Me and the Tigress Volume 1 Chapter 2 part3

This is the final part of chapter 2. Next is chapter 3. Also, this one has no proofreading so if you guys find any mistakes, please tell me.

I’ve been trying to get physical copies of the other volumes, but it’s surprisingly difficult.

I’ve found volume 14.5 online in pdf form, meaning I also found photographs. Dear God, the lolicon only gets stronger in this series. Also, the fan-made anime didn’t come out even though the release date has passed. I’m a little salty…

I regretted taking Rangii grocery shopping with me 5 minutes after we left the house.

"Sunghoon, Sunghoon! What is that? The power of lightning is running through that column!"

"It's called a utility pole. It brings electricity to every house through a wire……"

"Wow. What's this black thing? Is it a curse meant to weaken the power of the earth?"

"What do you mean a curse? It's called asphalt, and it's meant to make travelling more comfortable for people or cars."

"Amazing! I never imagined that humans would disregard providence to such an extent!" (tn: providence is the protective care of God or of nature as a spiritual power)

"That aside, you seem pretty happy. Shouldn't you be sad in this case?"

"Why do you say that?"

Rangii's beautifully braided hair quickly unraveled and formed into a question mark.

"Please act like a human when you're on the street."

"Isn't that why I hid what I my pride and joys, my ears and tail?"

Yeah. Her white tail and ears were hidden, so Rangii just looks like an adorable little girl in eye-catching clothes and…… it would be so great if I could say that. Just the color of her hair was attracting attention from pedestrians. Because isn't having white, nearly silver hair with black stripes abnormal? And add to that her cuteness.

Her interesting hair color attracted the gazes of pedestrians, and her cute appearance kept their eyes on her. People would even turn around, stop in their tracks, or say things like she's so cute~ I want to take a picture~ I want to touch her~ and change direction to walk towards her. Thank God no one actually did any of this stuff.

With Rangii already attracting so much attention, just the thought of her making a questionmark with her hair is terrible.

"Because even like this you're attracting attention."

"What does that mean, I'm attracting attention?"

When Rangii tilted her head and looked up at me, I think the people who for some reason were following us shouted out kyaa or uwaa. ……I'll ignore them.

"Hm? Sunghoon, what's wrong?"

She asked me while pulling on my hand.

"Am, am I dying of moe?" (tn: as far as I know, this is correct lol)

"Hawu~. I want to take her with me~."

I can't hear them. I'll ignore them. I said I can't hear them. If I let this continue something bad really may happen so I should tell her the truth.

"It's because you're cute."

"Because you're cute……?"

Rangii suddenly went poof! and emitted smoke after she heard what I said. I'm telling you this beforehand, but that was a figure of speech. Her face went bright red and she spoke.

"Did, did you just say that I'm cute?"

"Yeah. You're attracting attention because you're cute so don't do any……"

I wasn't able to finish what I was saying. Because Rangii jumped up with unbelievable strength and hugged her two arms around my neck.

"I'm happy! I'm so happy! You've finally fallen for my charm!"

It looks like you've totally fallen for a delusion.

"The hell's that guy."

"Should we kill him?"

"Lolicon bastard."

(No idea what this means: 댁들도)

I don't know what these delusional people might do if this continues. Hey, hey. All of your eyes are scary. For now we should run away for fear of our safety. I hugged Rangii, held her to my side,

"Uraaa!!"

And I ran.

It feels like I've been sprinting a lot these days.

It was right after I was able to escape from Rangii's impromptu fanclub that I realized. That I had passed the usual supermarket I go to where I collected a lot of points. ……and this is all because of Rangii. Let's see if I go shopping with you again.

The cause of this situation was already on her feet and let out a carefree response.

"That was fun!"

"Ah, was it?"

I was about to die from exhaustion. Well, it wasn't Rangii's fault that I had to run like this so there's no helping it…… or is there? The problem is whether Rangii's at fault here or not, but I'll just think it's not. Yeah. Because that's the only way my sanity can endure this.

Moving on, it looks like I'm going to just go to the nearest market here and take empty back roads back home. Because otherwise I'll probably have to hold her and run like that again. I grabbed Rangii's hand and continued what I was unable to finish before.

"Moving on, if humans are living while ignoring providence, isn't that bad for phantoms like you? Aren't you all basically a part of nature?"

"That isn't the case."

Rangii said this without a doubt.

"We are children of chaos. If providence was broken and distortion increased, this would be a suitable environment for us. If the children were to follow me and no longer keep themselves hidden, this land would become a paradise for us."

