197 – The Nymphs Have Started Training! #1
“Oh damn, what is this…!”
Seo Ye-rim frowned while looking in the mirror.
Her friend and secretary, Ahn Yeong-eun, gasped softly at the sight.
It was amazing how even a change in expression could convey such beauty.
‘I’m not one to be called ugly when I go out….’
The current C-rank Awakened, Ahn Yeong-eun, had been a somewhat popular woman since her school days.
With her round face and likable appearance, she had a mild personality that made her appealing to many men.
If she were to evaluate herself coldly on a scale of 100, she would probably give herself a score of about 70.
However, looking at her long-time friend Seo Ye-rim made her feel that beauty and charisma belonged to entirely different worlds, making her feel that life was unfair.
“What’s up? If you have something to say, just say it.”
Seo Ye-rim asked Ahn Yeong-eun, who was reflected in the mirror.
Having been friends for over 10 years, they could read each other’s thoughts to some extent without needing to speak.
Of course, Ahn Yeong-eun feigned nonchalance as she spoke.
“Should I cancel this afternoon’s event too?”
“Well, of course!”
“Yea-rim, the S-rank emergency meeting caused quite a stir when you didn’t attend, and if you skip today’s event as well, won’t people start talking?”
Recently, the S-rank emergency meeting had officially announced the “Rank Battle,” and the news spread through the media. Naturally, people in Korea were paying attention to the movements of the S-rankers in their country.
Who was stronger, and who had better skills—people always loved to compare and make a fuss over these matters.
However, Seo Ye-rim had not shown up for any official events in the past few days.
“Title: Fact Bomb) Is Seo Ye-rim not a bubble?
Content: She has been diving for days, canceling all official events. Is she scared her rank will drop?”
“Doesn’t this kid even fear the Telos legal team?”
“Is Princess Ye-rim your friend? Be sure to call Princess Seo Ye-rim properly!”
“Legend of Haildo’s girl ㄷㄷ”
“Everyone talks without knowing anything…!”
Seo Ye-rim’s anger flared up to the point where her hair seemed to stand on end.
As a result, the temperature in the room skyrocketed, and the air conditioner, which had been maintaining a stable temperature, beeped loudly as it switched on.
With a sigh, Seo Ye-rim stared at the mirror.
“Everyone talks without knowing anything…! Am I scared? Who’s saying such things?”
Seo Ye-rim felt unjust.
The reason she had canceled all her official appearances and gone into hiding was not out of fear for the rank battle.
In fact, she was quite interested in the ranking competition.
The reason she seldom showed herself in front of people was—
Because her left eye had a big bruise on it.
“Yu Ara, that crazy girl dared to mess up my face like this…!? There’s no way I can use my ‘Core-Biagi, Drug Smile’ like this…!”
Even covering her face would feel awkward.
Seo Ye-rim was both an Awakened and a famous celebrity.
And the face of Korea and Telos.
She had to always present a perfect image to the public, and she was working hard to do so.
Watching her, her secretary and friend Ahn Yeong-eun thought inwardly.
‘Swans may look graceful, but they’re actually paddling hard under the water, right? That must be exactly what applies to Ye-rim. Even those born pretty must work harder to appear beautiful behind the scenes.’
If a rabbit doesn’t even let its guard down while running, the turtles could never catch up.
Ahn Yeong-eun thought the world was really unfair but that thought quickly faded away as Seo Ye-rim continued to speak.
“And why am I Haildo’s girl…!? Do you think I match up with Haildo, who just became A-rank, while I’ve long been an S-ranker? Really…! So ridiculous…!”
While saying this, Seo Ye-rim’s face turned extremely red.
The rising temperature made the air conditioner noisier as it operated.
Ahn Yeong-eun clicked her tongue in her mind while watching the scene.
‘No matter how hard one tries to maintain their beauty, if they can’t use it well, it’s all for nothing. Looking at this, it seems like the world is quite fair….’
As she thought this, Ahn Yeong-eun inspected the bruise on Seo Ye-rim’s face again.
The swelling had gone down considerably, but it would take a few more days for the marks to completely disappear.
“So Yu Ara was an undercover agent for the Korean government. Ye-rim, you got played. You must have been caught off guard, right? There’s no way you would get hit like that otherwise.”
“Of course! I’ve thought from the beginning that that sly Yu Ara was hiding something. I roughly predicted she would pull a cowardly trick…!”
Seo Ye-rim recalled the time she faced off against Yu Ara.
Yu Ara was much stronger than the story of her retirement as a B-ranker implied; even controlling her firepower in the city, she fought evenly with Seo Ye-rim, who was an active S-ranker.
“Now it’s starting to get interesting again. Honestly, it’s been boring only having Cha Yura as my rival. It’s time to sort out the hierarchy clearly.”
As she said this, Seo Ye-rim looked at her phone again.
It was quite irritating that she hadn’t heard from a certain man in days.
