76. Travel

76. Travel

“Seol-gu, wake up!!”

“Kkae-aeng?!”

I touched Seol-gu’s short, blunt triangular ears and clapped my hands forcefully.

The moment a cheerful “Slap!” sound echoed, Seol-gu was startled awake and then slipped off the ball he was lying on.

“Kkae-aeng!”

With a soft “Thump” as he landed on the floor, Seol-gu struggled with his short legs and managed to get up.

Foolishness radiated from every one of his actions. Where else in the world could you find such a foolish fox?

Huk.

Come to think of it, Sister said all foxes were like Seol-gu. Does that mean all foxes are foolish like Seol-gu?

I’ve always said foxes are foolish, but I never thought it would actually be true.

Heh heh….

As expected, wolves are the best.

But my self-admiration was short-lived. I had something to do right now.

“Seol-gu, we have a bit of an urgent situation.”

“Kkang?”

“We’re going to the Magi Republic tomorrow!”

“Kkang?!”

Because of Sister’s fox-like mistake, we had to prepare for a month-long trip in just one day. There was no time to leisurely lie on the rubber ball.

Seol-gu seemed shocked by the sudden news, his mouth agape. It was the same reaction I had when Sister told me.

“I’ll tell you the details later. For now, we need to get moving!”

“Kkang!”

I placed Seol-gu on my head. Then, in that state, I began searching my room thoroughly for items to take on the trip.

The journey is long, but there are only three people and one fox traveling. Therefore, the items we can take are limited.

It would be wise to think hard and choose items efficiently here.

“First… crayons and a notebook!”

“Kkang!”

“Why? These are important!”

Drawing is very helpful for a child’s cognitive development. If I want to become an outstanding wolf when I grow up, taking crayons and a notebook is a natural choice.

“Let’s see… the bag is… Found it!”

A typical children’s backpack made of red leather material, with a lid that can be easily opened and closed.

It’s a randoseru.

Sister gave me this bag as a gift when I was younger, but since I never had any use for it, I left it in the corner of the room.

Still, as it was a gift from Sister, whom I admired greatly, I had consistently maintained it. Look at it, even after several years, it’s like new….

“Kkae-heung.”

“Ugh! Dust!!”

As Seol-gu sneezed towards the bag, gray dust billowed out. I quickly put the bag down and ran backward.

Oh dear….

In an instant, the area around the bag was filled with dust.

I thought I had kept it clean until now, but I never expected so much dust to have accumulated.

However, without this bag, I can’t carry my belongings. If all else fails, I could wrap them in a bundle, but… I don’t know how to tie a bundle.

I can’t always ask Sister to tie it for me.

So, I have to clean this bag. This bag, which I can’t even estimate how much dust has accumulated on it.

I thought I just had to pick out items, but an unexpected obstacle appeared.

But there’s no need to worry. I’m a wolf skilled in cleaning. How much cleaning do you think I’ve done over the past 8 years!

I’m a master of room cleaning! I can clean bags too!

“Let’s see….”

To wipe something, I need… cloth, a towel, or a rag. I looked around and found something suitable.

“Seol-gu! Is it okay to wipe it with your tail?”

“Kkyang!!”

“Kkae-ae-aeng!! Wait, don’t hit me!”

Seol-gu didn’t take my joke as a joke and expressed his displeasure by hitting me repeatedly with his tail. It didn’t hurt, but it made it hard to keep my eyes open.

Seol-gu stopped attacking after the room became covered in fur.

As I thought about cleaning the now white room, tears welled up in my eyes.

While I was whimpering, Seol-gu jumped off my head and brought a soft towel from somewhere. It seemed like he wanted me to wipe the bag with it.

“Yeah… So I found the towel… and then… should I wet it?”

“Kkang.”

“Just wipe it?”

“Kkang kkang.”

Seol-gu took my hand and led me to the bag. I was a bit suspicious, but I had no other choice, so I followed Seol-gu’s lead and carefully started wiping the bag with a dry towel.

“Huk… this was originally red.”

“Kkang kkang.”

Did I call the bag grayish earlier?

In reality, that wasn’t the case. The red bag had simply accumulated dust, making it appear grayish. Seeing the wiped part of the bag turn a beautiful, sparkling red, I couldn’t hide my astonishment.

I almost tried to wear it without even knowing this….

If it had gotten dirty, my beautiful snow-white giant tail could have been stained gray.

If it got dirty, Seol-gu’s tail would be better, but not my tail.

“Now… done! It’s clean, right?”

“Kkang.”

“Great! Now let’s find things to take again!”

I placed the crayons and notebook, which I had decided to take earlier, in front of the bag. Then, I rummaged through the room, picking out items.

“This… my treasure #1 picture book! I definitely have to take this!”

“Kkang kkang.”

“What’s wrong with taking a book! It’ll surely be boring, won’t it? Of course, you need something to read then!”

Oh dear, this is why foxes are no good. Don’t they even know that books are food for the mind? There’s even a story called ‘The Wolf Who Eats Books’!

“I definitely need to take the brush… and just in case, scissors and a pencil… Oh, right, I need to take an eraser too!”

“Kkang kkang, kkang!”

“Why! It might be necessary!”

