67. Errand

67. Errand

“I’m not going in!”

“Kkang?!”

At my very firm refusal, Seol-gu, who had been trying to drag me into the water, let out a surprised cry.

Then, with an expression that seemed to ask, ‘Why ever not?’, he spun around me, barking “Kkang kkang” noisily. It was as if he expected me to agree without question.

Instead of answering, I covered my ears with my paws and shook my head.

“I’m absolutely not going in!”

“Kkang kkang, kkang…! Kkae-aeng!”

Seol-gu pointed at my transparent stone, then turned his body and pointed his tail towards the center of the lake. It was as if he was saying that in return for receiving the transparent stone that allows magic, my duty is to defeat the mechanical monsters.

“No! Not into the water!”

“Kkang….”

After all the fuss I made in the water earlier, being told to go back into the water again? No. I’m sure I’ll drown, gasping “Kkang, gurgle, gaaak,” and die.

I won’t even be able to see the mechanical worms or anything else. Therefore, my choice not to enter the water here is very excellent and correct.

As I sat down and showed no signs of moving, Seol-gu grabbed my tail with his mouth and began to pull me forcefully towards the water’s edge.

I thought, ‘How hard can a fox pull?’ but I overlooked the fact that the ground was ice. My body began to slide towards the water helplessly.

Slide-

The water is getting closer!

“Hiiik…! Uncle!! Help me!!”

I struggled desperately, trying to slow down. A fox heading for the water and a wolf heading for land. Just before falling into the water, Uncle Polar Bear thankfully caught me and lifted me up.

“What is it? Explain it before you go.”

“I’m not going!”

“Then just explain.”

I was being held by Uncle’s hand, and Seol-gu was holding my tail. As Uncle lifted me, Seol-gu was also lifted, so we became like sausages strung together.

I exposed Seol-gu’s misdeeds to Uncle.

“This bad fox is trying to push me into the water!!”

“Is that so? Then you shouldn’t. Playing in the water is very dangerous. Seol-ah can’t swim, so stop here.”

“Kkang?!”

Seol-gu was sternly scolded by Uncle. I smiled smugly, thinking “Hoo hoo.”

Finally, Seol-gu, separated from me, let out a “Kkang” of protest.

“Kkang kkang, kkang!”

“What are you saying?”

“Kkang kkang, kkang! This is what he’s saying.”

But there’s no one on Seol-gu’s side here. No one can understand Seol-gu’s words, and no one can be persuaded by Seol-gu. Therefore, I will absolutely not go into the water!

“Kkang!!”

Seol-gu didn’t give up and tried to make me go into the water somehow. It was as if he was telling me to defeat the mechanical monsters that were plaguing the North Pole.

Normally, I would have agreed to Seol-gu’s request without complaint. But the situation is different now, isn’t it?

Last time it was mechanical worms in a cave, and this time it’s in the water!

“I won’t go in! I won’t go in! I absolutely won’t go in!”

“Kkiiing…!”

Seol-gu tried hard to convey his intentions by moving his body actively. He raised his tail high in the air, cried “Kkang” while pointing at the stone, and then cried while looking at me.

Then he moved his tail mechanically, “Bzzzt, bzzzt,” then curled his body into a very round shape, and struck a pose of falling, crying “Quaak.”

What could it possibly mean?

“Kkang.”

Seol-gu struck the pose again. The mechanical “Bzzzt, bzzzt” movement seemed to be pointing at the mechanical monster in the water, but what followed next…

Seol-gu, curled into a ball. On top of Seol-gu’s body, which had formed a surprisingly spherical shape, a tiny tail protruded.

A sphere with a stem sticking out.

Could it be that Seol-gu means….

“Ice fruit?”

“Kkang!”

Seol-gu smiled brightly, as if to say, ‘Correct.’ Then he struck the next pose.

Ice fruit falling sideways, “Quaak.”

That’s….

“Ice fruit is disappearing?”

“Kkang!”

Putting it all together, it seemed to say that if the mechanical monsters aren’t defeated, the Ice fruit will disappear. This aligns with what Sister told me before.

The more the machines mine the ice crystals, the more the Ice fruit disappears. As the number of ice crystals decreases and decreases, eventually the Ice fruit will disappear. That is definitely a big problem.

However, going into the water is also a big problem.

“But I can’t swim…!”

“Kkang kkang, Kkae-rae kkang kkang!”

“Hold your tail…?”

