Chapter 414

414 Eternal Youth Fairies #4

I merely wished to protect the nymphs—those pure, naive friends of mine.

A space dense with the aroma of sleeping herbs.

Throughout that area, the languid voice of a woman frequently echoed.

It was the voice of Nabokov, the toyshop owner. However, there was no sign of his slender frame anywhere nearby.

“I only wanted to protect all of you. Those children will thank me eventually.”

That voice was recounting quite an unbelievable tale — claiming Nabokov hadn’t kidnapped the nymphs but was instead protecting them?

To which Paranoi inquires,

“Protect—from what exactly…?”

“Well, from this world, from all its harsh and dirty affairs. And from the bitter cold of winter. Shall I tell you a story?”

Creeeak, creak.

At that moment, the sound of gears, cogs, and some kind of machinery turning came from somewhere.

Though I didn’t know what it meant, I was certain it wasn’t something pleasant.

As I tensed up, the voice continued its tale.

“Little Galadriol was a young and naive nymph of ditch water. But like all nymphs of ditch water, Galadriol desired to grow up quickly.”

Creeeak, creak.

Something fell from the ceiling to the floor in front of me. It was a fabric—long and wide. More accurately, it should be called a screen.

And on that screen was a drawing unmistakably of a nymph—a young nymph with long braided hair.

“Galadriol made a wish—to grow up fast, to become a magnificent lady, and to marry the prince she always watched from afar through the window at night.”

Rustle.

The screen flipped automatically, and from it, I realized this was akin to some sort of animated fairy tale.

On the expansive drawing was the sight of a nymph hiding among the bushes under moonlight and the face of a man protruding from a mansion’s window.

“Probably talking about some Galadriol nymph.”

Was there someone who granted Galadriol her wish? One day, Galadriol’s body began to grow rapidly, transforming her into an adult no princess could rival. Having grown into an adult, Galadriol rushed toward the prince she had only gazed at every day.

“Countess Galidriol Nabokov! That’s enough of your useless story! Your crimes are clear! I arrest you for the m*rder of Count Humbert Nabokov, the abduction of nymphs, and fraud!”

At that moment, an agent of the winter bureau stepped forward and shouted.

In response, a dismissive chuckle echoed through the space.

“Interrupting a romantic tale like this is why I dislike adults. This is why I left the royal castle—you adults are too boring. Fine, then, let’s talk in the way adults prefer.”

Creeeak, creak.

The sound of machinery and gears grew louder. Simultaneously, something that could be described as an automaton or mannequin revealed itself from beyond the screens.

Kings, queens, knights, priests, soldiers.

The sight of large wooden chess-like figures wielding ominous swords and spears moving around was chilling indeed.

The idea that these lifeless beings were pretending to be living creatures through movement was sacrilegious. I screamed as if lightning were striking before my eyes.

“sh*t! It’s a trap by Skynet!”

It was akin to a rebellion of machine civilization.

Robots created by humans, now crossed a critical threshold and had undoubtedly sent assassins from the future to k*ll their human creators.

Clank, clank.

The mechanical devices, armed, moved toward us, tightening their circle. Paranoi and Doris were shaking in fear, paralyzed with terror.

Swish.

I quickly kicked off the ground with my legs and leaped.

Perhaps because of my Level 45 abilities, in an instant, my field of vision changed as my body charged toward the mechanical queen.

BOOM!

A tremendous crash accompanied by the breaking of machinery.

But Paranoi’s scream was louder.

“Wha—! That is the fastest move Hassan-sama has, the Dimension Leap! Hassan-sama has used the fifth ultimate technique of the Hell Extinction Skills… the Dimension Leap!”

Clank, clank.

Inside were fairly intricate gears, screws, and a tiny bead-like object. Upon lifting it, the machine lost power and slumped over, unable to move.

Is this the power source?

Once the secret was revealed, my interest waned. I reached into the heart of the other machines nearby and removed the power sources.

After the hearts were extracted, the machines collapsed to the floor, rolling around lifelessly.

…

There were no voices left. It seemed this was the hidden trump card possessed by the nymph named Galadriol Nabokov.

