Tokyo: After years of stagnation, the heiress of the yakuza arrives.

"Wow, there are so many people..."

Yoshiko Sawamura's excitement froze shortly after she entered the zoo.

There are people ahead.

There are people behind them.

On the left is a family of three, and on the right are two couples. Looking a little further away, a sea of ​​heads stretches all the way to the end of the road. If you didn't know better, you'd think Tokyo was giving away free houses today, and the whole city had come to line up for the keys.

Wearing yellow tiger ears, Yoshiko Sawamura was swept along by the crowd, moving forward without even lifting her feet, as the people behind her naturally pushed her forward.

"Slow down! Hey, don't push! Mom's shoes!"

"Little pink-haired girl, hold on to Mommy!"

Ritsuki Sawamura, wearing a mask and sunglasses, with pink cat ears forcibly stuck on her head by Yoshiko Sawamura, was bumped into by a parent carrying a huge children's backpack, making her already not-so-pleasant mood even worse.

"Who's going to arrest you?"

"There are so many people here, what if we get separated?"

"If you get separated from your hotel, go back to your hotel on your own."

"My mother is unfamiliar with the area and doesn't speak Japanese. What if she gets kidnapped by strange people?"

Ritsuki Sawamura glanced at her: "Idiot old lady, you're originally from Japan, okay? You can't speak Japanese, are you sure you're not just stupid?"

"besides……"

"People in Tokyo shouldn't be that indiscriminate."

Yoshiko Sawamura: "..."

Excessive.

Personal attack.

My great mother was a famous beauty in her youth, and even though time has left a few signs of maturity on her now, she is still a fully mature and stunning beauty.

What do you mean by not being that picky?

Yoshiko Sawamura's face puffed up with anger as she prepared to argue with the pink-haired girl. Suddenly, the crowd surged forward, and she stumbled, ending up on Ritsuki Sawamura's back.

"what!"

Ritsuki Sawamura took two steps forward to steady herself, then turned her head, veins throbbing on her forehead.

"Auntie, do you want to die?"

"It wasn't my mom, it was the people behind me who pushed me!"

Yoshiko hurriedly got off her back, but her hand honestly grabbed the hem of Riki Sawamura's clothes, lest she be swept into some strange family's house during the next crowd movement and inexplicably become someone else's newest auntie.

Ahead, a young father holding a child is trying to find his wife.

On the left, a child wearing a panda hat screams in the crowd.

On the right, zoo staff members held up megaphones, constantly reminding visitors not to linger, not to go against the flow of traffic, and to take good care of the elderly and children traveling with them.

Yoshiko Sawamura looked left and right, and finally couldn't help but complain: "Japan is a small country, and the zoo is built so frugally, cramming so many people in. If you didn't know better, you'd think they were putting tourists in cages for exhibition."

"The 'middle-aged woman tourist' lives outside of Tokyo. She has a large appetite, low intelligence, and will beg for mercy when in danger."

Ritsuki Sawamura added a brief introduction following her words.

Yoshiko Sawamura: "???"

"Why is the exhibit featuring mothers?"

"Because you are rarer."

Yoshiko Sawamura's eyes lit up: "Mom is really precious!"

"It's truly rare for someone with such a brain to still be alive today."

Yoshiko Sawamura: "..."

Why does the pink-haired girl always only say half of what she means?

The first half of the sentence sounds very happy, but the second half sends the person straight to the crematorium, leaving no chance for rescue.

Yoshiko Sawamura, unconvinced, reached out to tickle Ritsuki Sawamura's waist, but Ritsuki Sawamura, as if anticipating her move, precisely grabbed her wrist with his other hand.

The mother and daughter engaged in a silent struggle within the crowded throng.

Yoshiko Sawamura exerted her strength.

Ritsuki Sawamura remained expressionless.

Yoshiko Sawamura continued to exert force.

Ritsuki Sawamura's fingers tightened slightly.

Yoshiko Sawamura's resentment gradually turned into pain, and then she leaned closer naturally, whispering, "Little pink-haired girl, Mommy was wrong..."

Ritsuki Sawamura lets go.

Yoshiko Sawamura quickly withdrew her hand, wiped it on her clothes, and began to hypnotize herself.

It's not that she can't beat them.

