288 – Nymphs and Megacorp Shareholder Meeting #3
Is it because I showed dedicated self-sacrifice in the A Rank Survival?
These days, people who ask me for various favors often say things like, “If it’s you, I can trust you!”
I, Haildo, have become an icon of trust.
At this point, it might be time for an insurance company commercial to come calling.
“Well then, Mr. Il-do. Please consider this positively. If there are any conditions or needs you have regarding accepting my proposal… I will do anything within my power.”
Ianna clenched her fist tightly, demonstrating her determination.
Just then, Yu Ara frowned.
“To say you’ll do anything you can… Ianna, don’t you know you shouldn’t speak so carelessly and you can’t make promises like that? If your senior asks for all your shares, can you comply?”
“Th-That’s…”
Ianna shut her mouth, looking quite flustered by Ari’s sharp question.
I don’t know how much share Ianna holds, but even if I just had that 1 percent, I’m sure I’d never have to worry about money for the rest of my life.
Would Ianna allow me to ask for that enormous sum?
No, she would absolutely not allow it.
Even if I were Ianna, I would have rejected such a deal.
In the first place, I, Haildo, was not foolish enough to crave something so reckless.
“Don’t worry, Ianna. I won’t demand anything unreasonable from you.”
I reassured Ianna.
She exhaled lightly as if relieved and shook her head.
“Giving all my shares is indeed difficult… but I can give you ‘Ianna.’ If we engage in a marriage pact, it’s as if everything I have will go to you, Mr. Il-do…!”
A marriage pact, huh.
What does that even mean?
It was even more bewildering for Seo Ye-rim.
“What are you talking about? Why is a marriage pact suddenly coming up? How did we go from discussing stocks to having to marry you and Haildo?”
“…That’s because I don’t know of a greater reward I can offer than this.”
Drip, drip.
Ianna started to cry like a pitiful person.
Is she saying she’s willing to sacrifice her body for the peace of corporations and the world?
Oinoui, who had been watching this unfold, spoke up.
“Core Andromeda sacrificed her own body to face sea monsters for the sake of the world and country…! Self-sacrifice can sometimes be an important virtue of Core…!”
It seemed Oinoui had a high opinion of Ianna.
Nymphs are very accurate in their judgment of people.
However, Lee Jin-A raised an eyebrow as if she couldn’t understand something.
“Are you saying you’d marry someone you don’t even like for the company’s sake? Is this an arranged marriage? It’s not the Joseon Dynasty or the Middle Ages anymore, and such a thing still exists? Are you really okay with that?”
Marriage.
It is a significant event in one’s life.
Choosing a partner to live with for a lifetime.
It means you have to take responsibility for another person for the rest of your life.
It is not something to decide lightly.
“Daughters of conglomerates often lack their own lives. They have been raised for the company from a very young age, forced to marry to protect and increase their wealth… You understand well, don’t you, Ye-rim?”
At Ianna’s question, Seo Ye-rim crossed her arms and snorted.
“I wouldn’t know. I cut ties and left. Having to marry someone you don’t want to. If you don’t want to, then you don’t have to do it.”
“I’m envious of you, Ye-rim. You have your own abilities and can pave your own way, but I cannot. So I must do my best with what I have now.”
—
“Muhuhuh, the internet is incredibly incredible…! If you search, everything comes out… It seems Ianna’s shares are also publicly available…!”
Illinois held up her phone high, with a lot of zeros displayed.
It was a number I could only see in government budgets.
“Haildo, are you really going to consider Ianna’s proposal?”
Seo Ye-rim asked me.
After much contemplation since Ianna left, I felt it was time to reach a conclusion.
“It’s a sufficiently good proposal for us. And if Ianna loses in the meeting and Osa Militech takes over, the Osa Group will arm itself with nuclear weapons.”
A conglomerate owning nuclear weapons is an unprecedented situation.
If I could stop that from happening, it was best to do so unconditionally.
“Senpai, Ianna is a suspicious woman! I know well! While she didn’t lie, she seemed to be hiding something, like she had some ulterior motive!”