They indeed were sturdy automatons, but not enough to handle me.

That was it.

We ascended to the upper floor and managed to capture the shop owner.

Contrary to our expectation of escape, she surprisingly showed no resistance and, in fact, demonstrated an oddly cooperative attitude, which made her even more suspicious.

“Countess, your testimony could be used against you during the trial.”

Of course, the agent tied her slim nymph-like body with ropes as if it didn’t matter to him.

“What exactly did you intend to do with the kidnapped nymphs? You know, the abduction of nymphs has been prohibited by Wall King Baegeuk’s royal decree for 11 years!”

“I told you—I was merely trying to protect my friends.”

“Hm, sure.”

Gaaah—!

Finally, the agent wiped his sweat from his forehead after securing the restraints. The captured nymph-kidnapper Nabokov looked at us with eyes that seemed indifferent.

More accurately, she was looking at Paranoi, Doris, Ignoy, and other small nymphs.

“Paranoi, you wanted to become a large nymph with me, and you wanted to know the secret, didn’t you?”

“That’s true…! Are you going to tell us the secret now…?”

“Hohoho—I felt the same way once. I was also like a small doll, who would get happy over candies. Believe me when I say that becoming an adult brings absolutely no good things.”

With that, the conversation with Nabokov ended.

Time passed, and the next day, through the newspaper, I learned that Nabokov was a famous countess family in the capital, known for their superb skill in creating automatons.

The Count Humbert, who was killed by automatons. The truth behind this tragedy has been unraveled—

Countess Galadriol was recognized for the impromptu m*rder after enduring years of continuous ab*se and disparaging language—

The kidnapped nymphs were all reported to be healthy—

The nymphs will not grow up to become adults like her, wishing to preserve their eternal slumber—

The unbreakable cycle of nymph exploitation—

The scenes of the fairy tale that were drawn on that screen quickly passed through my mind.

Galadriol, who suddenly became an adult, must have suffered hardships due to the innate naivety of nymphs.

Perhaps, out of a desire to prevent other sisters from going through the same, she kidnapped nymphs, confined them, and wanted to keep them as young children forever.

Perhaps Galadriol Nabokov saw herself in the naive nymphs.

“So that was why you brought so many nymphs to our house?”

Luna opened her delicate eyes as she looked at the details I provided and the newspaper stories.

Just then, with a loud thud, Doris hurriedly came upstairs from the first floor.

“Master of the house, we’ve run out of water to drink!”

“Already?”

“And the nymphs have started tearing up the couch on the first floor! Even Ignoy is like that—I, Doris, can’t understand why the nymphs tear up the couch!”

“Ah, it’s a serious situation.”

“Anyway, Lady Luna, you need to go down there soon!”

Luna’s house was extremely noisy due to the temporary protection of about ten nymphs of ditch water. Things were falling everywhere, breaking and getting damaged.

“I’m hungry!”

“Where am I?”

“It’s too cold. Sleeping through winter would have been better—there’s not enough cakes here.”

“Where is Galadriol?”

Each nymph had a word to say.

But Luna, through Doris and Paranoi, seemed well-versed in handling nymphs, addressing them like a skillful kindergarten teacher.

“Alright, little chicks—”

Peep peep.

“Ducks—”

Quack.

“Sparrows.”

Alien species!

“Good job. Now it’s nap time.”

…

When I wasn’t there, it looked as if the chat between the ladies didn’t go so smoothly. I wanted to ask what happened, but fearing I wouldn’t be able to handle it, I kept quiet.

“Mr. Hassan, this Paranoi solved the missing person case admirably and gained popularity among the nymphs!”

“Is that so?”

“Many nymphs are flocking to our shrine now! I’d like to train them, utilize them as propagandists to spread our faith. What are your thoughts, Mr. Hassan?”

Using nymphs as propagandists.

Would hiring them as some sort of shrine signboard work? I imagined the small nymphs promoting the shrine.

The greatest disadvantage of my shrine is its location by the graveyard, which makes it look rather dull.

If the nymphs are used as a propaganda team, they would surely neutralize that dreariness, attracting more people.

“Alright, give it a try.”

