The Fox Village

Ilai was very kind to me.

“Wear this, Awakener-nim. You must be cold, right?”

He said my <White Blossom One-piece (SL)> looked cold and even took off his own outer garment to cover me.

“It’s okay. I’m not cold…”

“You were rolling in the snow earlier. I heard that humans don’t have fur and are very susceptible to the cold, so please wear it. I can just wrap my tail around myself like this!”

“Yes, thank you. Ilai.”

After refusing a few times, I gave up and accepted his fur coat.

It was because I wasn’t confident that I could explain that my clothes, despite their appearance, had a freeze-resistance passive and were warmer than a fur coat.

“Ah! Be careful! The road is slippery.”

As I stumbled on a frozen stone, he quickly grabbed my hand.
Unlike his warm gaze, Ilai’s hand was as cold as ice.

‘Someone’s hand was always hot, unlike his cold gaze.’
I unconsciously thought of him and then shook my head vigorously.

‘What’s the point of thinking about a man I’ll never see again.’
‘In the first place, he would have just walked ahead, whether I fell or not.’

As I was grumbling, thinking of his expressionless face, my eyes met Ilai’s, who was staring at me blankly.

“…Ah…”

“Um, is there something on my face?”

“Ah, no! I’m sorry!”

‘By the way, why did the NPC suddenly start recognizing me as an Awakener?’
I thought as I watched Ilai run away, his cheeks bright red.

Whatever the reason, my heart pounded at the fact that there was at least a small change.

“Awakener-nim, this way!”

‘Finally, can I escape from this world where I have no one on my side?’
Hiding my heart, which was puffed up with hope like a pumped-up balloon, I followed him through the overgrown bushes.

[…Entering the hidden field: Fox’s Temporary Residence….]

The Fox tribe’s village was small and shabby.

Dilapidated thatched-roof houses that looked like they were from an old fairy tale were huddled together, and the barrier surrounding the village was also pathetically crumbling.

“My goodness, an Awakener has come to our village!”

“O representative of the gods! For what reason have you come to this humble place…!”

“Oh, my lord!”

The fox beast-kin, who were busy breaking the frozen well, saw me, threw down the crowbars they were holding, and prostrated themselves.

Cheers, whistles, applause.
I was bewildered by the unexpected welcome.

[Spontaneous Quest: A request for help from the Fox tribe]
The only source of drinking water in the Fox tribe’s temporary residence has frozen over.
Melt and break through the well.
Reward: Fox tribe’s Favorability, a small favor

I was even more surprised by the status window that popped up next.

It was the first time since Baalzeph, after I was trapped in this world.
That I had received a quest from an NPC.

“I’m sorry. A noble person has come, but the well has frozen over, so our hospitality is not up to par…”

“Shall I help you?”

“C-can you do that?”

‘…Am I, really, back to being a ‘player’?’

Hiding my wildly pounding heart, I approached the well that the quest marker was pointing to.

“Can I take a look for a moment?”

“Yes, yes! Of course!”

The Fox tribe, with awe-filled eyes, quickly made way for me.

I stood on my tiptoes and looked into the round stone structure.
The well, frozen solid due to the cold weather, looked so deep that the light from a light spell couldn’t reach the bottom.

I tried dropping a stone as a test, and after a long while, I heard a ‘thud’ as it hit something.
‘How deep is this?’
‘I’ll never get out if I go in.’

“This well, how old is it?”

“It’s been here since our ancestors’ time!”

‘Hmm.’
I looked at the stone outer wall with a troubled expression.
I could probably break it easily with a fireball-like skill, but that would shatter the well too.

‘If it’s that old, it’s practically their cultural heritage, so I can’t break it. What should I do?’

I looked at the Fox tribe, who were looking at me with sparkling, expectant eyes, with a troubled expression.
I noticed the pitchfork-like hoe in the hands of one who seemed to have come from farming.

‘…Ah.’
Seeing that, a brilliant idea suddenly came to me.

“Leviathan.”

[Awakener ‘Shinbi’ has summoned <Leviathan>.]

With a snap of my fingers, my exclusive weapon, which looked like a giant fork, flew to my feet and stuck in the ground.

The Fox tribe gasped in surprise at the special legendary-specific effect of sparks flying.
They blinked their round eyes, and then, like real NPCs, they began to praise me one after another, their mouths dry.

“Ooh! That red light is the legendary…!”

“The weapon that only a true representative of the gods can possess…!”

‘Ha, well.’
‘Yes. I am the owner of that final-tier SL weapon.’
Hiding my proud heart at the gaze I was tasting for the first time in a while, I aimed the Leviathan straight into the well and dropped it.

