Chapter 5
It was time to eat.
Yomi carefully examined the food on his tray.
Steak, foie gras, truffle mushroom soup, a few side dishes, fruit… and a small cherry cake.
Carrying his tray, Yomi stood up and went into an empty little room, where he ate with his back to the door and windows.
At first, he had thought he would not be able to finish it all. But the moment the tender steak entered his mouth, all the cravings he had been suppressing seemed to spring to life. His mouth was filled with a delicate, rich fragrance, and his stomach was warmed by a soft sense of happiness. By the time he came back to himself, everything on the tray had already been eaten clean.
At last, Yomi looked toward the little cake and carefully cut it in half.
He ate one half comfortably, then placed the other half into a box and carried it outside to put into the refrigerated cabinet.
A cameraman who was eating in the staff lounge glanced over and simply assumed he was full.
The restaurant was much quieter in the afternoon. Once filming began, the guests were either in the kitchen, out buying ingredients, or promoting the restaurant outside.
Other than the owner and staff, the only people inside were a few cameramen filming customers’ reactions.
Yomi stood obediently inside the music box. The satisfaction brought by the delicious food filled him with energy. Sometimes, when no one came to wind the mechanism for a long while, he even felt like spinning in circles on his own.
By the time work was over, the first day of filming had completely ended. The guests left first, and after the production staff finished tidying up the restaurant, they also gradually departed one after another.
Yomi was paid daily. After receiving two one-thousand-star-coin bills from the manager, he stood there in a daze for a while, then forced himself to calm down and returned to the lounge to retrieve the other half of the cherry cake from the refrigerated cabinet.
“See you tomorrow, Yomi!” the manager called out to him with a smile.
“Mhm, see you tomorrow!”
When Yomi ran out carrying the little cake, he sure enough saw Lynn waiting for him at the corner with his bicycle.
At the same time, a man walked out of the staff lounge.
He was the cameraman who had eaten in the lounge with Yomi at noon. At that moment, he was standing in the small garden holding his camera, preparing to capture some evening establishing shots.
Suddenly, two figures appeared in the lowered frame.
In the shot, the half of the little cake that had been cut and saved at noon was being held up by Yomi and offered, as if presenting a treasure, to a much taller boy with tentacles. “It’s super delicious! Hurry and try it!”
The cameraman froze for a moment, then suddenly understood… So the child had been unwilling to finish it all by himself back then.
Looking at the warm scene in the viewfinder, the tired expression on his face softened involuntarily, and he unconsciously recorded it.
Yomi was simply too happy. Clutching the two thousand star coins he had earned that day, he went with Lynn to the bank to deposit the money.
Sitting on the back seat of Lynn’s bicycle, he chattered nonstop about everything he had seen and heard at the restaurant that day.
Lynn played along enthusiastically, asking all sorts of questions. When he heard that one of the guests had marveled over how cheap a certain dish was even though its price had skyrocketed lately, he burst out laughing.
Once they entered the busiest downtown district, Lynn slowed the bicycle down, and Yomi also looked around excitedly from side to side, no longer talking.
As they passed a commercial skyscraper, Lynn sighed and said, “I heard the people who work there make more money than they could ever spend.”
Yomi immediately turned to look.
In his eyes, that towering building that reached into the clouds was like a stairway to the heavens—huge and frightening. The entrance of the massive building looked like the gaping mouth of a monster, and streams of Snarans in suits and polished shoes poured out from inside.
Each and every one of them looked smart, capable, and outstanding.
When Lynn noticed that Yomi had gone silent for quite a while, he turned back in confusion, only to see the little person on the back seat staring fixedly at those elites weaving through the crowd. He paused, and his heart turned sour for the little guy.
People like them would never be able to work in a place like that. In a low voice, he said, “You have to graduate from the Imperial Academy to work there.”
Yomi instinctively asked, “Then how do you get into the Imperial Academy?”
Lynn gave a bitter smile. “The Imperial Academy is a place for nobles. For commoners like us, the only way to enroll is to awaken a skill and pass the assessment.”
“…A skill?”
“It means a high-level ability that ordinary Snarans can’t achieve. For example, some generals possess combat skills that let them transform into mech form on the battlefield…” Lynn explained patiently, then suddenly joked, “If it were me, I’d want a skill that could create money… But there are fewer and fewer Snarans awakening skills nowadays. Anyone who can awaken one is already considered a genius. Even if they don’t go to the Imperial Academy, they’re still highly sought after outside.”
Yomi only half understood. “That sounds a bit like magic.”
“Hahaha… I guess you could understand it that way.”
Yomi looked deeply at that commercial skyscraper. When they got off at the bank, he lowered his head, stretched out a hand, and suddenly exerted force at the empty air.
After parking the bicycle, Lynn came over and saw Yomi frowning, clenching with all his strength.
He froze, then instantly remembered their conversation from not long ago and could not help laughing. “Mimi, are you trying to awaken your skill?”
Yomi immediately came back to himself. He hurriedly released his hand and shook his head in embarrassment.
