189 – Nymphs and Autumn Celebration # 1
“Muhuh, that barbarian wants to live with the princess…! Seeing how the Nightmare Squirrel follows him well, it seems the princess has a talent for dark magic and necromancy after all…!”
The barbarian wanted to follow Haire.
It seemed he saw a glimmer of some kind of talent in Haire, who had become Awakened, and wanted to train and nurture that talent.
I, who was temporarily protecting the imp Barbar, thought this was a rather good idea.
Barbar referred to himself as a little demon, but from what I had observed over the past few days, he was as kind-hearted as the nymphs.
Although he had a slightly quirky side, he was basically a good friend.
It seemed that with someone like Barbar, Haire, along with her mom and dad, would be well taken care of.
“I will also become the pinnacle of trainers with the Squirrel Leaf…! Everyone, be on your toes…! In the blink of an eye, I might become S Rank and be called the Squirrel Haire!”
–Keng keng…!
Haire threw the Nightmare Squirrel, which was nestled in her arms, into the air like a piece on a board game and shouted.
“Leaf, direct it towards that tree and use ‘Squirrel Flame’…!”
Whirr—.
Purple flames started swirling around the squirrel’s body.
Just as it seemed to be floating away, it hit the tree, leaving behind a blackened mark.
Such a cute power.
If it were Ahn Ahn’s “Zzzi Cutting,” that tree would have been completely chopped down.
–Zzzi…!
However, seeing that feeble power made Haire tremble with excitement.
“Hiiee…! This is the best…!”
–Keng keng…!
It seemed that Leaf and Haire had already grown close.
For reference, the Leaf being mentioned was a name that Haire had given to the squirrel.
I thought she would name it Kkungkkungi since she was making a fuss.
“The princess Haire will further refine her dark magic and necromancy and target the niche market of princess power…! This Barbar will help…!”
“I don’t know what that means, but it sounds fun! I also have a cute animal and a tail-attached nymph!”
“This Barbar is not a nymph, but the top imp comrade and the imp of the bonfire, Barbar…! You must recognize the clear difference between the two…!”
Anyway.
With that feeling, Haire acquired one imp and one Nightmare Squirrel.
It felt a bit flashy and powerful for a beginner party of F Rank Awakened ones.
Barbar’s mysterious knowledge.
And the strange strength of the Nightmare Squirrel.
If used well, just like I met Inoi and quickly rose from permanent D Rank to A Rank, Haire too would be able to level up comfortably.
“Hey, Haildo. Is it really okay? That seems a bit worrisome, doesn’t it?”
However, Lee Jin-A opened her slender eyes and quietly said a word to me.
She was expressing concern that my younger sister Haire, who was acting all fussy, seemed uneasy.
“Are you afraid that something bad might happen?”
“Exactly.”
“Just leave her alone. Haire tends to get bored with things quickly since she doesn’t like putting in effort, so it won’t last more than a few weeks. I know her well.”
Being an Awakened was actually a constant struggle of effort.
Even S Rank Awakened, who are considered to have talent, were likely sweating bullets honing themselves in secret, right?
But my younger sister Haire was someone who didn’t particularly enjoy such effort, and I thought she would soon find the Awakened life boring and lose interest.
But still.
Being an F Rank Awakened would add some specs to her resume while working a normal job. There was no way she would have to starve to death without being an Awakened.
She would likely have superior physical abilities compared to ordinary people, so she could potentially work as an ace in delivery companies or construction sites.
“Thank you for helping me move, Haildo. If I had to do this alone, it would’ve been disastrous with strange squirrels showing up. Anyway, let’s go to the rift soon and try to make some quick money.”
Crack—.
Lee Jin-A showed enthusiasm as she tightened her fist.
Since she bought a house, I guess she wanted to quickly save up money because her bank account was low.
“Let’s do it.”
I too preferred going to the rift with Lee Jin-A.
Maybe because of the territoriality of the existing A Rankers, but for some reason, I found it strangely difficult to join A Rank rifts.
They didn’t seem to welcome me.
It felt similar to being rejected for party applications in old online RPGs due to having a weak class.
Thus, Lee Jin-A and I had to find a way to party together to overcome that territoriality.
By accumulating results and proving myself, I believed that even A Rankers would stop their childish ostracism.
Surely, they wouldn’t be unaware that getting along with the strong is beneficial rather than having an antagonistic relationship.
The reason why I was able to receive jobs from Seo Ye-rim’s Telos Corporation even while being bullied during my permanent D Rank days was precisely that.
Anyway.
In that manner, Lee Jin-A’s move was successfully completed.
The cool autumn.
Ssssss—.
An unexpected winter smell wafted through the blowing breeze.
“This winter seems like it will be really cold.”
# # #
Autumn is a season of grains and harvest.
It is said to be a season when delicious fruits come out and squirrels and nymphs gain weight.
“Murungchu…!”
In the yard, Inoi, who was harvesting the marmelo fruits from the golden apple tree, made a strange sound. It seemed like she was casting some kind of spell, but I could see her sniffling with a tiny bit of snot dripping down.
