Taming the Giant Owl! #3
Kalinoi, the nymph of animals.
She said she had come from an American rift, which was a little strange to hear—talking about a dimensional tear as if it were her hometown.
At any rate, when she first opened her eyes, she had found herself not in the Moon Forest, her home of so many long years, but lying in the marshlands of a vast American national park. Having left her homeland without even remembering her own name, Kalinoi had been furious, and she had commanded the animals of the park and wrought no small amount of havoc with them.
"Come to think of it, Cassie did mention that the American witch commanded crocodiles and creatures like them to torment people."
I remembered the story that Cassie—Desperado Cassie, the S-Rank awakener of the United States—had once told me about the American witch. Could it have been about Kalinoi all along?
I could probably find out just by asking Cassie, but she still hadn't replied to any of the messages I'd sent her. Once again, I had been left out in the cold.
"So what do we do now?"
Cha Yura stood with her arms crossed, weighing the situation.
The uproar over the animals running rampant in the abandoned factory—and then the incident where Seo Yerim had been attacked, her hair shorn short, and struck with the Curse of Weakening. Apparently she had no idea how she was supposed to wrap all of this up.
My own worries had deepened considerably, too. When an S-Rank awakener was involved, things were never going to end quietly. Prison time and heavy punishment were all but inevitable for Kalinoi.
Oinoi, however, was looking at Kalinoi with eyes full of pity and sorrow.
"Kalinoi had forgotten her name, so she did not even know what her own actions meant, that is what it is…! This Oinoi hopes that Kalinoi will be forgiven, that is what it is…!"
"This Coris also thinks that Kalinoi is pitiable, that is what it is…!"
So it seemed that nymphs who had forgotten their names became terribly violent and fearsome creatures. If we presented that fact well, couldn't we shave a little weight off her punishment?
Not that I knew the first thing about the law.
"You must hurry and apologize doubly to this Illinoi, that is what it is…! This Illinoi's lawyer is standing right here coming, that is what it is…! If you do not apologize, then this Illinoi will start the lawsuit, that is what it is…!"
Illinoi did not seem to have much forgiveness in her heart for Kalinoi. And honestly, I could understand—letting a crime slide just because the culprit was pitiable wasn't exactly a proper way to handle things either.
Soon Illinoi was snickering—muh heh heh.
"But this Illinoi is a very generous nymph, that is what it is…! If you carry this Illinoi on your back and fly her through the sky, then maybe—just maybe—this Illinoi could forget, that is what it is…!"
Kalinoi spread both her arms wide—shwap!
Feathers began sprouting rapidly from her body, and in moments she had transformed into a massive Tiger Owl. It was such a wondrous sight that I could have stood there gaping, but already Kalinoi had hoisted Illinoi onto her back and was swooping grandly around the factory grounds.
"Everyone is looking at this Illinoi, that is what it is…! Nymphs have no wings, but this Illinoi is flying in the sky, that is what it is…! No other nymph in all the world could ever feel as very high as this Illinoi does right now, that is what it is…!"
So that was how it was.
Illinoi seemed to have had her anger soothed completely just by riding on the Tiger Owl's back and flying this way and that.
Truthfully, I wanted to ride that big, fluffy back myself. Maybe if we got a little closer, she'd let me?
No. Still, there were things that needed saying.
Hoo, hoo—!
I spoke to the Tiger Owl Kalinoi as she glided back down to the ground.
"So why did you cut Seo Yerim's hair? Why did you cast the curse on her? You need to tell me the reason clearly. And you have to apologize to her in person, too."
Flap-flutter.
The Tiger Owl gave a single beat of her wings. Then she opened her beak and spoke.
"I… cannot say. I made a promise to her. And I am a nymph who keeps her promises."
"Her"? Who could she mean?
A companion? I was guessing that was probably it when the Tiger Owl spoke again.
"She is a nymph like me, one who has forgotten her name. And she is far more fearsome than I am. But… if she meets these little ones here, I believe she might find her name again, too."
A companion of the Witch.
I couldn't help but conclude that this "her" was one of the Witch's companions. And since Kalinoi had come from America to Korea only recently, the "her" in question had most likely been in Korea for quite a long time.