After pretending to be a monster for so long, he had nearly started thinking of himself as a Snaran just now.
Compared with his previous jobs, being an “actor” at Garo Restaurant was already considered easy work for Yomi.
Starting from the second day, Yomi grew even more familiar with the role and played the dancer atop the music box even more convincingly.
Right up until filming ended, he did not speak to anyone at all during work.
Nothing like what had happened at the furniture factory before—where he had dropped raw materials because he was too weak and had money deducted—happened here at all!
The three days of work were about to end like a dream.
This episode of the program would air one week later. On the final day of filming, Joseph did not leave right away as usual. He sat at a table with no customers, adjusting his clothes, yet his gaze remained fixed on Yomi atop the music box the entire time. Only after a subordinate came to remind him did he smile and rise to leave.
It was time to get off work. Yomi stepped down from the music box and changed back into his own clothes.
The manager and staff all said goodbye to him with great reluctance. But no matter how unwilling they were to part, a body as small as his was not suited for working as a waiter in the restaurant.
They watched as Yomi, carrying the employee milk gifted by the restaurant, skipped up the garden steps and headed toward the intersection…
Yomi had money now!
Early the next morning, he went with Lynn to the service hall and bought an optical brain implant that could adjust larger or smaller according to the size of his wrist. Then, carrying the shopping card gifted by the restaurant, the two of them went shopping together.
The shop was crowded with people coming and going. Lynn was afraid Yomi would get bumped into by the giant Snarans around them, so he simply placed him in the shopping cart and pushed him around. Whatever Yomi wanted to buy, he only needed to point from inside the cart, and Lynn would help take it down.
Lynn had also received this month’s wages, so they bought gifts for each other.
What Yomi bought for Lynn was a game card Lynn had wanted for a long time. What Lynn bought for Yomi was a home decoration set for a realistic doll’s new house, complete with curtains, a little bed, a little sofa, a little table and chairs, and wallpaper.
“When I saw this before, I thought it would fit perfectly in your little wooden house,” Lynn said with a smile.
To Yomi, this set was absolutely a major purchase. Fortunately, after buying it, someone would deliver it to his home. Yomi touched the packaging happily for quite a while before turning to look at some of the other doll sets nearby.
One of them was called The Prince’s Wardrobe, a merchandise set for a one-meter-seventy male realistic doll. Inside were all kinds of clothes: suits, sportswear, pajamas, trench coats… outfits for all four seasons.
After looking at the price, then at his shopping card, Yomi bought it without hesitation.
When he returned home, all the doll sets had already been delivered. Lynn helped him “decorate” the inside of the wooden house, then happily rode away on his bicycle.
After Lynn left, Yomi quickly tidied up the house, locked the door, then came outside at once. After looking around to make sure no one was nearby, he quietly slipped out of the residential area.
Using his optical brain, he turned on navigation and headed alone toward the underground black market.
The underground black market was located in the most remote part of the main city. Yomi even took a wrong turn halfway there, and by the time he found the correct entrance, it was nearly afternoon.
The scene inside the black market was completely different from what he had imagined. There were no hooligans or gangsters, no filthy and chaotic environment. The entire street was quiet and clean. If someone had told Yomi this was just an ordinary commercial street, he would not even have doubted it.
He entered a shabby little shop. It was clearly very old—even pushing the door open made a loud creaking sound.
Inside sat a white-bearded old man with brown wings.
Suppressing his fear, Yomi walked over. “Hello, I want to buy…”
“Buy what?” The old man sized up the little figure in front of him. “You brought enough money, right? This shop doesn’t sell on credit.”
“I brought enough,” Yomi said. “I want to buy horns, a tail, ears…”
The old man glanced at him again. “Your original body was injured? You’re buying prosthetics?”
“…Mm.” As he answered, he looked toward the terrifying objects displayed on the wall.
“Those are the most expensive ones. They cost this much.” The old man gestured a number to him.
Yomi hurriedly said, “I only want ordinary ones.”
Without another word, the old man turned around and opened the cabinet behind him. When the door swung open, it revealed all kinds of horns, fake limbs, fake ears, and fake tails.
The horns were especially eye-catching. There were horns of vicious beasts, deformed horns, antlers, yak horns, as well as all sorts of grotesque and even blade-like sharp horns…
Yomi leaned in to look carefully for a while. He picked a pair of fierce beast horns that looked rather intimidating and put them on. Before he even reached the mirror, the weight had him swaying unsteadily from side to side.
The old man hurriedly removed them for him. “These won’t do. Don’t just go for the biggest when buying this kind of thing. You need to find a size that suits you, otherwise it’ll be uncomfortable to wear every day.”
Yomi blushed and said thank you. This time he chose antlers, but they were still too heavy…
The old man watched him try one pair of horns after another. Almost every pair looked excessively prominent on Yomi’s head… Stroking his beard thoughtfully, he told Yomi to wait a moment, then went into the back room to rummage around.
