Journey to Planar World

”The zoo...?”

Mahiru turned away from the large sign near the entrance gate, then looked at Charlie with eyes that blinked in confusion.

Before them, the silhouette replicas of wild animals and a sturdy green iron gate stood to welcome them.

”Yes. Why? Do you not like the zoo?” Charlie asked casually while putting both of his hands into his jacket pockets.

”No, it’s not like that.” Mahiru shook her head gently, her fingers gripping the strap of her sling bag awkwardly. ”It’s just... it has been a very long time since I last visited a zoo. The last time I went to a place like this was during an elementary school field trip back then.”

Hearing Mahiru’s nostalgic yet slightly melancholy recount, Charlie smiled thinly.

He stepped behind the girl, then pushed her shoulders gently toward the ticket counter queue, which looked deserted.

”Since you don’t mind, let’s go in. Just think of it as a private field trip to refresh your head.”

After queuing for a moment and buying two admission tickets, they passed through the self-service inspection gate and began to stroll into the conservation area.

Zoos in Japan have a very distinctive atmosphere compared to zoos in Indonesia.

Instead of a vast expanse of wild land with lush tropical vegetation, the zoos here are arranged very neatly, efficiently, clean without a single piece of trash, and combine modern architecture with a characteristic Japanese garden landscape.

The enclosures are designed in such a way using high-grade thick transparent glass, allowing visitors to view the animals’ behavior from a very close yet perfectly safe distance.

”Wow... it’s so clean.”

Charlie was fascinated as they walked along the pedestrian path surrounded by shady trees.

The aroma of wet leaves and clean air instantly greeted their sense of smell.

The first area they visited was the large mammal zone.

Behind a thick glass wall, a giant polar bear was swimming nimbly inside a clear water pool adjusted to the temperature of its original habitat.

”Charlie-kun, look! He’s so big, but his movements in the air-clear water are so graceful.” Mahiru exclaimed with a twinkle in her eyes that was gradually coming back to life.

She pressed her face closer to the glass, watching the bear patting its toy plastic ball.

”Polar bears are indeed great swimmers.” Charlie stood beside Mahiru while enjoying the view of the girl’s side profile, which was starting to shape into a genuine smile. ”But don’t be fooled by his cute face when playing with the ball. In the wild, they are highly vicious apex predators.”

”I know that.” Mahiru pouted slightly, glancing at him with the adorable remnants of her competitive nature. ”I read encyclopedias too, you know.”

They then continued their steps toward the main icon of most large zoos in Japan: the Giant Panda conservation area.

In Japan, pandas are highly beloved animals and are always the center of national attention.

Sure enough, even though Tokyo’s atmosphere was currently tense, the area outside the panda enclosure still attracted the attention of several visiting families bringing their children.

Inside a semi-open enclosure filled with miniature bamboo trees, a chubby panda was sitting back relaxedly while chewing a young bamboo stalk with a highly lazy and indifferent expression.

Seeing that sight, Charlie suddenly remembered something. He snorted with amusement and murmured softly, ”Seeing the way he eats and his lazy sitting position like that... for some reason, this black-and-white furry creature reminds me of someone who lives next door to our apartment.”

Mahiru initially knitted her brows in confusion upon hearing Charlie’s murmur. However, a second later, her intelligent brain instantly caught the meaning of the sarcasm.

The image of Amane sitting cross-legged in a lazy state in front of his PS5 monitor in the middle of his messy room flashed right through her head.

”Pfft—”

Mahiru spontaneously covered her mouth with her palm, trying to hold back the laughter that almost burst from her lips. Her eyes narrowed, forming beautiful crescents.

”Charlie-kun, that is very impolite. But... I cannot deny that there is a similarity in terms of his laziness.”

”Right, isn’t it?” Charlie chuckled, glad to see Mahiru finally able to laugh freely, away from the burden of her thoughts.

Their journey continued to a more interactive area, namely the tame animal area.

Here, the concept of a Japanese zoo felt truly different.

Visitors are allowed to enter a special zone to interact directly, feed, and pet small animals like capybaras—which are highly popular in Japan due to their hobby of soaking in hot springs—as well as rabbits and pygmy goats.

Mahiru was initially hesitant to step inside, but a plump capybara with a super calm face suddenly walked up near the tip of her shoe, then sat silently as if asking for attention.

”He’s not afraid of humans?” she asked hesitantly, looking at Charlie as if asking for permission.

”Capybaras are one of the friendliest and most patient animals on this planet.” Charlie explained, taking a handful of special pellet grass from a coin dispenser box nearby and then giving it to Mahiru. ”Try feeding them, they really like it.”

Mahiru accepted the animal food, then slowly knelt on the grass. With highly gentle movements, she offered the pellets in front of the capybara’s mouth.

The animal chewed it relaxedly, making the small whiskers on its nose twitch cutely.

Mahiru gathered her courage to extend her other hand to stroke the coarse fur on the capybara’s back.

”Their fur turns out to be a bit stiff, like a brush.” Her eyes sparkled with joy when the capybara instead closed its eyes, enjoying her stroking.

As he watched Mahiru stroking the capybara with full affection, Charlie’s memory suddenly spun back to the visuals of brutal wounds and seeping blood from the hospital tragedy they witnessed the day before yesterday. The contrast between that bloody dystopia and the peace before his eyes right now felt so real.

This was the reason why he insisted on bringing Mahiru out.

A soul wounded by witnessing death cannot be healed merely with motivational words or the confinement of a quiet room; that soul must be warmed up again by seeing the existence of other remnants of life that are pure, peaceful, and innocent in this world.

”How is it?” Charlie asked softly, joining her to squat beside Mahiru. ”Are your feelings much better?”

Mahiru stopped her hand movements for a moment. She looked at the capybara in front of her, then slowly turned her head to look at Charlie.

The morning sunlight piercing through the gaps in the leaves fell right on top of her beautiful face, giving off a warm glow of light.

”Yes...” Mahiru nodded gently, a long sigh of relief escaping her chest, as if releasing most of the heavy boulder that had temporarily clogged her heart. ”Thank you, Charlie-kun. I just realized... this world indeed has many horrific sides, but... seeing these creatures living peacefully makes me realize that there are still many precious things we must continue to protect.”

Charlie smiled with satisfaction, patting Mahiru’s head gently before rising to stand. ”It’s good if you understand. Come on, our journey is still long. There’s still the underwater aquarium area and the owl enclosure that we haven’t seen.”

”Ah, wait for me, Charlie-kun!” Mahiru rushed to stand, dusting off a bit of dirt from her dress, then took quick steps to catch up with Charlie with a warm smile that had now fully returned to adorn the Angel’s face.

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