Chapter 16: It Will Surprise You

(Maybe I should let her know at some point that I’m aware she’s been following me.)

Having made that decision, Daikichi sat on one of those public benches found on any busy main street, opened his smartphone’s map, and began searching for a spot where Sakurasaki wouldn’t be able to hide when he turned around.

He zoomed in on places that caught his interest to check their names, and if a spot didn’t seem suitable, he zoomed out, moved a little, and zoomed in again—a repetitive process.

Then, on the sixth result, he found one labeled “Zoo.”

Although the pathways between areas in a zoo might be narrow, there aren’t clusters of buildings like in the city; once you step into an open space, there are few places to hide.

Of course, he could always jump over a fence instead of an enclosure and cause a ruckus among the animals, but…

Daikichi was convinced that earnest Sakurasaki wouldn’t go that far.

So he decided, “This is perfect.”

Once he’d made up his mind, he figured the sooner he acted the better—and headed to the zoo.

At the entrance, one of the enclosures in view housed a strangely handsome gorilla who, upon seeing Daikichi, crossed its arms and snorted a laugh.

Daikichi couldn’t figure out why the gorilla laughed, but hey—animals and humans are different, and maybe it was just his imagination.

After paying the entrance fee and stepping inside, a nearby staff member suggested, “How about some feed for the animals you can feed?” Taking the opportunity, Daikichi casually purchased a bag containing the cheapest marmot feed.

Glancing inside the bag, he saw biscuits that looked perfectly edible for humans.

“Do marmots eat these?”

“Marmot-chan loves biscuits! And vegetables, too!”

“What kind of animal is it?”

“Since it’s a rodent, it’s basically a giant rat—a cute little creature, kind of like a capybara.”

The capybara comparison helped Daikichi picture the animal—it seemed like a rather cute creature.

On a side note, Daikichi was quite fond of animals. They never got as complicated as human relationships, and they’d happily show affection just from being fed.

So there were times when he thought about keeping one as a pet.

However, considering how busy he usually was, he doubted he could properly care for one, and so he let the thought go.

Inside the zoo, right next to a fountain at the entrance, Daikichi studied a map sign to locate the marmot area.

Perhaps because these were animals that could be fed, their corner was in a relatively open space.

Daikichi trudged over to the marmots. Along the way, he passed many visitors—especially plenty of parent–child pairs on a Sunday.

—Look, it’s the lion!

—So cool. That lion is so strong.

—Geez, they’re all hyped up… A lion is just a big cat. Penguins are cuter, anyway.

Daikichi felt a tinge of envy at the picture-perfect, joyful families. Every family probably fights, gets angry, or even gets scolded in daily life, but still, once in a while, there’s this warm family gathering—a thing he felt he could never have again.

Of course, while it might seem like asking for something you don’t have, there are plenty of people who envy him instead.

For instance, many children his age from ordinary families might envy that—no parents means freedom, a little inheritance, and even a beautiful woman as their guardian… oh, how enviable.

Regardless of his own state of mind or the possibility of deep scars from such circumstances, he didn’t dwell on it. After all, the hardships faced by those parent–child pairs were just as real as his own.

When Daikichi finally found the group of marmots, he checked the nearby sign that read:     【—Feel free to feed them (limited to marmot-specific food purchased inside the park)】 and slowly approached.

The marmots, munching as they ambled along, indeed looked like small capybaras. True to their nature, their sense of smell was sharp—they detected the aroma of the feed Daikichi carried and immediately turned to look in his direction.

“Oh…”

The marmot lowered its front paws and steadily approached Daikichi on all fours. Then, it stood up again and gently tapped his leg with its tiny paw.

In a way, it turned out to be far more unique than he had expected. While Daikichi was bewildered by this unexpectedly quirky creature, marmots began appearing one after another like bamboo shoots after a rain, tapping at his legs from every direction.

“Are you asking for food?”

When Daikichi asked, one of the marmots chirped, “Peep!”

It seemed they wanted it.

Daikichi lifted the bag to keep it from being snatched away, and carefully took out a single biscuit, slowly bringing it close to the marmots’ noses.

—Peep!

The swiftest marmot seemed to snatch the biscuit from his hand—but in the very next moment, another reached out its paw, knocking the marmot holding the biscuit on the shoulder and stealing it.

—Peep…

—Peep!

Then, the marmot that’d been momentarily stunned by losing its biscuit quickly recovered and, as if to say “What do you think you’re doing?” thumped the culprit on the shoulder.

It was much like a scene at a crowded ramen shop during a weekday lunch, where tired salarymen bump into each other and a quarrel ensues—each insisting, “You bumped into me first!” and “No, you did!”

Watching these very human-like creatures, Daikichi felt an indescribable melancholy and realized he needed to ensure the brawl wouldn’t spread.

“Let’s make it fair for everyone…”

Daikichi began calculating how to distribute the biscuits evenly among the marmots so none would fight. When he realized there weren’t quite enough, he adjusted by splitting one in half.

—Peep!!

Every time a marmot received a biscuit from Daikichi, they chirped.

Assuming they were thanking him, he watched the marmots nibble on the biscuits.

Though they had a grumpy, old-man air about them, watching them eat made them rather endearing.

The zoo staff had described the marmots as cute—and they certainly were.

“Haha… they’re so cute. Animals really are something.”

Daikichi smiled.

And then—

—Daichan-senpai, you’re so kind to animals. It makes my heart skip a beat.

He spun around abruptly.

Sakurasaki, who had been watching Daikichi with a languid expression and her index finger between her lips, hadn’t expected to be noticed—and in a panic, she looked around for a place to hide.

But to her left was an open lawn, and to her right was a puma enclosure—in short, there was nowhere to hide.

“Uh…”

Sakurasaki swallowed nervously, then took one step, then another, backing away. Matching her pace, Daikichi took step after step, and though they moved in unison, his longer strides quickly closed the distance between them.

“What a coincidence.”

“D–Daichan-senpai…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Y–you turned around so suddenly…”

Sakurasaki’s eyes were half-filled with tears; she seemed a bit scared.

“C–could it be that you noticed…?”

“That’s right. I noticed.”

At Daikichi’s revelation that her tailing had been discovered, Sakurasaki’s face turned pale.

“I was hiding properly…”

“I plainly saw you.”

Sakurasaki’s mouth trembled uncontrollably.

Noticing her overreaction, Daikichi reached out to gently grab her shoulder in an attempt to calm her—but he was a moment too late.

“N–Noooo!!”

Sakurasaki spun on her heel and bolted, shouting,

“Hey, wait…!”

Daikichi hurriedly chased after her, but the crowd blocked his pursuit.

While Daikichi, with his boyish build, had to half-hunch and weave through the throng, Sakurasaki—small in stature despite her ample chest—darted swiftly through the gaps, and the distance between them quickly grew.

Still, Daikichi managed to keep sight of her until she reached the entrance.

But if she left the park, he would lose her entirely—and just as he was about to give up…

“Damn… huh?”

In her panic, Sakurasaki, running frantically, failed to notice a boy approaching diagonally and collided with him, nearly losing her balance.

It turned out that the heavy flow of parent–child visitors on a Sunday worked in Daikichi’s favor—but proved disastrous for Sakurasaki.

And then, right next to the now completely off-balance Sakurasaki was the entrance fountain Daikichi had seen when he entered…

“Unghya!”

Emitting a sound uncharacteristic of a girl, Sakurasaki plunged face-first into the fountain.