“First, I aim to form a nymph choir. I need approval for certain hymns.”

Sooosh.

Unrolling the scroll Paranoi handed me, I saw musical notes jotted down irregularly.

“They are all songs written and composed by me, Paranoi! Of course, some were assisted by the musician Malco!”

A collaboration between Paranoi and Malco.

Feeling slightly uneasy, I flipped through the scroll.

The Big Candy

From the very first title, it was unusual.

“Round and round candy, the big red candy—Candy, candy, king candy—Really, very nice!”

I could feel cold sweat trickling down my back as I flipped the page.

Hassan-sama Uses the Dimension Leap

“Dimension Leap—Dimension Leap—Hassan-sama uses it—East and west in a flash—Manipulating the world—Pluto-sama also used the Dimension Leap—Today, Hassan-sama uses it—Hell’s strategy—Divine strategy.”

Geez, is this real?

To be honest, I’m ignorant about music.

However, I could already foresee the amount of embarrassment I’d face if such songs were to spread. The Dimension Leap!

“Paranoi made these lyrics and melodies while not sleeping and bleeding from the nose every night after leaving the toy shop!”

What made it even harder was that Paranoi was evidently proud of these songs.

I kind of thought it was teasing me, but seeing Paranoi’s earnest and proud expression told me otherwise.

Should I sign this or not?

“Paranoi really worked hard on this song! The Wall King will soon arrive in Sodomora, and there isn’t enough time to compose another song!”

In the end, I couldn’t resist Paranoi’s earnest plea and signed the document.

In fact, as Paranoi said, the king of this kingdom, Baegeuk, accompanied by his guards and ministers, was due to arrive in Sodomora in about a fortnight.

Now it seemed to be a widely-known fact. All soldiers, alongside adventurers from the guild, and even priests were hard at work maintaining the streets’ order.

As the time went by, the city changed.

The roads the king was scheduled to travel on have all been repaired, and spitting in the streets could now result in hefty fines.

They even resorted to drastic measures, locking up all the homeless and drunks in makeshift jails.

Tramps, just cram them all in the jail for now!

There’s not enough space?

Then shove them into the animal pens where they can’t be seen! If they show anything bad to His Majesty, what will you do?

Even when the god Bacchus descended on Sodomora, I don’t recall them making this much fuss.

Even I, who had enemies in this city yet received such treatment, could understand they weren’t treating me this way.

But, I can kind of understand. The current king solved the endless wars and famine during winter—it’s reasonable that people admire him.

If King Sejong were to make an appearance in the center of Seoul, I would be thrilled as well.

Of course, not everyone was happy about the situation.

“There’s already so much work, and now the king’s visit. It’s irritating.”

Hippolyte, the Gold Tier adventurer of Sodomora dedicated to the king’s protection, expressed dissatisfaction with this situation.

It was quite unusual to see her, who was usually calm, with heightened nerves, which made quite a sight.

With the arrival of the lofty one, there certainly is more work, hence the frustration. I understand.

As he patrolled the streets together with Minerva’s Gold Tier adventurer Actaeon, Actaeon briefly glanced around.

“It’s best not to speak ill of His Majesty. Speaking ill of the royal family is a grave sin. Even you, Hippolyte, would be punished.”

“…”

“Anyway, we only have one day left. Let’s properly fulfill our duties.”

And so.

Time passed.

The day arrived.

All bow in reverence!

The kingdom’s one true and legitimate heir, the Lord of Thunder, His Majesty King Theodor Friedrich Baegeuk, is arriving…!

[Afterword]

Before we knew it, Sunday ended and Monday came again ㅠㅠ. I don’t understand why time flies so fast during the weekend—it must be some kind of conspiracy!

Wishing all readers, who are starting another busy week, all the best as you work hard in your respective roles!

In that spirit, let’s see what professions the characters might excel in if they lived in the 21st century~!

Side note on 21st-century character vocations…!!!

Luna = Kindergarten teacher

Hippolyte = Young housewife

Elpride = Graduate student

Paranoi = Animal YouTuber

And that’s it…!!!

8-10 minutes

The Kings

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