The Nymphs Saw an Imp for the First Time! # 2

"I did want to make a custom card for you too, Ildo. Are you sure you won't regret it? Opportunities like this don't come around often."

The priestess Teto of Egypt.

She and her younger sister Ankh seemed to be heading back to their homeland, the one famous for its golden deserts.

They had offered to make me a card called Legendary – Ha Ildo as a token of their gratitude, and after some serious deliberation, I had decided to turn them down.

"It's a tantalizing offer, but custom cards belong to the winners of Duel tournaments. I'll compete in next year's official tournament and claim one fair and square."

If I'd made a custom card through a loophole, people would probably just laugh at me.

At my ambition, Priestess Teto gave a soft smile.

"I look forward to next year. And if you ever find yourself in Egypt again, do come see me. Now then, Ankh— if there's something you'd like to say to Ildo, say it now."

The problem child of Egypt, Ankh Sekhmet.

Having lost to me in a duel, she hesitated and shuffled her feet for a moment—then pulled something out from between her cleavage and held it out to me.

It was a Duel Stones card.

What kind of card was this supposed to be?

As I frowned at it in confusion, Ankh demonstrated—pulling a handkerchief from her pocket. Then she pressed it against the card and channeled her mana into it, and something remarkable happened.

Shoop—.

Ankh's handkerchief vanished into the card!

"Don't tell me that's an actual Void Pocket…!?"

The Void Pocket was one of the special abilities possessed by the chosen among Awakeners.

Like an inventory for storing all manner of gear and items in a game, it let you stow away and retrieve your belongings at will.

Here in Korea, it was a skill that even among the formidable heavyweights like Seo Yerim and Han Juryeon, only a handful could claim.

"The storage limit is about 100 kilograms. If you undergo a special ritual through the Whispering Coins, you can expand it by 10 kilograms at a time. Here's my contact info. If you ever need the space enlarged, just call—"

Ankh trailed off mid-sentence, and her face—already a healthy sun-bronzed brown—seemed to flush redder than usual.

Finally, as if steeling herself for something, she burst out all at once.

"Feel free to contact me whenever you want to hang out and duel! Of course, we'd have to fight with regular cards ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠only! Fighting with regular cards, I'm strong! I absolutely will NOT lose next time! And keep the handkerchief!"

So losing to my cheap knockoff cheat card had really stuck in her craw, apparently.

And with that, the Egyptian sisters boarded their plane.

"Farewell, Priestesses, it is…! Someday, this Oinoi wishes to visit those so-called pyramids, it does…!"

"I, Coris the strongest duelist, don't much care for hot deserts, but I find myself wanting to see Egypt at least once, that is what it is…!"

"Muh heh heh, asta-la-vista, dot…!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The nymphs seemed awfully reluctant to part with Teto.

Back in the world where the nymphs had lived, there had been temples aplenty, and the priests and priestesses there apparently carried an air very much like Teto's.

That serene, gentle, yet mysterious aura must have enchanted the nymphs.

"Good, is it? You've got this goofy grin on your face."

Lee Jina looked at me.

She'd apparently caught the way the corner of my mouth had loosened into a smile.

I decided to be honest about it.

"Well, yeah, of course. Now I've got my own Void Pocket. When I can't be bothered lugging gear ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠around, I just stow it in this card? Pulling it out is easy too!"

All that grueling work during the duel tournament had certainly paid off.

Soon, Lee Jina narrowed her eyes into thin slits.

"Eh, it'll definitely come in handy. I'm moving soon, and stuffing all my boxes into that Void Pocket and hauling them over would be pretty convenient."

Right.

The move.

In a few days, Lee Jina would become a woman living on her own.

Pada-dadat—.

Pada-dada-dat—!

Blink, blink—.

Click, click—.

"Stop right there, it is…! This Barbar wishes to pet you too, it does…! You fluffy-tailed dog-squirrel…! Let us fellow tail-havers get along as comrades, it is…!"

━Grrrrl…!

I'd been sleeping soundly when the commotion from the living room woke me. Stepping out of my room to survey the scene, I found the imp Barbar chasing Keongkeongi all around the living room.

"Jeez, what time do you think it is—."

3 AM.

Prime sleeping hours for any decent human being.

But Barbar eventually managed to corner Keongkeongi.

