Chapter 124
Chapter 124
Civil Servant Hunter’s S-class Resignation Log – Chapter 124
"A watch?"
Yoon Jae-hun's gift was a sleek black digital watch.
"It's one that syncs with your phone. You haven't bought one yet, right?"
"Yeah, true."
"Hunters find it way more convenient to wear a watch than carry a phone around. Your hands stay free, for starters. It'll come in handy from now on."
"Oh, you've got some sense?"
Back in her F-rank days, she hardly ever fought, so she hadn't felt the need for one. But things were different now. She couldn't use it in dungeons, but it'd be useful in all sorts of other situations.
"Thanks, bro. I'll put it to good use."
Se-ra synced the watch with her phone right then and there. It was fun messing around with it for the first time. Oh, it even tracks exercise.
Thud thud thud!
"Yoon Jae-hun!"
Thud thud thud!
"Aren't you worried about your guild master at all?!"
Thud thud thud!
A loud banging on the door rang out, accompanied by a furious voice. They were pounding so hard it felt like the whole hotel was shaking. Se-ra rubbed her ears, nearly ruptured by the noise.
"Your guild master's looking for you like crazy. Go see him."
"Mm. I guess I have been sticking too close to you."
Yoon Jae-hun grinned sheepishly. Even the fox sitting on Se-ra's lap was pawing at him, pushing him away like hurry up and go.
"Looks like our Liz wants to send bro packing ASAP. Off you go."
"She barely touches me except when she's biting, but now she pushes me away like a little demon. Se-ra, is this really a fox?"
It wasn't, but she couldn't exactly say that.
"Hurry up and go. You're gonna break the door."
Jae-hun shot her a suspicious look but headed out when Ali started pounding on the door again, calling for him.
Finally, Se-ra was alone with the Administrator. She picked up the fox and met its gaze.
"Administrator."
"I've been wanting to ask since earlier, but the timing never lined up until now."
"Why'd you suddenly stop letting me hear your voice?"
The snappy emotes came to an abrupt halt. As expected, he was doing it on purpose.
"You'd pop in out of nowhere and scare me half to death, but now you're going all silent treatment? What's up with that?"
Kkiuuung.
"What, so you're not really silent since you're making fox noises?"
Kyaek!
"You think that's gonna fool me? ...Is it because I got hurt?"
The fox's tail, which had been twitching slightly, froze. Se-ra clicked her tongue at its rapidly dimming green eyes.
"You got pretty shaken up, huh? I didn't want you to see me like that either, Administrator. But I had no choice at the time."
Her hand stroked the fox's cheek. But those gloomy eyes showed no sign of brightening. Se-ra rolled her eyes around before finally sighing.
"My bad. I was reckless and didn't take care of myself."
As if those words pulled the trigger, the fox in her arms began to change. Its single tail split into nine, and its body grew until it filled the bed.
The fox's paw pressed down on her shoulderclaws retractedand Se-ra's upper body fell back naturally. The fox, or rather the Administrator beyond it, stared down intently at his contractor below.
His voice finally reached her.
His matter-of-fact sincerity made her heart ache. Those green eyes scarred by wounds hurt her in turn.
The fox's muzzle touched her forehead. The contact from the one who blessed her brought peace to her heart. Their bond, forged by contract, felt truly sweet.
"When I was little, I never understood Mom. Now here I am, doing exactly what she did. I didn't want to live like that."
Se-ra stroked the fox's soft fur. Even if this wasn't the Administrator's true form, knowing his will was contained within had once been enough to make her happy.
But not anymore. The deeper their contract grew, the more she received, the more they shared, the greedier she became. She could no longer suppress her desire to meet him in person.
"Still, I'm different from Mom. I'm not doing it for random strangersI'm doing it for myself, and for you, the one who cherishes only me. So forgive me, Miss Elizabeth."
Se-ra burst into giggles at his bitter tone. It had been nearly half a year, so it was about time to give up on the name thing, but his persistent hope was utterly lovable.
Ding ding! Messages popped up in front of the fox's face.
"You even prepared a birthday gift?"
The fox scooted back, and Se-ra sat up to open her inventory. Let's see. She'd ripped off three Silent Dragon heads, so it was packed. She'd have to sort it out once back in Korea...
"Huh?"
A NEW! mark gleamed in the last slot of her inventory: the Administrator's gift.
Se-ra blinked dumbly for a moment, rubbed her eyes, and looked again. No change. She lifted her head with a baffled expression.
"Um, Miss Elizabeth. This doesn't seem like something to smile about so contentedly..."
This was ridiculous. Se-ra pulled the Administrator's gift from her inventory.
The texture in her hand was softer than the fox's fur. Fluffy and squishythis was none other than furry slippers. White fox-shaped ones, at that.
"This is really the gift?"
"Seriously...?"
Stop laughing...!
It was so absurd she couldn't help but laugh. Ha ha ha ha. Bursting into silly chuckles, Se-ra slipped them on anyway. Okay, they were super soft. Just like the ones he'd given her at their first meeting.
"Is this to reminisce about that time together?"
The day she'd miraculously contracted with the Administrator in the Werewolf Dungeon and made it out alive.
He'd given her similar slippers back then, when she was wandering barefoot after losing her shoes. Bright pink bunny ones. Staring at the new gift brought it all flooding back.
'Come to think of it, those got so filthy with blood and dirt I couldn't even wash them and just threw them out.'
She hadn't thought much of it then, but looking back now, it felt like she'd tossed a precious memory in the trash, leaving a bad taste.
"I wondered what kind of birthday gift this was. But yeah, in hindsight, it's all memories."
Being forced to prance around in ridiculously cute pink bunny slippers had been a huge mental blow at the time, but even that had become a fond memory. Se-ra smiled happily and planted a kiss on the fox's forehead.
"This time, I won't throw them in the trash. I'll treasure them. Thanks, Administrator."
It was a truly ridiculous gift, but if the Administrator liked it, that was fine.
She carefully set the slippers on the floor, hugged the massive fox, and lay back on the bed. Embracing the warm, fluffy fox and using its plush tail as a blanket, the nagging pain in her gut seemed to ease a bit.
This pain from the skill backlash would probably linger for a while. She hoped the Administrator wouldn't find out until it fully healed.
* * *
Soft, even breathing filled the room.
The fox lying motionless beside Se-ra opened its eyes and rose. Her arm, draped over it, flopped down. When she still didn't wake, the fox quietly slipped lower.
Its white fur glowed brightly as the fox's form began to shift. The nine tails and ears vanished, replaced by something else.
A snowy white hand touched Se-ra's hair.
These were his true feelings, ones he couldn't bring himself to tell her directly.
Rage boiled up. Am I the one obstructing your path?
He'd thought this time would be differentthat since she'd finally chosen him, it wouldn't be like before. That had been arrogance. He was no omnipotent god.
He knelt on the floor, bowing his head until his forehead pressed firmly into the edge of the bed. Even with the mattress dipping, Se-ra didn't stir. Beneath the cascade of her hair, his lips curved into a self-recriminating smile.
And there seemed to be no escaping that curse.
After staying like that for a long while, he shifted back into a fox and climbed onto the bed. Se-ra's hand pulled him close as if waiting. The fox buried its head in his contractor's solid shoulder and closed its eyes.
As if nothing had happened, the bedroom fell quiet once more.