Chapter Text
What had first caught everyone’s eyes among the mess of chairs and decorations in disrepair within the lobby, was Giraffe covered head to toe with scratch marks, hanging her head low in exhaustion. Some were so deep that blood flowed from them.
“...Mhhn…… Ah! Kaban! Serval!”
“I was planning on going out to ask for your help, so it’s good that you came back. And with the hunters at that.”
“I apologize… But I don’t really have strength right now.” Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey, whose face was draining color, delicately spoke as she held her palm on her still-bleeding wound.
No matter how durable a Friend’s body is, they shouldn’t be on the move in that kind of condition nonetheless. Thinking that, Kaban urged her to rest on a nearby sofa.
“Oh my… What happened to you…?”
“Kind of a long story... Giraffe’s wounds… Have they been caused by Campo Flicker…?”
To the inquiring Serval whose facial expression conveyed distinct feelings of worry and sorrow, Giraffe responded with a bitter smile.
“During that storm, Campo Flicker-san was outside of the Lodge. Then, after it had settled down, I asked her if she’s alright, to which she quickly became violent.”
Wiping the blood off her cheeks with her fingers, Giraffe continued.
“I’ve managed to hold her down with a full nelson. From there, she struggled vigorously. And then, maybe because I was being too cruel, but… I’d have never guessed that she’d use Wild Release.”
Kaban and Serval could never imagine that the gentle Campo Flicker would really be capable of doing that.
“It’s the first time that I’ve encountered a mystery like that. Although… I don’t think I want to use it as material in the future.”
Previously Grey Wolf would tell fake stories to scare others, but she spoke with a serious face that wouldn’t lie even once. Having listened to Giraffe and Grey Wolf in silence, Kaban thought back on Brown Bear’s state, and inquired:
“Did Campo Flicker-san attack from far away? Or was it when you approached her…?”
The pair of heterochromic eyes gave Giraffe a brief glance before returning to Kaban.
“...If I were to judge, I’d say when we tried to approach. When Giraffe or I tried to get closer, she made a frightened face and became violent.”
Bringing her balled hand to her lips, Kaban thought on it for a bit. And then…
“I don’t get it at all―”
“Just when she thought that we were cornered we managed to escape by jumping over her noda―! Now what noda?!” A pair of voices was heard.
One calm as if disconnected from the situation, and the other high-pitched. The group turned their heads towards their direction.
“Oh? I see that there are more visitors―”
“How lucky nanoda! With everyone’s help we’ve managed to capture Campo Flicker noda― Hmm…?
A duo emerged from the hallway. A Friend that had ears as big as Serval, and a Friend with characteristically slanted eyes and striped tail. The latter showed an exaggerated surprised reaction upon seeing Kaban.
“Ah―――――!! Found you nanoda!! It’s the hat thief nanoda!!”
Kaban was surprised at the Friend that was shouting and pointing at her, who without delay tried to capture her.
“Wai-, Wha-, Huuuh?!? Pl- Please don’t ea…!”
“Give it back noda―!”
“Hold on, Arai-san… I don’t think that now’s the time for this―”
Arai-san― Common Raccoon, who took off Kaban’s hat and stuck a red feather to it, angrily turned her head towards the level-headed Friend.
“On whose side are you on nanoda, Fennec?! Arai-san came all the way here to get this hat noda!”
“I mean, sure, but―”
Serval and Grey Wolf help Kaban get up from the floor.
“Kaban-chan, are you alright?”
“Hey, what was that? We’re thankful that you’ve helped us out, but I’d like it if you didn’t start fights at a time like this. Kaban came here to help us find a way to calm Flicker-san down―”
“Kaban-san is here noda!?”
Interrupting Grey Wolf’s speech, Common Raccoon looked around frantically.
“Like I said, it’s this girl!”
“This can’t be noda! Kaban-san is a great person nanoda! She’s not a hat-stealing thief noda―!”
“But it’s true! That hat is Kaban-chan’s!”
“Ho- Hold on!”
Tugging on the unusually mad Serval’s arm, Kaban interrupted the argument.
“I think we should put the topic of my hat aside. I’m more worried about Campo Flicker-san… So let’s focus on that.”
“Mhh… Alright… Sorry, Kaban-chan…”
Her large ears drooping a little, Serval obediently withdrew. Grey Wolf nodded.
“Anyway, for now I’d like to stop Flicker-san from acting aggressively. She’s currently flying within the enclosed space of the Lodge, bumping into walls and obstacles. At this rate it seems like she’s gonna seriously hurt herself.”
Kaban, nodding approvingly, turned towards Common Raccoon and Fennec. Common Raccoon slightly shook her shoulders at Kaban’s serious expression.
“Wha- What nanoda? Even if you make that face, you’re not getting this hat back noda.”
“Umm, Fennec-san and… Arai… san…?”
“Arai-san is Common Raccon nanoda!”
Kaban made a lighthearted laugh when Common Raccoon, who was tightly holding onto the hat with both hands to keep it away from Kaban, gave her response.
“―Common Raccoon-san, I’ll leave the hat to you. So can I ask you to help out? You too, Fennec-san.”
“Fine by me― I was already planning on helping out from the start.”
“Fweh?! If Fennec is helping out, then Arai-san will help too noda!”
Expressing her gratitude, Kaban adjusted her bag on her back to focus.
“Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey and Giraffe, you should rest. African Wild Dog, please escort these two. Wolf-san, Serval-chan, will you give me a hand?”
