152 – Nymphs and the Hero of the Demon Castle! #2
As soon as Inoi entered the hotel room, she rummaged through under the bed and drawers.
Was she looking for the mysterious coin, the “Whispering Sponsorship Coin,” as usual?
“Inoi, do you have any coins?”
“Of course, there are coins…! But Inoi wasn’t looking for coins; she was looking for traces of the nymphs…!”
“Traces of the nymphs?”
“There are traces left behind where nymphs have lived or stayed…! Because nymphs are nature-friendly fairies…! The energy of the fairies lingers there…!”
I could not sense it, but I heard that nymphs have a special wavelength that allows them to feel each other’s presence.
If there is a nymph nearby or a place where a nymph stayed for a long time, it seems like some kind of sensor would go off.
“Inoi believes that there must definitely be nymphs in this ‘Paradise Island’…! Inoi is already excited at the thought of meeting another nymph sister…!”
Swoosh-.
Inoi took out a transparent glass jar she had brought in her large bag.
Inside was the storm cloud that Inoi had been cherishing for several days.
—Waaah.
The storm cloud emitted a sound we could understand.
I don’t know how it produced such sounds, but its body looked extremely fluffy, resembling cotton candy stuffed inside the jar.
“Inoi is already itching to show this storm cloud to the newly met nymph sister…! I want to meet her soon…!”
Inoi was a nymph who loved to show off.
Soon, Coris, who had been listening to this story, began searching under the drawers and the bed.
“I don’t quite understand what’s going on, but if there are plenty of nymph sisters, that’s interesting enough…! It’s a shame I couldn’t meet the poisonous nymph Tairrenol…!”
I see.
Anyway, according to the nymphs, it seemed certain that nymphs lived on this ‘Paradise Island.’ At the same time, I suddenly felt worried.
According to Lee Jin-A and Yu Ara, this island ‘Paradise Island’ had another name: ‘Hell Island.’
Because the island lord, the Demon King Jun, who practically governs this island, is a terrifying and cruel human.
To think there are nymphs on such an island.
Could they be suffering from nymph-hating labor exploitation?
Forcing nymphs to create potions, perhaps.
“Our nymph sisters want to investigate this island separately…! They want to find the nymph’s energy and track the nymph sisters…!”
Inoi and Coris declared their separate actions.
I felt a bit worried, but since Inoi and Coris were not to be underestimated, I decided to permit them after much deliberation.
# # #
“There are a lot of shady people around. How can anyone feel safe walking around here?”
Lee Jin-A frowned as she looked around.
The bodies of the people wandering on the beach were filled with tattoos.
They gave off a strong impression with deliberately intimidating patterns.
They were a familiar sight for Jin-A, while Yu Ara was quite discontent with that.
“Jin-A, to be honest, I don’t like you being next to your senior at work. Our senior is like clear stream water.”
Yu Ara thought that Haildo was a clear and kind person.
Therefore, she believed that it was essential to choose friends carefully among those around her. You can’t let murky water mix with clear water, can you?
“Jin-A, it seems like your sister has a pretty glamorous past? She even dated the Demon King Jun. And you’re connected with gangs, right? Honestly, it doesn’t look good at all.”
“And you, Ari, aren’t exactly in a position to judge anyone. I don’t know who you are, but I can see you have many walls around your heart. You have a lot you want to hide, don’t you?”
Lee Jin-A was a mental awakening user who could manipulate emotions.
To her, Yu Ara’s heart felt like it was coated in a layer of armor, as if she had trained to hide something.
Everyone has things they want to keep hidden, but—
From Jin-A’s perspective, Yu Ara’s heart seemed more like someone who had undergone special training than that of an ordinary health worker.
“I feel like I’m better off than someone who can’t honestly reveal what they do. At least I can stand tall in my own right. I’m not doing anything illegal, and I never have.”
Lee Jin-A thought she was keeping her integrity by using her sister Lee Sun-A as a cautionary tale.
However, this remark slightly irritated Yu Ara.
“Look at how you’re speaking so casually! I’m older than you, you know? I’ve felt it for a while, but why are you so curt with your words?”
“If you want to be treated like an older sister, just say it. I didn’t realize you wanted to seem older.”
“Hey, look at how you’re talking…!”
Yu Ara was clearly displeased with Lee Jin-A being in this place. It was supposed to be a mission just for Haildo and her.
Various complications had emerged, making it difficult for Yu Ara to control the situation.
Of course, the operation was proceeding smoothly.
Just entering the island without any issues was already more than half of completing the mission.
Creating chaos and linking the Demon King Jun to that chaos.
The details of the chaos were largely up to our freedom.
Like a loach muddying the water, all I had to do was create a ruckus on this ‘Paradise Island.’
Haildo was suitable for that role.
He was someone who had recently gained a lot of attention by appearing on broadcasts and mytube.
“I’ve been putting up my senior’s name on the most recommended posts every day…! I’m also updating his section on the TreeWiki every day!”
Yu Ara believed that about 40% of Haildo’s fame was attributed to her. In other words, she was like Haildo’s No.1 salesperson and major shareholder.
However, Yu Ara’s feelings were currently muddy like murky water.
‘…Lee Jin-A, that annoying girl! My senior should be with a more wonderful and impressive woman…! You’re only at B-rank, Jin-A….’
Swoosh-.
