"A deer is a creature that can remain calm and composed anywhere."
Shikanoko Noko calmly explained.
...But we're not deer.
Looking at the fence in front of them, still stained with saliva, Medea still felt a bit speechless.
"No."
Shikanoko Noko shook her head. "Everyone can become a deer. Just like the Paradise, any creature can be on the path to becoming a deer."
Kisaragi Rin and Medea fell silent.
Of course, they wouldn't burst into tears like characters in a children's cartoon just because of this sentence Shikanoko Noko copied from who-knows-where.
Instead, the moment Shikanoko Noko spoke, a backdrop appeared behind her.
On it, written in red artistic characters, was:
Deer! Of! Great! Love!
Then the text on the backdrop faded, and it lit up like a movie screen.
A theme song titled [Deer-Colored Days] began to play.
"Shikanoko shamelessly watches with covetous eyes, Shikanoko nonchalantly watches with covetous eyes, Accompanied by the theme song, just like that time in the Fate World, the world's art style began to change, and a movie theater rose from the ground in Deer Garden.
A flash of white light, and Kisaragi Rin and Medea were already seated in the golden position of the fourth row, each with a bucket of popcorn filled with deer biscuits in their hands.
And Shikanoko Noko, she was on the screen.
...I still can't accept this.
Kisaragi Rin took the deer biscuits from Medea's hand and pulled out a real bucket of popcorn.
"Aren't you already quite used to it?"
Medea sighed, also complaining.
Kisaragi Rin shrugged helplessly, motioning for her to watch the movie together.
It was supposed to be a date today, after all.
"Can you hear me? Can you hear me?"
Shikanoko Noko leaned close to the screen, then reached out and turned off her background music.
Then the screen flashed, and she had transformed into a small deer with torn clothes.
Of course, this small deer wasn't a real deer; it was still the girl with Deer Antlers.
[A long, long time ago...]
Shikanoko Noko: Floating with the wind, like a leaf, she began the story.
[A little deer named Shikanoko Noko was living peacefully on the African savanna]
Shikanoko Noko: Lying down to eat grass.
Kisaragi Rin: "..."
Medea: "..."
[It wasn't easy for a weak, pitiful, and helpless deer to survive in that era]
[Diseases, natural enemies, and even a group of poachers with hunting rifles]
Kisaragi Rin: "Even poachers are there. Then this past isn't that far away, is it?"
Medea: "..."
[Then, Paradise extended an invitation]
[Shikanoko Noko, a little deer who knew from birth that she was different]
[Embarked on a magnificent life]
Snowy mountains, vast oceans, and even a river of sword slashes... in the corner of every scene, there would be a silly-looking Shikanoko.
The short film ended.
Shikanoko Noko jumped out of the screen.
"And so, Shikanoko descended."
Kisaragi Rin was silent for a moment, then finally couldn't hold back his complaint and asked, "So what does the short film we just watched have to do with our previous topic?"
Shikanoko Noko: "Which topic?"
Kisaragi Rin: "...The Great Love of Deer."
Shikanoko Noko: "Didn't you find a way to become a deer from the short film just now?"
Kisaragi Rin: "..."
The art style was like Peppa Pig; the only information he got from the short film was that Shikanoko Noko said she came from the African savanna.
Looking at Kisaragi Rin, Shikanoko Noko shook her head with a rather impolite gaze.
She said, "The short film tells you that any creature has the potential to become a deer."
"So why do I have to become a deer?!"
Kisaragi Rin just blurted out his complaint.
Shikanoko Noko's solemn voice suddenly echoed in the cinema, which only had three people.
"This is my dream, Kisaragi-san."
The lights shone on Shikanoko Noko, and the dappled light and shadow, along with her antlers, created an aurora.
Her serious expression was like Giorno, who said he wanted to become a mob boss.
This was also the first time Shikanoko Noko called Kisaragi Rin by his given name.
"Since the descent of Paradise, the Evolution path of many animals has naturally been to transform into dragons.
Whether it's birds, crocodiles, fish, cattle, horses, or even silkworm pupae and flying insects, their ultimate destination seems to be only the dragons in human mythology.
Since all creatures have the aptitude to transform into dragons, why can't they become deer?"
Holy light rose from behind Shikanoko Noko's head, and "The Great Love of Deer" was once again written on the backdrop.
This serious expression made Kisaragi Rin unconsciously take Medea's hand.
He asked earnestly, "Your dream isn't to turn all creatures in this world into deer, is it?"
It was as if a newly summoned hero, when receiving Equipment, suddenly realized that the village chief in front of him was the Demon King.
Staring intently at Shikanoko Noko, Kisaragi Rin suddenly felt a pang of discomfort.
"Eh... Was there such a thing?"
Shikanoko Noko turned back into the drooling Chibi deer, scratching her head and asking, "If everyone becomes a deer, who will be the deer's owner?"
"Then you just..."
"Oh, I just thought that as the head of Chiba Zoo, I should have an impressive-sounding dream when facing new recruits.
In human corporate terms, I should showcase the prospects of Chiba Zoo as a company."
Kisaragi Rin: "...Your prospects made me want to switch jobs for a moment."
Hearing this, Shikanoko Noko broke off a Deer Antler and jumped up to hit Kisaragi Rin on the head.
"Being a fence-sitter will get you killed, you know."
"Then shouldn't there be a three-day cooling-off period for onboarding?"
"That's for humans. The place you're joining is a zoo, you know."
"Am I not human?! Tell me, am I not human?!"
After a joke, Shikanoko Noko snapped her fingers, and the movie theater, born from her power, dissipated into dust with the wind.
Their return location was still Deer Garden.
Shikanoko Noko stood inside the garden.
Kisaragi Rin and Medea stood outside the garden.
Separating them was the fence, stained with a bit of saliva.
The surrounding tourists crowded together, leaning forward to feed the deer biscuits in their hands to the nimble deer, taking the opportunity to reach out with their other hand to stroke their fur.
For a moment, the three of them were like those few circles of light escaping the darkness in the deep sea.
Shikanoko Noko faced Kisaragi Rin, lowering herself to half-lie on the fence, and suddenly said.
"Happy onboarding, Gecko Man."
She then pulled out a deer biscuit from behind her and asked, "Want to try the project of feeding the little deer?"
Kisaragi Rin took out two hundred yen and handed it to Shikanoko, feeding her the purchased deer biscuit just as before.
"Thanks, but compared to onboarding, I'd rather become the zoo director."