her pipe from the front basket, watched them curiously.