Nymph Oinoi # 11
Oinoi had gotten pretty handy with the computer.
Operating the mouse to pull up the search bar, she raised her fingers over the keyboard like a hawk eyeing its prey and began to peck away.
Tap-tat, tatatat—
Her remarkable typing speed of twenty strokes a minute finally left words in the search field.
"Behold, master of this house…! What this Oinoi discovered last night, sacrificing precious sleep, is displayed right here, as is plain to see…!"
Oinoi had finally unearthed something and was showing it off like a trophy. When I leaned in to look at the monitor, there it was: the state of Illinois, located in the American Midwest.
"What am I looking at?"
"Mwehehe, Illinois…. That name is without doubt a nymph's name, this Oinoi declares…!"
Illinois, a state of America. And Oinoi, nymph of ditch water. Come to think of it, the names did sound alike.
"We nymphs are given names according to the season of our birth, you see…! Those born in spring bear names ending in -ris or -s, like Doris or Aris…!"
"Uh-huh?"
"And those born in summer and autumn carry the tradition of appending -noi to their names, just as this Oinoi does…! Though summer-born nymphs are sometimes free to name themselves as they please, as it were…."
She clearly wanted to explain more but kept running out of vocabulary, sweating all the while. Oinoi wasn't much of a teacher, but I was a fairly quick-witted student.
"I see. So this 'Illinois' is most likely the name of a nymph born in summer or autumn?"
"Truly, the master of the house grasps things quickly, as expected…!"
Oinoi puffed out her broad chest with pride.
Still, she didn't seem to have grasped that "Illinois" was a place name, not a person's. I decided to explain it to her kindly.
"That's not a nymph's name — it's the name of a land. Like Athens in Greece, the one we searched yesterday. It's a name given to a region, so it has nothing to do with nymphs."
"Th-that cannot possibly be true…! This is unmistakably a nymph's name, as is clear…. It is proof that a nymph dwells in that land, undeniably so…! Illinois is without doubt a nymph…!"
Oinoi seemed desperate to deny reality. Discovering that a name so similar to her sisters' belonged to no nymph at all must have been quietly heartbreaking.
"This Oinoi truly believed Illinois to be an orange-haired nymph of the ditch water…. To learn it is not a nymph's name is a great sorrow, truly it is…."
Before long, she rose from the chair at the computer desk and burrowed into the blankets on the bed. Apparently her disappointment ran deep.
When someone usually so bright and cheerful loses her energy, the whole room turns colder for it. So I decided to make spaghetti for the heartbroken Oinoi. Spaghetti was easy — I could throw it together the way anyone makes jjapagetti from cheap ingredients.
I filled a pot with water, tossed in a pinch of salt and a few drops of olive oil, and waited for it to reach a rolling boil.
Glug-glug.
As the water came to a boil, I dropped the noodles in, then slicked a frying pan with olive oil, adding milk, cheddar cheese, and a packet of ramyeon soup powder, and stirred until everything thickened into a sauce.
Sizzle-crackle—
The noodles boiled for about eight minutes. I fished them out, tossed them into the pan, and stirred them through the sauce.
"Done. Oinoi, dinner's ready."
"This Oinoi is not particularly hungry, as it stands…! However, the scent of olive recalls the homeland, as it were…. Out of respect for the master's efforts, this Oinoi shall try a single bite…!"
Oinoi shuffled out of bed and sat down at the tiny table. Clumsily wielding her fork, she took a taste of the spaghetti on her plate — and jolted in surprise.
"It is exceedingly delicious, this is certain…!"
"Right?"
With ramyeon soup powder and milk, you could crudely imitate a cream pasta sauce. It was a skill I'd picked up living alone on a D-rank hunter's threadbare budget. Pasta was easy to make — jjapagetti-level easy — and nutritious, so I ate it often. When I got sick of it, I'd drop a cheese stick into ramyeon instead.
Oinoi polished off her share of the pasta in no time.
"This Oinoi is full and in excellent spirits, as is plain…! Now this Oinoi shall rally and attempt this thing called the internet once more…!"
Tabadabat—
Fed and restored, Oinoi seated herself before the computer and began searching the internet for "nymph" all over again.
Was she planning to start over from scratch? Refusing to give up and simply trying again — that was genuinely admirable.
Cheering her on in spirit, I sat down nearby and picked up my phone. I had days of backlog on MeTube.
Three whole videos from Kira, newly promoted to #30 among S-ranks.
Must be nice.
Apparently, once you became an official S-rank awakener, they'd even craft custom gear for you from ultra-rare minerals. Like the Room-Temperature Superconducting Blade.
Now that my curse was lifted, I found myself wondering how far I could actually climb. From C-rank on up, they said real combat experience mattered enormously.
That was when it happened.
