Chapter 456 Zoo and Animals.

It takes 30 minutes to be taken by train from the town where Grandpa's house is located to the big city. From there, we took the subway and arrived at the station in front of the zoo, which is today's destination, in twelve minutes.

While coming to the city, everyone enjoyed watching the exciting scenery on the first train and holding on to the hanging straps in the swaying car, but as soon as the train’s path changed to the subway, it was a pitch-black tunnel and a lot of silence. The girls were anxious about the quietness. Only Yumina was observing with interest.

「It's an interesting idea to go underground. In this case, there are no attacks by monsters or bandits, and it may be the safest in a sense. If you have dozens of earth magic users, you can build it over in our world, as well」

Subways in the Different World? We’re still at the stage of running a magic train made in Felsen. This princess seems to be absorbing various things from this world to implement when we get back.

We get off the subway and go up the long flight of stairs to the surface. A few minutes walk from there was the targeted zoo.

The zoo was not too big, not too small. It's not the latest, but it's not old-fashioned. It was such a zoo.

Now, let's buy an admission ticket at the ticket office. Adults 500 yen, elementary and middle school students 150 yen?

「Well, five general students and five elementary and middle school students …?」

Yae, Hilda, Elze, and Linze definitely look like high school students. Sakura is also 16 years old, somehow. Are Yumina and Lu a little hard to claim to be high school students? I'm 15 years old, so I can say I'm a high school student.

Well, as this is a zoo, it's better to pay a high admission fee, so I wouldn't say it's no good.

Leen and Su are middle school students by all means, and I definitely look like an elementary school student …

I can't reach the counter at the ticket office, so I hand over the money to Yae and ask her to buy an admission ticket. We got a small pamphlet with the admission ticket.

「Oh, it's a map, isn't it?」

「Wow, there are various animals」

When I opened the pamphlet to the voices of the twin sisters, a map of this zoo was drawn there. Illustrations of animals are scattered all over the place. I see, should we follow this map’s direction?

When the girls and I entered the park, there were tall trees, and it felt like the zoo built in nature.

There aren't many people because it's a weekday. There were some parents and children. They were mostly small children and some who seemed to be middle school students for some reason. Is it a field trip, or some extracurricular lesson?

There were a few pigeons hanging out in front of the entrance, which looked like a resting place with some benches, but they are probably not zoo animals.

They must’ve come from somewhere else.

「Oh! There is a pure white bird!」

Su points out. Most might think it's just a bird, but when you live in a castle, you don't see many big birds. Well, we can see as many as we want if we ask Kougyoku.

After getting into the zoo, many birds welcomed us from the fenced pond. Next to the fence is a plate with animal descriptions.

「Whooper swan, tundra swan, snow goose, spot-billed duck …」

So there are geese, ducks, and swans? A few of them are squeaking in a small pond built inside the fence.

This is the first time I've actually seen a swan. I should have watched it on TV many times, but when I watch it realistically, I get a little nervous.

Suddenly, the pigeons were eating the food spills of the swans. I see, you're coming for that.

「Winter night, is this also a bird?」

「Oh! Oh! Penguins!」

There was a penguin on the fence next to the swans that Hilda pointed to. This is also the first time I see it. I got even more excited.

I'm more excited than everyone else. I think it's not strange that a child is here for the purpose of seeing new things… I’m a child, after all.

The plate says Humboldt Penguins. A few penguins were toddling beside a small pool.

The names of each bird were written on the plate, but I can't tell the differences. I wonder how the keeper knows.

「It's cute」

「I want to take this home …」

Yumina and Lu were struck by the cuteness of the baby penguins. It's true that penguins are cute, but the two people who look at them are even cuter for me.

With the penguins behind me, I went to the road on the right hand side, and there were several llamas. …… What is a llama?

Let’s check the plate. What … Oh, a species that is like camels ? It's a bumpless camel from the Andes.

I was enjoying looking at the llamas when everyone approached me. Looking at the label sideways, I read the facts about llamas.

「Well, when they’re angry or excited, llamas spit out a very stinky brim (stomach contents) and attack the other party …?」

Everyone smiled and stepped back to my voice as I read the plate with facts on it. I thought it smelled a while ago, but is that it?

The llama is in a preparatory-like movement, and she is moving her mouth. We quickly moved away from the front of the llama.

Next to me was a Bactrian camel. It's large when seeing it for the first time in this form of mine. There are two bumps on it. It seems easy to ride.

Did people ride that and cross the desert in the olden days? It seems that camels can move for several days without drinking any water. It was almost impossible to cross the desert with animals other than camels. Humans were able to cross the great desert for the first time by partnering with camels.

But don't stare at me. Also, please move a little… It’s creepy. Oh, it moved a little.

