31. Guarding the House

31. Guarding the House

Our house’s storage is full of miscellaneous items.

It’s the home of the chief who leads the wolf tribe, so it’s not strange at all. It’s more of a question why there was no paper yesterday.

Anyway, I can confidently say that there must be a spare roller there.

The reason I don’t use Dad’s or Mom’s is that I had a gut feeling that things would be irreversibly ruined if I did. It’s what you call a wolf’s intuition. I thought this, looking at Sister’s roller (or what used to be) in my hand.

Meanwhile, the fox was wagging its tail and scattering fur incessantly. Today, the shedding was particularly severe, probably because it was excited that no one else was home. This fox always appears when I’m alone.

But the problem is that the more it wags its tail, the more fur falls out!

“Fox! Stop wagging your tail!”

“Pant, pant.”

“Ugh….”

Actually, I already know that a tail isn’t something that stops just because you tell it to. Even intelligent suins can’t hide their tails, let alone animals.

But right now, I needed something to blame. I felt like I would explode if I didn’t vent this frustration of making the house a mess somewhere.

“What should I do….”

The hallway is gradually turning white. I really need to hurry. If I leave the fox like this, the hallway will surely be filled with fur.

On the way to the storage. I imagined the hallway turned into a fur ball. The hallway where fur fills everything from the ceiling to the floor, and I have to dig through fur to move forward. Just like digging through snow piled higher than a door, at the end of pushing through the tail fur, I would surely see Sister’s enraged face….

“Uwaaang!”

I’ll definitely get spanked twice on my backside.

I can’t allow such a future.

“Roller!”

Ignoring the hallway turning white, I ran and flung open the storage door. Cold air wafted out of the storage, which lacked a stove.

“Huk.”

The storage was a complete mess. Various items were taken out and left unattended, scattered boxes and lids, and… tail fur.

I, I forgot. I forgot that I had messed up the storage yesterday and left. It was good that I reconciled with Sister and cleaned the ink-stained room, but I forgot to tell her that the storage was left in this state. So, the storage remained as it was yesterday.

“I, I’ll clean it later. For now….”

Finding the roller is the priority. I put the fox down and quickly ran to search through the boxes.

This isn’t it, that isn’t it, this isn’t it either…. Wait a minute, did I look here before? I don’t know.

I understand why Mom told me to clean up. The items are scattered everywhere, so I can’t find what I want.

“Ugh!”

In my haste, I stepped on a box and tried to take something from the shelf, but the box wasn’t as strong as I thought. As the box was crushed helplessly, I fell backward with a thud.

My backside hurt.

“Oh, this is….”

Inside the crushed box was a piece of cloth with a single ruffle at the end. I picked it up. The cute cloth, dotted with pink spots, was sewn to fit the size of a tail, making it perfect for wrapping a tail.

“It’s a tail cover!”

My goodness, what a windfall. I don’t know whose tail cover it is, but I should be grateful.

A tail cover is a kind of clothing that holds the fur in place. Think of it as a glove for your tail. It’s incredibly stuffy to wear, but it’s perfect for catching the fox that’s wagging its tail so wildly right now.

“Fox, come here!”

“Kkang?”

The fox, unaware of its impending fate, trotted towards me. As I chuckled, the fox seemed to sense something ominous and stopped, but it was too late.

“Hya!”

“Kkang?!”

I jumped with all my might and then pounced on the fox, catching it. I quickly put the cover on the fox’s tail as it tried to escape, tied the string so it wouldn’t come off, and it was done!

“Kiiing…. Kkang!”

“Just bear with it for a little longer!”

The fox wagged its tail, uncomfortable, but its tail, blocked by the cover, no longer scattered fur. It’s so convenient. I can understand why Sister makes me wear a cover.

“Kiiing….”

But as a member of the fluffy-tailed brigade, I understand the discomfort of a tail cover very well. That’s why I couldn’t ignore the fox struggling like that.

I know how uncomfortable it is to stuff this big tail into such a narrow piece of cloth, only those who have experienced it know. I finally made a promise to the fox.

