A Tiger Rolled Into My Life, Bringing Chaos With It - Chapter 27

“It seems like disappearances have become frequent lately.”

As she muttered this unconsciously, Bell, who had been looking elsewhere besides the bulletin board, lowered his gaze to look at the notice Tinya was viewing. He stared at the missing person notice with somewhat dispassionate eyes.

“Yeah.”

“Two young shifters… Bell, you should be careful, too.”

Concern automatically came first since he was a shifter who frequently got lost. A flash of amusement crossed Bell’s expression, but his voice remained gentle as always.

“You should be more careful than me, Tinya.”

“I obviously need to be extremely careful. But you should be especially careful since you’re running away from home.”

“I will. This is the bus stop, right? Thanks for bringing me here.”

At his natural change of subject, Tinya turned her head. He had already slipped into the bus stop. Tinya said goodbye to him and continued walking past the station.

After walking about two blocks, the atmosphere around her began to bustle. She had entered District 2. It was less busy than District 4 where supermarkets and furniture stores were concentrated, but compared to the quiet District 1, District 2 was quite lively.

With the bustling sounds as a backdrop, the sign above her destination had “Matchmaking Office” written in large letters. When Tinya entered, a familiar face welcomed her.

“I thought it might be you, Tinya.”

“Hello.”

He was the youngest of the iguana brothers who ran the matchmaking office, responsible for matching shifters from Districts 1-3. As soon as Tinya opened the door, he pushed his chair back and pulled out a file with her name on it.

“Let’s see, let’s see. You only paid half the amount last month. You chose to maintain your grade instead of introductions. What are you planning to do this month?”

“I’ll pay the full amount.”

“Oh?”

He quickly clicked his abacus beads to calculate the total. Tinya’s fee was quite high since she lived in District 1 and wasn’t a particularly preferred species in the matchmaking market. Of course, there was an option to pay less, but then her lowered grade would mean the grade of potential matches would also be lower.

What matters is compatibility, not grades.

There was a time when she thought that way. But after meeting potential matches a couple of times, she changed her mind. They were only there to find a mate for a day of breeding with no intention of forming a group. Their values were fundamentally different from Tinya’s, who wanted a close-knit group.

In the end, she reluctantly paid more to raise her grade. Only after reaching grade C could she meet someone willing to seriously discuss marriage.

“Seems you’ve been benefiting greatly from the clear weather lately?”

He casually remarked while clicking his abacus.

“Yes, fortunately.”

The matchmaker naturally knew Tinya’s occupation. This meant he knew her income was largely dependent on the weather. That’s why Tinya hadn’t come here immediately after receiving money from Cher, but had waited to observe a few more clear days.

She couldn’t even meet last month’s payment due to the rainy season, so suddenly showing up with money would arouse suspicion. Today, he could assume she had received good tips.

“You still prefer small species?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm… As I said last time, there aren’t many small species of grade C or higher. They tend to be exclusive and usually find mates within their own groups. Being a rabbit shifter yourself, you must know that small species don’t often use matchmaking services.”

Tinya flinched slightly at those words. The matchmaker spoke without much thought, but it was something that struck a nerve with Tinya.

The matchmaker scratched his head with the pen he was holding. People typically use matchmaking services for about 1-2 years on average. Tinya had been using it for just over a year, still within the average range, but the issue was her usage pattern.

Most people just maintain their grade and avoid actual meetings, whereas Tinya consistently requested meetings each time. However, as mentioned, there weren’t many small species of grade C or higher in this market. This meant that connections weren’t being made well compared to the amount she paid. The search process wasn’t easy either.

“Why not consider large species shifters?”

Tinya pressed her lips together. There were several reasons why she wanted to avoid large species, but the biggest was the sense of intimidation. She didn’t want to feel that emotion toward a lifelong partner. The second reason was the difference in birth numbers. The number of offspring between small and large species could differ by up to eight times.

Though her memory was vague, Tinya had siblings. But food was scarce back then, so they all died early, and somehow only Tinya survived.

