Ch.122Chapter 122

I panted heavily, catching my breath. We’d been here since morning, had a quick lunch, and then rode more attractions. Before I knew it, the time was racing toward 2 o’clock.

Considering how stifled I’d been feeling lately, this kind of speed and excitement seemed necessary to release some of that tension.

The carousel had been surprisingly fun, and even the rides that were a bit scary because of their speed became something I could appreciate afterward. Thinking about how these were unique experiences you couldn’t get anywhere else, they were instantly transformed into something positive in my mind.

Though to call it a transformation wasn’t quite right—they weren’t bad attractions to begin with.

Ouro was munching on a churro, her cheek bulging with it, while her other hand swung around a staff she’d bought at the souvenir shop. It had something like a demon’s trident made of spongy material at the end, which she seemed to really like.

Watching her quietly, I glanced at the churro in my own hand and opened my mouth wide. Crunch! The crispy sound combined with the chewy texture in my mouth—it couldn’t get any better than this.

I hummed happily, nodding my head from side to side. Whenever something caught my eye, I’d turn my head to look around.

As I hesitated and stared blankly at the scenery, Ouro, who seemed unconcerned with our surroundings, followed my gaze.

People were shouting “Waaah!” and screaming “Kyaaak!” The music partially covered these sounds, but couldn’t completely drown out the people’s voices.

Wondering where the sounds were coming from, I looked around and sure enough, there was the gyro drop, making its presence known. Ouro tilted her head, not knowing what it was.

Not long after, the donut-shaped seat climbed to the top. Then it suddenly dropped, accompanied by the same screams we’d heard earlier.

Ouro looked at it, then at me, and shook her head.

“I’m not riding that. Fear doesn’t come from death, but from pain. I don’t want to experience falling to my death, even if it’s fake.”

“You wouldn’t actually die…”

I muttered that, but Ouro had already made her firm opposition clear, so we had to turn around and go elsewhere.

“Hurry up!”

“Coming, coming.”

Ouro strode ahead as if escaping, then waved her demon staff at the Professor and me, telling us to hurry up and follow.

We’d enjoyed enough rides, so there was no need to force her. Now it was time to enjoy something else. Leaving the thrills behind, we moved on to experience something different and new.

The place we went with the Professor was the zoo area. How wonderful to be able to see animals at an amusement park.

I looked around with wide eyes. Ouro gobbled up her churro and started trotting ahead.

“Ouro!”

The Professor called her name, but Ouro didn’t stop and just ran ahead. There were goats there. Distracted by the sight of them chewing on something, Ouro grabbed the fence and stared blankly.

Following behind with the Professor, I looked to the side. It was strange—there weren’t many goats near us, but they were crowded in front of other people. I stared, wondering why.

Then I realized it was because of carrots.

“Professor, it’s carrots.”

“Carrots?”

“They’re feeding carrots to the goats over there.”

“Ah, so that’s why they’re all gathered there.”

As we watched, Ouro looked at me somewhat resentfully, then up at the Professor.

“I want to see them too. Up close…”

“I’ll go buy some carrots…”

Hearing Ouro’s desperate voice, I wiped away sweat and searched my pockets. I took out some money I’d received before and approached the female employee selling carrots nearby.

“One bag of carrots, please.”

“We also have celery. Would you like that?”

“…How much for both?”

“4 Riel. Thank you.”

I handed over 4 Riel and looked at the small bag. Maybe because it cost 4 Riel, there was quite a lot inside. Not enough to feed them for a long time, but just right for a good experience.

I took one bag and handed it to Ouro. She received the bag of carrots and stared at it with a question mark floating above her head.

I took out the celery, gave one to the Professor, and slowly demonstrated to both of them.

“Here, do it like this.”

As I waved it gently over the fence, the goats that had been pushed out of the competition started flocking toward us. They came close and munched away, and watching them up close was truly amazing.

I gasped and stared at them. The Professor chuckled beside me as she handed celery to the goats.

“I’ve been so busy studying that I never had time to come to places like this, but I should visit occasionally.”

