Chapter 13
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“Are you back?”
“Yeah.”
He answered briefly, then turned his attention to the product in her hand.
“Is that it?”
“Yes.”
Tinya answered while cautiously observing him. Will he buy it? Probably. There was a reason Tinya hadn’t mentioned the deodorizer earlier, despite having it. At first, she genuinely hadn’t thought of it. But later, she withheld the information out of concern that he might roam freely if she told him about it.
What if he sprayed the deodorizer and wandered around the herbivorous district while she was at work, and someone reported him? She would tremble with anxiety every time she went to work. So she had tried not to spray it in front of him…
But she couldn’t let him go out without using it either. Despite having rabbit ears, if he smelled like a carnivorous shifter, it would all be for nothing. Moreover, if they were caught, she would certainly be taken to the police station without a chance to explain, since they were together.
“Hmm…”
“Let’s buy a few of these.”
Just as expected!
One, two, three deodorizers began accumulating in Cher’s hands. By the time he held the fifth one, Tinya’s pupils trembled. She barely swallowed a scream that almost escaped and grabbed his wrist.
“Um, do we really need to buy so many?”
“It’s good to stock up. The path here was dark, too. Take them while I’m buying.”
“Are you buying all of these for me?”
“What else would I use them for?”
Tinya’s eyes widened. She had naturally assumed he was buying them for himself. Her grip loosened at his unexpected words. Not missing the opportunity, Cher picked up all the remaining deodorizers. The bottles wedged between his fingers settled comfortably in his hand.
As he walked toward the counter, Tinya hurriedly followed, chattering.
“Hey, hey. All of that together is really expensive.”
If they were solely for her, this quantity was even more excessive. For some reason, the stock was less than usual, but what he was holding now seemed to be at least ten bottles. That amount would last over a year without needing to buy more. It felt too shameless to make him spend even more money when he was already covering food and utility costs.
“Yes. I can calculate too.”
“That’s not what I mean. You’ve already spent so much money, and if you do this too…”
Now her concern had shifted to someone else’s wallet. Cher ignored her chatter and placed the deodorizers on the counter. The lightly placed bottles made a heavy sound as they gathered. The store owner lowered his newspaper and looked at the counter with surprised eyes.
“You’re buying all of this?”
“Yes.”
“No refunds at this store.”
The store owner warned before taking out a bag. He found it more troublesome to handle refund requests later than to make money now. The two had starkly different reactions to his words. The woman stomped her feet anxiously, while the man shrugged as if it didn’t matter.
Seems like he’s the one paying, so there’s nothing to worry about. Having seen the 1-gold coin earlier, the store owner took out a bag and filled it with the deodorizers.
As he quietly watched the bag being filled, Cher suddenly asked.
“Have there been other shifters buying this deodorizer besides us?”
“Since it’s a product for sale, there must have been some occasionally? Though no one has bought this many. That’ll be 50 dong.”
“Gasp.”
“Here.”
After completing the payment, Cher lifted the bag. The store owner’s gaze turned to Tinya, who was startled by his teasing tone. She had a familiar face. He remembered her occasionally coming in with a tired expression.
‘Her husband must be treating her well.’
Compared to then, her face looked much brighter, and the store owner unconsciously thought this. Unaware of such a misunderstanding, Tinya kept asking if he was sure about the purchase until they left the store. Annoyed, Cher even pretended to clean his ear. He didn’t realize that she had never experienced the extravagance of money.
To reach the bustling area, they needed to go down to District 4. Cher, who had barely managed to board the mini-bus pulled by a donkey shifter, had to maximize his patience in that cramped space.
By the time they reached their destination, he was hunched over with his hands on his knees, gasping for breath.
“Isn’t there another mode of transportation?”
After catching his breath, Cher raised his head and glared at Tinya. The momentary flash in his eyes was fierce enough to intimidate, but perhaps because she had seen him suppress nausea several times during the journey, it wasn’t that frightening.
“There is, but it’s exp—”
“Expensive or not. Is there one?”
“A carriage led by horse shifters is the fastest…”
“We’ll take that on the way back.”
Cher had truly run out of patience with that excruciatingly slow speed. Being a public bus that went through narrow alleys made the already slow journey even slower. It would have been faster if he had carried Tinya on his back and run.
“Are you okay?”