There are too many people here, it's not convenient to perform well.

Once we get to a spacious area, it's still uncertain who will win and who will lose.

Our great mother has made a temporary strategic retreat.

"The panda enclosure is just ahead!"

Someone in the crowd shouted something.

The already congested road seemed to be pushed hard from behind, and tourists began to move in the same direction.

Yoshiko Sawamura's eyes lit up as well.

"panda!"

She had never seen a real panda up close in her life. At most, she had seen them on TV. They were round and chubby, with black and white markings, eating and sleeping all day long. They could be kept by the whole world just because they were cute.

What a perfect life.

It's practically Yoshiko Sawamura's ultimate dream.

Yoshiko Sawamura immediately forgot that she had just been complaining about the crowd and grabbed Ritsuki Sawamura's clothes to squeeze forward.

"Quick, quick, little pink-haired girl, let's go see the pandas!"

"Don't pull me."

"If you arrive late, you'll only see the backs of the heads of the people in front of you!"

"Now it's the back of my head too."

Looking at the densely packed crowd in front of her, Ritsuki Sawamura couldn't understand why the old woman was suddenly excited.

What's so interesting about pandas?

black.

White.

Fat.

All I do every day is eat and sleep.

Ritsuki Sawamura thought for a moment, then suddenly turned to look at Yoshiko Sawamura.

It does seem quite similar.

Yoshiko Sawamura was puzzled by her gaze: "Why are you looking at Mom?"

"To see the pandas."

"The panda is ahead."

"almost."

Yoshiko Sawamura: "???"

……

Outside the panda enclosure.

Kuroba Shido stood at the edge of the crowd, looking up at the line that had turned at least three corners ahead, and was in a state of "...".

He knew the zoo would be crowded on weekends.

But I didn't expect so much.

There are at least several hundred people queuing from the panda enclosure entrance to here, and the number is still increasing. From a distance, the whole line looks like a black, ravenous snake made up of humans, winding its way through the zoo.

"Senior."

"Um?"

"How about we go look at something else?"

Kuroba Shido pointed to the line and said in a heavy tone, "At this rate of movement, by the time we get to the front, the pandas inside might have already gone home for dinner."

Onodera Zannen glanced at the time.

"It's 10:47 now. At the pace of the march, it will take about 35 minutes."

"So precise?"

"I just observed for five minutes, and about 27 people were being let in per minute. There may be some error due to children, the elderly, and people stopping to take photos."

The Black Feather Warrior said, "..."

Very competitive.

As expected of your senior!

When a normal person sees a queue, they just think there are a lot of people. But when the senior student saw the queue, she had already built a mathematical model of the panda pavilion's visitor throughput in her mind.

"Then let's line up, we're already here."

Once again, under the devil's whisper of "since we're already here," the two continued to queue.

Kuroba Shido, leaning on his cane, joined the group. Onodera Zannen was still standing beside him, not far from him. Daikoku sat in Kuroba Shido's coat pocket, holding the remaining small nuts from the bento box, and peered around to observe the surroundings.

It has no interest in pandas.

Although they are all mammals, the size difference is too great. When a panda sits down, it is enough for Dahei's family to achieve a physical reunion forever.

The procession moved forward slowly.

Low shrubs lined both sides, and the sounds of children calling could be heard from the front from time to time. Tourists were also taking pictures in the direction of the panda pavilion, even though they couldn't see anything at the moment, they still took a picture of the entrance to prove that they had been there.

After standing for less than ten minutes, Shido Kuroba's lower back began to feel the kind of fatigue that only occurs when he's at work or in a meeting.

Why would humans pay to queue up?

"Because you can see pandas after you finish queuing."

"Isn't watching videos online the same thing? You can even skip ahead, and if the panda isn't cooperating, you can just cut off one."

Onodera Zannen chuckled softly: "Seeing it with your own eyes feels different."

"What's the difference?"

"Shido is queuing up with me now; you won't have this experience watching videos online."

The Black Feather Warrior said, "..."

It seems to make sense.

wrong.

The focus of this statement doesn't seem to be the panda.

Kuroba Shido turned his head to look at Onodera Zanne. The senior's smile was gentle and natural, and her gaze was fixed ahead, showing no abnormality.

It's probably just a common expression.

