What had he been doing for the past few days?
Kessler looked down at the baby arctic fox, who had flipped people’s hearts inside out without leaving a single tuft of fur behind, and now was peacefully fast asleep by himself.
Gorong gorong, nyang nyang.
The fox, smiling as if dreaming sweet dreams, would sometimes twist his body, rubbing his soft belly against Kessler’s palm.
However, Kessler’s palm had become desensitized to that tender sensation.
He looked down at his own hand. It blurred under the shadow, then sharpened again, repeating over and over.
“……Kessler-nim!”
Noticing Kessler’s condition, Snake Rim called out his name with a tone full of pity.
“Speak quietly. You’ll wake the fox.”
“The baby arctic fox has fallen sound asleep.”
“Yeah.”
The two of them silently watched the purring baby fox.
“……A warrant for your arrest has arrived.”
“Fuck.”
“……Yes. You have to go and repent.”
“How long am I supposed to be locked up?”
“About a week… By the way, Kessler-nim, your left hand… didn’t you overdo it?”
“I dragged too much shadow.”
There had been excessive intervention.
Before the fox grew any bigger, with the intention of stealing the position of the fox’s owner, he had changed the quest that was supposed to be distributed according to the manual from Ghost’s Dream to Witch Hunt.
“……You won’t be able to avoid punishment this time.”
“This is pissing me off.”
Kessler, frowning deeply, lowered his head and pressed his nose against the sleeping fox’s belly. Ever since the sensory anomalies caused by the intervention, even the addictive toasty scent of the fox had become faint to him.
During Witch Hunt, he had only received a written warning. But this time, being a repeat offender who, in a fit of anger, had ruined an entire event quest, he had no way to escape punishment.
It was a red card expulsion.
“Still, the bat extermination… that was extreme. They say the sand bats have become an endangered species overnight. Why in the world did you drag shadows to the limit?”
“I was just so pissed off. Think about it—while the fox was nowhere to be seen for days, the bastard who sold the Golden Collar was strutting around just fine.”
So, out of pure rage, he dragged all the shadows he could and blew up every bat he could see.
And because of that, he not only ruined the ecosystem but also faced an even harsher punishment.
To recover from the strain that punishment had placed on his whole body, he had to enter the Shadow Tower’s Shadow Atonement Prison and survive there for a week, in a spirit of repentance.
“Check if I can bring a pet into the prison.”
“……I inquired, but they said it’s not allowed.”
Kessler’s brows furrowed.
“Tell them I’m willing to give them whatever they want, just please make it happen.”
“If we did that, the ones who took the bribe would end up locked up too… I will take good care of the baby arctic fox.”
The arrest warrant crumpled miserably in Kessler’s hand.
The fox, blissfully asleep without a clue about his owner’s tangled emotions. Kessler gently stroked the soft fur, speaking as if teaching a lesson.
“The baby fox has a lot of enemies.”
“Enemies?”
“There are always bastards trying to kidnap him. I couldn’t kill that one bastard.”
Kessler thought of the scumbag who had dared to sell the Golden Collar. Originally, he planned to extract the fox’s whereabouts from him and kill him right after. But just as the man was about to die, he had been suddenly summoned to the event venue and disappeared.
“I have to kill him first.”
“What’s his name?”
“Don’t know. Didn’t ask.”
“You should have asked!”
“Why would I? I wasn’t curious.”
“You need to know his name to track him down and kill him or protect the fox against him!”
“Don’t talk back to me. Just find him. He looks… like a fox. And he’s got something like a fish mouth stuck in his mouth.”
“A fox-faced guy with a fish mouth… Got it. Also, the prison train arrives tomorrow.”
After a brief moment of hesitation, Kessler pulled the Golden Collar out from his coat once again. He fastened it around the sleeping fox’s neck.
“It’s a mark that says he’s mine.”
“While I’m gone, don’t let him wander around. Stay glued to him at all times.”
“Understood.”
