"Why are you all here?!"
The surprised voice caused a slight ripple in Kaguya's icy expression, drawing the attention of Hayashi and Yukino.
"That, that is... student council secretary Fujiwara Chika, financial auditor Iino Miko, and classmate Ishigami Yu..."
As Kaguya's good friend, Yukino naturally recognized these members of the Shuchi'in Academy Student Council.
After all, Kaguya was the Shuchi'in Academy student council president, and Yukino had met the others several times.
"Ooh~ Wow~~! It's Kaguya-chan, hello~! This is great, running into you here!"
Compared to Kaguya's surprise, Chika burst into a smile the moment she saw her, happily rushing up to Kaguya and cheering, intending to give her a big hug.
"Don't come near me!"
Instantly, the coldness on Kaguya's face intensified, especially as Chika prepared to pounce for a hug, causing the chill in Kaguya's eyes to nearly solidify.
Kaguya was seen reaching out and pressing down on Chika's frantic head, keeping her outside the range of intimate social contact.
"Eh~~ What's wrong with a hug between good friends after such a fateful encounter!!!"
Faced with Kaguya's heartlessness, Chika put on a pitiful expression, like a beautiful, sad flower ruthlessly abandoned by flowing water.
But obviously, Kaguya, who knew her temperament well, couldn't even be bothered to look at her... Ignoring this chaotic cancer of the earth, Kaguya turned her gaze toward the serious-faced Miko.
"President Shinomiya... it's a coincidence. Secretary Fujiwara invited me to the zoo!"
Unlike the cheerful Chika, Miko, a stiff and conservative background character, couldn't endure Kaguya's cold stare at the moment.
'Gah~!! President Shinomiya's eyes are terrifying!
President Shinomiya seems angry! Why is she angry? Ugh~ So scary!'
Under Kaguya's gaze, Miko felt as if a black-smoke-breathing evil dragon was staring at her, leaving her trembling with fear.
"Hehe~ Kaguya-chan, don't scare Miko. I heard that the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo just got a new panda!"
"So I invited Miko to come see the panda with me!
I get it, Kaguya, you're mad because I didn't invite you, right? It's not my fault you don't use a cell phone, and Hayasaka told me you weren't able to go out recently~
Kaguya, you're jealous!"
Chika dropped her fake pitiful expression, patted the shoulder of the truly pitiful Miko, and explained, then suddenly, as if discovering a key insight, she winked playfully at Kaguya.
She wore an expression that said, 'I understand, I understand! It feels awful to be left out by friends!'
"..."
Faced with the self-important Chika, Kaguya rubbed her forehead with a look of headache. This girl always managed to easily stir her emotions.
"So this is the Ueno zoo?"
Chika, completely oblivious, countered with a question, even thinking Kaguya had eye problems for not seeing the huge characters for Ueno.
"Isn't it?"
Chika, completely unaware, countered with a question, even thinking Kaguya was sick for not seeing the huge characters for Ueno.
'They haven't realized that the place they entered isn't the Ueno zoo at all!'
This thought flashed through her mind, and Kaguya looked at Yukino and Hayashi, finding that Yukino's gaze seemed normal. Yukino shook her head, signaling her not to tell Chika and the others about the anomaly yet.
Without proof, it would only cause confusion.
Kaguya felt the same way.
But Hayashi... that guy's eyes, he seemed to be spacing out!!!
Kaguya frowned but said nothing, figuring Hayashi must be contemplating the zoo's problem.
However, in her opinion, doing so was meaningless, as thinking was only useful after finding clues.
They had just entered the zoo; what the heck was Hayashi thinking about?
'How strange!'
Shaking her head, Kaguya shifted her gaze from Hayashi to Ishigami and continued to ask.
"That explains Chika and Iino, but what about you, Ishigami? Shouldn't you be surfing the net at home right now? Why are you at the zoo!?"
Kaguya's words were practically saying, 'Why isn't a gloomy shut-in like you staying put at home!'
Faced with Kaguya's terrifying gaze, Ishigami was no better off than Miko, but compared to the background character Miko, Ishigami's perception was clearly superior.
Although Kaguya's gaze was frightening and made him scared, it still allowed him to detect a hint of solemnity from the president.
'President Shinomiya's expression... it seems like entering this zoo is a very dangerous thing?
That must be my imagination.'
He felt something was off, but Ishigami couldn't imagine what danger a zoo could hold. Surely there wouldn't be terrorists throwing bombs inside.
And even if there were, President Shinomiya shouldn't be here.
"I got bored staying at home, so I came out for a walk and ran into Secretary Fujiwara here~"
With his gloomy bangs covering one eye, Ishigami explained this while keeping his head down. His answer left Kaguya speechless.
She didn't notice, but Hayashi, who was 'spacing out' nearby, saw that Ishigami's downcast eyes were constantly focused on a couple in the distance... Following Ishigami's gaze, Hayashi understood: wasn't that the senpai Ishigami had a crush on, along with her trash boyfriend?
Right, this upperclassman seemed to be named Hagino something... Trash boyfriend? Hmm, the background character couldn't remember.
"Haa—! You three—!"
Taking a deep breath, Kaguya glared fiercely at Chika and the two others, then shot a look at Hayashi, seemingly distressed by the situation of leading four people.
'Forget it, leading one is leading, and leading four is leading!!'
Just as Kaguya glumly accepted the situation, a staff member in a blue uniform walked over.
"Esteemed visitors, welcome to the largest zoo in our city. We house most of the world's animals and guarantee to create suitable environments for every species."
"We hope you enjoy your visit!"
Wearing a professional smile, the blue-uniformed staff member cheerfully distributed the zoo map to each of them.
He also reminded them.
"Also, please ensure that all esteemed visitors abide by the visitor rules on the back of the map to ensure your safety."
"!"
Hearing the blue-uniformed staff member's words, especially his final sentence, Kaguya and Yukino immediately flipped the map over simultaneously, where they saw fifteen rules that made their scalps prickle.
The safety measures in this zoo are sound, and there is no possibility of animals escaping, especially small herbivores, which are mostly kept in enclosed, untouchable environments. Therefore, if you see an escaped rabbit, please move away immediately. The Ape Zone has only one street and only displays ape species. If you find two streets, and the displayed animals include rabbits, choose the left street and escape as quickly as possible. Elephants are creatures that are huge, have fan-like ears, long trunks, and legs as thick as pillars, and they are not white. Please ensure that what you see in the elephant zone is, and only is, an elephant! The zoo's beverage shop does not offer 'rabbit blood.' Do not linger alone in the shade of trees. This zoo does not have an aquarium. If a staff member tries to sell you a ticket to the aquarium, refuse them!
...There were many more rules, which made Yukino and Kaguya's scalps prickle, thinking that there were too many dangers in this zoo!
Rabbit! Rabbit Blood! Shade! White-eared Elephants! Beware of lost friends, White Lions...
"Wow~! Is this a puzzle game?"
Contrary to the attitudes of Yukino and Kaguya, Chika became excited, even pulling out her detective hat and putting it on.
"I shall strike in my Holmes Chika guise."
Just as Chika finished speaking, Kaguya's murderous gaze fixed upon her!
This time it wasn't an empty threat; she genuinely wanted to kill someone.
At this, even Chika couldn't help but shrink her neck.
"Ugh~"