Ch.128128. Happily Ever After (3)

“Now, please look to your left! Our elephant friend is saying hello. Hi!”

The sound of children cheering.

Arin joins in the cheering along with them.

Elephants, well…

I’ve seen much more fascinating monsters than that…

Maybe it’s because I’ve never seen an elephant-type monster before.

Should I bring a mammoth monster…?

No. Arin is still too young for something like that.

I should bring something slower and less aggressive than a mammoth…

What am I even thinking about?

Sigh.

Well…

It’s nice that she can enjoy things so innocently…

“Gasp…! It’s a giraffe…!”

“Now, if you look to your right…! Our giraffe friend is eating leaves from the top of a tall tree. Giraffes have incredibly long necks that allow them to eat leaves high up in trees. Shall we say hello to the giraffe next to our friends? Hello~ With long legs and a long neck, it’s our tall, slender giraffe!”

The guide is giving explanations tailored for children on this tour.

Arin seems to be listening attentively.

Blanc and Ellie sitting behind…

Yeah. Let’s just ignore those two.

They don’t seem particularly interested after seeing the animals once.

“And now, please look out the opposite window! Hello there, Mr. Hippo!”

There are more animals than I expected.

This place must be quite large.

“Over there are our zebra friends! Zebras have those cool black and white stripes! Hello to our stylish gentlemen zebras~”

Then, the guide plays tense background music inside the vehicle.

“We’re now going to travel along the river to a new area! An area with fearsome predators!”

The guide is being very dramatic about it.

The children look tense as they’re shown the river the bus will cross.

“And our explorer bus is a special amphibious vehicle that can float on water! This bus won’t just drive on land! It’s about to transform into a boat that floats on the cold water! Is everyone ready?”

The children must have been focused on the guide because they respond with very loud voices.

The bus stops briefly, then enters the water.

The background music played by the guide builds tension.

Successfully landing on the water, it definitely feels like we’re floating on a boat now.

“…Arin?”

“Vine unnie…! Isn’t this amazing?”

I thought Arin might be different, but she’s just as excited as the other children…

“Now… we’ll follow this river to see the fearsome king of the jungle! The lion! With its magnificent mane, sharp teeth, and powerful claws! A true predator that can hunt anything swiftly! Please look to the left side of the bus! You can see a lion sunbathing on a rock! Hello, Your Majesty!”

Hah…

What’s so impressive about mere Earth animals.

Well, they are impressive in their own way.

“Doesn’t Arin… fight monsters stronger than these? Yet she’s interested in such cute animals…”

Indeed she is.

She’s staring at the lion with sparkling eyes instead of listening to me.

So Arin likes animals…

“Huh…? W-what did you just say?”

“Nothing… Arin. You really seem to like animals.”

“Yes…! Isn’t the lion magnificent?”

“Well… I’ve seen so many monsters that a lion is somewhat…”

“But still! Lions have their own mammalian magnificence! Of course, some monsters look like mammals too, but most of them are creepy and scary rather than cool and cute…”

“Aren’t monsters bigger…? And stronger…!”

“No… I think of those as things that need to be eliminated… We don’t need to eliminate lions, right? Or giraffes…?”

“Someday, a mammoth monster…”

“Pardon…?”

“Nothing. So that lion… yes, it looks healthy.”

“Right? Its mane is so glossy, and oh…! It just yawned!”

She’s making such a fuss over a single yawn.

“On the opposite side, we have leopards and cheetahs. Cheetahs are famous for their incredible speed! The speed king of the jungle! With a speed no other animal can match, they snatch their prey and immediately…!”

“Over here we have wolves and hyenas! All magnificent friends! Oh my…! We should quickly leave this area of fierce predators. If we disturb them…! We might become their prey!”

The guide is really putting in effort…

Look at how attentively the children are listening.

It’s usually very difficult to hold the attention of young children like that. Yet she’s managing it.

And the tour isn’t even over yet.

“We’re now leaving the river and transforming back into a bus!”

The bus engine starts again, and the vibration of land travels through the wheels.

“Wow…! It was a boat, but now it’s a bus again, unnie! Isn’t that amazing? How can it do that…?”

“Well… I guess they put wheels on a boat?”

“But from the outside, it looked completely like a bus, right? It was so amazing when it was floating earlier…!”

Arin is really…

I thought Arin was very mature for her age.

But thinking about it, Arin is still a child.

“Our explorer bus is now going to meet some bears!”

“…Bears.”

Seems like Arin likes all animals.

Seeing her eyes light up at the mention of bears…

“Arin…? Aren’t there monsters similar to bears…?”

There have been bear-like monsters in beast form that destroyed several buildings…

“No…! Unnie. Please don’t compare those monsters to our cute teddy bears…!”

“Teddy bears…?”

Calling a bear a teddy bear…

Honestly, there’s a difference between decorated bears like teddy bear dolls and real bears…

They’re ferocious. There were even rumors that they used to attack people…

“They are teddy bears, aren’t they…? Ah, here comes one…!”

