112. The Truth

112. The Truth

“Hmm….”

What about that stone caught Seol-gu’s attention?

Except for being very round, it’s a gray stone that doesn’t seem particularly special. If you threw it on the side of the road, everyone would just pass by thinking it’s just a stone.

Of course, the fact that it’s incredibly round alone is interesting… but I’m not sure if it’s worth scratching the glass like that.

Perhaps he wanted to play catch?

Let me try to think from a fox’s perspective for a moment. If I were Seol-gu, seeing that round stone… yes, I would definitely want it.

Rolling the stone back and forth with my short front paws, pushing it forcefully, and then picking it up with my mouth….

Oh, it sounds more fun than I thought?

When I got tired of playing with the stone, Seol-gu would surely trot over to me and ask me to throw the ball. Then I would throw the stone forcefully, and we would play together.

Indeed, it’s worth wanting. Playing catch is such a fun game that it’s worth it.

I lowered my head and looked at Seol-gu, who was cradled in my arms. Seol-gu looked at me with his bright face, waiting for my answer.

“Do you want that stone?”

“Kkang!”

“No.”

“Kkang?!”

Seol-gu’s mouth fell open at my firm refusal. It seemed he hadn’t expected me to refuse.

I scolded Seol-gu sternly.

“You have plenty of balls at home. You have a huge rubber ball, and toy balls. This stone isn’t ours, so you can’t just take it. Understand?”

“Kkiing.”

I can guarantee there are at least three balls in my room alone. I understand he wants to play right now, but that doesn’t mean you should damage someone else’s property.

Seol-gu’s tail drooped after being scolded by me. Seeing that, I felt my heart soften, but I had to endure.

“….”

Was this how my sister felt when she scolded me?

Even as I told myself repeatedly that this was the right thing to do, I felt a pang of guilt.

I slowly stroked Seol-gu’s head and said.

“I’m sorry. Instead, let’s play catch to our heart’s content when we get home, okay? As much as we couldn’t here….”

“Kkang kkang.”

“Huh? You don’t want to play catch?”

“Kkang.”

Seol-gu barked “kkang kkang” at me. Then he spun around in place, held his tail high, and pointed at the stone in the display case.

This… probably means ‘important business’.

It’s similar to when we tracked the mechanical worm. It means he’s asking not because he wants to play, but because there’s something that needs to be done.

Of course, I’m just guessing based on the atmosphere, so my interpretation might be wrong. How could a wolf like me understand a fox’s words?

Still, it seemed worth checking.

But how?

“Hmm.”

The stone is inside the glass display case. I don’t know how to open it, but it certainly wouldn’t open easily for outsiders like us.

There’s probably a lock and key separately.

Still, maybe I should try at least once?

I reached out and pulled the display case glass. I remembered that the glass door was a pull door when we entered here.

“Grrr….”

However, the display case showed no sign of opening. Pulling it didn’t seem to be the right method.

Then, should I try pushing it this time?

It’s not like it would mean anything even if I pushed it. Who in the world would make a display case door that opens by pushing?

Without expecting anything, I casually placed my hand and pushed the display case with force. As expected, the display case didn’t budge….

“Whoa.”

At that moment, the display case slid forward and tilted, losing its balance.

A precarious situation. The display case, precariously balanced on its edge… lost its balance completely the moment Seol-gu’s tail fur, floating in the air, touched it, and toppled backward.

CRASH!!

“Kkyaang!!”

Flying glass shards. I quickly picked up Seol-gu and moved away.

Fortunately, no shards flew towards us.

But….

“I-I’m ruined.”

The display case containing the stone was completely shattered. I had caused a far greater nuisance than Seol-gu scratching the glass.

Quickly, I need to fix it with magic before anyone sees….

Ah, I can’t use magic right now!

“Seol-gu, what should we do!”

“Kkang kkang.”

“Don’t just say ‘kkang kkang,’ think about it!”

Honestly, this useless fox.

Instead of the foolish fox Seol-gu, I ran through numerous simulations in my head. Simulations on how to resolve this accident.

The conclusion came quickly. I said to Seol-gu.