Finding it curious and unfamiliar to see a carnivorous shifter showing weakness, Tinya asked cautiously. Cher took a deep breath, exhaled one last time, and straightened his upper body.
“I’m fine. Let’s go to the clothing store first.”
“It’s this way.”
Tinya glanced at him as she led the way. Having regained his composure by breathing the outside air, Cher seemed much better by the time they reached the clothing store. It didn’t take even a few minutes for Tinya’s face, which had been secretly smiling at the amusing situation, to change to shock.
Clothes were piled like mountains. There were dozens of plain tops without any patterns or prettiness, and the bottoms were not much different in composition. Tinya mentally held her head.
‘ How long does he think it will take to return to normal that he’s buying so much…’
Though he had said he would stay for a few months, the agreed-upon time was until he returned to normal. If he happened to recover tomorrow, all these clothes would have been bought for nothing. Even when she tried to dissuade him with trembling hands, it was useless. Cher calmly supported Tinya, who nearly collapsed at seeing the total amount, and completed the payment.
“Where do they sell food ingredients?”
“Over there…”
Cher tapped Tinya’s cheek with his index finger as she answered with a dazed expression. It was meant to tell her to snap out of it, but just then, chants of “Oo-cha! Ah-cha!” were heard from somewhere. Both turned their heads toward the sound simultaneously. And Cher was left speechless.
Men and women in athletic wear were running in two lines. That itself wasn’t surprising, but it was different when they all had muscular physiques and large builds comparable to carnivorous shifters.
‘Why are there carnivorous shifters here…’
Before his thought could be completed, fluttering rabbit ears caught his attention. It was an astonishing sight that made him doubt his own vision.
‘Rabbit ears? Are they rabbit shifters?’
Not lion shifters? He looked back and forth between their heads and bodies, but the rabbit ears didn’t disappear. They were too real to be fake like his, responding and swaying in the wind. They were clearly ears with living muscles.
Meanwhile, Tinya looked at them familiarly.
‘Ranran isn’t there.’
She didn’t see the face that often appeared at the front. It seemed today they were running separately. It was a pity, but she could only hope to run into them by chance next time.
‘No. Come to think of it, it’s fortunate we didn’t meet today.’
If it had been Ranran, they would certainly have shown interest in her companion. She would have had to make up some excuse, and Tinya didn’t want to lie to her benefactor if possible.
“What is that?”
Cher turned his head toward Tinya with a swish. Lost in thoughts of Ranran, Tinya didn’t immediately grasp the intention behind his words.
“What is what?”
“Are those really rabbit shifters? Those?”
Despite holding bags, he pointed behind them with his thumb as if they weren’t heavy. Tinya pouted at his rude tone, but understanding his surprised reaction, she quickly explained.
“Yes, they’re rabbit shifters. You saw their ears.”
“Those…”
He swallowed his retort about having ears on his head, too, since they were outside. And unlike his ears, theirs moved as if alive, so they couldn’t be fake. Even more surprising were the other herbivorous shifters passing by, accepting their appearance as normal.
Only then did Cher realize why other herbivorous shifters checked his ears immediately upon seeing him. It was acceptable for rabbits to have such bodies. He also understood why she had insisted on the rabbit ears.
“Are there other herbivorous shifters like that?”
“Rabbit shifters are particularly unique.”
She answered as she started walking. He had said he wanted to buy food ingredients too, and grocery stores tended to close early. If they dawdled, the store might close.
“I heard they weren’t originally like that. But Ranran started making them exercise, saying a healthy mind dwells in a healthy body.”
“Ranran?”
Somehow, the way she said the name sounded quite familiar. …A male?
“That’s my landlord. A rabbit shifter.”
“Ah. The landlord.”
His face immediately became indifferent. The owner of that miserable house was bound to be an unremarkable shifter.
“Is that a male?”
“There’s the grocery store!”
Their words overlapped simultaneously.
“Pardon? What did you say?”
When Tinya asked again, Cher shook his head.
“Nothing. Where did you say? There?”
Then he walked quickly in the direction Tinya had pointed. Despite being loaded with bags, he moved as fast as if he wasn’t carrying anything. Tinya hurriedly followed him as he suddenly quickened his pace.
T/n: In the text, the name “Ranran” is mentioned without gender-specific pronouns, so I use the neutral they for the time being.
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