***
One day passed.
The polar night that had lasted over five days finally came to an end. As signs of sunrise appeared, the ghosts packed up their shops and left the castle.
Kessler, holding the sleeping fox close against his chest, leaned by the window and watched the caravan of merchants depart.
Noisy when they arrived, pockets now stuffed, they left quietly without a trace.
“Kessler-nim, all the luggage has been packed.”
While the manager packed the rest, Kessler organized the baby fox’s favorite powdered milk and pudding so they would be easy to find.
“The train will arrive soon.”
“Got it.”
Next, he gently placed the fox into the cage set up in Snake Rim’s room. As the fluffy ball of warmth, who had stayed nestled in his arms for two days straight, left his embrace, his arms felt painfully empty.
“Baby fox.”
“Take care. Don’t cry just because I’m not around.”
He couldn’t believe he was going to be away for a whole week without even saying a proper goodbye.
“You’re a brave fox, after all.”
He tried to turn away, but somehow, his feet refused to move.
Kessler looked back into the cage once more. That small, white body was curled up tightly.
What if he woke up, misunderstood, and thought he’d been abandoned? What if he got hurt?
He stepped out into the hallway, gazing around at the portraits of himself hanging along the walls. He tore down the picture where he looked the kindest and brought it back to the fox, hoping that when the little one woke up, seeing his face would bring him comfort.
“If you miss me, just stare at this.”
At that moment, the fox’s tail gave a gentle sway. Stretching out a long yawn, he rolled over and rubbed his eyes.
Nyang?
Inside the cage, the fox tilted his head in confusion, and Kessler couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Hehe.”
***
When I came to, I was in a pitch-dark room. Beyond a cage that looked like a chicken coop, I saw a visibly excited Kessler… A cage? Why a cage?
Maybe he understood my frantic gestures asking to be let out—he immediately opened it and pulled me out.
Then, he brought his lips to my nose and began to mumble against it. I couldn’t breathe. I squirmed and let out a whimper, and he lifted me to his neck and started fondling both my butt and my tail at the same time.
‘You crazy bastard. Weren’t you trying to kill me just the other day…!’
“Fox, fox.”
Nyang.
“I’ll be back soon.”
…….Back from where?
I stared up at him, and maybe he misread it as a request for another kiss, because he pressed his lips against mine again.
“Kessler-nim. It’s time to depart.”
In a daze, I was carried all the way to the train platform in Kessler’s arms.
“Just wait a little. I’ll be back soon.”
“On the day you return, I’ll have bat tofu hotpot ready.”
“Good.”
“Please get plenty of rest.”
“Is that something you say to a guy going off to get punished? Are you mocking me?”
Only then did I grasp the situation. Kessler was heading to the prison outside the castle.
Nyang! Nyang-nyang!
I yowled loudly, demanding to be put down.
And surprisingly, Kessler actually set me down. At first, we couldn’t communicate at all, but now it seemed like he was starting to pick up on my intentions.
There was something I wanted to give him before the train arrived.
I rummaged through my bag. On the outside, it probably just looked like I was wriggling around inside my fur…
From near my rear, I pulled out a thin, elongated, top-grade synthetic item—the Golden Hour Hand. Kessler looked down at me, wearing a face that clearly said he didn’t understand.
Nyang-nyang!
At my cry, Kessler knelt down to meet me at eye level.
“Where did you get this?”
Nyang!
“…Is this maybe a birthday present? If it is, jump twice.”
Boing, boing.
An announcement sounded that the train was arriving. As the train rolled onto the platform, it pushed the air forward, creating a gust of wind.
Kessler gently stroked the Golden Hour Hand I had given him with his fingertips. His faint, almost transparent hand regained its clarity as he held it.
“Thanks. I’m going to survive the week with this.”
At last, the train doors opened. Kessler pressed a firm kiss against my head and boarded.
Seating himself in an unusually spacious and luxurious first-class cabin, he turned and waved both hands at me. I raised my front paws and waved them wildly in return.
