Bottom-Feeder Purchase (1)

I decided it was best to avoid running into Theo for a while. After thinking it over carefully, that was the conclusion I reached. After doing that all night long, I had no idea what kind of face I was supposed to make when I saw him. I just needed a little time. Usually, stuff like this gets better with time anyway.

That said, completely cutting off contact and disappearing might cause some misunderstandings. It’d probably be fine if I just asked Claire or Faye to pass along a message. After all, we go to the same academy, so avoiding him entirely would be impossible. Maybe about a week? That should be enough time for me to brush it off as a one-time thing.

Even if it makes me look like a coward running away, who cares? I’m a rabbit, after all. What’s wrong with a rabbit being a scaredy-cat who’s good at running? Come to think of it, the whole thing that night only happened because I’m a rabbit…

…Yeah. Let’s stop that train of thought right there.

Anyway, for the time being, I planned to steer clear of Theo. The best way to do that was obviously to hole up in the dormitory. If I stayed buried in the girls’ dorm, there was zero chance of accidentally bumping into him.

But that wasn’t as easy as it sounded. After suddenly spending the night out and then locking myself in my room without coming out, it was painfully obvious what people would think.

Well, to be honest, I don’t really care what strangers think of me. Their opinions have nothing to do with me. There was a more important reason.

I needed to buy a potion.

Specifically… a contraceptive.

That bastard Theo didn’t even think about protection and just unloaded everything inside me. Until my lower belly was swollen and the semen that couldn’t all fit in my womb was overflowing…

Ah, damn it. Just thinking about it is making me feel weird again.

Anyway, that meant I absolutely had to buy contraceptives. Pregnancy between different species is rare, but the chance isn’t zero. No matter how good my luck is, I can’t leave something this important up to chance.

Luckily, in this fantasy world, contraceptives were ridiculously effective. Just drink it and the success rate was 100%. They probably separated it strictly because the taste was polarizing. The price… wasn’t cheap enough to ignore, but it wasn’t a huge burden either. Considering how well it worked, it was worth the cost.

I grabbed my wallet and left the dormitory.

There were all sorts of shops near the academy. Same reason you find tons of stores around universities back on Earth. I headed past them to a shop that wasn’t on the main road but wasn’t quite in a back alley either.

The place I was looking for was a general store called Senos General Store. Even though its location wasn’t great, it stocked a wide variety of goods at cheap prices. It was a hidden gem. Calling it a “gem” when it wasn’t a restaurant might sound weird, but whatever.

It was a shop I used a lot in the game too. It sold everything from consumables to high-level equipment at low probabilities, so I kept coming back even in the late game. I’ve been using it regularly since I got isekai’d here as well. There were quite a few items ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you couldn’t get at the academy shops that were available here.

It was a shame the location wasn’t better—it could’ve done way more business—but there was also something special about it being a store only people in the know visited.

I opened the shop door and stepped inside.

—Ding.

The bell on the door let out a clear sound. The fact that it didn’t have the usual creak of an old door or the unpleasant metallic scrape of rusty hinges told me just how well-maintained the place was.

Inside, shelves were packed full of goods. It gave off the same vibe as those stationery stores near elementary schools back in the day. There were tons of products, but it looked like they didn’t have enough space to display them properly.

“Welcome~ Oh. It’s you, Luna? Long time no see!”

The woman watching the store from the counter greeted me warmly. But I couldn’t return the greeting with the same enthusiasm.

“E-excuse me? Luna? Who’s that? I’m not her.”

Right now I was wearing a hood that covered everything below my nose, a robe that hid my entire body, and another hood over my head. I was perfectly disguised as someone else.

To be honest, robes are incredibly uncomfortable. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I never knew covering your body could be this annoying. My beastman instincts were screaming at me to rip these clothes off right this second. Maybe because it was more like an outer coat than actual clothing, I could somehow endure it.

So why was I dressed like this?

…It’s embarrassing, okay?

If it was a complete stranger, I could just brazen it out, but since I actually knew Sepia, the owner of Senos, it was even more mortifying. So I disguised myself, planned to buy the contraceptive and bolt before she realized it was me! How the hell did she recognize me?

Sepia looked me up and down, then sighed and pointed it out.

“Your ears are sticking out the front of the hood.”

“…Ah!”

I touched the front of the hood and sure enough, the tips of my ears were poking out. I never imagined my big ears wouldn’t fit inside the hood. I hadn’t even considered that.

Since I’d already been caught, there was no point hiding anymore. I smoothly pulled off the hood and robe and draped them over my arm.

“Phew. That’s much better. I didn’t expect a single robe to be that uncomfortable.”

