Half an hour later.
The zoo.
The moment Kaguya's front foot stepped through the zoo entrance, her back foot received a game notification.
[Congratulations, player. You have discovered the large-scale dungeon 'Zoo Ghost Story']
[This dungeon will begin shortly. Please prepare]
"Eh?"
Kaguya's footsteps paused slightly.
Snowbound Manor had only been a few days ago, and now she'd already run into another dungeon—and a 'large-scale dungeon' she'd never encountered before at that...
Kaguya suddenly recalled the horoscope program she'd watched when she woke up this morning.
Today really wasn't a good day to go out.
"What's wrong?"
Hayasaka turned her head to look.
"Nothing." Kaguya shook her head lightly, her expression perfectly composed. "Let's go see the pandas."
She was already here. Regret at this point was meaningless.
Entering the zoo, the bustling crowd of visitors came into view. Kaguya's footsteps hesitated slightly.
With this many people at the zoo, trying to find someone would clearly be quite difficult...
"Amamiya-kun and the others are at the Primate House. The young miss can head straight there."
Hayasaka saw through Kaguya's thoughts at a glance.
"How do you know?"
Kaguya looked at her curiously.
Hayasaka waved her phone casually: "Marin and I are classmates. Keeping track of her whereabouts is perfectly normal, isn't it?"
"..."
At the same time.
The Primate House.
"I recognize those monkeys—they're gibbons." Kitagawa Marin gripped the railing, her voice bright. "With arms that long, they have to be."
"Monkeys are monkeys. Apes are apes." Looking at the black gibbons in the Primate House, Natsuki retorted. "They're clearly not the same creature."
"Eh?" Yuri Kawahana looked over in surprise. "They're not the same creature? They look so similar—I always thought monkeys and apes were the same thing."
Of course they're not! The difference is so obvious—how could anyone think they're the same creature?!
"Monkeys have tails. Apes don't." Miko stated the distinguishing feature.
"Miko's so smart." Her close friend looked impressed.
Miko was speechless: "This is just common knowledge though."
"..."
"I suddenly thought of Luffy from One Piece." Kitagawa Marin took photos with her phone as she spoke. "Luffy's Rubber Fruit was actually based on these gibbons, right?"
"Unfortunately, no." Natsuki adjusted the bridge of his nose. "The Rubber Fruit was clearly based on Mr. Fantastic from the Fantastic Four—he can turn any part of his body into rubber."
The first issue of Fantastic Four was published in 1961—before Oda-sensei was even born. You could say he grew up reading Fantastic Four!
Natsuki continued:
"Also, stop calling it the Rubber Fruit."
"Eh? Why?"
"The Rubber Fruit awakened in yesterday's latest chapter. It's now the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan type, Model: Nika."
"Amazing!"
The blonde gyaru clasped her hands together in front of her chest, her eyes sparkling. "I haven't read the latest chapter yet. As soon as we're done at the zoo, I'm going straight to buy the manga!"
"I want to read it too." Yuri Kawahana turned to her close friend. "Luffy's fruit finally awakened. Miko, let's go buy the manga together?"
Yotsuya Miko turned her face away: "...I already read it."
Yuri Kawahana blinked, quickly guessing the truth: "Did Miko read the manga at Amamiya-kun's house?"
"Mm."
And they'd read the latest chapter side by side, shoulder to shoulder.
"..."
Having finished touring the Primate House, the group continued onward.
As it approached noon, the temperature in the zoo kept rising.
Natsuki felt somewhat thirsty: "I'll go buy drinks. What does everyone want?"
"Green tea."
"Cola."
"100% strawberry juice."
"..."
After memorizing the orders, Natsuki had Miko and the others continue queuing while he went alone to buy drinks. Before long, he spotted a vending machine.
Having purchased the drinks, Natsuki was about to head back when he suddenly felt an exceptionally familiar gaze land on him.
Looking up, he saw a girl in a black dress standing not far away, her hair tied with a red ribbon into a large bow behind her head.
Because she was so beautiful, nearby visitors kept glancing her way.
"Shinomiya-san?"
Natsuki looked surprised.
Kaguya's gaze flickered elsewhere for an instant. She realized Hayasaka had somehow vanished without a trace—leaving only her alone.
She'd planned to observe quietly for a bit, but the moment she arrived near the Primate House, she was caught red-handed. Her luck today really was terrible!
Hide... too late.
Stay calm.
Don't panic.
Kaguya quietly drew in a breath, quickly regaining her composure. She stepped up to Natsuki and spoke in a perfectly casual tone:
"Amamiya-kun, what brings you to the zoo?"
Turn the tables!
By taking the initiative to ask, she'd reversed their positions, putting herself in the dominant role.
"Miko's younger brother Kyosuke wanted to come to the zoo. I had nothing better to do, so I came along."
Natsuki told the truth without the slightest hint of guilt.
"I heard there were pandas, so I came." Kaguya glossed over her own reasons and quickly changed the subject. "When I entered the zoo just now, I received a game notification for Zoo Ghost Story. Did you get one?"
"I did." Natsuki nodded. "The exact activation time still isn't clear. We'll deal with it when it starts... Did you come alone?"
"Mm."
"Want to join us then?"
"Sure."
Though she'd gone from covert observation to joint action, this was acceptable.
"Take a drink." Natsuki handed over one of the beverages in his arms.
Kaguya's gaze landed on the ramune. Her eyes carried a hint of curiosity.
"Here." Natsuki passed the ramune over. "You've had it before, right?"
Kaguya shook her head: "No."
You haven't even tried ramune? Are you from Mars?!
This was a national-level beverage—also called marble soda. There were countless related manga and works, like Marble Police, Chitose-san in a Ramune Bottle, and Shoujo Ramune... scratch that last one.
In any case, everyone in Japan had definitely tried ramune.
Natsuki handed the ramune to Kaguya, turned back to buy another bottle, and demonstrated how to drink it: "Drink it like this."
"I've never drunk it myself—that doesn't mean I've never seen others drink it."
So don't use that tone like you're teaching a kindergartener!
Kaguya unscrewed the cap, glanced at the marble inside, then tilted her pretty face back slightly and took a sip of the ramune.
The sweet-and-sour grape flavor quickly spread across her tongue.
Taking a light sip, Kaguya shifted her gaze sideways toward Natsuki.
The early summer breeze was pleasantly cool.
Under the sunlight, the boy was likewise drinking his soda. The fine bangs at his forehead, the slight movement of his Adam's apple—they composed an exceptionally attractive profile that made her unable to resist looking a few more times.
In this early summer season at the zoo, in the slightly intoxicating warm breeze, Kaguya gripped the ramune in her hand and suddenly felt a subtle realization dawn in her heart.
The soda might not be extraordinarily delicious, but the taste of today's ramune would remain in her heart forever, impossible to forget.