Only one conclusion followed from that.
"Is the witch who cast the curse on me your companion, by any chance?"
"Who can say. But she does have an interest in you. And now that I've met you myself, I understand it. Haildo—you are a good person who is helpful to nymphs."
Being praised by an enormous owl left me feeling oddly ambivalent. It was like stumbling into one of those old folk tales where a woodcutter helps a deer and a fairy appears.
Then Oinoi thrust her hand up into the air with a whoosh and declared:
"The master of the house is a nymph-friendly person, that is what it is…! He helped this Oinoi when she was in trouble, that is what it is…! He taught her how to use the shower, and how to use the water purifier, and even how to search for Oinoi's name on the computer, that is what it is…!"
"Nymph-friendly, is it…? How fitting. You feel just about as harmless as a pebble or a tree stump. Anyway—thanks to all of you, an old and precious memory has come back to me. My name, too."
So that was how it went.
Frankly, I had been braced for the possibility that I might have to fight for my life here. After all, I'd assumed this would be a battle against a violent criminal—one reckless enough to assault an S-Rank awakener like Seo Yerim.
But the nymphs had pulled off one great feat after another—weaving nets, pressing their foreheads together to recover a lost name—and the whole affair had resolved far more smoothly than I'd ever imagined. If every problem in the world could be settled through conversation like this, how peaceful would this world become?
"Haildo, you've worked hard today. As for the animals here… I'll speak with my father, and we'll either build a new zoo or release them into a national park. We have elves who are good with animals, after all."
Cha Yura—daughter of the President—volunteered to take charge of the animals Kalinoi had smuggled into the country, as well as Kalinoi's own custody.
"I've already contacted the experts, so a response team will be arriving here shortly."
What a rock of reassurance!
Cha Yura was the daughter of the President, the most powerful person in our nation, and one of only three—no, two now—S-Rank awakeners in Korea. There was surely no surer way to wrap this whole affair up cleanly than leaving it in her hands.
Cha Yura went on.
"And starting today, I'm an Honorary Nymph too, right? Which means I can eat that dalgona and candy the honey ants make, right?"
"Muh heh heh, you must believe in this Illinoi only, that is what it is…! This Illinoi will confer with the nymphs of the Nymph Relief Foundation and, after great deliberation, talk out the results for you, that is what it is…!"
Not that the nymphs of the Nymph Relief Foundation amounted to anyone besides Oinoi and Coris.
Those two were already treating Cha Yura as if she were a nymph just like them. If you discounted the fact that Cha Yura was a bit taller, honestly, there wasn't much difference between her and a nymph at all…
My eyes drifted to the enormous owl.
The great owl, Kalinoi. She was a nymph grown tall and slender like an elf.
You could rightly call her an adult nymph. So nymphs weren't all small, then? They truly were an unfathomable people.
I asked Cha Yura, "Is candy and dalgona made by honey ants really that delicious?"
I'd been given a share once and tried it myself. It was tasty, but I didn't think it warranted making special trips to seek it out. You know how it is—the kind of place that shows up on social media as a famous spot, so you stand in an enormous line, and then when you finally taste it you find yourself thinking, honestly, this is it?
Soon Cha Yura chuckled softly—hoh hoh hoh.
"The taste is one thing, but it makes me feel like it suits my body perfectly. My mana increased after I ate the honey candy. My control feels finer, more precise! And I've even grown taller!"
Oh—.
Really, now?
I had heard that awakeners each had foods that suited their particular constitutions. In my case, it had been the milk tea the elves gave me a while back. Well, it hadn't been milk tea at first, but the point stood—after drinking it, the mana in my body had shot right up.
But she grew taller, too? Impressive.
"Climb onto my back. You are an Honorary Nymph, so I shall make a special exception and carry you. Not just anyone may ride upon my back. Know it as an honor."
Swoosh.
The Tiger Owl Kalinoi bowed her head. Cha Yura climbed onto her back.
It was a profoundly surreal sight.
No doubt those two would now fly off to wherever the President was. And if so, that meant one more matter had been resolved for good.
Swoosh.
