The Nymph of the Martial World # 1
“So, how am I looking?”
S-Rank awakener Cha Yura closed her previously gaping mouth and asked Yu Ari about her condition.
Today was the regularly scheduled checkup she always attended.
Cha Yura was utterly convinced that her mana must have climbed even higher, seeing as she'd been singing and training alongside the nymphs.
Just as she was quietly brimming with that kind of anticipation, Yu Ari spoke up.
“Your mana capacity really has gone up. At this rate, I'd say you're on par with the Rank 11 『S. Ninja』 in sheer volume! That's wonderful news for Korea!”
Cha Yura's strength had never been raw mana quantity — it was her exquisitely fine control of mana.
For a specialist like her to now rival a Rank 11 hunter in volume meant nothing less than a total upgrade to her combat power.
“Though you'll need to take better care of your teeth.”
“Ah—. Is it because I've been eating too much ice cream and candy?”
Cha Yura gazed at herself in the mirror with a pleased mmhehehe— laugh.
Her hair these days was a shade close to pale vermilion.
It was common enough for an awakener's hair color to shift with their mana, but Cha Yura had been born with that vermilion hair.
Exotic coloring and exotic looks.
Watching her, Yu Ari gently stroked her hair and asked, “Did you say one of your ancestors was from abroad?”
“That's right. My grandmother was Greek. And apparently there's some really distant ancestor who came from overseas, too? I don't remember the details. Anyway, the body adjustment is all done, right?”
Zzip—, zzzeeeik—.
Cha Yura pulled the zipper of her black-and-red leather suit all the way up.
The combat suit 「Absolute Zero」 — built exclusively for Cha Yura, daughter of the President and honorary member of Patriot.
An S-Rank item specially crafted to let her contain the extreme cold she emitted.
Saaarururu—.
Cha Yura's hair was now dyed a sky-blue, like ice or a flurry of snow.
This was the appearance everyone knew as 「The Ice Princess — Cha Yura」.
“So, we clashed with the Chinese team, and there were no real problems, right?”
“None. Well. They're behaving themselves.”
“Strange. This isn't like China, staying quiet like this. They've had their eye on Ildo, so there's a strong chance they'll make a move before long. Have Patriot Team B keep watch on that front.”
Chomp—.
With that, Cha Yura bit into a milk-flavored ice cream bar.
Ever since she'd started hanging around the nymphs, she'd developed a sweet tooth she simply couldn't rein in.
“…….”
Yu Ari was watching her with eyes that held a faint, indefinable unease.
'Miss Yura… she seems to be getting a similar feel to the nymphs somehow…. It's just my imagination, right…?'
Every reading was normal.
No — better than usual by a wide margin.
And yet, to Yu Ari with her 「Super-Sense」, Cha Yura seemed to give off a faintly nymph-like aura the more time she spent with them.
'What on earth is an Honorary Nymph…? If this keeps up, will she really become a nymph…? Should I report it to the VIP?'
Shake shake—.
Yu Ari quickly shook her head side to side.
No matter how she looked at it, her thoughts were running too far ahead.
A human becoming a nymph.
There was no way such a species-level transformation was possible.
Pat—.
Just then, Cha Yura wrapped her arms around Yu Ari's waist in a sudden hug.
“So, Ari, have you thought about the proposal I mentioned? Coming back to active duty and making S-Rank. Korea only gets three official S-Rank slots, you know. One of them could easily be yours.”
Yu Ari's skill was exceptional.
So much so that even Cha Yura had yet to see the bottom of it.
But Ari calmly declined.
“There'll be someone better suited than me. And I'm certain that if we wait, Ildo sunbae will make a name for himself for sure.”
“Well, I have high hopes for Ildo too, but it seems the old men upstairs have a lot of worries about Korea's security gap. There's a lot of talk about promoting Han Juryeon.”
“Is that so?”
A-Rank 2nd ranker Han Juryeon was a powerful lightning-type awakener.
Her ability was more than sufficient, but Yu Ari found herself a little curious.
“Shouldn't A-Rank Rank 1 be promoted first, in order? Han Juryeon is talented, of course.”
“I think so too, but the A-Rank 1 doesn't cooperate with the government. She's someone who could bolt at any moment. That ability of hers is monster-grade powerful, but… I don't like her!”
