The Fox Gains a... Subordinate?
Scratch-scratch-scratch—
Sniff-sniff—
“Grrrr…”
I was hard at work scraping at the crack of the door and sniffing the air, standing guard against the outside, when Subin held up some toys and spoke.
“Naru, aren’t you going to play anymore?”
“I wasn’t playing! I was training!”
“I see. So training’s already over?”
“This is no time for training! A strange human has invaded our territory!”
“This is Yerin’s house, so shouldn’t we leave it to Yerin?”
“But I can’t just sit still like this!”
I jumped up and hung from the doorknob, trying to open the door, but Subin blocked me so I couldn’t get it open.
“I just want to look!!”
“Interrupting grown-ups’ conversations makes you a bad little kid.”
“I am a grown-up!!”
I was definitely a grown-up, so I said so, but Subin didn’t believe me at all.
When she scooped me up while I was still hanging from the door, I felt so wronged that I bit her wrist.
“Ow!”
“Kaeng?!”
“If you go around biting people, Inom Ahjussi will come and scold you!”
“Huk!!”
I jumped at the sudden shout, but I had no idea who this Inom Ahjussi Subin was talking about even was.
“Who’s Inom Ahjussi?”
“Um… well, if there’s a bad little kid, he shows up and scolds them. He’s a really, really scary person.”
“…That’s all?”
“What else is there supposed to be?”
“Then he’s a nice person!”
“N-nice?”
“People usually yell and swear! And they hit you too, but just saying ‘you little—’ is nice!”
“…Just asking in case, but has someone been swearing at Naru and hitting you?”
“Most of the people I’ve met were like that?”
Hearing my answer, Subin’s face suddenly darkened, and without a word she hugged me tight.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing. I just suddenly started hating the world…”
“I don’t really get it, but can I at least just look?”
“Okay. Naru can do whatever you want!”
A moment ago she’d acted like it was absolutely not allowed, then flipped her attitude in an instant. I was a little suspicious, but decided not to worry about it.
I cracked the door open just a little and peered through the gap at the invader outside, confirming once again that it was the woman I’d run into earlier.
Looking closely now, she was a woman wearing glasses, with such a sharp impression that even the glasses couldn’t hide it.
Gulp.
If she glared at me head-on, even a brave fox like me might find her a little scary.
But I’d clearly threatened her and driven her off—yet she’d come back!
What on earth was she scheming, coming all the way here?
“Hm?”
Just then, as if she’d felt my gaze, the woman suddenly looked my way, and our eyes met.
“Hic!”
I was so startled that a hiccup burst out, but since I’d already threatened her once and chased her away, I gathered my courage and threatened her again.
“Grrrr!”
But the woman’s eyes only grew wider and wider as she stared straight through me.
The stance Boss had taught me, my tail fluffed up as big as it would go, the sharp look of a hunter eyeing prey, and a terrifying growl to top it off!
Last time she’d clearly run away, but now she didn’t show a single sign of fear—she just couldn’t take her eyes off me.
Those cold eyes looked like they were sizing me up as prey…
“Kaeng!”
Thud—
I immediately shoved the door shut with my paws, clutched my suddenly pounding heart, and instinctively scrambled away from the spot.
Then I dove under the blanket on the bed, hid my body, and thought,
Just now my Danger Sense skill definitely went off!! She’s a dangerous human!!
“Naru, what’s wrong?”
“That human is dangerous!! We have to chase her out right now!!”
“Does she look scary?”
“Yeah!! …No, wait—she didn’t even flinch at my threat!! It’s weird!!”
“That’s because you’re cute… ahem. Maybe Naru was so scary that her body froze up?”
“!!!”
Right—thinking about it, she must have frozen because I was too terrifying.
Which meant I didn’t need to be hiding like this.
I puffed out my chest with pride, crawled out from under the blanket, and approached the door again.
I am a brave and great fox!
The moment I cracked the door open once more to check outside—
“Huff… huff…”
“Ppik?!”
Right there in the gap of the open door, the woman’s face was waiting for me. I was so shocked I couldn’t even scream before I collapsed.
“Huk!!”
When I came to, I immediately scanned my surroundings and went on guard. Yerin came over and spoke.
“Are you okay, Naru?”
“???”
“You collapsed. Do you not remember?”
“What? Naru’s awake?”
Subin, who’d been in another room, came running over in a flash and started checking on me, but I couldn’t make sense of the situation.
I’d collapsed?
Why??
“…”
I felt like I’d seen something incredibly scary at the end, but I couldn’t quite remember.
“I’m sorry. It seems I startled you unintentionally.”
“!!!”
At the unfamiliar voice I startled, ears shooting straight up, and whipped my head around—there was the dangerous human, kneeling and looking at me.
