episode_0072

We follow Hoodie, the old man leading the way, and enter his convenience store.

The reason I knew his name was first because he said he was the owner of this convenience store, and then because a young child passing by called him ‘Grandpa Hoodie’.

It was safe to say that the inside of the convenience store was just the same as the ‘convenience store’ I knew.

Several shelves, various products on them, and even price tags underneath them.

And the small counter right next to the entrance looked so similar to me that it reminded me of my daily life on Earth.

I never wanted to think about it again…

“Hmm. Why is your complexion so white? Venice is better. As if there was a sore spot somewhere.”

“…No. Really… it’s nothing.”

Hoodie is looking at me with concern, and Carly is looking at me with a question mark on his face.

I shook my head and smiled at them to express that it was okay.

“…Hmm. It’s still not easy.”

“Wow, I can’t see it.”

They cleared their throats and avoided my gaze. Well, I’m really fine now.

by the way. I made it to Hoodie’s convenience store, but what should I do now?

According to the diary, Hoodie gave me some strength in my efforts to help the lower class residents. In what way did he help me?

As I was thinking about various thoughts, the door behind the counter burst open and someone jumped out.

Before I could confirm who the person was, the new type rushed towards me.

“Uh…uh..?”

“Venice-!”

A woman who calls me and hugs me. It was so sudden and fast that of course I couldn’t react.

In this situation where someone I didn’t know was suddenly hugging me, I didn’t know what to do and just awkwardly raised my hands and looked into space.

“….Have I lost my senses? AC… I’m not sure.”

“Stop falling. You feel uncomfortable.”

“Grandpa. I am also an adult now. Because I’m not a kid!”

Carly scratched her head and muttered something, while Hoodie spoke as if scolding the woman.

At Hoodie’s words, the woman let go of her hug and took a few steps back, and I was finally able to see her.

“Venice, you’re here again!”

Fox ears sticking out on top of orange hair, and an orange fox tail that looks fluffy at a glance, swinging wildly behind its back.

If you were to personify ‘fox’, wouldn’t it feel like this? The woman I was thinking of winked at me.

There was a small nameplate that said ‘Rania’ on the shabby clothes, so I was able to guess that her name was Rania.

“Yes… that’s how it happened. Miss Rania.”

“Wow…”

“…..??”

I called her name as if I should at least call her name, but Rania puffed out her cheeks and looked at me with a frown as if she didn’t like something.

….Isn’t this it?

“That’s not it, Mr. Venice! You’re doing this again!”

“Then….”

At that time, I felt like I had to call it this way. I decided to follow that feeling and give it a try.

“…Rania?”

“Hehe. yes. It’s Rania!”

Rania smiled brightly at me again, as if this was the correct answer. When I saw the fluffy ears moving gently following her movements, my hand went up without me knowing.

Pat pat-

‘Wow… I’m crazy.’

It feels like touching a cloud, and soft fur seeps through your fingers. At this rate… I think I could do this all day.

“Hehe…Hehe… Ah.”

I burst out laughing without even realizing it. I was startled, stopped laughing and looked around.

Hoodie looks like he doesn’t like something, and Carly looks surprised. And Rania is still mocking with her eyes closed.

“Ah… I’m sorry. Stop without even realizing it.”

“Oh…you can do more…”

I apologized to Rania and took my hand away. For some reason, Rania looked a little disappointed.

Of course, I was equally disappointed, but I couldn’t continue because I felt like Hoodie’s eyes would pierce me if things continued like this. An added bonus was Carly looking at me like I was crazy.

“Hmm. Are you planning to do the same today? Venice will be better.”

“Yes… let’s do that.”

“Then, let’s start preparing. Rania. Let’s start now.”

“Okay.”

I’m not sure exactly what it does, but thankfully Hoody suggested a convenient way to do it ‘as usual’, so I accepted it.

Hoodie and Rania went into the room behind the counter and became busy as if they were bringing something out.

“Master, you bastard. What are you doing from now on?”

“….just watching.”

“Really? Then why not.”

Carly and I didn’t have anything else to do, so we just looked around the inside of the convenience store.

“Carly. Are you also a resident of the lower class?”

“Of course. There’s no way the prisoner is a resident of the upper class, right?”

“Then have you ever been here?”

“No. Because I never lived in this area.”

We had a short conversation and looked to see if there was anything interesting among the items inside the convenience store.

After a while, Hoodie and Rania started coming out of the room carrying several boxes.

“Thank you for your great help today. Venice will be better.”

“Thank you for always giving me so much money!”

They suddenly thanked me. I quickly began to assess the situation.

The place where I got the information was the diary. What was written in the diary… was that I used my own money to help the lower class residents.

And the fact that Hoodie’s convenience store helped me a little means that I have to pay for their items with my own money.

I took out a few gold coins I had brought with me just in case, out of my pocket, and placed them on the counter.

“…I’ll be better. Aren’t you giving me too much?”

“Huh…! Three gold coins…?!”

“….What?! They gave me three gold coins?! Master, are you crazy!”

