34. Guarding the House

34. Guarding the House

“A rabbit!”

After escaping from the evil penguin, following Seol-gu’s lead, I arrived at a place where a rabbit about my size was sitting comfortably.

Was it taking a break? The white ball of fur was slowly rising and falling.

I hid behind a large tree and said to Seol-gu.

“Did it get separated from its rabbit group? I don’t see any other rabbits.”

“Kkang.”

“Then this is our chance!”

The rabbit is sitting comfortably with its ears folded. It’s even facing away from us, and the wind is blowing towards us, so the rabbit is effectively cut off from sight, hearing, and smell. If we’re going to catch the rabbit, this is the perfect opportunity.

“Okay, Seol-gu. I’ll show you first. Follow me carefully.”

“Kkang?”

“First, I need to approach as stealthily as possible without being detected….”

I started moving towards the rabbit on tiptoe. It’s important not to make a sound. I need to step as lightly as possible, so that even my footprints are faint.

Hoo hoo, poor rabbit. A silent death is approaching you. Be a prey obediently!

“Huk!”

When I had moved about halfway to the rabbit, it suddenly turned around. Startled, I lowered my body and covered myself with my tail. The rabbit definitely wouldn’t see me this way.

I’m a little worried about Seol-gu, who was following me, but it must have followed me in time. Seol-gu is a quick fox, even if it’s weak.

I peeked out from my tail and observed the rabbit. The rabbit was now sitting quite a distance away. It seemed to have become suspicious of my camouflage and put some distance between us.

Seol-gu let out a weak cry.

“Kkang….”

“No, Seol-gu. This is actually better.”

This action means that the rabbit doesn’t see us as a threat. If it had known that I am a strong and powerful wolf, it would have run away as soon as it became suspicious. But since it didn’t, the rabbit is already as good as defeated.

“A creature that’s so complacent is actually easier to catch.”

“Kkang….”

“Alright, let’s go again!”

We removed our tail camouflage and started approaching the rabbit again. The rabbit looked back at us and increased the distance several times, but the distance was steadily closing.

Finally, when the rabbit came within range, I gave Seol-gu some instructions.

“Okay, Seol-gu. Listen carefully!”

“Kkang.”

“This rabbit is a very, very big rabbit. Don’t be fooled by its fluffy and round appearance. If it extends its legs, it becomes twice as big as this!”

The essence of an Arctic rabbit is to induce complacency with its cute appearance. It’s similar to Arctic penguins in that regard, but unlike penguins, rabbits are weaker in terms of physical strength. If you’re not complacent, it shouldn’t be difficult to catch one.

“When I say one, two, three, we jump… One!”

Following the countdown, I jumped high into the air and pounced on the rabbit. Seol-gu jumped from the ground, and I attacked from the sky. The rabbit had nowhere to run!

“”Kkang!””

However, the rabbit quickly got up and jumped forward. The target disappeared in an instant. Charging towards the same spot, we inevitably collided heads.

With a light “thump,” I rubbed my reddened forehead and then saw the rabbit escaping. I quickly helped Seol-gu up and started chasing it.

“Hey! Stop!”

A chase unfolded on the snowfield. The rabbit darted through the trees, and I pursued it. In this situation, I felt a sense of déjà vu.

It was the same when I first chased Seol-gu. Perhaps, like then, I might fall off a cliff again. Recalling that memory, my body shivered, and my speed naturally slowed down.

“No…!”

But I am a strong and powerful wolf. I am not afraid. I pushed off the ground with all my might, and the distance that had widened between me and the rabbit soon began to close again.

“Stop right there!”

When the rabbit jumped over a fallen log, I also jumped over the log. When the rabbit slid under the tree to escape, I also slid under the tree.

“Eek!”

Occasionally, it felt like I could reach it, but I couldn’t. If only I were a little closer, I could catch it, but the rabbit never gave me enough distance.

The chase continued relentlessly. Soon, Seol-gu suddenly started to slow down.

“Kkang!”

“Seol-gu? What’s wrong?!”

“Kkyaeng!”

Seol-gu seemed to have realized something, but I was already in the middle of running and couldn’t stop. Eventually, as the distance between me and Seol-gu grew, I decided to prioritize catching the rabbit. There was no other choice.

“You really!”

Left, right, left. The rabbit, dodging trees narrowly, gave me a look that seemed to say ‘insignificant creature’ as it saw me chasing it.

It’s easy to dismiss a rabbit’s expression as all the same, but this expression clearly conveyed a distinct emotion. I sped up in anger.

Finally, the rabbit jumped high into the sky.

–Bang!

At the same time, a tearing sound filled the air, as if the air itself was ripping apart.

“Huk.”

Red clouds and white fur scattered in the air, and the rabbit’s body slid far across the snow. Seeing that it didn’t move even after waiting for a long time, it seemed… it was dead.

