099 – Kore VS Kore & Nymph VS Nymph # 2
After the dawn of the 5th Industry, it was neither nations nor ideologies that truly ruled the world, but capital. And that capital had consolidated countless corporations into megacorps wielding influence that bordered on the supra-legal.
The Telos Group was an IT company roughly twenty years old. When the 5th Industry arrived, it rode the wave of change faster than anyone else, seizing the honor of holding the fifth-largest market capitalization on Earth.
"My hands are shaking."
They trembled at the mere thought of meeting the people of such a megacorp. We stood on the topmost floor of Hotel Telos, located in the heart of Telos Land — an open-air lounge, wide and breathless. Perhaps it was the sheer altitude, but the entire island spread out below us at a single glance, and the view was magnificent.
"…Incredible."
I found myself genuinely awed. I'd never imagined, in all my life, that I would set foot in a place like this twice.
Oinoi seemed just as impressed by the endless blue sky overhead.
"This Oinoi is reminded of the fabled Hanging Gardens of Babylon from ages long past, as is only right and proper…! It is veritably a garden upon which the kings of the world might walk, I declare…!"
"Oinoi, look over there, as is only right and proper…! There is a chocolate fountain, as is only right and proper…! In this world, the fountains spew chocolate instead of water, as is only right and proper…!"
Psshh—.
Where Coris was pointing, there really was a chocolate fountain. Beside it stretched a lavish spread of sweets and pastries, and Oinoi threw both hands into the air with delight.
"Surely this is the reward granted to this Oinoi for living so diligently all this while, as is only right and proper…! This is without doubt a paradise for nymphs — or, in short, a Nymph Paradise, I declare…!"
That was a naming sense straight out of a cheap snack shop.
But as if none of that mattered, the nymphs went slithering straight toward the fountain and began scooping chocolate into their cups by the fistful. Watching them, the people waiting for us in the lounge burst into hearty laughter.
"So these are the nymphs?"
"A charming sight."
"They seem rather different from Illinoi."
They appeared to be executives of the Telos corporation. Evidently they already knew Illinoi, because the nymphs didn't strike them as all that miraculous.
"Mr. Ildo, welcome. I'm Lee Sara — Yerim's mother. We've met once before, remember?"
Click, click—.
A woman in a dress glided toward me. She was strikingly beautiful, and bore a strong resemblance to Seo Yerim. It was hard to believe she was Yerim's mother — she looked to be in her mid-to-late thirties at most.
Hadn't she gotten even younger since last time?
"And what might that owl be?"
Yerim's mother — and a titan of industry — asked me the question. She must have been curious about Kalinoi, who had been toddling along behind me in quick little steps. With her enormous size, the tiger owl drew every eye in the room.
"She's a Tiger Owl."
"A Tiger Owl…. So the world truly does hold such creatures."
"There's also Keongkeongi and Ang-ang-i. And Kwang-kwangi too. Is it really true we were allowed to bring animals? I feel like I may have brought rather too many—."
I had, in fact, brought my entire menagerie of animal companions to this emperor's hanging garden of a lounge. They'd said it was fine. Still—
The atmosphere was so refined that I felt myself shrinking a little, and I hesitated over whether it was truly proper to let the animals loose in a place like this.
Keongkeongi, however, was already darting all over the place — scampering up people's legs like a squirrel up a tree, and accepting peanuts from their hands.
━Keong-keong…!
"So this little one is Keongkeongi? Adorable. Should I try giving him some watermelon? Oh—! He only eats the seeds!"
That's right. Give Keongkeongi watermelon and he ignored the flesh entirely, going straight for the seeds. I had no idea why. I could only assume he simply liked seeds.
━Zzeuji…!
"My goodness. A honey ant that can operate a phone. I suppose that means our Telos phones are sturdy and easy enough to use that even an ant can manage one?"
The honey ant Ang-ang-i was a hit as well. Everyone seemed fascinated by the sight of a bee-sized ant working a smartphone. Honestly, I still found it fascinating myself.