A smart bear, or “teddy bear,” approaches the bus.

Black fur and just…

How is it any different from a monster?

It’s just a teddy bear… no, a bear.

What’s so cute about—

“Kyaa! So cute!”

…Excuse me, Arin.

Bears tear people apart.

Of course, since Arin has awakened as a magical girl, she wouldn’t be torn apart by a mere bear.

To tear apart a magical girl… you’d need at least a dragon-type monster, wouldn’t you?

Even with those solid claws, they couldn’t even scratch Blanc and got overpowered instead…

Still, it’s a bear. She must know about a bear’s grip strength and violent nature.

Bears are ferocious predators.

That’s why they appear in monster form too, right?

“Kyaa…! Food…?”

“This is our bear. Her name is Soon-i. Soon-i~ That’s right.”

The driver throws a biscuit, which the bear catches in its mouth.

The bear stands up against the bus, looking to see if there’s more.

Wait, doesn’t this bus look like a lunchbox to that bear…?

Filled with tasty meat all lined up…

Whoa, these strange thoughts keep coming…

“Vine unnie! Look over there! Soon-i is being cute asking for more biscuits, kyaa!!”

“Yes… well, yes…”

This is something I’ve seen a lot from monsters, so it’s not particularly new.

Monsters don’t really have intelligence, so they don’t act cute.

They just follow orders unconditionally.

Of course, it’s contract magic after all.

You don’t even need to give orders verbally; you just directly implant them into the monster’s core.

“Wow…! Look at how she’s being cute with her paws!”

“Our Soon-i has a secret. Apparently, she unzips her back every day at 11 o’clock and goes off duty. Room 392 on the 3rd floor of the staff dormitory is now Soon-i’s room.”

“Pfft… The guide is so funny. Isn’t this really fun?”

“Yes… if Arin is happy, then I’m happy too.”

I really do think that way.

The tour ended with the bear viewing.

As we got off, we couldn’t pass by the souvenir shop at the exit without buying a stuffed animal each.

“Unnie, unnie, unnie! What do you think of this fennec fox doll?”

“Isn’t it… too big?”

“No way. It’s not big…! Shall we get one each?”

“Then… I’ll take the arctic fox.”

“Huh…? Oh. Then I’ll take the fennec fox!”

With the arctic fox tucked under one arm and Arin on the other.

Arin has another fox under her opposite arm, while looking at Blanc…

“…Fine. But don’t complain that it’s heavy and ask me to carry it.”

“Of course not! Hehe… Thank you, unnie!”

“Wait. Why don’t I get one?”

Ellie’s complaint burst out, but…

“You already have lots of dolls.”

“Buy me one too!”

“…Sigh.”

Blanc pays for three dolls.

“They’re cute, so it’s fine… But come here. The three of you, go stand over there.”

“Huh…?”

“I’ll take pictures to make up for the doll prices. Hurry up.”

“Oh…! Yes! Let’s go, unnie!”

One photo with Arin and Ellie in front of the safari’s large logo.

No, two photos.

Holding the foxes in various ways.

Putting them on their heads, tucking them between each other.

Building a tower with them, click.

“Haha… Unnie! Where should we go next?”

“Hmm… Arin, are you good with rides?”

“Yes! I’m tall enough now, so I can ride everything! Even the Rapid Express! I can ride that too!”

“Well… I suppose your maneuvers during combat are more intense than that.”

But what is this Rapid Express thing…?

I whispered to Blanc to ask.

…Honestly, amusement parks have changed too much.

“…See that big roller coaster in front? There.”

“Oh. So that’s called the Rapid Express…? That seemed rather light.”

“Unnie…? What do you mean by light…?”

“The train felt light. One tail was enough.”

“Huh…?”

Oh. Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned that?

“Vine… we’re about to ride that, so why would you say such a thing…”

“But that’s all I remember about that roller coaster…”

…Ah.

Well…

Maybe she couldn’t enjoy it.

Usually something more drastic than that roller coaster…

Almost like falling and rapid ascent…

It’s not scary though.

* * *

“Wow… even with the pass, the line is long here…”

“Indeed. You said this was the most famous one, right?”

“Yes, unnie. Hehe… Do you know how much I’ve been looking forward to riding this?”

What should I do with Arin who’s already so excited?

How famous must this roller coaster be that even the fast pass has a merging line?

So we were diligently waiting in line.

“The best seat… Which do you prefer, unnie? The front where you fall first? Or the back where you’re dragged along and enjoy the screams of those in front?”

“I… don’t really remember ever riding a roller coaster.”

“Ah… So today will be your first time riding with me?”

“I suppose it will be…?”

I can feel Arin’s delight at that response.

Well… sharing a first experience is special.

It’s really childlike and pure that she’s happy about that.

As we were waiting in line with idle chatter…

A male staff member with his hat pulled low passed by us.

And slipped something strange into my pocket.