114 – Haildo Appears on TV with the Nymphs! #1
“This soy sauce chicken is soooo delicious…! It really gets me hyped up…!”
Illinois was devouring the chicken with glee.
Inoi also chimed in excitedly, “It’s incredibly tasty! It’s been such a long time since I’ve had a late-night snack!”
Even my younger sister Hailre was eating without pause—chicken, tteokbokki, and pizza alike.
Watching her, I couldn’t help but frown worriedly.
“Hailre. If you eat so much late at night, you’ll gain weight. And you’re past your curfew. What do you plan to do about that?”
“What? It’s not like you paid for it. Ye-rim-ssi bought it for me? She even apologized to me! And I’ll just sleep here, so the curfew doesn’t matter. Meh~.”
With a “Beh!”, Hailre stuck her tongue out at me.
It seemed like Hailre had decided to spend the night in one of our spare rooms. She might have planned it from the start when she came over.
Hailre said,
“By the way, Oppa. Can’t you put that parasite back in my body? Last time, you didn’t even mention my curfew and even ordered me chicken.”
Sshh…
Hailre’s finger pointed to a glass jar containing the parasitic organism.
“Is that the ‘Evil’ one?”
The idea of that thing being in my body was truly terrifying.
“So, Haildo’s curt answers to me were due to this strange parasite? And the time he got mad…”
Seo Ye-rim held up the jar.
When I saw her narrow eyes, I was gripped with sudden fear.
“Hey! Be careful!”
“What? Are you worried about me now?”
Seo Ye-rim seemed quite moved.
“Yeah. Of course, I’m worried.”
“…”
If that terrifying parasite were to touch Seo Ye-rim…
What if she suddenly went insane and started setting fires everywhere, screaming, “I’m going to burn down the city!”?
That would be catastrophic.
The overheated planet would burn even hotter due to global warming.
“Alright. Since you’re so worried, I’ll put it down.”
Thud.
Seo Ye-rim gently placed the glass jar containing the parasite on the floor. Tomorrow, government experts will come to retrieve it.
“Wow, that owl is huge. Real tiger stripes. Tiger owl. Wow.”
It was late at night.
My younger sister Hailre was marveling at Kalilnoi who had landed in the yard.
However, being the independent and chic owl that Kalilnoi was, it seemed annoyed by Hailre’s attention and flew up to the rooftop with a flapping of wings.
-Hoo, hoo…
“That owl has quite the haughty personality.”
-Ga-ga!
Hailre turned her attention to Kkungkkungi.
Since Kkungkkungi isn’t shy, it climbed up Hailre’s legs or circled around her shoulders.
Sshh…
“Oppa, look. A squirrel scarf!”
Hailre had draped Kkungkkungi around her neck.
The soft and warm sensation seemed so pleasant that she shivered and let out an odd scream, “Yieaaa!”
“Too cute! Oppa, can you give me one of your animals? Especially Ahn Ahn! Send it to me! He can even tidy my desk!”
“No.”
“Then Inoi!”
“No.”
My younger sister was eyeing the animals and Inoi greedily.
She probably wanted to take one home and raise it.
Seo Ye-rim soon said,
“Lee-se. If it’s Illinois, you can take her home.”
“Really? Illinois! Do you want to come with me? I’ll comb your hair every day!”
Hailre was rubbing her hands together in excitement.
Soon, Illinois, who had been busy eating chicken, suddenly stood up and said,
“Heheh, if you want to take Illinois home-to-go, you need to provide a daily allowance of 100,000 won at least…”
“Huh? 100,000 won a day?”
“And Illinois only rides in electric cars that are very nymph-friendly…”
Illinois was a nymph with strong consumerist tendencies.
If the first nymph I met was Illinois instead of the humble Inoi, I would have definitely gone bankrupt giving her allowance!
Tap, tap-tap-tap
Seo Ye-rim, typing on her phone, said,
“Since the topic came up, Illinois. Spend some time at Haildo’s place for a few days. I’ll be busy for a while because I have to go to London soon for an S-rank meeting.”
S-rank meeting.
It’s a gathering where S-rank Awakeneds from around the world meet to discuss various topics, exchange information, and even compete.
Depending on the meeting, the S-rank list published in magazines and online changes too.
It was quite impressive.
A meeting attended by all S-rank Awakeneds.
