Chapter 34
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Why Are You Here?
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I'd completely forgotten about it, but upon reflection, there was something in the past about black hair.
It wasn't anything serious—just some superstitions around the medieval era labeling black-haired people as witches or devil worshippers.
But that was from an age so ancient that calling it "the really old days" doesn't even do it justice. These days, it's watered down to the point where it's just "oh yeah, that used to be a thing."
That's why it had slipped my mind all this time. It was so trivial that I'd never actually run into trouble just because of my black hair.
...That said, even if it's a ridiculous superstition that's fading into obscurity with the flow of time, it doesn't mean absolutely no one believes it.
Even before I reincarnated, there were people who seriously bought into conspiracy theories like flat Earth or reptilians, right?
The black hair superstition isn't quite that extreme, so it's not the perfect comparison, but you get the idea.
And who would believe something that absurd?
Only the elderly or kids whose judgment hasn't fully developed yet.
That's why my parents moved us to this quiet neighborhood—the latter case.
At least it was better than getting bullied by a group. They figured it'd be easier to make friends by chatting one-on-one.
But in the end, I didn't make any friends back then.
And now, at this age, here I am getting discriminated against by some random old guy just for my black hair! Fuck!
For starters, the waiter didn't come over to do anything to me.
He just wanted to give me a heads-up like, "Hey, this guy's bad news."
Normally, they'd handle it quietly in-house. Telling me about the situation probably isn't the best response.
The real issue is that this old man seems dead set on clashing with me directly, with no intention of resolving things through words via the waiter.
Hell, he's already charging toward me impatiently, completely ignoring the waiter.
For now, I decided to step outside briefly. No point causing a scene inside the restaurant.
The first and most important question: What do you want from me?
...His answer? "Get out."
Hmm. Situation assessed.
This can't be resolved peacefully. And I don't need to do a damn thing— he's just some weirdo.
So, I figured I'd ask a couple of questions out of curiosity and call it done.
Why do you hate black hair?
His answer: "Every time I get involved with black hair, my luck goes bad."
For example, he got into a beef with some black-haired guy on the street, threw a punch, broke a tooth, and ended up fined.
And another time, he "accidentally" mistook someone else's belongings for his own and took them, only for some unrelated black-haired person—not even the owner—to report him.
What the hell? It's all his own damn fault.
But I kept that thought to myself.
I'm not dumb enough to point it out to someone in a mental state where they refuse to own their mistakes and blame superstitions instead.
I also asked about beastkin. Not for any particular reason—just curious why someone superstitious enough to buy into the black hair myth had zero reaction to them.
His response: "What do those furry bastards matter to me? They've never caused me any harm."
...I guarantee you, if a beastkin had reported him instead of some black-haired person, he'd hate beastkin without question.
Whatever. No room for second thoughts—I've realized he's always the one in the wrong.
To resolve a situation like this quickly and cleanly? Use money.
If it feels wrong that I have to shell out cash in a scenario where I'm not at fault and only suffering losses, think about it this way.
Isn't it arrogant to expect to come out on top against a guy like this without taking any hit yourself?
Hell, even if I socked him like in some novel's satisfying revenge scene, it'd feel good in the moment, but I could get kicked out too.
This is basically a natural disaster. That destructive, you ask?
No—it's that he's 100% at fault, there's no way to complain, and I just take the damage.
Reframed like that, isn't it actually a great cost-benefit to resolve it with money?
Ah, of course, I'm not giving money to him.
To the waiter.
"Please get that guy out."
"Uh... um... is it hard to resolve this nicely...?"
"You heard it all. He's a weirdo. How do you talk that out?"
"...No helping it. Sorry for the inconvenience."
"Here's a tip for the trouble."
"Pardon? No need... Huh? Wait, that's quite the amount?"
"Thanks for handling it."
He seemed ready to toss the guy out even without the money, but I handed it over anyway.
I'm not exactly strapped for cash.
"What the hell! I paid here—why do I have to leave?!"
"Hey! More staff over here!!"
And I was already satisfied just seeing the waiter handle it with such enthusiasm.
I went back inside the restaurant. Ranyori was waiting.
Her expression looked a lot less tense than before.
Probably a huge relief realizing the commotion wasn't because of her being a beastkin. Good for her, anyway.
"I...! I wasn't laughing earlier, Aren...!"
"Then what was it?"
"I was crying...!"
