Unexpected Encounter in the Cellar

Iordera held her breath, her entire body tensed. At the slightest sign of trouble, her two segmented scythes would launch forth, disregarding all angles.

But nothing happened.

Her gaze first met a pair of hazy, unfocused eyes, before she could truly discern the other’s appearance.

It was a small girl with rabbit ears atop her head, appearing even younger than Iordera herself. Her small hands and feet seemed clumsy, taking an age just to find the box’s seal.

Iordera had only recently learned that ‘beast-eared girls’ were a myth; true beastfolk possessed entire animal heads.

More unusually still, the rabbit-eared girl showed no reaction after opening the box, her expression utterly unchanged. She simply rested by the box’s edge, then reached a hand inside.

Observing her hazy, colorless pupils, Iordera’s heart stirred with a conjecture.

‘Whose?’

The small hand fumbled haphazardly within the box, seeking a favored treat. After a moment’s hesitation, Iordera lifted her own hand and placed the rice cake from the corner beside the girl’s fingers.

Chewing the bite she’d taken, the little rabbit loli smiled in contentment.

‘It smelled so good, and it truly is delicious.’

Iordera also breathed a sigh of relief. It was fortunate the child was blind. She had just stretched her limbs to stand when she heard another voice.

“Duo Duo, what is it? Is it tasty?”

Iordera’s pupils contracted.

Only then did she realize that, besides the little rabbit loli, there were several other girls in the cellar. All possessed beast ears, and they appeared somewhat peculiar, though the dim light obscured Iordera’s vision.

But the most damning truth was this: she had seen them, and they had seen her.

“Delicious, so very delicious,” the blind little rabbit loli replied softly. “It’s a tea-flavored glutinous rice cake; it has a faint taste of tea.”

‘That’s not right. When I ate it, I didn’t taste any tea.’

Even as her mind momentarily froze, this was the thought that inexplicably surfaced in Iordera’s head.

In her surprise, one of the lolis accidentally knocked something over. The clang startled another loli nearby, who burst into tears.

“Waaah—ooh!”

Grandma Sharp was idly seated behind her counter, having just seen off a haggling customer, when she suddenly heard faint cries from within the house.

Her expression instantly twisted. She slammed the shop door shut, her aged hand snatching up a pair of scissors as she bolted towards the cellar.

****

*Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!*

Iordera was momentarily stunned by the sudden turn of events. Coupled with the thundering footsteps of Grandma Sharp, she was, for a moment, utterly at a loss.

Grandma Sharp stormed into the cellar, flicked on the light, and immediately spotted the unwelcome intruder.

Her eyes gleamed with fierce intensity, her hair disheveled, some strands standing on end. Her hunched body was coiled, like an enraged old lioness.

Iordera instinctively recoiled. “Uh, I can explain—”

She was given no chance to speak. Iordera caught sight of her movement, and a chill ran through her heart as she saw the sharp glint of the scissors.

‘It’s over. This aura… she intends to kill me.’

However, Grandma Sharp was, after all, old and frail. Moreover, the cellar was cluttered with various items, and she accidentally bumped a nearby metal shelf. The heavy structure toppled, crashing down towards Iordera.

Iordera was about to step aside and evade it, when a sudden thought struck her.

The blind little rabbit loli nearby was still there, it seemed.

She retracted her foot, not dodging.

*CRASH!*

Everything happened in an instant, leaving everyone in the cellar dumbfounded. Grandma Sharp, who hadn’t anticipated such a turn, screamed with a heartbroken wail, “Kado!”

As the dust settled, the little rabbit loli lay on the ground, blinking her hazy, unfocused eyes in confusion.

Iordera stood taut, her arms braced on either side of her body, propping up the metal shelf that was more than twice her size, preventing it from collapsing entirely.

Grandma Sharp sank to the floor, her thin, aged hands trembling uncontrollably. The scissors clattered from her grasp.

****

A few minutes later, the dust had fully dispersed.

Iordera sat on a futon in the corner, surrounded by several beast-eared lolis who watched her with worried expressions.

“It’s alright, truly,” Iordera waved her right hand. “It’ll be fine in a moment.”

[Right shoulder limb slightly damaged. Full repair will take 10 minutes.]

‘See? It really will be fine in a moment.’

With the lights on, Iordera could observe more clearly. There were a total of three beast-eared lolis in the cellar.

One was the little rabbit loli, the first she had seen. Another, a beast-eared loli with large ears, remained seated on the ground, shuffling forward on her hands when she moved.

“Her leg joints are problematic; she cannot bend them on her own.”

The loli who spoke had peculiar ears, resembling a cat’s ears snapped in the middle, with the upper halves drooping.

Yet her voice was melodious, evoking the image of a quiet girl next door.

“These are Duo Duo and Little Pa,” the cat-eared loli introduced softly. “My name is Awang.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” Iordera extended her hand and shook hers. “My name is Iordera.”

‘So soft, quite comfortable.’

At that moment, Duo Duo, the little rabbit loli, after much fumbling, finally located Iordera. Her small hand, clutching a glutinous rice cake, offered it over.

“Big Sister, have a tea cake.”

Iordera took it and bit into it. “This is a glutinous rice cake, not a tea cake.”

“…It really does have a hint of tea.”

‘How strange. Why didn’t I taste it when I first ate it?’

Little Pa, the dog-eared loli, rubbed her hand against Iordera’s clothes. “Big Sister also has this scent; it’s so fragrant.”

Iordera blinked. “The scent of the glutinous rice cake?”

‘No, not the tea-flavored glutinous rice cake scent. Oh, I see. Right, the tea scent is from me. It must have mingled with the cakes, having been in the box for so long.’

Little Pa lay beside Iordera’s knee, gazing at her with immense delight, seemingly eager to lick her.

Awang promptly stopped her. “Little Pa, don’t do that. Be polite.”

As they shared food, the lolis gradually began to chat amongst themselves.

****

“Big Sister, are you from outside?”

“Ah, yes, I’m from out of town.”

“Then you must be very strong, right?”

“I’m alright, moderately strong, mostly just crazy.”

…Though their conversational wavelengths seemed somewhat mismatched.

“Big Sister, you’re really beautiful.”

“Am I?”

“And so fragrant!”

“Er, that’s just the scent of the cakes. It’ll be gone after a bath…”

‘Even if the cake scent fades, there’s still the tea scent. Big Sister always smells lovely.’

At least this time, their wavelengths aligned, and the conversation left Iordera’s cheeks flushed.

In the furthest corner of the cellar, a small stove stood. Grandma Sharp cooked some oatmeal and warmed some bread. She then leaned against the doorway, listening to the lolis’ chatter, remaining motionless for a long time.

Once the bread was toasted, the lolis’ “breakfast” began.

They were eating when Grandma Sharp shot Iordera a glance, signaling for her to follow into the stove room.

Iordera truly didn’t want to go.

Being caught red-handed after sneaking into someone’s home, and then chatting with their children—it felt strange no matter how she thought about it.

Iordera steeled herself, desperately trying to formulate an explanation.

Yet before she could speak, Grandma Sharp preemptively said, “Sit.”