“Stop.”
Kessler halted the skeleton’s actions and quickly ascended the stairs three steps at a time. Suddenly, the skeleton’s hand, which had been holding Yeo Woo-rim, began to tremble, and its upper body was already half toppled over.
A critical moment.
Adding to the chaos, startled by Kessler’s approaching presence, the skeleton released its grip on Yeo Woo-rim.
But at the same moment, Kessler caught Yeo Woo-rim.
His shirt was tattered and stained, and he wore shabby shorts that looked like they were picked up at random. From behind, he looked just like a passing beggar. But when he lifted his gaze, a pale face bathed in moonlight was revealed.
Bright red, plump lips and long eyelashes.
“…Where’s your tail?”
Kessler pretended to look for the tail and subtly touched Yeo Woo-rim’s buttocks.
In truth, he really couldn’t find the tail. There was no tail where it should have been on his back, only large footprints left behind.
Unlike the skeleton that had struggled, Kessler lifted Yeo Woo-rim effortlessly.
-Click
As soon as he left the skeleton behind and returned to the room, he laid Yeo Woo-rim on the bed. Then, he quietly watched his sleeping figure, breathing softly.
“……”
A t-shirt with a stretched-out neck. He seemed to have worn this same shirt to the dinner yesterday, but why hadn’t he recognized him?
Upon careful analysis, it was because of Yeo Woo-rim’s face and tail.
First, his facial features. The slightly reddened corners of his eyes and his plump lips were so charming that he couldn’t even think of looking at other parts. Moreover, the tail, which enhanced his original charm, gave the illusion that Yeo Woo-rim was wearing pure white angelic clothes.
Not recognizing this attire was inexcusable for an owner, but still, he should be the only owner.
Kessler, who gently covered the sleeping Yeo Woo-rim with a blanket, kissed his nose with his soft lips.
“……”
Tickled by the sensation, he twitched his nose. Kessler watched him for a moment before leaving the room.
His destination was the steward’s room. Knock, knock, he tapped on the coffin lid.
“Wake up.”
“What’s the matter?”
“The baby fox’s clothes are all gone.”
The steward scratched his skull in confusion. Hadn’t he just made a lot of clothes for the baby fox not too long ago? There were even seven swimsuits.
Moreover, five more outfits were currently in production.
“Have the clothes disappeared?”
“No, it’s not that the baby fox is wearing them, but precisely…”
Kessler pointed to his own shoulders.
“He’s this tall, his waist is this size, and his buttocks are surprisingly like a duck’s.”
Kessler’s hand, measuring Yeo Woo-rim’s height in the air, traced the imaginary lines of Yeo Woo-rim’s body downwards, adding a bit of volume at the lower part.
The steward, who had just woken up, wrote it down but seemed not to understand well.
“Suddenly, has he become human-sized?”
“Yes. Suddenly, he became human.”
“A fox human?”
“Yes.”
“Amazing.”
“How soon can you prepare them?”
“I will try to prepare them as quickly as possible.”
Nod.
After giving instructions for the outfit production, Kessler returned and carefully turned Yeo Woo-rim’s face, which was buried in the pillow, to face forward, and then organized the schedule for the next day.
A response had come regarding the petitions collected from the players in the Shadow Tower.
“…It’s not a pardon.”
The content stated that the petitions from the users had been well received, and in consideration of their contents, the imprisonment schedule would be significantly reduced.
From 2 days to 7 hours.
He didn’t want to leave the fox alone while going to prison.
Moreover, the time wasted on the road was too long. To offset the remaining 7 hours, additional petitions were needed.
Kessler browsed through the list of powerful skeletons within the castle. He planned to visit these individuals tomorrow.
* * *
The next day, Kessler visited the skeleton village as planned. Many influential figures had gathered in the village meeting room, awaiting the arrival of the castle lord, Kessler.
The famous bakery owner ‘Evil Skeleton,’ the village chief ‘Chief Skeleton,’ the representative of the law firm ‘Byeonhogol,’ who had recently closed a major deal, ‘NewbieGol,’ and the wealthiest in the village after Kessler, ‘Money King Skeleton.’
As Kessler appeared, all the skeletons stood up.
“Please, sit comfortably.”
Kessler, who was heading towards the head seat, suddenly stopped. He had just noticed that Money King Skeleton, sitting in the front row, was wagging a nine-tailed fox tail.
Kessler immediately approached him.
Swish, swish, swish.
-Hello, isn’t my tail beautiful?
“Why do you have that?”
At the conversation between Money King Skeleton and Kessler, the skeletons clapped without understanding what was going on.
-I bought it.
“How much did you pay for it? Sell it back to me.”
-Meow meow.