Ari suggested reconsidering my proposal.
Is Ianna a suspicious woman?
Was there something she was hiding…?
Since Ari possesses super-sensitivity and herself has many secrets to hide, she seemed to find Ianna suspicious.
In fact, I had also been feeling something odd for a while now.
How should I put it?
It felt like something was tickling me.
Like a honey ant had latched onto my back.
“Zzz…!”
I placed Ahn Ahn, who had been clinging to my back, on my palm and spoke to everyone.
“It’s still a good proposal for sure. I don’t think another good chance to meet Lee Cheol-geun will come anytime soon.”
“I, Oinoui, also think it’s a good idea…! If this goes well, I might evolve into the legendary water nymph in the Osa Group’s treasure vault…!”
Oinoui supported my opinion.
Indeed, Oinoui and I were on the same wavelength.
However, Seo Ye-rim frowned and poked me.
“So, you’re saying you’d engage in an arranged marriage with Ianna?”
“No. We shouldn’t rush into that decision. I’ve barely exchanged a few words with Ianna. Marriage should involve plenty of conversations after getting to know each other over a long time.”
I believed that a certain period of courtship was necessary before marriage.
We should know what matches well and what doesn’t.
Seo Ye-rim let out a snort.
“Haildo, you’re saying something sensible for once. Marriage shouldn’t be decided in haste. I thought you were going to accept Ianna’s proposal just because of that share.”
It was true that I was somewhat tempted by the money and influence Ianna possessed.
It was a sum I had never seen before.
“Senpai, I think there are other options available. There’s no need to accept Ianna’s suspicious proposal; there are better methods out there that I can find out about.”
Yu Ara left, as if she had made a big decision.
Morales followed suit, saying, “Hey! Don’t leave me, Morales, behind with these community nymphs…!” and dashed after her.
Seeing that, Seo Ye-rim also seemed to start tapping on her phone, getting ready to leave.
“I need to check with Gumihee. There’s still plenty of time until the Osa Group’s banquet and shareholder meeting. Haildo, don’t cause any strange incidents while I’m away.”
“Well then, it’s bye-bye for all the Nymph Sisters for a while…!”
Seo Ye-rim zoomed out of the primeval village in the supercar driven by Illinois.
Now, there were only Lee Jin-A and Coris left with me.
Lee Jin-A said, “I’ve thought a lot about this. Becoming a ‘Little Sister.’ If I can surely connect with Yang Chi-hee, it might help in meeting Lee Cheol-geun or finding Gumihee.”
So that’s why she had been quiet—she had been contemplating alone.
It seemed Lee Jin-A had already made her decision without needing any advice from me.
“I don’t really understand, but it was fun today…! I also bought some stocks…! I’m rich now too…!”
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Coris waved her hand and rode off into the distance with Lee Jin-A on a motorcycle.
Now, only Oinoui and I, along with the relic nymph Dulcis, remained.
Seeing everyone leave to do their best in their respective roles, I thought I couldn’t just sit idly by.
Wasn’t there about fifteen days left until the meeting and banquet?
As I pondered what I could do in the meantime, Dulcis spoke up.
“I’ve been quiet because it felt like an outsider was interfering. After I arrived in this world, I heard that the benefactor who helped me adapt is a significant shareholder in Osa Group’s military business.”
“Is that so?”
“That person asked for my help recently. They said they would provide a significant reward. However, there wasn’t anything I could do. Still, Haildo, you might be able to assist him.”
A significant shareholder in Osa Militech, huh.
If I meet him and ask for support for Ianna, would the fight for share control at the banquet be slightly easier for her?
In my mind, I considered it a brilliant plan, and Dulcis added.
“That man is 88 years old. He keeps a squirrel. But recently, he said the state of the squirrel he raises seems a bit strange. Haildo, I think it would be good if you checked on it.”
An 88-year-old wealthy elder who raises a squirrel?
That was a combination I had never imagined.
Aside from stocks and shares, I also found it personally intriguing.
