Dream Team
So-eun, who had gotten in big trouble with her mom for causing trouble, still had her love for her Digi-Pocket undimmed.
Sharing my childhood memories was really nice, but watching So-eun ride Pponi and shout "Lightning" every day made me wonder if it was all for show.
Still, the accident where she made the rhino ram the wall was thankfully one she wouldn't repeat.
Thanks to that, So-eun had learned to properly understand the powers animals have, so it wasn't all bad.
But one problem, as Noona pointed out, was that So-eun kept begging to raise more animals.
Most characters in animations are based on real animals, after all, so it made sense that So-eun wanted to raise them.
Especially the yellow electric squirrel, the protagonist-level character she loved most. She was bringing a squirrel she had caught somewhere.
The character was based on a squirrel, so she had lured a wild squirrel from the trees around the zoo. She was disappointed it couldn't make electricity, but she seemed to plan on teaching it iron tail or lightning instead.
"Other kids are all about collecting stickers, but our daughter wants to collect animals……."
"I should have told you not to watch Digi-Pocket with So-eun."
"Sniffle……."
At Noona's words, I felt embarrassed and scratched my head.
Noona, who was patting my slightly messy hair while I scratched it, smiled gently.
"Still, isn't it better than buying bread you won't even eat just to collect stickers? Since we have a zoo, raising more animals won't be a problem."
"That's true."
It was better to want to raise animals than to buy something you won't eat for a sticker.
"So how many more animals do you plan to bring?"
"Well, for now, it seems like about four kinds of animals that So-eun wants."
The animals So-eun pointed at and sang about were four kinds: gorillas, otters, squirrels, and pangolins.
"Was there a character based on gorillas or otters? Pangolins…… I think I know one."
"There is. A gorilla that drums. Otters and squirrels, cute-looking animals, so there are several. Not main characters but minor ones that pass by briefly."
"Ah, I think I remember. Those squirrel-like animals with a scarf-like fur collar."
"Yeah. I don't know why you keep calling them 'scarf'."
In the past, maybe because they made scarves from squirrel fur, but squirrels often appear as characters with scarves around their necks.
Anyway, Noona, who now knew how many animals So-eun wanted, nodded lightly.
"If it's that many, just bring them. There's still some space left in the zoo, right?"
When I agreed because she mentioned the empty space, thinking we might not know what to make, Noona said to bring them.
Gorillas would need separate enclosures, but otters, squirrels, pangolins could be released with just some training, so not much space needed.
"Yeah, while we're at it, let's bring more animals to fulfill So-eun's wish."
I decided to bring the animals So-eun wanted to the zoo.
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Among the four kinds of animals So-eun wanted, the first to join the zoo was a family of beavers.
Four beavers in total. They had appeared in the city due to habitat destruction and been caught by firefighters. They had been causing trouble for animal protection, but I told them if they didn't attack people and got along well with other animals, they'd get plenty to eat and live safely. So the beavers happily settled into our zoo.
"Hee hee hee!"
After kindergarten, So-eun was overjoyed at suddenly having beavers.
She imitated the characters from the animation perfectly, even putting one around her neck like a scarf. The beaver seemed very satisfied, perhaps thanks to So-eun's superpower.
"Heavy."
"Kyuuuung."
But being an animal, it was heavy, so it couldn't stay long on So-eun's neck.
"Wow! Other friends?"
So-eun hugged the beavers she was disappointed with and asked me. Since there are beavers, the gorillas, otters, pangolins should come too, right?
"Other friends will come later."
"Woong, okay then."
Even though it was a shame there were no other animals, So-eun's reaction was "fine" anyway. She took the beaver in her arms and started running "Dodo-do-". Probably to teach some tricks.
Then the next animal was the otter, after learning the beaver's rolling like a hula hoop.
The next one was the otter, cousin of the beaver, cute image, top of the food chain in Korean freshwater.
Not American, but Eurasian otter famous for cuteness. Noona said "cute" reflexively when she first saw it.
"Similar to the beaver!"
"It's called an otter, cousin of the beaver. But unlike the beaver, it lives in water."
"Then will it be in the canal?"
"Yeah. If So-eun is riding the crocodile, it will come next to her?"
"Wow!"
So-eun, upon hearing my words, seemed to recall something and suddenly ran towards the canal.
"Bo-tteu!"
The name "Bo-tteu" meaning "crocodile boat", the largest crocodile in the zoo came approaching silently after hearing So-eun's shout. It stopped against the current like a motorboat docking.
So-eun got off the otter and immediately climbed onto the crocodile's back, then floated down the current.
The otter was testing if it would really follow. Of course, the otter, mesmerized by So-eun's superpower, passed the test bravely.
Whether there was a crocodile or not, the otter jumped into the water and swam to So-eun. It climbed up the crocodile's tail hanging down and approached So-eun.
"Cute!"
So-eun clapped happily looking at the otter that swam over.
But unlike the easily brought beavers or otters, gorillas and pangolins couldn't be easily tamed. They are endangered species, and bringing them requires complex procedures. But since I have the Druid superpower, it was at least not too troublesome.
Of course, being troublesome doesn't mean impossible. It took about a month, but both gorillas and pangolins were able to be raised in the zoo.
We got cooperation from the country where the mountain gorillas live, which was on the verge of extinction, to provide several gorillas. And we received several pangolins rescued from African smugglers.
Of course, the animals we brought also had to undergo So-eun's training.
The pangolin, famous for protecting itself by curling into a ball from threats, learned to roll forward while curled up.
The animals with hard, sharp spiky armor left marks on the ground like cars passing by as they rolled.
But the training results that could be called amazing were the gorillas.
"Kongkong-i drumming!"
The gorilla named Kongkong-i who drums by beating his chest with two sticks. Dong dong dong, tteu tteu dong. Showing amateur level drumming, not professional.
After the first gorilla exhibition in Korea, not the western lowland gorilla but another species, people's attention focused on this gorilla drumming.
The gorilla can learn sign language if trained well, but the gorilla trained by So-eun was drumming instead of sign language, so people couldn't help but be interested.
And the interest from this gorilla spread to other animals. Precisely, to the animals So-eun trained.
"So now you're the manager? Or the princess?"
"Since the initials are the same, why not just call it the same? Or Manager-nim? Factory-nim?"
"Princess is just princess!"
"If you beat the princess, what badge do you get?"
"If you stop the rhino's body check and the gorilla's drumming, you can get the princess badge."
"My limit is the otter."
Watching the animals move orderly according to So-eun's commands, people cheered that a strongest manager was born in reality, not in the digital world.
Some people called them the Dream Team: the bulldozer rhino that pushes buildings, the drummer gorilla that tears things not beats, the pangolin that breaks legs, the cute assassin beavers and otters.
Even joking that even with modern firepower, beating the Dream Team is impossible.
"Suhwan. I asked if you could ask So-eun for training requests?"
Also, people were interested in the amazing effects of So-eun's training.
Unlike So-eun's half-playful approach, since we weren't planning to make them work, the interest was just curiosity.
But when everyone reacted with amazement and admiration, there was one group that looked at it with fear.
Our family's bodyguards.
"Team leader. Today evening's training partner is said to be Hell Party, is that true?"
"……Unfortunately."
"Should I write a resignation letter?"
"Tomorrow is payday."
"……Damn it."
The bodyguards, who could be called superhuman thanks to the superpower, were facing animals for training, and for them, So-eun's Dream Team was like hell.