“Seol-gu, I think it’s too late. Let’s just stay put and not cause any more trouble.”

“Kkang kkang.”

Even the most skilled wolf can’t reattach broken glass. If I had magic, maybe, but I can’t use magic now.

If I tried to fix it and got hurt by the glass shards, it would be an even bigger problem. I can guarantee that the number of times I get spanked by my sister would double.

So, all I could do now was wait for an adult to come while eating popcorn.

“Ah, a stone.”

Meanwhile, something rolled over and touched my toes. It was the big round gray stone that had been in the display case. It seemed to have rolled all the way here due to the shock of the display case breaking.

Well, since I’ve already caused a huge accident, maybe I should take a closer look at this.

There must have been a reason Seol-gu reacted so strongly. I checked if there were any glass shards on it and then picked up the stone.

“Whoa…!”

To my surprise, the stone’s color began to change gradually.

The stone, slowly becoming transparent as if melting into the background, eventually became a bead that sparkled with a myriad of colors.

The stone, which looked like a large soap bubble or a well-polished gem, made me gasp for a moment. The bead was so beautiful that it completely captivated my gaze.

“Kkang kkang.”

“What happened?”

The bead emitted a soft light. Not in the sense of reflecting light, but the bead itself had literally become a shining light bulb.

I’ve seen something like this somewhere before….

“Ah! My stone!”

I took out my second treasure, a crookedly pretty transparent stone, from my tail. My second treasure stone, like the bead, shone beautifully with a soft light.

It seems to be resonating.

“Is this… the same kind of stone?”

Although the appearance was slightly different, both felt the same in that they were transparent stones that sparkled with various colors. If I were to round my stone, it would probably become like this bead.

Moreover, the way the bead turned transparent from a dull gray the moment I touched it. That was definitely consistent with my transparent stone’s security system.

It turned transparent when I touched it, and turned gray when someone else touched it.

I never imagined it would be here. Now I finally understood why Seol-gu reacted so strongly.

I held the bead and smiled brightly.

“Seol-gu, let’s take this home and give it to Yura and Yuri as a gift. What do you think?”

Yura and Yuri, twin sisters my age. I still remembered how their eyes sparkled with envy when they saw me using magic before.

Back then, neither of them could use magic even after borrowing my stone… but if I give them this bead as a gift, maybe Yura and Yuri will be able to use magic too.

“Kkang? Kkang kkang, kkang.”

“Huh? You mean no?”

Although I said it with that intention, Seol-gu shook his head, indicating that wasn’t the case. Then Seol-gu extended his front paw and brought my stone and the bead together.

Then the stone flashed with a dazzling light!

“Ah…!”

I squeezed my eyes shut. When the light subsided and I opened my eyes, in front of me….

“Hello?”

An unidentified suin was floating in the air, looking down at me.

White hair that reached the waist, cute triangular ears that twitched on top of its head, and a fluffy, plump tail.

It was taller than me, but much shorter than my sister. It looked to be around 140cm.

“Who…?”

I looked around. I hoped maybe Seol-gu had turned into a person, but Seol-gu was still a polar fox, sticking close to my side.

Then who is that suin?

The suin looked around, turning its head left and right, and then spoke.

“The fact that you’re looking at me… surely means your fox guided you here properly? That’s a relief. I was worried about what I would do if you couldn’t find this place.”

My fox. Does it mean Seol-gu?

Then does it mean Seol-gu deliberately brought me here…?

“Huff huff.”

I looked back at Seol-gu. Seol-gu was wagging his tail enthusiastically with his usual goofy smile.

His face made it hard to believe he had deliberately led me here.

Rather than thinking Seol-gu is such a meticulous and planned fox, it seemed more plausible to believe he just wandered around and stumbled upon this stone by chance.

Perhaps that suin is mistaken.

“Sorry, but Seol-gu isn’t that smart of a fox. We just happened to come here by chance.”

“Kkang?!”

Seol-gu protested to me, asking why I would say such harsh things. But since it was the truth, I didn’t retract my words.

While we were bickering, the suin spoke.

“Anyway… I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about your kin, the Arctic fox suin.”

My… kin?