“It must be rough for a beastman. So? What did you come to buy that you even bothered with a disguise? Just so you know, we don’t sell anything illegal here.”

“I wasn’t planning to buy anything illegal anyway. What I want is… um…”

The embarrassment made the words stick in my throat. I whispered it like I was forcing it out.

“…Medicine.”

“What? I didn’t catch that.”

“…Contraceptive.”

“Come on. Can’t you speak clearly? I need to hear it properly before I can sell it or not.”

Getting snippy with a customer? Is that how a shop owner should act?

But I was the one who needed something from her. I squeezed the words out with great difficulty.

“…Contraceptive. Give it to me.”

“There we go. Contraceptive? Of course we have it. You should’ve just said it loudly from the start. Just a moment. Contraceptive, contraceptive…”

Sepia was muttering as she rummaged through the shelves when her movements suddenly stopped.

“…Contraceptive?”

Ah, damn it. This is exactly why I didn’t want to get caught.

“Oh my, oh my goodness!”

Sepia let out a high-pitched squeal and rushed over.

“You did it, didn’t you? You finally did it! You lewd rabbit!”

“S-shut up! Don’t say it so loud! And who are you calling a lewd rabbit!”

“With those clothes and that behavior, anyone would call you a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lewd rabbit. Anyway~ So our Luna has finally become a woman! How was it? Did it feel good?”

Sepia grinned slyly and patted my shoulder. I really hate this. Ugh. Do women normally share dirty topics this easily? Even my roommate Casey’s messages were full of wild stuff sometimes. Maybe it’s just these two? I really hope so.

I firmly pushed away the clingy Sepia.

“I’m not answering that. It’s embarrassing. Just give me the medicine already.”

When I cut her off so decisively, Sepia finally stopped pestering me.

“Fine, fine. Contraception is important. That said…”

“What now?”

“Don’t you need this too?”

Sepia held out one bottle of the contraceptive potion I’d asked for, along with a box about the size of a book. The potion was what I ordered. But what was this box?

“I don’t have to buy this just because I opened it, right?”

“Come on, do I look like the kind of cheapskate who’d run a shop like that?”

“True, that doesn’t sound like you.”

She might be sly and mischievous, but she had principles when it came to business. I set aside my unnecessary worries and opened the box.

What I saw wasn’t individually wrapped vitamin C tablets.

It was condoms.

“What the hell is this!”

I was so startled I almost threw it.

“Buying contraceptives every time gets expensive, right? These are way cheaper. So? Don’t you need them?”

“I’m not going to use them anyway? I don’t ne…”

Wait a second.

I have no intention of using them. I’m not planning to do anything more with Theo. This time was a genuine mistake, and I’m never drinking again. But what about the others?

I’m going to have to have a lot of sex from now on. And judging by how Theo was blowing his load everywhere, he probably won’t even think about protection. In that case, I should at least be prepared.

Of course the other heroines will probably take care of it themselves… but I’m still anxious. Maybe I should buy some and hand a few out to the girls.

“On second thought, I guess I do need them. I’ll take these too.”

“See~?”

Sepia sat down with a look that practically begged to be smacked. Can I really not hit her just once?

“That’ll be 5 gold total for both.”

“5 gold? That’s the regular price. You’re the one who recommended it—don’t you have any discounts?”

“Of course not. Our store—”

“Yeah, yeah. No discounts, no rip-offs. I get it.”

“You know me so well. Isn’t it nice that we don’t have to haggle over every little thing?”

“It is pretty convenient.”

Since I was a modern person who preferred big supermarkets over traditional markets, this place was much more comfortable than the other shops that would try to overcharge you the moment you let your guard down. They also had way more items in stock.

I quietly placed 5 gold into Sepia’s hand.

“Thank you~ Come again! By the way, Luna. Are you really not going to tell me anything? I’d even pay 5 gold to hear it.”

“I really don’t want to talk about it. And the fact that it’s a little cheap makes me even more annoyed.”

“Hey, even a decent bard couldn’t get 5 gold per person. Compared to that, it’s actually expensive.”

“Either way, I’m not telling you.”

I firmly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠refused, gathered up the two items I’d bought, and left. It was probably best to take the contraceptive right away. I immediately opened the potion bottle and drank it.

The taste… was like the strawberry-flavored cold medicine I used to take as a kid. In other words, it was decent enough to drink. Not that I planned on drinking it again.

That wrapped up my business at the store. I did need to restock the potions I’d used during the last random event, but that could wait. It was still bright out—maybe I should grab a snack?

While I was thinking about my next plans, I left Senos General Store.

After wandering around a bit and heading back toward the dormitory, I ran into Faye in the hallway.