099 – Core VS Core & Nymph VS Nymph #2
After the era of the 5th industrial age.
What truly dominates the world is not nations or ideologies, but capital.
And capital has given rise to megacorps that exert extralegal influence over various companies.
The “Telos Group” was an IT company around 20 years old.
After the 5th industrial age, it quickly caught the wave of change faster than anyone else, achieving the honor of having its total stock value reach fifth place in the world.
“I’m nervous.”
My body trembled at the thought of meeting people from such a megacorp.
On the top floor of the “Telos” hotel located in Telos Land.
The top floor featured an open outdoor lounge.
Perhaps because of the high altitude, the view of Telos Island was breathtaking.
“…Incredible.”
I was truly amazed.
I never expected to find myself in such a place during my lifetime.
Even Inoi seemed to be in awe of the blue sky.
“This Inoi brings to mind the aerial gardens that existed during the Babylonian era…! It’s truly like a garden where the kings of the world stroll…!”
“Inoi, look over there…! There’s a chocolate fountain…! In this world, chocolate flows instead of water from a fountain…!”
Plop-.
There really was a chocolate fountain where Coris was pointing.
Next to it were all sorts of snacks, and Inoi raised both hands in delight.
“The reward for this Inoi, who has been living diligently until now, is certainly clear…! This is the paradise of Nymphs… shortening it to Nymph Paradise is absolutely right…!”
It had a naming sense that felt like something from a snack shop.
Of course, the Nymphs didn’t mind and rushed toward the fountain.
They began to scoop chocolate into cups, and those who were waiting for us in the lounge burst into laughter.
“Nymphs, right?”
“Very nice to see.”
“It seems different from Illinois.”
They looked like executives from the Telos Corporation.
It appeared they knew what “Illinois” was, so they were not overly surprised by the Nymphs.
“Ido, welcome. I’m Isara, Ye-rim’s mother. We met once before, right?”
Tap-tap-.
A woman in a dress approached me.
She was extremely beautiful, resembling Seo Ye-rim.
She looked so young that it was hard to believe she was Seo Ye-rim’s mother.
She appeared to be in her mid to late 30s.
Hadn’t she gotten even younger since the last time?
“What’s that owl?”
Ye-rim’s mother and executive of the megacorp, Isara, asked me.
Apparently, she was curious about Kalilnoi, who was waddling behind me.
Kalilnoi was large and attracted quite a bit of attention.
“This is a tiger owl.”
“A tiger owl… There’s really such an animal in the world.”
“There are also Kkungkkungi and Ahn Ahn. There’s even Bang Bang. Is it really okay to bring animals? I feel like I brought too many─.”
I had brought my animal friends to this royal aerial garden-like lounge.
I had been told it was fine.
However-.
In the upscale atmosphere, I felt a bit intimidated and hesitated to let my animals roam free in such a place.
But Kkungkkungi was already running around, climbing people’s legs or receiving peanuts from them.
—Kkungkkungi…!
“This is Kkungkkungi, right? Really cute. Should we give it some watermelon? Ah-. Only eats the seeds!”
Indeed.
When given watermelon, Kkungkkungi only ate the seeds, ignoring the flesh.
I didn’t know why but thought perhaps it just liked seeds.
—Zzizi…!
“Wow, operating a phone, a honey ant. It means our Telos phone is easy to handle and very sturdy, right?”
The honey ant Ahn Ahn was also quite popular.
It seemed people were fascinated by Ahn Ahn’s handling of the phone.
I also found it fascinating.
“Yikes!”
At that moment.
Someone crashed down with a thud.
It appeared to be a little kid, maybe about 5 years old.
Was that Seo Ye-rim’s cousin?
In front of the boy was Bang Bang.
A colorful spider Bang Bang-.
—Bang Bang…!
“I-it’s scary!”
The little boy looked like he was about to burst into tears.
It was an extremely tense moment, and everyone tensed up.
But Bang Bang started to sway its body left and right and began to sing.
—Hioong…!
It was a very amusing sight, and the frightened boy stood up.
And he gently patted Bang Bang.
“Hehe!”
Bang Bang was a very nice spider.
In any case.
My animal family seemed to adapt better to this lavish lounge party than I did.
# # #
Lunch commenced.
We sat freely and enjoyed a buffet-style meal.
“This Inoi wants to keep eating this pudding…! When I take a lot of pudding, people come and refill it…!”
“This Coris says the drink is delicious…! This ‘Telos Slush’ is really tasty…! But I don’t know why it’s only grape flavor…!”
Inoi and Coris were already eating desserts.
They ate snacks and drinks before finishing a proper meal at the buffet.
However-.
I found the dining situation more uncomfortable than I anticipated, and I couldn’t eat much.
It was because Illinois was sitting at the Japan branch table.
“That Illinois won’t forget the merciless act of reducing my daily allowance from 20,000 won…! Just you wait…!”
For some reason, Illinois was siding with the Japan branch.
The person sitting there, Reiko, also shouted while looking at Seo Ye-rim.