━Woof-woof!
A dog barked somewhere outside. Then came the rattle of my studio apartment's window.
Wondering what on earth it could be, I slid the window open, and a brown-furred squirrel zipped straight into the room.
It was the dog-squirrel whose tail Oinoi had given a little trim with scissors a while back.
"How did you even know to come here?"
It was genuinely baffling. The dog-squirrel hopped jauntily across the furniture, then darted straight into the pocket of the tracksuit I was lounging in.
While I stood there flustered, Oinoi spoke up.
"Animals can recognize those who are nymph-friendly, as it is known…! Even this Oinoi has never seen a dog-squirrel take to someone so readily, as it were…. With care, you might yet tame the creature…!"
Tame it?
I did like cute animals. But taming one was a different matter entirely. Taming an animal meant taking responsibility for it. How much would it hurt if a creature I'd cherished with all my heart died on me?
"For your reference, dog-squirrels live for one hundred and twenty years, as it is written…!"
"……"
So it'd probably outlive me.
Still hesitating, I let out a thoughtful hum — and Oinoi pressed on.
"Furthermore, dog-squirrels are masters of the hunt, as is well documented…! They possess truly exceptional talent for locating herbs, mushrooms, and the like, as it were…. All shamans who command dog-squirrels are accomplished herbalists…!"
"Is that so?"
I remembered hearing that among the rifts accessible at C-rank and above, there were occasionally ones shaped like forests or open plains. If I brought this little guy along, could I forage for rare herbs that were otherwise hard to come by? Come to think of it that way, it wasn't a bad deal at all.
Besides, the dog-squirrel had zero intention of ever leaving, having already moved itself in.
Oinoi continued.
"Moreover, dog-squirrels catch bugs exceedingly, exceedingly well, as it is known…! Why, just last evening they drove out every last one of those creatures called cockroaches that had appeared in this house…!"
"Really? Then your name is Keongkeongi from today on."
━Woof-woof…!
The day after Keongkeongi joined the family, I was getting ready to meet Yu Ari.
I was supposed to have dinner with her that evening — Yu Ari, the public health doctor and former B-rank.
"This Oinoi shall guard the house quietly together with Keongkeongi, as is her solemn duty…! The master of the house may go out without a single worry, as she commands…!"
I'd considered treating Oinoi to a nice dinner out, but for once in her life she'd declared she would stay and keep watch over the house. Not having to drag her around was convenient for me, but…
Would she really be all right?
Leaving Oinoi home alone came with its own share of anxieties.
"Oinoi, don't touch the stove. And if you get bored, click this right here to open something called MeTube and watch it."
Was this what parents felt like, handing kids a tablet to keep them quiet with videos?
I taught Oinoi how to play videos, in case she got lonely or caused some disaster while I was gone.
Anyway.
And so I set off for Yu Ari's public health facility a little before dinnertime. I was just realizing I'd never even gotten her phone number when—
Vroooooom—
A deafening engine roar split the air from somewhere nearby.
"What the—"
I turned my head to see a sleek, aerodynamic black sports car speeding into the parking lot of the public health facility.
A government building and a sports car. I was thinking there couldn't be a more mismatched pairing when the door swung open and someone in sunglasses stepped out.
People whose eyes had been drawn to the sports car immediately started murmuring.
"Isn't that Lee Jeonghun?"
"From Ohsa Pharma?"
Lee Jeonghun?
The name rang a bell. Naturally — he was one of only three S-rank hunters in South Korea.
Though frankly, he was more famous as a third-generation chaebol heir than as an S-rank. Tall, handsome, filthy rich. How could one person be that perfect?
The world is goddamn unfair!
Did he have any flaws at all? Maybe something important measured three centimeters, for instance.
"Um, if it's not too much trouble, could I get an autograph?"
"I'm a huge fan!"
People swarmed toward Lee Jeonghun. Honestly, part of me wanted to join the crowd and get one too.
He was a chaebol heir, after all. We'd even been in the same rift together once — if I played my cards right, maybe that old connection could earn me a signed check. With a new family member named Keongkeongi, I'd been wanting to move somewhere more spacious anyway.
"Everyone, I'm terribly sorry, but I have urgent business today."
Pop—
S-rank awakener Lee Jeonghun darted straight into the government building.
What could possibly be that urgent?
Well, I supposed being busy came with the S-rank territory.
Reflecting on what a remarkable coincidence this encounter was, I cast one more envious glance at the gorgeous sports car, then headed for Yu Ari's workplace. Her shift ended at six, if I remembered right.
I was knocking on the break room door of the public health office when I heard it.
"—Not tonight. I told you, I have plans. My shift is over. Please leave."
"—Five minutes. A fortress inspection only takes five minutes!"
A rather urgent voice carried from inside.