Chapter 8

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“You have a lover, are you not? If you’ve been in trouble because of a quarrel, you’d better find another way to vent your worries.”

 

My eyes darted back and forth, and I corrected the bartender’s gentle advice by saying,

 

“No,…… It’s probably because I was with a random person last week. It’s not like we’re lovers or anything, and it’s just for fun for the other person.” My comment piqued the bartender’s interest.

 

“But, you’re shrouded with his pheromones… Did you say he was playing with you?”

 

[Huh]. My thoughts flew back to a week ago. It was true that he didn’t explicitly say it was a game or anything. But I don’t think he would go out of his way to say things like that during our one-night stand.

 

Furthermore, I believe it is mainly about how the guy perceives the relationship and that a partner who enters a relationship physically would mostly end up as a fling. I’ve heard of a couple of guys who became lovers without confessing it, but they were all coworkers, so it wasn’t like it was a random encounter. If you look around, you’ll probably find more than a few people happened to be lovers, but I feel the odds are pretty low.

 

“Its just a coincidence… Its just for fun, isn’t it?”

 

The bartender cocked his head in response to my remark. The bartender tilted his head similarly when he looked at Shurin next to me.

 

“You… are a human race, aren’t you?” he asked. “I’m curious if such ideas[1] were spreading because humans possessed fewer instincts than beastmen. There aren’t many humans after all in this country, so I don’t know if that was the case.”

 

I blinked several times because I couldn’t comprehend what the bartender was trying to convey.

 

“That’s why you said something about it not being love…”. Shurin’s voice resounded.

 

I turned my head and saw she already had closed her eyes but nodded to affirm her statement. Unexpectedly, she suddenly opened her eyelids.

 

“Are you sure Kouhei-san! I don’t know where you got that kind of knowledge but it’s common for two beastmen to have a casual physical relationship and eventually become lovers or husband and wife. The beastmen have an instinctive feeling that this person is good for them, so they confirm their physical compatibility and become lovers. The same thing happened to me.”

 

I imagined this world was open-minded as in American dramas but then I remembered I was in an otherworldly country. Although this place is populated almost entirely by Anglo-Saxon beastmen, they have Chinese names.

 

Shurin, whom I assumed had been turned off by my one-night stand, said she was the same way initially before getting official with her partner. Indeed, I thought she didn’t express her discontentment at my actions based on her previous reaction. But now, it seems like it was just my own speculation after hearing her admission.

 

Shurin abruptly turned to the bartender when I was still perplexed and silent,

 

“What’s more, this person left before the other person woke up! Surely that implies that your physical chemistry was poor, correct? Or that he was bad at it. But that’s not what he meant! He explained it was because he didn’t want the other party to look at him and feel bad about spending the night together!”

 

Shurin’s drunken cries made the bartender laugh.

 

“That’s the other party must be feeling dejected.”

 

“That’s correct! Poor –”

 

The bartender and Shurin both turned to face me as if they were looking at a guilty person.

 

I was baffled on the inside. I didn’t think the Taizen could be more sympathetic than me, who was the bottom in the one-night stand. For some reason, I hurriedly pleaded my case to both of them.

 

“No, no, he was…… very good at it, but it is presumptuous of me to think I could be his lover.”

 

Despite hearing my desperate words, neither of them reacted positively. I was soberly depressed, convinced that I had done something terrible.

 

“Could you please give me a grog[2]?”

 

I turned my head to the left, surprised by the voice from the other side of Shurin. Before I knew it, one of the men at the table where Kouka was headed was on my left. With one hand on the bar counter, he stood next close to me.

 

Internally, I was wondering why this man had trouble ordering drinks from this bartender when there was two other waiting staff at his table. The current bartender appeared preoccupied with another drink and had his hands full.

 

“I heard something fascinating… You left before he awoke?”

 

The man tilted his face while staring at me. As I stared into his dark brown eyes, I was struck by a strange, unpleasant sensation.

 

“I can’t do it today, but why don’t you try it with me later? I don’t mind if going to your home.” The man took my hand in his and wrapped it around his. I quickly drew my hand away because it felt horrible.

 

The man rolled his eyes and gave me a sour expression. The unbearable pressure made me assume the man was a carnivorous beast. It was terrifying, like coming face to face with a bear in the woods.

 

“Your wife will get angry.” The bartender extended his arms to separate me from the man and served him brown liquor.

 

“Don’t say anything like that. You are killing the excitement.” After accepting the drink, the man shrugged and returned to his table.

 

I eyed his movement and saw Kouka happily conversing with another man in close proximity.

 

If you are a working member of society, many people are having affairs. When I first worked at the company, I was astounded by such things, but after a few years, hearing stories like this became commonplace. I would hear people sitting next to each other conversing about having affairs over drinks and nothing more. To be honest, I didn’t find adultery as repulsive as women did. However, when I was on the receiving end and was being sprayed with powder [3]by a man who was concealing his marital status, I felt disgust welling up inside me. I was even angry about that fact but somehow wondered what Taizen thought of me. However, since I was looking for a one-night stand, it’s not my place to say anything.

 

“What’s the deal with that jerk?” Shurin screamed angrily while baring her teeth and scowling at the man at the table.

 

On the other hand, Kouka was still chatting happily with the man as usual. I was a little concerned whether that man was also married.

 

“Could it be that guy is married as well, by any chance?” I whispered to the bartender.

 

“He’s not a married…… man.”

 

My concern was heightened by the bartender’s implied words.

 

“Not …….?”

 

“I believe he is engaged.”

 

I nodded slowly and looked over at Shurin.

 

“Can you tolerate Kouka as a second mistress or someone having a physical relationship with your partner?”

 

“I’m not sure. But I don’t want to.”

 

Shurin and I nodded in agreement. Afterward, I decided to pay and bring Kouka home too.

[1]  The bartender is referring to Kouhei’s ideas of physical relationship/fling.

[2]  A type of alcoholic liquor made of rum but served hot with lemon juice and sugar sometimes added.

[3]  Concealing facts.