Cha Yura scrunched up her face and growled.
It was an attitude like a sulking child, but her instincts sometimes reacted more sharply than even Yu Ari's Super-Sense.
“Anyway, Ari — about Ildo's title. Are you sure it's fine? Normally, an awakener's title works best when it's exaggerated, marketing- and PR-wise.”
“I don't see a problem. If anything, it's a shame he couldn't use 'The Apex' or 'The Strongest.' Having it vetoed like that.”
“Mmmh…. Well, a B-Rank can't exactly claim a title that grandiose…. Still, the one that got decided this time is going to stir up plenty of talk in its own right…. I just don't know….”
Just as Cha Yura sank into a moment of thought—.
Yu Ari turned on her phone.
And, as always, wrote a post.
The reactions were as heated as ever today.
As she always did, Yu Ari translated the post into every major language and posted it to the awakener communities of Japan, the US, China, and Europe, mashing the upvote button without mercy.
When I checked my phone, there was a text from Seo Yerim.
Short and to the point.
Come to think of it, I hadn't seen much of Seo Yerim lately.
Since I had my phone out anyway, I searched my own name on the community.
Body: Ildo's title is confirmed as 'Living Legend'! Ildo is a legit legend... My chest swells with pride
“Living Legend?”
Through the community, I quickly learned that my title had been decided.
Living Legend, of all things.
“Living Legend Ildo. Sounds cool. And here I thought I'd end up with something like 'The Apex' or 'The Strongest.' I suppose those are still far off for a B-Rank.”
━Woof woof…!
I gave Keong-keong-i's back a gentle stroke.
Keong-keong-i hopped happily from side to side, then scrambled up someone's leg and perched on her shoulder.
“Kyaaah! Wh-what—!”
━Woof woof…!
“Ah, s-sorry about that, Keong-keong-i. You can't just scurry up anyone you like!”
“Oh my, now that I look, it's quite the adorable Ratatoskr! A Ratatoskr this cute! It's like spring has come home again — simply adorable!”
She was a married elf of the kind you saw everywhere in the new city districts.
There was even a baby in the stroller.
“Gyarrr—.”
What a pretty baby.
Apparently the neighborhood was full of these adorable half-elf children these days.
Oinoi, who had followed along behind me, however, kept a wary eye on the elf.
“It is the long-eared fairy, is what it is…!”
“Eilena, what's going on?”
Soon a man who appeared to be her husband walked over to me.
He looked at me for a moment, then his eyes went wide.
“Huh? You're Ha Ildo?”
“I am indeed that Living Legend, Ha Ildo.”
Recognizing me already, was he?
I was puffing up with pride in more ways than one when the man suddenly burst out laughing. Pwahahah—
“Oh, come off it! Ha Ildo! It's me, it's me! Park Seong-sik! Seong-sik! We used to play games together at the Alpha Stationery Store! Remember getting 100 won a day for one round? How do you not remember that?”
“Wait, seriously—? You're Seong-sik?”
Park Seong-sik.
He was my friend who'd been famous for being ugly.
Whenever he got paired with a girl, the girls would burst into tears.
But he had the kindest personality of anyone I knew, and he was so diligent that all the grown-ups adored him.
“I heard you married an elf — so it was true! Wow. Seong-sik, you actually got married. Why didn't you invite me to your wedding!”
“You punk! I did invite you, but you were busy digging in the dirt, remember? I did hear from your mother around then that you were having a rough time, though.”
Was that how it was.
I felt embarrassed in more ways than one.
To think I'd missed even my friend's wedding.
It was true I'd turned down and canceled a lot of gatherings back then.
Looking back on it now, it was mortifying beyond words.
“But these days I hear about you all over the internet too. Seeing you do so well puts me in a good mood. You've got to have at least one celebrity among your friends to brag about.”
Pat pat—.
As I watched Seong-sik thump my shoulder with his hand, the elf Eilena chuckled softly too.
“Ah, so you're Master Ildo? I've heard so much about you from my husband. He brags every single day about having a hugely famous friend.”
“That's right! Anyway, good to meet you. This neighborhood's changed a lot too, hasn't it? This used to be nothing but shabby board-house shacks. Compared to Macheon City, I suppose this area still counts as unredeveloped.”