"Hiii-ek!"
Then it happened. Someone toppled backward with a crash, landing hard on their bottom.
A tiny little fellow — five years old, perhaps. A cousin of Seo Yerim's, maybe?
Standing before the boy was Kwang-kwangi. The rainbow-colored spider, Kwang-kwangi.
━Kwang-kwang…!
"S-scary!"
The kid looked ready to burst into tears at any moment. It was an excruciatingly tense moment, and everyone held their breath.
But then Kwang-kwangi wiggled its body left and right and began to sing.
━Hio-ong…!
It was an utterly comical performance, and the frightened boy picked himself up off the floor — and gently petted the spider.
"Hee hee!"
Kwang-kwangi was a very good spider.
Anyway. My animal family seemed to be adjusting to this luxurious lounge party even better than I was.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The luncheon began, and we seated ourselves freely, enjoying a buffet-style meal.
"This Oinoi wishes to continue eating this thing called pudding, as is only right and proper…! And marvel of marvels — whenever one's pudding is taken in vast quantities, the people come and refill it, as is only right and proper…!"
"This Coris finds the beverages delicious, as is only right and proper…! This thing called the Telos Slushie is exceedingly delicious, as is only right and proper…! Though this Coris cannot fathom why it comes only in grape flavor, as is only right and proper…!"
Oinoi and Coris were already working on dessert. Drinks and sweets before they'd even finished a proper meal from the buffet.
Only—
I found the meal far more uncomfortable than I'd expected, and couldn't manage so much as a single full bowl of rice. The reason sat at the Japanese branch's table.
"This Illinoi shall never, ever, for-get the heartless act of cutting this Illinoi's daily allowance down to 20,000 won, dot…! Just you wait and see, dot…!"
For some reason, Illinoi had sided with the Japanese branch. Reiko, seated over there, likewise shouted across the room at Seo Yerim.
"Yerimu-chan! Just you wait! When we win, we'll flatten that stuck-up nose of yours! And when we win, we're taking Ildo-san back with us — to our Nippon branch, no, to Nippon headquarters itself!"
There it was. Somehow, for reasons beyond my understanding, I had been listed among the prizes at this executive retreat.
The Japanese executives each murmured their own commentary.
"If we could reliably bring in the dog-squirrels and honey ants for our newly proposed companion petto business—."
"The K-dog-squirrel is most kawaii-desu-ne."
Evidently the Japanese side wanted to take me along and use me to expand their pet industry somehow. Wasn't Telos supposed to be an IT-centered company? A while ago they'd branched into food, and now they were reaching into pet care too.
"Mr. Ildo."
Then someone called my name. It was a man skillfully carving meat at the carving station — a man in a gray vest, sweeping back hair streaked with white. He wore glasses, and his features were sharp. An extremely handsome man, I was told, and Seo Yerim's father. I didn't know his actual age, but outwardly he looked to be in his late thirties — smooth-faced, clean-shaven, the sort of man who seemed plucked straight out of a drama.
So this was the man who, alongside his father and brothers, had built Telos into a megacorp — Seo Sang-yong. He wasn't an awakener, just an ordinary person, but perhaps because he handled money on a staggering scale, even his smallest gestures radiated a kind of refinement — an unmistakable pressure.
Yerim's father, Seo Sang-yong, spoke to me.
"Mr. Ildo. A great deal rides on this retreat, but there's truly no need to feel burdened. Worst case, the headquarters simply changes hands, and we eat a loss of a few hundred billion won in the process. That's all."
Excuse me—?
How was anyone supposed not feel burdened with that much riding on it?! And a loss measured in hundreds of billions? My vision swam!
"More importantly — what are your thoughts on my Yerim? I think the two of you suit each other rather well. You've known each other quite a long time, after all."
"Dad! What kind of question is that?! He's not like that with me!"
