The Worst Villain is Actually a Cute Girl-Chapter 15

One week later.

Everyone was in the car Red was driving, heading to the outer city for a trip. The reason? A newly opened zoo they wanted to visit.

Of course, the kids were extremely excited about going to the zoo.

“I wish you could have come with us, Teacher...” Rene sighed, staying behind to watch over the orphanage.

Naturally, the kids’ faces grew dark, and they were reluctant to leave. But when she asked them to pick a good gift, their expressions brightened, and they quickly jumped into the car. I still remember them looking like soldiers on an important mission, and I couldn't help but smile under my mask.

The car was noisy, but not because of the music.

The kids were chattering excitedly.

“I wonder what animals will be there...”

“The last place we went had so many amazing ones.”

“Hehe...”

Their faces were full of excitement and anticipation.

They were deep in conversation, talking about what animals they might see, what kind of presents would be good, and the atmosphere was so lively there was no sign of it quieting down.

The energy was so overwhelming that it felt like the car was heated with their excitement.

Well, actually, it was hot.

Then, a cool breeze blew in. It seemed Red had turned on the air conditioning.

Ah, finally, I could breathe.

“Lily, are you excited too?”

The yellow-haired girl sitting next to me, Rene, asked. I was still getting used to the name, so {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} I took a moment to respond.

I thought for a second, then nodded.

Rene smiled brightly.

“I’m excited too. I’ve been there a few times, but the one we’re going to this time is totally different, so I’m really looking forward to it.”

I nodded again, agreeing with her.

I turned my gaze to the window and looked up at the sky. It was the perfect weather for a picnic.

‘A zoo, huh...’

I lied to Rene, but I couldn’t really help it.

To be honest, I wasn’t as excited as the kids.

First of all, the facilities in the outer city would definitely be less impressive than those in the city center, and I already knew it wasn’t going to be the kind of zoo I was imagining.

Instead of joy or anticipation, a hint of sadness crept in.

But I didn’t show it. I wasn’t clueless enough to ruin the mood when everyone was so excited.

At least I was glad to have the mask on.

‘Still, I wonder what kind of snacks they’ll sell there.’

Listening to the noisy sounds of the kids and the music, I kept my eyes on the scenery outside the window.

There were only big and small buildings in sight, and it was getting boring.

It might be more interesting to look for the oddly shaped clouds in the sky.

‘I hope the traffic doesn’t get too bad.’

Unfortunately, contrary to my wishes, the car came to a halt.

The kids fell asleep from exhaustion, and I nearly lost my sanity from boredom.

*

Finally, after escaping the hellish traffic jam, we arrived at the zoo.

“Wooooow!”

At the entrance of the zoo, despite being a facility in the outer city, there was a surprisingly large crowd.

If we got swept up in the crowd, we could easily get separated.

“Kids, make sure you stick close to me so you don’t get lost.”

“Yeeeesss!”

The kids’ voices were strong and filled with energy.

I should have felt relieved, but instead, my worry only increased.

They were still kids, after all. Even though they had grown up faster than most because of their harsh world, their essence hadn’t changed.

In places like this, if you take your eyes off them for even a second, one or two of them would surely get lost.

But with Red and me around, it shouldn’t be a problem.

It’s not like we were looking after a hundred kids—there were only seven. There’s no way we’d lose one of them.

Red led the kids to the line.

The line was longer than expected, so it looked like we’d have to wait a bit.

The kids were chatting again, now excited about finally entering the zoo.

It wasn’t just the kids. Everywhere around us, there was a sense of excitement in the air.

Anticipation, joy, excitement...

‘A zoo in the outer city is rare.’

Whenever I got a question from one of the kids, I would answer briefly.

I glanced around, taking in the people around us.

For outer city residents, they were all dressed quite well.

Judging by their clothes, they probably had a bit of financial comfort.

People from the middle city or city center wouldn’t usually visit the outer city, so they were probably all from here.

‘Well, every city has its own situation. Just because someone’s from the outer city doesn’t mean they’re poor.’

Anyway, seeing so many well-dressed people made me think the entrance fee must be pretty high.

I grabbed the edge of Red’s coat and tugged on it.

“Hm?” Red looked down at me with a small voice.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

I silently drew a finger in the air, mimicking the gesture for money.

I was asking if we had enough money for the entrance fee. She smiled as if she understood and patted my head.

“It’s fine. No worries. And the kids don’t need to worry about that stuff, just enjoy yourselves.”

Red took her hand off me, and I felt the heat of her touch lingering on my scalp.

It felt odd, especially after the heat was still there.

Suddenly, a strange noise came from somewhere.

The lively atmosphere was shattered by the sound.

The noise turned the surroundings quiet, and the atmosphere became heavier.

Clearly, something had gone wrong. I turned toward the noise.

“I don’t know who I am, but if you don’t get out of the way right now...”

A large, brutish beastman was causing a commotion.

People were restless, their faces filled with fear.

The kids huddled close to Red. I glanced at Red out of the corner of my eye.

Red remained still. I quickly understood why.

[Beep.]

A number of humanoid security robots quickly moved toward the commotion.