「It doesn't move much. Is it a leisurely creature?」

「It seems that there are camel races, so I think their legs are fast. There is not much point in running at this place」

The area surrounding the camels is covered with fences, and there really isn’t a lot of room. There are no predators, and if there is no reason to hurry, it's no wonder the camels want to relax.

We say goodbye to the immobile Bactrian camel and move to the next location.

Next to the Bactrian camel is the red panda. It is surprisingly large… And cute.

For some reason, it keeps walking around the fence. Occasionally I glanced at him, but he didn't stand up on his hind legs as I saw on TV.

After that, as we walked along the road, we saw Japanese macaques playing with playground equipment, black bears rolling around, and Japanese wild boars napping in the sun.

「They are small and cute」

There were several black-tailed prairie dogs surrounded by a transparent acrylic board with Sakura looking into them.

While standing near the burrow, the prairie dog uses his small forefoot to feed. Is that one other a lookout?

「Oh, they’re hugging each other!」

Two prairie dogs in front of Hilda are hugging each other head-on. Not only that, they even exchanged kisses. That seems to be a prairie dog greeting. Somehow we head to the next area with a warm feeling.

「The Beast’s Cage …? I wonder if it’s supposed to be a dangerous animal … I don't see that there」

Leen shook her head at the letters written on the information board. Well, I understand that feeling.

The lion, the king of beasts, seen through the tempered glass from us, lays down on his whole body and sleeps on a rocky place.

How defenseless … There is no fragment of majesty. It's like a big cat.

The lion stays asleep all the time. …… are you sure that it isn’t dead?

When we went to the tiger cage next to it, the Sumatran tiger was lying down like the lion. An oji-san with a rugged camera was filming the tiger, but the tiger didn't react at all and was just wanting to sleep.

「It's the same as Kohaku that is living in the castle …」

Yae murmured while looking at the tiger. No, well. Kohaku is basically the king of the animals in the town with the other summoned beasts and looks around the castle. ……well, maybe you are correct, Yae.

When all of us left the tiger’s cage and entered a cave-like tunnel, we found ourselves in a place where tempered glass was fitted all over the wall. Water collects on the other side of the glass, and the surface of the water is higher than the height of Yae. It's like an aquarium, but what kind of animal is in it? Is it a seal?

Suddenly, a huge white object jumped into the water. Ah!??

「What, what!?」

「It's a bear! It's a pure white bear!」

Elze points her fist towards the polar bear that appears on the other side of the glass. Wait a minute! Don't hit the glass! The glass may break!

Elze immediately lowered her fist, perhaps because she had guessed what I was thinking. I don't know how strong the tempered glass is here, but I think it's probably easy to break if she hits it with a serious blow, or something.

「What, it's not a normal bear … Don't be so surprised …」

I look at the plate. Polar bear, right? Well, the place we’re in is called a「Beast House」. The animal appearing couldn’t have been a seal.

Polar bears are slowly swimming in the water. They are swimming dexterously.

Some were standing next to the glass while looking at us, with only their faces on the surface of the water.

「Fufu. I am remembering about Paula. How are you, you little girl?」

Leen puts her hand on the glass and looks up at the polar bear. However, the polar bear immediately turned away and swam.

「Oh, I wonder if it was intimidated by me」

Leen was staring at the polar bear, who was leaving, with a smirk.

After passing through the polar bear cave, what appeared in front of everyone was an area of ??birds of prey such as falcons, owls, and Steller's sea eagles. Surrounded by tall wire mesh, they perched on branches as if glaring, looking down at us. I'm getting used to being looked down on because I'm short …

We have gone around the east side of the park so we head to the west side this time.

After passing in front of the cage containing ring-tailed lemurs, siamangs, lion-tailed macaques, and chimpanzees, our group of ten goes up a gentle slope which is elevated from the rest of the land. Is the west side of the zoo on a slope? The swans we visited earlier are visible below.

There are many children who pass by each other. No, are we also children … You can see old couples here and there. It's probably a place of relaxation in the neighborhood.

「Nyhaa~~ Those are beautiful birds」

「The indian peafowls?」

My gaze was attracted towards the birds in the cage that Su walked up to. The birds are a colorful color of blue and green, so both are male. A female is a more sober color. I can't find a female, but I wonder if she’s hidden behind a rock.

I waited for a while to see the two birds’ feathers to spread out, but neither of them spread their feathers. It seems that they spread them during courtship behavior, so it may be natural not to spread it without a female nearby.

「Maybe they can even spread their feathers for other males, right?」

「Yeah, well, it seems that their feathers will be expanded if the peafowl is interested in the other party.」

I wonder why Linze's words sound different to me.

「Oh, my husband … Touya-dono, there's a restaurant over there!」

There was a restaurant in the park ahead that Yae pointed out. There are many terrace seats, and it seems that you can eat outside. It's not lunch yet, so it seems that there aren't many people.