“It seems she sneezed…! This Inoi doesn’t understand why autumn is becoming so cold so quickly…! It feels like I’m going to catch a cold…! Murungchu…!”
The sound of the sneeze was indeed peculiar.
I couldn’t tell if it was the nymphs sneezing strangely or if it was just Inoi sneezing oddly.
If I had to guess, it seemed like it might be the former…
“This Inoi is a nymph with shining honey-colored hair, just like the brilliant sunlight…! Summer nymphs are usually very active in summer, but they become very weak in the cold winter…!”
I see.
It seemed that nymphs gain or lose their power depending on the season they were born in.
Inoi was a summer nymph born in summer.
She was not well-suited for winter.
Ah gu ah gu—.
Perhaps because of that, Inoi was tearing open a chocolate wrapper and devouring chocolates, munching on snacks, and eating ice cream as if trying to stockpile calories.
She resembled a bear or squirrel trying to increase its weight for hibernation.
Indeed, it was said that nymphs like Inoi, who are vulnerable to the cold, also hibernate!
“Inoi, are you planning to hibernate this year?”
“Muhuh, there’s no need for that…! Because in this capitalistic society full of 21st-century innovations, there are magical tools called heaters and boilers…!”
That made a lot of sense.
What about Kkungkkungi, who also hibernates like other animals?
Pashush, pashush—.
Kkungkkungi was digging holes around the yard with his front legs. I often watched squirrel videos where squirrels dig holes in the ground to hibernate.
“Is Kkungkkungi going to hibernate too?”
I felt a bit worried.
Hibernating is a necessary action for survival for squirrels, but it is also said to be quite dangerous.
They say some squirrels close their eyes to hibernate but never wake up.
While I was looking at Kkungkkungi with slight concern, Inoi puffed out her chest with pride and chuckled.
“Kkungkkungi doesn’t hibernate; he just likes digging in the ground…! Kkungkkungi doesn’t need to hibernate because he has a cozy boiler…!”
“Is that so?”
Pashush, pashush, pashush, pashush, pashush—.
Now that I looked closely, it seemed like Kkungkkungi genuinely enjoyed digging the ground with his front legs as if it were a great joy in life.
–Kkungkkungi…!
Flap—!
At that moment, a loud flapping sound was heard.
When a shadow suddenly appeared above my head, something swooped down towards Kkungkkungi.
–Huh, huh…!
It was Kalilnoi.
He hadn’t been seen for a few days after roaming freely, but it seemed he had returned home today.
Kalilnoi rushed in to catch Kkungkkungi.
Sometimes Kalilnoi seemed to practice flying; he would spread his wings and swoop down to catch Kkungkkungi.
–Grrr…!
Of course, every time that happened, Kkungkkungi would make a distressed sound and hide in various places.
Today, Kkungkkungi quickly dove into the tunnel he had diligently dug.
That was quite a nimble move, and Kalilnoi ultimately lost sight of Kkungkkungi and staggered around clumsily. He looked like a gentleman penguin from the Antarctic.
A penguin, huh.
“Kalilnoi, have you gained a bit of weight?”
The tiger owl Kalilnoi was sometimes referred to as the “Bong Bong Kalilnoi” because he was the king of owls.
His body was already quite substantial, but it seemed to have grown rounder during the few days I hadn’t seen him.
Had he gained weight?
Soon, Inoi said.
“They say that tiger owls fluff up their feathers for winter hunting…! They adapt to survive in the cold…! It’s called ‘down feathers’…!”
I see.
This was Kalilnoi’s winter mode.
“Although it seems like agility and nimbleness have decreased quite a bit, it looks like his weight has increased, which has improved his strength and durability.”
Could my assessment be accurate?
Kalilnoi climbed onto a nearby box, spread his wings wide and hooted loudly with great pride.
Inoi approached Kalilnoi and gently brushed his body with a large owl-specific brush.
As she did so, white fluffy down feathers akin to goose or duck feathers began to be brushed out, and Inoi collected them well to put into a sack.
“With tiger owl down feathers, we can make a warm winter outerwear…! This Inoi must strive for the winter without hibernating…!”
–Hioong…!
–Mioong…!
Inoi started weaving threads with spiders or sewing. She seemed quite skilled, and it felt stable enough to the point of making it a little boring to watch.
Anyway, it was autumn.
It was time to prepare for winter, and I was also splitting firewood or gifting hot packs to Mr. Bangsaenghyeon, the local caretaker of the apple orchard in preparation for this winter.
“You all eat a lot too.”
I lit a campfire in an abandoned field for the wild squirrels, honey ants, wolf spiders, and tiger owls living in Primal Village, stacking almonds and acorns high.
All in all, it was a smooth autumn.
Compared to last year’s autumn, when I struggled as a permanent D Rank, it was an entirely different dimension of abundance, and while yawning with a relaxed feeling while looking at my phone, it happened.
“There was a major upheaval in the temporary meeting of S Rank!”
“Is a significant change in the S Rank rankings on the horizon?!”
“Media focus shifts to the rankings battle among S Rankers—”
“Ranking battle, huh?”