‘I’ve been out of sight for days, and isn’t he worried? Is he playing hard to get? Does he think I’m someone who can easily be pushed and pulled around?’
Hmph.
Seo Ye-rim snorted.
She spoke to the air.
“Illinois! Bring me a potion good for bruises and body aches!”
But no reply came.
Soon her friend and secretary Ahn Yeong-eun spoke in a troubled voice.
“Ye-rim, Illinois has declared independence.”
“Oh, right, I forgot. Well, I bet he will come back in a few days as if nothing happened. So where is that guy now?”
“I heard he went to Han Ju-ryeon?”
A-rank Han Ju-ryeon.
Hearing that, Seo Ye-rim scoffed.
# #
“In this nymph-hating situation, that Illinois had no choice but to declare independence…! He has become the independent, Freedom Illinois…!”
Illinois briefly explained the process of declaring independence from Seo Ye-rim.
However, important details were completely omitted, and the process was utterly incomprehensible.
Well, there must have been several disputes.
Soon Inoi added a remark.
“No matter how much it’s Core, pinching a nymph’s cheek twice a day is…! This Inoi believes that Core Ye-rim is at fault this time…!”
They said one could pinch a nymph’s cheek only once a day.
Pinching it twice would break the trust between Corers and Nymphs.
Honestly, it was a rather peculiar custom.
“Muhuhuh, so what are the Inoi sisters doing right now…? They are splashing so much with water that Illinois’s clothes are completely soaked…!”
Splash, splash—!
Splash, splash—!
Inoi had a large basin, which could be seen during kimjang (making kimchi), filled with water and was splashing it with his palms.
It was an action similar to someone practicing their palm strikes by hitting hot sand in a martial arts setting.
Soon, Inoi spoke.
“Nymph-bigi, splashing around…!”
Chattering, chattering, clamoring—
The quick explanation by nymphs who didn’t particularly like reminiscing continued, and Illinois acted as if he understood it all.
“Really…! Was the Housemaster not awakened even with ‘Nymph-bigi, splashing wildly’? This is a big problem…! It’s a situation conducive to nurturing Nymph power…!”
“That’s right…! This Inoi has also determined to train my Nymph power to become a more powerful Nymph…! ‘Nymph-bigi, splashing around’…!”
Splash—, splash splash—!
Inoi was training by splashing water to cultivate what they called “Nymph power.”
It seemed that he had realized his shortcomings from the recent incident involving Yu Ara and Haildo’s condition.
Honestly, I didn’t know what Nymph power was, but I thought I could acknowledge and support the effort to develop something positively.
“So, what did you want to propose to me?”
I asked Han Ju-ryeon, who was watching the chattering Nymphs blankly.
Han Ju-ryeon, who appeared to be as prickly as Seo Ye-rim in some aspects, had a frustrating expression on her face.
Sizzle, sizzle—.
Around Han Ju-ryeon, static sparks flickered like an angry cosmic fighting race.
The furry Squirrel Beast, Kkungkkungi, seemed to get angry about the static and ran off far away, fur standing on end.
“Hey, why are you angry?”
I asked A-rank No. 2 Han Ju-ryeon.
In response, Han Ju-ryeon said.
“I’m not angry. It’s just annoying because the static is bothering me. Anyway, you know that S-ranks are having a ranking battle, right? The prize is the holy relic ‘Holy Grail.’”
“Well….”
“The reactions were a bit disappointed that we can’t join that fight. So, our A-rankers are also thinking about recalibrating the ranking.”
It seemed that discussions about a proper ranking measurement among A-rankers in Korea suddenly circulated around this afternoon.
The A-rankers’ ranks had not changed for several months, and in the long run, it had remained stagnant for years.
“I don’t know where the rumor is coming from, but there’s talk that if the A-rank gets first place in this measurement, one might be able to rise to S-rank, using some kind of artifact.”
Is that even possible?
As I thought this, Han Ju-ryeon added.
“It’s not entirely impossible. Also, I sense that this rumor may have been spread by some government officials. They must think it’s necessary to fill Lee Joon-Hun’s vacant spot.”
That made sense.
Having been in A-rank for a long time, she probably had more information than I did.
“The chances are high that it will be a random battle in a flag-snatching format. If you drop out early, your rank will tank. Staying longer will keep your rank high.”
Swish—.
Han Ju-ryeon reached out her hand towards me.
“So, what do you say about temporarily teaming up? Among A-ranks, there are many who don’t think highly of you because of jealousy and rivalry. Therefore, teaming up with me wouldn’t hurt.”
That was a somewhat reasonable suggestion.
If the A-rank battle really took place, there was no guarantee that opponents wouldn’t team up against us as well.
I suddenly became curious.
“If we team up and end up as the last two standing, then shouldn’t you and I fight each other?”
“That’s fine. My odds of losing to you are zero percent. That’s why I’m suggesting we team up. I’m confident that I will definitely win when it’s just the two of us.”
Sizzle—!
Han Ju-ryeon’s hair crackled with sparks as it stood on end.
