Two elephants were walking leisurely at the end of the moat.
　I heard that the form of viewing from a place separated by the shape of a moat like this is called the mote form. It is true that this form of viewing is less obtrusive than the form surrounded by cages, and you can see the animals in a more natural way. It's a pity that there's a bit of distance between us, though.

It's pretty big, isn't it? It's going to be hard to handle.
You will have a bite, that you will.

　Wait a minute. There's something different about the way you look at Lou and the eighteenth elephant.
　What do you think about that........what?　But I think mammoths were eaten.
　I searched for it, and I found that in Africa and so on, elephant meat that was poached for ivory is sold on the market.
　Maybe it's because I hunted and ate dragons over there, or maybe it's because I learned that, I'm curious to know what it tastes like. ...I wonder if it's good? No, I wouldn't eat it, though.
　I don't know if such thoughts were conveyed, but the elephant left in front of us. Is it just my imagination that I thought it was a little too fast?
　We leave the elephant area and move to the next ostrich area. Two ostriches were also lingering in the same moat-like area.

"It looks like the great ostrich in the mismid, doesn't it?

　Leanne mumbles this to herself as she looks at the ostrich. I heard that there is a bird in the south of Mismid that looks a lot like this ostrich. It is said that some of the beastmen living in Mismid have domesticated the great spurred bird and use it as a vehicle instead of a horse. It is said that they even let them pull carts.

As I recall, they are also eaten in Missmid, right?
'You know it well. I've had it, and it was low in fat and light as horse meat.
Looks good, that it does....

　Lou and Yae join our conversation. You guys need to get away from there.
　As a long-lived breed, Lean eats a variety of things. She has always been curious, so when she sees unusual food, she can't help but eat it.
　I wish I had a friend. He was the kind of guy who would always try some new juice or something bad. After drinking it, he would say, "This isn't good! I've never heard the word 'good' in my life, though they say things like 'this is so good'.
　Once again, the ostriches, perhaps sensing danger in Yae and her friends' eyes as they aim at their prey, run away. Oops.

''Oh!　Zebras!

　Soo spotted the zebra in the distance and started to run. Following him, everyone else headed towards the place where the zebra was at at a fast pace.
　The zebra on the other side of the fence walked leisurely through the area and didn't even try to look at us. There was a sort of artificial river running between us and the zebras.
　Beyond the zebras, we could see the elephants from earlier. It's the same area. Although it's separated from us by a pond-like body of water.

'Mmm. I wish I could have ridden it.'

　Sakura let out a disappointed voice. No, I heard there are such zoos, but this one is different. Besides, I've heard that zebras have a pretty bad temper.

Oh, there's a kid!

　A small zebra cub popped up from behind a rock that Yumina had pointed to. It's a little bit of a circle around the adult zebra.

'You're spoiling your mother, aren't you?
So that means that's your father lying over there, right?

　Out of the corner of Linse and Else's eye, there was another zebra lying on its stomach. I wonder if it's family.
　.........wait, that one lying on the other side could be the mother and this one could be the father. For a moment, the image of an old lady watching a TV drama while leaving the kids to her husband and laying down to sleep came into my mind. Ugh. Hang in there, zebra dad........
　Soothed by the zebras (mainly the ponies), we moved on to the next area.

'Fluffy........'
It's a long neck...

　Yae and Hilda opened their mouths to look up at it. Behind the high wire fence stood a giraffe, the tallest animal on earth. It didn't move, so for a moment I thought it was made up. It's so docile.

It doesn't move at all, you know...
Oh, you blinked.

　As Else said, the giraffe slowly closed his eyes and opened them again. It didn't move again. Is it alive?
　Is he tired........ Well, even animals go through some kind of stress and distress.
　I wanted them to come over here, but we quietly left the area so as not to disturb Mr. Giraffe's rest.
　The next area had water bodies built all over the place and what looked like a river running through it. A waterfront in Africa - what kind of animal is that?
　Just as I was about to do so, that thing from the water quietly came up on land.

"A hippo.

　I've never seen one before, but it's huge. It's the second heaviest animal on land after the elephant.... That's heavy.
　Fierce in nature........?　Females, especially before and during childbirth and during child rearing, get especially rough to protect their children........ I don't get that image, though. Well, they say that mothers are strong.
　I didn't feel like I could compete with her either. She's my grandfather's daughter, you know.... When it comes to fear, he's even scarier than my grandpa.
　I'd rather be in a lion's cage than be scolded by my real mother. I've been there before....

'What's the matter?'
'No.................... I just remembered something unpleasant...