The train carrying Kessler blew past with the wind and faded into the distance.
Golden Hour Hand. There were two reasons I had given it to Kessler.
First, to safely store it in Kessler’s bag, avoiding skills like Magnifying Glass and Peeking, which allow other players to snoop through inventories.
Second, to clear up his misunderstanding about the human Yeo Woo-rim.
Kessler would now start wondering how I managed to get this item. And that item had only ever been in the First Treasure Room, and the only one who had entered there was Yeo Woo-rim.
Next time we meet in human form, maybe he won’t immediately lunge at me to strangle me to death without letting me speak.
‘After all, I shamelessly made it super obvious by making it a birthday present. Though when he loses interest later, I will steal it back…’
There was also a minor third reason: a belated birthday gift.
“Alright, alright. Time to head out now?”
Snake Rim gently scooped me up with his tail.
A moment later, I was back, trapped inside a tiny cage-like room.
***
“Stay put, baby fox. Good boy.”
Snake Rim filled a dog bowl with pudding and smiled brightly, his eyes crinkling.
“Well then, I’ll be stepping out for a bit…”
Leaving me like this?
He patted my head a few times and soon left the room.
I was left all alone in the eerily silent space.
At least I was hungry, so I licked at the pudding, but my mood was far from good.
‘Why the hell did he leave that here?’
Scowling, I stared at the portrait of Kessler displayed in front of me and yelled.
‘Humanization.’
[System]: More space is needed for humanization.
Bored hours passed inside the cage. Because the door was locked and the upper space had been completely sealed off, every attempt to transform kept getting canceled.
‘Perfume making!’
[System]: The space is too small to create perfume.
This doesn’t work either?
“Lulu. Baby fox, have you been well?”
In the end, time dragged by with me doing absolutely nothing. My so-called temporary guardian, Snake Rim, only slithered back into the room late at night.
‘Thank god that bastard didn’t end up adopting me.’
Being nocturnal, I stayed up all night, my eyes darting around in the darkness.
And then came the next morning.
Snake Rim stuffed my chicken cage with an absurd amount of pudding of every variety and, humming a tune, began getting ready to go out.
“I’m off to the mountaineering club. Baby fox, soon I shall bring you a mother.”
Nyang!!
“There, there. Just wait four days. Looks like this perfume Kessler-nim forced onto me is finally coming in handy.”
Chk chiik.
Dressed in fancy workout gear and gripping trekking poles, Snake Rim beamed a bright smile at me before heading out the door.
‘That lunatic.’
A lizard bastard, and yet he’s out here acting like he has a girlfriend. Clearly, he’s living it up while his boss is away… But was it really Kessler’s order to lock me up in here?
Nyang-nyang!!!
Frustrated for no reason, I screamed at Kessler’s portrait and kicked the air wildly before burying my face into my front paws.
‘I’m so pissed off and suffocating.’
How much time passed like that, I had no idea.
Then, finally, the long-closed door creaked open.
The rectangular shape of light shining into the stagnant darkness felt almost like ventilation. I immediately stood up, ears twitching attentively.
Jiiiik.
Beyond the barrier, the shape of a person wavered. Who is it?
The sound of a sword striking.
Chik, jiiik.
The solid barrier was being forcibly ripped apart.
Perk, perk.
What do I do, what do I do? My four legs trembled anxiously.
Jiiiik!
At last, someone thrust a foot through the torn barrier and stepped inside.
But as nothing more than a baby arctic fox, there was nothing I could do.
Frozen in tension, I fixated on the approaching man’s calf muscles.
When he stopped in front of the chicken cage, I instinctively held my breath too.
The next moment, he lowered his upper body. The first thing I noticed was a Poksup Yeo Woo-rim fan badge gleaming even in the darkness. And then…
“Found you.”
Jung Da-hoon’s face.
Our eyes met. The corners of his mouth curved upward into a crescent smile.
