Alright, let's take a break here.

Okay.

I wanna keep going a bit longer!

I feel like I'm on fire today!

No, we need to stop. We've been really focused today, but the quality of our performance is only gonna start falling if we push any harder.

I agree. As amazing as I feel on the drums today, the fatigue of playing may start creeping up on me if we continue.

It's important to rest when we can, Saki.

Right.

I guess we have to be careful not to get ahead of ourselves...

Then, in that case, let's go down to the lobby and have some tea together!

Hehe. Yes, let's.

Whew... That tea really hit the spot!

Taking a break was the right call! I feel so refreshed now!

I guess it really is important to quit while you're ahead.

Definitely!

We haven't had much downtime lately since we've been practicing nonstop!

Oh, Shiho, can you tell us more about what happened at the zoo?!

But I just told you the other day...

The best stories never get old no matter how many times you hear them! I wanna hear something wholesome and heartwarming! So, you should tell us more about how much fun you had at the zoo!

Yes, I'd like to hear as well if that's alright.

I mean... There isn't much more left to say.

Actually, I don't think they've heard about the shoebill yet.

Aren't shoebills those really big birds?

They had one? What happened?

Remember how we caught that armadillo with the help of the staff?

We were actually able to do that because of a shoebill that Minori had become friends with.

Wait, friends?! What do you mean?!

Apparently, shoebills greet others by clattering their beaks really loudly...

And he did that after spotting Minori, which startled the armadillo enough to stop him in his tracks.

That was when we caught him.

Wow, that's incredible!

Also, that's so cool how Minori got the shoebill to greet her like that! I wanna become friends with him too now!

A lot of other things also happened.

Minori got pounced at by this one Pallas's cat, we got to feed the alpacas...

Pallas's cats? As in...?

Yeah, those really fluffy cats. The way this one behaved was so interesting.

After it spotted Minori, it hissed and lunged at the wall between it and her.

Whoa, that's so cool! I want it to do that to me!

Yeah, she's apparently pretty lucky.

The other guests seemed a little jealous of her.

Hehe. I'm glad you all had so much fun.

Did anything else happen?!

We also saw a Tsushima leopard cat with her kittens. They were really popular, and everyone was taking pictures of them.

Plus, the servals and caracals in the Savannah Area.

Yeah, their ears were so much bigger than the ones you see on domestic cats. I thought that was cool. It really made them look like hunters...

I don't go to zoos very often, but this one ended up being a lot of fun.

Aww... When's it gonna be my turn to go to the zoo with you guys and get mixed into a bunch of trouble?!

You want to get mixed into trouble...?

Also, Shiho went over to the rabbit area.

Oh, speaking of rabbits, I thought these apple slices would be a nice snack for today.

Wow, they're sliced to look like little bunnies!

Bunnies...? Wait, aren't these...?

Hehe. I tried my hand at making them look like those lop-eared rabbits.

Their ears are all drooped...

It must've been really hard to get them to do that.

Yeah, I needed a lot of extra peel to get that to work. As a result, I was only able to make three out of one apple...

These are works of art!

But why'd you choose lop-eared rabbits?

Because of how much fun Shiho had playing with those baby lop-eared rabbits.

H-Hey, they don't need to hear that...!

What's that? Shiho, did you make some new bunny friends?

You should introduce us sometime.

...

Sure, whatever...

(Haruka invited me sort of out of the blue...)

(But I'm glad I went considering how much we got to enjoy that zoo.)