「It's a little early, but it will quickly be noon …」

Before I asked what we should do, Yae, Lu, Su, and Sakura started to take the lead quickly. Gluttonous Banzai it is, then.

Following after the four of them, we go through the automatic door of the store. The voice of a cheerful clerk flew,「Welcome!」

「Wow … it's a nice shop, isn't it?」

Linze looked around the store and gave a review with a happy voice. The wooden interior has a bright and fashionable atmosphere, giving it a spacious and open feel. The terrace seats at the end of the glass door are lit up by the warm sunlight, and it looks very comfortable.

Hilda is looking at the machine next to the entrance. It's a ticket vending machine.

「Touya-sama, is this a 'Jido Hanbaiki'?」

「It's a ticket vending machine. You put money in it and buy a ticket for something to eat. You can see the labels on the other side.」

Apparently, the ticket vending machine chooses the food here. Pictures of various dishes are pasted on the acrylic panel on the other side. This is the menu.

「Oh, that is cute」

「Truly」

Elze and Leen look at the food in the picture and smile. It's definitely a cute dish.

A bear's hand created with a deformed hamburger has a cheese ball on it. The rice on the side is also in the shape of a bear's head.

In addition, there were various dishes with animal-like placements such as curry with rice in the shape of an elephant and parfait with goat and rabbit-pictured cookies. Of course, there are also ordinary-shaped spaghetti, pizza, and omelet with rice.

We each decided on what to eat, bought a meal ticket at the ticket machine, and took it to the counter.

We received the food and decided to have it on the terrace. The sunshine was warm and it felt like having a nice day at a resort.

As expected, there aren’t enough seats for 10 people on the terrace, so it is divided into 5 people on each chair …… Wait a minute, Yae. I don't need a chair that is meant for children.

Hmm. The food is pretty good.

「It's cute and delicious. Let’s have Claire-san make it in the castle when we get back」

Sakura and Su were asking for the same dish called 「Kumakuma Plate」. That bear's hamburger and rice are on it. There are also fried shrimp, salad and potatoes on it. It's quite gorgeous, if I do say.

I think Lu and Claire, the head cook, can make it easily. The children in the future will be happy and will need this kind of food. Nine people will increase in the future, after all …

Su and Sakura were sitting in their seats, and Lu was sitting next to Yae. Probably because of that, many dishes are lined up on the table. Other customers also pass by with a weirded-out face.

「… Hmmmm. The dough is thick and has a firm texture. The sourness and sweetness of tomatoes and the richness of cheese are a perfect combination …」

Lu is eating a pizza while mumbling that. Most of the food on this table was her order, but most of it was eaten by Yae. While Lu eats a piece of pizza, three disappear into Yae’s double-sized stomach. Are you two sharing?

「Hmm! No, it's delicious!」

Lu can cook various dishes, Yae can eat a lot, and I wonder if they are in a win-win situation with each other. Well, is it okay because they are both happy?

I also decided to eat the Bolognese in front of me. Yeah, it's delicious.

「King-sama, where are we going after this?」

「We’ve completely explored the eastern side, so it's the western side next. There, we can see the elephants, gorillas, rhinoceros and zebras」

「Oh, zebras! I'm looking forward to them!」

There are other animals, such as ostriches, giraffes and flamingos. The area ahead seems to be the African area.

「The animals here are docile. They're in cages, but I think that they still aren’t that ferocious to be put in them」

「No, tigers and lions are usually really dangerous, right? You shouldn't use the summoned beasts as standards」

Well, the tigers and lions here stayed asleep the entire time and didn't feel dangerous. Still, a beast is a beast.

If it was a so-called safari park where you can observe animals from a free-range and safe car, you might have seen a more wild place.

「So if we hadn’t gone to the zoo, we would have seen them in their natural habitat? If we go to the forest or mountains, we can see various things, right?」

「Hmm, no, because there aren't many large animals here in Japan. I wonder if you are talking about a bear. It's not easy to see. Besides, it is dangerous」

There are other dangerous animals such as wild boars. There are also wild monkeys and some other annoying animals.

In the Different World, there is not a high encounter rate with wolves when you enter a forest. I don’t even see stray dogs very often.

It's a comfortable world for humans, but what about animals?

In the Different World, there are giant beasts, dragons, and other creatures that humans can hardly beat. There is no choice but to live in harmony with each other.

I wonder if dragons would have been seen at the zoo if they were normal here as well. When it comes to a big dragon like Luli, it would need a large cage, because if it didn’t, the dragon would find it quite difficult to fly.

Or rather, having a dragon on display would be dangerous because they spit fire. There is and never will be a dragon in a zoo on earth. Yeah, that is right.

「Now, let's go」

We ate dessert quickly, and after finishing the meal, we started walking inside of the park again.

I take the pamphlet out of my pocket and look at the map. The next place to go to is the African area … The Reptile Museum?