Just as I was settling in to watch the great owl soar into the sky, Kalinoi held something out to me.
It was a golden feather—one as large as my palm.
"What's this?"
"A golden feather that grew from my body only once. My feathers can scatter and disrupt mana—but they can also, conversely, aid in the handling of it. This is that feather."
"Oh."
A material that improved mana control!
Among all the materials obtainable from rifts, anything related to mana ranked at the very top of the heap. And I, after all, was a manipulation-type awakener.
If I put this to use in handling mana, I might be able to grant Keongkeongi and Ang-ang-i a whole new tier of special, signature attack techniques.
While I was mulling that over, the owl added one more thing.
"Give it to that witch, Seo Yerim. I cut off that girl's hair, so it's only right that she receive something precious of mine in return."
"I see."
So it was for Seo Yerim, not for me. Fair enough—Seo Yerim was indeed clumsy at manipulation compared to how she handled vast, powerful, lethal mana. Her comparatively low awakener ranking was precisely because her control was so rough.
Flap!
The great owl beat her wings at last and rose into the sky.
"If we go to the President, I'll no doubt be kept there for a very long time, won't I?"
Kalinoi, flying through the sky, asked this of Cha Yura on her back.
Cha Yura, who had been drinking in the scenery spread out beneath the high blue heavens, straightened herself with a snap.
"Probably! You'll be tied up for at least a month! And to sort out the legal issues and everything else, you might find yourself under strict confinement for a full year or more!"
Confinement. Did that mean she was to become a canary shut inside a cage of bars?
Kalinoi did not like it—the thought that she, an apex predator, must become a caged beast. But.
She was well aware that the things she had done were bad things, things that should never have been done. That actions carry their price—adult that she now was, Kalinoi understood that better than anyone.
And besides, there are people who will help me now.
Kalinoi thought of the little nymphs and the master of the house. They gave off a warmth like the forest of her old home. If she could be together with them—. The moment that thought took root, Kalinoi made a decision.
"Then, before my freedom is taken from me, there is one thing I wish to do. I want to meet my companion. Could you help me persuade her?"
"Persuade her?"
"She is plotting something dangerous. Back when I was too lost in resentment and sorrow to think straight, I went along with it too. But… I have come to feel that she cannot be left as she is."
A Witch stirring up dangerous business.
Truth be told, Cha Yura already knew such a group existed—thanks to the intelligence gathered by Patriot, the special task agency of awakeners answering directly to the President.
"Can you really do it?"
"I can."
Flutter, flutter—.
The Tiger Owl Kalinoi gently set Cha Yura down on the rooftop of a nearby building, then soared back up into the sky.
The place Kalinoi flew toward was a special location, tucked away somewhere few would ever find. When she arrived, she spoke to a honey-haired woman who stood gazing at a fire pit.
"Honey-hair! Listen to me—I've remembered my name! The little nymphs and the master of the house, Haildo, helped me. If you go to them, they can help you too!"
"……"
The woman with the long honey-colored hair regarded the great owl that had come to her home with narrow, slitted eyes. There was something deeply unsettling in that gaze—something that crawled coldly over the skin.
Kalinoi, the nymph of animals, possessed the Wild Sense, and so she understood at once that she had made a terrible mistake.
This one is not someone who can be reached with words! Why on earth did I ever think of this creature as my companion? She is dangerous!
Whap—!
Kalinoi flung her great wings wide.
What came after that, she could not remember clearly at all.
Thud-flutter.
She had barely managed to move her wings before crashing down into the yard. And then she heard a man's voice.
"Goodness, what is this! Isn't that Kalinoi? Kalinoi, ma'am! What in the world has happened to you? Didn't you fly off to where the President is!?"
Kalinoi knew she had to say something to the man. And so, with great effort, she opened her mouth and made a sound—
Hoo, hoo-hoo—.
What came out of her mouth was not speech, but the cry of an owl.
Kalinoi went on hooting hoo-hoo after that, over and over. As though she had truly become a genuine owl!
"Oinoi! Illinoi! Coris! Come out here, quick! Kalinoi's hurt! Hurry! Let's get her inside first!"
Kalinoi could bear it no longer, and lost consciousness.