At the same time, thin whiskers began to sprout beside his nose. Soon his snout stretched forward, the contours of his face blurred, the human form disappeared without a trace, and the white shirt slipped limply to the floor. The clothes that had been puffed up with someone’s body just moments ago had now lost their owner and turned into a flat piece of fabric.
From the throat area of that wrinkled shirt, a black bundle of fur wriggled. Soon after, drooping ears and a pointed snout popped out. The fox looked down at his front paws with bewildered eyes. His long, white fingers had gone somewhere, and once again he could only see stubby, black paws.
“……”
Theodor looked down alternately at the shirt sprawled on the floor and the fox sitting forlornly atop it. His expression was one of speechlessness from futility.
He had just been about to start a proper interrogation. There was a mountain of information to find out—what the source of his power was, how he controlled it, what relationship he had with the Emperor’s curse. But instead of answers, he had turned back into a beast.
“This is troublesome.”
Theodor muttered lowly. He crouched down and picked up the fox’s tail buried in the shirt fabric. The tail that hung limply and powerlessly looked less glossy than usual.
“Transform back into a human. I have questions to ask.”
The fox didn’t answer, and didn’t even have the strength to avoid Theodor’s touch, merely staring up at him blankly. Perhaps because it was right after his human transformation had been released, his eyes were half-glazed.
That’s when it happened.
Grumble.
A thundering sound echoed. Theodor’s gaze turned to the fox’s belly. His sunken stomach was rumbling.
“You must be hungry.”
Theodor stood up from his spot and picked up the bowl he had brought earlier, setting it down in front of the fox again. As the delicious smell stimulated his sense of smell, saliva naturally pooled in his mouth. Even before the words “eat” could fall, the fox buried his nose in it and demolished the food in the blink of an eye. Smack. As if even that wasn’t enough, he licked his tongue once more, then stared up at Theodor.
“Is it not enough?”
The fox nodded his head. Normally this amount would have been sufficient, so why was it suddenly not enough?
Ah, could it be.
When he thought about it, it was natural logic. All change required energy. Moreover, this was completely transforming the physical structure across species. Inevitably, enormous calories were consumed. It was only natural that this amount wouldn’t fill his stomach.
“Wait.”
Theodor opened the door and gestured outside. A lower-ranking priest who had been waiting at the end of the corridor came running.
“Please prepare a meal for the fox.”
“Pardon? Didn’t you just take some?”
“Bring more. A lot more. Gather up all the meat there is.”
Though the lower-ranking priest made a puzzled expression, he bowed his head and hurried toward the kitchen. Theodor came back into the room and looked down at the fox with his arms crossed. The fox was still sitting on the shirt. Perhaps having heard that food was coming, the tip of his tail swayed slightly.
Theodor looked at the fox and calculated how much food this creature would need to consume before transforming back into a human. It was better to gauge in advance how much to prepare in the future.
While he was lost in thought, priests had already lined up and begun to set food on the table. Steak dripping with juices, well-roasted duck, plump rabbit, and even ripe strawberries. It was a feast fit to make the table legs bend. The room filled with rich and sweet smells.
The fox’s nose twitched and his eyes flew open wide.
“Please eat.”
Before Theodor’s words could even finish falling, the fox kicked off the pile of shirts and shot out. The fox, who leaped onto the table, buried his nose in the meat without any sense of dignity. Nom nom nom. Munch munch munch munch. He tore into and swallowed the meat with fierce momentum. It seemed like he was swallowing without even chewing. A chunk of steak disappeared in the blink of an eye, and the duck leg was reduced to just bones in an instant.
Theodor sat in the chair opposite, rested his chin on his hand, and watched the scene.
‘All that fits in that small stomach?’
The fox’s size was at most that of a medium-sized dog. No, perhaps because he hadn’t eaten properly while growing up, he was even smaller than that. Yet the amount he was devouring now easily exceeded that of two adult men. It was curious where all the food he ate disappeared to. Probably that bizarre blue bead was absorbing the energy.
The fox ate frantically. As his belly filled, he could feel his hazy mind clearing. Deep in his stomach, a warm energy rose up in soft swirls again. The fox, who had heartily finished off even the sweet and sour strawberries, lay on his back on the floor.
“Are you somewhat full now?”
Instead of answering, the fox exposed his belly and twisted his body around and around. His full belly was taut. He looked as if he had nothing more to envy in the world.
“Then show me again.”
Theodor urged.
“The human form, I mean. We must continue the conversation we couldn’t finish earlier, mustn’t we?”
The fox blinked his eyes. Ah, right. He needed to become human. Only then could he learn how to treat Adrian and return to the imperial palace.
