067 – Native Nymphs Hate Invasive Species! # 6
“An S-Rank awakener and two C-Rank awakeners running on fumes. I suppose I'll have no choice but to get serious myself.”
The fake bartender took a firm stance, dagger in hand.
Lee Jina, who'd been listening to the exchange, scowled.
“Running on what?”
Apparently the jab about their mana reserves had stung. But the truly important detail was that S-Rank awakener Cha Yura hadn't rashly charged at her opponent or unleashed any techniques. She was holding back, sizing things up.
“Everyone, be careful! She looks dangerous!”
When an S-Rank awakener went out of her way to say something like that, it could only mean the fake bartender's skills were formidable indeed.
But that was fine.
Because I had a joker card up my sleeve: Kwang-kwangi!
At this very moment, Kwang-kwangi was dangling from the ceiling directly above the fake bartender's head.
For the record, the ghost spider Kwang-kwangi was a truly wondrous and entertaining creature. She understood human speech perfectly, loved to dance, and sometimes, when she was in a particularly good mood, she'd break into song all by herself.
But Kwang-kwangi's single greatest talent was her ability to erase her presence completely. Her stealth was so flawless that even Yu Ari — the sharpest sensory-type I knew — had once failed to detect her and ended up completely flustered.
I'd named that technique Kwang-kwangi's Secret Art — Tiptoe, Tiptoe.
“Kwang-kwangi! Now! Tiptoe, tiptoe!”
Plop—
Kwang-kwangi dropped from the ceiling.
━Hio-ong…!
And she landed squarely on the fake bartender's head.
“KYAAAH! What is this?! What IS this?!”
“Yes!”
Here's the weakness of people with razor-sharp senses: their own razor-sharp senses. They trusted their perception to a hundred percent — no, joking aside, to over two hundred percent. So when something appeared out of nowhere and startled them, they reacted just like a cat that had spotted a cucumber while eating its dinner — panicking, completely thrown off balance.
“And when detection-type abilities get flustered like that, gaps open up in their awareness! Now's our chance! Keong-keongi, Ang-ang-i, let's go!”
Wham—
I deployed my mana.
Ang-ang-i launched skyward with a deep vrooom, and Keong-keongi, riding on his back, bristled his fur and let out a thunderous bark.
━Krrrung…!
“Go! Ram-G Thunder!”
Zap—
Leaping down from high above like a bolt of lightning, Keong-keongi spun his body round and round. The flash of brown fur finally crashed into the bartender's body, and she collapsed to the floor with a great scream.
“Ughyaaaah!”
It was a spectacularly ugly scream. She'd taken Ram-G Thunder head-on, so she had to be neutralized by now.
Or so I assumed, as I approached the raised bar table — and then I spotted the woman lying sprawled on the floor.
━Keong-keong…!
━Hio-ong…!
Keong-keongi and Kwang-kwangi were tugging at the woman's arm and burrowing into her clothes. Thanks to the way her outfit had gotten rolled up, a stretch of pale stomach was exposed — and there, just above her navel, was a tattoo of the Tap-tong crest, no bigger than a pinky nail.
Bearing the Tap-tong crest meant at least B-Rank!
So this woman was B-Rank or higher too!
Just as that thought crossed my mind—
“Hup!”
The woman came to her senses and thrust her hand into her own cleavage. The motion was blindingly fast, and I had no time to stop her.
Bang—!
She pulled a tiny pill from between her breasts and hurled it at the floor. An astonishing volume of smoke billowed out — an intensely deep pink, yet somehow colorless and odorless to the nose.
“What the hell is this?”
I had no idea what it was, but I knew one thing: inhaling it was a terrible idea. As I clamped my sleeve over my nose, something suddenly rose from behind the bar table.
She wore a long-beaked plague doctor's mask, and a black gown hung ominously over her frame. She looked for all the world like a grim reaper stepping out of the underworld.
“I knew it!”
I'd had a creeping suspicion all along that plague doctor masks were involved in this incident. And that meant only one thing.
“There's a Steel-Arm thug on this ship too, isn't there? A guy like that can't exactly hide his identity, so he must be hiding somewhere on board right now!”
They were, at minimum, a two-person crew. What could they possibly be after, stowing away on a luxury cruise liner like this?
