Native Nymphs Hate Invasive Species! #1
Several days had passed since Korea weathered its unprecedented ant problem.
It was the day after the government announced compensation for everyone who'd had their sugar and honey confiscated, when Ang-angi and a single Knight Ant sealed up all the holes for good.
The ones that had been riddling our backyard, that is.
━Zzeuji…!
━Juji…!
After the honey ants that had thrown the whole country into chaos scattered off into the forests and mountains, only two honey ants remained in our household.
Because the Knight Ant had decided to stay on as a live-in retainer.
"Hungry?"
━Juji…!
The Knight Ant shook its head vigorously left and right, as if to declare, I answer to my lord and my lord alone!
In truth, the Knight Ant felt less like a friend or guest of mine and more like one of Ang-angi's subordinates.
This silver-armored Knight Ant had even taken five black soldier honey ants under its command, and the chain of command had settled into a proper pyramid structure.
"These little guys pulled out all my weeds!"
"Goodness, you really do see everything if you live long enough."
The soldier ants roamed the squirrel village, helping the elderly with their field work and patching up crumbling garden walls, and in return they got paid in candy.
Rumor had it that a quiet little economy of give the ants red ginseng candy or pumpkin taffy and they'll do your chores had been spreading among the neighborhood grandmas.
"Excuse me, sir, but how do you tame honey ants? I saw Knight Ants and soldier ants building all sorts of things at the construction site behind my house."
And then there were this lot—.
The rookie awakeners who'd originally come to catch Dog-Squirrels had shifted their interest to honey ants instead.
They wanted to tame honey ants, apparently.
Sure, the honey ants had temporarily inflicted serious damage on the nation.
But they'd melted into society practically overnight, lending a hand with people's construction work, fixing collapsed walls, and generally being helpful.
And when one lucky person who'd tamed a Knight Ant posted MeTube footage of it mopping the floor, the hype only got hotter.
And besides, I was the reigning authority on honey ants in this country.
Time to drop some wisdom on the aspiring honey ant tamers.
"Honey ants instinctively sense and follow vertical hierarchies. If you want to tame one, you'll need to establish yourself as the leader by proving your strength and earning their absolute trust."
"Ooooh, incredible!"
It was pure speculation on my part, of course.
I had no idea if it was actually true.
But it felt right.
Ang-angi followed me because I was a reasonably excellent leader... probably.
Or maybe not.
Anyway.
"So, Ang-angi, whatever happened to that Imperial Princess Ant? Haven't seen her in days."
The Imperial Princess Ant.
I'd named her Elizabeth.
According to Oinoi, Princess Elizabeth and Ang-angi had come from two different ant kingdoms.
And here I'd assumed they were brother and sister.
Just then, Illinoi watched Ang-angi busily digging up the backyard and let out a little heh-heh-heh.
"This Illinoi suspects the Imperial Princess Ant Elizabeth is Ang-angi's fiancée-dot! This Illinoi is capable of reading the flow of a most unusual atmosphere between these two-dot!"
Is that so.
So Ang-angi was a popular ant, huh.
Must be that gleaming golden body.
Gold is a good color, admittedly.
Maybe I should have my next suit made in gold too—.
With stripes added, like Keong-keong-i.
Guaranteed crowd-pleaser.
Heh-heh—.
Chuckling at the thought, I turned to Illinoi.
"So when's the suit I ordered going to be finished? Seo Yerim took the hide and the tendons, remember."
The giant anteater, Oromera.
She'd made off with its tendons, hide, and fur.
Because I'd commissioned her to craft me a suit from the monster's materials.
Materials from an A-Rank monster.
The result would surely be first-rate armor.
"Heh heh, this Illinoi anticipated as much and brought one thing-dot! What I hold here is a rope spun from the tongue of the great anteater itself-dot!"
Oh—.
A rope that stretched and contracted on its own.
Sinewy and tough.
Can't go wrong with a good rope—there are a hundred uses for one.
"Illinoi, when does the suit get done?"
"That will take some considerable time—. This Illinoi demands the money first, dot!"
The price of the suit came to three thousand.
Meaning I had to scrape together the colossal sum of three hundred million won—no small expense.
But this was an investment.
You had to spend a little up front on gear before the real money started rolling in.
If I knew one thing about myself, it was that I never skimped on equipment.
━Hioong…!
━Keongkeong…!
━Zzeuji-.
It was a late afternoon, the sun already sinking.
As I did every day, I was searching my own name on the internet when the animals playing in the yard let out a chorus of cries.
The signal that a visitor had arrived.
Could it be Seo Yerim, coming to pick up Illinoi?
Or Lee Jina, dropping by with Coris in tow?
Whoosh—.
