VS The Park's Crisis, Part 1

"…Haah… I was going to scold you as soon as you'd come back… But since you manage to recruit Moose and Lion, I'll let it slide." professor shrugged her shoulders as she watched Lion and Kaban shake hands.

"Oh yeah, even the ever level-headed Professor was so worried that she paced restlessly back n' forth. You should be happy that they're safe, rather than be angry."

"Y-You should keep those comments to yourself!" Gray Wolf smirked as if she got some good reference material at Professor, who flapped her wings in annoyance.

"She's right~ There wasn't anything we could do besides just waiting till the end, so let's not be so uptight~"

"Nanoda! Let's not get hung up on the little things and be happy that everyone's safe noda!"

"Though, Arai-san, telling African Wild Dog-san the wrong direction was a no-no~"

"Fueh!? But Arai-san told you to not bring that up…!"

Fennec pretended to not notice Common Raccoon raising her eyebrows. Seeing them try to break the cold atmosphere made Lion stretch out and smile with a peace of mind.

"Sorry for making you worry about us."

"I'm sorry too for being selfish!"

"Then, I've got to apologize for causing trouble for sure~"

Imitating Kaban, who bowed first, Serval hurriedly bent forward. And so did Lion.

"I-I get it! Just think things over from now on." Clearing her throat, Profesor pulled herself together and straightened out her angered face.

"From now on, huh… Actually, what even caused this whole affair? If there's anyone who's behind all of this, then we should hurry up and charge right at them." Not changing her attitude about rushing in headstrong despite her injuries, Moose raised her fist while leaning on a bookshelf.

"—I'm worried about what's happening over at my castle… From what I've heard from Moose, I've wounded one of my subordinates back there. That means that she, Aurochs, has also gone wild just like I did." Albeit Lion spoke in a calm tone, Moose didn't miss how she channeled strength into her fists.

Moose wasn't surprised. No one would hate having their companions be wounded as much as she did. And thinking about how she herself had hurt them and made them go wild must've made her uneasy. She's here because she promised that she'd cooperate with everyone in the Library, but she definitely has the desire to just break away and check up on her companions.

—After all, so did Moose. However…

"Worry not! If it's them, then they'll perform perfectly without a doubt, even in the face of a crisis. I say this because, after all, they're your and mine subordinates." She was believing in them, not just praying for them. A bigger priority was the Park's crisis. "You've got to believe in everyone. That's first and foremost."

"…Right." Sighing, Lion nodded her head.

Watching the back and forth between Moose and Lion, African Wild Dog suddenly raised her voice as if she just came up with something.

"Umm, if you're worried about the Plains Area, why don't we ask Boss about it?"

Being unable to understand the meaning behind her words, Lion and Moose knitted their eyebrows. Kaban, meanwhile, was the opposite.

"Right…! Since Lucky-sans can still communicate with each other even when they're not near—"

"He can learn what's happening at the fortress from the Boss in the Plains Area noda!"

Common Raccoon, who figured out what Kaban's murmurs were getting at, picked up the Lucky Beast with a chipped ear, which had been silently staring at Lion.

"Boss! Erm, what was it…? Transmitting with the Boss of the Plains Area noda!"

[…]

Looking eye to eye, Common Raccoon called out to the Lucky Beast. There was no reaction, and likewise, no reply.

"Fueeh… Arai-san got completely ignored noda… Was the whole 'they can speak with Friends now' thing just a lie noda…?"

"Huh? But this one normally spoke to me though." Saying that, Serval turned to Boss. It moved as if tilting its head.

[Currently, only I have the permission to directly interfere with Friends. If Kaban approves it, then that Lucky Beast over there will also be allowed to interfere with Friends.]

"Oh, then please. If we could speak to both of you, then we'd be able to achieve more."

As if in response to Kaban's words, Boss looked up at the Lucky Beast in Common Raccoon's arms. Boss' eyes lit up in a rainbow, and in response, so did the chipped ear's. In no time, the chipped ear Lucky Beast's tail twitched and it began speaking.

[The no interfering with Friends restriction has been lifted. —Common Raccoon, commencing transmission with the Lucky Beast from the Plains Area.]

"WHOAAAAAAH! HE TALKED NODA!" Reacting in the same way Serval did upon witnessing Boss speak for the first time, Common Raccoon accidentally dropped the chipped ear Lucky Beast to the floor.

"What are you even surprised about at this point~?" In response to Fennec who spoke in a somewhat surprised voice while helping up the dropped Lucky Beast, Common Raccoon coughed into her balled up fist.

"…Ahem. Boss! Err, there already is one Boss noda. Uhhhh…"

The two Lucky Beasts looked at each other, and then the chipped eared one looked up at Common Raccoon.

[…Then, you can refer to me as (Number 2). Us Lucky Beasts automatically rank the Lucky Beasts that cooperate with Park Guides higher than themselves.]

"Oho… Arai-san didn't really get what you said… But got it nanoda! Then, as a sign of our acquaintance, you can call Arai-san 'Arai-san' noda!"

Observing the exchange between Common Raccoon and Boss Number 2, Kaban thought how it should be alright for her to call her "Arai-san" too. Noticing that Lion, Moose, and Professor were staring at Common Raccoon with an indescribable expression, Kaban hurriedly asked her for something in a whisper.

"A-Arai-san… Can we do the transmission?"

"Awawa right noda! Boss Number 2, transmitting please! We wanna know what's happening at the uhh… castle!"

[Leave it to me. I will find out what is happening to the Friends by the castle from a Lucky Beast near it.] Saying so, Boss Number 2's eyes lit up in a rainbow and it fell into silence.