After quite a while, the old man came back out with a grin, holding a pair of tiny, rounded lamb horns. “This is the one! These horns are too small, so nobody’s ever bought them, and I just left them in there. I thought they’d end up becoming scrap… Want to give them a try?”
Yomi accepted the pair of horns and carefully placed them on his head. They fit perfectly!
He lowered his head, raised it again, and even bounced a little. No matter how he moved, the horns on his head did not feel uncomfortable in the slightest.
In the mirror, those dark, shimmering eyes looked seriously at himself. The little lamb horns above his head seemed to belong naturally with the harmless face above the mask.
Though he looked so weak and small, his lamb-like gaze was still gathered with vigorous life.
The old man stared for a moment, then could not help praising him. “You can’t tell at all that they’re fake. Why not go with this pair? They suits you perfectly!”
“Okay.” After so much effort, Yomi had finally found horns that matched him. Although he had not managed to buy the intimidating monster horns he wanted most, the result—a “monster pass”—still put him in an excellent mood. He then bought matching sheep ears and a tail as well, and after paying, he left wearing the horns directly on his head.
However, not long after leaving the shop, Yomi’s path was blocked by a huge figure.
Looking at the terrifying shadow on the ground, Yomi forced himself to stay calm and looked up. It was a woman with the lower body of a snake and the upper body of a human. Her eyes were practically glowing as she stared down fixedly at this tiny “horned sheep person.” “My heavens, so there really are people in this world the exact same size as dolls!”
Yomi was extremely nervous. He lowered his head and turned to run, but before he could take even two steps, a giant python-like tail coiled around him.
Yomi’s face turned pale. Trembling, he reached to press his alarm bracelet.
The snake woman saw this and hurriedly explained, “Don’t, don’t, don’t! I’m not a bad person! I just wanted you not to leave yet—I wanted to ask whether you’d like to come be a model in my shop! Please don’t press it!”
“…A model?” Yomi instantly forgot his fear.
The snake woman withdrew her tail and said excitedly, “That’s right! A realistic doll model! I’ve never seen someone exactly the same size as the realistic dolls in my shop. This is just too adorable… Hello, my name is Vera. Would you like to come to my shop first and take a look?”
Yomi followed Vera into a small two-story building nearby.
It really was a realistic doll shop. But unlike the ordinary doll shops outside, the reason it was located in the black market was because all the dolls sold inside were perfect human-body types—Snar Star had laws forbidding the sale of realistic dolls with perfect human bodies.
Vera said, “But everyone likes perfect human-body types, don’t they? Otherwise, why would they all chase after the most human-like form possible? Our business is excellent. And customers who buy realistic dolls from us also only buy later outfits and accessories from us. Sometimes we even shoot advertisement MVs, but it’s really hard to find models. Realistic dolls can’t produce more detailed or subtler expressions and movements… You’re practically a gift from heaven to us!”
Yomi pressed his lips together and said nothing.
Vera continued, “It’s fine even if you don’t have experience. After a few shoots, you’ll know how it works.”
Yomi frowned. “Then… will I get arrested?”
Vera froze for a moment. After a few seconds of silence, she burst out laughing so hard she was nearly doubled over.
“Y-You’re way too cute… Yes, this is the black market, but it’s been operating for hundreds of years. Some marshals and generals even came from here! You can practically think of it as a special district of the capital. This place sits in a gray area—even some nobles and members of the royal family come here once in a while… Don’t worry. As long as you don’t get someone killed here, basically nothing will happen.”
Yomi said, “But Snar Star’s laws don’t allow it.”
Seeing how serious he was, Vera had no choice but to pull up the law on her optical brain and show it to him. “Even if something really did happen, only the shop owner would be held responsible. You don’t need to worry at all. Besides, with a build as small as yours, it probably isn’t that easy for you to find long-term work outside, right?”
That remark struck directly at Yomi’s weak point, and his lips pressed even tighter.
The work machines, tools, and environments here were all designed according to the body sizes of ordinary Snarans. Being this small, he really could not perform as well or as quickly as a normal Snaran in that kind of environment.
Jobs like the music box job from before only came along occasionally and only for short periods, but he wanted to settle down here and live in this world for the long term.
After a long while, Yomi finally agreed to Vera’s job offer.
The two exchanged contact information and agreed that he would start work tomorrow.
After returning home, Yomi could not help looking at himself in the mirror over and over again. He was very satisfied with the horns he had bought. Still caught up in the novelty of them, he even poked them several times with his hand. The horns stayed extremely secure while worn; there was no way they would fall off from a simple poke.
…At last, he no longer needed to wear a mask.
After admiring the horns for a while, Yomi’s attention gradually shifted to his hair.
It had grown a little longer now. If he tugged at it with his fingers, he could almost tie it into a small ponytail.
He was going to be a model tomorrow, so he needed to manage his appearance a little.
Once the thought came, he acted on it. He rummaged through a drawer and took out the bathhouse voucher gifted by Garo Restaurant, then brought out a basket and some clean clothes. After getting everything ready, Yomi—now with a pair of sheep horns on his head—headed off to the bathhouse carrying a basket filled to the brim.