I thought three gold coins would be enough as a value, but judging from their shocked reactions, it seemed like they probably paid more than it was worth.

Well… it won’t matter. I had more gold coins than I could imagine.

When I stopped by my house earlier, the small box under my desk was piled high with gold coins.

The security was so lax that if someone came in, they could just take it away, but that probably means I have a lot of money.

“I’m always grateful. I would appreciate it if you could consider it as my heart.”

“…If there were only people like me in this world, the world would never fall into discord.”

“Thank you…! Mr. Venice, I will do my best!”

There was no need to do that, but Hoodie and Rania even bowed their heads and expressed their gratitude to me.

Hoodie and Rania piled up several boxes and tried to lift one box to give them some strength to carry, but the box wouldn’t budge, so I had no choice but to give up.

…How do you lift so many of those? I heard that too easily.

I had heard that there was a huge physical gap between beastmen and ordinary humans, and perhaps that story was true.

Maybe I’m weak, but whatever.

As we followed them out of the convenience store holding the box, Hoodie took the key out of his pocket and locked the door.

Then he picked up the box again and was about to leave, looking at me puzzled.

“I’ll be fine. Are you going together today?”

“Venice, you always left first because you had work to do! Do you have time today?”

“Uh…. Yes. Let’s go together.”

“I like it. Then I will take the lead.”

Hoodie and Rania take the lead, and Carly and I follow behind them. As we walked, Hoody told me about what happened at Hoody’s convenience store.

The story about the prisoner who was talking about some kind of infectious disease and screaming for people to stay away was also interesting.

I still didn’t understand the story about the prisoner who suddenly opened the door and came in, screaming and tumbling backwards.

In addition to that, I heard that all kinds of strange things happened. The lower level of Espilia seemed to be a more magical space than I thought.

As we continued walking, we arrived at a huge cavity in the middle of the lower level. The shape of the cavity was almost identical to the huge cavity that exists in the upper reaches of Espilia.

The difference was that on the upper floor, everything was pure white and there was a large fountain in the middle.

In the case of the lower level, everything was dark and there was a sculpture that looked like a large tree in the middle.

This was also interesting because it seemed to represent the difference between the upper and lower classes, which were like opposite worlds.

When Hoodie and Rania put down the boxes on the bench under the tree, strangely enough, many prisoners who saw this began to gather.

Soon, a long line formed in front of Hoodie and Rania. There were people who tried to cut in line, but Rania skillfully stopped them.

“Rania. I guess we can start now.”

“Yes! now! Let’s start rationing now! One per person!”

After that, Rania and Hoody handed food and drinks out of the box to the prisoners who arrived in front.

I never get tired of seeing the faces of those who received food become bright and smile.

The line starts to shorten quickly. Rania and Hoody, who were busy moving around, looked like professionals. Accordingly, the many, many boxes begin to empty one by one.

“Now! That’s all for today! I’m sorry to those who didn’t receive it…!”

-Ah… why did it cut off in front of me…

-Tsk. It’s a pity, but it’s given for free.

In the end, all the boxes were empty, and although some people have not yet received them, Rania can be seen apologizing to them one by one.

People who are disappointed that they did not receive rations begin to leave one by one. Now it seemed that all the people who had gathered in the wide square had left.

“Um… Um… Is this really the end? Is there any more?”

“Ah, yes. Sorry, but that’s it for today.”

At that time, a woman approached Rania, who was tidying up. The woman’s features were very thin, and she seemed to be somewhat restless.

“Ah… I can’t… Is it really… really not possible? My child… my child…!”

“Try to calm down a little. First, would you please come to our store…”

“Ah…no…I don’t have time anymore…!”

Rania tried to calm the woman down, but she didn’t seem to hear her. Her eyes begin to shake as if there was an earthquake.

At the same time, enormous emotions begin to flow from her.

[despair]

An emotion that was much more intense than any emotions seen before was the feeling of despair.

…I have an ominous feeling about this.

“Calm down a little…”

“Ah…ah…ahhh…!”

“…Oh my, Rania! Come behind me! Come on!!”

“Fuck you, hide behind me! Come here!”

Pud-pud-duk-!

At that time, the thin woman’s voice began to resonate loudly, and her body began to change.

Black fur began to grow on the thin hands of the woman with wolf ears, and they began to grow massively in size.

Plutz…Plutz…

The change that started in the arms soon began to spread throughout the body. The thin legs grow thicker, and sharp claws and fingernails grow as if they could tear human flesh in an instant.

Finally, her thin face, which gave off feelings of despair, turns into that of a wolf.

Its appearance, which has become at least three times larger than its original body, exudes ferocity that can be considered a monster.

“Ugh…ah…ah…!!!”

“Holy shit… why is he suddenly a beast…!”

“Never get behind me, Rania!”

“Ha…Grandpa…”

Awww-!

There are no more skinny wolf beasts. What was standing there was nothing more than a hungry, drooling, howling wolf monster.

When the loud howl that echoed throughout the middle floor ended, the bright red eyes of the wolf monster turned towards us, who were closest to us.