The busy day was over as the sun set.
A crowd of hungry people were now waiting for their food.
Fuji felt a bit dizzy and walked unsteadily. He hadn’t eaten for a whole day, not to mention that he had worked the whole day. It was too much even for a beastkin like him. But he couldn’t fall down now because he needed that the wheat to his companions, and especially Anri, who was about to faint from hunger.
Others took about took about .4 kg of wheat so they could eat some during work, but Fuji didn’t eat anything saved all of his wheat.
He saw double images while looking around. He moved mechanically and numbly followed the flow of people.
Thump…
Fuji couldn’t hold on anymore and fell down to the ground. When he fainted, he heard the female voice that made his heart beat today.
“Everyone, go and get your wheat. I’ll take care of him.”
…
When Fuji opened his eyes, he subconsciously licked the corner of his mouth and tasted wheat. Before he could indulge in the aftertaste of the wheat, a girl’s voice came from the side.
“You’re awake?”
Fuji’s body suddenly stiffened. He turned mechanically turned his head and looked at the girl staring at him. He recognized her as the freckled girl that had helped him register for work. Fuji broke out in cold sweat, because he was facing an unprecedented crisis. He felt more uneasy than when he faced a tiger beastkin, because he had been exposed. The cloth he saw on the side was the one used to cover his horns.
“Why aren’t you speaking?” the girl tilted her head, looking at Fuji weirdly. Her eyes looked at the bull horns on Fuji’s head.
Growl…
Fuji’s throat squirmed a bit. “What do you want to do? Do you want to sell me as a slave?”
“Hey, you spoke,” the girl smiled. “Why would we sell you as a slave?”
“Uh…” Fuji was speechless and looked at the girl in disbelief. He said bitterly, “I’m a beastkin. Look, I have a pair of horns, aren’t you supposed to hate me?”
He remembered that there was a rumor in the human race that the existence of beastkins was the god’s punishment. Beastkins were the combination of humans and beasts, they were a hybrid race. The reason that many people in the human race didn’t have enough food to eat was the existence of beastkins as they ate too much food. Fuji agreed believed the rumor- if he was allowed to eat as much as he wanted, he could at two or three times the amount of food that humans could eat.
“Why should I hate you? You’re so weird!” The girl said, giggling. “I remember that you name is Fuji, right? Do all beastkins look like you?”
Fuji couldn’t hear anything. The only thing in his head right now was the sentence, “Why should I hate you?”. She actually doesn’t hate me? Fuji suddenly felt that the girl’s smile was full of holiness. At this moment, Fuji felt that the ordinary freckled girl in front of him was more beautiful than Anri or Mina.
Maybe this is the beautification effect of being in love?¹ Fuji felt his heart beat faster. He had never felt this way before.
This was the first time in his life where a human told him that they don’t hate him. Previously in the other cities, as soon as he was exposed, the humans would try to chase him down.
“What’s wrong?” the girl asked worriedly. “Do you still not feel well?”
“Ah? N- no…” Fuji hurriedly shook his head and immediately sat up. He was a little dazed right now.
“Are all beastkins as weird as you?” the girl chuckled and said softly. “Everyone calls me Lan Er. You can also call me Lan Er.”
This was the second time she had seen a beastkin as there were hardly any beastkins that came to West Sun City. The first one she saw was Mina, who had been following Liu Feng. She thought that beastkins weren’t really that different from humans except for having animal ears. Lady Mina is so pretty, prettier than most girls I have met.
“Not weird, we’re not weird,” Fuji waved his hand quickly after he heard her. He was a clumsy teenager. He didn’t want Lan Er to think that beastkins were weird, but more importantly, he didn’t want her to think that he was weird.
“Why didn’t you eat today. You even fainted from hunger,” Lan Er said, making a face.
“Right, where’s my wheat?” Fuji shouted anxiously, looking around.
“It’s here,” Lan Er pointed to the corner of the bed.
Fuji grabbed the wheat and held it tightly in his arms. “Thank you.”
Lan Er shook her head. “I have to leave; there are many things that I have to arrange.”
She was a manager. Literate people had a 20% increase in salary and could be a manager. She thought that that was Liu Feng’s greatest decision.
After Lan Er left, Fuji sat there in a daze for a while, and then hurriedly wrapped the cloth around his head and covered his bull horns. Then he carefully walked out with the wheat in his arms. He discovered a series of shed behind him when he walked out. He had slept in a small shed. Fuji quickly found Lan Er’s silhouette at a place not far away. She was currently allocating the sheds. They were the people who had moved out to rebuild the houses and they had to temporarily live in the sheds.
Fuji stared at Lan Er’s back in a daze, and then walked out of West Sun City under the setting sun. His footsteps were lighter and faster than ever before. He wanted to go back immediately and tell Anri that there was a human girl who didn’t hate him. Moreover, while he worked today, he had gotten the news that he wanted, and that was that Mina had been caught by Liu Feng, the noble of West Sun City. He had to hurry back and tell Anri everything.
Translator’s Notes:
¹ 情人眼里出西施. Basically means that a person in love with someone will see that person as much better than they actually are. Like those scenes in anime/manga where the girl’s point of view has the boy be more handsome compared to others point of view.