The Circus About to Open
Two days passed quickly, and Friday arrived soon after.
On Friday morning, the zoo director called the delivery driver over again, and this time he had him and his colleague drive two large trucks that could fit all the animals inside, and then had them all squeeze in.
"Hey, zookeeper, am I going too?" Igarashi asked, a little confused, as Aoi Hana was holding him. "I don't think I've rehearsed for a performance, have I?"
"The director said our 'Oumagadoki Circus needs a mascot, and you're that mascot. You have to be there."
Aoi Hana patted his head and showed Igarashi a poster sent by the government and pasted on the train carriage—a group of animals were fleeing in a line under the menacing claws of a rabbit-headed demon king, including cheetahs, gorillas, ostriches, rhinoceroses, and a lion standing aside licking its paws and watching the show. A round, chibi-style seal head was affixed as a sign in the upper right corner of the picture.
"Who drew this? It's very lifelike." Igarashi was somewhat surprised. This poster vividly depicted the ecological relationships within the Oumagadoki Zoo. As the mascot, he didn't receive much attention and just spent his days being cute; the lion Shishido was constantly at odds with the zookeeper, refusing to accept his dictatorial rule; and the other animals were either the zookeeper's lackeys or the victims of oppression...
"It was Jilan Jiyu who provided the sketch, saying it was based on their observations over the past few days..." Aoi Hana said with a wry smile as she watched Jilan moving the cage. Since Jilan Lan came, he had done all the chores she used to do, and she felt like she had become a mascot, basically only used to carry the mascot around every day...
Although animals can understand human speech and are very obedient, most people feel that without the restraint of cages, these animals might attack them at any time. To avoid this concern for viewers, cages are still necessary.
"Jilan! I'm all ready, when do we set off!" The zookeeper put a bowler hat on his head and excitedly pushed the lion's rear end as he spoke.
"Hey, don't push me!" Lion Shishido strode towards his back and growled softly. Although he wasn't transformed, Jilan was at level ten in cat language, could tell that he seemed to have said this.
The headmaster stopped pushing Shishido's backside and stood in front of him, gesturing for him to get in. "Then, please, our grand finale, Sir Shishido, get in the car yourself."
Shishido gave him a disdainful look, and instead of going up the ramp, he easily jumped onto the vehicle, hooked the door of a cage with his front foot, and walked in with his head held high.
That's right, Lion Shishido finally succumbed to the "it's actually good" phenomenon and decided to appear on the show.
While Jilan, Ogami, and Takahiro were conducting combat training, Shishido watched coldly from his cage. Later, he couldn't stand it anymore and jumped out of the cage on his own, saying that Ogami and the others' turn-based training was not very useful. In a life-or-death battle, the enemy wouldn't wait for you to get into position before attacking.
Shishido is a warlike lion. It is said that he was picked up by the zookeeper after failing to become the leader of the pride. After they met, they fought, and he lost to the zookeeper before coming to live in this zoo.
Seeing Jilan and the others training, he couldn't resist his urge to join in, so he stepped forward to offer guidance. Jilan then asked him to help train her, Shishido, Jilan had been waiting for this, readily agreed and pounced on her.
Later, when the park director came for a walk, he saw Shishido standing with his hands on his hips, smiling smugly as he watched Jilan sprawled on the ground. The director snapped at him, and in a fit of Rage, Shishido made a bet with the director: if the director fought him right now and won, he would decide to participate in the circus performance.
However, the principal refused, saying that his time was very precious and he didn't have time to waste on him...
They glared at each other for a while, then simultaneously turned their gaze to Jilan —if Jilan could last five minutes in the actual sparring match with Shishido before tomorrow's performance, Shishido would have to participate.
This was a bet between the two of them.
The final result was obvious. The headmaster hooked his arm around Jilan's neck and said with a smile, "Look at that lion, it looks like a dog."
Like a dog? Jilan didn't think so. He touched his arm, which was still aching slightly, and sighed. Actually, Shishido had shown mercy. He hadn't unleashed his sharp claws, but instead used his powerful palm to strike Jilan. Although it hurt, Jilan didn't suffer many external injuries.
In other words, he actually wanted to participate in the event, but he was embarrassed because of his pride. The principal had actually seen through this long ago, otherwise he wouldn't have tacitly allowed him to use his training methods to give him the opportunity to go on stage. His mockery at this point was just to vent his frustration.
What an awkward pair of people...
The first vehicle is a fully enclosed carriage, used for smaller animals like lions and wolves. The second vehicle is an open-top carriage, for taller animals like elephants and rhinoceroses.
Everyone was on the bus. The zoo director slammed the gates of the Oumagadoki Zoo shut, then leaped onto the back of the open-top truck. Sitting there, holding a carrot, he raised his arms and shouted, "Oumagadoki Circus, let's go!"
News of the Hero Killer has spread throughout the country. Even Yaoyorozu, who is extremely busy at Work-Study Program, has heard about it. She feels a little regretful; a lot has happened these past few days, but she's still filming programs for the TV station every day...
Yaoyorozu couldn't help but chuckle bitterly, recalling how she had stood behind the Snake Woman, striking poses and even filming on stage. She hadn't come here to be a star...
The Snake Woman didn't assign Momo Yaoyorozu and Itsuka Kendo solely because of their youth and beauty; of course, that situation does exist. However, she is also a Pro Hero, and after finishing her day's work, she still fulfills her duties by patrolling the streets with Yaoyorozu and Kendo.
However, in Yaoyorozu's view, they were more like strolling around. After some citizens saw her and exclaimed in surprise, the Snake Woman would always greet them with a smile, and the scene was quite lively at one point.
"Yaoyorozu-chan, you should know that being approachable is a very important aspect for Pro Hero." Seeing that Yaoyorozu wasn't very interested, the Snake Woman turned and asked, "Do you know about the Hero Killer?"
Although Yaoyorozu didn't understand why the Snake Woman would suddenly bring this up, she nodded. "I have several classmates who were even involved..."
"Have you seen that video? Even I, a Pro Hero, have to admit that some of his words were very impactful, let alone ordinary people?" Snake Woman's eyes held a hint of gloom, but she quickly smiled. "Although he's been arrested, his ideas have already spread. At this time, greeting the people can alleviate their anxiety." Snake Woman said softly, "Making people smile is also part of what Pro Hero should do."
"To make the people laugh, just like All Might...!" Yaoyorozu suddenly realized that there was a reason why the Snake Woman was doing this! She nodded heavily, "Senpai, I understand what to do!"
"You've both worked really hard..." The Snake Woman suddenly smiled knowingly, "As a way to relax, I'll take you two to a fun place tonight."