Plin Ch 2.5

Three in the afternoon. Thibeau submitted the investigation report on the commoner fox. Hugo casually flipped through the pages, but his brow and the corners of his mouth twitched at certain points.

Age 25

25? Hugo was surprised that the fox was older than him. So that’s why his acting was so natural? He might be even more worn out than he thought.

Ran away from the orphanage at age 13. Seems to have had conflicts at the orphanage. Attached is the St. Meitell Orphanage log record for that year. — Personality is not agreeable and complains about everything. January 17, evening, refused to ‘express gratitude for the meal’ alone because there was no meat –

He thought he had a gentle disposition, but he caused trouble when he was young, and his preference for meat was consistent from an early age.

After leaving the orphanage on his own, he repaired and lived in an abandoned house in the northern part of Middle Forest Junction, but was forcibly evicted due to Mayor Owen’s ‘Beneficial City Reconstruction’ project. It is said that he refused to be forcibly evicted for a while and illegally occupied the property.

A fiery personality who knows how to rebel against public authority.

He has a talent for business, and since becoming independent, he sold gum. Following that, he sold general merchandise and then Fox Drink, which are high value-added products. It is estimated that he currently earns an annual salary comparable to the average office worker in City Forest. However, he has a debt of 150,000 Pelons, so most of it is likely to be covered by interest.

He has the ability as a salesperson, but he lacks financial sense and has a lot of debt.

Mainly borrows from non-banking financial institutions. Major sources of funds are home mortgage payments in the Kill Green area, detective agencies, and newspaper advertisements. He is advertising to find his lost younger sibling. Attached materials: — 「Looking for a house snake that ran away when young. Name, Age, Gender: Andrea, 23, Male Person searching: Plin Fallfox Contact: 012-XXX-XXXX ―」

“Andrea?”

Hugo’s brow furrowed fiercely. He thought that because he was worried about money every day and lived hand-to-mouth, the only man around him was that Ethan bastard. What was this Andrea guy? Was he a collector of greasy names?

He grew up in an orphanage, but he’s looking for a house snake that ran away. Could it have been an orphanage friend he lived with?

Two men… what was their relationship? He himself didn’t care about gender when it came to white foxes, but he wasn’t sure if the fox was heterosexual or homosexual.

There were some clues. He seemed to have slept with Ethan, and judging by how he was overwhelmed yesterday, it seemed like he was okay with sleeping with men. Also, he knew very well how to make himself look cute and s*xy, and he used it intelligently…

A partner worth investing money in, even going into debt, to find. It couldn’t be his first love. It didn’t make sense to go into such debt for a friend, especially for a fox who was good with money. He had never seen the words fox and friendship, or fox and loyalty, side by side.

“He’s a little pathetic.”

It was all too obvious. He could easily predict what would happen next.

---

[The beginning of the incident]

This house snake fell in puppy love with the fox, but he ran away from the dilapidated house in the godforsaken Middle Forest Junction. It wasn’t so much that he had a clear purpose, like making money, but rather that he was sick of this neighborhood and the wretched fox.

The bastard didn’t even leave a letter, so the fox was sad. The foolish fox devotedly poured money into finding his first love. But no matter how much money he poured in, the guy didn’t show up.

Because that house snake had not only completely forgotten about the fox, but had also already seduced a rich woman, improved his social status, and was living happily.

[The development of the incident]

Just when the fox was about to sadly forget his first love, a new man appears at the right time. A young and handsome executive director of a large corporation, whose only flaw is his lack of character. Moreover, a super attractive man who is perfect in every other way.

A subtle atmosphere flows between the two, starting with a one-night stand, but the snake, who had been out of touch, suddenly appears and interferes. Why does he reappear at a time like this? Because that’s how it always is.

The devoted fox, torn, eventually returns to the house snake. But the house snake, who has been living off others, is annoyed by the penniless fox and neglects him, and the fox is deeply hurt…

[The ending]

Undecided. Depending on the viewers’ response…

If the actor playing the house snake becomes popular, a house snake x fox redemption ending is possible!

---

“Ah, fuck, what kind of idiot fox is this?”

Hugo frowned, having grasped the plausible course of events on the back of the investigation report, and even the future direction. Thibeau, who was waiting, asked curiously,

“He’s poor, but he seemed quite clever?”

“He’s not good with money, he’s not good with men, and judging by his looks, he doesn’t have a good eye for men either.”

Hugo assessed him coldly. The reason he was so strapped for cash made it clear why he had contacted Ethan.

Ethan’s hotel business was expanding into casinos, so his cash flow wasn’t bad. He didn’t know if the fox approached him first or if Ethan approached him first, but it was not strange that some kind of contract was made between them, as their interests coincided.

“Yes.”

“Why is there no communication record? Are you not investigating properly?”

Hugo interrupted and asked, flipping through the paper to the end.

“It’s not easy to track because Plin Fallfox uses a 012 line. The 012 line is a very small telecommunications company’s line, so it’s not in a cooperative relationship with The Scope. If you give us more time, we will find a way.”

Thibeau chose the elegant term ‘cooperative relationship’. The collusion between the media giant The Scope and the three major telecommunications companies was so unethical that they would steal and hand over customer’s personal information. But it was such a small place that their reach didn’t extend to it, so the commoner fox was slipping through his grasp in various ways.

“What about Ethan?”

“There’s nothing unusual.”

“Keep monitoring him. There must be something going on.”

“Yes.”

Hugo put the report he had been reading into the drawer. Even though Thibeau’s informants were spread throughout the company building, allowing him to see the fox’s daily life as if he were looking at it with his own eyes, the feeling of unease didn’t go away.

He could have pushed the naive fox further, but after experiencing the first painless periodic karmic pain since meeting the fox, he felt generous and thought it would be okay to take his time. He was also starting to feel a little attached, it seemed…

Hugo looked at the ten bottles of Fox Love Juice on his desk.

“By the way, that guy named Branson. Is he good at his job?”

“Which Branson are you talking about?”

“Branson Vayne. 27 years old. He’s a manager in The Scope’s QA department…”

Hugo revealed Branson’s affiliation as if he had been waiting for this.

“It seems you’ve already investigated?”

“Something bothered me.”

Having roughly grasped the situation, Thibeau advised him.

“Don’t be too obvious about having informants inside. If you’re thinking of harming Plin, you need to separate your personal and professional life.”

“Of course. Even the fox separates his personal and professional life with me.”

Hugo nodded surprisingly readily.

The fox was quite fun to watch. He would open his eyes wide and work hard, but he was a softie who couldn’t even fight back when he heard the bullshit, ‘If a fox decides to sell smiles and shake his ass, who wouldn’t be charmed?’

Being an orphan, working since he was thirteen, and considering the objective setting, he should have been tough and blunt or at least calculating, but he had no serious or lingering wounds, as if he were living his life as a beta tester.

If that was also acting, it would be a great talent.

Peeking into his pitiful daily life was like watching a soap opera that you can’t stop watching even though it’s frustrating.

***