"Wow! This is amazing, Momo! There are so many animals I've never seen before!"
"…So the place you wanted to go was the zoo, huh… sigh."
NANA and Momo are surrounded by families with children.
It's a zoo, but it's not just any zoo. It's also a laboratory that's trying to clone the genes of extinct and endangered animals to help them breed again.
Along with environmental goals, the facility also aims to use animal behavior and functions to benefit human life.
Beyond the reinforced glass were not only the classic zoo animals but also creatures that can no longer be seen in the wild.
This is a facility that has the potential to become a real-life Jurassic Park in the future.
"Sigh..."
Momo sighs and plays with her hair, twisting a stray, wavy strand around her finger, a habit of hers.
"What's wrong, Momo? Are you that bored?"
"I'm not like you. Well, I do find it interesting, but..."
At the very least, she's not as excited as the children around her who aren't even in the double digits yet.
Plus, there was another reason Nana could enjoy herself.
"You can just talk to the plants over there, can't you?"
"Plants raised with mechanical management can't hold a conversation. It's like talking to a simple robot."
"Huh. That must be tough."
"You...!"
Nana has a special ability, what the world calls a "rare skill," that's unique even among the Deviluke family.
It's the ability to communicate with animals. Thanks to this, when she talks to the animals like a small child, she's genuinely having a conversation.
As if to counter Nana, Momo has a rare skill that allows her to communicate with plants.
It's an ability no less impressive than Nana's, but as she herself said, it wasn't very useful in this place.
"Don't worry about me. I'm just here to look after you today."
"Alright, alright. Sure thing."
To Momo, who always acts like the older sister despite them being twins, Nana gives her usual half-hearted reply.
"Geez, we're twins, so there's no 'older' or 'younger' one of us... Huh?"
Nana noticed something.
It was a common sight. A lion on the other side of the glass. It's a distance you could reach out and touch, yet it's something you can never actually touch.
But a simple thing like that is lost on a small child.
Even if there's a sign on the wall in a cute font that says, "Please don't tap the glass," a child can't understand it.
But Nana could understand the lion's feelings. She knew it was a little tired and wanted to rest.
"Honestly, you can't help it, can you..."
The child's parents, who should be watching them, were nowhere to be found.
Nana starts walking toward the child to warn them.
"Hey! You there—"
Just before she could speak.
"Hey, you can't do that."
"Ah."
A girl in a staff uniform got to the child first.
"If you tap the glass, you'll surprise the lion."
"Oh, okay."
"Where are your mom and dad? Are they nearby?"
"Huh? Oh, there...?"
"—I finally found you!"
A woman pushes through the crowd and rushes over. She's the child's mother.
The mother bows repeatedly and takes her child away.
"Looks like your moment didn't happen... Nana? What's wrong?"
"That girl..."
Nana's interest had shifted from the child to the girl who had just given the warning.
"It's quiet now. If you're tired, I think you should go a bit further back. Well then."
To others, it might have just seemed like she was talking to an animal she couldn't communicate with.
But Nana knew. Nana, who had the same ability, knew for certain.
"H-hey! You!"
"Huh? What is it?"
She had called out without thinking.
"You! Don't tell me you can... talk to animals, too!?"
"...You, too? So, you can, too?"
The girl in the staff uniform—You Kasukabe—understood everything from that brief exchange.
---------
"Oh, is that right?"
"Yeah. I can't talk to animals without this pendant."
"Is this some kind of 'spirit tool'?"
"Hmm, I don't know the details myself, but..."
Sharing the same ability, You and Nana quickly hit it off. Because their ability was so rare, they could talk about things they couldn't even discuss with their own families.
In this short amount of time, they had become close enough to call each other by their first names.
The two people and one person, You and Nana, were so engrossed in their conversation that Momo was completely forgotten.
This summer, You was on a security detail at this zoo. Her job was to protect the valuable animals from poachers and corporate spies.