"Caught you, it has…! An extraordinarily imp-friendly dog-squirrel with a wonderfully fluffy tail, it is…! Even this Barbar has never seen such a cute dog-squirrel before, it is…!"

Being seized by Barbar in the middle of what should have been a deep sleep, Keongkeongi growled grrrr— as if thoroughly fed off.

Soon enough—pop!—the dog-squirrel wriggled free of Barbar's arms and slunk—shhhhk—under the sofa.

Watching it go, Barbar's tail drooped in clear disappointment.

"Let it slip away, she did…."

But the imp recovered her spirits almost immediately, jabbing at the On/Off switch on the living room wall and flicking the lights off and on, off and on.

"Behold, it says…! This Barbar has finally mastered the full power of fire, it has…! If I keep this up, I might even evolve into an imp of hellfire, I might…!"

Having looked after more than a few people unfamiliar with 21st-century life, I found this all rather familiar.

When Oinoi had first encountered modern technology, she'd gone around spraying the showerhead every which way while declaring, "This Oinoi has obtained the full power of water, it has…!"

Barbar went on to flick the induction stovetop on and off, on and off, as well.

So I said to her:

"You shouldn't mess around with fire. Even when it doesn't look dangerous at all, it really is."

"An invisible flame…! To keep a formless flame called an 'induction stove' in your home—truly the master of this house is remarkable, it is…! You are nothing less than the return of the Demon King Baal, it is…!"

Amusing.

Ma Wangjun maybe, but me, Ha Ildo? I wasn't exactly far removed from being a demon king myself, was I?

Anyway, Barbar seemed to regard me as someone terribly impressive.

Which was why she'd been quite cooperative with me—but making this much racket at 3 AM was pushing it.

I had to get up early tomorrow to help with Lee Jina's move, after all.

"So am I the only one going to help after all?"

Lee Jina's belongings had turned out to be more numerous than expected.

I'd sent out feelers to Seo Yerim and Yu Ari too—asking if they'd like to come help with the move and maybe do a little housewarming—but every single one got rejected.

For whatever reason, both of them claimed they weren't feeling well and needed to rest at home for a few days.

"Did they catch a cold or something?"

Seo Yerim and Yu Ari were both healthy, sturdy women—what could possibly knock them flat for days on end?

And they'd gotten sick at the same time, no less.

They didn't seem like they were lying, though.

Anyway.

And so, morning came.

I met someone entirely unexpected.

"Hello, Keongkeongi, Kwangkwangi, Myeong-i, and Kalinoi! You too, Angangi!"

Wearing work gloves, Ha Irae had shown up at our house riding in Lee Jina's truck.

What on earth was going on here?

Lee Jina explained.

"She's here to help with the move today."

"We're eating jajangmyeon after the move! Jina said she'd buy it for us!"

Ha Irae let out a heh heh heh— laugh.

Apparently she and Lee Jina were same-age neighborhood friends who kept in touch in their own way.

"Oh! What's THAT!"

Soon, Ha Irae spotted the tailed imp Barbar and took a keen interest.

"Oppa! What is she?! Where'd you pick her up?! A nymph with a tail! She's so cute!"

"This Barbar is not a nymph but an imp, it is…! And furthermore, a most excellent princess, it is…! Princesses with high princess-power are perfect for kidnapping to the Demon King's castle, it is…!"

"A princess? Did you hear that, Oppa?! She just called me a princess! I must look like a princess!"

My sister looked like her mind was about to short-circuit entirely.

My little sister Ha Irae had apparently taken a liking to Barbar.

And Barbar, in turn, seemed quite taken with my sister Ha Irae.

Anyway.

And with that, we headed for Lee Jina's new house.

The place was fairly close to Taecho Village—a street sitting right between Macheon City and the village's central road. Maybe because it backed onto the mountains, the area was a little quiet.

"Ooh, it's bigger and roomier than I expected?"

The house Lee Jina had bought had a yard, a second floor, and a great view.

"Wow, this must've been pricey? It doesn't look more than a few years old."

Knowing full well how hard it was to find housing, I could tell Lee Jina had stretched herself considerably to buy this place.

Not even a lease—a full purchase? A two-story family home from the get-go?

And there's sod laid down in the yard and everything!

Soon, Lee Jina declared with pride in her voice:

"Pretty killer, right? Bought it for 100 million won. Scraped together everything I had—every last won from my hunter work. I'm officially broke now, phew."

