A Tiger Rolled Into My Life, Bringing Chaos With It - Chapter 9

Cher frowned slightly as he looked at her pale blue face. Why did she suddenly look so frightened again? Cher, who thought she had shed all her fears last night, couldn’t tell if her expression was because of him or for some other reason. If it was still because of him… he wouldn’t feel very good about it.

“Um, um, Mr. Tiger.”

Mr. Tiger? His eyebrows twitched at the cumbersome title.

“It’s Cher.”

“What?”

“My name. It’s Cher.”

His gaze narrowed. A wordless urging followed in his eyes. Under that gaze, Tinya felt as though she could see his tiger form overlapping with his human one.

“Sir Ch…Cher?”

“Why add ‘sir’? Are you my subordinate?”

She wasn’t his subordinate, but it was something similar. Being at the bottom of the food chain, there was no way she could be a match for a tiger, the top predator. Even attacking in groups would obviously result in defeat every time. But if he disliked the honorific, what could she do? Surely he wouldn’t get angry at her for dropping it after telling her to do so.

“Cheheru.”

Her voice cracked in the middle, mangling the name. Cher gave her an incredulous look but didn’t press further when he saw Tinya’s face, which seemed to indicate she had accomplished her mission. Well. Not bad for the first day. He decided to generously let it slide.

“Now that you’ve heard my name, you should introduce yourself too.”

He already knew her name, but he urged the formal introduction. He wanted a proper introduction.

‘He’s even digging for my name!’

Unable to guess his true intentions, Tinya could only see this as him asking her name as a warning. For a moment, she considered giving a fake name, but fearing the consequences if her lie was discovered, she refrained. If she had only stayed in the herbivorous district, it might have been different. But her workplace was in the peace zone, making the chances of her lie being exposed quite high.

“…It’s Tinya.”

Though her answer was quiet, it reached Cher’s ears clearly. His lips twitched as if experiencing a momentary spasm. He covered his mouth, holding his chin. It felt better than he had expected. Once his twitching lips calmed, he lowered his hand.

“So what?”

“Pardon?”

“You called me. Didn’t you have something to say?”

“Ah.”

A small exclamation escaped Tinya’s lips. Having concentrated so much on the challenging task of saying his name, she had completely forgotten that she had called out to him. She wondered how to begin. It was difficult to ask outright, ‘Why are you still here?’ First, she should apologize for yesterday’s rudeness…

Just then, her eyes fell on the trash can. The lidless trash can plainly displayed what had last been thrown away. The drooping green leaves caught her eye precisely.

CRASH!

Tinya slid forward and knelt in front of the trash can. Without hesitation, both her hands went inside. Cher asked what she was doing, but his words didn’t register. Her hands trembled. The romaine lettuce she pulled out was already covered in dust.

“W-why is this…?”

Was her mind still not back from her first mating experience yesterday? Tinya couldn’t accept the fact that the romaine was in the trash. Cher, who approached the trash can in just two steps following Tinya’s sudden action, let out a short exclamation.

“It looked spoiled, so I threw it away for you.”

At those words, her hands froze. Her head slowly turned upward. Her eyes were filled with disbelief, but Cher’s sense of caution, which only seemed to work in response to her fear, had completely evaporated.

“You should throw away spoiled things promptly to make your refrigerator last longer.”

“…not.”

“What?”

“It’s not spoiled!”

Bugs had nibbled on it a little, but it was still perfectly edible. In fact, thanks to the bug bites, she had been able to buy it cheaply, making for some happy days. Though its freshness diminished with each passing day, if she ate two leaves at a time, she could finish it before it spoiled. The plan was perfect. But, that, that man had ruined it all!

“Sob, I just bought this romaine after so long…”

“Are you… crying?”

“Uwaah, my romaine… I could have eaten it for three more days… huuung.”

Seeing her wailing so miserably, Cher couldn’t hide his bewilderment. Though he bent his knees, his large hands hovered awkwardly in the air, revealing someone who had clearly never comforted another person before, and couldn’t quite reach her. Meanwhile, Tinya buried her face in her hands and shed tears.

At any other time, it might have been different, but this romaine had been difficult to obtain amid her tight finances after last month’s rainy season. Yesterday, she had half-seriously compared the romaine to matchmaking fees, but the priority was always the matchmaking fees.

She had grumbled out of regret, but she would usually choose the matchmaking fees. In other words, it meant she wouldn’t even see romaine for the next few weeks.

I have to eat what’s left, what’s left.

As Tinya tried to put the dusty romaine in her mouth, Cher grabbed her wrist in alarm. Simultaneously, he used one hand to push her face, covering her mouth. Wet tears flowed between his fingers.

“Why are you stopping me! After throwing it away without permission, now you won’t even let me eat this…”

“You’ll get sick eating this. Just calm down first.”

There was no way she could calm down. Cher forcibly removed the romaine from her and pushed Tinya toward the bathroom. As her work time was approaching, Tinya swallowed her tears and went in to wash. Beyond the sound of the shower, occasional sniffling echoed.

When Tinya emerged after washing, she didn’t shout like before, perhaps feeling his presence more strongly than her indignation and upset. However, deep in her heart, a streak of resentment was engraved. Until she left the house, she didn’t say a single word to Cher.

Hiccup.

Once he disappeared from sight, the tears she had barely suppressed rose again. She could forgive him for transforming into a tiger cub and deceiving her, and even for wearing her clothes without permission. But the romaine was absolutely unforgivable. It was unfair that she couldn’t fully enjoy the happiness of the weather clearing up after just one day.

‘Cruel tiger.’

He was completely different from the kind tiger regular customer. Tinya glared at the space where she imagined his face. Even so, she didn’t forget to take out the deodorizer from her bag and spray it thoroughly. There was a slight tiger scent lingering.

Spritz! Spritz!

If he was still at home when she returned from work, this time she would definitely report him immediately. Previously, she hadn’t reported him because she thought he was a tiger cub, but now that she knew he was an adult, there was no reason to hesitate anymore.

She wanted to tattle to one of her kind regular customers, a tiger shifter, but he hadn’t visited much lately, perhaps busy with something. Of course, that was just a thought; even if he came today, she wouldn’t be able to say a word. She had never had a personal conversation with the regular tiger shifter.

Was the sky trying to comfort her in her depression? Today, there were many customers. Although the day after rain was usually busier than normal, receiving four animals was truly rare. One of them was a regular bear shifter, Otan, so by closing time, Tinya’s anger had subsided somewhat.

She thought she would die from moving her stiff body, and the pain in her waist kept reminding her of the previous night, stealing her concentration, but anyway, she finished well without major issues.

“Here’s your daily wage.”

Pupu’s face was quite bright as he handed the money to Tinya. Bear shifters living far from the peace zone didn’t get groomed often, so they spent generously when they did come. Today, they had visited as a group, making the amount even more substantial.

Tinya collected her wages and left. As soon as she was some distance from the shop, she took out the deodorizer and sprayed herself. The scent of the bear shifter, her last customer, was washed away at once, but her gaze remained quite sharp.

‘Just you wait.’

He probably sees me as just a weak and timid herbivorous shifter. But I’m not just a trembling shifter. When I need to act, I will. If I see even a strand of his fur at home, I’ll run straight out to report him. Tinya clenched both fists tightly.

Step, step, step.

Her steps, hardened with resolve, were so quick that she arrived home 5 minutes earlier than usual. As the blue roof came into view, her eyes narrowed. It was an expression that would have made Cher snort if he had seen it, but right now, she was more serious than anyone.

Her hand gripped the doorknob with force.