“W-w-wait a minute. Awakener-nim. That well is deep, so once you throw it in, you can’t get the weapon…”

Thud!
Finally, a sound of rock breaking came from the bottom of the well, as if it had reached the bottom.
‘How frozen solid is this?’

Frowning, I stretched out my hand and waited for a moment, and with a crack and a crunch, the Leviathan returned to my hand with a thud.
A chunk of ice was stuck on the two prongs of the spear.

[Leviathan: <Original Sin> passive is activated. (Original Sin: The thrown weapon returns with a 100% probability.)]

‘Hmm, good. Just as planned.’
‘Maybe I should throw it about a hundred more times like this.’
As I was rolling my shoulders, I felt Ilai looking at me.

“I’m sorry. What did you say earlier?”

“…Ah, no. It’s nothing.”

It seemed like he had said something urgently, but when I asked again, he just looked at me blankly and then shook his head.
His cheeks were rosy, as if he were cold.

“Awakener-nim, you really are, amazing…!”

Encouraged by the praise, I threw and caught the Leviathan like a yo-yo and neatly broke the ice in the well.
The Fox tribe was overjoyed.

“To think you could so easily do what we’ve been struggling with for days…! Thank you so much, thank you!”

[The spontaneous quest of the Fox tribe has been completed.]

It was a trivial request with a meager reward that I would have normally just passed by.
But I was glad I did it.
Because of their happy faces.

That’s how human psychology is.
Even if you know you’ll go through a lot for a meager reward, just one word of ‘Wow, you’re cool!’ makes you want to give them your all.

On the other hand, when I brought the quest item to the governor of Midvalen, Baalzeph, he didn’t even express admiration and just told me to come earlier next time.

“It took you longer than I thought. Awakener.”
“Next time, try to shorten the time.”

‘…Ugh.’
‘I had forgotten.’
‘The thought of going back to that vampire with a debuff on his manners makes my head spin.’
‘Was the choice to return to Midvalen the right one?’
My confident heart became wavering and troubled.

“Awakener-nim! Thank you so much!”

“You are the savior of our village!”

The Foxes, who had no idea of my inner thoughts, thanked me without a break.
Even surrounded by the cute fox beast-kin with their fluffy ears and tails, I couldn’t hide my complicated feelings.

“Uh, Awakener-nim? If you’re not in a hurry, how about staying for a few days? Our village is shabby because it’s a temporary residence, but you’ll be able to avoid the cold.”

And so, forgetting my own situation, I ended up staying in the Fox village for a while.
‘As long as the Observer doesn’t appear, I won’t be a nuisance. Just for a little while.’

I sat in a circle with dozens of fox beast-kin on the relatively spacious wooden floor of what seemed to be the village chief’s house.

“It’s humble, but please eat your fill. It’s our thanks.”

Like house cats watching the fish in a newly brought-in aquarium, they all sat with their hands neatly clasped and just stared at me.

“Thank you, but it’s okay.”

I awkwardly refused as I held a tiny baby fox that was trying hard to climb onto my lap.

“I already had a meal and was just out for a walk. Please share it with the others. Here, do you want to eat this?”

I held out a boiled potato that was on the shabby table to a young Fox.
It was one of the little ones who had been swallowing saliva next to me since earlier.

I could hear the rumbling of their stomachs, but they didn’t readily accept it and just watched the reactions of those around them.

“H-how can I, the tribute offered to the Awakener-nim…”

“I’m full, so I’ll just accept your kindness. Go ahead and eat.”

After some coaxing, they finally started to eat greedily.
The Fox tribe, who had been watching, also picked up potatoes one by one.
Even the elderly Fox who had introduced himself as the village chief stealthily picked one up.

‘There was more than enough food in Bahalgras.’
I thought of the young Varg who had been playing with raw potatoes, drawing on them.
I thought that since the Varg were an exiled and hidden race, the other beast-kin races would live more prosperously.
But in reality, their life was no different from that of royalty.

Well, the food I ate there was of dozens of kinds, and just the bedroom was as splendid as Midvalen.

‘…But, I’ll never go back there.’

I thought of the frosty face and shook my head reluctantly.

Chomp, chomp.
Meanwhile, the room was full of the sound of chewing.
I looked at the Fox tribe, who were eating potatoes in a daze.

‘Foxes are carnivores, so wouldn’t they want to eat meat rather than potatoes.’
I suddenly felt a sense of pity.

‘I saw a lot of deer and rabbit monsters earlier, so maybe they can’t go hunting because it’s too cold. I should go and get them something to eat.’

“…Shinbi-nim!”

As I came out, burning with a sense of mission, Ilai hurriedly chased after me.