“Kaeng?!”
I jumped in surprise, and Yerin quickly caught me. I darted behind her and said,
“Dangerous human!!”
“Naru, calm down. I can’t exactly swear she won’t do anything bad to you… but Unnie is right here, isn’t she?”
“Right. She’s not normal, but for now it should be fine. Probably.”
“Grrrr…”
“I was the one who startled you. I’m truly sorry.”
“Don’t come near!!”
“Then I’ll watch from a distance. Miss Naru.”
“Don’t even look!!”
“I’ll just smell you, then.”
“Ahem. Please don’t say strange things in front of the child.”
“Was that a strange thing to say?”
“Right. Lower the intensity of whatever you’re thinking by about ten levels.”
I had no idea what Yerin and Subin were talking about, but I kept glaring and staying on guard. Every time our eyes met, my body gave a little twitch.
On top of that, my Danger Sense ability had been screaming that this person was dangerous for a while now—so why was she still inside Yerin’s territory?
“You’re dangerous!! Get out!!”
“To be feared and disliked this much… that stings a little.”
“…!”
At the words that she’d been hurt, I got a little flustered and checked her expression. She was still blank-faced, but somehow it felt darker than before.
Thinking about it coldly, that human had only looked at me and done nothing else—yet I’d just threatened and guarded against her, so maybe that was why she was hurt. I felt a tiny bit sorry.
…
But why was her face getting redder and redder?
“But if I think of it as Miss Naru’s scolding, it makes me shiver all over…”
“Stop iiiit!!!!”
“Kaeng?!”
Just then Subin cut the strange human off with a huge shout, and Yerin pressed both hands over my ears so I couldn’t hear what was said.
“What are you saying to a kid, you!!!”
“Exactly!! Naru is still a baby!!”
“I-I’m sorry. I’ve just always had the habit of saying exactly what I think…”
“Yerin, are you sure we can really trust this person?”
“I’m seriously starting to wonder if this choice was right myself.”
“And I told you to lower the intensity!”
“You want it lower than this?!”
“No—then what were you about to say before you lowered it…”
“Haa. Dealing with the shady Association might actually be easier on the heart…”
“Why do you keep talking without me?”
“It’s nothing. Naru, just stay pure…”
“???”
“Ahem. Understood. Then may I apologize first?”
“…If you say anything weird, I’ll throw you out on the spot.”
“Yes, understood.”
As the strange human slowly approached, I used Yerin and Subin as shields and stayed on guard.
But as if my wariness meant nothing, she spoke in a posture that looked almost like she was about to prostrate herself.
“First, allow me to introduce myself properly. My name is Kim Seoyeon. I’ve come from the Association to assist Miss Naru.”
“…You’re going to help me?”
“Yes. So we’ll be seeing each other often from now on.”
“Grrrr…”
I am a clever fox!
I wasn’t about to fall for the lie that she was going to help me, so I stayed even more on guard—when the woman named Kim Seoyeon suddenly lay down in front of me and showed her belly.
“Huk!!”
That pose meant surrender—and proved that I ranked higher!
As expected of a great fox like me, I’d made even a dangerous human submit in an instant!
At that moment Yerin covered my eyes, and Subin shouted.
“W-what are you doing all of a sudden!!”
“Naru, you mustn’t look!!”
“It’s a gesture of submission. The most efficient way to lower Miss Naru’s guard.”
“Uhoohoo! So you’ve recognized this body’s greatness!”
“Yes, exactly as you say.”
“Don’t tell me that’s the submission pose dogs do?”
I pushed Yerin’s hands off my eyes and declared triumphantly,
“If you’re going to submit this hard, does that mean you want to be my subordinate?”
“If I could become Miss Naru’s subordinate, it would be the honor of my family.”
“Well… if you’re going to submit that much, I suppose I could specially accept you…”
“Please take me as your subordinate, Miss Naru. No—Lord Naru!”
At the words “Lord Naru,” I suddenly imagined a future me so successful that everyone at my feet called me Lord Naru and praised me.
“Uhihi!”
My mouth kept trying to curl up, but I forced it down and spoke in a cool way like Boss would.
“Hmph. Then you’ll have to offer me Katoto every day!”
“Katoto… what is that?”
“Naru, it’s castella.”
“Yeah, that!”
“Castella, you mean? Understood. I’ll buy castella every day. So…”
Kim Seoyeon still wore a blank face, eyes sparkling as she spoke.
“As a sign of friendship, would you step on me with your bare feet…”
“Stop!!!”
“Get out right nooow!!!!!”
For some reason, Subin and Yerin got angry and chased out the one who was supposed to become my subordinate.