Nightfall

"You're U.A. High School. High School, and you want to become Pro Hero like Sister Snake, right? You helped us restore the principal to human form, so in return, we'll give you sparring partners to help you gain some combat experience you lack."

Indeed, Jilan Jiyu admitted that he lacked combat experience. Just like when the lion pounced on him, his mind reacted, but his body couldn't keep up, causing him to be a beat too slow. He was fine when fighting the students of U.A. High School, but compared to creatures at the top of the food chain like this, Jilan felt like a sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

Jilan didn't agree immediately, but instead asked, "I have a question. I'm just a student. Why do you think I can help you attract more people, especially since I'll only be here for a week?"

Ogami chuckled, "Although I'm just an animal, I still watch TV when I'm human. We can only see Sister Snake on TV since we don't see her normally."

"A television? You have a television installed in your cages?"

"How could that be? Even the most extravagant zookeeper wouldn't do that!" Ogami quickly denied. "It's the zookeeper. She has a TV in her little house, and I go to watch it when I have time. A few days ago, when the zookeeper wasn't around, I saw your performance at the concert on TV. It was fantastic!"

Jilan never expected that she wouldn't be recognized in this remote place of Tottori Prefecture, but instead, it was an animal that recognized her... It's really absurd.

"That concert had little to do with me; I was just a temporary guest performer."

"I know that too," Ogami. "But your popularity didn't just appear out of thin air, did it? That's exactly what we want to learn from you—how to generate popularity."

"... I'll think about it."

Jilan didn't agree immediately. After Da Ogami patted him on the back and left, Jilan sat on a stone bench, holding a banana in his hand and looking at the night sky.

Clearly, Jilan's job during his few days of Work-Study Program was to feed these magical animals. Originally, Jilan just wanted to disappear for a few days somewhere away from the media, but in the blink of an eye, his task became helping the zoo attract more visitors.

Jilan didn't consider refusing. The conditions offered Ogami Da Shang were very tempting to him—all the animals in the zoo could serve as his sparring partners, which would allow Jilan's combat experience to increase rapidly.

The strength of a bear, the speed of a leopard... With experience in combating these extreme attributes, one will not suffer unnecessary harm due to lack of experience when fighting against people with unknown Quirk in the future.

What Jilan hates is being in the spotlight, not becoming a Pro Hero. Just like the hero name he has given himself now, "Golden Spirit," he will not run away from his destiny.

"New zookeeper, are you still going to eat this banana?"

A rich voice sounded next to Ji Lan, and Ji Lan raised his head. A simple-looking orangutan was standing in front of Ji Lan, staring directly at the banana in his hand, "All the bananas at today's banquet have been eaten, and now the new keeper has the last one in your hand. If you don't like eating it, you can leave it to me."

"If I didn't like it, I wouldn't be holding it in my hand..." Jilan was both amused and exasperated. What a lame excuse this gorilla was coming up with.

"Here, have this." Jilan handed him the banana. "Your name is Kong, right? But I think Caesar would be a better name for you."

The gorilla took the banana, skillfully peeled it open with its hands, and then plopped down next to Jilan, muttering as it ate, "New zookeeper, you're a good person. If it were the zookeeper, he would definitely throw the bananas everywhere, even to Shishido, not to me."

"The head of the kindergarten is a rabbit, so she probably doesn't like bananas, right?"

The gorilla seemed quite used to the zookeeper's quirky humor, and calmly said, "But he likes to find amusement in others... If the zookeeper hadn't come, he probably would have gone even further."

"Because we are ultimately not the same kind of people." The gorilla looked at the moon, suddenly pounded its chest, and howled.

"Do you want to climb to the top of the Empire State Building?" Jilan suddenly asked.

"The principal gave me this name, and I don't like it either!"

As night deepened, the animals, urged on by the zookeeper, returned to their cages to sleep. Although their physical forms had changed somewhat, their physiological habits remained the same, and they had no complaints about their seemingly simple dwellings.

Jilan lay in bed, listening to the duet of howls from the Werewolf and the Kong, staring at the somewhat dim ceiling, unable to fall asleep.

It's only around 10 p. m., a time when people in the countryside would be fast asleep, but in Tokyo, the nightlife is just beginning.

Jilan Jiyu thought for a moment, then took out their phones and made a call to Yaoyorozu.

"Good evening, Jilan. Is there anything I can help you with?" Yaoyorozu seemed to be in low spirits, and her voice was somewhat weak.

"Good evening, Yaoyorozu. Is the Pro Hero you're currently following in your Work-Study Program Uwabami?"

"Ah, that's right!" Yaoyorozu exclaimed excitedly when the topic came up. "Ms. Uwabami is amazing! She took us to the TV station for a recording. Oh, right, 'we' refers to me and Itsuka Kendo, the class representative of Class B. She and I were both chosen by Ms. Uwabami!"

Are you still working now?

Yaoyorozu glanced at the young woman standing under the spotlight, then covered the phone with her hand and said, "Yeah, we're still recording a program, it should take another half hour to finish..." She suddenly added, "I'm so envious of Ms. Uwabami, who's so confident even under the spotlight..."

"Envious?"

Yaoyorozu was startled by Jilan's question, "Um... I was just talking to myself, don't worry about it! By the way, Jilan, where are you now? I heard you went to an agency in Tottori Prefecture, is it the Gang Orca?"

In most people's minds, when it comes to famous people in Tottori Prefecture, besides the author of Conan, the most famous is the aquarium and office of the Gang Orca.

"It's not Gang Orca, it's a Pro Hero called Mad Rabbit, and I work at the zoo now."

Hearing Jilan's calm voice, Yaoyorozu suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of peace, and said with a wry smile, "The zoo... that really doesn't suit you..."

"I think television stations would be a perfect fit for you?"

Do you think I have the potential to become a star?

"I think Magician would suit you quite well..."

Yaoyorozu sat in an empty seat in the corner of the dimly lit studio, covering his mouth and chatting quietly with Jilan, occasionally chuckling softly.

"Hey, the recording is over. Miss Yaoyorozu, can you please stop chatting? You should let everyone in the studio see your silly grin."

Itsuka Kendo had somehow appeared next to Yaoyorozu, looking at her with a suggestive gaze. "Who are you chatting with? Could you tell me?"

"Jilan, the recording is over, I need to get back to work now."

Yaoyorozu suddenly realized what was happening, quickly told Jilan, and then hurriedly hung up the phone.

Yaoyorozu breathed a sigh of relief, looked up at Itsuka Kendo standing beside her and the Uwabami smiling at her with one hand on its hip. Her face suddenly turned red, and she quickly stood up and bowed. "Sorry to have kept you waiting!"

Miss Uwabami gently shook her head and said with a smile, "It's alright. My recording time is your private time, so you don't need to worry about me."

As if reminiscing, her eyes narrowed slightly. "Besides, it's really lucky to have someone who can listen to you..."