He was pissed.
Kessler’s hair fluttered as he stood up, his face flushed. Out of habit, he reached back to pat his butt for comfort—but the tail was gone.
Because he’d given it to Yeo Woo-rim.
“So annoying.”
Even in his irritation, Kessler stood in front of the mirror to check his face. Once he smoothed down his disheveled hair, his sharp features came alive.
He walked down the stairs with deliberate steps, heading through the corridor when he heard voices nearby.
“Guess Yeo Woo-rim farmed the hell outta those items, huh?”
Kessler stopped in his tracks.
“Selljunk just asked for Yeo Woo-rim’s contact info. Said there’s something they have to buy from him.”
“Damn… That kid was sniffing through corpse boxes like he had a tail up his ass, always first to loot, and now he’s got it all. Looked so innocent like he wouldn’t know what a decent item was.”
“Really curious what’s in his bag.”
“Is there a way to rob him?”
“First, seduce him and drag him somewhere quiet. I’ll be waiting with a club.”
Kessler’s expression hardened as he watched the users squatting in front of a beat-up crate, scheming like they had nowhere else to go.
“What a pathetic loser who messed up his life.”
He was talking about Yeo Woo-rim. Otherwise, why would he have so many enemies? People picked on him when he was a baby fox, and now even as a human.
Kessler walked toward them.
A female user, leaning on one leg and puffing on a cigarette, blew smoke right into Kessler’s face.
“Hey babe, you came?”
The next moment, the smoke she exhaled twisted into arrow-shaped streaks and stabbed into both of her eyes.
“Agh! That stings! What the hell is wrong with you?!”
“Who said you could call me babe?”
“Wow, I welcome you and you go full psycho? Nice. Gotta keep working that pretty face, huh, Kessler? That all you got going in this game?”
Even while flailing on the ground with her limbs, clutching her stinging eyes, her mouth didn’t stop.
“Oooh… You wanna PvP now?”
The users who were about to confront Kessler reached into their bags. If things went south, they’d pull out weapons.
“Wh-What’s your problem? What the hell are you even doing right now…?”
Suddenly, the air changed.
Their vision darkened, like it had been soaked in black water, heavy and damp. The metallic stench of blood tingled in their nostrils.
The next moment, something constricted around their bodies.
“Ugh…! Ack! Aaahhhkk!”
All three of them collapsed onto the ground, shrieking and writhing like worms.
“Listen carefully, you empty-headed nobodies. I’m Kessler, Lord of the Shadow Castle.”
“You psycho!! Stop!! PvP me properly if you’re so tough!!”
“Throw them all in jail for insulting the Lord.”
In the midst of their agony, a system notification popped up before their eyes.
[The Lord of Shadow Castle has issued a warrant for your imprisonment.
—Prison Term: 30 days (excluding quest duration)]
As Kessler’s command was issued, skeletal guards appeared out of nowhere, clattering their jaws as they bound the users in thick ropes.
“Wh-Wh-What the hell? He’s really the Lord?”
“Who even are you?”
While they were still trying to wrap their heads around the situation, Kessler stepped closer and helpfully explained.
“Yeah. When you mess with someone in power, you get fucked.”
“Hah… You serious?”
“Go sit in your cell and take a good, long look at your life. And maybe think about whether it’s right to harass someone just trying to live his damn life.”
“You’re doing this over Yeo Woo-rim, aren’t you?”
“Now scram.”
With his hand in his cloak, Kessler kicked the butt of a dwarf who’d stood up dizzily, his party hat tilted sideways.
After they’d been taken away, Kessler was left alone. He frowned deeply.
***
In the center of the plaza, PhotoshotStrawberry was peeling bamboo to craft a premium Omok board when he repeated the news in disbelief.
“Kessler’s the Lord of the castle?”
“Yup-nom-nom.”
“What kinda bull is that? You sure you fact-checked?”
“Double-checked and confirmed…”
“No way. That hot guy? He’s not a player? He’s actually the Lord?”
Rumors were spreading that Kessler, known for spending ridiculous amounts of money in-game, was actually the lord of the castle.
As the murmurs grew, more suspicious details surfaced.
“Remember how he always wore a Jewel Ice as a button from the first time we met him? That wasn’t even a quest item.”
“And seriously, that face? No way he’s a regular user.”
“Didn’t he barge into the auction the other day and not get punished at all?”
“It was weird from the start, him keeping a baby fox as a pet. No wonder it looked cute—the baby fox was the Lord’s pet.”
As more testimonies surfaced, the idea that Kessler was truly the Lord began to gain weight. That’s when a user raised a question.
“But wasn’t the Lord supposed to be a kid? I thought the game’s concept was about a baby waiting for his mom and building a castle while doing it?”