The one silver lining was that this pink smoke seemed to be nothing more than a smokescreen — literally — a way to pull eyes away from something else. The hot-pink fog certainly grabbed your attention, though.
“What are you after?!”
Khooooo—
A strange, rasping breathing echoed from beneath the plague doctor's mask. Then the woman spoke.
“The Elves.”
“The Elves?”
“—Surveillance of them, and of the armed groups that may be targeting them. You really shouldn't be standing around doing this right now, you know? Gathering people all in one place. They're going to make their move.”
They — the way she said it, it sounded like there were yet another group of intruders hiding on this ship, distinct from her plague doctor team.
Was she lying?
Then Lee Jina spoke up.
“Doesn't sound like a lie. Her voice is plenty sketchy, but her mana wave is dead calm.”
Just then, Cha Yura made the call.
“Leave this one to me! You all head to where the crowd is gathered! Seo Yerim is there, isn't she? You'd better go stop her before she does something reckless!”
It was a sound argument. I felt a flicker of unease about leaving a plague doctor mask in Cha Yura's hands, but she was one of only three S-Rank awakeners in all of South Korea. If anything, our presence here might have been getting in her way.
“The suspicious people who snuck aboard the ship — that was you?”
Only after Ha Ildo, the handler of strange beasts, and Lee Jina, his longtime nemesis, had slipped out of the hall did Cha Yura finally murmur the question under her breath.
Soon, the woman behind the long-beaked mask — Yu Ari — answered.
“That was a close call. We can't afford to have our identities exposed, after all. Thanks to you clearing the room, Ms. Yura, everything worked out smoothly.”
“Seriously? If you're running an operation on this ship, you should have told me. I could have helped. You always leave me out. Was it Dad's order?”
“We're on a classified mission, so I can't share the details. And Ms. Yura, you're not a member of our team anyway.”
Yu Ari was indeed in the middle of a top-secret operation: monitoring the Elves, and gathering intelligence on anyone who might come into contact with them. According to the intel, a radical armed group had also slipped aboard the ship, and keeping tabs on their movements was her job.
But everything had gone sideways, in one way or another.
That said, Yu Ari wasn't especially worried. Ha Ildo was on this ship, and she trusted his abilities absolutely — so she was certain nothing serious would come of it.
I nearly had a heart attack, though. A spider came dropping out of the sky out of nowhere!
The ghost spider Kwang-kwangi. A formidable adversary even Yu Ari's senses couldn't detect. It had almost been a disaster.
And above all — Senior memorized my mask! If he keeps tailing me like this, he's bound to figure out who I am eventually. And then—
What would happen if Yu Ari's identity were exposed?
It was a question she'd never allowed herself to consider.
Still, having my Senior hunt me down and chase after me... it feels kind of nice, actually!
She didn't want to get caught just yet. She wanted to savor that relationship a little longer — the one where Ha Ildo was obsessed with her, chasing her relentlessly.
In his head, I must look like some monstrous villain, right? With a Senior as righteous as he is, of course he'd want to hunt me down.
A villain. On the opposite side of every hero, a villain had to exist. It was the villain who completed the hero, after all.
If I can manage it, I'll play the most magnificent villain there is — and I'll be the one who completes my Senior!
This was something neither Seo Yerim nor Lee Jina could do. It was a role only Yu Ari could perform. She considered this — hurling herself into devotion, body and soul — to be the truest form of supporting the man she loved.
“Oh. Ari? What's up.”
I answered my suddenly ringing phone.
On the other end of the line, Yu Ari spoke calmly.
“Senior, by any chance... are you on the Fairy right now?”
“Yeah. How'd you know?”
“Illinoi posted on StarGram and tagged you, Yerim, and Jina. You all look like you're having SO much fun. I'm jealous. I wish I could've been there too.”
“Next time I get an invitation, let's go together.”
I hadn't done anything seriously wrong, but I felt a little awkward and sheepish all the same. Next time an invitation comes, I really should bring Ari along—
Just as that thought crossed my mind, Ari spoke again.
“Senior... more importantly, please be careful. A friend of mine who works for the Agency says some dangerous people may have boarded the ship. An unauthorized armed group, she said. Apparently one of their executives is enormously wealthy.”
An armed group. An executive. Rich.
Pieces of the puzzle were clicking into place, one after another.