Paradise of the phantoms? That's really bad. The person who's going to teach her what love is had better show up fast. Otherwise this place will become a phantom paradise like she said. And the one who was still on the fence about creating a phantom paradise or not said,

"……why is there so much food on the street?"

Having seen plump chickens, I mean pigeons, walking on the street, Rangii began to drool and her hidden tail pointed towards the sky……

"Hey, hey!"

I quickly grabbed Rangii's tail and,

"Uu—haa!?"

"Put your tail back, you brat."

She put her tail back inside her clothes. With her hands covering her butt, she was bouncing up and down and shouted at me.

"Can't you touch it a little more gently?!"

"Nevermind that, what would you have done if someone saw you stick your tail out?!"

"……did I do that?"

Rangii laughed, going heh heh, and scratched her head.

"I didn't know."

This time should I overlook this? Since there's no one around here to have seen it. Instead, I should give her a proper warning.

"Also, you can't eat the things on the street."

"I can't eat them?"

I made myself clear to Rangii who spoke so disappointedly.

"That stuff is dirty. If you eat it then you'll get a stomach ache."

"……I don't like painful things."

I want to know what kind of phantom would get hungry at the sight of pigeons on the street, seriously.

A Mart. It's an overly large market to go to just to buy groceries for dinner, but I was unexpectedly okay with shopping here. The only problem is that there are so many people. But isn't there the saying to hide a tree, hide it in the forest? Actually, because there are so many people moving busily, Rangii should attract less attention than in a place with fewer people.

That is a lie. People are looking this way enough to sting. I decided. I won't take her outside with me again.

I put in a 100 won coin and pulled out a cart.

[Rangii] "Are you going to ride in that?"

Rangii shared her personal interpretation. It seems like she came up with that conclusion because kids her age were riding on the carts and their parents were pushing them, but…… Well, she's not wrong. But I don't plan on having Rangii ride on the cart. I mean, she's heavy.

"No. You put your stuff here."

"Is that so?"

Those two amber pupils were asking me then why are those kids riding on it? It looks like fun but you mean I can't? ……could this be the thing where a pet communicates with its owner?

Probably not.

"You can ride in it like that, but only kids do that. Or do you want to ride in it?"

"I, I don't. I am not a child so I won't ride in it."

"Okay, okay."

But I immediately regretted my words.

"This! I want to eat this!"

As soon as Rangii passed the entrance, she grabbed my hand and dragged me to the butcher section. She looked like a tiger that hadn't eaten in three days. I stopped Rangii who was merging with the refrigerator by grabbing her by her waist and moving her back.

"Hey, you dummy. That's premium meat, premium."

"Premium? What's that?"

"It means it's from cows that were raised in this country. It's the same as saying the beef is expensive. And I can't buy anything expensive."

"You don't have enough money?"

The truth is I could buy it. But for housewife-like reasons I can't allow myself to buy it. Because I don't even eat this kind of expensive meat on holidays. ……no, even though I'm not a housewife.

[Rangii] "Then what about that?"

Rangii pointed at a different type of meat. It was arm meat meant to be braised.

"So you're okay with anything as long as it's meat."

"I like bear meat the most!"

"……but bear hunting is banned."

"Hm? In the place where I lived, Saehee would sometimes catch a bear and……"

"That's enough."

Is the disappearance of black bears in Jirisan your guys' fault? No, back then when she served bear gall bladder, Saehee said something about revenge for the papa bear……

I stopped thinking about it. In this world, the saying ignorance is bliss is often true.

I asked the butcher who was watching Rangii with warm eyes for a geun of seasoned pork and put it in the cart (tn: 1 geun=600 grams=1.323 pounds). If I had time I'd season it myself, but I don't have the time to wait for that to finish. My stomach, that is. Okay then, all that's left is……

"Sunghoon! What's this? It looks weird!"

With a drink in my hand, I saw Rangii shouting out my name and I thought to myself that shopping this time would be a lot more troublesome.

In the end I decided to put Rangii on the cart. Since I'd rather the cart get a little heavier than for Rangii to end up even more active.

"Whoaaa—!"

"Don't move outside of the cart. Don't kick your feet. Don't shake it. Just stay still, ya brat! Are you a kid?!"

"Ah, so I can't do this?"

What kind of magic could be within Rangii's gaze as she's looking up at me? Seeing Rangii look a little dejected, my anger subsided.

"No, that's not what I meant. If you keep doing that then you could end up in danger. It'd hurt if you fell from there."

"That wouldn't happen."

Having heard Rangii say that so naturally, I felt like teasing her.

"Ah, really?"

I used a bit of my strength and turned the cart to the left!

"Wah—wah—wah!"

