"Your father is still quite popular. I wonder if there is a fan club or something even."
Just before leaving, Cyril thought of an idea and turned towards Alfred.
If I ask them, they'll probably answer.
"About the fan club?"
Of course not...
"Why do you interrogate people who've been in the zoo?"
"I think it's fine to tell you-"
"Alfred!" Flynn interrupted, sending a threatening glare towards his comrade.
"What? Thornes are a family of heroes! Don't listen to Orwin's nonsense."
"Tsk. Do what you want." Flynn clicked his tongue and stormed out of the room, his presence no longer necessary.
"Don't mind him. He's still young." The mage in a dark robe slowly shook his head with a helpless smile.
With this out of the way, Alfred cleared his throat and began whispering. "This zoo had a plethora of eerie magic creatures, their abilities as terrifying as they are varied."
"Like vampires who partially caused this mess. They have the ability to transform others into their kind. If left unchecked, this could lead to terrifying consequences."
"But aside from them, there are creatures that mimic humans, parasites, viruses, and other nasty things that attach themselves to humans."
"Tsk tsk, when I imagine how much work for us this will cause..." The mage in a dark robe sighed, his face infinitely tired.
"Exactly. So we would like to prevent this work by catching all of the nasty creatures here before they manage to spread."
"And how successful do you think you are?" Cyril asked.
Their faces grew helpless.
"...We've done all we can. I am sure you understand, but don't spread this information. We don't want chaos to erupt in the city."
"I see."
"If this is such a big issue, why did they let it happen in the first place? Cosmas said the knights were here well before things went down."
I don't think they will answer this one.
"...And what about the snake? How did it appear here?"
Alfred's face experienced a very brief change. An almost imperceptible spark in his eyes that soon disappeared.
"That's the question, isn't it? How could the zoo secretly bring in something so dangerous?"
The robed mage remained quiet, his gaze moving to the book on his knees.
...Or this one.
"Hmm."
...
"I never knew the zoo had creatures of that sort as well! Parasites, viruses, mimics, hope we get to see them..."
"Oh! I wonder how the mimic will react if we copy it? Mimic the mimic, hehe."
We'll try it if we get the chance.
Cyril finally left the makeshift interrogation room and went into some waiting room near the backdoor of the building.
Here, the people from his group sat surrounded by soldiers, waiting for him this whole time.
Rose was reading through her notebook, while Myra sat near her with an empty expression.
Cedric was talking to the guards with a friendly smile, while Anna tried to make herself unnoticeable near him.
As he walked closer, their eyes all landed on him, as well as the knight that walked behind him.
"Young heroes, you are free to go!"
Something changed in his demeanor from the last time they saw him. Suddenly he appeared almost friendlier.
"Remember, if you have any problems, come to the tower and look for Alfred. If I am available, then I will definitely help."
Cedric immediately got up and walked up to him.
"Thank you, sir... Can you tell us what will happen to the zoo from now on?"
"That's yet to be decided. We'll wait for the answer from the Tower."
"Leave that to us for now, all right? Once you graduate, you'll have plenty of trouble to help us with, I am sure."
After briefly saying goodbye, the group finally left the building through the backdoor.
It was already evening outside, with the moon slowly rising.
The giant walls of the zoo, visible even from here, appeared incredibly quiet, as if no dangerous serpent were dwelling inside.
Some people casually walked on the street, fear completely absent from their faces. Some wore tired expressions as they sat on the benches and caught their breath.
It was families who stood gathered together talking about what they just went through and making sure everyone was fine.
It seems these were other visitors of the park, still lingering near for now.
As a few of them noticed the new arrivals, their eyes lit up, and a kid pointed excitedly at Cyril.
"It's Mr. Knight!"
"…!"
It turned out the people he rescued were also here. They stared at him with gratitude and thanked him repeatedly. The kid from before even ran up and gave him some bent fake money from the zoo, saying it was his reward.
Cyril accepted it. The tiger cub on his shoulder hid behind his head, evading all the enthusiastic stares. Even Morpho flew up, staying out of their reach.
