84. New Friend

84. New Friend

Ta-da-!

I take a powerful step. Clunk, clunk, the bag shakes up and down.

“Kkae-ae-ae-aeng.”

“Hold on, Seol-gu. We’re in a hurry right now!”

Seol-gu, who was in the bag, protested the rough ride, but I couldn’t stop now. It was because I had to catch the person who had been peeking at us.

Left, right, left, right….

I run through the alleyways intertwined like a maze.

If I were an ordinary animal, I would have gotten lost here and missed my target, but my species was none other than a polar wolf, known for its keen sense of smell.

Since I had already smelled the scent on the way here, I could follow the target without much trouble even in this maze.

“Stop right there!”

After running for a while, I saw the figure I was chasing in the distance.

The unidentified person used the advantage of their home ground to hide and dart around the alleyways, but despite their efforts, the distance between us was gradually closing.

This is all thanks to my very fast legs.

No matter how fast a human is, they can’t catch up to a wolf’s speed, can they?

The reason that person lost was that they dared to peek at a wolf-suin. If they had peeked at a fox-suin, there would have been no problem.

“Kkae-aeng-aeng!!”

“Seol-gu, hold on!”

I put more strength into my legs.

Accelerating speed, the wind blowing, my tail fluttering. My tail fur flutters along the path I’ve run.

After running and running and running, we finally entered a straight alleyway blocked by stone walls on both sides. It was a complete straight course, with no other side paths to escape.

“This is the end!”

Those who dared to peek at us will pay the price.

I put on a burst of speed. The distance between the human and me gradually closed, and finally, I succeeded in grabbing the person’s collar.

“Caught… Kkae-aeng!”

However, I couldn’t control my ever-increasing speed. The moment my feet slipped, I tumbled wildly with the human I had grabbed, rolling down the alleyway.

The sky and ground inverted several times.

Rumble… Thump!

“Kkae-aeng….”

It hurts.

I rubbed my aching backside, having collided with the stone wall. Fortunately, my tail and tailbone were unharmed.

I wonder how much I rolled.

If this had been a normal snowfield, I might have turned into a giant snowball.

“Ah…! Now is not the time!”

Fearing I might lose them, I quickly regained my senses and looked at the human pinned beneath me. The identity of the human who had been peeking at us from the beginning was….

“A child?”

It was a small girl, who looked about my age.

“@%#&%…!”

She had soft, shiny black hair. It was covered in dirt and snow from rolling around so much earlier, but it was still pretty.

Her eyes were no different. The girl’s eyes, the same color as her hair, were so deep and profound that one could easily fall into them.

The girl looked at me. I met her gaze.

The girl’s cheeks were fair and soft. However, perhaps due to the scratch from rolling earlier, a drop of blood was trickling down one cheek. The girl, who had been staring intently at me, soon realized the state of her cheek.

“~%@^…….”

“Uh, w-wait a minute…!”

Realizing her injury at last, the girl took a ragged breath, and soon her eyes welled up with tears.

And then….

“&#×*$￦#—!!!”

“Huk….”

The girl began to cry heartbrokenly, as if the world was ending. She cried so profusely that I instinctively covered my wolf ears, the sound was so loud.

I don’t know what the girl was crying about, but I guess it was something like “Uwaaaang.”

The girl, crying hysterically in a panic.

Hearing that sound so close, tears suddenly welled up in my eyes too. I wasn’t hurt anywhere, and I hadn’t really hurt from rolling earlier, but seeing her cry made me want to cry too.

“Uaaaaaang!!!”

“%<#^@|$!!!”

We both started crying profusely right there.

I didn’t care how strange we looked, crying hysterically tangled together. More importantly, it was my own feeling of wanting to cry right now.

“Hic, hic….”

“Kkang.”

“Seol-guuuu.”

After we had cried, taking turns, for what felt like dozens of times, I suddenly realized that something soft, squishy, and fluffy was licking my cheek.

It was Seol-gu, my precious friend and pet.

I lifted Seol-gu and hugged him tightly. Smelling his characteristic foxy scent, my tears seemed to subside a little.

“Kkang kkang.”

“Thank you….”

Seol-gu took out the transparent stone from my tail and used magic to heal me. A faint light swept over my body, and a warm warmth enveloped me.

Of course, it was a meaningless action since I wasn’t injured in the first place, but Seol-gu’s thoughtfulness was clearly conveyed.

As I maturely stopped crying, Seol-gu approached the still crying girl and used magic on her too.