Rangii was in a daze and grabbed on tight to the cart to not fall off. Uhahaha! This time to the right!

"U—ah—wah!!"

Now she's wriggling to the other side. Uhahaha. You little brat. Did you say something like this wouldn't happen?

"……young man."

I was scolded by the old saleswoman.

Having spent 30 minutes buying simple ingredients for dinner, I felt like I was going to collapse right away. Because we were causing enough harm to stop the market's business. Thank goodness the other shoppers would just laugh it off. For whatever reason, Rangii was smiling delightedly.

"Hehehe. That was fun."

"Really."

I couldn't say anything to Rangii who looked so happy.

[Rangii] "Let's go together next time as well. There are so many interesting things."

My inability to say anything was just in the past.

"I can't."

"But why?"

"You see, you……"

You attract too much attention and lack common sense so it tires me out. I was going to say that.

"……Sunghoon?"

Is that an angelic voice I just heard behind me?!

"Oh, Narae?"

Narae was standing there, wearing an innocent-looking dress and with a small bag over her shoulder. Could this be fate? We didn't even talk about meeting up together and we still met so we must be a fated couple…… is what I would think if only she hadn't sent that message.

"When'd you get back?"

"Ah, just now."

"I told you to call me when you got back to Seoul, didn't I."

Narae's glare turned sharp as a knife. Ugh. And I remembered she did tell me that. But the message Narae sent was……

[Die. Just stay there and die.] Because of that I was so scared that I didn't even think of calling her.

"Because I just came back."

"What's that in your hand?"

"Ingredients for dinner."

"And you just came back?"

Are my brains on Rangii's level?

"No, you see……"

I should apologize. The only answer I can give is to apologize.

"I'm, I'm sorry! I was afraid that you'd be angry so I wasn't able to call. I'm really sorry."

Narae went humph and crossed her arms.

"What about me is scary?"

Right now you look plenty scary.

Are phantoms really the only beings capable of killing someone with just their glare? With my lips feeling dry, I panicked while trying to decide what to do.

If I tell the truth, that I was too busy with Rangii to call, then Narae would probably get truly angry. Because it'd sound like I was just using Rangii as an excuse. And then, help came from an unexpected source.

"Sunghoon, who is this woman?"

Good job. Rangii. So even you can have your usefulness. I tried to changed the subject by introducing them to each other. If only Narae hadn't responded to Rangii, that is.

"I'm Sunghoon's friend, but who're you?"

"I am Sunghoon's fiancée."

My thinking was incorrect. Her being useless was crap. Rangii just poured oil onto a burning house. Even though it was the middle of summer, I felt a chill go down my spine. I'm telling the truth. I had forgotten that that was how this brat thought of me. Narae started to tap on the ground, bothered.

"Fiancée? What're you saying? Since when did you have a fianceé?"

This is the first time I've ever heard Narae's voice so ominous.

"Also, there was that little girl on the phone who said something about being naked……"

"Uwaaa! That's not what happened!"

"It's okay. Even if you are to become Sunghoon's concubine, I am generous enough to understand."

Can you not see how I'm trying to defuse the situation right now?

"Con, concubine?! What're you saying? What're you saying?! Have I gone insane?!"

While doing my best to hold in the tears as my 10 years of feelings I kept had been rejected before even confessing,

"Wait!"

I pulled on Rangii's hand, widened the distance between her and Narae, bowed my body, and whispered to Rangii.

"Hey, I'm going to tell her you're my cousin so just go along with it."

Rangii puffed out her cheeks.

"Why do I have to do that? Isn't it true that I'm your fiancée?"

It's also true that the fiancé didn't know he had a fiancée until yesterday.

"If you don't plan on making more trouble for me, please do this. Okay?"

"……okay. I do not plan on causing distress to the one who will become my husband."

Even though she has a sulky look on her face, she thankfully understood. I grabbed Rangii's hand again and returned to in front of Narae.

"Looks like your secret meeting is over."

Uwaa. My feelings were hurt by Rangii's pointed remark."

"No, that's not what that was. Please listen to what I have to say, Narae-nim."

"Speak."

With Narae glaring at me, I told the lie I had prepared.

"Rangii's my cousin, but when we were younger she followed me everywhere and she said that. Okay? You know how it goes. It's like when a kid says when I grow up I'm going to marry Dad~."

You just stay still. Think about for whose sake I have to make excuses like a guy who was just caught two-timing.

"……"

Rangii narrowed her eyes. If they were expressed by emoticons, her eyes would be two consecutive lines. When I joke about it with my friends, I call it her death glare. Narae's really scary when she looks like that. What else can I do to survive?

