In Japan, the most popular animal was the panda. Or rather, in most countries around the world, pandas could rank among the top three most beloved animals.
And the country in China, pandas were even designated as a national treasure. During the nation's most difficult period, they were used as diplomatic gifts to help open international relations, which eventually gave rise to the term "panda diplomacy."
The latest thing that might receive the honor of becoming a national gift was the lunar soil that China had just brought back from the moon. The value of moon soil simply could not be measured with money, because obtaining it had already consumed unimaginable amounts of funding and the efforts of countless researchers. Every gram of it was worth more than gold by a factor of millions.
This was something Sato had always found strange. He admitted that pandas did indeed look adorably clumsy and harmless, but the level of obsession people had for them still felt hard for him to understand.
There were obviously so many cute animals in the world, so why was everyone especially fond of pandas?
Especially the people of Japan, whose love for pandas was practically impossible to describe with words.
For example, the line currently in front of him stretched for over a hundred meters. It began at the entrance of the panda pavilion and wound all the way here like a long dragon, with dozens more people still lined up behind them.
"Please do not crowd together! Each group may only watch for five minutes!"
At the very front of the line, a staff member holding a loudspeaker repeatedly played a prerecorded announcement.
That was right. Watching giant pandas here not only required crowd control, but also strict time limits. Otherwise, people would pack the panda pavilion so tightly that nobody could even get inside.
Any panda would be treated as the crown jewel of its local zoo.
Just how powerful was the appeal of giant pandas?
According to legend, countless struggling zoos on the verge of bankruptcy had been revived after receiving giant pandas, drawing endless streams of visitors afterward.
"Little Iroha, how about we give up on this?"
After thinking it over, Sato spoke to the girl standing in front of him.
In his opinion, wasting this much time here really was not a wise decision. Just the waiting alone would probably take one or two hours.
"Huh?!"
Isshiki Iroha turned around and stared at Sato with wide eyes, her face full of disbelief.
"Give up on seeing giant pandas? Do you even know what you're saying?"
"What's the difference between coming to the zoo without seeing pandas and not coming to the zoo at all?!"
Sato: "..."
Was there really such a saying in Japan?
Did people come to the zoo just to see pandas?!
"You stay here and keep our place in line. I'm going to buy some drinks! What do you want? I'll treat you!"
"Oolong tea."
"Okay, and don't you dare leave. We finally made it this far."
"Yeah, yeah."
Under Isshiki Iroha's suspicious gaze, Sato answered with a helpless smile.
You really are persistent.
After Isshiki Iroha left the line, Sato continued waiting there by himself. The line moved at an incredibly slow pace, practically crawling like a turtle.
The panda pavilion had both crowd limits and time limits.
Usually, twenty people would be allowed inside at once, and those twenty people could only stay for five minutes before the next group entered.
Elsewhere it was "charge for five minutes, talk for two hours."
Here it was "line up for two hours, watch for five minutes."
"You came to see pandas alone?"
Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded beside Sato.
"No…"
He subconsciously started to answer, but quickly realized something was off and turned his head in surprise.
"Yo!"
Nohara Shinnosuke, dressed in a kindergarten blue uniform, raised his hand to greet him. After looking him up and down a few times, he suddenly revealed a sympathetic expression.
"Shinnosuke? Why are you here?!"
Sato never expected to run into this little brat here.
"It's a kindergarten zoo field trip. Do you know where the monkeys are?"
"The monkey pavilion? I think it's over that way!"
"Oh! Sankyuu! See ya!"
"Oi... wait, damn it! Get back here!"
Sato suddenly cursed inwardly and quickly grabbed Shinnosuke by the back collar, pulling him in front of himself as he stared at him seriously.
"Huh?! Sato, what are you doing?!"
Shinnosuke protested unhappily.
"If this is a kindergarten event, then why are you here alone?"
Shinnosuke blinked, then suddenly looked enlightened.
"Oh yeah! Why am I the only one here?"
As he spoke, he looked around, then spread his hands and sighed.
"Everyone really makes people worry too much, huh."
You're the one causing trouble!
Sato's brow twitched. He grabbed both sides of Shinnosuke's cheeks and pulled them outward.
"Oww! That hurts! Uncle, I was wrong!"
So you only remember to call me "Uncle" at times like this, huh?
The corner of Sato's eye twitched.
"Um, wait!"
Suddenly, a young woman in a yellow knit sweater jogged over to Sato. She seemed slightly out of breath, probably because she had already been running around for quite a while.
After catching her breath for a moment, Yoshinaga Midori looked up and noticed the redness on Shinnosuke's cheeks. Her delicate brows immediately furrowed, and she spoke to Sato in a somewhat stern tone.
"Sir, although I don't know how this child offended you, you still shouldn't bully him like this."
Sato instantly felt awful hearing that. He opened his mouth, about to explain himself, when the little brat beside him suddenly tugged on the young woman's sleeves while twisting his body around coyly.
"Uuuh~ Yoshinaga-sensei, this ojisan pinched me so hard!"
"Ah! Are you okay, Shin-chan? Let me see!"
"Um…"
Just as Sato started speaking, the young woman across from him immediately looked at him with caution.
Sato: "..."
"You're Yoshinaga-sensei, right?"
Yoshinaga Midori frowned at him.
Sato sighed, then bowed formally with a serious expression.
"Hello, I'm Shinnosuke's uncle, Nohara Sato. Please take care of me."
Shinnosuke's… uncle?
Yoshinaga Midori was still looking at Sato suspiciously when footsteps suddenly came from behind her.
Kazama, Masao, and the others came running over with worried faces, surrounding Nohara Shinnosuke and immediately starting to complain.
"Shin-chan, you ran off by yourself again!"
"We were all worried sick!"
"I'm not that great!"
"That wasn't praise!"
Sakurada Nene sighed, then suddenly noticed Sato standing nearby. Her eyes immediately lit up as she said excitedly,
"Huh! It's Shin-chan's uncle!"
"So he really is his uncle!"
Kazama Toru also noticed Sato and, after glancing around, asked,
"Uncle, did you come alone?"
"No, I came with a friend."
Sato answered with a smile, then shrugged helplessly toward Yoshinaga Midori.
You believe me now, right?
Yoshinaga Midori's face reddened slightly.
"Sorry! I thought someone was bullying Shin-chan."
As she said that, Yoshinaga Midori suddenly remembered the true culprit behind all this, and her expression turned dark.
"Swish!"
In an instant, countless gazes locked onto Nohara Shinnosuke, who had just been preparing to sneak away.
Shinnosuke's body immediately stiffened. He scratched his head awkwardly and said,
"Did everyone eat breakfast yet?"