246 – Nymphs’ Day and Day of Pride #6
Oinoi’s piggy bank was red.
I hid the red piggy bank well in my room and diligently increased its weight.
It was a piggy bank that could be seen anywhere, but it was not something I could show to just anyone.
I could only see it when Oinoi brought it out to show me on a good day, and I couldn’t touch it either.
So, the piggy bank has gone missing?
“…Did someone steal it?”
I suspected theft first.
There was no room for any other thought.
“…If it was stolen, who? Oinoi, when was the last time you saw the piggy bank?”
“This Oinoi… was working hard all through last night to prepare for Nymph’s Day and accidentally fell asleep…! I’m sure I checked it several times before I dozed off…!”
Someone stole the piggy bank while Oinoi was asleep…!?
Could such a thing even happen?
It was entirely possible.
The coins Oinoi had been collecting in that piggy bank were not just any coins but mysterious objects called “whispering coins.”
When nymphs held the coins to their ears, they would hear all sorts of powerful stories.
And such coins were valuable, often being sold at high prices to collectors or used for buying items from mysterious vending machines and trading with merchant ants.
It meant that if someone targeted the coins, it wouldn’t be strange at all to steal Oinoi’s piggy bank.
“Kkungkkungi!”
I called for Kkungkkungi.
━Kkung…!
Soon, Kkungkkungi, whose fur was ragged from fighting with the females, appeared.
He seemed to have had a tough time.
“Kkungkkungi, can you track down the smell of the piggy bank from Oinoi’s room?”
The squirrel beast Kkungkkungi had an excellent sense of smell.
Could he follow the scent of the piggy bank?
━Kkung…!
Kkungkkungi spun around in Oinoi’s room.
Was he struggling to track the scent?
There was no other choice.
“Magical Expanding!”
I spread my magic widely.
The space within a radius of 150 meters around me became my domain.
I sensed the presence of various beings within the space.
Most were squirrel beasts, and there were a few honey ants as well.
“Everyone come here!”
I said.
I could feel many animals rushing toward me.
Looking outside the window, I saw the honey ants and squirrel beasts huddled together.
They were friends to whom I often gave food while patrolling the village.
“Oinoi’s piggy bank is gone! We must find it before the day ends! Let’s go!”
Swoosh-!
The animals sprang into action.
Among them were Emperor Ant Angangi and his lover, Elizabeth.
“What good timing. Could you ask the ants if they’ve seen the piggy bank? It’s an item that has ‘Oinoi’ written in crooked Hangul near its buttocks.”
━Zzzi…!
━Ororong…!
# # #
Patriot Team B was a division primarily in charge of intelligence, eavesdropping, and public manipulation, contrasting with Team A, which focused on sabotage, kidnapping, and assassinations.
“Madame – Mayuhee” was the ace of Team B and was on duty today.
A chill hung over the office.
The atmosphere was bleak, filled with shredded and destroyed documents in every trash bag.
“This is troublesome.”
Even though it was her duty to be on call as information about the Patriot Team began to surface in public, Mayuhee found she had little to do.
Her role was simply to stay quietly without causing any trouble.
Then, red dots appeared on her monitor screen.
It indicated a disturbance.
“Hmm? So many magical reactions? Did the villains stage a rebellion?”
Beeep-!
Soon, Mayuhee’s phone rang.
It was a contact from the informants scattered around by the Patriot Team.
“What? The honey ants have started moving? Again…!?”
Mayuhee felt perplexed.
Cold sweat trickled down her forehead.
Honey ants.
They originally had a tendency to band together, expand their territory, and dominate various creatures, earning them the nickname “Conqueror Ants.”
Although nowadays, honey ants had become companions to households, awakened ones, and regular citizens, there had been a time when Korea struggled with a sudden rampage of honey ants.
“When honey ants move simultaneously, the anticipated damage to Korea would be a T-level…. This is comparable to a runaway T-level crack. Why again…!?”
T-level indicated damage on a scale of at least a city and up to a national level.
The Shin-Kori incident, where a nuclear plant once went into meltdown, was Korea’s first T-level crisis.
At that time, “Iron Arm – Kang Cheol-Min,” who caught the attention of government officials, was recruited into the Patriot Team.
“But wasn’t there an agreement with the honey ants?”
