Haaak-pat!
When I opened my eyes, it was morning. The now-familiar yellowed tile ceiling loomed above, stained as though blood had splattered there long ago.
I reached for my neck and cautiously tilted it. Thankfully, it seemed okay.
Kessler had stomped on my neck and snapped it. The sensation of that crack still lingered, vivid and raw.
How long had I been unconscious?
I skimmed through the system notifications, which had been sorted chronologically, in reverse.
[System]: The Baby Arctic Fox’s body has been restored. You can now return to the Baby Arctic Fox’s body.
Ah… the last time I checked was two days before the regeneration, so I’d been completely out cold for at least two full days?
[System]: The trial has been canceled due to lack of evidence.
[System]: The contract has ended. Five copies of ‘Oath of the Soul’ have been nullified.
Even the trial had concluded. That didn’t sound like good news. It meant I could now be killed by Kessler or Jung Da-hoon at any time.
[System]: You cannot die during the trial period.
[System]: You were crushed under the weight of the shadow.
Ugh. That one’s too horrifying—skip.
[System]: You bound the most valuable thing with Shadow Binding.
[System]: You obtained a Free Ticket to Use the Desert Oasis.
……“What?”
I rubbed my eyes and read it again, then hurriedly opened my inventory. Sure enough, the Oasis ticket was sitting neatly inside my bag.
That must’ve been when I frantically wrapped thread around Kessler’s ankle before blacking out… but it must’ve worked.
That was over a week ago, but things had been so chaotic I only just realized it now.
“Every plan failed…”
I reflexively touched my neck again. Jung Da-hoon and Kessler—neither of them could be reasoned with.
“Am I that bad at talking? Are my persuasion skills really that trash?”
What should I have done differently? People had always said my interview skills were lacking… but I hadn’t realized it was this bad. Maybe I should’ve approached them more carefully.
It was overwhelming. The look of disgust in their eyes when they saw me… I couldn’t overcome that as human Yeo Woo-rim.
“Quest schedule.”
I opened the schedule window to check.
Last Friday, there had been no quest—it was a rest day. And now, about four days remained until the next one.
The upcoming quest would include a full inventory inspection. Once the Thief Gate opened, even evidence of tax evasion would be exposed.
And with my job being ‘Thief,’ this quest would be heavily stacked against me.
First things first… transform.
My body shrank instantly, and my view dropped low to the ground—making me feel like the whole world’s disadvantages were pressing down on me.
Trot trot trot.
I stepped outside and glanced around, sniffing. As a fox, my sense of smell was on another level.
The faint, lingering stench of blood clung to the tip of my nose. After walking a little further, I began to distinguish the scents of individual people.
And then, one person whose scent I couldn’t identify at all. Only when a shadow fell over my head did I perk up my ears and look up.
“Baby Fox.”
Kessler, appearing out of nowhere, scooped me up into his arms without warning. He must’ve heard from a ghost that I had reappeared.
“Where were you?”
He buried his nose into my fur and exhaled a breath of relief. As always, he smelled incredible.
But wasn’t it strange? For someone who gave off such a pleasant scent, he left no trace detectable from a distance.
Kessler stayed there, pressing his nose into my fur like he was ready to die right then and there.
It was absolutely absurd. You’re the one who practically killed me—I was unconscious for two whole days because of you.
The injustice boiled up to my throat, but given the current disgust toward human Yeo Woo-rim, now was not the time to recklessly reveal myself.
Instead, I pulled the ticket out of my bag and spat it out. In fox form, it looked like I’d retrieved it from between my front legs.
“Hm?”
Kessler, who had just been happily sniffing between my front legs, blinked and snatched up the ticket as it popped out.
“A travel ticket, huh.”
Nod.
“Where’d you get it?”
Meow.
“I said, who gave it to you?”
I stared him down. Who do you think gave it to me? Yeah—try to remember where the ticket came from. If you look up who won the last event, you’ll figure it out pretty fast. Even what I bound to secure that win.
He stared right back at me… then suddenly planted a kiss right on my snout. What the—aren’t you supposed to be piecing things together?
“I was worried, you know. You disappeared like that just to give me this?”
……Nyang.
“You don’t have to give me gifts anymore. You’ve done enough to be considered a dutiful child. Got it?”
NYANG!!
“Just take a dump in my arms instead. That’s filial piety.”
I felt his hand gently smoothing out my fur and fixing the fur around my nose.
“You want to go on a trip?”
Head nod.
“You’re more of an explorer than you let on. When should we go?”
Strange, isn’t it? Just moments ago, this was the same man who stomped on my neck and tried to kill me.
