I Built a Divine Zoo in Another World

Aurora covered the last few meters at a run and let out a long, suffering sigh when she saw the cage in her son’s hands.

”First that giant ant...” she began, her voice weary.

”And now a spider? Lukas, I truly don’t know what to do with you.”

She crouched beside him, examining the cage with obvious concern. Her violet eyes traveled over the metal bars, the spider inside, the glossy black body.

”It’s not venomous, is it?” she asked, her voice rising.

”What if it bites you? What if it’s dangerous? What if...”

”Mom,” Lukas interrupted calmly.

”The vendor said the venom paralyzes, it doesn’t kill.”

”PARALYZES?” Aurora put a hand over her mouth.

”I’m not going to let it bite me.”

”What if it bites you by accident? What if you touch it without realizing?”

Lukas looked at his mother with innocent eyes, so innocent they almost seemed to shine, and lied naturally.

”It doesn’t have strong venom. It won’t hurt me.”

Aurora frowned suspiciously.

”Are you sure?”

”I am.”

He wasn’t. But he decided he would figure that out later, at home, calmly.

Clavor, who had been watching the scene with crossed arms a few steps behind, chuckled quietly. He walked over and placed a large hand on his wife’s shoulder.

”Let the boy be, Aurora,” he said, his voice calm and amused.

”He seems to know what he’s doing. And I gave him the coin. If he wants a spider, let him have one.”

”You’re not helping,” Aurora said, looking at her husband with an expression that said exactly that.

”I am. I’m being an understanding father.”

”You’re being a very permissive father.”

”Almost the same thing.”

Aurora sighed.

She looked at Lukas, then at the spider inside the cage, then back at Lukas.

”Fine...” she finally said, defeated.

”But if it bites you, I’m taking it away. I’ll release it into the forest. I’ll return it to the vendor. I’ll...”

”It won’t bite me, Mom. I promise.”

”You can’t promise that.”

”Yes, I can. I’m good with animals.”

Aurora sighed again.

’This boy...’

Lukas smiled, satisfied, and showed the cage to Judite, who was hiding behind their mother.

”Look, Judite,” he said, lifting the cage.

”It’s our new friend.”

Judite jumped backward with a sharp squeal.

”NO!” She pointed at the spider with a trembling finger.

”It’s ugly! It has too many legs! Too many! Count the legs, Lukas! There are eight! Eight legs!”

”I know. Spiders have eight legs. That’s normal.”

”That’s not normal! They’re horrible.”

Lukas laughed, amused by his sister’s fear.

”It won’t hurt you. Look how shiny it is.” He slowly moved the cage closer to her.

”Look at the colors. The glossy black. The silver hairs.”

Judite took another step back.

”I don’t want to look.”

”Just a little.”

”NO.”

Lukas sighed.

”Fine. Don’t look. But it’s going to live in my room. You won’t have to see it if you don’t want to.”

Judite looked relieved.

”Okay.”

After several more conversations, with Aurora still grumbling about ”venom” and ”danger,” Clavor reassuring her with ”he’s smart, he won’t do anything foolish,” and Judite keeping her distance from the cage, the family finally accepted Lukas’s new ”friend.”

He was radiant.

The smile on his face wouldn’t disappear. He carried the cage with both hands, his small fingers wrapped around the metal bars, his violet eyes glued to the spider inside.

Now he had Tilbo, his first friend, the metallic ant that had come from nowhere and never left.

And now a spider. A Silver Thread Venom Spider. A rare species, valuable, full of secrets waiting to be discovered.

’Two creatures. Two friends.’

’And the zoo hasn’t even started yet.’

They spent the rest of the day exploring the city.

They walked through the Central Market, the one Lukas had seen from the carriage on the first day, with hundreds of stalls, colorful tents, and a crowd so dense that it would have been easy to get lost.

Aurora bought more fabrics, rolls of fine linen, colored cotton, and soft wool for winter. She also bought spices Lukas had never seen before. Red, yellow, and green powders, some with sweet scents, others with strong, almost spicy aromas.

Clavor bought new tools for the manor, hammers, shovels, nails, and a new fine-toothed saw. He said he needed to repair the stable before winter.

Judite received more ribbons for her hair, blue, green, yellow, and pink, as well as a small silver-framed hand mirror, which she refused to let go of afterward.

Lukas simply observed.

He observed merchants shouting offers, bargaining with customers, and counting coins. People negotiating, laughing, arguing. Pets being sold at other stalls, birds in cages, rabbits in boxes.

Tilbo rested inside his pocket.

The spider remained in the cage, which Lukas refused to hand over to anyone else.

They didn’t return to the inn until the sun was already setting, painting the sky orange and purple.

The city was calmer. Merchants were closing their stalls, storing their goods in chests and wagons. The streets were less crowded, and the noise had faded into a low murmur.

Lukas was still carrying the cage.

His hands ached, his arms were tired, but he didn’t complain. He didn’t let go of the cage for even a moment. The spider sat inside, motionless, its black eyes reflecting the light of the setting sun.

’It seems... calm.’

’Different from what I imagined.’

Back in the room, after a light dinner of vegetable soup, bread with butter, and fruit tea, the family prepared for bed.

Judite fell asleep almost immediately. The girl was exhausted, the Awakening, the shopping, the sightseeing, the fear of the spider. She wrapped herself in the blankets and was asleep within minutes, snoring softly.

Clavor and Aurora spoke quietly about their plans for the following day. They would leave early. They needed to get home before nightfall.

Lukas lay down in the bed beside Judite.

He placed the spider’s cage on the small table next to him, right beside his bedside.

Tilbo was nestled on his pillow, her metallic body shining faintly. She moved her antennae toward the cage, as if inspecting the new companion.

”Tomorrow we’ll study her properly, Tilbo,” Lukas whispered, keeping his voice low so he wouldn’t wake Judite.

”We’re going to discover a lot of new things. What she eats, how she behaves, how much venom she produces, when she starts weaving silver threads...”

Tilbo slowly moved her antennae.

”Will you help?”

Another movement of the antennae. Lukas smiled.

He looked at the spider inside the cage. The creature was motionless, but its eyes, those eight glossy black eyes, were fixed on him.

”I’m going to give you a name,” he whispered.

”Tomorrow. When we’re home. Then you’ll have a name just like Tilbo.”

He didn’t know if the spider understood.

”Sleep well,” he said.

The spider slowly moved one leg. Lukas closed his eyes. The trip was turning out even better than he could have imagined.

And tomorrow, they would return to the manor. Home.

’I’m already missing it,’ he thought as sleep overtook him.

’The manor. My room. The inner garden.’

’But I’ll miss the city too.’

’Next time, I’ll stay longer.’

The room fell silent.

Only the breathing of five people, one ant, and one spider.

Outside, the stars shone in the dark sky.

And Lukas Dmond, the ten-month-old boy with violet eyes, giant strength, the mind of an adult, a dream of building a zoo, a magical ant on his pillow, and a venomous spider in a cage, slept deeply.