Due to the commotion, other people started paying attention to them.
"Look, it's that black-haired young man!" Someone pointed to Cedric, and his own group walked up to him, thanking him.
Cedric waved to them in a familiar manner, his smile becoming brighter.
"Look! It's that violent girl!" Someone pointed at Myra. A bunch of kids whose eyes lit up as if seeing their idol.
"Violent…?" Myra's smile twitched, her eyes becoming more tired.
"Ha!"
No one seemed to notice Anna or Rose. They stood content to the side, observing what looked like a fan meet-up with calm eyes.
Quickly dealing with the people, the group escaped.
They walked, discussing their encounters and what they saw. Cedric stared at Cyril with a wider smile than ever, a look that screamed 'I knew it.'
Despite the incident, the group's mood was high.
At least, Cyril felt his mood was higher than usual.
"Being in the spotlight is really suitable for us! Finally some appreciation!" Rhamn nodded with her red eyes sparkling.
"The knight's behavior changed quite a bit... He even answered some of my questions. What happened in that room?" Cedric asked as everyone else finished talking.
"They knew my father," Cyril said without hiding anything.
"That would explain it. Lucky for us!"
"Speaking of... why is there such an investigation for people leaving the park?" Rose said with confusion.
"They are checking to see if any magic creature is attached to people," Myra casually revealed what knights wanted to keep secret. "Some of them have dangerous abilities when brought into a populated area."
A certain spark appeared in Rose's eyes. She was clearly interested in finding out more.
"Let's just go to a hotel already," Myra said, too tired to indulge her. She had enough unforeseen events for today. Somehow it just kept happening, leaving her with bad thoughts.
"Does anyone know where Edmund is?" suddenly said Cyril.
Before this, he completely forgot Edmund even came with them to the zoo. Looking at the faces around him, he wasn't the only one with such a problem.
"Who would care to remember someone as cowardly as him?"
Everyone turned to face Anna, who was the last person to see him.
She shrank a little, whispering a reply. "I don't know, we separated early on... He must've been evacuated by now, right?"
"The hotel is close. Let's check it."
Seeing Cyril so calm, the other people didn't worry too much as well.
They've said goodbye to Cedric and Anna and started walking towards the hotel.
It turns out there really was no reason to worry.
The moment they entered the building, the first thing they saw was the nervous Edmund sitting on the couch in the corner.
"Thank Gods you are fine!" Upon seeing them, he sprang to his feet and approached.
"What took you so long?"
Cyril had half-expected him to be missing. He'd even begun forming a plan to sneak back into the zoo.
"That would've been fun..."
"We took our time to enjoy the zoo," said Cyril.
"Enjoy the zoo..." Edmund repeated, the corner of his eye twitching as if he had heard the most ridiculous joke in his life.
"This place has been a complete fiasco."
...
They've caught up with one another, and soon everyone went to their own rooms. It had been dark outside for a long time already. They were tired and wanted to sleep.
Cyril quickly washed up and dropped on the luxurious bed, staring at the ceiling in thought.
Morpho and Tigris, of course, soon joined him.
Looking at the carefree tiger cub curled up on the bed without any distracting thoughts, Cyril didn't know what to do with him.
Making another person bleed indefinitely because you were a bit upset is not a normal thing to do.
Rhamn lay sideways on the bed, staring at him without saying anything.
Tigris also lacks any and all guilt for what he did, I can feel it. He just doesn't care.
The tiger cub's tail swayed a little as he twisted a little for a more comfortable position.
Cyril tried having a talk with him once they'd been here on their own, but Tigris was only scared of the tone of his voice, completely disregarding the message.
And looking into his tear-filled eyes, he didn't have the heart to continue.
...Maybe I am too soft?
Immediately education plans began forming in his mind. And with each thought, Rhamn's face nearby became more panicked.
"No, no, no. You are too hard on him!"
Don't be ridiculous. You want him to become a waste.
Cyril sent her a glare, but Rhamn's red eyes didn't yield. She sat up straight and crossed her arms.
