Chapter 23
“What… is this?”
Ray asked, looking completely dumbfounded. But the answer didn’t come from Perea — it came from a new face.
“Hello! My name is Hayu. Starting now, we’re going to disguise Lord Theo so no one can tell he’s a predator beastman!”
The woman cheerfully introduced herself. She was Hayu, the eldest daughter of the village chief and older sister of the youth association leader. She was also Timi Village’s veteran hairstylist — she’d been in charge of the villagers’ hair for over ten years.
It was such an unexpected situation that Ray tilted his head. He wasn’t the type to ask many questions, but right now, his mind was full of them.
“Disguise? What’s that supposed to mean?”
Hayu was the one who answered again, explaining what she and the villagers had been preparing for the past three days while Ray and the others were away in Lium Forest.
“If you walk around looking like this, it’s only a matter of time before someone recognizes you. That would be a shame, especially after you went through so much trouble to erase your traces.”
“…Hmm.”
When he thought about it, she was right. Even if people didn’t immediately recognize Theo as a tiger beastman, the boy still stood out.
It wasn’t just his features that gave him away — his golden hair and round, striped tail were rare even in the vast Amur Empire. Anyone seeing him would remember him.
If he wandered around looking like that, attention would follow him everywhere. And sooner or later, those who were after Theo might hear about him.
“So! We’re going to disguise Lord Theo as a cute rabbit beastman!”
At that, Ray tilted his head to the other side. When he’d heard “disguise,” he thought maybe they’d just cover the boy’s ears and tail with a hooded cloak or something. But… a rabbit beastman?
He was skeptical. Was it really possible to make a predator beastman look like an entirely different species from head to toe?
Despite his obvious doubt, Hayu didn’t lose her smile. She grabbed a handful of fluffy fur from the basket beside her.
“I’m going to make rabbit ears for Lord Theo using this!”
“What…?”
“Don’t worry about the quality! I collected these during the shedding season from young beastmen — it’s very high-grade material.”
The moment she explained, Theo started bouncing excitedly in place. He always sang about wanting to be a brave “Rabbit Hero” whenever he ate carrots — and now, he was actually getting rabbit ears!
His round cheeks flushed pink as he hurried to sit down on the chair. Seeing his enthusiasm, Hayu clapped her hands and began working eagerly.
“Luckily, rabbit beastmen have all sorts of colors for their ears and tails, right? Having white ears with golden hair won’t look strange at all.”
“But will it really look natural enough to fool other beastmen?”
That was a perfectly reasonable question. Different hair and ear colors were fine, but could it really look believable?
Ray was worried that Theo might still look obviously out of place — or worse, that they were wasting time for nothing.
Sensing his doubts, Hayu smiled confidently. “Just wait a bit! I’ll show you the result myself!”
“Ray, go away! Theo’s about to become the Rabbit Hero!”
“Oh, come on…”
Theo frowned and puffed his cheeks, trying to act serious as he ordered Ray to leave. Of course, his pouty lips weren’t intimidating at all. Still, Ray obediently stepped aside.
He wasn’t the type of man to ruin something meant for the boy’s safety just because he was skeptical.
He just hoped it wouldn’t take too long. With a shrug, he glanced around — and then realized something. Perea was gone.
No wonder it had been strangely quiet — he hadn’t heard her usual chatter with Theo.
Feeling oddly empty without her presence, Ray instinctively began looking for her small figure. Fortunately, it didn’t take long to find her.
She was walking toward him, carrying a large load in both arms. It looked heavy enough to concern him, so he immediately strode over.
“Give it.”
Perea blinked in surprise at the thick arm that suddenly blocked her way.
“Sir Ray?”
“Yeah. It looks heavy — give it here.”
“Wow, thank you.”
She let out a small gasp of relief and happily handed it over. The containers were made of glass — filled with medicines — and indeed quite heavy.
Ray couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh as the full weight settled in his arms. He couldn’t tell whether Perea found him easy to approach or just didn’t think much about it.
Either way, since he’d offered to help first, he didn’t mind. Instead of annoyance, he just felt that same strange flutter in his chest again.
But Perea, on the other hand, was watching his expression carefully. After handing the burden over, she worried it might be too heavy for him.
Ray’s senses were sharper than most beastmen’s, and under her gaze, his skin prickled like fire.
He shifted his eyes downward — and their gazes met head-on.
“What.”
His curt, chopped way of speaking was second nature by now. Perea had gotten used to it enough to silently excuse it as “just how this beastman talks.”
She didn’t seem offended and continued speaking naturally.
“Isn’t it heavy? Thanks to you, I feel a lot more comfortable now.”
“This much is nothing. A few months ago, I was carrying a Minor around by myself.”
“Wait—really? That Minor… the one I’m thinking of?”
“Probably.”
At his calm answer, Perea nearly jumped on the spot. The Minor — that enormous monster that even three grown men couldn’t lift — he carried it alone?
She’d known he must be strong, being a royal guard and all, but this was beyond her imagination. No, beyond words entirely — was there even a word strong enough?
Running out of vocabulary, Perea resorted to physical reactions instead — her eyes widened, her shoulders trembled, her feet stomped, and she even clapped in disbelief.
Watching her animated gestures, Ray couldn’t help but laugh.
He usually didn’t boast about his strength or skills, but when it came to Perea, he wanted to show off — to prove he was a capable and dependable male beastman.
“Not just the Minor. I’ve caught and carried a Raibon before too.”
“What—wow! Really? Raibon? That’s a real creature?”
To Perea, “Raibon” was something that existed only in legends. Hearing that he’d actually seen — and caught — one made her eyes sparkle with fascination.
Those bright, curious eyes were almost too intense. Feeling awkward under her gaze, Ray turned his head away. He wanted to impress her, not give her a full monster biology lecture.
They soon reached the chief’s house.
“Where should I put this?”
“Ah, over there! In the building next to it. I’m going to be gone for a while, so I want to make a batch of emergency medicine before I leave.”
“I see.”
Ray nodded and set the load down carefully. Perea immediately began sorting and mixing the herbs with practiced precision.
Just ten minutes earlier, she’d been bouncing in excitement at his monster stories — but now her expression was serious, her movements swift and steady. Watching her work was strangely captivating.
Before he knew it, he found himself asking more questions.
“What medicine are you making?”
“Oh, this is stomach medicine. Rabbit beastmen have naturally weak digestion — especially the young ones. Some of them get stomachaches every other day.”
“Really? What do you use to make it?”
It wasn’t like him to ask so many small questions, but he didn’t mind. Somehow, this calm moment felt pleasant.
“The best ingredient is ginger, but kids hate the taste. So I use more plum instead. If you mix it with just the right amount of mandaran juice, it turns into a special stomach remedy.”
As she explained the properties and ratios of each herb, Ray listened with genuine interest.
And by the time several bottles of stomach medicine were neatly lined up, their conversation still hadn’t stopped.