Just imagining it was thrilling.
If only I could attend such an event too!
…
# # #
The next day.
Sunday morning.
Seo Ye-rim left with government officials carrying the glass jar containing the parasite.
Seo Ye-rim’s electric car took my younger sister Hailre away as well.
“Oppa! I’ll see you next week! Inoi, see you! Kkungkkungi, Bang Bang, Gwang Gwang, Kalilnoi, see you all! Remember my name! Stay well! Bye-bye!”
Hailre made quite a fuss before leaving.
Now that the uninvited guests were all gone, would our house finally regain its peace?
“…”
Not quite.
Perhaps the problems were just beginning.
“Why is the housemaster looking at me this way? Is it because you want to give Illinios a 100,000 won allowance?”
We agreed to take care of Illinois for about a week.
The ditch water nymph Inoi was pleased to live together with Illinois.
“Living with nymph sisters is a very joyful thing… It reminds me of the forest where Inoi used to live…”
Sshh…
Inoi, wearing a straw hat and holding a gardening trowel.
“Illinois…! Let’s pull out the weeds that might have grown around the golden apple tree! It’s bound to be a lot of fun!”
The nymphs were all elemental fairies.
They loved tending to flowers, planting trees, and pruning branches.
Inoi especially loved gardening, spending from morning until the evening sun sets, touching the soil and pulling weeds outside.
“Meh, Illinois will play this latest game console called “Nymptendo”… Pulling weeds isn’t all that funny…”
Illinois seemed to be the exception, it seems.
In any case,
That’s how I came to be in charge of Illinois.
Nevertheless,
On this leisurely Sunday morning,
“Haildo.”
When I searched my name on SNS, there didn’t seem to be any new posts about me from last night.
It was somewhat disappointing.
So, after glancing around, I began typing.
“Title: The First Next S-rank Awakened Unveiled.”
“Content: First place, Haildo.”
“Heheh.”
It was very entertaining.
It gave me an exhilarating feeling, like when I had the parasite inside me, though without the mana surge or sense of omnipotence. Still, a strange thrill coursed through my synapses like lightning.
“This is going to be addictive.”
Shh-shh-shh
Soon, comments started appearing.
“Comment: Who the heck is this guy and why are you trolling the morning?”
“-It looks like Haildo’s IP lol.”
“-Haildo should stop playing around and go spread some squirrels around Primal Village.”
“-For real, I have no clue how to arrange skills for the squirrels. I can teach a max of four skills, right?”
Comments poured in.
I felt incredibly pleased.
It felt like I was taking another step closer to becoming the strongest S-rank Awakened.
Being S-rank…
The thrill that name evokes…
I wanted to be an S-rank Awakened soon, just like Seo Ye-rim, to attend the S-rank Awakened meetings…
Right at that moment,
Ding-dong.
Someone rang the doorbell at my house.
It was someone fairly familiar.
“Isn’t that Tsukki? What brings you here? What’s up?”
Standing in front of our house was Tsukki.
Shh…
I opened the door, and Tsukki, after looking around, stepped into our yard and marveled.
“What a cozy home. Is that the golden apple tree? You must be Inoi, right? Anyway, this is a gift. It’s Japanese confectionery. It should be quite tasty. There’s yangbang, jeonbyeong, and a variety of others.”
Shh…
Tsukki handed over a well-packaged box of confectionery.
Inoi was thrilled to receive it.
“Very delicious indeed…! Illinois! Come out quickly and see these tasty treats! Let’s share them…”
With that, Inoi rushed into the house.
Tsukki chuckled as she watched Inoi go.
“Recently, S-rank Awakeneds from Korea flew off to London for a meeting, right? The Korean government requested Japan’s cooperation since there might be a security gap. So, I’m here. I speak Korean well.”
Indeed.
Tsukki was not officially an S-rank.
That’s why she wasn’t attending the S-rank meeting in London but instead was dispatched here.
“I might be staying in Korea for quite a long while since I don’t plan to return to Japan soon. Korea lacks sufficient S-ranks, you know.”
That was true.
Korea experienced too many T-rank anomalies compared to the number of S-ranks available. We probably needed at least five S-ranks to cover the whole country properly.
Currently, Korea only has two S-ranks.
Honestly, that’s insufficient to handle all of the T-ranks.
