Chapter 131: The Missing Carrots
Right. Where was the Director?
Everyone in the group froze. The important figure they had all been talking about—the Pro Hero, the zoo director, the circus ringmaster... why hadn't Mad Rabbit appeared yet?
One of the main reasons Uwabami had returned to Oma City was to see the Director. She had assumed he was busy preparing for the upcoming show and was temporarily unavailable. But since the general planner, Yoshikage Kira, had asked the question, did that mean he didn't know the Director's schedule either?
She suddenly had a bad feeling. "You mean you haven't seen the Director?" she asked anxiously.
Kira shook his head decisively. "I haven't seen him since we finished the one rehearsal. I thought he was in the backstage tent, so I didn't worry about it, but I didn't see him there just now."
Jodo Chenjie joked, "Don't tell me someone found out about the Director's ability and took the opportunity to kidnap him?"
Uwabami instantly shot a glare at Jodo, her eyes so intense they could have petrified him. Jodo froze and stammered with a nervous laugh, "I-I was just kidding! Don't mind me! He's the Pro Hero who nominated Kira, isn't he? His skills must be incredible. How could he be kidnapped without a sound?"
"Partners! The delivery guy brought us food! Dinner time!" At that moment, Okami came over, pushing a handcart and shouting.
He saw Uwabami and walked over enthusiastically. "Snake Sis! It's been a while! Let's have dinner together!"
Okami, in his human form, looked like a werewolf, a relatively common type of Quirk. The delivery driver had mistaken him for a circus employee and had him sign for the food for that evening and the next morning.
The bottom layer of the cart was filled with fresh meat, still packed in ice. The top layer was fruits and vegetables. Among them, a bright bunch of bananas, like a crescent moon, instantly attracted the gorilla's attention.
"Bananas... bananas..." The gorilla, Kongo, suddenly ran out of the tent, grabbed a banana, and began to laugh foolishly. "As long as I have bananas, I'll do whatever the Director asks."
A thought suddenly occurred to Kira. If a gorilla could be so easily attracted by a banana, what could lure a rabbit away without a sound?
"Carrots!" Kira's eyes sharpened as he looked at the cart of food. The Director loved carrots, but in this delivery of dinner ingredients, there wasn't a single carrot to be found.
Hearing the word "carrots," both Uwabami's and Aoi Hana's expressions changed. Aoi ran over, rummaged through the cart, and then looked up at Kira with a grim nod. "Not a single carrot."
Kira took a deep breath and walked over to Okami. "Who was the person who delivered this to you just now?"
"It was the guy who came with the other driver this morning," Okami replied, not understanding the meaning of his question.
Uwabami came over and pressed, "Why are there no carrots in the food? You know the Director has to have carrots with every meal! One time, he even made the entire zoo eat nothing but carrots for a whole week!"
Okami's expression also changed. "I heard something when I was at the ticket booth. The drivers' food company has a rule that they always have to get a signed receipt, no matter how late it is. Usually, the zookeeper fills it out, but this time, since I can't write, I told him I wasn't in charge and someone would come to sign later. But he just said 'forget it this time, I trust you,' and drove off..."
At this, Okami's face turned ashen. "I thought he trusted me because I have an honest face! But it turns out he shorted us on the delivery!"
"I think you have the kind of face that likes to tear up houses. No normal person would trust you on first sight," Kira couldn't help but retort. He then said calmly, "In other words, to keep us from noticing, he deliberately didn't mention the inventory check, and Okami isn't the type to look closely..."
"So, the Director's disappearance was premeditated? Who would want to harm him!?" Uwabami said, agitated.
"Calm down. It's possible they just accidentally forgot a batch of carrots," Kira said calmly. "And maybe the Director just saw something interesting and wanted to wander off for a bit. He could show up right in front of us any minute now."
Kira placated Uwabami and cleared a path for Okami to enter the tent. "Go on and give them their food. I'll go look for the Director."
The animals had only had breakfast that morning before the truck had arrived and hadn't eaten much since. There were only a few fruits in their tent, which had long since been eaten.
Normally, they only ate two meals a day, since they didn't get much exercise sitting in their cages all day (which is how Mr. Cheetah had gotten his beer belly). But they had been practicing all afternoon and their stomachs were rumbling. If they didn't eat something now, they wouldn't have time before the show.
Kira left by himself, running toward the park entrance. It was 6:30. There wasn't much time left before the show started. If the Director didn't come back, the show couldn't go on. He was a very important character...
Kira ran through a series of calculations in his head. If he couldn't find the Director, he would have to play his part himself. But the animals might not cooperate with him; after all, he had only known them for a few days. If that didn't work, he would just have to change the script at the last minute.
Fortunately, none of those scenarios came to pass. As Kira ran to the main gate, he saw a pair of upright rabbit ears peeking out from behind the park's entrance sign. He ran over and, sure enough, it was the Director.
He was standing there with his hands in his pockets, watching the people on the street come and go, lost in thought.
"Yo, Kira! Are you looking for me?" The Director was a little surprised to see him, but he quickly put on a cheerful expression, as if nothing had happened. "Let's go back together! The show is about to start, after all!"
Kira looked down at the Director's hands. He was holding a half-eaten carrot. Judging by its color, it was a fresh carrot, probably picked today.
Who gave him the carrot?
"...Let's go back," Kira said, not asking. As long as the Director was unharmed, that was a reassuring result. As for the missing carrots, Kira didn't mention them at all. He just said, "Director, Snake Sis and the band are here. They're all waiting for you."
The moment he heard Uwabami's name, the Director took a large bite of his carrot and threw his arms open excitedly. "Since Snake Sis is back, let's hurry! It's been a long time since I've seen her!"
Kira watched the Director's retreating, hopping figure. He turned and walked back toward the main gate, his eyes narrowing as he saw a tall figure standing with his back to him at the crosswalk on the right, waiting for the light to change.
...Why would the Director be meeting with him?
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