"Must've been laughing so hard tears came out."
"No...! Ranyori isn't that mean...!"
Hey, it was funny enough to laugh.
Honestly, even I'd have cracked up.
Your friend who swore to help if trouble started inside gets dragged out because he caused the problem.
If it were me—and if it was a same-sex friend—I'd have been out the door with a "What the hell, dude?" from the start.
"Aghhh... I'm really, really sorry... It wasn't mocking at all...!"
"I said it's fine."
Ranyori was feeling guilty over nothing.
She was covering her flushed face with both hands.
Less embarrassment, more total bewilderment at the situation, probably.
Her ears were drooping too, now that I noticed.
Worried I'd gotten hurt or something?
Hmm... I'm not great at comforting people like this.
No choice. Time for a little playful threat.
"Ranyori."
"Ung...?"
"Think I'll only stop being mad if I pull you into a big hug right here in front of all these people?"
"Eek...?!"
"Quit covering your face and let's eat."
"...Really okay?"
Her eyes looked a little misty, maybe.
Instead of answering, I speared a piece of meat with a fresh fork and fed it to her.
Her eyes widened in surprise, but she took it fine and started munching away.
Should've cut it smaller. Look at those puffed cheeks. Cute from this angle, though.
...I can just set this fork aside, right? Feels weird using it now.
For some reason, Ranyori's gaze lingered on it for a moment, but nothing happened.
We finished eating and headed out.
What did we do outside? Wandered here and there.
Chatting on a park bench,
Conversing in a sunny spot,
Or sharing stories in the shade.
...What can you do? Neither of us are the active type.
Still, we didn't just kill time like that.
We caught a street performance at a good time and watched that.
After some time passed and we'd walked a fair bit, we finally shared our thoughts.
"Really, really...!"
"..."
"It was boring...!"
"Yeah. Why'd we watch?"
We were stuck in the front row, so we couldn't show how bored we were and had to fake reactions hard.
Would've been awkward otherwise... They seemed pretty inexperienced...
"ArenAren...!"
"Yeah?"
"I found a place I wanna go."
"Where?"
"I wanna go home...!"
"Music to my ears."
This counts as a pretty fulfilling walk, right?
No need to go out for a while. Monthly quota filled.
Back home, we didn't do anything major.
I gave honest feedback on the little story Ranyori scribbled, claiming she wanted to try writing one, which made her pout.
Then, as a joke, I wrote one overly praising her to cheer her up.
Pet her head once. No, twice. Actually three times.
We had a good time like that, but eventually circled back to chatting.
I was perched on the edge of the bed. Ranyori was sprawled out comfortably.
It looked a bit like we'd swapped owners, but I let it slide.
Quite a bit of time passed. It was night before we knew it.
Ranyori yawned sleepily now and then but kept chattering away.
Her daily pass lasts till bedtime, so she probably wants to stay up as late as possible.
Looks like she's sleeping over today.
She could use the spare room we keep empty or, low odds, get kidnapped by Mom.
Obviously, even sprawled on my bed now doesn't mean she'll sleep here.
"No way...! Ranyori has shame too...!"
"But didn't you suggest sleeping together before?"
"Ranyori doesn't remember!"
"I do."
"Ranyori sometimes forgets about shame!"
"Good thing you're remembering now."
"Gonna forget again tomorrow."
Why.
...Anyway, our chatter with Ranyori went on late into the night.
Right up until we dozed off.
"...?"
And with that, I fell asleep.
What? Sun's up. It's morning now.
"What's with her."
And there was Ranyori, curled up tight in my arms, purring softly in her sleep.
Must be comfy. She's smiling.
...And for some reason, her tail's wrapped around my leg. No idea why.
Last thing I remember is being tired and flopping down myself.
Eyes hurt, so I'd turned off the light for a bit. Figured Ranyori was heading to bed anyway.
But after I replied, there was no response for a while.
Should've checked if she'd fallen asleep... but I just conked out too.
Still salvageable, though.
As long as we avoid that awkward eye-lock when she wakes up.
She's in deep sleep, so I'll carefully disentangle.
Good, put some distance. No movement from Ranyori yet.
Sat up top half. Just need to get off the bed now.
But first, detach this tail from my leg—
"Mrrrow...?"
Hmm. No stir before, but this wakes her.
Ranyori stared at me blankly. Hasn't processed the situation yet.
"...Good morning?"
Nothing else to say.