Chapter: 144
I came to the zoo to keep my promise to Rion, but honestly, I didn’t think I’d enjoy it.
I liked animals, but to me, a zoo was just a place where you could see animals lying around with the look of a veteran soldier on their last legs.
Having only been to the zoo once as a child, I admit it might be a prejudice, but if I wanted to see animals, I thought watching a documentary would be much more lively.
Besides, I had probably seen most ordinary animals on YouTube, so I wouldn’t even feel surprised to see them at the zoo now.
That was how I used to think.
“What is this…?”
“Sis, is this your first time at the zoo?”
“It’s my first time; I’ve never seen anything like this.”
As soon as I stepped into the zoo, I was left speechless by the spectacle before my eyes.
Towering trees of a tropical rainforest, a desert filled with sand, icy artic regions, and countless other environments unfolded just a few steps apart as I turned my head.
It was nothing short of otherworldly, and as I gazed in awe, Yoon Si-woo spoke as if explaining it all to me.
“This zoo was created by a great wizard who once cast a barrier over the city. Because of the miasma, the habitats for living creatures vanished, so the purpose was to magically recreate the ecosystem to preserve as many species that originally lived here as possible. Thanks to that, we can learn what kinds of animals lived here in the past.”
To think they recreated an entire ecosystem; it was truly a magnificent scale in a world where magic existed.
No wonder one area of the city was marked as a zoo…
I felt as if I was experiencing something akin to the real Noah’s Ark.
By the way, I wondered how the viewing experience worked, and when I read the brochure, it mentioned that there were designated observation areas for those who wanted to see animals up close.
Moreover, for those interested in how animals lived in the ecosystem, there were holographic screens displaying animals like observation cameras floating in the air.
I saw some children gathering around the screen, and I jumped in surprise, pointing at it.
“Look over there! That horse has a horn!”
“Scarlet, that’s not a horse; it’s a unicorn.”
A unicorn! Is that really it?
Thinking about it, this was a place where magic and elves exist, so it wasn’t strange to find such mystical creatures.
I suddenly recalled an old advertisement screaming, “Unicorns are alive!” and quietly apologized in my mind.
I’m sorry, unicorns are really alive.
Anyway, having confirmed the unicorn’s existence made me wonder if there could be a transparent dragon that once gave me a tremendous shock when I was little, so I closely examined the screen.
Then I realized that a transparent dragon wouldn’t be seen anyway due to its transparency, and I couldn’t hide my disappointment.
What a shame; I wanted to see if it really cried out, “Kraaaa!”
However, I soon forgot my disappointment and excitedly shook Yoon Si-woo, exclaiming.
“Look! This horse has wings!”
“That’s not a horse; that’s a Pegasus.”
“Pegasus! Is that the one!”
I gawked in awe at the elegant Pegasus soaring in the sky.
“That one! It’s an eagle, but it has four legs!”
“That’s a Griffin.”
“So that’s a Griffin!”
I cheered at the sight of a Griffin, circling nearby like the ones from Harry Potter.
“Wow! That cat has whiskers!”
“Scarlet, cats usually have whiskers.”
“Aha! You’re right!”
I was overly excited, seeing an ordinary cat and shouting whatever came to mind in laughter.
Even though it was a space created by humans, watching the vibrant lives of the animals striving within it made me feel energised as well.
At that moment, I noticed some people watching the screen, suddenly letting out shrill shrieks as they gazed at one corner of the screen.
Wondering what was happening, I looked over and saw two red lizards battling it out as if seeing which was stronger, spitting flames at each other.
“Wow, check out those lizards! They fight like that!”
“Well, those are Salamanders, but they aren’t fighting…”
Yoon Si-woo, who was explaining, hesitated, and Maria, the headmistress, who had been watching us fondly from the side, chuckled and continued the explanation.
“Fufu, Scarlet, they aren’t fighting; they’re mating. Salamanders don’t have a gender; they compare flames like that, and the one with the weaker flame has to bear the stronger one’s offspring. They’re a fascinating species, born from the flames, so if they take in their opponent’s fire, they become pregnant.”
As soon as Maria finished speaking, one Salamander stopped spewing flames, accepting the flames of the other Salamander, looking at each other with seemingly affectionate gazes.
Feeling a cultural shock at the sight, I nudged Yoon Si-woo with my elbow and muttered.
“Wow, so they just made babies? That’s really amazing…”
“Uh… yeah…”
With Yoon Si-woo, who had suddenly become unusually silent beside me, I gazed at the mysterious creatures I had never seen before, my eyes shining with wonder.
It had been so long since I felt this happy that I was somewhat surprised by my own open expression of joy.
Yoon Si-woo, who had been staring at me, asked in a quiet voice.
“…Scarlet, you really love animals, huh? You look so happy.”
“Yeah, I’ve never been to a place like this. It’s really fun. I’m glad I came.”
After answering Yoon Si-woo, I looked at him for a moment and murmured.
“But if I had come alone without you, I probably wouldn’t be this happy…”
Being able to comfortably enjoy watching the animals like this was all thanks to Yoon Si-woo being beside me.
I trusted that, no matter what problems arose, Yoon Si-woo would solve them.
“If you hadn’t been here, I wouldn’t have felt this much joy. Thank you for coming with me.”
I smiled at Yoon Si-woo, conveying my gratitude.