It was okay at first. Because her mother was by her side. But after losing even that one presence, an indescribable loneliness swept over her. The sensation of being left alone created extreme anxiety. This feeling deepened on days when she saw others living in groups of dozens. If only I had even one more sibling… It was impossible not to have such thoughts.

Alone, it was difficult to form a group or join an existing one. By sheer luck, someone invited her to join their group, allowing her to barely establish herself, but without that one invitation, even that would have been impossible.

Having experienced this painfully, Tinya didn’t want to pass on similar loneliness to her children. If, just if, something happened to her like her mother’s early death…

Tinya’s face turned pale in an instant.

“…I still want to meet small species.”

“If that’s what you want.”

As long as her will was firm, he couldn’t interfere further. The matchmaker received the payment for this month and circled the blank space in Tinya’s payment record.

“I’ll call you as soon as we find a match.”

“Yes. Thank you for your help.”

Tinya, who bowed and left, had a face deep in thought. The matchmaker had recommended large species shifters a few times before, but this was the first time he had suggested it so explicitly. Were small species really that scarce…?

She felt like a flaw in a gem. As if she were a shifter who couldn’t find a mate among her own kind and was trying to form a group elsewhere. And the fact that it wasn’t much different from reality made her heart sink even more.

‘Should I have tried to return to my original group back then?’

It’s not that she disliked life in Greyden. She had her own place, even if she paid rent, and she earned money for her work, so how could she dislike it? But occasionally, on days like today when the weight of lies felt overwhelming, she found herself reflecting on the past. Even though the situation back then wasn’t comfortable enough to return to her group.

Dusk gradually settled. As shadows lengthened, Tinya arrived home. Before she could even step inside after opening the door handle, a disgruntled voice flew at her.

“You’re late.”

Belatedly, a face full of discontent entered her view.

“Explain why you’re 30 minutes late.”

Tinya stared blankly at Cher, who stood with an apron and fire in his eyes, then suddenly burst into laughter. After all that talk about being afraid of large species, the irony of living with one of the most threatening carnivorous shifters among large species struck her as funny.

“You’re laughing? You make someone wait for nearly an hour and you find it funny?”

The “30 minutes” had been greatly exaggerated to “nearly an hour.” Tinya reflexively looked at the clock. It was about 40 minutes past her usual arrival time. If forced to choose between the two, it was closer to “30 minutes.” Instead of pointing this out, Tinya expressed her apology. After all, he had waited for her; that much was true.

“I’m sorry.”

Then suddenly, the thought that there was someone waiting for her created a strange feeling. It was quite ironic that this someone was a carnivorous shifter staying illegally.

“Reason.”

As Tinya was about to take off her shoes and enter, he blocked her by placing his hand on her shoulder. It seemed he wouldn’t let her in until he heard the reason.

“This is my house…”

Regardless of her bewildered voice, he folded his arms, recalling how Tinya had been slightly late for the past few days.

“Come to think of it, you weren’t just late today. You’ve been like this for the past few days. What’s the reason? Tell me.”

Ah.

He must be referring to the times she had spent teaching Bell how to find his way. Despite all that effort, he still couldn’t find his way. Tinya scratched the back of her neck.

“There’s a shifter who keeps getting lost on my way home from work these days. He seems to keep forgetting, getting lost even on familiar paths. I was late because I was helping him.”

A shifter who gets lost?

‘An elderly person?’

To him, only children or the elderly would get lost to the extent of needing others’ help. But if it had been a child, Tinya would have referred to them as ‘a child,’ so the only option left was an elderly person. As the image of a herbivorous shifter leaning on a cane with trembling legs came to mind, his mood soured.

You ignored me like that when I was a regular, but you help a stranger?

It didn’t matter whether the person was elderly or not. He could only think of the treatment he had received. I don’t like this. He folded his arms more tightly over his apron and gave Tinya a disapproving look.

‘Why is he acting like this again?’

She didn’t think she had said anything to offend him. She couldn’t understand what had triggered his displeasure. As Tinya brought her hands together and began to look apprehensive, Cher decided to take a step back.