“J-just wear it inside the house. I’ll let you out to play after all the cleaning is done.”

“Kkang….”

“I promise!”

I held out my pinky finger. But the fox didn’t have fingers.

After pondering, I decided to substitute my pinky finger with a wolf’s howl. Since howling is originally meant to convey various intentions, my sincerity will surely be conveyed.

“Kkang!”

“Kkang….”

Sparkle.

“Huh?”

Did the storage just get brighter for a moment? It happened so quickly that I couldn’t see it properly. I looked around, but there was nothing that could emit light.

I must have seen it wrong?

“Huk… Wait, this isn’t the time! Roller!”

I’ve removed the source of the fur, so now I just need to clean up the fur. Of course, that’s not all. After cleaning up all the fur, I also need to clean the room that became messy while looking for the roller, so if time is short, it’s not that there’s no time left.

“Found it!”

After sacrificing boxes and searching for a while longer, I finally found a perfectly fine roller. Normally, I’d just pass it by, but it’s so welcome now.

“Fox, let’s go!”

First, we need to tidy up the messy living room. Centered around Dad’s sofa, I push the white fur with the roller, and with a rolling sound, the fur clumps together. Then, I just need to remove it!

“Hehe….”

Seeing the floor, which was covered in fur, become clean makes me feel good. Cleaning has this strange charm. I hate doing it, but when I actually do it, it’s surprisingly fun….

“Okay, how much time has passed?”

I stopped sweeping the floor and raised my head. Only a palm-sized area right below where I was standing had been cleaned. The rest was still white.

“Huh, huh?”

Even so, I don’t not know the area I cleaned. I definitely have a huge ball of fur in my hand, and if it’s this much, at least from the living room door to here should be cleaned….

Wait a minute, this sight, for some reason, feels familiar.

“My tail!!”

“Kkang?”

My tail was wagging and scattering fur everywhere! That’s why the cleaning isn’t getting done!

I turned around to catch my tail, but my tail was faster than I thought. As I turned, my tail also turned, and I couldn’t even catch a single strand of fur, just barely missing it.

“Kkang!”

“Fox?”

After playing tag for a long time, as I caught my breath, the fox came towards me with something in its mouth.

It was my tail cover.

“N-no way!”

“Kkang!”

“I, I don’t want to do this….”

The fox pressed me with silent pressure and offered me the cover. It seems to want revenge for having the cover put on it.

You petty fox.

“Fine, well, I’ll do it! Hmph!”

I’m mature. I won’t pout like that fox just because I wear a tail cover. I snorted and accepted the cover, putting it on my tail.

This way, the tail fur won’t fall out. It’s uncomfortable, but I won’t show it for the sake of that fox.

I started pushing the roller. Now, the fur began to disappear properly, and by the time I cleaned the living room, Sister’s room, the hallway, and the storage, a huge ball of fur stood next to me. It was as big as my body.

“Fox! That’s not meant for you to get inside!”

“Kkang!”

“Get out!”

I pulled out the fur ball that had jumped into the fur ball. Did it mistake it for a snowball because it looked similar? As expected of a foolish fox.

“Kkang!”

A moment later, the fox cried out to me. Then it gestured with its chin towards the front door, as if saying it wanted to go out.

“But we only cleaned the fur, the rest is still a mess….”

“Kkyang!”

“Ah, I get it… Just for a moment! We have to play for a bit and then clean again!”

In the end, I couldn’t resist the fox’s stubbornness, so I took off the cover and went outside. The fox, standing on the snow, shook its body as if relieved. Then it proudly lifted its freed tail, and I felt like teasing it.

“Hya!”

“Kkang?!”

I casually made a snowball and threw it at the fox.

The fox’s fluffy tail was instantly covered in snow, and I smiled sheepishly at the fox, which turned to look at me.

What are you going to do about it?

What are you going to do!

What can you do besides cry ‘kkang’….

“Ugh!”

The fox jumped towards me. Then, with a powerful body check, it knocked me over.

And so, we began to roll around on the snow, holding onto each other.