The Fantasy World Fanatic Wants To Leave Work

57 – 57. This Too Shall Pass (4)

I didn’t know how to handle the hand that was holding the cheese. Normally, I would have pressed the red button immediately or taken out the dice, but my reason was overpowered by the striking appearance of the extraordinary creature standing before me.

I mean, who had tiger heads and cheetah-like spots on their fur?

Come to think of it, Amanda and Marine mentioned having a father.

The leader of the primates we found on Trewiky.

Everywhere I looked, it was a tiger mask, but wasn’t that Lular Khan?

If that were the case, it meant that I was offering cheese to Amanda’s father while stroking his head and jaw like you would with an animal.

Feeding a tiger and petting its head might not seem strange, but upon further thought, it made the situation even more complicated.

Imagine if the other party was not a tiger but a human being.

In that case, from Amanda’s father’s perspective, he would have no choice but to beat me to death or turn me into beef jerky at the very least.

The fact that the hand holding my wrist showed no sign of letting go confirmed this.

“Um, I think there might be a misunderstanding…”

Furthermore, as I tried to calmly explain the situation, the hand on the other side rose.

The hand was so large that it seemed bigger than basketball players’, as if it could grab my head and tear it off.

An unknown fear engulfed me.

Like rain pouring outside, sweat also streamed down my forehead and neck as if it were a downpour.

Could I really end up as some sort of reflex action in this situation?

“Huh? You’re not eating it whole, are you-“

However, Lular Khan’s outstretched hand didn’t grip my head; instead, he took the cheese I was holding and put it directly into his mouth, still wrapped in its packaging.

At the same time, he released my wrist.

Then he chewed the cheese thoroughly, spat it out, and tossed it into a convenience store trash can, accurately hitting a target nearly 10 meters away, all without making a mess on the convenience store floor.

Impressive, right?

After that, Amanda, who had her snack taken away, howled and bit her father’s leg thoroughly, but it didn’t seem to hurt her at all.

“…?”

Afterwards, he stroked my head and raised his thumb.

What could it be? It feels like our roles have changed.

But, even so, I couldn’t imagine myself giving Tiger Mask cheese and stroking his head.

Right now, let’s just be thankful that I didn’t get a suplex.

It seems like the purpose wasn’t for me to casually stroke his daughter’s head, but rather the cheese I was holding in my hand.

Anyway, I’m still alive, but now Amanda has started attacking her own father.

“Father or Amanda, what if it rains and you run without an umbrella?”

“Mr. Marine…”

“Oh? Hyunwoo, nice to see you! Have you been well?”

“Is there something you can do about that…?”

With trembling fingers, I pointed to the two tigers filming Animal Kingdom inside the convenience store.

“Oh, just wait a moment. It’s because father took away Amanda’s share of the cheese.”

Fortunately, Marine came and quickly summarized the situation.

Unlike those two tigers, I didn’t even get wet in the rain, but my back felt damp with sweat.

Marine came into the store like last time, swept all the convenience store cheese, and the two tigers received one set of cheese each and began their feast inside the store’s box.

Can they really eat that much?

“Why are you so sweaty? Did you get surprised seeing our father?”

I sat down with Marine, who was the closest to being human, and conversed in human language.

“hahahaha, it’s understandable. Even water creatures get surprised when they see our father, not being part of the tiger clan like us.”

Marine smiled with a pretty smile as if she found it amusing after hearing the words that had just been extinct.

“It seems even other water creatures would be surprised. It kind of makes sense.”

Of course, Marine also held a piece of cheese in her hand.

It’s strange how she elegantly eats the cheese with her oriental noble appearance.

The sharp fangs peeking through her delicate lips also indicate that she is a water creature, but still, she seems much more human than the two tigers over there.

I feel relieved seeing Marine after facing those two tigers.

At least the face should be human.

“But why did you come this time? I’m sure you bought all the cheese in the store last time.”

“Oh? Ah, today is the day the saint celebrates the festival.”

“The festival… Other customers also mentioned that.”

“Giwuje is a grand event where royalty from other countries gather, just like ours. We took a brief detour to explore other places after the last conference ended and then returned here. But within a few days, Father and Amanda devoured all the churu.”

Considering the size of these two… well, two tigers, even a few months’ worth of churu for an ordinary cat would have been gone in a day.

“Oh, but did I tell you who my father is?”

“I had only heard about it, but seeing him in person, I could tell right away. Oh, should I call you ‘Princess’ then…”

“Never mind the princess stuff. Just call me by my name. Even among the waterfolk, we don’t use such formal titles.”

“Alright, then I’ll address you as Mariene, as usual.”

“Yeah, call me that.”

Tigers usually consume around 2 kg of meat per day, which amounts to about 1.5 tons a year.

“Anyway, this morning I was pondering who would get the last churu when Father just swooped in and grabbed it. So I decided to stop by here while we were nearby to buy more for Amanda.”

“…Are Father and Amanda not on good terms?”

