037 – Inoi and the Small Stationery Shop #1
Morning.
As always, I woke up feeling the softness of a warm tuft of fur.
─Kkungkkung…!
“I’m awake.”
─Kkungkkung…!
“I said I’m awake.”
─Grrrr…!
Grrr-.
That was the cry Inoi explained as the sound Kkungkkungi makes when he’s angry. Kkungkkungi seemed annoyed watching me lazily stirring in bed.
“Alright, I’m really getting up.”
I weakly got up to comfort the very irritated Kkungkkungi. Then I opened the red lid of the plastic jar filled with peanuts and poured some into his bowl.
As always, Kkungkkungi would stuff his cheeks with peanuts and trot out of the yard.
“Why not just eat comfortably at home? Where are you going to eat?”
Actually, I knew exactly where Kkungkkungi took those peanuts. When I looked out the window, about five Squirrel Beasts were already playing in the yard.
Kkungkkungi approached them and shared the peanuts from his cheeks.
─Kkungkkung…!
─Kkungkkung…!
─Kkungkkung…!
This way, Kkungkkungi shared his food with wild Squirrel Beasts. It seemed he had some sense of responsibility as the leading Squirrel Beast of the area.
I also learned a lot from watching Kkungkkungi’s leadership – sharing and helping others to live well.
It was something great people should naturally do.
“So I shared the Golden Apple as well.”
The first harvest of apples.
It went to Lee Jin-A. I heard her sister was suffering from ‘Mana Sickness,’ and this Golden Apple greatly improved her condition.
“Amazing.”
Not being a doctor like Yu Ara, I didn’t know much about diseases and viruses. However, I had heard that illnesses coming through the Rifts were often difficult or impossible to cure. That this fruit could improve such a condition…
“Wouldn’t it be amazing to mass-produce them?”
This Squirrel Beast village.
The idea of planting many Golden Apple trees and creating a golden orchard made my back itch in anticipation.
It felt like ants were crawling on my back!
─Zzzi-.
“Ah, it’s Ahn Ahn.”
Sssh-
I removed Ahn Ahn clinging to my back. Ahn Ahn left a multivitamin on my palm.
I popped it in my mouth, swallowed, then dusted off my hands and feet.
“Good. Let’s start the day. Ahn Ahn, did you stack firewood today?”
─Zzzi.
I went from the yard to the open space and looked at the firewood Ahn Ahn had stacked. Pulling my Beam Sword from my waist and channeling mana into it, a buzzing sound emerged along with a heat sensation as the beam activated.
“Asura Eightfold Celestial Dragon Fang!”
Sss, sss-
Cutting through objects with the Beam Sword was always breathtaking.
This feeling of slicing through logs smoothly!
Once addicted, there’s no way out!
“Still, I’d like to try using it in real combat.”
Today, I thought about going out on a C-Rank Rift mission I’d received. But I decided against it since Lee Jin-A and her father had planned to have dinner with me today.
Of course, it was an evening appointment, but…
─Zzzi…!
“That’s right, I should have breakfast too. Cereal set out? I like mine crispy.”
─Zzzi-.
After briefly stretching, I returned to my room. Taking my cereal bowl, I knocked on Inoi’s door and heard a small sound from inside.
─Inoi is sleeping…!
“If you’re awake, then who’s answering? Can I come in? We need to have breakfast.”
Klack, creeeeeak-
When I opened the door, I saw Inoi playing Minesweeper at the computer. The dark circles under Inoi’s eyes showed they had been playing games all night.
“Inoi, don’t just play games at home. You should go outside too!”
“This game is incredibly fun…! I only wanted to play one more round and then sleep, but before I knew it, the morning sun had risen…! Heeek…!”
This was why I hadn’t introduced Inoi to other games. If Minesweeper could keep them up all night, what would happen if I introduced more games?
Inoi would definitely never leave the house!
“I see. Inoi, I’ll teach you how to have fun outside. Let’s go home. Come on, brush your teeth, wash up and come out!”
# # #
I took the subway to my family home.
But Inoi still seemed reluctant to let go of Minesweeper.
“Inoi, if I had played just a little more, I might have cleared Minesweeper…! But… If I stay in one place too long, I might become a Stagnant Water Nymph…!”
What exactly is a Stagnant Water Nymph?
When I asked, Inoi explained.
“Ditch Water Nymphs like Inoi have tremendous potential…! When we encounter special situations, conditions or items, we can evolve…!”
“So like Squirrel Beasts? Nymphs evolve like Squirrel Beasts?”
“Mwahaha, actually it’s the opposite…! Squirrel Beasts evolve like Nymphs…! Anyway, the Stagnant Water Nymph is one of the worst evolutions Nymphs should avoid…!”
From Ditch Water Nymph to Stagnant Water Nymph…
What would happen if Inoi became a Stagnant Water Nymph?
Inoi didn’t seem to know much about it either.
“Inoi has never seen a Stagnant Water Nymph directly…! But according to rumors… It happens when one stays indoors like a cave or cabin and loafs around…!”
Indeed.
I could vividly imagine what that would look like.
However, Inoi was relatively active compared to a Stagnant Water Nymph. We had to take care of Golden Apple trees and collect snacks from the neighborhood elders.
A sudden thought came to mind.
“We had an apple harvest this time. If we get another, can we grow more trees from the seeds? Like an orchard?”
“Impossible…!”
Impossible?
