Repaying the Fox's Favor
"Huh? You don't remember?"
The fox maid standing in front of me tilted her head with the most innocent expression imaginable as she asked.
But what could I do? I really didn't remember.
"...Uh, um."
What should I say? Tell her she had the wrong guy? No, she knew my name, so that didn't fit. I didn't know anything about her, but she clearly knew all about me...
"...Sorry. Let me be straight with you."
Yeah, no point overthinking it. Just be honest.
"I have no idea."
"Ah..."
The fox maid's bright vibe drooped for a moment—her perky ears stiffened, her fluffy tail sagged like she'd been scolded—but then...
"I see... You don't remember..."
"It's okay! Memories can be fuzzy sometimes!"
Just like that, she flashed a beaming smile again, her cheerfulness back in full force.
"Even if you don't remember, I do... so it's fine."
Ugh. Don't look up at me with that sunny smile while saying stuff like that. It makes me feel like a total criminal...
First things first—I needed to figure out why she'd come looking for me.
"I've got a bunch of questions, but standing here chatting isn't great. Why don't we talk inside..."
Right then, a deeply ominous vibe washed over me from head to toe.
"Sure~! If you insist..."
As the fox maid stepped toward the door, I slammed it shut—or tried to.
BAM!
But just before it closed, a hand in a black glove shot through the gap, grabbing the edge and holding it firm.
"Wh-why are you doing this, Daesung? Why slam the door all of a sudden...!"
"I just realized the place is a total mess right now—no way I can have a guest over like this...!"
Yeah. My apartment was on par with a pigsty—maybe worse. Invite someone into this? A woman, no less? Not even if I died and came back to life.
"Oh! If that's it, no problem! I'm a maid, after all! I'll help clean up, and it'll be done in no time~! So please open the door...!"
Right—damn it. She was wearing a maid outfit. Of course she'd insist on coming in.
"Even so, you're still a guest. Let me tidy up first...!"
Why was this girl so strong? I was pulling with all my might, but the door stayed cracked, yanking back and forth as we wrestled.
I was way bigger than her, too.
"It's really fine! No matter how messy your place is, I can handle it! Please, let me clean!"
This girl... her strength was ramping up. No, it was getting stronger...!
I was giving it everything, but her freakish power was overpowering me—the door was inching open.
"N-no...!"
And just like that, my shameful home was exposed to an outsider for the first time.
"...Uh, um."
"....."
"I-it's... cleaner than I thought!"
"....."
Definite lie. Anyone could tell.
"...Come on in."
With my dirty secret laid bare to a total stranger, I let out a hollow laugh of defeat and waved her inside.
Whatever. What was done was done.
"Whoa... wow..."
The fox maid gasped in awe as she stepped in, like she'd stumbled on some wonder of the world.
"It's filthy, right...? I know. That's why I tried to clean before letting you in... haha."
"N-no, I mean, uh..."
She looked genuinely sorry now, fidgeting awkwardly—nothing like her earlier energy. She knew she'd pushed too hard.
"...Th-this level!"
"...?"
"It's n-no different from my room! Actually, mine's worse, so your place is... o-okay! Totally okay!"
She even threw up a thumbs-up. But the stuttering, the forced smile, the awkward gestures—pure BS.
No need to sugarcoat it like that...
"Come on, that doesn't make sense. Don't say stuff you don't mean."
"N-no, it's not like that...! Okay, maybe a little lie... keheng..."
See? She spilled the truth right away. Looked like this fox maid wasn't great at fibbing.
Not that I knew anything about her, so I shouldn't judge too quick.
"Anyway, you gotta follow through on what you said."
"Huh? What I said?"
"You offered to help clean. You barged in on your own, so at least keep that promise, right?"
No way it was just a throwaway line to get inside. She called herself a maid—might as well see what she could do.
Deep down, though, I'd have preferred if she just bailed shamelessly.
But watching her smile grow happier by the second, that wasn't happening.
"Of course! Helping you isn't just any chore—gotta do it!"
Her fox ears perked straight up, fluffy tail swishing side to side in delight.
Was it that exciting?
"I'll get cleaning then, so you just relax..."
"No, I'll help. It's my place—I can't dump it all on you."
As I stood to start, her lips pouted disappointingly for a split second before snapping back.
I figured sorting trash would take forever with how much there was... but nope. She wasn't bluffing about being a maid. She sorted it by type lightning-fast, bagged it, and hauled it all to the complex's dumpster.
Hold up—wasn't this her first time here? How'd she know where the trash goes?
The more I watched, the weirder she got.
"Good work."
"Hehe, no biggie~!"
My cleaned apartment felt... weirdly unfamiliar. Wait, had it always been this spacious? Living buried in trash must've warped my sense of space.
Scary stuff, NEET life.
Plus, with her scrubbing every inch, it was now hotel-level spotless.
"Honestly, I doubted the maid thing at first, but you weren't kidding."
"Yup! I'm a real maid—part of the Maid Community... whoops."
"...Maid Community?"
What the hell was that? First I'd heard of it.
Then again, hunkered down as a shut-in, I'd ignored everything but gaming forums...
Made sense something like that existed.
"Ah... um..."
She fidgeted nervously, peeking at me—her bubbly energy gone. Guess she'd said something she shouldn't.
Hmm.
"...Cleaning's done anyway. Wanna sit and talk?"
I changed the subject. Barging in uninvited was annoying, sure, but she'd helped clean. I'd let it slide once.
Seemed unrelated to me anyway.
"O-okay..."
I dragged over my usual low dining table, poured simple drinks, and set one in front of her.
"Th-thanks..."
Unlike her bold doorstep self, she now sat primly, sipping daintily while stealing glances at me.
What was making her so on edge?
Oh yeah—she'd called me her benefactor.
"So... you said I was your benefactor earlier."
"Yes! Daesung, you're my precious benefactor!"
Her face lit up bright as ever at the topic.
That happy? ...My heart might not take it.
"If I'd helped someone, it'd stick in my mind... but I truly don't remember aiding you."
"Especially someone as strikingly beautiful and unique as you—it'd be unforgettable. But no matter how I rack my brain, nothing..."
"Keheng! Keheheheng!"
She choked on her drink, coughing hard.
"You okay?"
"Y-yeah, nothing...! Keheng, keheheng...!"
What? Choked wrong? Her face was flushing, too.
"Mind if I ask your name? Might jog something."
"My name?"
Not holding my breath. But process of elimination—maybe it'd click. If she kept insisting we were connected, she could be someone I'd overlooked.
"Hmm~"
She swayed her tail lazily side to side, chin in hand, pondering deeply... then...
"...I don't have one?"
"...Pardon?"
"No name."
"Wait, then how about you name me? Anything from you would be perfect!"
No name? Who was she kidding? Nobody went nameless.
But her tone felt genuine—no lie vibe...
Impossible to read.
"No, that doesn't... Who doesn't have a name?"
"For real! That's why I'm asking you to name me!"
My head throbbed—it made zero sense. But she beamed at me, grinning ear to ear.
"...Sigh. Name aside—how'd you find my place, and why?"
That was the big one. A stranger knowing my name and address? Creepy.
She'd helped clean and seemed harmless so far, though...
"Tracked your scent here. And the reason? Obviously!"
"...Obviously?"
She planted both hands on the table, leaning in close, faces inches apart.
"To repay your favor, Daesung. You know—service time?"
Her words made my headache pound harder.
Just when I'd resolved to crawl out of my rotten life, here comes someone to drag me right back under.
Fine when I was a total NEET, but why now, when I was finally trying to change?