The Fox's Wealth and the Elf's New Year

A day had passed since the transformation item appeared, and Miho, showing up out of nowhere, handed me a bracelet. It was a white bracelet with a beautiful, porcelain-like design, accented by striking blue patterns.

"A gift for Master!"

Was she making this while I was making mine? I checked the information on the white bracelet.

It was an absurdly powerful item, almost too much for a single piece of equipment. "Are you crazy... what is this?"

"Hehe. I swiped an SSS-class magic stone from the guild to make it!"

An SSS-class magic stone was, much like the dragon heart Miho had consumed before, an item of astronomical value—rarely even seen on the market, let alone affordable. Miho looked triumphant, having essentially ripped the foundation out of the Baekryeong-ga guild to bring it to me.

"...Are you sure this is okay?"

"It’s been sitting in the guild vault gathering dust for over 300 years. And besides, there’s no Ho-jok better than me, so it’s fine."

If she put it that way, I suppose it was fine. She probably used some kind of spell to hide it anyway. The performance of the Absolute Defense (SSS) option was also satisfying. It required the user to perceive the attack, but as someone with a survival expert skill, as long as it wasn't an instant-death effect, I could survive at least one hit. It was like having an extra life.

"Did you really have to give it to me? I don't think I'll have much use for it."

"But Master, you're weak."

...I couldn't even argue with that.

"And unless a dragon like the one we saw before suddenly appears, you won't be in any danger anyway."

Miho took the bracelet and fastened it onto my wrist herself, as if to say she wouldn't accept any counterarguments. Even though I was being treated like this for now, I fiddled with the bracelet, imagining the day I would finally become strong.

A little time passed without any major incidents. Miho, who had boldly brought me that SSS-class magic stone, naturally became the guild leader of Baekryeong-ga. And while Rania and I were heading to the Elf New Year's party, Miho, driven by her ambition, volunteered to attend as the representative of the Ho-jok. She claimed that since the scale of the event was small, she intended to use this opportunity to grow the guild even further.

Baekryeong-ga was already classified as a massive guild that had occupied the entire (former) Incheon region and received certification from the World Hunter Association. I wasn't quite sure what she meant by "small scale," but it seemed that as she gained power, her ambitions had grown as well. Since I would benefit if Miho's influence grew, I told her to let me know if she needed any help. Not that I expected any help to be needed.

Anyway, I was attending the Elf New Year's party as Rania's guest. As it was an Elf event, Elf participation was a given, and each person could invite one guest of their choosing. Alternatively, people in positions like Miho—heads of massive factions or association presidents—could attend without much difficulty. For that reason, I visited the Baekryeong-ga guild, which apparently owned a private jet for Miho.

I witnessed a fresh sight: every time other Baekryeong-ga guild members saw Miho, they bowed at a perfect 90-degree angle.

"Wow..."

"Ahem. How is it?"

"Sister, you're so cool!" Rania said, looking at Miho with admiration.

"Heh heh."

"How did you get the guild members to respect you so much?"

"Uh, what? Respect...?"

"Yes!"

Anyone could see they were just bowing because they were terrified of her. Miho looked flustered by the pure-hearted soul asking how she earned such respect.

"Heh heh... this is my personal ride!"

"...Next time, ask ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me before you name anything."

The private jet looked bigger and cooler than I had imagined.

"How much is this?"

"Hmm... about 70 billion won? It turns out Carlson had a lot of things going on. In a bad way."

He had been involved in embezzlement and corruption, and Miho, as the next guild leader, had naturally gobbled up the results. The jet was one of those results.

"Have you arrived, Guild Leader!"

I was startled by the voice coming from behind me. Moira? Moira, the very culprit who had triggered the quest to rehabilitate Miho's "hopeless fox" personality, was sweating buckets.

Moira was the one who had used a word skill inside an A-class gate to drive me into a frenzy and send me to the abyss.

"Sigh... I told you to come and greet me promptly every time I arrived without being late. That was a job you used to make me do... don't you remember?"

"I-I'm sorry..."

