Chapter 13 A Man Like a Big Dog
On the way home from Mr. Junce's shop, I asked Yuruyana.
"When I asked about tea, you made a weird face. Why?"
"Weird face? My face is always cute, right?"
"...Never mind."
He's serious about work, but when he's off, he's hopeless.
Yuruyana finally answered when I sighed.
"It's nothing. I didn't think Tsukumo would be interested in eating and drinking."
"I see. Maybe I'm more positive because I slept well."
Actually, I feel much better today than I have recently.
I realized how important it is to sleep well and eat well.
"That's good. Also, Mr. Junce's attitude was surprising."
"? He was a nice person."
"My master said, 'Be careful because he's a difficult person.' But he wasn't like that at all."
He was a little blunt, but he was nice from beginning to end.
He even gave me tea leaves, even though he wouldn't normally do business with me.
I thought he was a kind person.
"I think it's because Tsukumo was there."
"Me? Even though it was my first time meeting him?"
"Because you look just like Mr. Momota."
"Oh..."
He even keeps old photos where he can easily take them out.
The people in that photo must be important to Mr. Junce.
"And Mr. Junce calls my master by his first name, but he calls Momota with 'Mr.'. He must have different feelings for them, I'm sure."
I hadn't even noticed until he said it.
Noticing those small details might be the key to Yuruyana's people skills.
* * *
Then, after a few days, I regained temporary restful sleep thanks to Yuruyana's sleeping pills, and my mood and physical condition improved a lot.
I feel like the dark circles under my eyes have faded a little.
According to Yuruyana, the blue circles caused by lack of sleep are often caused by poor blood circulation, so they don't disappear overnight.
He recommended that I warm them up and massage them.
He suggested I hide them with makeup, but I refused for now.
Yuruyana was doing well.
He was making friends with the people nearby.
He was getting used to the town better than me.
Then, more people wanted to see him.
So, they found out about his 'base'.
Because he told everyone he was here.
Thanks to that, the shop's door is open now.
"Yuru-Yuru, are you there?"
"I'm here! What's up?"
Today's visitor was Mako in her school uniform.
We're good at getting close to each other.
It's like we're family now.
And today...
"I told my friends about the lotion you gave me. They want it too. Do you still have some?"
She brought her friends.
Two of them.
One with braids and one with short, tanned hair.
They were looking at Yuruyana.
Then, they saw me leaning on the door.
They jumped.
I guess they're scared to see a big man in this place.
"Yeah, I have some. Mako, you're advertising for me at school? I'm happy!"
"Um, but, arcane medicine is expensive, right?"
"This is just makeup, so it's not expensive. It might not be good for your skin. I'll give you a sample today."
He's prepared.
He keeps the things people ask about under the counter.
He's adding more stuff, like hand cream, soap, and shampoo.
Maybe he wants to take over the shop little by little.
"If it's okay, please buy it. And come back if your skin gets bad."
But Yuruyana doesn't show his ambition.
He doesn't push the products.
He just asks the new customers' names.
The girl with braids is Maisie, and the girl with short hair is Alyssa.
Yuruyana smiled and saw the 3 girls off.
He was about to close the door, but...
"Wait! Don't close the door...!"
A young man's voice.
I think I know that voice.
"Excuse me, I heard a senior is here."
"Senior? Oh, are you a friend of Tsukumo?"
He can change his voice so fast. It's like magic.
"I knew it! You're here!"
Even though I had a bad feeling about it, I hesitantly walked out to find a man with reddish-brown hair that gave off the vibe of a large dog loved by humans.
Just as I expected, it was Thomas, who entered the unit a year after me and was a classmate of Luka's.
"Thomas... What brings you here?"
I'm not short, but this guy is even taller.
And he's solid too.
Yuruyana could probably ride on his shoulders.
"Senior!"
"Freeze!"
The moment he saw me, the man tried to bound over with a huge grin, his tail seemingly ready to wag off.
But without thinking, I barked an order in my old active-duty style, and the well-trained mass of muscles managed to stop dead in its tracks just before bowling me over.
"What brings you here. Orders from above?"
"N-No. I just wanted you to check my magic gun again. Luka told me you were here..."
"I told you to learn to do it yourself."
"Ugh. I still get anxious sometimes if my senior doesn't take a look..."
I could almost see his tail and ears droop.
But I can't let him off easy.
"Why don't you come inside first? Two big guys facing each other out here looks like we're about to fight."
Just as Yuruyana said, passersby from the neighborhood were casting curious glances our way.
I sighed and, with no choice, let Thomas inside.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)