As the stone’s light flashed, the scratch on the girl’s cheek healed instantly, and the dirt and snow that had covered her body also returned to normal.

However, the girl was still crying sadly.

I patted the girl’s shoulder. Then, I pointed my index finger towards her, indicating that she should look at herself.

Following my finger, the girl turned her head and her eyes widened in surprise as she saw her own uninjured body.

“Hoo hoo….”

Seeing her so surprised made me feel a sense of pride.

Although Seol-gu used the magic, of course.

Still, I was the one who brought Seol-gu here. And besides, I can use healing magic myself, so in the end, whether it’s this way or that, it’s not strange for me to act triumphantly.

I tried to speak to the girl, who had stopped crying.

“Hello?”

“@#%&…?”

“Ughh….”

But we still couldn’t understand each other. While it was possible to communicate using body language, it didn’t seem like a good idea considering efficiency.

I put my chin on my hand and pondered.

“Ah, yes…! This should work!”

I picked up the transparent stone that was lodged between Seol-gu’s ears, on top of his head.

The stone, emitting a brilliant color as always.

I used magic.

“Make our languages understandable to each other!”

Flash-!

When the dazzling light that filled the area subsided… outwardly, there was no change.

But I had no doubt that the magic had worked. Because there was no way the magic cast by the great wolf Rang Seol-ah could fail.

I lightly barked to clear my throat and opened my mouth.

“Kkang kkang, okay, can you hear me?”

“Huk…!”

Judging by her reaction, my prediction was correct.

To the girl, who was first surprised by the shining stone and then by the sudden ability to communicate, I introduced myself with a sly grin.

“My name is Rang Seol-ah! Who are you?”

“Ah, I, I am….”

Perhaps it was too sudden, but the girl kept stuttering.

To help the girl calm down more quickly, I offered Seol-gu’s tail, which is known for its calming properties, to the girl’s embrace.

At first, the girl was flustered by the sudden appearance of a fox, but as she felt the softness of Seol-gu’s tail, she melted away and smiled sheepishly.

“Kkang.”

“Hold on a moment, Seol-gu.”

I pacify Seol-gu, who dislikes his tail being handled too roughly. After a moment, the calmed girl opened her mouth.

“I, I’m Lucy….”

“Lucy?”

“Yes.”

I see. Lucy… it seems like a cute name that suits her appearance. Although the way names are given in our tribe is completely different, the nuance was definitely conveyed.

Lucy seemed completely captivated by Seol-gu’s tail, and was now hugging Seol-gu entirely, enjoying the texture.

But the pleasantness ends here.

I took Seol-gu away from Lucy. Then, a sigh escaped Lucy’s small mouth.

“Ah…!”

“So, now you have to tell us something, right?”

“Eung?”

In that short time, Seol-gu’s fluffy fur had become quite disheveled. It seems Lucy doesn’t have the knack for handling furballs.

Lucy asked.

“What…?”

“Why were you peeking at us?”

“Ah, th-that’s….”

At first, I thought Lucy might be a dark force threatening Sister and Father, but judging by Lucy’s actions up until now, she seemed far from a harmful entity.

That’s why I’m asking Lucy in such a gentle manner now. If Lucy were a dangerous person, I would have used magic without question.

Lucy paused for a moment, then said shyly.

“Well….”

“Why?”

“Because you look so amazing….”

Lucy’s hand pointed to my giant tail, which was still wagging and swaying.

Aha!

I understood perfectly!

This is a human village. No suin live here.

If someone had lived here for a long time, they might have seen us wolf-suin passing through occasionally, but Lucy, who is still young like me, would never have even seen a suin over her shoulder.

Seeing us with tails and ears, she must have been unable to resist following us.

Moreover, the first suin she met in her life was me!

Anyone who saw this big, round, fluffy, and soft tail would not be able to resist peeking at us. Especially a child who finds everything in the world amazing.

Now all the mysteries are solved.

I stopped pinning Lucy down and got off her. I realized the stalking was simply a misunderstanding, so there was no need to hold her captive like this.

Instead, as a gesture of reconciliation, I offered my tail to Lucy.

“Want to touch it?”

“R-really…? Is that okay?”

“Of course!”

Anyone who realizes the magnificence of my tail is welcome.

Lucy’s eyes sparkled as she reached out her hand, and just as her small, white hand was about to reach my tail-

“Rang Seol-ah.”

“Huk.”

Sister’s voice, stiff and formal, came from behind me.