She patrolled the entire facility, responding to any abnormalities. Nana was following her around.
"Um, Kasukabe-san? If we're getting in the way of your work..."
"It's fine. My senses don't dull just from talking to people."
"Oh..."
Momo, seeing how pushy Nana was being, speaks up, but You shakes her head.
With her "Genome Tree of Life" ability, You gains the senses of animals, giving her a sense of smell and hearing many times more powerful than a human's, and she can see wavelengths of light that are invisible to the human eye.
Using these, she could know everything about her surroundings just by walking.
"That's so unfair. You can not only talk to them but do all that stuff, too."
"Ehem."
"I think it's a little strange to be chatting during work."
She could hear Momo's murmuring, of course, but the troublemaker You didn't pay it any mind.
However, there was someone who could slip past even You's detection.
"Oh? You-chan?"
"Huh? Why are you here?"
"Oh, come on, don't be so cautious. My sister isn't with me, and I'm not planning on doing anything today."
The girl with red pigtails, Mea, shakes her head.
Mea's words weren't a lie.
Mea attended Busou High School, but she wasn't a detective. She didn't even take on many cases like most students, which left her with a lot of free time this summer.
"Is she a friend of yours?"
"Huh, well..."
"Wait, can she talk to animals, too!?"
"Talk to animals...?"
Even You couldn't answer immediately. Mea, for her part, tilted her head at the sudden question.
Even if she had received an explanation from Shō, You hadn't been directly harmed. Strictly speaking, since she was involved in the Azenda incident, it wasn't a total zero, but...
However, this was the first time they were talking face-to-face.
"Ah, sorry about that. Since you said she was a friend of You's, I just assumed you could talk to animals too."
"Hmm? That's totally fine. But, what's this about talking to animals?"
"Yeah! I actually have that ability! For example..."
Nana points to a nearby animal.
"That one over there is saying, 'I'm hungry'—Hey! Why did you say it first, You!"
"Sorry. It just slipped out."
"That's so cool! You two look like you're having fun!"
Mea's eyes sparkle with innocence.
"Hehe, yeah! ...Hey! Wanna walk around with us? Oh, I haven't even introduced myself yet. I'm Nana Asta Deviluke. Just call me Nana!"
"W-wait, Nana! I told you this with Kasukabe-san, too, you can't just go around introducing yourself so easily...!"
The name Deviluke is quite famous. Even with their tails hidden, they're still a distinctive pair of twins.
It wasn't a good idea to introduce themselves so openly in such a crowded place.
While Momo was thinking this and trying to warn her,
"Of course! I'm Mea. Mea Kurosaki."
"Mea! Nice to meet you, Mea!"
"Yeah! You too, Nana-chan!"
Mea didn't seem to mind at all, and the people around them were too engrossed in the animals.
Mea looks at You, who has a rare serious expression on her face.
"You-san, let's be friends, too?"
"Sure. As long as you're not up to anything."
If the other person wasn't looking for a fight, You wasn't either.
"There are a lot of people and animals here, and besides, I don't even know if I could win against her."
Then she might as well have fun. All things considered, playing with Nana, who can understand animal voices, was a different kind of fun than her usual mischief.
Well, it was wrong for You to be playing while on the job, but it was useless to say anything to this troublemaker.
With more people in their group, the three of them start walking more cheerfully.
And then there was the one, the only one, who,
"...Fine, whatever."
Momo lets out a tired sigh and casually glances at the animals.
"Well, as long as Nana's having fun, it's okay, I guess."
Momo mutters to herself about the unexpected connection that had been made. She then switches into her "older sister" mode, her "watching over Nana" mode.
"But..."
She just can't shake the feeling of boredom.
"Sigh, things just don't go the way you want them to."
Her older sister, Lala, had quite a stimulating experience just by going outside for a bit, but that couldn't be expected at a zoo full of children.
She sighs and follows the three of them.
---------
"Ah... I guess the captain is at the Inter-Middle venue by now."
"Probably."