She seemed to be restraining herself because I was there... well, Moira had plenty ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of karma to pay for.

"I'd like a hot iced Americano..."

"I'll bring it right away!"

Good heavens, a hot iced Americano... does such a thing exist?

"Why, why are you looking at me like that! Moira did even worse things to me!"

"I know, I know."

"Ugh... Rania, you too!"

"I... I trust you, Sister!"

After Miho finished explaining to Rania, I asked how Moira, a 200-year-old "old-timer" and SS-class hunter, was still here. Miho said she couldn't end her revenge so easily, so she brought her back to the guild to do all sorts of menial chores. Even so, because of her past crimes, one word from Miho could send her back to the association to face trial, where who knows what would happen to her.

Rania and I followed Miho into the private jet. The atmosphere was luxurious. I had never ridden a plane in my life, but I knew this wasn't the average experience.

"...How much money do you have right now?"

"Hmm... counting everything, I think I have about 300 billion won in liquid assets... I'm not really interested in money, so I'm not sure."

Does that mean she could spend even more if she wanted to? No wonder ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠being a guild leader is good. The fox in front of me started to look like she was made of gold. The fox I raised so hard had become a bourgeois! I sat down, thinking that after this Elf New Year's party, I should use Miho's help to change my house first. As I leaned my body into the plush seat, comfort washed over me. Rania, who was just as surprised as I was, sat in her seat with a melted, relaxed expression.

"Ta-da. It’s even got cleaning and simple repair magic cast on it."

Miho brought out a clean black suit. Was this why she took my measurements a while ago? It looked expensive, but Miho was a billionaire now. I could accept this without feeling burdened.

I rode a plane for the first time in my life and arrived at the Everleaf Alliance, the territory of the Elves located on the (former) Chinese mainland.

"Master, I have urgent business, so I'll go ahead!"

"W-wait..."

Before I could even answer, she quickly initiated some skinship and vanished before my eyes. The hopeless fox seemed to be living a very busy life lately. Perhaps this was just a middle step to becoming even more hopeless.

In the end, I was left alone with Rania and headed to the accommodation booked in the eastern region, where the Elf New Year's party was being held. Even though it was the Everleaf Alliance, where Elves were the majority, I had heard that because the land was so vast, other races lived there too, but the crowds were endless, with some races I was seeing for the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠first time.

"Whew... I'm nervous..."

"Why? Isn't this your hometown?"

"That's true, but... this is my first New Year's party, so I'm trembling."

Come to think of it, Rania was a "baby" who hadn't even reached 3% of an Elf's life expectancy.

"More than when we first did it?"

"Ugh..."

"You were screaming about how good it was while we were having sex last time..."

"Seriously...!"

She didn't even try to retort, just covering her mouth with her hands in protest, which was adorable.

Rania, who had become an SS-class hunter with my help, was seeing her dominance rise, and soon she would reach 50, the condition for copying. And compared to Miho's second awakening stimulus time, it would soon... perhaps during the New Year's party, Rania's awakening stimulus cooldown would also reset. We went to our accommodation, unpacked, and naturally, our eyes met, and we pressed our bodies together.

The banquet hall where the New Year's party was held. I had come as Rania's guest, and since I had become an SS-class hunter and started receiving various benefits, I was able to enter the banquet hall quickly without any problems. As it was a major event, the people participating were high-profile, and it was the perfect place to show off one's abilities and build connections.

The interior of the glittering banquet hall was filled with famous people. There were "impossible" SSS-class hunters who were out of my reach, but there were also "possible" SSS-class hunters. 'Sigh... is there no way?' But they already possessed more than enough power, so attempting an Interspecies interaction openly was out of the question. 'If you have sex with me, you'll get stronger, so want to try?' There was no way such a joke-like attempt would work. Even if I proved it was true, I could only imagine a bad ending. In a place like this, I had to be even more self-restrained.

"Doyen?"

In front of the women's changing room prepared inside the banquet hall, I heard the voice of Rania, who had said she was going to change her clothes.