When I stepped into the yard, a tall woman stood there.
She had blonde hair, a remarkably slender frame, and wore a pair of sunglasses.
And peeking out through her hair—ears.
Long, pointed ears.
An elf.
Why would an elf come to our house?
"Hieeek…! An invasive species has arrived, it has! We must splash cold water upon it at once and drive it out, we do…!"
"This Illinoi cannot tolerate the visit of an invasive species tormenting native nymphs—! Enduring it would be can't-ed-dot!"
The nymphs' combat readiness shot through the roof.
They were poised to fling the basin of cold bathwater they'd hauled out of the bathroom straight at the elf.
If they actually pulled that off, we'd be on the evening news!
I hurriedly called over the front gate.
"May I help you?"
"I heard a strange tree was growing here. I'm not a strange person, I assure you—I'm Greenif, from the nonprofit Green Fairy Association."
Whoosh—.
The elf extended a business card.
An elf from a civic group, huh.
She then removed her sunglasses and gazed at the Golden Apple tree that had grown to a respectable height in our yard.
"Oh my, isn't that a Golden Apple tree? Good heavens, a Golden Apple tree was growing out here in the middle of nowhere this whole time!"
Elves knew about Golden Apple trees too?
That was the moment.
"Invasive species, retreat at once, you will…! This land belongs to the nymphs…! It is a home the nymphs have protected with their lives for ages untold, it is…!"
"If you do not get away at once, this Illinoi shall summon the police, dot!"
The nymphs charged out into the yard and started hollering.
Honestly, they looked like farmers raging against some foreign incursion, clenching their little round fists and shaking them furiously.
The elf who'd introduced herself as Greenif was visibly flustered by the sheer intensity of the response.
"Oh my, you already have other fairies living here. Ho ho ho—. Well then, I'll be off—."
Whoosh—.
Brmmm—.
The elf drove off into the distance in her car.
Then Illinoi spoke up.
"A fairy of nature herself, riding around in a car belching out exhaust fumes like that—this Illinoi finds it most unseemly-dot! An invasive elf has no right to be called a fairy, dot!"
So she didn't like elves driving cars, huh?
Though wasn't it Illinoi herself who'd come all the way here by car?
"Didn't you take a car here too?"
"Heh heh, the vehicle this Illinoi rode in is Kore Yerim's electric car, dot! A most nymph-friendly car—! Entirely different from the invasive species' automobiles, dot!"
I see.
When she put it that way, it actually made sense.
Electric cars are pricey, but they're good.
I wanted one too.
Anyway, it was my first time seeing an elf that up close.
Definitely tall and statuesque, with a mature air about her.
Hadn't all my hometown classmates gone off and married elves?
"This Oinoi has driven out the invasive species, she has! Time to dance the dance of joy, she will…!"
"A most excellent outcome, dot!"
Hands on hips, Oinoi and Illinoi launched into some bizarre ritual dance.
They were clearly delighted.
I left them to it and headed back inside.
One notification.
As I was about to search my name on social media again, I noticed a message waiting for me.
To Awakener Ha Ildo: The Green Fairy Association cordially invites you to its charity gala.
Date—.
Location: The Fairy, Incheon Port.
All expenses for this event shall be paid in full by the Green Fairy Association.
Some kind of invitation?
The Fairy was apparently the name of a ship.
I looked it up and found an enormous vessel—an ultra-luxury cruise liner, it seemed.
A two-night, three-day charity event.
From what I could tell, famous celebrities and politicians were expected to attend as well.
A passenger ship equipped with lavish facilities, hosted by elf chefs holding a banquet.
Some kind of celebrity charity gala?
And they'd invited me.
Why on earth?
No, actually, I could sort of guess why.
"My name's been pretty hot lately, hasn't it!"
A search on social media pulled up plenty of results on the first page.
Mostly posts about honey ants and Keong-keong-i—.
But compared to a grand total of zero results until recently, it was a meteoric rise.
"A charity gala, huh."
Smelled like money.
For a man who needed to earn three hundred million won, there wasn't a single reason not to accept this invitation.
Plus I could spread my fame even wider!
"One invitation, and up to two additional guests allowed."
Generous enough to bring the whole family?
For a moment, Mom and Dad crossed my mind.
I started a family group chat, then—froze.
Because if I took Mom and Dad, my little sister would get left behind.
With only three of the four of us going, things would get delicate fast.
Knowing I-rae's personality, she'd throw an absolute tantrum about being the only one who couldn't go.
So should I go with people who weren't family instead?
"I'll have to bring Oinoi. It's an elf party, so she might hate it... but if I tell her there's loads of delicious food, Oinoi will be all for it."
That left one seat open.
After some agonizing, I stared down at my phone.