Mayuhee recalled the treaty established between the leader of the honey ants, “Obsidian Queen – Elizabeth,” and the President of Korea to maintain peace.
Since that day, Koreans and honey ants must have been working together mutually.
The honey ants had become an indispensable labor force and friends to the Korean people.
But now, what could be the reason the honey ants had mobilized their forces again?
While Mayuhee was troubled, another call came in.
“What’s the damage situation? What troops can we dispatch now…? Huh? There are no damages…? They’re just gathered together or wandering around…? The squirrel beasts too…?”
It was a strange movement.
“Subject: Did you see the honey ant knights wandering around at Sadan Station just now?
Content: Why are they suddenly gathering and wandering? lol”
└Aren’t they just patrolling? Honey ants here sometimes patrol too lol
└I’m an insider, seems like they’re preparing for the upcoming election? Details are confidential.
└No way, can honey ants even run in elections?
Looking at social media, people seemed to find it intriguing but were not in a state of confusion.
Mayuhee took a deep breath, calming her heart that had shrunk by about a year, and sighed deeply.
“I’ve heard that there are many strange behaviors among animals from another world…. It’s fortunate that the citizens aren’t in danger, but… why is that?”
In such times, it was best to consult a honey ant expert from Korea.
And chances are, the honey ant expert was likely with the head of Team B, Yu Ari.
# # #
“Senior, is there a problem? Honey ants and squirrel beasts have started wandering around outside. Is it related to you?”
Yu Ari entered the room.
I quickly explained the situation to Ari.
Chatter, chatter-!
“So, you’re saying Oinoi’s piggy bank has gone missing? And you’ve asked the ants and honey ants to help find it?”
“Right.”
I was impressed.
Ari seemed to easily grasp the “Nymphs’ Nonsense” concept.
Had she been training with Morales all along?
“It’s literally true. Oinoi’s treasured piggy bank has disappeared.”
“This Oinoi even named it Pignoi… But it’s gone now…! It’s truly a nymph-hating and Oinoi-hating act…!”
Pignoi.
It was typical of Oinoi, who had even named a snowman “Snowmanoi.”
Ari nodded as if she understood, saying, “I see.”
“I think people are surprised because the honey ants and squirrel beasts have been wandering around the city here and there. After all, the honey ants once caused a major upheaval in the country.”
Is she referring to the “Honey Ant Sugar Heist”?
It was an incident that could have evolved into a T-level issue, one I had resolved before.
I remembered it as well.
“No, this time I just asked them to help find Oinoi’s piggy bank. There’s no need for everyone to worry.”
“Senior, I understand your concern, but you shouldn’t recklessly cause T-level incidents. I wish you’d told me in advance.”
I received a rebuke from Ari.
Upon reflection, her words were indeed valid.
“Have you searched thoroughly at home? Items like these are found closer than you think.”
“I’ve searched everywhere.”
“Maybe it would be good to ask others to help look?”
That seemed like a good idea.
I stepped into the yard to inform everyone, and Seo Ye-rim frowned deeply.
“Wait, you lost that ‘whispering coin’ that’s full of treasures? That’s super rare! Haildo, you should have kept a closer eye on it! You’re the ‘master of the house’…!”
She was right, and I had nothing to say.
Soon, the nymphs came rushing in with both hands raised.
“It’s a treasure hunt…!”
“Muhuhu, I will demonstrate my skills from Illinois, known as Chicago’s Thompson submachine gun! The troubles of the nymph sisters are the troubles of Illinois!”
“Nymphs always assist each other…!”
“If that Morales finds the piggy bank, he will claim all the coins for himself…! It’s not like he’s doing it out of a desire to help the nymph sisters or Oinoi…!”
The nymphs were also motivated.
Mostly, they intended to help Oinoi.
Oinoi trembled with deep emotion, tears welling up as she said, “The nymph sisters I have met are truly a treasure of Oinoi…!”
At that moment, Tang So-hae’s bees began buzzing.
Tang So-hae, noticing the disturbance, said, “Oh? It seems there’s something in the well?”
A well?
There was a well in the yard of our house.
That’s why it was called the well house.
For some reason, abundant mana gushed out of it, which the nymphs loved.
But originally, there was an anomalous crack located at the well.
I had closed it…
“What? Now that I see, there’s a small crack open?”
Lee Jin-A said while peering into the well.
Another crack had opened in the well?
What could have happened?