　Yumina called out to me as I crouched down, looking worried.
　I had a flashback of being mischievous and getting pissed off so much in middle school. I still don't think I can avoid that slap....
　After the hippo area, we came out to a place where a wooden bridge was built over a pond. Several flamingos were resting their wings in the pond. .........There's one dark colored one. It's that flamboyant. It's conspicuous.

"It's as beautiful as Sakura-chan's hair.
"Hm.

　Linse smiled as she looked at the flamingo, and the said cherry blossom touched her hair as if she was embarrassed.

''Why does it have such an unusual color?''
I'm pretty sure I'm ingesting foods that contain red pigments that give me this color.
Yeah.

　She nodded in admiration when I answered Else's question. I'm sure she was.
　I went in front of Flamingo's explanatory board and confirmed it. Yeah, I'm right. Hee, this is called European Flamingo?
　Oh, it's called a European flamingo. I thought it was a big eater because there was only one red flamingo, but it seemed to be a different species of flamingo, called the red-eyed flamingo. Sorry.
　We then went to the gorilla area, but unfortunately the gorillas seemed to be under the weather, and were kept in a room at the back of the zoo. I was able to see it through the tempered glass, but it still looked listless. Take care of yourself.
　By the way, we had already visited most of the zoo, but there was one thing left to do.

"So this is the Reptile House...

　On either side of the entrance to the building were wooden figurines of a large snake and a dragon. I understand the snake, but the dragon isn't in this one, is it?　Maybe they're in another world, but...

"Wow.

　A sweltering heat washed over me as I pushed the heavy door open and stepped inside. The temperature inside was higher than outside. This must be a temperature setting suitable for reptiles.
　Behind a wall of transparent acrylic panels, there are various types of snakes in the room.
　Sima snakes, green snakes, python, anaconda........
　Ugh.......... I don't know, I should be used to it because it's obscure, but I can't shake the eeriness of it, perhaps because I can't communicate with it.

''None of them are moving, are they?
'Well, I don't have any prey, so maybe we don't need to move as fast.

　Hilda peered into the case of the blue daisho and tilted her head. It's true that the snakes didn't move much from a while ago while they were still coiled up in the maw.
　As expected of these women who also fight demonic beasts, they don't show any signs of being afraid of snakes. However, they don't seem to feel 'cute' and don't frolic like other animals do.
　We followed the aisles and peeked at the reptiles on the wall one by one.
　Snakes, snakes, turtles, turtles, turtles ... oh, it's a crocodile. A Brazilian caiman. The second smallest crocodile in the world, right?

There was one just like it in the Great Sea of Trees. Mostly edible, though.

　As soon as Leanne mentioned such a thing, the two examples jumped on it.

''Hohoho. Isn't that delicious, that it is?
'How do you cook it?　In the Great Tree Sea Tribe, are you roasted whole?
It's almost like a chicken. It was quite elastic, but it was good. I'm not sure how it was cooked, but it was grilled.

　Good grief. Leanne's a good person, too, answering them both in a disciplined manner. Surprisingly, she's a caring person, though she'll be offended if I say so. She just doesn't do it too openly.
　I looked under the fence in front of me and saw a large turtle crawling along.
　A Kedumeri turtle, I guess. That's a little more comforting than a snake. 'You're racist!' I'm sure you'll lament that.
　In addition to snakes and turtles, you have lizards. Japanese lizards, Chinese crocodile lizards, and leopard lizards... though they don't move much either.
　There are a few benches in the museum to rest on. I don't think you can relax while watching the snakes and crocodiles, but if you like it, you'll love it.
　Well, if you look at them closely like this, it is interesting that snakes also have various patterns and colors. Because obsidian is pitch black. It is shiny like obsidian, and it is beautiful in its own way.
　A cool breeze greeted us as we left the Reptile Museum through a different exit from the entrance. Ah, it feels good. We're finally out of the hot and humid environment.
　As we're intoxicated by the pleasant breeze, Yumina, who was standing next to us, points to the front on our right. There was a relatively new two-story building there.

''Fuyao-san, what is that place?''
Hmm?　Well it's kind of like an exhibition hall and rest area... It's like a place where stuffed animals, skeletal specimens and other materials are displayed. Oh, they also have a souvenir shop, don't they?

　I answer Yumina while looking at the brochure.

'A souvenir? I'd love to buy that one.
So, yeah.
Winter's Night!　Let's go!
Hey, stop pulling on it!