The sound of my dream of a golden orchard fading felt like the sky was tearing apart.
Soon Inoi explained the reason.
“Golden Apple trees consume a considerable amount of mana from the land…! Therefore, only one tree can be planted per area…!”
I see.
My plan to mass-produce Golden Apples quickly disappeared.
There’s nothing to be done.
While I was feeling disappointed, Inoi surprisingly seemed to look forward to it with joy.
“Golden Apple tree…! It’s a peculiar and tall-growing tree…! If it grows lushly, Nymph sisters will surely come to Inoi for those golden fruits…!”
“That would be nice.”
As we chatted, I arrived at our neighborhood.
I thought about heading to our main house, but my steps naturally headed somewhere else.
“Wow, it’s still here.”
The way to school.
Children who seemed to have just started elementary school were heading to school with their bags.
For some reason, there were a lot of Elf hybrids, but the “Premier Stationery Store”, filled with my elementary school memories, was clearly still standing there!
The sign was old, but inside was brightly lit from morning, and small children buzzing around was the embodiment of nostalgia.
“Long-eared hybrid kids everywhere…! All heading somewhere with bags slung over their shoulders…! Inoi senses the sinister plot of those perverted long-eared fairies…!”
“They’re just going to elementary school. There’s a school I attended nearby. Do you know what a school is? It’s a place where children gather to study.”
I explained the concept of “school” to Inoi.
Children gathering in one place to learn various teachings.
Soon, Inoi excitedly raised both hands and proudly shouted.
“Mwahaha, Inoi has been to such a ‘school’…! We Nymph sisters learned many things from our teacher…!”
“Really?”
Teacher.
Inoi often talked about their “teacher”. I was very curious about who this Nymph teacher was and what they taught, but I didn’t ask.
After all, I could see Inoi’s face filled with longing and melancholy whenever they talked about their teacher.
Ururuu-
By 9 o’clock when all the children had gone to school.
Inoi and I entered the now quieter stationery store.
“Welcome- hmmm?”
The manager, who was rather large despite being wrinkled, looked surprised at the sight of Inoi and me.
I was also slightly surprised.
Why wasn’t the manager older?
And the stationery store that seemed so vast and large during my childhood now appeared surprisingly narrow and small, which was astonishing.
In the narrow interior.
Therefore, various items caught my eye densely.
“Aaah…! This is named after the Sun God…!”
Sssh-
Inoi picked up a snack wrapped in plastic.
Indeed, Apollo was named after the Sun God.
How much did it cost?
“700 won.”
What, really?
Apollo costs 700 won?
The feeling of how prices have skyrocketed was more shocking than realizing the store seemed smaller due to my grown height.
I used to be able to buy snacks and drinks for 500 won.
“How much is slush?”
According to my memory, a small cup was around 500 won.
“One cup is 3000 won.”
A bit extreme, isn’t it?
It felt like my childhood innocence was dying.
Of course, in an era of high prices, neighborhood stationery stores had to do what they had to do to survive.
Is the stationery store of my childhood innocence already gone?
While pondering the feelings of Qu Yuan writing poetry lamenting the lost nation, something caught my eye.
It was a card pack!
“The Legend of the Blue-Eyed Fairy”.
Wow.
I didn’t know a store still sold this card pack.
I was entranced and bought a pack.
Price: 1000 won.
When I opened it, a strange card appeared.
“Holy Elf”
“★★★★”
“Attack: 700”
“Defense: 2000”
“Ooh.”
I liked this card because of its high defense power and cute design.
Would Inoi like it?
“Inoi, look at this. Isn’t this card cool? Its defense is 2000.”
“Hiieek…! That ‘card’ is extremely Nymph-hating…! ‘Holy Elf’…! Long-eared fairies have infiltrated human gaming culture…!”
It seems Inoi didn’t like theElf depicted on the card either.
The stationery uncle was greatly surprised.
“An Elf card, you say? Give it to me. I’ll give you Apollo for free as a service. My son married an Elf, and my daughter-in-law collects Elf cards!”
What an unusual hobby.
I exchanged the Elf card for Apollo.
Soon, Inoi tore open the plastic and happily shouted while munching on junk food.
“Biting into a Sun God like a snack…! Finally, we can avenge Nymph Daphne…! Nymph Power, eat snacks like crazy…!”
Inoi ate the snack enthusiastically.
Seeing Inoi finally doing something outdoors after only playing Minesweeper at home was quite reassuring.
Children should play outside.
When I thought that, the stationery store owner said,
“My son is already married, how fast time flies, huh? And that Professor Ha’s son is already grown too. I don’t recognize you anymore, Yi.”
The store owner recognized me despite forgetting my name.
I was quite the alley leader in this neighborhood.
Soon, the owner asked me a question.
“Did you come to see the moving company owner? He has been talking about wanting to see you for years. You should talk to him and see what he wants.”
If it’s the moving company owner, that’s Lee Jin-A’s father.
I thought that might be about the story of parents trying to matchmake Lee Jin-A and me years ago, but it wasn’t.
“This guy still says his wife is alive. What a pitiful man. He claims she appears in his dreams asking for help whenever he drinks.”
“…”
“Yi, haven’t you ever seen Madam? Back at the Rift.”
That Rift.
I couldn’t immediately figure out which Rift they were talking about.
But somehow, the smell of the stationery store or the feel of the card pack started to bring back memories bit by bit.
It was the first time I saw a ‘Rift.’
# # #