Seol-gu turned his body away from me and extended his tail. It wasn’t Seol-gu’s fluffy, bushy, and soft tail, but a tail that was soaked in water, lost its volume, and was damp.

It seemed to be saying that he would swim, so I should hold onto his tail.

But I couldn’t bring myself to reach out.

It was partly because the tail was too damp, and more importantly….

“How will I breathe… And it will be incredibly cold if I go into the water…!”

Even if I hold Seol-gu’s tail and swim, the problems of oxygen and temperature are not solved. I didn’t know how deep the worms were, so I couldn’t just go in blindly.

But fortunately, we had an all-purpose weapon. I pointed at Uncle and shouted.

“Let’s ask Uncle. He’ll catch it!”

“What? That steel eel? How can I catch that? Even if I hit it with all my might, it just gets a little dented.”

“Th-then, if we ask Sister….”

If Uncle isn’t enough, I can go home and bring Sister. Sister will surely do something. Or Dad, or Mom….

“Seol-ah, don’t overestimate your sister too much. Your sister isn’t a good swimmer either.”

“Really?!”

“Of course. It was so hard teaching her to swim. When I let go of her while she was floating on the water, she sank exactly as she was.”

“Huk….”

The image of Sister slowly sinking into the water, with bubbles rising from her spot, flashed in my mind. I burst into laughter, and my illusion about Sister was shattered once again.

“B-but then what should we do….”

But now is not the time to just laugh. If neither Sister nor Uncle can help, I will inevitably have to go into the water, held by Seol-gu.

“Kkang kkang.”

“Why…?”

“Kkang!”

As I shivered and despaired at the terrible future that lay ahead, Seol-gu quietly approached me and took the stone away.

Then he barked “Kkang” powerfully, and a mysterious, faint light enveloped Uncle, me, and Seol-gu.

I raised my arm and looked around. It was as if… a transparent barrier had formed.

“What did you do?”

“Kkang.”

Seol-gu jumped into the water to show me an example. Splash, ripples formed, and his stubby legs swam diligently, keeping his body afloat.

But his appearance was different from before, when he was as wet as a rain-soaked fox.

“Huk….”

Seol-gu, who had become fluffy again at some point, maintained his usual fluffiness even after falling into the water. The transparent light barrier I mentioned earlier… seemed to be preventing his fur from getting wet.

Seol-gu cried “Kkang” towards me, dived into the water, and resurfaced. Yet, Seol-gu wasn’t wet at all.

“I, I’ll try a little too….”

With a half-believing attitude, I slowly tilted my tail and dipped it into the water. However, fearing that my tail might get wet, I immediately pulled it back the moment it touched the water.

“Wow!”

But surprisingly, my tail, which had clearly been in the water, remained completely dry, not a single strand of fur wet. It maintained its usual fluffy, soft, and plush appearance.

-Kkang!

“Seol-gu!”

My surprise at my dry body lasted only a moment before I heard a “Kkang” sound from the water. It didn’t take long to realize it was Seol-gu.

Seol-gu’s silhouette was visible beneath the shimmering water surface. Seol-gu was barking “Kkang kkang” loudly from underwater.

“No way…!”

I leaned forward, overcoming my fear, and put my face into the water.

My expectation of overwhelming cold was completely wrong; instead, I was greeted by clean air and a warmer feeling than outside.

I can breathe.

“Wow…! There’s a fish!”

The bottom of the lake was much larger and deeper than I had imagined. The ecosystem was also diverse, and the clam swimming gracefully there caught my eye.

… My goodness, clams swim too? Is it because this is a fantasy world? Or do clams actually swim?

Regardless of the question, the sight of the fish swimming in the water was truly… amazing.

I couldn’t hide my surprise at this sight, which I had never witnessed before, neither in my past life nor in this one.

“What, is this magic? It would be really convenient for fishing!”

“Uncle!”

Meanwhile, from the side, I heard the sound of something large splashing into the water.

Uncle Polar Bear had entered the water. Uncle swam skillfully in the water and showed a surprisingly astonished expression.

Seol-gu and Uncle playing and swimming in circles with the fish in the water.

“I, I want to go in too!”

Seeing them having so much fun, all my fear of the water disappeared, and I started to feel like I wanted to join them and play.

I quickly got into position and jumped with all my might.

And so, as I fell into the water…

“Ah, Uncle! Seol-gu! Help! I can’t float!!”

Because I don’t know how to swim, I sank endlessly towards the deep bottom of the lake.