243 – Day of the Nymphs and Day of Pride #3
It was an unusually cool morning, perhaps because it had snowed the day before.
As part of my daily routine, I jogged around Primal Village a few times, combining exercise with patrol.
━ Kkungkkung…!
━ Kkungkkung…!
━ Quengqueng…!
The Squirrel Beasts seemed to be doing quite well despite the unexpected snow. I had heard that Squirrel Beasts, like Nymphs, hibernate, so I was a bit worried about them in this cold weather.
A number of Squirrel Beasts circled around me or chased after me.
They probably detected the smell of almonds and peanuts in my pockets.
“Alright, eat up!”
I filled a small bowl with a handful of almonds and peanuts for the wild Squirrel Beasts.
━ Kkungkkung…!
━ Kkungkkung…!
The sight of Squirrel Beasts with various colors and stripes rushing over to stuff peanuts into their mouths was quite delightful.
They all had round bodies and fluffy tails.
Kkungkkungi, who was sitting on my shoulder, barked.
━ Kkungkkung…!
I wasn’t sure what it meant, but it seemed to say, “Have a great day everyone!” Kkungkkungi, as the “Top Squirrel Beast,” had an obligation to protect the well-being and peace of other Squirrel Beasts.
At that moment, a few Squirrel Beasts pounced on Kkungkkungi.
━ Kkungkkung…!
━ Ppuk-! Ppuk-!
A challenge?
Could they be friends trying to take the place of the top Squirrel Beast, Kkungkkungi?
Being a champion meant always accepting challengers, so Kkungkkungi often had to fight off the challenges of younger Squirrel Beasts multiple times a day.
It was like an obligation of the alpha or top individual.
“Whoa-.”
But today’s fight had a slightly different aspect.
All the Squirrel Beasts crowding around Kkungkkungi were female. Among them was Phey, Kkungkkungi’s girlfriend.
The silver-winged Squirrel Beast.
━ Kkungkkung…!
It seemed Phey shouted.
Pabababat-!
The female Squirrel Beast friends surrounded Kkungkkungi and pounced, biting at Kkungkkungi’s arms, legs, shoulders, and tail.
━ Grrr…!!!
Kkungkkungi made a pitiful noise as if it were receiving a one-sided beating. At that moment, Dr. Bang Saeng-hyeon, the director of the wildlife research center, who was clearing the snow in the orchard, spoke to me.
“I’ve observed for months that female Squirrel Beasts are particularly free-spirited and proactive. Their assertiveness is hard to describe. You could say they are true Amazons.”
“Is that so?”
“Perhaps the females want to have the pups of the top Squirrel Beast before winter comes. The attraction to strong males is a common instinct ingrained in the genes of many species.”
I see.
It meant Kkungkkungi was so strong that its popularity was a problem.
Eventually, Kkungkkungi was covered by several Squirrel Beasts.
It looked almost like a round ball.
A strong and excellent male is indeed popular in the wild.
“Very popular. I’m quite envious of Kkungkkungi. Well then, Kkungkkungi, I’ll be going ahead.”
I left Kkungkkungi, who was being attacked by the females, and moved on. This time, I intended to check on the abandoned greenhouse.
There were “Merchant Ants” there.
Merchant Ants were mysterious ants that exchanged “whispering coins” for various goods.
I wondered if the greenhouse, which might have been damaged by the snow of previous days, was still intact, but it was sturdier than expected.
━ Jojiji…!
━ Goji…!
A few Merchant Ants crawled out from beneath an old desk as if they recognized me.
I took out an “Inventory Card” from my wallet and handed them the excess honey rice cakes I had made.
They all seemed to enjoy it.
However, for some reason, the bean rice cakes made by Seo Ye-rim had fallen to the floor.
Did they not like bean rice cakes?
They were delicious, though.
“So, have any new products come in?”
The shaking heads of the ants.
It seemed there was a backlog of new arrivals.
I left the greenhouse and headed toward a bridge where a small stream flowed.
There, a few Honey Ants were already patrolling before me.
━ Doji…!
It was Knight Ant Doji.
Not long ago, Doji had been a clumsy rookie training ant.
Now he was marching proudly with several soldier ants.
He looked like a newly appointed squad leader.
I had also been a new squad leader, so it brought back memories.
“Doji, everything alright?”
━ Doji…!
That’s good.
Sssssh-.
At that moment, Angangi, who was in my pocket, peeked out.
━ Zzji…!
It was probably saying something like, “Keep up the good work!”
Angangi was the emperor of the Honey Ants, a very high-ranking figure. I took out the premium ‘Han-gwa’ that I received from Seo Ye-rim for the hardworking soldier and knight ants.
“Take this back to your barracks and share it.”
━ Doji…!
━ Koji…!
━ Neji…!
They all seemed very pleased.
Buuuw-.
Then something flew onto my shoulder.
Upon closer inspection, it was the queen ant Elizabeth, with a black obsidian hue.
━ Ororong…!
Elizabeth had the most distinctive cry among the Honey Ants.
Still, I felt I understood what Elizabeth wanted to convey.
Swoosh-.