The streets and alleys where we'd once run around catching crickets had indeed changed a great deal.
It gave me a hazy sense of the elementary school days when I'd played in these very alleys.
“Hey, Seong-sik. Good timing, actually. Do you happen to remember where the 「Eu-tteum Health Center」 was? I've been trying to find it, but everything's moved around so much. You know it, right? Eu-tteum Health Center.”
“The health center… you mean that place that gave you the creeps? The one run by So-so-hee's mom? I know it. They'd pay you money if you brought them grasshoppers and ants. We caught centipedes too and traded them for coins and played like a million rounds at the Alpha Stationery Store.”
Seong-sik's story dredged up old memories I'd long forgotten.
Soon Seong-sik let out a “Man, talk about a blast from the past,” and pointed off somewhere with his hand.
“Over there. The Eu-tteum Health Center is still around.”
“Really? Thanks. So, Seong-sik — how did you end up marrying Eilena anyway? Did you hide her wing-cloak or something?”
“Kekeke, if you want to hear that story, you'd better keep in touch more often.”
Anyway.
Following the directions Seong-sik had given me, a musty, sour smell began to drift my way.
The clammy humidity clinging to my skin and the aroma of simmering medicinal tonics pushed deep into my nose, stirring up all kinds of memories.
“It reeks of herbs, is what it is…! For this Oinoi to smell so many herbs like this — it has been an exceedingly long time, is what it is…! It brings Master to mind, is what it does…!”
Oinoi trembled, as if desperately missing the scent of those herbs and boiling tonics.
For me, though, the old memories only left a faint ache of nostalgia.
“Back in third grade, a really pretty girl transferred into our class. She dressed like a princess, too — a pure white dress and fancy shoes, and her bag was glossy red leather.”
She was the kind of girl whose hair looked like it had been braided with hours of care.
Her name was So So-hee.
She said she was the daughter of the owner who ran this 「Eu-tteum Health Center」.
“Is anyone here?”
Knock knock—.
I knocked and stepped inside the health center.
There, a woman appeared with something like a long pipe clamped between her teeth, wearing a rather sinister-looking black China dress with a centipede embroidered in gold thread.
She looked to be in her early thirties, maybe.
“Who is it? We're not open for business today.”
“Ah. I'm, well, a customer, technically. Ma'am. It's been a while, hasn't it? It's me, Ha Ildo.”
“Ha Ildo? Ildo? That little squirt…!? Let me look at you! You've grown this much already? Hm? You're a full-grown young man now! Are you married? When did you get so big!”
Squish—.
Mrs. Dang Yeong-yeong seized both of my cheeks in her hands.
Frankly, I was the one caught off guard.
“You haven't aged a day, ma'am. You look exactly the same as back then.”
What was her secret?
So So-hee's mother, Mrs. Dang Yeong-yeong, had to be past fifty by now, yet she still looked like she was in her early thirties.
Even back then, she'd looked the youngest of all the kids' mothers.
Naturally, the woman burst out laughing. Pfff—
“Look at this one, handing out compliments! I'm a full-blown auntie now, thank you very much! So what brings you here? And who's this little one? Your daughter, by any chance?”
“This Oinoi is Oinoi, the nymph of ditch water, is what she is…!”
“A n-nymph…!?”
Mrs. Dang Yeong-yeong was visibly startled.
Did she know what nymphs were?
“A real nymph? According to an ancient tome passed down in our family, there was a being called the Limbu in the forests of Sichuan who taught us how to brew mystical, auspicious elixirs….”
“Those were surely nymph sisters as well, is what it is…! This Oinoi senses the aura of nymphs in the elixirs and tonics brewed here, is what she senses…! They must surely be connected to nymphs, is what is certain…!”
Oinoi was overjoyed, as if she'd run into long-lost nymph sisters.
Soon Mrs. Dang Yeong-yeong, too, marveled at it all as if it were the strangest thing, going “Hooo, my goodness.”
“So our Sichuan Tang Clan really was connected to the Limbu! And here I thought it was nothing but legend! Would you happen to know Tyrenol, the Poison Limbu? That's the name of the Grand Master our family is said to have served back in the Ming era….”
Tyrenol, the Poison Nymph.
Though it was the first time I'd heard the name, somehow it stirred an odd sense of déjà vu.