The beastman, seeing the robots, tried to attack, his sharp claws raised, but...

He was easily subdued.

“Let go! I’m sorry! I won’t do it again...”

The security robots dragged the beastman away.

A moment later, I faintly heard a scream that no one else could hear.

When the security robots returned, the beastman was gone.

However, there was a small amount of blood on the robots.

I decided not to think about what had happened.

It wasn’t just the security robots.

There were also hired fixers whose job it was to maintain peace at the zoo, moving around unnoticed.

In places like this, safety had to be a priority.

‘Especially in outer cities, where terror attacks happen regularly, they’d need to be extra careful.’

Once the problem was dealt with, the atmosphere around us returned to normal.

As we waited, the line gradually got shorter.

Finally, it was our turn, and we entered the zoo without any issues.

*

As we entered, the kids bounced excitedly in the wide plaza. They raised their hands, smiling brighter than the sunlight, and cheered.

Seeing the kids so excited, I couldn't help but smile inside my mask.

The kids gathered around Red.

"Sis, let's go see the tigers first!"

"No, penguins are first!"

"Meerkats!"

"I want to see the sheep..."

It seemed like everyone had different animals they wanted to see, and a variety of animals were called out.

Even when the kids whined, Red didn’t break a sweat. She clapped her hands, calming them down.

"Everyone, calm down. We’ll see them all, so there’s no need to rush. We’ll go in order, so just follow me, okay?"

The kids nodded enthusiastically.

"Lily. Here, hold my hand."

Rene extended her hand to me.

I stared at her hand for a moment. Without realizing it, I smiled under my mask.

I couldn’t believe I was being asked to hold hands by someone much younger than me.

But to keep the kids from getting lost, holding hands was the best option.

I tightly gripped her hand.

And so, we followed Red as the real animal viewing began.

Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.

The first stop was the lions. Inside the glass enclosure, the lion paced back and forth, roaring loudly at the people watching.

Some kids' eyes sparkled, some squinted at the loud sound, and some even trembled in fear. Their reactions were all different.

“The lion is awesome!”

“Wow!”

“It’s scary...”

Other people around us also marveled at the lion, their voices filled with awe.

I wasn’t as interested in the lion as I was in the glass ceiling above the enclosure.

‘Just as I thought...’

There were small mechanical devices on the ceiling, and they were emitting light.

Right, as I expected, that lion wasn’t real; it was a hologram.

‘It’s hard to see real animals in an outer city.’

The same was true for the other animals.

They were all holograms.

They looked realistic, created with advanced technology, but in the end, they were just fakes.

But even though they were fake, the kids were thrilled.

It wasn’t just the kids. Everyone around us seemed to be enjoying themselves just as much.

They didn’t know it was fake, so they were content with it. But I, knowing the truth, couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

It was like a cold wind blowing through an empty chest.

"Hey kids, look over there. It's a place where you can interact with the animals. You can actually touch them!"

What?

I turned to look where Red was pointing.

You can touch the animals?

That piqued my interest a little.

“Kids, looks like Lily is interested in that. Let’s go check it out first.”

What? Are you treating me like a kid?

I felt offended by being treated like a child. I placed my hands on my hips and gave Red a look.

Although my expression wasn’t visible under the mask, I didn’t back down and tried to communicate my feelings.

But my protest didn’t last long.

The kids grabbed me and dragged me to the animal interaction area, against my will.

Ugh! Let go! I’ll go on my own!

And when we finally arrived, I was disappointed.

‘The fool was me for getting my hopes up.’

It wasn’t a hologram.

But it was a mechanical animal. It looked like a real animal, but it was just a machine.

Whether they knew I was disappointed or not, the kids eagerly approached the mechanical sheep and began touching it.

Rene waved her hand, calling me over.

Red gently pushed me on the back.

Reluctantly, I went up to the mechanical sheep and touched its fur.

It felt soft and warm, just like a real sheep’s wool, even though I knew it wasn’t real.

As I kept touching it, I started to feel a little better. I buried my face in the wool.

As we moved on to petting other animals in the artificial pasture, a robotic dog guide approached us.

"Hello. How do you like our ranch? I hope you’re enjoying it."

The kids cheerfully exclaimed, “Yes, yes!”

Then the robotic dog guide opened a box it was holding and handed us some samples.

“These are our homemade cheeses. Well, it’s actually a synthetic food that mimics the taste of cheese, but please give it a try.”

The square cheese, no bigger than a thumbnail, looked clearly like a sample.

I carefully opened the bottom of my mask and placed the cheese into my mouth.

Mmm.

It definitely tasted like cheese.

Looking at the kids, they seemed more surprised than I had expected, expressing their amazement.

“Is it to your taste? Then, please feel free to visit our Meadow Café. We offer a variety of food, not just cheese.”

With those words, the robot dog guide turned and walked away.

Red, deep in thought, looked at the kids.

“Seems like we’ve been walking around a lot. How about we take a break and go to that Meadow Café?”

At Red’s suggestion, the kids smiled widely and raised their hands.

They all happily agreed with Red’s words.

Great marketing skills.