The fox tried to raise his body. But his body was heavy. Too heavy. His limbs drooped like a cotton quilt soaked in water. As his belly warmed, his eyelids sank down with immense weight. He tried to gather his energy to somehow transform into a human, but far from gathering energy, his consciousness kept growing hazy.
‘Just a little… just sleep a little…’
Food coma.
The sudden drowsiness that came after overeating was a providence of Mother Nature that neither beast nor human could resist.
The fox staggered and crawled toward the cushion. It seemed like he could hear Theodor saying something, but it only sounded like buzzing noise in his ears.
“Listen here. You mustn’t sleep. You must transform right now…”
Regardless, the fox buried his nose in the cushion. It was soft. It was warm. Though not quite as good as Adrian’s lap, compared to the hard, cold dirt floor, this place was nothing short of heaven.
Snore.
Soon the sound of snoring filled the room.
Theodor looked down at the ball of fur that had fallen asleep in an instant, his mouth hanging open. This was absurd. He had fed him plenty of food, but instead of transforming, he fell asleep. He’s not even a piglet, this is just… isn’t he just a glutton?
He poked the fox’s side with his finger.
“Wake up.”
As if annoyed, the fox batted his hand away with a hind leg and curled his body into a ball. The sound of snoring could be heard again. He seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep completely. Theodor held his forehead. A deep sigh escaped. Willful, uncontrollable, and he ate an enormous amount on top of that. And he was stupid too.
And yet this fellow was the only key to breaking the Emperor’s curse.
Theodor glared at the sleeping fox’s bridge of the nose. The black nose rising and falling regularly was annoyingly peaceful.
“Haa…”
He finally gave up and leaned back in the chair. In any case, he couldn’t run away. Without him, there was nowhere this fox could go.
***
The next morning.
The fox opened his eyes refreshed. Thanks to sleeping soundly, his body was light as a feather. Thanks to eating plenty yesterday, his energy was also abundant. The fox looked around in a pleasant mood. Theodor wasn’t visible. Instead, a set of new clothes was placed on the table.
Does he want me to wear them?
The fox wagged his tail and pressed his nose to the clothes, sniffing. Unlike Theodor’s shirt he had stolen yesterday, this was different. Not the stiff priestly robes, but a linen shirt and comfortable cotton pants. The size looked about right too.
The fox closed his eyes and concentrated. The sensation of having succeeded twice yesterday remained in his body. As he drew up the stored energy, a blue light enveloped his body.
The process of bones elongating and fur disappearing was still strange and hurt a little, but it wasn’t as difficult as yesterday. In an instant, a naked black-haired young man appeared.
Another success!
Worried that it might fail because it was morning, the fox rejoiced that he had succeeded without much difficulty and put on the clothes Theodor had prepared. Putting on the pants was still clumsy, but this time he distinguished front from back properly and wore them correctly. The pant length fit perfectly too. Thanks to Theodor preparing them with the length adjusted in advance, there was no worry of stepping on them and falling over.
The problem was the shirt buttons. He somehow managed to get both arms through, but every time he tried to fasten a button, his hands kept slipping. Ugh. The fox’s lips protruded several inches. He considered just leaving them unfastened, but the air seeping through to his chest without a single hair was quite chilly. In the end, he decided to fasten the buttons.
After wrestling with the buttons for several dozen minutes, he finally succeeded in fastening them all. Though it was difficult to say he had fastened them properly, the fox still wore a proud expression just from the fact that he had fastened them all.
The fox stood in front of the mirror once more. The reflection in the mirror looked quite neat. His disheveled black hair and blue eyes harmonized to create a mysteriously mystical atmosphere. As long as he didn’t open his mouth, that is.
“Mm. Good.”
The fox listened to his own voice. It was much more natural than yesterday. His throat felt loosened.
What should I do now?
Theodor hadn’t come yet. Even if he went outside, he would obviously just get lost in the maze-like paths. The fox decided to do a simulation instead. He opened his mouth, thinking about what expression to make when he met Adrian and what his first words should be.
“Adrian. Sorry. I was wrong. I.”
The fox practiced while looking in the mirror. Eyebrows drooping down, eyes moist. This much should soften Adrian’s heart.
It was when the fox was brimming with anticipation. The door opened and Theodor entered. He looked neatly dressed from the morning.
“You’ve returned.”
Theodor looked over the fox’s outfit. His gaze settled on the man’s chest. Because the buttons were fastened misaligned, the collar was crooked. Only one side of the shirt’s hem was tucked into the pants, the waist area wasn’t properly arranged and was messy, and the zipper wasn’t pulled up so the front was fully exposed.