I took Angangi out of my pocket and gently placed him where Elizabeth was.
Elizabeth had come to meet Angangi.
“It seems that the Day of the Nymphs is starting today, so don’t be too late in coming back.”
━ Zzji…!
━ Ororong…!
The golden Emperor Ant Angangi and the black obsidian queen ant Elizabeth moved at the same pace, reaching the small stream and splashing water with their front legs. Watching them play together made me feel happy, as if they were the epitome of a lovely couple.
I quietly stepped aside for the harmonious ants.
Now, I had to check the “Pear Tree Habitat” where the Tiger Owls lived and the “Abandoned Warehouse” where the Wolf Spiders were hiding.
I first headed to the nearby “Pear Tree Habitat.”
There were many Tiger Owls there, and I looked around, wondering if Kalilnoi might be here, but I didn’t see him.
“Have you seen Kalilnoi?”
━ Kuuw, Kuuw…!
━ Buu, Buu…!
So that meant no.
I tore off the S Rank Hanwoo I had received from Seo Ye-rim for the Tiger Owls and placed it on a dish.
Immediately, the Tiger Owls flapped their wings and snatched the plate.
“It’s good to see everyone healthy.”
Now, was the “Abandoned Warehouse” next?
Creee-.
As I opened the warehouse door, I saw spiders the size of my palm playing guitars.
Ding ding ding-.
They were quite skilled.
━ Hiooong…!
As Guitarist Bang Bang shouted, the small spiders began to cry in tune, “Hiooong- Miooong- Gi-oong-.” It was a splendid choir that almost brought tears to my eyes.
“Bang Bang, everything okay?”
━ Bang Bang…!
━ Gwang Gwang…!
The mechanical spider Mi-ong was also blending in smoothly with the group of spiders.
I took out some fruit juice from my inventory and poured it into a dedicated dish for the spiders to enjoy.
While Wolf Spiders enjoyed hunting various things, they also liked to drink fruit juice.
Soon, they seemed to be in a good mood and brought me something.
“Is this a ball of yarn?”
The Wolf Spiders’ webs were strong yet breathable, making them suitable for creating bulletproof and blade-proof clothing.
They were also top-notch materials for string instruments like guitars or pianos.
I carefully stashed the gathered “ball of yarn” into my pocket.
“Great, today’s patrol ends here!”
I had worried due to the sudden snowfall, but everyone seemed fine.
As I returned to the well-house, I came across Oinoi, who was stretching his neck like a turtle and tiptoeing while staring blankly at the entrance of the village.
Oinoi said,
“They will surely come soon, the Nymph Sisters, to celebrate the ‘Day of the Nymphs’…! This Oinoi, though temporary, has the obligation to host the top Nymphs…! I must welcome the guests…!”
While saying this, Oinoi diligently arranged snacks and juice on a table set up in the yard. He didn’t forget to check the puffiness of the nitrogen in the snack bags with his hands.
“Yikes…! Some of the cookies are already broken…! It’s clear that someone deliberately broke them to play a trick on Oinoi…! How nymph-hating…!”
“That’s just how they usually break.”
Oinoi appeared increasingly anxious and restless as time passed.
Climbing up on a high chair to watch the entrance of Primal Village, checking the nitrogen puffiness in the bags again, and placing cold ice for Schnee-People, he busily moved about.
“The Nymph Sisters are not coming…! I’m worried that perhaps they didn’t like the ‘Day of the Nymphs’ that Oinoi hosted…!”
Ah, I see.
Oinoi’s current state was reminiscent of elementary school kids anxiously waiting for friends to arrive at a birthday party after distributing invites.
“If I had known, I should have advertised that I’d be distributing the honey sweet potatoes that Oinoi personally planted…! If so, the Nymph Sisters would have definitely come earlier…!”
“Let’s wait a little longer. They must have their reasons for being late.”
I did not think that the Nymphs would not come to the party hosted by Oinoi.
Time passed and, around lunchtime—
When I felt an unexpected chill due to the cold weather, a helicopter descended noisily to land in a nearby rice field.
A woman with long orange hair got off, small in stature, and resembling a Nymph in many ways.
A S-Ranker from Korea.
“Ice Princess – Cha Yura.”
“Aah-! Yura has arrived in first place…! This Oinoi has a special gift prepared for the first guest…! Please accept this spider web flower crown…!”
Oinoi presented the flower crown he had worked hard on making the night before to Cha Yura. Cha Yura looked around and calmly asked, “Am I really the first?”
I felt somewhat surprised.
“Yura, you really came. Aren’t you really busy lately? Politically and militarily…”
“I’m busy, but I had to come! It’s a Nymph event! I’m an honorary Nymph and responsible for promoting the Nymphs. Oinoi, how have you been?”
“I’ve been well…!”
Cha Yura and Oinoi embraced each other warmly.
They looked like affectionate sisters.
Bruuung-.
At that moment, I saw several vehicles streaming into the entrance of Primal Village.
Oinoi raised his hand with joy upon seeing that.
“Aah-! I can feel the presence of the Nymphs…! The Nymphs are starting to flock in…! This Oinoi was saddened, thinking no one would come…!”