As for Boss, it gazed at Lion and Moose like those two stared at Boss Number 2. Finally, Boss Number 2 let out a pitiable ringing sound and its eyes stopped shining.

[—The Lucky Beasts that were supposed to be in the vicinity of the Castle could not be found. Because of that, the state of the castle is unknown. It appears that I will have to instruct a Lucky Beast further away to investigate.]

Upon hearing Boss Number 2's words, Kaban's mind thought back to the figures of the mangled Lucky Beasts. Most likely, they were the Lucky Beasts that were nearby the fortress.

"I see…"

"Then, could you request that Lucky Beast further away to go there?"

Seeing as Lion lowered her head while tightly clasping her fists, Moose issued commands to Boss Number 2 without delay.

[As mobilising other Lucky Beasts is a privilege of higher-ranked Lucky Beasts, please ask the Lucky Beast over there.]

Following Boss Number 2's line of sight, they turned towards Boss. It twitched a little and puffed up its chest a little as if being prideful.

[Leave it to me. Giving instructions to the Lucky Beasts in the Plains Area. As the distance is considerable, we will find out about the situation in the castle at dawn at the earliest.]

"At dawn, huh…"

As soon as Boss began transmission, it fell silent and began making electronic sounds. Growing anxious, Lion began speaking to herself.

"There's nothing we can do about this. Rather, I should be delighted that I'll know what's happening at dawn. Getting back there on foot would've taken more time."

"…That's right. You shouldn't be wasting your breath on those words." Professor continued while Lion tried to mask her feelings with a smile. "First of all, even if you want to go out now, you're all exhausted. Completely worn-out, in fact. Have you realized that?"

At those words, everyone who took part in combat looked at each other. The fact that Moose was unable to move was absolutely obvious, everyone had their fur covered in mud and rainwater, and everyone's expressions showed exhaustion.

"In any case, we cannot advance if everyone's in tatters. What you need to do next is to rest." While saying this, Professor walked up to a desk, put a cloth on it, and set Japari Buns next to it. "I prepared this while we were waiting. Use this cloth to wipe yourselves, eat something, and then get some sleep till daybreak. I'll act as the night watch."

…

Everyone scrubbed the filth off of themselves and their clothes to take a rest that they missed out on as per what Professor told them to do. Lion, stroking her neck, spoke to Kaban, who was helping Serval get cleaned.

"Kaban, can you take this off? My mane's getting in the way and I can't see it, and I don't even know how to get it off…"

"Ah, right! Let me detach it."

Kaban hastily took off the collar that she had left on Lion. The Amulet Stone attached to it seemed to have darkened somewhat.

"Now that I think about it, have you used an Amulet Stone on Moose yet?" Professor asked while watching Common Raccoon and Fennec help Moose clean herself.

"No… Not yet."

"Is that so…? Although she hasn't gone into Instinctive Frenzy yet, she definitely has absorbed some amount of Sandstar Raw with that wound, and will absorb some more in the future. Lend me that stone."

Kaban handed the Amulet Stone together with the collar to Professor, who presented her hand. The two Bosses, who had been observing that exchange, approached the two.

[—May you allow me to examine that stone? I may be able to find out something about it.]

"Lucky-san…?" Now that it spoke, Kaban had realized that Boss had been staring at the Amulet Stone attached to Lion this entire time.

[Analysis of Sandstar Raw is necessary for finding the culprit behind Instinctive Frenzies. As that stone has succinctly gathered up Sandstar Raw, it's perfect for an analysis.]

Next to Boss, who had been hopping up and down while speaking, Boss Number 2 was wagging its tail.

[For a long time, I was interested in investigating those stones that the two owls have been storing here too. It is interesting to see something that was impossible for the researchers at the Park to achieve, that being the technology to seal a large concentration of Sandstar Raw.] Boss Number 2 looked up at Professor as if it could finally ask about something that it was interested in now that the no interfering rule had been lifted.

"Oh… Oh…! Seems like Boss is well aware of how smart we are. Fine. I'll accompany you through it. Together, we'll find the culprit behind Instinctive Frenzies."

[We would like to also analyze Moose before the Sandstar Raw is siphoned out of her. We will investigate how Sandstar Raw behaves inside of a Friend's body—]

After exchanging difficult words with the two Bosses, Professor walked back to Moose. From behind, you could tell that she was happy to have found a substitute for Assistant.

"Professor and the Bosses are truly amazing. I absolutely can't understand what they're saying."

An expression of sincere admiration could be seen on Serval's face as she combed her hair. Perhaps since the tension in her body had left her, Kaban smiled at her while suppressing a yawn.

"In any case, how about we go to sleep? I'm pooped."

"Yeah. I'm completely exhausted too…"

"Just no sneaking off to somewhere while I'm asleep." Kaban held her hand out to Serval.

"Yea… I-I won't…" Serval, drooping her ears out of self-reflection, took her hand.

—And thus, the long night had ended. The downpour had finally ceased and the Sun had begun to peek through the clouded sky.

The darkness that enveloped the Park had lifted. The Park's crisis, which had been hidden in the darkness, was in full view. Just a little bit more and it'll become clear to everyone.

A new day had begun. Could it be a sign of hope? Or perhaps of the end? Everyone had yet to find out.

Hello, this is PoGu. It's honestly quite easy to forget that up to this point, this whole story was happening in a single day. Also, this is the longest chapter yet.

Anyway, since FF doesn't like any kind of link anywhere, I'll instead leave directions on how to find the original work.

First method is to search for "「けもの」の本能" and find the link that leads you to a Japanese site called "kakuyomu".

Alternatively, you can go to the kakuyomu site and add "/works/1177354054882921926" to the domain.