“It’s fun, right?”

“Yes, it’s fun. I think it’s even more so because I’m with you and Ouro.”

Hearing that made me feel proud. I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of doing more things with the Professor in the future. Grinning, I continued giving celery to the goats and reached into the bag for more.

But then I heard a crunching sound from somewhere it shouldn’t be coming from.

Startled, I turned toward the sound. With wide eyes, I saw Ouro putting a carrot in her own mouth.

She had already eaten a churro, and now she was eating the carrots too? Why was she doing this?

“Ouro! Those were bought for the goats!”

“…Since we used Ourr’s celery to make them come closer, I thought these carrots weren’t needed…”

Startled by my shout, Ouro hesitantly held out the half-eaten carrot. The goat didn’t seem picky and quickly ate it.

She seemed to have already been satisfied with seeing the goats up close, as she didn’t appear particularly happy about the experience of feeding them. Rather, she seemed a bit gloomy, as if feeling like her carrot had been taken away.

I sighed, feeling bad for scolding her.

“Ouro, let’s get another churro in a bit. Or how about ice cream since it’s hot?”

“What is ice cream?”

“On hot days, you should eat something cold. It’s sweet and delicious.”

“…Alright.”

Ouro nodded at the suggestion. Carrots have their own sweetness, but they can’t compare to ice cream, so she seemed somewhat tempted.

Though she didn’t know what ice cream tasted like, having tried churros, she naturally couldn’t refuse. Mmm.

Ouro seemed to be in a better mood at the mention of ice cream and immediately started dumping the remaining carrots for the goats. The goats went crazy at the sudden shower of carrots and rushed over to our spot.

People who had been feeding the goats one bite at a time suddenly found their attention diverted to us.

“Oh no, quick, let’s go…!”

I hadn’t intended to steal goats from other people, but since things had turned out this way, it seemed like a good idea to move away quickly.

I dumped the celery I was holding and moved away too.

“Are we going to get ice cream now?”

“No, let’s go somewhere else first… You suddenly dumped all those carrots and everyone’s staring at us. Right, Professor?”

I looked up at the Professor, who nodded with a wry smile.

“I was surprised when everyone suddenly looked over. But Ourr, you dumped yours too, didn’t you?”

“…Well, since I was leaving anyway, they can just go back to playing with the others…”

I felt a pang of guilt, but it would have been awkward to keep standing there after stealing everyone’s goats. And I had no intention of eating raw celery myself, so it seemed like the only choice.

Now what should we see next? I looked around for our next destination.

I spotted a peculiar space with large nets stretched across it. Birds were fluttering and flying around inside, and as I watched them, I suddenly felt like our next destination had been decided.

“Professor, how about over there? Ouro, what do you think about that place?”

I tugged at the Professor’s sleeve and poked Ouro. Drawing their attention, I pointed to where the birds were flying around and hurried my steps.

But Ouro seemed to have other priorities right now.

“What about the ice cream?”

“…Right, let’s eat that first.”

I don’t know why she was in such a hurry when the place wasn’t about to close.

Oh well. The bird enclosure wasn’t going to suddenly close either, so I decided to postpone it and walked toward the ice cream stand.

It wasn’t just simple convenience store ice cream, but round scoops served in cones. Just 1 Riel. A very good price for ice cream.

For an extra 50 Kelt, you could get two scoops. It was like watching a magic spell that improved your mood for just 50 Kelt.

I got two scoops—chocolate and vanilla. The Professor chose strawberry and vanilla. And Ouro created a three-tier ice cream for 2 Riel.

Chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. Having secured all three combinations, Ouro opened her mouth wide. Realizing her mouth wasn’t as big as she thought, she took a smaller, more timid bite.

After chewing vigorously a few times, she seemed to get a brain freeze and squeezed her eyes shut, groaning.

“My head…!”

“Eat slowly, silly.”

The Professor looked at me and chuckled. Not understanding why she was laughing, I stared blankly before awkwardly joining in.