"Okay."

Huh?

"If that's what you're saying then it's probably true. Because you tell the truth whenever you can."

It looks like the angelic Narae is just going to accept my last-minute excuses. Miss Narae, a true angel.

"So because you're lying to me, I can't just overlook this. I want to go to your house and listen to what you have to say in detail; that's okay, right?"

When did she become a fallen angel?

"Um, that's a bit troublesome. Everything's a mess and I don't have anything to treat guests……"

"That's. Okay. Right?"

With Narae staring daggers at me, I couldn’t do anything but obey Narae-nim.

"……yes."

Although I was scared when I left, after we ended up becoming a group of three and returned home, I naturally sighed at this situation.

"She seems to be too strong-willed to become a concubine; couldn't you reconsider?"

And at Rangii's small voice, I returned to reality. I again thought to myself where I could find your true partner. Maybe in an elementary school.

And I forgot that there was one more thing I had to think about.

"……and who's that woman?"

That's right. Saehee was at home. Even if you take into account her personality, on the outside she looks just like someone our age!

After the angry and lovely Narae opened the door, Saehee who was previously just watching TV came to greet us. And Saehee helped by directing us to sit around a table.

The situation right now is sitting in this order to my right are Narae, Saehee, and Rangii. Even in this situation, I was a little happy to have Narae sitting next to me in my house after so long. She hasn't come here since we entered middle school.

"Ow ow ow!!"

Narae pinched my side. Could she have read my mind?

"Shouldn't you answer my question now?"

Why can't I say that I'm relieved that that wasn't the case?

"Ah, yeah. But it might take a while to explain."

Narae slightly bit her lower lip. It's like a little habit that she does when she gets angry. That means she's extremely angry.

"I don't care."

Seeing Narae's determined face, I thought as hard as I could about how to explain. Giving a lie as close to the truth as possible would be best.

Yeah. Everything should work out if I tell her that Rangii is my cousin who lived in grandpa's estate, that Saehee is her bodyguard and helper, and some stuff happened so Rangii came to Seoul with me.

After coming up with all this within one second, I wondered if I was a master trickster.

"Saehee is……"

"I am Master's maid."

Seeing as how Saehee just organized all my thoughts in a few words, I had to wonder if Saehee was a god.

"Ow ow ow ow!"

The finger pinching my side has just gotten stronger?

"Master?"

Ah, she's responding to that unusual word.

[Narae] "Who're you calling your master?"

"It seems you have misunderstood. My master is Rangii-nim. And there is no need for you be polite to me." (tn: Narae used honorifics in the last line)

"But this is the first time we've met each other."

Although she gets easily misunderstood because of her fierce appearance and word choice, she is unexpectedly very polite. To the point where even if they look alike in age, she has to use honorifics the first time they meet.

"There is no need."

"No, but……"

"There is no need."

Ah, there it is. Saehee's using her expressionless face to force Narae to agree with her. The truth is when I was struck by that, an unknown force made me lose what I had to say, and even sitting beside Narae, I could see that that force wasn't disappearing.

"……okay."

Narae nodded with a bitter look on her face. I wondered if I could finally relax a little after what just happened, but Narae was a very strong-willed kid.

"But when are you going to explain to me why they are in your house, Sunghoon? You weren't planning on avoiding the topic, right?"

I did plan that. I'm caught. Although I didn't complete the excuse in my head, I was going to try to tell her even a bad one when Saehee spoke.

"At the behest of Master's guardian father, who had to go on an overseas business trip, we are staying with young master Sunghoon, the one who Rangii got along so well with."

My mouth dropped open. I never imagined Saehee would so skillfully explain this for me.

"But something about that doesn't sound right?"

"That is how it is."

Narae and Saehee's eyes clashed in midair. Dang, I really don't want to get near this.

Narae sighed.

"Okay. This seems like a family problem so I won't pry. I was sorry, Sunghoon."

Narae released her hand from my side. Now it feels like I'll survive. I didn't say this before, but my side was hurting all this time. Out of Narae's sight, I secretly gave a thumbs up to Saehee for a job well done when,

"And Master is the young master's fiancee."

It seems like I'll have to reverse the direction of my finger.

And with Narae pinching my side,

[Rangii] "That's the truth. Sunghoon is the man that will become my husband."

So Rangii set the fire,

"Due to the oath sworn by her deceased father, master and the young master have been engaged since before they were born." [tn: for the sake of fluidity I put "her deceased father' when actually no possessive pronoun is there]

And Saehee fanned the fire.

Isn't there anyone who's going to save me from within this chaos?

Chapter end