As the tension released, the primal hunger that had been hiding behind it surged in like a tide.
Where should it find food?
Should it go back into the forest? While running away, it had seen several berries fallen on the ground. It hadn’t dared put them in its mouth for fear the demon beast would chase from behind, but thinking about it now, it should have run with them in its mouth even at the risk of death.
Should it go back to pick those up and eat them? They weren’t far away, so it could eat quickly and come back out.
But soon reason sent a warning.
No, absolutely not. Too dangerous.
The moment it set foot in the forest, the demon beast would pounce. This time, it would surely die.
Grrrowl.
However, its stomach, faithful only to survival instinct, didn’t understand such logic and churned again. Not only starving but also, as the tension that had been crushing its entire body released, the pain in its side belatedly came rushing in as if regaining consciousness. It was pain returned by the barely released tension.
Then what should it do?
It needed to find food, but a terrible demon beast lurked in the forest. The village would have much more abundant food than the forest, but that place also crawled with humans holding fearsome weapons. Whichever it chose, the danger was the same.
After deep anguish, the fox staggered to its feet. In the end, there was only one path decided. Heading toward the village where human lights flickered faintly in the distance.
Even if it returned to the forest now, it was already too dark to find food. On the other hand, the village was still bright and overflowing with food incomparable to the forest. Perhaps, if it was lucky, it might be able to obtain something without being seen by humans.
The fox stepped forward one step at a time, holding onto a small, desperate hope.
***
Having reached the village entrance, the fox held its breath for a moment. A different, foreign smell from the forest strongly stung its nose. Instead of the damp, cool scent of earth, the smell of burning wood and faint food odors mixed together and seeped in on the wind.
The fox lowered its body as much as possible and hid itself in the long shadows. Its black fur helped at times like this.
The fox’s only goal was food. Whether someone had spilled it, abandoned it—to eat even just one piece and immediately escape this dangerous place.
Following the rich food smell and wandering for a while, the fox reached the back of what appeared to be a tavern where the smells of alcohol and meat were mixed. It carefully sniffed around a large trash can, searching for food. It had come down to human villages several times to get food, and each time it had sought out taverns. Since they were places that sold all kinds of bar snacks, it could at least eat food scraps around the trash cans.
“Woof! Woof woof!”
Suddenly, one large dog burst out. It was a creature roaming free without even a leash. The dog, with a build three times larger than the fox and jet-black fur, immediately snarled fiercely and bared its teeth upon seeing the fox.
The fox fled in utter panic. The dog tried to chase after it, barking furiously. The tavern’s back door opened with a creak. A man came out carrying a bucket of food and shouted irritably at the savagely barking dog.
“Shut up, Bucky! What are you barking at again at this hour? Be quiet and eat this!”
The man roughly threw the bucket on the ground. The dog’s attention was instantly drawn there. Leaving the dog behind as it sniffed and buried its nose in the pile of food, the man went back inside grumbling.
Taking advantage of the dog being absorbed in its meal, the fox escaped from there. When it staggered back into a dark alley, this time a noisy clamor was heard from afar.
It was a market.
The shouts of merchants setting up stalls, the voices of housewives trying to haggle down prices, children’s laughter—all mixed together creating lively noise. And the smell of baking bread, cooking meat stimulated its hungry belly.
The fox swallowed without realizing it.
If it went there, it might be able to get food. But that place had far, far too many people. No matter how hard it was to see at night thanks to its black fur, it had no confidence it could steal something without being discovered.
After deliberation, the fox decided to hide in the shadows and wait for the market’s heat to subside. When dawn came, everyone would close up shop, and then it could at least pick up food crumbs they hadn’t cleaned up.
The fox hid its body behind stacked wooden crates. From there, it decided to quietly wait for the market’s hot energy to cool and the noisy footsteps of humans to cease.
“Oh, a puppy.”
At the suddenly heard voice, the fox was startled and jerked its head up. Right before its eyes, a young child stood holding a chicken skewer. It didn’t even know when they had approached.
The child looked down at the fox with eyes full of curiosity. Dirty fur and an emaciated frame. Though it looked hurt somewhere, to the child’s eyes it just looked like a small, cute puppy.
“It’s a puppy.”
The child murmured and took one step closer. The fox reflexively pulled its body back. Its fur stood on end in wariness, but it couldn’t take its eyes off the chicken skewer in the child’s hand. The savory, greasy smell stung its nose.