“Maybe Kessler is a user, and just completed the Supreme Quest to become Lord?”
“Even if he was a kid, he could’ve grown up. The game has a mature content setting anyway, so he’s probably showing up as an adult now… Besides, the way he talks? Like he chugged a gallon of arrogance juice. That’s a Lord if I’ve ever heard one.”
Having just woken up from a good nap, the world was suddenly in chaos over Kessler’s identity as Lord.
“So then… are we not supposed to touch the baby fox now?”
“Ehh, pretty sure that’s still allowed?”
Everything was confusing. What even was all this? How had the rumors spread this far?
“Where’s Kessler right now? Let’s ask him directly.”
“He’s probably in the Lord’s Room… Ask him when you see him. Apparently, he admitted it himself. But if you ask too many questions, he might kill you now…”
He admitted it himself?
‘…Did something change inside him?’
Kessler had a subtle hobby of lurking among the players, observing their reactions. And now he’d supposedly thrown all that away and revealed himself as the Lord?
Right then, attention turned to me, with my nine tails swaying dazzlingly behind me.
“Wait, wasn’t that tail originally Kessler’s?”
“Holy crap, you’re right. We need an official statement from Yeo Woo-rim!”
Suddenly, a few users rushed over to me.
“Um… What would you like to know?”
“Is that tail really Kessler’s?”
“Uh… Yes. It was a gift.”
“So Kessler’s actually the Lord? Or just a user who got promoted? I heard you can become a Lord if you find the right Seal…”
“He’s an NPC Lord. That’s real.”
“Oh my god. How’d you two get close? Did you know all along?”
“Just… we talked sometimes, when we passed by each other…”
Unintentionally, my words were becoming the official record. But now that the rumor had spread this far, pretending not to know would’ve been awkward.
“Yeo Woo-rim’s scarier than I thought.”
“I wanna join Yeo Woo-rim’s faction… Please accept me, great one.”
Suddenly, players started laying towels before me like they were rolling out a red carpet.
In the middle of that chaotic scene, a notification from the Couple Panel popped up.
[Relationship Panel]: A new feed has been posted in the gallery.
A little nervous, I tapped it open.
It was a close-up of pudding. Milk pudding—the one I ate every morning.
Was that an invitation to come eat?
Though the background wasn’t visible, I could tell exactly where it was. The varnished wooden table, the way the light reflected on the smooth surface of the pudding, the cluster of candles—it was the pantry where he stored the desserts.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Transforming into a fox in a secluded corner, I trotted toward the castle. At the crosswalk for foxes, there was a little sign with a drawing of a fox and the words “Fox Crossing”.
……
The perks I’d started to take for granted suddenly felt strange. Kessler had always cherished me.
I opened the gallery and gently tapped a paw on the “like” button beneath the photo he’d posted.
But when I arrived, Kessler wasn’t there.
He’d also turned off his location setting, so I couldn’t tell where he was or what he was doing.
[Relationship Panel]: Location sharing has been enabled. Your location is now visible.
I turned on the setting I’d always kept off and ate the pudding he had prepared for me—licked the plate clean. Then I snapped a photo of the empty dish and uploaded it.
[Would you like to post this photo?
Yes / No]
[Your photo has been uploaded.]
I waited a while, but he didn’t “like” it.
I kept checking the gallery throughout the evening, but in the end, he never liked the post.
I was just waiting for your like. Before bed, I stared blankly at the tab, beyond the dark screen, and eventually fell asleep like that.
And the next day, too.
[Relationship Panel]: A new feed has been posted in the gallery.
Same place, different menu. Today it was strawberry-flavored pudding.
I hit the like button again, then went and gobbled it up.
There’s a saying that even dogs aren’t disturbed while they’re eating.
But without the gaze that always watched me with fondness while I ate, it felt strangely empty.
‘It’s like winning a tournament during COVID and coming out to see the seats completely empty.’
Staring at the chair Kessler always used to sit in, I took a picture of the now-empty pudding bowl and posted it.
Still no like today.
He used to be the first to hit like on anything I posted.
The same routine continued the next day, and the day after that.
Kessler gave no response, but like someone feeding a disliked child out of spite, he continued to set up my breakfast every single day.
It had been a week since Kessler vanished, leaving behind only a mess of rumors.
This morning, I woke up in that room. I’d come to see him face to face.
But I must have slept like a rock.
By the time I opened my eyes, daylight had already filled the room, and the pudding was neatly set on the table.
Over my body was a small blanket for foxes. Kessler had come and covered me himself.
I shook it off, scrambled to my feet, and ran into the hallway.
There—Kessler’s back came into view.
I let out a plaintive bark.
Nyang-nyang!!
And as always, I rushed toward him.