Tsukki then recalled something.
“By the way, I heard A-ranks from Korea will gather soon, right? Korean A-ranks are generally more experienced and stronger than A-ranks from other countries, so everyone on our side is paying attention.”
“Is that so?”
It turned out that not only were S-ranks gathering globally, but also A-ranks within Korea were holding their own meeting.
I recalled their faces.
They were all formidable individuals.
Speaking of which,
“Haildo. I found this in your mailbox.”
Shh…
Tsukki handed me something.
It was an elegant black envelope decorated with golden embroidery, sealed gorgeously with a red seal.
The insignia on the seal was “A”.
Surprised and heart-pounding, I tore open the letter.
# # #
Crash!
A loud noise accompanied by flashes of light.
Thud.
A man collapsed onto the ground, charred black.
A black slime-like substance oozed out from the man’s body.
“Can boosting your power with something like this really help you face me? Where did you get this, anyway? Mr. Kim Sang-Hyun from the Osagroup’s Response Team B, I’m talking about this parasitic being.”
“Gyaaah…! M-monst-monster…!”
Kim Sang-Hyun was horrified, his hair standing on end at the thought of being defeated in one strike despite reaching A-rank through the parasite’s mana enhancement.
“Y-y-you fiend! Gyaaah! Gyaaaah…!”
Panic-stricken, Kim Sang-Hyun fled.
The woman clicked her tongue as she watched him leave.
“Such a weakling. I hate people like you who resort to tricks and dirty tactics. Especially those who exploit and torment animals.”
Flash!
Another burst of light, and Kim Sang-Hyun collapsed again, emitting black fumes.
As the smell of burnt flesh filled the air, someone fanned it away as they approached.
“Phew, the smell! Juyeon-ah, wasn’t that output excessively high? He’s supposed to stay alive. We need to find out where he got this ‘Evil’ parasite.”
It was Secretary Oh Eun-hee.
“This is completely tattered. First, let’s take care of this parasite… Look at its size. Tiny like a thumbnail. This is the first time I’ve seen a parasite this large, isn’t it? Mr. Kim. Good job containing it so well. Juyeon-ah! Look! This is the largest of the ‘Evils’ we’ve collected so far!”
While Oh Eun-hee turned to look at her superior and friend, A-rank Awakened Han Juyeon, she only absently kept tapping her phone.
“No interest in the likes of him.”
“You’re still as indifferent to worldly affairs. Even so, you should take some interest in this. Invitation! I heard that Haildo will be attending this time. The squirrel Haildo.”
Han Juyeon, an upper-tier ranked A-rank, frowned upon receiving the invitation while holding it.
Haildo.
A famous person who reached from D-rank to B-rank in the shortest time possible.
Based on rumors, it was said that he wasn’t far from achieving A-rank as well.
Boom!
The letter Han Juyeon was holding turned to ashes with a thunderous sound while her eyes remained glued to her phone.
Han Juyeon’s phone photo gallery was filled with pictures of adorable squirrels, honey ants, ghost spiders, and tiger owls.
As she viewed these photos, Han Juyeon made a firm resolution.
A upper-tier ranked A-rank “The Liberator Han Juyeon.”
She loved animals.
The number of illegal natural monuments and animals she returned to the wild numbered at least a hundred.
Her focus now was on the photos of the animals living with Haildo.
“The thought of exploiting animals as slaves is abhorrent. His rapid growth too, surely he’s employing some awful shortcuts. If I meet him this time, I’ll thoroughly expose it.”
The upcoming A-rank meeting.
Although not well-known to people, it was notoriously harsh on newcomers due to the territorialism and ostracism among A-ranks.
Han Juyeon was growing excited at the thought of meeting Haildo.
“This A-rank meeting will have loads of media coverage and filming, right? Perfect. I’ll expose how Haildo forces animals to fight against their will in front of them.”
Elated Han Juyeon.
Soon after, Secretary Oh Eun-hee frowned and said,
“Uh-oh, it seems Haildo declined to participate in the meeting?”
“Huh?”
It was incomprehensible.
Was he aware that many A-ranks had their sights on him?
Han Juyeon searched the internet for “Haildo” as usual.
“…What’s this?”
“Animal Ranch 1004th Special! The appearance of Mr. Haildo, the squirrel expert! We request lots of viewers!”