The child seemed to notice the fox was interested in the chicken skewer and smiled innocently while suddenly holding out the chicken skewer forward.
“Want to eat this?”
The fox’s ears perked up and moved. Can I eat it? When the fox hesitated and only looked back and forth between the child’s face and the chicken skewer, the child lowered their body and put the chicken skewer on the ground. The fox carefully approached and smelled the chicken skewer placed on the ground. It had a warm, delicious smell.
The fox quickly grabbed the chicken skewer fully in its mouth and hid its body behind the crate again. In case they might take it back, it hurriedly tore off the meat. Though it wasn’t as good as the meat it had eaten at the imperial palace, it was delicious enough to bring tears to its eyes.
“Mom! Dad! Look at this! There’s a puppy here!”
Seeing the fox deliciously eating the food it had given, the child shouted toward their parents with an innocent face. A middle-aged couple who heard the child’s voice immediately approached. The child’s mother was horrified the moment she saw the fox.
“Good heavens, Ain! Don’t get close! You’ll catch a disease!”
The woman roughly grabbed the child’s arm and staggered backward. The dirty, drooling, blood-stained fox must have looked exactly like a diseased stray dog.
The fierce-looking father immediately picked up a stone rolling on the ground.
“Filthy stray dog! Get lost!”
Bang! The stone flew and struck the crate beside it.
The fox, startled by that shocking sound, dropped the chicken it had been holding in its mouth and fled in utter panic. Running frantically along the narrow, dark path, the fox finally hid its body behind a garbage pile before gasping for breath.
“Whine.”
The fox sniffled and swallowed. Humans are scary after all.
Their hostility wasn’t unfamiliar to the fox. Even before coming to the palace, no—it had been something it had experienced constantly since birth. So it wasn’t hurt by their reaction. However, the pieces of meat that had been attached to that skewer just kept flickering endlessly before its eyes.
The chicken, I couldn’t even eat it properly….
The chicken skewer the child had given vividly appeared before its eyes. But fear was stronger than lingering attachment. The courage to go back never arose in the end.
It just smacked its lips and curled up its body.
Was it because it had been running around all day? Its utterly exhausted body demanded sleep. The thought came that if it fell asleep like this, it might never wake up again, but it couldn’t overcome the pouring drowsiness.
As consciousness grew hazy, faint footsteps were heard. Someone was approaching. The fox laboriously lifted its eyelids.
A blurry form was visible in the darkness. It was a person dressed entirely in white from head to toe. Their hair shone silver under the moonlight.
Father…?
Beyond its memories, the man who had told it to survive—his hair had been that color too, hadn’t it? The fox put strength into its eyelids to properly see that man within its fading consciousness. But its exhausted body didn’t cooperate properly.
Soon its vision completely sank into darkness.
***
“Still haven’t found it?”
“My apologies, Your Majesty. We’ve thoroughly searched inside and outside the palace, but still no trace….”
Strength entered his clenched fist. His gaze swept over the empty study. Despite the maids having cleaned all night, the fox’s claw marks still remained on the bookshelf, irritating his mood.
The search continued but there were no results. They had thoroughly searched around the imperial palace, but there was no trace of the fox anywhere. It seemed to have vanished without a trace as if it had never existed in the first place.
With the fox’s disappearance, the imperial palace had seemingly regained its peace. The servants continued their work, and the nobles discussed state affairs as usual.
But Adrian’s world had stopped in that place. Everything felt meaningless. He skipped meals, stared blankly out the window during meetings, and couldn’t concentrate on daily life at all.
“Widen the search range. Search the entire capital even if you have to, and find it.”
At that command, Kael’s lips moved slightly for a moment. It would have been words of dissuasion. Or perhaps a protest trying to appeal about the realistic difficulties of such an unrealistic instruction.
The empire’s capital was vast. From the northern district lined with nobles’ mansions, to the central market where shops gathered, and even the southern slums where sunlight barely reached properly. Hundreds of thousands of people breathed, lived, and disappeared within it.
In that vast expanse of streets, finding just one person—no, one fox smaller than even a young child—was close to impossible. However, before the emperor’s gaze, Kael ultimately swallowed his words.
“Understood.”
As Kael left the office with his head bowed, Adrian’s gaze turned toward the window. The rain had stopped at some point, but the sky was still covered with dark clouds.