"I guess Takamachi-san and Testa Rossa-san are with her, too."
"I guess so."
"It's so boring."
"That's a good thing."
This is the Section 6 office. There are no dispatch requests, so it's a slow day. They had been so busy dealing with the sisters until recently, but now that it's over, they have nothing to do.
However, the Bureau is not a regular company.
They have to be prepared for incidents regardless of holidays or weekends.
Security is especially strict right now, so there are few calls for Section 6, but today was Jagura's turn on duty.
"What do you think about the mysterious monster rumors?"
"I guess it's okay for now. I haven't heard of any damage yet."
"Not that... I heard rumors that there's a traitor in the Bureau. Don't you get suspicious when you hear 'mysterious'? Like maybe we're just not getting the information..."
"Don't. Sticking your nose into unnecessary things will shorten your lifespan."
"Is that how it is?"
"That's how it is."
Jagura and his subordinate sip their tea.
"Would you like more tea?"
"Ah, Ram-chan. Yes, please."
"Me too, please."
The subordinate's face lights up as Ram appears with a teapot.
The twin maids had become idols of Section 6. At first, some serious agents had questioned the presence of maids in maid uniforms at a public service agency, but now things are like this.
They have gained support, especially from the male agents (naturally), and now they're helping to boost morale.
"Jagura-san, I'm so glad I was assigned to this unit...!"
"Right? You should have agreed from the start. Being too serious will just suffocate you."
"Lesson learned!"
The subordinate finishes his break and goes back to work.
"Alright, I should get back to it too."
"You're really bored, aren't you?"
"Yeah. You too, I don't see your other half today?"
"Rem is off. The captain said that since there are fewer people working, she should take the day off."
"(So the cleaning's gonna be a bit iffy today...)"
"What? Do you have something to say?"
"No, not at all."
Both maids are popular. There are even Rem fans and Ram fans. However, their skills as maids are now widely known.
Now, Section 6's daily life is so dependent on Rem that it couldn't function without her. Rem, for her part, had adapted to this world, which was so different from her own, and was getting results.
Jagura stood up, thinking he should get going, but,
"Hm? Hmm."
"Where are you going? The office is not that way."
"Hm, I just have to go to the bathroom after drinking all that tea."
Jagura waves his hand and leaves the break room.
---------
A deserted island far from Academy City. In the middle of a dense jungle, there was a structure that shouldn't have been there.
It was something that should have been in a desert country—a golden pyramid.
Inside, there was a huge space. Only two humans were living in it.
"Let's make the final day our D-Day."
"Hmm."
One of them, a beautiful woman with a long braid, suggests to the other.
It's a structure with a pyramid inside a pyramid. On top of the inner pyramid, there's a throne for a king.
Sitting on it is a beautiful woman with a high-bridged nose, slanted eyes, and a bob haircut.
The braided woman is looking up from the very bottom.
Looking at the scene, it was clear who was in charge. The bob-haired beauty leans back on the throne and urges her to continue.
"According to our intel, they've decided to hold a reception party only on the final day based on their movements up until now. That will divide the security into the upper and lower levels."
"Hmph, with my power, the number of guards is no big deal."
"Even so, we can't be complacent. The intel also says that Shō Yozuki will be there. He's on the lower level security, but he's sure to get involved if anything happens."
"The man from the other world? Is he that much of a threat?"
The bob-haired beauty seems dissatisfied, but she doesn't intend to offer an alternative.
"Your Sphinx is strong, but not invincible. Even if the guards from various countries don't come after us, Shō Yozuki is different. We might have the item taken back. I'll go myself on the day of the operation. Just in case."
"Fine, do what you want. I'll be here on the day of the operation. I can send in as many soldiers as you need. After all, if I stay here, my magic is endless."
The bob-haired beauty's loud laugh echoes through the inside of the pyramid.
With the conversation over, the braided beauty taps the communicator on her ear. The person on the other end says nothing and cuts the communication.
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