252 – Teaching Nymphs and Children #2
Why did you do that?
In response to my question, Lee Ji-Hoo tightly closed his mouth and did not answer.
Soon, Lee Jin-A, wearing a tank top that exposed her arms and drying her wet hair, frowned and spoke threateningly.
“Hey? Not going to answer?”
“……”
Lee Ji-Hoo still kept his mouth shut.
I thought about my classmate Kang Cheol-Min, whom I met this morning at Namsan. This kid seemed to have a stubbornness similar to Kang Cheol-Min.
It meant he likely wouldn’t speak easily.
“Well, at this rate, I might have to call your parents. Your mother, you know.”
I said with a feigned indifferent tone.
Then Lee Ji-Hoo jumped up.
“My mom won’t come!”
As expected, the kid was still a kid.
Getting worked up over a simple keyword.
Lee Ji-Hoo said.
“Right now, Mom is probably with the instructor from the swimming pool she used to go to. She doesn’t care about me anymore. Don’t contact her.”
That was a story that deepened in various ways.
I observed Lee Jin-A’s expression.
Lee Jin-A had a sensitive ability to detect various emotions, so she could pick up on simple lies.
Lee Jin-A asked.
“Are you saying your mother is having an affair with the swimming pool instructor?”
To ask that so directly.
Little Ji-Hoo clenched his fists tightly and trembled.
And then, as if making a firm decision, nodded his head.
Nod-!
I felt a bit dizzy.
Soon, Lee Jin-A asked.
“So, you’re doing something bad to get back at your mom who abandoned you for the swimming pool instructor? Is that it?”
“No! Mom… I don’t care anymore. I have Dad. But Dad….”
“So, it means you’re upset because your Dad passed away.”
Lee Jin-A reached a short conclusion.
She seemed to be somewhat of an authority on children who did bad and wicked things.
However, little Ji-Hoo got worked up.
“No! Dad is alive…! I need to get him back…! For that, I need power…! I need a lot of money…. And also….”
That was reasonable.
I roughly understood why little Ji-Hoo targeted the savings bank of Inoi.
But doing something bad was still bad.
You shouldn’t steal other people’s things carelessly.
# # #
“My mom has hated me for a long time. She just bullies me every day. But Dad loves me. Even if he’s busy with work every day, he’s there for me…! He even helped me catch a Squirrel Beast named Daram on my birthday.”
Little Ji-Hoo said he caught a Squirrel Beast a few months ago in Primal Village with his dad.
It was common for kids to come with their parents and catch Squirrel Beasts. In fact, the Squirrel Beasts often let themselves be caught.
If the Squirrel Beasts decided to run away, you would never catch them.
Kkung…!
In Ji-Hoo’s arms was a small Squirrel Beast.
So very cute.
Inoi said.
“Seeing such a small one, it seems to be a very young Squirrel Beast…! It seems to be a Squirrel Beast that is less than a year old…!”
“I, Coris, think so too…!”
The baby Squirrel Beast was just slightly smaller than the size of a human palm.
Very cute.
At that time, the top Squirrel Beast, Kkungkkungi, barked.
It seemed to bark without any particular meaning, but the baby Squirrel Beast, Daram, got so scared that it hid in Ji-Hoo’s pocket.
It must be afraid of the adult Squirrel Beast.
“I came to this village with Dad a long time ago. So, I remembered the address from the business card and found my way here. And I’ve seen the savings bank being boasted about on Kira’s Mityube before….”
I understood how this delinquent girl managed to come to our house.
It’s impressive that a 10-year-old came all the way here alone.
What a smart friend.
Swish-.
I looked at the clock on my phone.
It was now exactly 11 PM.
It felt like an awkward time to send the little one home.
When she got home, she would just say, “Mom is out tonight and won’t be home.”
I had no choice but to let her stay at our house for the night.
After some time had passed the next day.
“To become a proper Nymph, one must brush their teeth well every morning…!”
“That’s right…!”
“Nuhhh….”
I opened my eyes, thinking something was noisy, and saw the nymphs busily brushing Ji-Hoo’s teeth.
They washed his face and washed his hair too.
“Inoi, what are you doing?”
I asked.
Then, Inoi chuckled and confidently said.
“Little Ji-Hoo seems to have the qualifications to become an honorary Nymph…! So, our Nymph sisters decided to take care of him and make him a proper honorary Nymph…!”
“That’s right…! Our Nymph sisters have shown exceptional talent in taking care of little children since ancient times…! Like babysitters…!”
Are they trying to make little Ji-Hoo an honorary Nymph?
I recalled Cha Yura, who was known as an honorary Nymph.
Yura had become weirder and weirder over time and was truly transforming into a Nymph.
Can they do that for this little one too?
“If you become an honorary Nymph, you can use several Nymph abilities…! Nymph abilities are very powerful skills…! You could easily defeat a villain…!”
“That’s right…! Any villain that faces a Nymph will have no chance to remain unharmed…!”
Nymph abilities were indeed powerful skills.
Especially since they carried the ‘fairy attribute’ magic, they showed a lethal reaction against villains.
Did the Nymphs decide to help Ji-Hoo after hearing about last night?
Brrrr-.
Soon, Illinois came and got out in front of our yard.
“Is it after all, is it this child trying to steal the Nymphs’ coins…? I, Illinois, the guardian of capitalism, cannot allow that…!”
Illinois looked at Ji-Hoo.
Then, with a “Ho-oh,” he seemed quite impressed.
