I Built a Divine Zoo in Another World

Aurora tried to pick her up once, intending to clean her, believing that the spider needed a bath. Prata raised her front legs and displayed her mandibles, her abdomen contracting in a threatening pattern. Venom, transparent and pearlescent, dripped from her fangs.

Aurora quickly stepped back.

”Lukas, your spider tried to bite me!”

”She’s just scared,” Lukas replied, picking Prata up naturally.

”You approached too quickly.”

”Scared? She looked like she wanted to kill me!”

Lukas merely smiled.

Prata, in his hand, relaxed immediately. Her legs folded back. Her abdomen returned to normal.

’She only trusts me.’

...

After that month, the more Lukas tested his web, the more one idea grew in his mind.

”This web... is exactly like Prata’s.”

Silvery threads, resilient, elastic, imbued with mana.

In the city, he had seen merchants selling beast materials: pelts, bones, horns, teeth, and claws. Magical spider silk would certainly have value.

Ropes stronger than ordinary ropes. Indestructible nets. Lightweight fabrics for armor, more resistant than leather and more flexible than metal. Bowstrings that would not snap under tension.

It could become a source of income.

Lukas wanted to go to Great Rock City to sell it. But he knew he couldn’t do that alone; he was still far too young. And he couldn’t ask his parents for help.

How would he explain that he could create webbing out of thin air?

They had accepted his superhuman strength as an early manifestation of an innate ability. But two abilities before the age of five? That would raise far too many questions.

Lukas didn’t even know if it was possible for someone to possess more than one ability. The books he had read, the magic manuals they had purchased for Judite, mentioned only ”one ability per person.” A gift. A unique talent.

’Maybe I’m different.’

’Maybe reincarnation gave me... something extra.’

’Or perhaps my connections with Tilbo and Prata are something entirely new. Something the books don’t record.’

For now, he decided to keep it a secret.

When Prata fully matured and began producing more silk, thick, long strands sufficient to weave nets or ropes, he would use that as an excuse.

”Prata is producing a lot. I’m selling the excess.”

It would be a safe way to earn money for his future zoo.

...

That morning, after breakfast, Lukas found Aurora in the inner garden.

The sun was high and golden, warming the stone pathways. The flowers in the garden were in full bloom: red roses, white lilies, and the small blue blossoms that opened only in the morning. Their scent was sweet, almost intoxicating.

Aurora was supervising the servants tending the flowers, watering, pruning, and pulling weeds. She wore a simple blue linen dress, her white hair tied into a loose braid resting over one shoulder.

Lukas approached, Tilbo on his left shoulder and Prata on his right.

”Mother,” he called, his voice calm, though there was a gleam of anticipation in his violet eyes.

”I’m getting a little bored staying inside the mansion all the time. May I visit the nearby villages?”

Aurora stopped what she was doing and looked at her son.

Her violet eyes softened, filled with understanding, though maternal concern remained. He was small. Far too small to wander around on his own.

”You already asked that last week...” she said hesitantly.

”I know. But I’m growing quickly. And I want to learn more about the villages our family takes care of. To see how people live, how they care for animals, how they work the land...”

He paused, using the innocent tone he knew worked.

”Please?”

Aurora sighed, but smiled.

She crouched down and gently stroked his white hair, her fingers undoing the tangles that had formed during the night.

”Very well.” She raised a finger.

”But only as far as Oak Village and Creek Village. Nowhere beyond that.”

”Yes, Mother.”

”And take Tilbo and Prata with you.” She looked at the two creatures perched on her son’s shoulders.

”They seem to protect you. If anything strange happens, come back immediately.”

Lukas hugged her, his smile genuine.

”Thank you, Mother!”

He left through the mansion’s back door, his heart feeling light.

The morning sun was already warming the dirt paths, and the sky was clear and cloudless, a perfect day for exploring. Tilbo and Prata remained on his shoulders, as always.

The path to Oak Village had become familiar.

Not because he had gone there alone before; this was his first time without adult supervision. But he knew the route from the outings he had taken with Clavor.

The trail began behind the inner garden, passing by the empty stables, where the scent of dry hay and long-departed animals still lingered in the air, before crossing an open field covered in short grass. Then it entered a small woodland, where the trees formed a green tunnel over the dirt road.

He followed the trail by himself.

His footsteps were steady against the packed earth. Tilbo, on his left shoulder, slowly moved her antennae, taking in the scents of the morning. Prata, on his right shoulder, remained motionless, her multiple eyes scanning the surroundings.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves overhead, creating golden patches across the ground. Birds sang above him, sharp calls, rapid trills, melodies that Lukas was already beginning to recognize.

After about twenty minutes of walking at a leisurely pace, the trees began to thin out. The woodland gave way to cultivated fields.

Fields of golden wheat swayed in the wind, the heavy stalks bending in rippling waves. Orchards filled with fruit trees heavy with red and yellow fruits, apples, pears, and the small Lirium fruits that Lukas loved so much, stretched into the distance. Small flocks of gray-wooled sheep grazed on gentle hillsides, watched over by shepherd dogs with pale coats.

Farmers worked in the fields, bent over the earth, their simple linen clothes and straw hats protecting them from the sun.

Some lifted their heads when Lukas passed by. He was small, far too small to be traveling alone along the road, but they recognized the wolf brooch pinned to his tunic, the symbol of the Dmond family.

They waved. They greeted him.

”Good morning, Young Master.”

”Good morning,” Lukas replied politely.

Oak Village appeared on the horizon after several more minutes of walking.