“…If you have a place you want to go to again later, just tell me. I’ll go with you.”
Yoon Si-woo replied with a hint of shyness to my words.
*
After a good while watching the screens, we moved with the children to the viewing course where we could see the animals up close.
This area felt more like the zoo I knew.
Still, I’d heard that in this area, they had the chance to feed some animals or even ride them, so my interest didn’t wane at all.
“Is there any animal you want to see up close?”
“Um… well…”
There were plenty of animals I’d like to see up close, but just then, I heard a sound coming from somewhere.
As I turned to look where the sound came from, I decided on my destination.
“I want to see that one up close.”
“Which one? Um… a unicorn?”
I nodded, internally shouting “Unicorns are alive!” as I slowly walked towards the unicorn enclosure.
There were a lot of people gathered around the area where a truly pristine white unicorn was situated, but it seemed disinterested in the crowd, turning its back and continuously making a fuss.
As I got a little closer, I noticed the zookeeper inside the unicorn enclosure looking troubled.
“Ha, you really… I’m sorry, everyone. This one has a rather sensitive personality. It seems like giving food today is going to be difficult… Oh, why is it suddenly acting this way?”
Just as the zookeeper spoke, I felt like the unicorn was suddenly looking at me.
Wondering if it was just my imagination, I tilted my head, and suddenly saw the unicorn approaching me quickly, causing me to flinch and tremble.
At that moment, Yoon Si-woo stepped in front of me.
Wondering what he was doing, I stared at the back of his head, and the unicorn had already stretched its head over the fence, glaring at Yoon Si-woo and snorting.
A moment of silence passed, and soon Yoon Si-woo asked the stunned zookeeper.
“…Um, why is this thing acting like this?”
“Well… it seems that it likes the lady over there? It’s not usually like this… Excuse me, miss, could you feed it a bit?”
“…Can’t I just feed it instead?”
With Yoon Si-woo’s words, the unicorn gazed at him with such disdainful eyes that it let out a “hhee-hhee” sound.
…It was like it was telling him to stop talking nonsense.
I wasn’t the only one who felt that way; Yoon Si-woo was trembling a bit.
Feeling sorry for Yoon Si-woo, who was dismissed by the animal, I decided to step in front of him, pushing him aside to seize the opportunity I had to feed the unicorn.
I picked up the food in front of the fence and held it out to the unicorn.
The unicorn cautiously took the food and made a satisfied sound as it rubbed its head against my hand.
In awe of that smooth texture, I noticed the unicorn, after rubbing its head for a bit, lifted its head and shot a strange look at the zookeeper.
“No, hey… Really? You’re not like this. You said you couldn’t do it.”
It seemed like the zookeeper was in disbelief as he spoke to the unicorn, but the unicorn let out a snort, gazing desperately at the zookeeper.
Sighing in resignation, the zookeeper turned to me and said.
“Um, miss… do you want to try riding it?”
“Me? Ride it?”
“It’s a bit rude, but it really seems to want you to. It has never let anyone ride on its back before. If you really dislike it, it’s okay, but… could you at least consider it once?”
The zookeeper bent slightly at the waist as if making a lifetime request.
I couldn’t hide my surprise at their attitude.
Why was I being asked to ride it just once?
Wouldn’t it make more sense for me to beg for a chance to ride?
Of course, my answer was a resounding yes.
As I nodded my head, the unicorn made a happy little fuss.
But Yoon Si-woo looked around and frowned slightly, mumbling.
“Um, Scarlet. It’s better not to ride it if possible…”
“Why? I really want to ride it…”
“…Ugh, fine. Just be careful.”
Wondering if I really needed his permission, I still stepped over the fence. The unicorn knelt down, waiting for me to hop on.
Having never ridden an animal before, I felt a little nervous, and the zookeeper held my hand and said.
“Don’t worry too much. Unicorns are gentle creatures; they’ll never run wildly.”
I took that to heart, climbed onto the unicorn, and the moment it slowly rose with me on its back, I instinctively flinched at the sudden height change. But as I looked around, I couldn’t suppress my laughter at the calming low sound the unicorn made.
Wow, this is amazing! So high!
While it was only about twice my original height, it felt like I had become a giant.
And just like the zookeeper said, despite not being slow, I hardly felt any shaking.
I had never ridden a carousel, but if I ever did, I imagined it would feel something like this.
Feeling relaxed, I noticed people outside the fence looking up at me blankly.
Feeling happily energetic, I waved and smiled at them, and before I knew it, my ride came to an end.
Afterward, stepping out from around the fence, I felt the focus of the crowd around me.
Jealous? They must be envious.
Having just enjoyed an incredibly awesome experience, I was smiling when suddenly a man approached me, trying to say something.
“Excuse me, miss, do you have a moment—”
Just as I was about to tune into what he had to say, someone stepped in front of me.
It was Yoon Si-woo.
Yoon Si-woo glared at the man for a moment before grabbing my wrist and pulling me away from the unicorn’s enclosure.
“…Let’s go somewhere else.”
“W-wait, he seemed like he had something to say to me…”
“You don’t need to worry about people like that; let’s go.”
“Uh…? Um…”
Today, Yoon Si-woo was more determined than usual, and I ended up leaving without even getting to thank the unicorn.
Thank you for letting me ride you, unicorn.
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