He's been dealing with too many strange women lately, and he's become a bit overly cautious.

Just as Shido Kuroba was about to continue slacking off, the crowd behind him suddenly pushed forward. A child chasing and playing bumped into a parent in front of him, and the parent then bumped into Shido Kuroba.

Spider-Sense is not activated.

This level of attack is not worth consuming Salt Fish Points.

Kuroba Shido's body swayed, and his cane slid half a step to the side.

Onodera Zanne reached out to support him, and with her other hand she naturally wrapped her arm around Kuroba Shido's arm, pulling him closer to her.

A soft touch came against me.

The Black Feather Warrior said, "..."

"careful."

Onodera Zannen's voice remained gentle. After the crowd calmed down, she did not immediately let go, but continued to support Kuroba Shido's arm.

The reasons are very valid.

Lots of people.

The ground is slippery.

Shido Kuroba has difficulty walking.

You could easily fall if you're not careful.

As an upperclassman, it is perfectly normal, reasonable, and full of camaraderie for Onodera Zanne to take care of her injured underclassman.

Kuroba Shido couldn't find any angle to refute, so he could only let Onodera Zanne hold his arm and continue moving with the group.

The people in front stopped again.

The people behind continued to press closer.

The already limited space between the two was completely squeezed out, with Onodera Echo practically pressed against Kuroba Shido's side. His long black hair occasionally brushed against his shoulder as the crowd moved, and his faint fragrance was amplified by the surrounding air.

Kuroba Shido glanced down.

The senior student remained calm.

He even moved a little to the outside to shield him from the approaching crowd and prevent anyone from bumping into his injured leg.

Good senior.

That's so considerate.

Just to be on the safe side, Kuroba Shido looked at the top of Onodera Zanne's head.

Black text slowly appeared.

[Current state: Pleasant, satisfied, enjoying the reasonable contact provided by the crowded environment, believing that choosing the panda enclosure was the right decision, and hoping that the line could move a little slower.]

[Salted Fish Guide: Continue to take advantage of your injured state and receive proactive care from your senior, conserving your energy to enjoy free breakfast, tickets, and manual assistance – have a blast!]

The Black Feather Warrior said, "..."

The first part is normal.

The following section is also normal.

Something strange seems to have gotten mixed in.

Do you hope the queue slows down a bit?

Didn't the senior just calculate exactly thirty-five minutes?

It turns out the calculation wasn't to determine when the panda would be visible, but to confirm how long it could be displayed.

Kuroba Shido's lips twitched, and he shifted his gaze away from Onodera Zanne's face.

Senior, mud...

Forget it.

At least the senior didn't suddenly drag him into some deserted grove, nor did she pull out a rope or a sack. Compared to some truly dangerous yanderes, this level of behavior can be considered mild, rational, and law-abiding.

Kuroba Shido began to hypnotize himself.

Suddenly, Dahei crawled out of the pocket, moved along his clothes to his shoulder, and stared at Onodera Zannen's arm that was linked with Kuroba Shido's arm, and then looked at the distance between the two of them who were almost touching.

"squeak?"

"What are you looking at? The zoo is crowded; these are normal safety measures."

Big Black: "..."

"What do you know about human social etiquette, you rat? Eat your nuts."

Kuroba Shido took a nut out of his pocket and handed it to Daikoku. Daikoku hugged it, chewed it, and temporarily gave up on studying complex human relationships.

The group finally entered the panda enclosure.

The area outside the glass exhibit was also crowded with people, all holding up their phones and standing on tiptoe, trying to spot the panda through the gaps between their heads.

"Where?"

"I see it! It's behind the tree!"

"The panda moved!"

"Dad, I can't see!"

Amidst the cacophony of sounds, Shido Kuroba was pushed forward by the crowd. Following their gaze, he finally spotted a black and white object behind a patch of bamboo.

The panda sat on the ground with its back to the tourists, munching on bamboo.

Only a round, chubby back was visible.

Kuroba Shido stared at it for a long time.

"Isn't this just a giant rice ball?"

Onodera Zanne blinked: "Rice balls?"

"The black ears are seaweed, and the white back is rice. If Yamamoto were to stand next to him, the zoo could immediately launch a rice ball family meal."