A hundred million won!

That was serious money!

How many chickens would that buy?

But the fact that you could buy a house like this in the capital region for 100 million was also astonishing in its own right.

Not that 100 million isn't a lot of money… but for buying your own home, isn't that an absurdly good deal!?

"You didn't, like, use your powers to brainwash the seller or anything, did you?"

Half joking, I asked—just in case.

At which Lee Jina scowled.

"What's that supposed to mean? I bought it fair and square. Well, they said it was a rushed listing. No idea why. Still—plenty of rooms, a garden, and Coris loves it, so it's all good."

"I, Coris, think it would be nice to install a small swimming pool, that is what it is…!"

It was a good house.

We carried the moving boxes inside.

Soon, Ha Irae looked around the spacious house and called out:

"Hello! Anybody there? Anyone home?"

Who on earth would be in an empty house?

Ha Irae—she's my little sister, but what a bizarre creature. Come to think of it, her old nickname used to be "Crazy Monkey."

"There is something strange about this house, it is…!"

Tiptoe—.

Barbar held her tail up like an antenna and then—bbbrrr—trembled.

Trembling because she's Barbar? Just as I was savoring that honey-grade joke, Barbar shook herself all over and declared, "It must be my imagination, it is…!"

Anyway, with that, we threw ourselves into moving boxes.

"Hff, that was rough! My ankle hurts! I was carrying a box up the stairs earlier and it blocked my view of the steps, so I rolled my ankle! It hurts so much! It even felt like someone pushed me from behind…!"

Thud—.

Crash—Ha Irae plopped down in the living room.

Then as now, I frowned at my hopeless little sister.

"Nobody pushed you. You were just being your clumsy self! Aigoo, let me see. How bad is it? If you get hurt, Mom yells at ME, so behave yourself when you're out."

Peel—.

The ankle beneath Ha Irae's sock was genuinely swollen.

When I gave it a light knead, Ha Irae shrieked "AAAAH!"

"Wow, you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠really did a number on it."

Soon, Oinoi—who had been busy decorating Coris's room alongside Coris—saw the state of it and announced, "It is Ing-ing-i's turn to take the stage, it is…!" before summoning the rainbow cloud, Ing-ing-i.

━Ing-ing-ya-ing.

The moment the fluffy, cool cloud was pressed to her ankle, Ha Irae shuddered. "Ah, cold!"

But the swelling sank away in no time, and Ha Irae stared in astonishment.

"That's amazing! What even IS that cloud! Not fair! You've got all the cute animals and nymphs to yourself, Oppa! Share some with me! Share! Gimme!"

"No."

Pat, pat—.

I patted Ha Irae's head too.

At which point she let out a strange "Hiiiiii…!" sound and wriggled all over like a fish.

With a chance to finally catch my breath, I relaxed and pulled the book The Hero's Way out of my Void Pocket card.

"I knew it. I had my suspicions, but it's exactly as I thought."

Ha Irae had been getting called a Kore this and that by the nymphs.

On a hunch, I'd treated her sprained ankle and given her head a pat—and sure enough, the Hero's Way quest was complete.

I'd been wracking my brain over how on earth I was ever supposed to pat Seo Yerim's head, after all.

Turns out my own sister counted as a Kore, so it was easy.

Ha Irae, a Kore.

Just what was a Kore, anyway?

Anyway.

Between unpacking boxes and ordering fried chicken, the hours slipped away.

Before we knew it, it was 9 PM.

"It's getting pretty late, you guys—how about we all just crash here?"

Lee Jina asked.

The nymphs cheered "Yes, it is…!" and the animals—Keongkeongi, Angangi, Kwangkwangi—seemed to love racing around the spacious house and garden, darting every which way.

And so we decided to stay the night in the two-story house.

There were spare rooms aplenty.

Blink—.

Flash—.

I'd spread a blanket out roughly on the floor of a spare room and was sleeping when the light in my room came on.

How long had I been out?

Blinded by the bright lights, I checked my phone. 3 AM.

"Barbar, are you messing with the lights again?"

The little-devil imp did seem to have a mischievous streak.

But my door was shut firmly, and there was no sign of Barbar anywhere.

"What the…?"

That was the first night—and the beginning of the "strange phenomena."