The items kept piling up. As the items piled up in front of the bag, the space in the bag, which I thought was ample, gradually became insufficient. But it’s still spacious. It’s spacious, indeed.

Ignoring Seol-gu’s interjections, I continued to pick out items.

“Tail cover… I don’t need this! Towel… it would be good to pack an extra, right? And this… and that….”

“Kkang!”

“Hey! I’m taking them because they’re all necessary!”

I packed the toys and dolls Sister had bought for me, piling them in front of the bag, and let out a sigh.

Then, looking around, I saw my room, which had become messy from rummaging everywhere.

Not to mention the mess from Seol-gu’s fur that had fallen out earlier.

“Ughh.”

Cleaning… I’ll do it later.

After all, we’ll be away for a whole month. Sister will probably overlook this much.

I looked ahead. I saw a children’s backpack that perfectly fit my size… and a pile of items about 1.5 times larger than the backpack.

Huh….

Am I trying to take too much?

No, that’s not it.

I’m taking them for a reason.

I know from experience, if I think I don’t need something and don’t bring it, I always end up needing it. Seol-gu, who’s been nagging me, doesn’t have much experience, so he wouldn’t know!

The problem is whether all of this will fit in the bag….

“If I shove it in somehow, it’ll fit, I guess!”

I am the cleaning master Rang Seol-ah. I can play Tetris anytime. Just as I began to act, starting with the crayons, and tried to neatly pack the items into the bag….

“Kkang.”

“Ah?! Seol-gu, get out of there!!”

Seol-gu, who had been on my head, suddenly jumped into the bag!

“Get out!”

“Kkang kkang. Kkang….”

“Don’t fall asleep in there!!”

Seol-gu’s volume is not small at all. Even if I compress the fur on his tail, it takes up most of the bag’s space.

Since Seol-gu is firmly inside the bag, it’s naturally impossible for the enormous amount of items I prepared to fit.

I hurriedly tried to pull Seol-gu out by grabbing his cheeks, but Seol-gu’s head was so soft and flexible that there was no sign of him being pulled out.

All I could do was enjoy the squishy texture by stretching Seol-gu’s face up and down.

“Hey!!”

“Kkya-reung….”

Finally, Seol-gu bowed his head and put it inside the bag, and then began to fall asleep soundly.

I pouted.

Thinking that all my preparations would be in vain because of this super-foolish fox, I couldn’t help but frown.

At that moment, Sister opened the door and came in.

“Seol-ah, are you preparing well…. What is all this?”

“Sister!”

Yes! If it’s Sister!

My face brightened immensely upon seeing Sister. With Sister’s help, I would be able to scold this super-duper-foolish fox.

Hah! Seol-gu, you have nowhere to run now!

Because the amazing wolf who will help me is right here!

“Sister! Seol-gu got into my bag and won’t come out! I have to take all these things…!”

“… You’re taking all of this?”

“Yes! Scold Seol-gu!”

I replied to Sister with a very confident expression. I had not a shred of doubt that Sister would help me.

“Seol-ah.”

“Huh?”

However, contrary to my expectations, Sister lifted me high into the air instead of Seol-gu.

I looked at Sister with a face full of questions.

Sister gently reasoned with me.

“You can’t take this much. Can Seol-ah carry all of this? You’ll be walking for hours.”

“B-but.”

“Besides, most of these are unnecessary items. Books, toys, dolls… they’ll just get in the way when you walk.”

“No! They’re all necessary! For example, this is….”

I tried to explain the importance of each item by pointing to them, but Sister’s gentle pat blocked me. Instead, Sister asked me.

“Do you really think Seol-ah needs these?”

“Uh, yeah!”

“Really? Think about it carefully. Sister thinks most of them are unnecessary. If there’s something Seol-ah truly considers important after thinking about it again, will you tell Sister?”

“That’s….”

I looked at the items again.

Although I thought they were necessary and important when I brought them here, most of them were rather lukewarm when asked if they were ‘truly, truly important’.

But, still….

As I struggled without an answer, Sister quietly pushed the items aside.

“Ah…!”

I reached out desperately, but couldn’t reach them. Because I was in Sister’s arms.

Sister quietly admonished me.

“The reason Seol-ah couldn’t answer right away is because Seol-ah also knew deep down that those things weren’t important. If Seol-ah had chosen them because she truly considered them important, she would have immediately said they were necessary when Sister asked. Right?”

“Uh, yeah….”

“Most of the things here aren’t necessary, so I’ll remove them, and the rest, although necessary, are already in Sister’s and Father’s luggage, so I’ll remove them too. Is that okay?”

“Yeah….”

After a few touches from Sister, all the items I had prepared disappeared. In the end, all I was left with was the bag and Seol-gu inside the bag.

How did this happen?

I intended to scold Seol-gu with Sister. Instead, I got scolded.

I felt dejected. My tail drooped.

Sister glanced around my messy room and said.

“Cleaning… you don’t have to. We have to leave tomorrow, so just rest well today.”

“Yeah….”

“Don’t be so down. It’s because Seol-ah tried hard to prepare. You can do better next time. Right?”

“Yeah.”

Sister kissed my forehead and then put me down on the floor.

“Sleep well, and I’ll see you tomorrow, Seol-ah.”

“You too, Sister….”

And so, the next day arrived.