I should hate him—but for some reason, I couldn’t.
“How about tomorrow?”
Nod.
“You’re keeping me busy, seriously.”
Kessler quickly returned to his room, then placed me on a fluffy doggy cloud cushion he must’ve had prepared in advance, and started packing various things.
“Lord Kessler, did you call for me?”
“Yeah. I’m going on a trip with the fox, so I’m leaving this to you.”
Kessler handed the steward a copied version of the ‘Mark of Ownership,’ the symbol of a lord.
“A… a trip, all of a sudden? Where are you headed?”
“Oasis Hotel. Look at this. My fox must’ve picked up another side job just to send me on vacation.”
With a proud grin, Kessler held up the golden ticket in front of the steward’s face.
“Isn’t that… the first-place reward from the last quest?”
My heart thudded. That was practically spoon-feeding it to him. Was the deduction of the top-ranking user finally about to begin?
“Is it? Hmm. Ah, the stroller’s probably gonna be a hassle to bring.”
“You can rent one on-site.”
“I don’t need to pack a fox meal tray or anything?”
“No, everything will be provided at the location.”
Something felt off—misaligned. Wait, that’s it? That’s all the curiosity you have about the ticket’s origin?
“Check the train schedule for tomorrow. I’m heading out to buy travel supplies now.”
Kessler placed me in the stroller and headed for the shopping district.
Just as I was beginning to wonder what exactly he was going to buy, he stopped walking. A vendor with sharp features and a pretty beach hat clacked its teeth together as it greeted us.
“Find a hat that suits the Baby Fox. We’re going on a trip.”
– Hat. Understood. You will be pleased.
“Pleased? It’s more like a hassle. But what can I do?”
“This little guy busted his tail working for a whole week just to get me that ticket. I can’t pretend I don’t see that kind of effort.”
Clack clack.
– Cool fox.
“Last time, he even gave me a Golden Hour Hand for my birthday. This hat should pair nicely with that.”
Kessler looked around the shop, then picked up a hat and placed it on my head. It was a white sun hat decorated with yellow flowers wrapped around like a band.
[SystemSystem: You have equipped a White Sun Hat.
Your self-esteem as a fox increases.
Courage +1]
He stared at me for a moment.
“You really are a Flower Fox.”
Flower Fox? What now?
He even tied the ribbon under my chin and picked me up by my front legs to bring me over to a mirror. In it stood a sparkly, radiant baby fox from a perfect spring day.
“How do you like it? If you like it, bark.”
Nyang.
Kessler’s lips twitched slightly at the corners.
“Skeleton, ring this one up.”
The hat was purchased with a gold card pulled from Kessler’s chest pocket.
The hat was paid for with a gold card that came out from within Kessler’s coat.
After that, he placed me back in the stroller and rolled me toward the users.
“Oh my! And who is this? What a lovely fox all dressed up!”
The users grilling meat in the plaza cooed over me like doting grandparents spotting their grandchild.
Kessler, as if showing off, pulled back the stroller canopy so they could get a better look.
“That hat looks amazing on him. Did you pick it out, Kessler?”
“My Baby Fox worked hard to show me some filial love, so I had to return the favor.”
“Huh? Filial love?”
“He spent over a week doing hard labor to bring me that ticket. Said he wanted to send me on vacation.”
It had started out as “a side job,” then became “a job,” and now it was being described as “hard labor.” The exaggeration was growing.
‘He’s like one of those moms bragging around the neighborhood that their kid paid for their overseas trip.’
Regardless, the users didn’t seem all that interested, but Kessler kept going.
“Oh, really?”
“It’s not even that surprising. For my last birthday, Baby Fox did something even more impressive.”
Why does he sound so eager to boast about me being filial? I was starting to get curious about Kessler’s mindset. Was this the first gift he’d ever received or something?
“Alright, have a good trip. Oh, right—aren’t the quests starting soon? When are you leaving?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Kessler finished showing me off to the users and turned his back on the older woman’s question without answering.
Across the intersection leading to the castle stood Jung Da-hoon. He stiffened slightly upon spotting Kessler, then started crab-walking away, quietly trying to disappear.
“Let’s go, Baby Fox.”
My gaze stayed locked on Jung Da-hoon as he slipped away into a corner and vanished from sight.
According to the original plan, that guy should have become my ally.
But that hadn’t happened.
Instead, I’d become someone he wanted to eliminate—so now, he was a danger I’d need to eliminate in return.
For now, I’ll use this trip to revise my strategy.
A bit more aggressively. In a way Jung Da-hoon would expect—like the real Poksup.