At Kessler’s offer, Money King Skeleton mimicked a baby fox in distress.
“Be quiet.”
-I got it with great effort.
Money King Skeleton shook his body, making a sad face, as Kessler tried to take away his precious tail.
-Sniff sniff, please don’t do this.
Kessler took off the necklace he was wearing and handed it to him.
[‘Black Water Necklace’
It contains the essence of the Shadow’s Well. Wearing this item ensures you never feel thirsty, no matter where you are.]
“I’ll give you this instead.”
The moment the necklace was presented, a golden contract appeared before Money King Skeleton’s eyes, indicating a deal that would yield at least five times the profit.
-Gol gol gol.
He was so happy that he jumped around and spun in circles. Small fireworks were bursting above his head.
-Contract immediately.
[System]: You have acquired the ‘Shining Fox Tail’.
Kessler retrieved the nine-tailed fox tail and attached it to his own backside. Then, he sat down and got straight to the point.
“I have to go to prison. Everyone, write petitions. Writing just one seems insincere, so write two with care. If you write three, I’ll reduce this month’s taxes.”
-Click!
-Click click click!
With these petitions submitted, even the Shadow Prison would have no choice but to reduce the imprisonment of 7 hours.
Even as the excited skeletons wrote their petitions, Kessler’s expression remained stern. The tail attached to his back swayed fiercely.
“…It’s a feeling of betrayal.”
Kessler defined his emotions that way.
The reason he came here today was because of Yeo Woo-rim. He wanted to stay close to him in the Shadow Castle, to protect him.
“He sold the tail I gave him.”
Yeo Woo-rim had sold the tail he had gifted him.
“He chose money over me. Naughty baby fox.”
[Relationship Panel]: A new feed has been posted in the gallery.
He was upset with the baby fox, but he checked the newly updated feed in the fox’s gallery. There was a picture of Yeo Woo-rim giving a thumbs-up with an empty bowl in the background, having finished all the breakfast Kessler had prepared.
It seemed he was satisfied with today’s menu. Still, Kessler left without even hitting ‘like’.
* * *
As soon as I woke up, I ate the breakfast prepared by Kessler. After taking a photo with my full belly and sending it, a quest arrived.
[Survival Quest, <Resident Verification>
You must prove that you are qualified to stay here.
If you succeed in the proof, you will be issued a resident card or temporary residence permit.
If you fail, you will be expelled to the outskirts of the Shadow Castle.
Remaining time: 9 days]
“What? Expelled to the outer regions?”
It was about time for the survival quest to start, but the users were in turmoil as it arrived without any notice.
“Huh… Is this why some people haven’t been seen lately?”
“How… how do we prove this?”
“Will getting a job work?”
Amid the confusion, with no clear method for completion provided, a user who had barely secured a stable shared a tip.
“You need to own real estate in the Skeleton Village.”
“Isn’t this an individual battle? How much are the real estate prices? Can we have joint ownership? Wow… It seems up to 5 people can share one stable. Should we form a union? We need to recruit wealthy people first.”
“Jung Da-hoon, do you have a group? Would you like to join ours? Bori, let’s include Yeo Woo-rim… Hmm? Where are they?”
“Until just now, they were here… Suddenly, they disappeared.”
“…It seems they have no intention of joining us.”
“Ah, we must recruit wealthy people no matter what.”
Amid the chaos, Jung Da-hoon hurriedly led Bori into a secluded back alley.
“Da-hoon! This is not the time for such things! We need to form a union quickly and buy real estate! The cheapest stable is priced at 1,200 now!”
At her words, which brought him back to reality, Jung Da-hoon embraced her waist and gently blew on her bangs.
“Bori, do you trust me?”
“I do trust you.”
“I trust you too, Bori.”
At that moment, a transfer document appeared before Bori.
[Jung Da-hoon wishes to transfer the ‘Shabby Stable’ to you. Do you accept?
Yes / No]
“Huh, Da-hoon…”
Bori, flustered, accepted the transfer document.
“When did you…?”
“Shh. Don’t ask.”
“Is it really okay for me to accept this…? Did you get a stable, Da-hoon?”
“Yes, I did.”
The moment Bori signed the transfer document, a notification appeared before her.
[Survival Quest, <Resident Verification> completed!
You can go to the Skeleton Resident Center to receive your resident card.]
The quest was completed in an instant.
“Da-hoon… You dangerous man…”
With a moved expression, Bori looked at her boyfriend’s face and wrapped her arms around his neck. Then, they shared a deep kiss.
Jung Da-hoon held her waist more tightly, supporting her.
Jung Da-hoon, already the major shareholder of the Bone Density Enhancement Center, had the title of the first player to achieve ‘Dansung Noble’ attached to his name.
