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“Look there! A lion! And not the six-legged, shiny black kind!”
“You’re right, it might eat you in a single gulp with that big mouth…”
“Grr, you keep saying this stuff for a while now.”

The two kids had made their way halfway around the enclosures for tropical animals. They kept joking about what if this were Anazumu and the animals magic beasts.

“…!?”

While they were at it, Kanata suddenly turned his head with a ghastly expression.

“Is something wrong, Kanata?”
“No… I just thought… must’ve been my imagination.”
“Okay?”

From that point on, there was an air of vigilance about the boy as they continued walking through the zoo. The two of them came to a halt in front of the monkey mountain, which was close to the eating area.

“A monkey mountain!”
“They look so different. It’s incredible to think that humans evolved from them.”
“I guess, but I keep thinking… some people, like Big Sis, feel more like they’ve evolved from squirrels rather than monkeys.”
“True, our faces are very different from monkeys,” Kanata commented on Sakura’s sudden thought. “Beauty and cuteness might be something unique to humans.”
“But Rir is a wolf.”
“From how she lets Shuu spoil her, she feels more like a puppy than a wolf.”
“That’s true.”

They (or at least Sakura) leisurely watched the monkeys grooming each other and eating apples before walking towards the eating area.

“Going to the petting zoo and looking at the tropical animals took a lot of time. Shall we eat lunch?”
“That’s fine for me. I saw on TV before that they serve authentic curry here.”
“They do. I’ve read that they conducted extensive research to make it as delicious as possible. It’s supposedly so good, they sell it as high-grade retort-pouch curry in the supermarket.”
“Then let’s get some.”

They entered the eating area and ordered one sweet and one spicy serving of the famous dish.

“…Can we eat ice cream for dessert?”
“I brought a lot of money with me today, so eat whatever you want.”
“Oh, you’re treating me to that, too? I did bring some money myself, but if you insist…”
“It’s fine.”
“Hm~…”

Thus, it was decided that they would have ice cream after their curry.

“It’s really good.”
“It truly does live up to its reputation… Should we go see the ocean animals after eating?”
“You mean penguins and such?”
“Yes, those.”

A short time later, the ice cream was brought to their table.

“…I’ll give you some of mine,” the girl offered.
“I have my own ice cream, remember?”
“But they’re different flavors… c-come on, open up.”
“Ha-ha, alright.”

After polishing off their desserts, the two of them moved towards the enclosures with penguins and marine mammals, as planned.

“Wow… penguins!”
“So far, I have seen neither a penguin beastfolk nor magic beast in Anazumu.”
“Now that you mention it, I haven’t either. Maybe they live in the north?”
“Could be… huh?”
“What’s wrong, Kanata?”

As they were watching the penguins, Kanata suddenly started staring at one point with a grave look. It felt as if he had noticed something dangerous.

“K-Kanata?”
“Sorry to interrupt our penguin watching. I… need to go to the bathroom.”
“Eh.”

Kanata was about to leave in a hurry, but Sakura quickly grabbed his hand.

“…You’re not about to stick your nose into something dangerous, are you?”
“…”

At the thought of losing the boy, she put more strength into her grip and her eyes turned moist. He patted her head after thinking for a bit.

“I mentioned it before, but someone is stalking us.”
“Huh… you mean because of the documentation about my eyesight?”
“That’s what I thought at the start, but it apparently also happened to Shuu. It feels different. I can’t help thinking that it’s related to Anazumu… And right now, this stalker is over there.”
“What!?”

Sakura quickly looked at the place where Kanata had been staring at. She didn’t see anyone there, but clearly got an ominous premonition.

“I-In that case, I’m definitely coming with you.”
“You can’t.”
“No way, I’m coming. Even if you don’t let me, I’ll just follow you.”

“…What a pain.” The boy scratched the back of his head before taking a deep sigh. “Alright. But if anything happens, you run…”
“The same goes for you.”
“What?”
“That’s only natural, right? If I were to lose you, I’d end up like Big Sis, you know? That’s why I want us to be equal and stay together… no matter the world we’re in.”

The boy stared at the girl whose eyes had turned slightly red. He could feel her strong determination.

“Alright, let’s go.”
“Eh-heh-heh… I’ll do my best to not get in your way.”

Where Kanata had been staring was a storage shed where there used to be an animal enclose, which was now deserted. There were “staff only” labels here and there, and obviously no other guests. Kanata and Sakura made their way inside.

“Somehow… if feels completely different here.”
“I mean, it’s a deserted area.”

The two of them advanced carefully, relying on what Kanata had seen earlier, until they reached what looked like a small, open space. There, someone wearing a black hood was standing.

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