"Anyways, why should he feel guilty over harming some human? Even if he killed her, I don't think it's anything big."
What?
"What? That's just how we are. It's in our nature."
Rhamn shrugged, her voice as if talking about some mundane fact of life.
"Consider Morpho too. Back during our zoo trip, she really wanted to beat up all those visitors who tried to approach her. She didn't do so, not because she cares about their safety, but because that would've soured the trip."
The frown on his face deepened.
No, that's because of your influence.
"My influence?!"
Yes. Perhaps if you didn't enable their worst aspects, they wouldn't be like this.
Rhamn scoffed, her red eyes narrowing down.
"Don't pretend like you are different. I know you don't care about humans either. The real reason you are trying to act good now is because during childhood you poisoned your mind with all those storybooks about knights."
Cyril froze. He instinctively wanted to ask how she knew he read those stories as a child, then remembered she could read his mind.
A smirk immediately appeared on Rhamn's face, the sight evoking frustration mixed with some embarrassment.
"Tsk."
"I saved people today! Don't try to say I am on your level. You are far worse," he even said out loud.
Tigris rolled over in his sleep, and Morpho twitched her wings, affected by the noise.
Immediately both of them froze, not daring to speak.
"Don't wake them up!"
For some reason even Rhamn began whispering.
I know.
They remained still, making sure that the butterfly and the tiger continued sleeping.
…So, even with your arrogance, hostility, and distrust influencing me, I am still saving people. Don't put me on your level.
"Is that so?"
Yes.
Rhamn quietly scoffed.
"But I think you are actually more arrogant than me."
What?
"Yes. You heard it."
"Maybe you are influencing me! Maybe my arrogance is only there because of your deep-seated pride! I am just not a hypocrite, so it looks worse."
"After all, it was you whom Selene warned, and today you've even disregarded her words, still diving headfirst into danger. What gave you the courage to pursue those magic creatures if not arrogance?"
"..."
He remained silent, thinking of many things but failing to find a proper response. Suddenly he felt her words made sense.
Cyril relaxed on the bed and stared at the expensive wood on the ceiling, feeling somewhat numb.
Rhamn's smirk soon disappeared. She lay back down, staring at him with hesitation.
Soon, a certain warmth spread on Cyril's chest. It felt just like being hugged, even if no one was there.
"I mean, don't get me wrong. I personally don't think it's a bad quality. In fact-"
Do you really think our nature is unchangeable?
"...I think there is no need to change it."
Today's events played out in his head as he dissected all that happened. A feeling of regret washed over him as the images of all the animals they've examined flashed in his mind.
He was somewhat dismissive of the magic creatures, thinking himself superior. He didn't change at all.
However, soon his thoughts reached the fight between Lioleus and the griffin. How the two of them battled while Myra balanced on top of the wyvern's back.
Suddenly, relief washed over him, leaving him somewhat dazed. He felt like a person who fell into a dark pit, only to find that pit to be ankle-deep, with soft bedding at the bottom.
Involuntarily, a subtle smile emerged on his face.
When we encountered Lioleus, Morpho flew out on her own to save Myra. Why would she do that?
"...I don't know. She just felt like joining the fight. You wanted that too."
No, she clearly wanted to save Myra. That doesn't really go along with your theory,does it? She cared about Myra.
"Myra is just a perplexing exception."
Then, we'll make more exceptions.
Besides, I didn't explore the zoo because I underestimated the magic creatures. I did it because Cosmas made it clear he was observing me...maybe still does.
It's not arrogance, it's knowledge. I knew I would be fine.
As his mood improved, Rhamn's face gained a pout.
And Tigris and Morpho are both young. I just need to teach them properly and show them more.
"Hmph. We'll see. Don't be too disappointed when your hopes aren't met." She turned around as the warmth left, leaving her back to him. Though she didn't disappear.
With their domestic dispute finished, Cyril glanced at the coin lying on top of the cupboard. It was bent and had a cute tiger engraved on it.
We'll get better, all of us.