Bam—! Seo Yerim slammed the table shouting. She looked absolutely furious.
Seo Sang-yong, for his part, simply dabbed his lips with his napkin, elegant as ever.
"Buying a fine asset at its lowest point is the first rule of business. Isn't that exactly why you kept funneling work to Mr. Ildo back when he was D-rank, Seo Yerim?"
What was that supposed to mean? Not that I was slow on the uptake — my comprehension was reasonably quick. How quick, you ask? Well, according to Oinoi, "This one's comprehension is as swift as Odysseus's, as is only right and proper…!" For reference, Odysseus was supposedly the cleverest, sharpest-eyed man in the world Oinoi once inhabited. Anyway.
I understood: it had been Seo Yerim's orders that sent all that work my way from Telos back when I was still D-rank. Seo Yerim scowled deeply.
"That was—! I was preparing a business proposal about whether Telos could repay veterans and 1st-generation awakeners on a corporate level, remember? I was just piloting it, that's all!"
There had been something like that?
"That program died in committee over internal opposition, as I recall," Seo Sang-yong said.
"…Even so! Whatever! I'm done eating!"
Whoosh—.
Seo Yerim shot up from her seat. Watching her go, Seo Sang-yong spoke.
"I apologize. My daughter is a touch spoiled, isn't she? Her mother and I were both so buried in work that we never properly looked after her, and this is the result. I confess I worry whether she'll ever manage to marry like this."
Seo Sang-yong was a remarkably gentle man. Movies always painted chaebol chairmen as sinister, predatory capitalists, but he struck me as responsible and sincere. Well — it stood to reason. People who climb that high tend to be flawless and exceptional in equal measure. Not all of them, perhaps—
But on the whole, I'd noticed the wealthy often carried a certain ease of heart, and a surprising share of them were decent people. Anyway.
This was a side of leadership worth learning from. All in preparation for the day I become the greatest S-rank awakener alive!
Then Illinoi exploded in outrage.
"Kore Yerim is a very, very wicked Bed Kore, dot…! As evidence, she has cut this Illinoi's daily allowance from 100,000 won down to a mere 20,000 won, dot…! This is the tyranny of the megacorp, dot…! A conspiracy of the giant corporations who would rule the world, dot…! Veritably, this is cyberpunk, dot…!"
Illinoi's daily allowance had been 100,000 won?! Once again, my vision swam in more ways than one.
Then Oinoi puffed out her chest with pride.
"This Oinoi's daily allowance averages a grand 500 won, as is only right and proper…! And on days when no mysterious sponsoring coins are discovered beneath the refrigerator or under the bed, there is no allowance at all, as is only right and proper…!"
That's right. Oinoi's allowance averaged 500 won a day. I did give her more on top of that — the government's resettlement stipend I collected on her behalf, plus some of my own money — but she insisted, "What this Oinoi has not earned with her own hands cannot be spent, as is only right and proper…!" and simply stacked it all, coin by coin, into her bankbook.
How much was in there, I had no idea — but rather than spend it, Oinoi preferred to dig up the yard hunting for buried change. And so the megacorp nymph Illinoi, who spent roughly two hundred times more per day than that petit-bourgeois Oinoi, climbed right up onto the table and declared:
"This Illinoi has agreed to cooperate with the Japanese branch's Kore Reiko — in short, Korei-ko — in order to flatten Kore Yerim's nose, dot…! Veritably, this is a con-ven-tion, dot…!"
A convention. If I recalled, that meant an agreement.
Spending time with Illinoi really did teach me a new English word every day.
"This Illinoi hears that the loser Japan team, defeated in the last contest, has forfeited the right of first strike, dot…! Therefore this Illinoi has already cho-isen the event for the first match, dot—! And it begins right now, dot…!"
Here?!
Tchk—.
Illinoi produced something from within her clothes. Seeing it, Seo Sang-yong narrowed his eyes behind his glasses.
"Well, well. I do believe we'll be taking the first match."