“One last thing I want to ask you, Ari—.”
Aren't you hiding something from me—
That was what I wanted to say. But even to my own ears it sounded absurd, and the words wouldn't leave my mouth.
“Hm? What did you want to ask?”
“No. Never mind. I'll hang up for now!”
Click—
I had now arrived at Midgard Hall, where the crowd had gathered. A low murmur rippled through the room — and among the guests, there was Illinoi.
“When, precisely, is the prize draw supposed to commence…? If the organizers have told this Illinoi falsehoods, she shall be calling her lawyer at once, that is what…!”
As far as I could tell, nothing had actually happened yet. And one of these VIPs was allegedly an executive of an unauthorized armed group?
Well, of course. If an intruder had been openly invited as a guest, nobody would have suspected a thing.
So what now?
An armed-group executive. Someone fairly advanced in years, so almost certainly not an awakener. Which meant their weapon of choice would most likely be a firearm.
“Keong-keongi. Think you can track the smell of gunpowder?”
━Keong-keong…!
Keong-keongi went scampering beneath the guests' feet, darting this way and that — and then he stopped. There stood a woman in her mid-thirties, wearing a red party dress that clung to every curve, elegantly sipping a glass of wine.
Her face looked familiar somehow.
The moment I narrowed my eyes, Lee Jina gaped in disbelief.
“No way. That's the celebrity Song Mi-nyeo. That woman's carrying gunpowder?”
Song Mi-nyeo. I'd heard the name too. Back when I was in elementary school, she'd been the very definition of a beauty.
Slide—
I approached Song Mi-nyeo and spoke.
“Excuse me — Ms. Song Mi-nyeo?”
“If you're here for an autograph, I'm afraid not. Today I'm not attending as a celebrity, but as a private citizen.”
No, no.
That's not what I'm here for.
I said, calmly:
“Do you happen to be carrying any items you shouldn't be in possession of? I'd like to inspect your belongings briefly.”
“Excuse me? What for?”
Song Mi-nyeo reacted sharply. She had aged, but she was still a woman once hailed as a national celebrity — and when she furrowed her brow, the sheer force of presence was overwhelming.
The crowd stirred at her pointed questions. Soon people were muttering “What's going on?” and “What's this about?” as they turned their eyes toward us.
Had she drawn attention to us on purpose?
At this point, hiding it any longer wasn't an option.
I addressed the crowd.
“This is just a brief security check. I'm Ha Ildo, a C-Rank awakener. I've received information that people intend to disrupt this fundraiser, and I'm conducting an investigation.”
The crowd began murmuring again — and Song Mi-nyeo only grew more irritated.
“And if you rifle through my belongings and find nothing suspicious? Then what? I'm in a very foul mood right now, you know.”
“We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
Slide—
Just then, Seo Yerim approached.
“What's this? There's a suspicious person?”
“Keong-keongi detected the smell of gunpowder on this woman. She appears to be carrying a firearm of some kind, but a search hasn't exactly been going smoothly.”
After all, it would be a disaster if a man went around putting his hands on a woman uninvited.
Soon, having heard the situation, Seo Yerim stepped forward.
“I am Seo Yerim, S-Rank awakener. Ms. Song Mi-nyeo, if you cooperate, this can all be resolved very simply. Would you show us your bag?”
Slide—
Seo Yerim held out her hand. Song Mi-nyeo narrowed her eyes, and with unmistakable reluctance, extended her bag.
Slide—
Seo Yerim opened it. Inside were cosmetics, a phone, a handkerchief, a wallet — the ordinary contents of an ordinary handbag.
And then Keong-keongi reacted.
━Keong-keong…!
What he had keyed in on was an object that looked like a pen. What on earth could this be—
Just as I reached out my hand—
Song Mi-nyeo moved first, snatching the ballpoint and brandishing it in every direction.
“Don't move! It looks like a pen, but it's a real gun!”
Well, well. So this was where that cliché came out.
“Why are you doing this, exactly?”
I asked, calmly. There was nothing more dangerous than panicking in a situation like this — and as I spoke, I directed Kwang-kwangi to creep up and latch onto Song Mi-nyeo's back. Song Mi-nyeo, utterly unaware of the spider clinging to her, kept talking.
“Why am I doing this? Because I'm a patriot! You're all being deceived by the Elves! The Elves are wicked creatures! And I'm going to expose their true faces, one by one!”