　Hilda, Yae, and Else pull me along and make me run to the exhibition hall. That's why my stride is different from yours........
　When I passed through the automatic doors of the exhibition hall, the stuffed polar bear I saw earlier was on display right next to me. Oh, it's more powerful than I expected.
　What is that....hmmm. Is the hair of the polar bear transparent, not white? The light reflected in the black skin underneath and the sunlight reflects diffusely and it looks white.
　Furthermore, the polar bear's hair has no core like macaroni, and this cavity creates a thermal insulation effect that keeps heat in. It's evolved to be better suited to its environment.

There are all kinds of things here, you know.

　Linze was right, there are other stuffed animals and skeletal specimens of various animals on display, crammed into a long, narrow hall. The walls are covered with the skin of the whole body of the zebra that was making a lot of noise earlier, which makes me feel a bit helpless.

It's interesting to see how different they are. It's interesting.

　Leanne was comparing the skeletal specimens of a herbivore and a carnivore. Um, is this one an elephant skeleton?　I knew you didn't have a bone in your nose. If it doesn't have it, the image will be different........ Oh, there is a stuffed animal with a nose only.
　In addition, there are stuffed black bears, antelopes, wild boars, and Hondosteen, and there are bird models in formation on the ceiling. There were models of birds in formation on the ceiling, and they were elaborate in various ways.

I think I prefer living animals for a strawberry...
'I agree. It's a learning experience.

　Apparently, Su and Sakura aren't too interested in this side of things. On the contrary, Leanne, Linse and Yumina are looking at the explanations of the exhibits with admiration.
　Hmm?　Unexpectedly, Yae and Else are looking at the skeletal specimen intently.

''So as long as we crush the bones here, that's fine...''
Yes. If you turn it like this from this side and twist it like this, all at once you'll get a bokkiri...

　Yeah, that was different. That was different. They're talking about some crazy stuff.

"Oh, that's the giraffe you just saw!

　A skeletal specimen of a giraffe was standing at the end of Linze's little run. It's still pretty tall from this distance, isn't it? Or does it feel that way because I've shrunk in height?　It's four or five meters long.........

''Where do they sell the souvenirs........?


　Scurrying around, Hilda looks around, but there's no store that looks like it.
　Ah, there's an arrow on the wall. It's this way.
　Proceeding along the arrow, beyond the automatic glass door, there was a large stall.
　Warm colors unified the walls and bright lighting illuminated the store. The wooden floorboards gave the store a natural look and feel.
　The shelves and low tables were lined with a plethora of animal products. There were cushions and tableware with animal patterns, small animal figures, stuffed animals, and backpacks shaped like animals.

'Yumina-san, Yumina-san!　Don't you think this is cute!
'Good!　Oh, Lou, there's a cute one over here too!
Sis, what do you think of this backpack?
Wow, that's nice. I might want one of those...

　As soon as we entered the store, everyone broke up and ran off to the section they were interested in. Well, it's not so big that we would get lost like we did in the shopping center, though.
　However, there are a lot of things to buy. Key chains, luncheon mats, even lunch boxes... I should buy some gifts for everyone in the castle. How about a tie for the steward, Lime?　
　A hoodie with animal ears, paw gloves, paw slippers........ This would be so destructive if everyone wore it. ...we'll all get one. Yeah, it'll be a nice souvenir. It's nothing personal.
　There are so many different kinds of animal figures here. It's going to be hard to collect them all. There are also a variety of sizes and types of plush toys, large and small.

After all, we can't miss the zebra.
You want it?
'Mmm!　I'm going to give it to Ed as a gift!

　Sue replies with a big smile. It's a gift for your brother, Edward. It's a gift from your big sister, even if it's a baby. I'm sure he will be very pleased.
　Yumina is also buying a stuffed toy for her brother, Prince Yamato. Is that a lion? We could give the future King of Beasts a present.
　We also bought a surprising amount of souvenirs, mostly stuffed animals and sweets. Most of them were stuffed animals and sweets, though.
　If there are ten of us, there's nothing we can't carry. We could sneak them into storage when we got out of the zoo.
　It was a random trip to the zoo, but it was fun. I don't know if a zoo is a good idea for a honeymoon, but it's only the second day.
　Well, I have the biggest mission tonight. I have a mission to introduce everyone to my parents, which is the purpose of this trip.
　Just in case, I'm going to use magic to disguise myself as if I'm dreaming. My father and mother will be able to recognize me even in this form, but I'd better use 【Mirage】 to transform into my original form just in case.
　I want to tell them both that I'm doing fine, even if I'm under the illusion that it's a dream.
　I feel like I'm going to be violently pissed off that there are nine wives....... Or will they be dismayed?
　Well, what will be will be.