“Ye-rim-chan! Just wait! We’ll win and flatten your nose! And if we win, Ido-san will be brought to our Nippon branch, or rather, headquarters in Nippon!”
See.
For some reason, I found myself included in the prize for this executive meeting.
Soon, the Japan executives muttered something as well.
“If we can reliably bring the pet Doramuchi and honey ants into the new pet business we’re promoting─.”
“K-Doramuchi is super kawaii, isn’t it?”
It seemed the Japanese wanted to take me and expand the pet business.
Wasn’t Telos an IT-centric company?
I had heard they had just recently dabbled in the food industry, and now they were looking to expand into the pet industry as well.
“Ido-san.”
At that moment, someone called my name.
It was a man skillfully slicing meat.
He was wearing a gray vest.
His hair was slightly gray as he swept it back.
He wore glasses, and his face was sharp.
He was very handsome and turned out to be Seo Ye-rim’s father.
I wasn’t sure of his actual age, but he appeared to be in his late 30s.
He had no beard, and his face was smooth, making him look like he could be in a drama.
Was this man Seo Sang-yong, the one who built Telos into a megacorp with his father and brothers?
Although he was not an Awakened, he handled astronomical amounts of money, which somehow emanated grace and pressure with his every action.
Seo Ye-rim’s father, Seo Sang-yong, spoke to me.
“Ido-san. Although there’s a lot at stake in this gathering, there’s no need for you to feel burdened. Even if the headquarters were to change hands, it would only result in a few hundred billion in losses.”
No-.
If there’s a lot at stake, how can I not feel burdened!
And the amount of loss was astronomical, making my head spin!
“More than that, what do you think about Ye-rim? I think you two get along well. You’ve known each other for quite a while, right?”
“Dad! What are you asking! That’s not what it’s about!”
Seo Ye-rim shouted, clearly very angry.
However, Seo Sang-yong elegantly wiped his lips.
“Buying good items at a low point is the basics of commerce. Seo Ye-rim, you must have been continuously giving work to Ido-san because you thought he was D-rank, right?”
What does that mean?
Of course, I was relatively quick to understand.
To the extent that according to Inoi, I was “as quick as Odysseus…!”
For reference, Odysseus was said to be the smartest and most perceptive person in the world Inoi lived in.
In any case.
I realized that it was Seo Ye-rim’s order that led to me getting work at Telos when I was a D-rank.
Seo Ye-rim soon frowned.
“That was…! We were preparing a project for Telos to repay the veterans and the first Awakened, but due to internal opposition, it was mishandled.”
Was there such a thing?
Seo Sang-yong soon replied.
“That project was quietly shelved.”
“…That may be, but! I don’t know! I finished my meal!”
Swish-.
Seo Ye-rim got up from her seat.
As she did so, Seo Sang-yong said.
“I’m sorry. My daughter can be a bit unruly, can’t she? Both my wife and I are busy with work, so we couldn’t properly take care of her, and it’s become like this. I wonder if she’ll even be able to get married.”
Seo Sang-yong was a very gentlemanly man.
In movies, when they describe chaebols, they usually portray them as formidable capitalists.
But Seo Sang-yong seemed responsible and sincere.
That was to be expected.
Those who rise to high positions must possess perfection and outstanding qualities.
Not that everyone is, but generally, rich people tend to have a casual heart and goodwill.
In any case.
It seemed like it would be wise to learn from this aspect of leadership.
In preparation for the day when I might become the top S-rank Awakened!
Soon, Illinois began to get very angry.
“Core Ye-rim is a very bad bed core…! As proof, she reduced my daily allowance from 100,000 won to 20,000 won…! This is the tyranny of a megacorp…! A conspiracy by a megacorp seeking to dominate the world…! This is truly cyberpunk…!”
Did Illinois have a daily allowance of 100,000 won?
I felt a bit dizzy in various ways.
Soon, Inoi proudly puffed out its chest and said.
“This Inoi’s average daily allowance is 500 won…! There are times when I don’t have any allowance unless I find mysterious supporting coins under the fridge or beneath the bed…!”
That was right.
Inoi’s allowance was 500 won on average.
I did give Inoi the government settlement grants I received and some personal money, but Inoi would just say, “This Inoi can’t spend anything that it didn’t earn myself…!” and simply stack it up in a bank.
I didn’t know how much it had, but Inoi liked to dig up the yard to find coins rather than spend that money.
Nymph Illinois, who spent roughly 200 times more daily than Inoi the average citizen, jumped onto the table and shouted.
“This Illinois has decided to cooperate with Core Reiko, the Core Ye-rim of the Japan branch, to flatten Core Ye-rim’s nose…! This is truly a convention…!”
Convention.
Was it a term for agreement?
Being with Illinois taught me one English word at a time.
“I heard that the loser Japan team from the last match will take the initiative…! This Illinois has already chosen the first competition…! It starts right now…!”
Here?
Click-.
Illinois pulled something out from its pocket.
Seo Sang-yong behind glasses narrowed his eyes.
“This is, we’re going to lose this first match.”