The Elves' true faces?
What on earth was she talking about?
Soon, Oinoi spoke up.
“Oinoi does not follow the meaning, but it is certain that the long-eared fairies are exceedingly suspicious, that it is…! This Oinoi wishes to hear more of this tale, that she does…!”
Exactly.
I was dying to know what she meant too.
Soon, a middle-aged man who looked like the CEO of some corporation chimed in.
“Miss. Might this be because your ex-boyfriend, that Mr. Kim, married an Elf, and you're acting out of revenge?”
“It's not that! You're all being deceived! Fine. Since it's come to this, I'll tell everyone! These are the Elves' true hearts! There! Play it!”
Slide—
At Song Mi-nyeo's curt gesture, the women in party dresses began to move. They were evidently her subordinates. The women manipulated the hall's broadcast equipment and played something.
Screeee—
As the speakers crackled to life, Illinoi shouted:
“Ah, the prize draw is finally commencing, is it…? Then hurry up and begin, that is what…! This Illinoi absolutely must take first place and become the owner of that open-top automobile, that she must…!”
However—
What poured out of the speakers was not the prize draw at all.
It sounded like someone's secret recording. The contents were shocking, and a colossal wave of disbelief washed over the room.
Apparently everyone felt the same. One by one, the guests fell silent.
Soon, Song Mi-nyeo declared, triumphant:
“See?! I told you! That's what the Elf bitch Eileen — the one who married my boyfriend — said! She said all of this to my face! The Elves are a threat to our Korea!”
It was certainly a dramatic revelation. But was it true?
Couldn't it just be the private grumbling of that Elf, Eileen?
Sharp words and bitter feelings flying between an ex-girlfriend and the current wife — that happened all the time, didn't it?
Just then—
━Keong-keong…!
A woman appeared with a silver flying squirrel perched on her shoulder. Freyja — leader of the Elves.
Seo Yerim asked her:
“Ms. Freyja. That recording. Is it true? Are the Elves really planning to take over Korea with half-Elf children? That's absolutely absurd.”
What would Freyja, leader of the Elves, have to say about this vast, nation-toppling conspiracy?
As every gaze in the room converged on her, Freyja spoke.
“It is true.”
Gooooo—
The assembly boiled over in every direction at once.
Soon, Song Mi-nyeo cried out:
“See?! Didn't I tell you?!”
“However, it is not illegal. Besides, among us Elves, it is a virtue to love only one lifelong partner across our long lives. There is not a shred of deception in loving a Korean, marrying, and raising children together. I swear it upon Igdrasill, the tree of our mother.”
Love.
Who'd have thought I'd be hearing a speech about love in a place like this?
Soon, someone spoke up.
“...Isn't that a good thing, actually?”
“A good thing?”
“Yeah. The country was already going under with a birth rate of 0.5 anyway.”
“The Elves turned our pension funds, which were bleeding out, into profits tenfold and more. The more children get born, the better.”
“Frankly, I'd rather half-Elves be our descendants than lose the whole country to another nation through population collapse.”
The people gathered here were elites who had each built up achievements and standing at every level of society. They judged the situation coolly — and seemed to have concluded that there was no problem at all.
━Hio-ong…!
Just then, Kwang-kwangi pounced at Song Mi-nyeo's hand.
“Mommy?!”
Startled by the spider's sudden appearance, Song Mi-nyeo dropped the pen-gun — and I caught it without missing a beat. In the very next instant, Seo Yerim pressed her knee into Song Mi-nyeo's back and pinned her down.
“Ughyagyak!”
“I get the sentiment, but your methods were dead wrong.”
“Yerim, think about it! The men will all get stolen away by the Elves! ...No, whatever. It doesn't matter anyway. The moment I give the signal, the bomb activates.”
A bomb.
Talk about escalation. For all her star power, the national celebrity certainly had ambition to match.
But then Cha Yura came walking slowly out from the far side of the hall and said:
“The bombs are all frozen. Every last one.”
And so, with the situation settled in every possible way, Illinoi spoke:
“So then, when precisely is the prize draw to take place…? This Illinoi HATES falsehoods, that she does…! Indeed, since the Elves are ugly invasive species, she shall be filing a lawsuit, that she shall…!”