Yu Ara looked from the top to the bottom of Lee Jin-A’s appearance.
Her dyed yellow hair, outfit exposing her belly, and short hot pants did not please her at all.
‘She looks too much like a ruffian…! I heard she even ran away from home…!’
In Yu Ara’s view, Haildo’s partner should be a virtuous woman.
Someone who could see him off in the morning and prepare warm food when he comes back in the evening.
Immediately, that would be someone like Yu Ara herself.
‘Of course, I won’t step in front of my senior. I won’t reveal that I’m his “Support Girlfriend.” I… just being able to watch him from a distance makes me happy…!’
What happened to the mermaid who saved the prince’s life in the end?
The mermaid ultimately turned into sea foam.
So Ari resolved not to step forward in front of Haildo.
‘But… if my senior is too perceptive and notices all my good deeds and efforts for him, and then falls in love with me and confesses, what should I do then…! Eek…!’
Yu Ara chuckled with her laughter.
# # #
I led Ari and Jin-A to the beach.
They laid out the sunbeds they would lie on, set up umbrellas, and prepared iced drinks.
Swoosh-.
Ari and Jin-A stretched lazily after lying on the sunbeds.
“Hey, Haildo. Massage my shoulders.”
Lee Jin-A said.
For some reason, it didn’t seem like she had done this for others more than once or twice.
Swoosh-.
I reached out to Lee Jin-A’s shoulders, and it felt more tense than I expected.
“Hey! Do you want to die? Who told you to be so gentle? Press harder. Push harder! Yes, yes. You’re doing well. There, massage like that. Also my neck. Put some affection into it, like a husband massaging his wife.”
Nhaaaah-.
Lee Jin-A made a sound that resembled someone melting.
If there were a snowman melting in the warm spring, it would probably emit a sound just like Lee Jin-A.
“Haildo, you seem pretty knowledgeable about women’s bodies. Hmm… how did you get so precise… Oh, whoa, whoa!?”
Is that so?
I did have a deep understanding of the human body.
I knew all the pressure points to subdue a person easily.
Also, during my long time as a D-rank, I had relied on various folk beliefs along with practices like qigong, meditation, yoga, and sitting quietly, so I was confident in my massage skills.
“Senior, please massage my legs too. After walking on the beach for so long, I’m tired from my feet to my thighs. Hurry up. Hurry up. This is an island where we don’t have to worry about anyone’s gaze, so please massage with affection!”
Swoosh swoosh-.
Yu Ara flailed her legs.
I massaged Ari’s legs as well.
To my surprise, her calves were firm, and her thighs were well-toned without excess fat. It seemed like she hadn’t neglected her training even after stepping back from the front lines.
However, Lee Jin-A frowned.
“Ari, I already asked Haildo to massage my shoulders first. It’s proper to ask for a favor after my turn is done, right?”
“Well, that’s up to the senior’s heart. Or maybe your senior prefers to massage my body over yours? Hohoho- Jin-A’s body isn’t that interesting to massage.”
“What? Are you challenging me?”
The women growled.
The atmosphere felt intense, as if they were about to fight.
Of course, this was all an act to draw people’s attention.
They both were good at acting.
“Look over there.”
“Isn’t that Squirrel Beast Haildo?”
“Wow, it really is.”
“He’s with women? At the same time with two women-.”
In fact, the crowd’s eyes turned to us at once.
Everyone recognized me.
How long had it been since I felt like a real celebrity?
Seeing the murmuring crowd, I realized it was an opportunity to create a problem.
“What are you looking at! Is it your first time seeing someone relax? If you all don’t step back right now, I’ll blow a storm of fury upon you!”
I growled like a mean person.
It was an act to deliberately create chaos, just like Ari and Jin-A had begun to fight.
# # #
“The beach is quite noisy.”
A man sitting in the darkness stretched and rose.
As he did, the waiting men lowered their heads and spoke.
“Uh… Brother, some awakening users are making a scene….”
“They say they can’t easily subdue them because they’re quite skilled.”
The men trembled.
The ‘brother’ they served was a brutal gang leader of the 21st century.
He was truly the real deal.
“Really? Awakeners are causing a ruckus?”
The brutal man, Demon King Jun, watched the commotion on the CCTV monitor.
A young man was causing chaos on the beach alongside the Squirrel Beast, honey ant, tiger owl, and ghost spider.
“You all go out.”
Demon King Jun continued to watch the screen until his underlings cleared the area, and then slowly turned his head.
Where Demon King Jun’s uneasy gaze landed was a room with drawn curtains. It was very luxurious, and because of the dazzling lights, only faint shadows were visible inside.
“Muhuhuhuhuhuh-.”
Soon, someone laughed sinisterly from beyond those curtains.
“Muhuhuh- It smells like the mud of a loach muddying the waters…! This nymph, Morales, can’t be deceived…! We have to drive them off the island…!”
It was always that peculiar tone of speech.
But Morales’ instincts were always sharp, and they had brought Demon King Jun to his current position.
Normally, he would have sent his subordinates to chase the troublemakers off the island, just as Morales suggested.
“Nymph maid… Haildo… perhaps….”
Tinkling-.
Demon King Jun pulled out a coin he felt in his pocket.
It was the “Whispering Coin” that Morales occasionally found beneath beds or sofas.
“Perhaps he might have a lot of coins.”
