Chapter 24
Leaning against the storage doorframe, Ray watched Perea intently. She moved busily, mixing and preparing ingredients, her soft hair swaying like a puppy’s fur — she looked both cute and surprisingly cool.
Usually, Perea just seemed clumsy and scatterbrained to him — so much that he sometimes wondered if she and Theo were actually the same age mentally.
When she’d taken care of him early on, he’d been half-unconscious from his injuries, so he hadn’t really formed any impression back then.
“Ah, Sir Ray, can I ask you something?”
“Hmm?”
“It’s about the Wulphira monster stones.”
Monster stones…? The sudden change of topic made Ray’s eyebrow twitch.
Wulphira were low-ranked monsters, and their stones didn’t have any special effects or curses. Just owning one wouldn’t cause any problems — so what was she curious about?
When Ray didn’t answer right away, Perea hesitated a little before continuing.
“When we get to Eclit… would it be okay if I processed them?”
“Processed?”
“Yes! They’re precious monster stones. I thought it’d be better to shape them properly rather than just keeping them as they are.”
“…Hmm? But why are you asking me?”
She wasn’t asking a question about monster stones themselves — she was asking permission to do something with them.
Ray had given the Wulphira stones to Perea. That meant they belonged to her now. Whatever she chose to do with them was entirely up to her.
So he didn’t have much advice to give. His tone came out a bit indifferent, but he didn’t bother explaining further.
Perea puffed out her cheeks. “What do you mean, ‘why’? Those came from the monsters you killed! Sure, you gave them to me, but I still have a conscience! I can’t just use them however I want without asking first!”
“Funny. Who was it that tried to sneak off with a monster bomb behind my back the other day? Guess your conscience went missing for a bit then.”
“Ugh…!”
Perea bit her lip in frustration. He always had something to say at times like this. She lifted her eyes from the medicine she was mixing and looked up at him.
Those sharp blue eyes, slightly curved brows, and faintly smiling lips filled her vision.
‘Ugh… why does he have to look so handsome when he smiles like that— wait, no! What am I even thinking!’
Perea quickly shook her head. She’d heard that feline beastmen were naturally seductive without even trying — apparently, that included this stone-faced knight, too.
Blinking rapidly to clear her thoughts, she coughed awkwardly.
But Ray, having caught her intense eye contact and frantic blinking, suddenly stiffened. The tips of his ears and the back of his neck flushed red, and his white tail — which had been lazily swaying — fluffed up and went stiff.
‘D-did she just… flirt with me?!’
As a feline-type beastman, Ray instinctively interpreted Perea’s behavior according to his own species’ standards.
Among feline beastmen, slow, repeated blinking was a form of affection — what they called a “eye kiss.”
And she’d done it not once, but dozens of times.
‘So… when she said she wanted to process the monster stones I gave her, that was really just her way of showing interest in me?’
He’d never had anyone act so boldly toward him before. And instead of feeling annoyed, he found himself… embarrassed. Flustered.
Unable to handle the situation, Ray did something completely unlike himself — he turned around and fled.
It was the first time the Amur Empire’s strongest knight, who had never retreated even in front of dozens of monsters, actually showed his back to someone.
That was the moment when Perea stopped being just “a human” in Ray’s mind — and became someone who truly caught his attention.
“W-what was that about…?”
Perea mumbled as she watched Ray disappear, his face bright red.
Had he somehow noticed her momentary questionable thoughts about his handsome face? Oh no — what if he could somehow read minds?
“N-no way… even with his sharp instincts, there’s no such thing as mind reading… right?”
Shaking off the uneasy thought, she focused back on her work. She’d finished making all the common medicines for the village, so now it was time to prepare some for the young prince.
Stomach medicine, ointment for skin rashes, cold remedies — he was still a child, and she couldn’t predict what might make him sick.
Making medicine for a predator beastman felt slightly nerve-wracking, though. She’d only ever treated herbivore beastmen before. To be safe, she pulled out a medical reference book and studied carefully as she worked.
“Pereaaa!”
A cheerful voice called from outside.
As Perea finished capping the last bottle, she turned toward the sound.
Theo came running in, his new long white rabbit ears bouncing up and down.
The fluffy ears suited his golden hair so well it was almost too perfect.
Perea stood up quickly and caught him in her arms before he crashed into her. Even after all that running, the rabbit ears on his head didn’t fall off.
“Lord Theo?”
“Eheh! Perea, how do I look? Do I look like the Rabbit Hero?”
The boy tilted his head adorably, still hugging her neck. His rabbit ears and golden hair swayed with the motion, and his chubby cheeks and sparkling eyes made him look exactly like a real rabbit beastman.
Perea patted his back, showering him with praise — telling him how cute and perfect he looked. When she said he looked just like the Rabbit Hero, Theo’s tail wagged happily.
“Lord Theo! Wait a moment, please! You’re so fast!”
Hayu came running in after him, still holding a comb and a few hair products.
It seemed Theo had gotten too excited and run off before she could finish.
“I still need to fix this part! It looks a little unnatural!”
“Boooring…”
“This isn’t supposed to be fun, Your Highness.”
Hayu giggled softly and began adjusting the details with quick, expert movements. Perea couldn’t tell what part was wrong, but clearly, to a professional’s eye, the rabbit ears still needed work.
While Hayu handled the finishing touches, Perea kept Theo entertained — playing hand games, drawing little pictures, and labeling bottles together.
But while they played, something kept catching Perea’s eye — Theo’s tail swishing in front of her.
“Um, Hayu, what about Lord Theo’s tail…?”
“Oh, that? Don’t worry about it.”
Sure, you could attach fake ears, but turning a long tiger tail into a short rabbit one? That was impossible.
So right now, Theo looked half rabbit and half tiger — a very strange combination.
But Hayu just smiled confidently.
“My, uh, twelfth little brother — or was it the eleventh? Anyway, one of them has these puffy pumpkin pants. They’re really wide in the back, so we can hide the tail inside. Harun’s bringing them right now!”
“Pumpkin pants…?”
“Yeah! The ones that are all round in the back. They’ll hide the tail completely! You’ll see.”
Perea nodded, vaguely remembering seeing those before — she’d even laughed about how comically big they looked. If those were the same pants, they could definitely hide even a few tails inside.
“Pumpkin pants? You make pants from pumpkins?”
His innocent question made both women burst into laughter. Theo giggled too, just because they were laughing.
His fluffy rabbit ears made him look even cuter, and Perea couldn’t resist hugging him tightly and shaking him playfully.
“They’re not made from pumpkins, Theo. They’re just shaped like one — that’s why they’re called pumpkin pants.”
“Oooh! Pants shaped like pumpkins?”
Theo thought of all the pumpkins he knew — some long, some round, some huge — and became curious again.
But since he’d get to wear them soon anyway, he decided to wait. For now, he just snuggled deeper into Perea’s arms, breathing in her familiar scent.
As always, she smelled sweet, fresh, and comforting — the scent that made Theo’s little nose twitch in happiness.
