Just as she approached, a young man in a white lab coat pushed open the glass door from the inside.
Seeing Ash, he paused for a moment, seemingly surprised.
And then, as if realizing something, he turned back and shouted into the Spirit Beast Reserve, "Mr. Blau! Someone's here to adopt a Spirit Beast!"
The Larvanine hidden in Ash's backpack flinched at the young man's loud voice, wriggling slightly as though worried it might be discovered.
"It's okay," Ash whispered softly to the Larvavine. "I checked earlier. They don't do security scans here. You just need to swipe your ID at the entrance to verify your identity. They won't find you."
No sooner had Ash finished speaking than the young man, whom the museum staff had referred to as Little Caine, called out to her. "Hey, student! Come on in!"
However, before Ash could respond, a loud, gruff voice shouted from inside the Spirit Beast Reserve. "Caine, close the door! Number Seven ran out of the enclos—"
The word "closure" hadn't even left the person's mouth when something suddenly bolted out of the Spirit Beast Reserve.
It hit Caine with such force that he spun around on the spot.
"Catch it!" someone shouted urgently from inside.
Reacting instinctively, Ash reached out and grabbed the leash trailing behind the creature as it passed her.
The next moment, she found herself soaring through the air, propelled by a Spirit Beast that looked remarkably like an ostrich.
In an instant, Ash was experiencing firsthand what it felt like to be a human kite.
"Help! Help! Hel—ahhh!!!"
A dazzling light suddenly flared up in the open space outside the Spirit Beast Reserve the moment Ash cried out for help.
As she plummeted from the sky, Ash instinctively shut her eyes tight.
She could feel the Larvanine on her back squirming fiercely inside her backpack, as if it had heard her scream and wanted to come out and help.
But it was too late!
Everything happened too fast!
In the blink of an eye, Ash hit the ground with her face landed on it first!
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry...!"
Inside the Spirit Beast Reserve's employee lounge, Caine and a man who appeared to be in his thirties kept bowing and apologizing profusely to Ash, who was holding the Larvanine in her arms.
An adhesive bandage adorned the bridge of her nose.
Their negligence had not only allowed a Flaringo to escape from the back enclosure but also nearly caused Ash to suffer an avoidable mishap.
It was an unforgivable lapse in their duties!
"Is your nose okay? Do you need me to take you to the hospital?" Caine asked anxiously, guilt evident on his face as he watched Ash gingerly rub her nose, wincing.
Although Ash's fall had been cushioned by Mr. Blau's Spirit Beast—a Frogato that caught her with its belly—the impact had still caused minor injuries.
No matter how soft a Spirit Beast's belly might be, landing face-first was bound to leave some scrapes.