Looks like it. They’re too close, it’s almost like they’re friends.”

Mariene smiled and pointed at the two tigers.

Initially, both tigers were calmly enjoying their churu, but they quickly devoured it, leaving only one, and now they were growling at each other.

And soon, a wrestling match began.

A human with a tiger’s head versus just a tiger wrestling.

“Why on earth…”

When it comes to landfolk, they may look like animals, but they can speak and walk upright, somewhat like humans. But why do these two tigers give off the impression of being pure tigers?

Honestly, Amanda’s side may be like that, but besides the head, why does Father, who’s basically a large human, act like this?

“It’s pointless to make that ‘why’ expression. Amanda might be like that, but Father is hard to understand, even for me.”

Indeed.

Mariene made a resigned expression and extended her hand.

From the outset, it was beyond the realm of understanding, and there was no rule about their behavior.

When they first arrived at the convenience store, it was more like someone reading a tiger’s cry in a language textbook than a tiger roaring, unlike what you’d expect when a landfolk comes.

But the head is unmistakably a tiger’s. So why does their voice sound like that?

“By the way, do you happen to have any more churu left? Even if we only feed Father and Amanda, the amount from the last time barely lasts three days.”

“Well, if it’s not on the shelves, then there’s no more in stock. But once tomorrow morning comes, we’ll restock, and it’ll be the same as what you bought today.”

While there is a storage room, it’s not a warehouse for stockpiling, and in the first place, it’s rare for someone to buy such a large quantity at once.

Besides, churu is usually purchased by wolfish landfolk or occasionally by seafolk.

“There are hardly any stores near here that sell tiger and lion meat, so I’ve bought much more lamb than any other customer so far.”

“Then, could you prepare more separately? Both my father and Amanda love them to the point of being scared. Other members of our clan also want to eat them. I will settle the payment in advance.”

“Hmm… since I don’t put in the orders myself… let me check if there’s any other way.”

I went to the counter and sent a message to the store owner.

-Kim Hyun-woo-

[I heard that there might not be enough convenience store supplies. If there’s not enough, I feel like me and the two tigers will be eaten.]

-Store Owner-

[These creatures from U-1221 are really incomprehensible. It’s not like God accidentally poured salt instead of sugar while baking, so why did such a terrible hybrid come into existence?]

I could somehow hear the store owner sighing heavily.

-Store Owner-

[Well, I don’t really mind. This store isn’t particularly focused on sales, so there’s no need to go out of our way. But if you want, we can place an additional order. However, the quantity of goods entering our store is always predetermined.]

-Kim Hyun-woo-

[Then what should I do?]

-Store Owner-

[We mentioned earlier that if there are any items we don’t have in our store, they can be purchased through the kiosk. Similarly, if you want to make an additional purchase, you can use the kiosk to place a separate order.]

Ah, there was a kiosk, right.

Rocket Pang sells many items, not just weapons and self-defense equipment that I had been looking for.

Among them, of course, there were snacks too. When I went into Rocket Pang myself, I found that they sold various kinds of snacks, not just the one in the convenience store.

Tuna flavor or bonito flavor… but what about daegon taste?

In the product description, it said it wasn’t the same daegon, but a different one. I don’t know exactly what that means.

I should go and let them know that I can order through the kiosk.

“It seems that there is a way to place an additional order separately. Although we can’t make an additional order at our store, we can place an additional order through the kiosk over there.”

“Oh, really? That’s a relief. My father even threatened to tear you apart if there’s no snack, even if he has to force you.”

“…Really?”

“Huh? What did I say? Maybe I misheard. Probably.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Before the situation gets worse, I should teach them how to place an order quickly.

Amanda, who ended up losing her snacks, looked at me with a bit of regret and licked her lips. And of course, my father seemed to be in the same state as well.

If one makes a mistake, they might end up being torn apart and the other might even prefer to be eaten. It was a situation where Suplex, let alone a power drill or muscle destruction technique, seemed likely.

“We have various kinds of snacks here, so you can order as much as you need.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this before. Should I try one type at a time? But they say bulk orders take time… What is this?”

Mari glanced at the kiosk for a moment and skillfully put hundreds of thousands of won worth of items in her shopping cart.

“Oh, it’s not made here. They order it from a faraway place and deliver it. But if you order a large quantity, it takes time.”

“I see… even if it’s fast, it still takes three hours to arrive.”

“There are times when it takes more than a day.”

“So, is this considered fast?”

I don’t know how much is considered a large quantity, but Mari said it’s better to buy a generous amount so she can share it with her kin.

“Can you take all that with you?”

Can I take all of that?

Looking at the Tiger Mask wrestling with the tiger over there, it seems like there will be enough even if I take everything.

“Don’t worry about that. The carriers will be here soon.”

Carriers? If they’re carriers, then it must be the…

“Oh, Your Majesty! Miss Mari! Miss Amanda! Are you here again?”

The weretigers who had seen Mari’s words before rushed into the convenience store, drenched in rain.

Those weretigers have a hard time, too.