It was such a loud noise. I, who had fallen due to losing control of my speed, was frozen and couldn’t move from that position.

What was that sound? What happened?

My head was working hard to understand the situation. At that moment, someone materialized in front of me.

“Hmm? What is it?”

It was a person. Not small, not large, just an ordinary-sized person. He had a large bundle on one shoulder, a long rifle in the opposite hand, and was wearing thick clothes with a square fur hat on his head….

Not a suin, but a human.

He looked at me, grinned, and said.

“I almost shot you, little one.”

“A, are you a person?”

“Of course. Do I look like a dragon to you?”

He made exaggerated gestures as if to amuse me. A strange sound, like hissing steam, was coming from his clothes. His appearance was far from a dragon, but that sound made me fearful.

“Huk.”

“Don’t be scared. I won’t hurt you.”

It wasn’t just the outer coat he was wearing. It was a mechanical exoskeleton, a long, slender steel frame structure designed to be worn by humans, assisting his body along the joints.

The exoskeleton had pistons moving up and down constantly in various places, and particularly on his left hip, there were three purple glowing liquid containers. Tubes extended from there to other places.

The destination was a device attached to the exoskeleton that I had never seen before. Through the glass on the surface, I could see the internal gears spinning, but I had no idea what it was. The sound of steam was coming from that device.

“Nice to meet you, little one. My name is William.”

“Uh… I’m Rang Seol-ah.”

“Aha! Then you must be a wolf suin too. I’ve met wolf suins quite often, but I didn’t recognize you because your tail is a bit unusual.”

Hearing about my tail, my ears perked up. I forgot that he was the first ordinary human I had ever met and started showing off my tail.

“My tail is huge, isn’t it! In my family, no, in my tribe, it’s the biggest!”

“Indeed. It’s the biggest tail I’ve ever seen. At first, I thought you weren’t a wolf.”

“Hehe… It’s so great because I can hug it when I sleep, go inside it when it’s cold outside, and even put things inside it!”

I took out the transparent, sparkling stone from my tail. As the stone reflected the sunlight and shimmered with rainbow colors, William showed interest.

“What is that?”

“This? It’s a stone! It’s my treasure!”

“Can you show me it more closely?”

I was a little disappointed that he was more interested in the stone than my tail, but the stone was also something I cherished very much. I excitedly rambled on.

“This is a really amazing stone, you see. If someone else touches it, it turns into a gray stone! And sometimes it even glows….”

“Where did you get it?”

William interrupted me and asked with a somewhat forceful tone. Although his arbitrary attitude annoyed me, I continued.

“My friend gave it to me, so I don’t really know!”

“Won’t you give it to me, sir? I’ll take a good look at it.”

“No!”

“Hey!”

As I adamantly refused, he seemed a little angry and reached out his hand roughly to snatch the stone. I flinched in surprise, and just as a struggle was about to begin-

“Stop.”

“Sister?”

A familiar hand picked me up.

William, who had lost me in an instant, stepped back with an awkward expression. I glared at him from Sister’s arms, growling.

“Oh dear, this is… Is that your family? There seems to be a misunderstanding. I was just about to help your little sister-“

“Shut up.”

“Haha….”

Sister headed home with me in her arms without even looking back. Sister’s fierce face, which I had never seen even when she was hunting, made me unable to even open my mouth.

After a while, I cautiously opened my mouth.

“Sister… Uh, is the hunt over?”

Sister’s blue eyes looked down at me. It’s scary. It feels like I’ve become a fox being eaten by a wolf. Even though I am a wolf.

Sister sighed and said.

“No. I heard your cry suddenly during the hunt, so I followed you.”

“Mm….”

I don’t think I’ve cried out yet. Maybe I cried “Kkang” out of fear without realizing it. Sister continued.

“Rang Seol-ah.”

Kkang, my body flinched. I tucked my tail. My fluffy tail nestled in my arms provided a little relief to my frozen heart.

“I clearly told you to stay home, why did you come all the way here?”

“Well, I was chasing a rabbit… and since I’m a wolf, I wanted to succeed in hunting and get praised by you….”

“Seol-ah, you are a wolf-“

Sister took a breath. The arm holding me tightened. It’s a little hard to breathe.

“… Let’s talk about it when we get home.”

The atmosphere was somber. I felt like I had done something terribly wrong and didn’t know what to do.

If we arrive home like this… Wait a minute.

Now I remember. What I was supposed to do.

I said I would clean the messy house, but I completely forgot about it. I only gathered the fur and did nothing else, so there’s no need to mention the state of the interior.

No!

I struggled to stop Sister, but my struggles had no effect on her. It was like a fox caught by a wolf.

Finally, we arrived at the house.

Sister opened the door.