Upon hearing the words "rice ball," Dahei sat up on his shoulder.

Then I saw the panda behind the glass.

Big Black froze.

It was the first time it had ever seen a rice ball grow this big.

Kuroba Shido noticed Daikoku's reaction and reached out to touch its increasingly pointed head.

"Don't be afraid. Although we are all in black and white, we are not on the same track. It makes its living by being cute and is supported by the government, while you make your living by selling your looks."

Big Black: "..."

When did it start selling its sexuality?

"But you can also learn from this. When you go back, sit at the door every day holding a bamboo plant. Maybe Miyazaki Kiyoshi will see how cute you are and apply for a pet subsidy for you."

Onodera Zannen gently reminded, "Mice shouldn't eat too much bamboo."

"It's okay, it's mainly for the photoshoot. You can return the bamboo after the shoot."

Onodera Zannen: "..."

Suddenly, a large group of tourists surged in from the back of the line.

The already crowded panda enclosure was further compressed, with the crowds resembling bulk food being squeezed into a vacuum state little by little as they entered a packaging machine.

Kuroba Shido was forced to move closer to the glass, while Onodera Zanne stood on his outside, one hand still holding his arm, the other gently supporting Kuroba Shido's back to prevent him from being knocked over.

The two people were closer together.

Kuroba Shido could even sense the subtle changes in Onodera's breathing.

Senior's happiness level +1 +1 +1...

The panda is eating bamboo inside.

The senior student is benefiting from the environmental advantages outside.

With only Shido Kuroba sandwiched in the middle, it felt like he was the only one being observed at the zoo this time.

at the same time.

The other entrance to the panda pavilion.

"Hey, don't push Mommy!"

Yoshiko Sawamura was pushed forward by the crowd, her yellow tiger ears already tilted to one side of her head, and she was still tightly gripping the hem of Riki Sawamura's clothes.

"Auntie, you stepped on me."

"It's not Mom, it's the people behind her stepping on Mom, and then Mom stepping on you—that's power transfer!"

"Do you think I'm the floor?"

"This is called mother and daughter sharing the burden!"

Ritsuki Sawamura grabbed Yoshiko Sawamura's wrist and pulled her back from next to an uncle who was about to rush to the front row to take pictures, preventing her great mother from being taken away by the crowd.

Yoshiko Sawamura snuggled up to Ritsuki Sawamura, finally finding a sense of security, but she was still complaining.

"Why is it so hard to see a panda? All I can see are heads, I can't see anything at all."

"Go back and look at the photos."

"Since we're already here!"

"Who just said there were too many people and they wanted to go back to the hotel?"

"The previous mother is dead; now it's the new mother who wants to see the panda!"

Ritsuki Sawamura: "..."

The older woman can complete several self-renewals every day.

Unfortunately, no matter how quickly the versions are updated, this core vulnerability in the brain has never been fixed.

The two moved forward little by little with the crowd. Yoshiko Sawamura tried to tiptoe to see the panda over the shoulders in front of her, but not only did she not see anything, she also lost her footing and bumped into the side.

Ritsuki Sawamura quickly reached out and grabbed her.

The people next to them were also pushed from behind at the same time.

Several forces collided.

Riki Sawamura lost her balance and bumped her shoulder into another figure.

Onodera Zannen turned slightly, keeping her hand on Kuroba Shido without letting go, while raising her other hand to block Sawamura Rigetsu, preventing the two from actually colliding.

Two pairs of eyes met across the crowded throng.

A pair of quiet and gentle eyes.

A pair of restless and indifferent eyes.

During their brief eye contact, the surrounding noise seemed to fade away.

Yoshiko Sawamura finally squeezed out from behind, put her arm around Riki Sawamura's shoulder, and was still complaining.

"Hey, little pinky, slow down! Mommy almost got squeezed into the panda cage!"

Not far away.

Kuroba Shido suddenly stopped moving.

Wait, that sound...

Kuroba Shido slowly turned his head to look in the direction from which the sound came.

Long pink hair.

A noblewoman.

Pink cat ears.

Yellow tiger ears.

Kuroba Shido's pupils contracted, then his eyes widened little by little...

Wait... could this combination of two people be...?

I'm not sure, let me take another look...

The Black Feather Warrior said, "???"

grass!!!