“It looks like this child shows decent qualities to be an honorary Nymph…! At this level, the probability of becoming an honorary Nymph like Yura is very high…!”
“I, Inoi, think so too…!”
“To increase the number of honorary Nymphs and increase the number of sisters…!”
Dum-chit dum-chit-.
The Nymphs danced.
“Muheh, the thief children are trying to become Nymphs with an average species value of 600…! Nymphs are 600 species…! A very esteemed species…!”
“Average species value?”
I asked.
Then, Inoi said.
“Nymph ability, prattling away!”
Chirp chirp, jellyfish-.
I understood perfectly after hearing the brief explanation.
Species value is an objective measure that evaluates each race.
HP, attack, defense, magical attack, magical defense, agility, and so on, can each be rated on a 100-point scale.
Nymphs were said to have all six categories rated at 100 points.
Was this a score created based on Nymphs…?
“What’s my species value?”
I suddenly got curious and asked.
Then, Inoi said.
“The master of the house has a curse placed on him in the past, making it very difficult for our Nymphs to ascertain his species value…! However, Kkungkkungi possesses at least 650 species value…!”
They said the average species value of Squirrel Beasts is 550.
But Kkungkkungi’s was an astonishing 650, far exceeding the average.
It was said that it was unprecedented for an unevolved Squirrel Beast to hold such combat power among Nymphs.
By the way, they also mentioned that any creature with a species value over 500 is considered powerful.
From 600 onwards, it wouldn’t be strange to refer to it as “legendary” or “mythical.”
Considering that Nymphs were of the mythical and legendary species, that made sense.
Kkungkkungi, who indeed surpasses even that average value of Nymphs, was certainly strong enough to be called the top Squirrel Beast.
A legendary Squirrel Beast level.
He could even become a companion of me, Haildo, the legendary one.
I was also curious about Kkungkkungi’s and Ahn Ahn’s species values, as well as Kalilnoi’s.
“In the future, this little one will be educated by our Nymph sisters…! From now on, he will move like a Nymph, talk like a Nymph, eat like a Nymph, and think like a Nymph…!”
“If that would allow me to gain the strength to take revenge on the villains….”
Ji-Hoo clenched his fists tightly.
I felt a bit dizzy in front of me, but I quickly calmed down, thinking that the Nymphs would never harm little children.
# # #
“Today’s training is over…!”
“Th-Thank goodness….”
After running a few laps around the neighborhood, Ji-Hoo collapsed from exhaustion.
Coris spoke to Ji-Hoo.
“You must speak like a Nymph…!”
“Th-That’s what I mean…!”
Ji-Hoo blushed furiously as he mimicked Coris’ way of speaking.
He looked quite like a Nymph.
Indeed, he was a candidate for honorary Nymph selected by the Nymphs.
“Then let’s discuss what to teach next…!”
“Good idea, indeed!”
“It’s a secret meeting only for Nymphs…!”
When the Nymphs rushed into the room, only I, Lee Jin-A, and little Ji-Hoo were left in the yard.
Lee Jin-A was in a passive position, saying, “I don’t know.”
I was curious about why this little child, who was not even an Awakened, desired ‘power’ so much.
“Hey, little one, you mentioned that your father is alive?”
“…….”
“What’s going on? Why don’t you tell me in detail?”
Ji-Hoo kept his mouth shut.
It seemed he had that feeling since yesterday whenever the topic of his father was brought up.
Instead of pressing for an answer, I leisurely gazed at the autumn scenery where dragonflies were flying in the distance.
Even now, I saw a few kids coming to Primal Village with their families, catching Squirrel Beasts or honey ants, laughing happily.
There was one common point among the kids entering this Primal Village.
They all seemed extremely happy.
Most families were harmonious and overflowing with love.
“You must have had a lot of fun when you captured Daram with your dad. He must have been a good father. With something big happening to such a father, you must be heartbroken.”
“…….”
Ji-Hoo remained silent.
Soon, Lee Jin-A sighed and said.
“This uncle here helped my elder sister find her mother. My sister was separated from her mom for about 10 years. Everyone said she was dead, but he eventually found her. If your father is really alive, maybe this uncle can find him too.”
Ji-Hoo’s eyes shook.
However, I was a bit dissatisfied with Lee Jin-A.
…Why is he an uncle while she’s a sister?
“My dad….”
Then Ji-Hoo opened his lips slightly.
“My dad said he’s hiding among bad people…. He’s hiding among bad people to extract information and help good people…. He said he would gather important information soon…! He promised we would travel together when the last mission was over…! But Dad never came back….”
He said his father’s funeral had been held a few days ago.
But Ji-Hoo claimed that he saw his father the night the funeral ended.
“It was a blurry figure like a shadow but it was definitely Dad…! He came to my room looking for me…! Even though he was caught by the bad guys, he somehow escaped…! Dad is alive…!”
No one believed the words of the 10-year-old claiming his father returned in shadow form.
To be honest, it’s hard to believe easily.
“Ji-Hoo should go into the room now…! You need to play Mine Sweeper with Inoi to improve your focus…!”
“Of course…! Mine Sweeper is great training…!”
The Nymphs called to Ji-Hoo.
After Ji-Hoo disappeared, only Lee Jin-A and I remained in the yard.
“Shadow form?”
At that moment, Lee Jin-A muttered as if she felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
“If this is true, things might get complicated….”
“Jina, do you know something?”
“Maybe. Haildo, you don’t know, huh? You dropped out midway in the A Rank survival. There’s a person among the Awakened in Korea who has the ability to control shadows. It’s a very creepy ability.”
