Attending the Alumni Reunion with a Nymph! #2
"My body feels amazing."
After suffering the aftereffects of that poison for so long, I got up feeling so refreshed it was as if nothing had ever happened. My whole body felt like it had been reborn, and my energy was practically overflowing. Getting bitten by the centipede's fangs had turned out to be a blessing in disguise after all. The mana in my body was boiling like a blast furnace.
"Hnngh!"
I lightly released my magical power. The range of my mana output, which had been about fifty meters, had stretched to roughly sixty. That meant my total mana reserves had increased by a full twenty percent.
"Nice, very nice."
According to Ari's examination, I'd even developed antibodies and resistance to poison. Apparently I wouldn't be felled by the venom of just about any creature that crawled out of a rift anymore.
Oh, and the centipede had been officially given the scientific name Jörmungandr Centipede. The elves said it was because the thing carried a poison as terrifying as the dreaded serpent Jörmungandr itself.
━Hooh, hooh…!
Right about then, Kalinoi the owl, who had been perched on the roof, came flapping down into the yard. She poked at me with her wing and nudged my body with her head.
"Good morning."
Stroke, stroke—
I ran my hands freely over her head and feathers. Kalinoi waddled and hopped around beside me, looking absolutely delighted.
━Hooh, hooh…!
"Time for a bath, I suppose."
I headed into the bathroom to wash up and shampoo my hair. The problem was that Kalinoi came waddling right after me and invited herself into the house. And since Kalinoi was an enormous owl, the house suddenly felt extremely cramped.
━Hooh-hooh…!
What's more, she didn't like it when I closed the bathroom door. Whether she wanted to watch me wash my face and hair, she flung the door wide open and observed me the whole time. Talk about a lot of eyes on me.
"There was a time you'd run away if I even came near you, and now you're so clingy it's actually a problem. No middle ground with you, huh?"
"She has clearly opened her heart to the master of the house…! The master of the house is a very nymph-friendly person, so it was truly only a matter of time…!"
Stroke, stroke—
It was Oinoi, petting Kalinoi's wing. Just as she said, ever since the fight with the centipede, Kalinoi had become completely attached to me. Thanks to that, I now had to lug a giant owl around for most of my daily affairs, which was a colossal hassle. Not to mention she only ate the beef I grilled for her.
"I need to turn Kalinoi back into a nymph soon. Actually, you know what? That settles it. In that spirit, eat today's portion of mugwort and garlic."
Plunk—
I popped the mugwort and garlic from the plate straight into Kalinoi's beak. The owl flapped her wings as if to say she hated it, but these days she was pretty good about gobbling up whatever food I gave her.
"Is this stuff actually going to work, though?"
Mugwort and garlic to turn an owl back into her original nymph form—doubts crept in, but honestly, I didn't have any other leads at the moment.
Anyway. With that, I slipped back into my daily routine. My days all followed the same rhythm: wake up, wash, and check on the animals.
━Jjeuji…!
Ang-ang-i reported to me every morning on whether there had been any trouble with the garden or the house's security overnight. Of course, I couldn't understand a word Ang-ang-i said—but I could tell something about his appearance had changed.
"Overnight, Ang-ang-i turned into something like a rhinoceros beetle."
"Honey ants undergo transformations…! Honey ants have many different forms, which is why they are also called 'masked ants'…!"
So that's how it is. This emperor-rhinoceros-beetle look, apparently, was his summer form. Changing appearance with the seasons—pretty impressive.
━Hio-ong…!
"No problems with you either, Kwang-kwang-i?"
Kwang-kwang-i raised her front legs and danced. She was a spider who loved to dance. Then she went poof and vanished somewhere.
━Keong-keong…!
━Keong-keong…!
I turned my head to see Keong-keong-i playing around with Fey the flying squirrel. Watching the two dog-squirrels frolicking together warmed my heart.
"Hurry up and make lots of baby chipmunks…! If Keong-keong-i sires a whole pile of chipmunks, Ilinoi will rent them out to the wealthy at about five billion won apiece…!"
Illinoi had come out to play in the yard. Now that I looked, Seo Yerim's nymph-friendly electric car was parked out there too.
"Hey. Is your body holding up okay?"
Seo Yerim asked as she walked over to me. I rolled my shoulders and arms in circles as I answered.
"Yeah. Honestly, I feel even better than before."
Meanwhile, the owl Kalinoi waddled around me on two legs, circling round and round. She had quite the presence.
"We've gotten close, her and me. She's so gentle, isn't she cute?"
Stroke, stroke—
I gave Kalinoi's head yet another thorough petting. Watching me do it, Seo Yerim wrinkled her brow.
"Are you sure you should be handling her that carelessly?"
"She's sweet."
"No, I mean, that creature used to be a nymph. And not just any nymph—an absolutely gigantic one!"
"Be that as it may, right now she's an owl."
Slit—
Seo Yerim's eyes narrowed. She seemed displeased that one of the members of the 'Witch' coven that had attacked her was living the good life. I decided to defend Kalinoi a little.
"Her mind's a blank right now—apparently all that's left is her animal hunting instincts and wariness. If you want to interrogate Kalinoi about this and that, your only option is to lift the curse and return her to nymph form."
"Really? So that's how it is? She's just an animal for now?"
Reach—
Seo Yerim raised her hand before long.
"…It's so fluffy."
After petting Kalinoi's wing, she seemed genuinely impressed. Stroke, stroke, stroke-stroke-stroke—
Perhaps she'd grown tired of Seo Yerim's endless petting—
Whoosh!
Kalinoi flapped her wings and flew far, far away.
"Ah—there she goes."
"She's still wary of anyone but me."
"Really? Anyway, I came to drop Illinoi off today. And you've got that first-generation get-together tonight, don't you?"
So word of my first-generation reunion had reached even Seo Yerim's ears. That's right—I had plans this evening. Seo Yerim continued.
"You don't have a car, so I could drive you. I have business in that area anyway. I figured I'd just drop you off on the way. Would that work?"
It was a good suggestion. I'd been wondering how I was going to get there anyway.
"Ilinoi is curious about what an alumni reunion is…!"
Oinoi cut into our conversation. I gave her a brief explanation.
"It's a gathering of people who went to the same school, or grew up in the same hometown, things like that."
"Ooo…! This Oinoi wishes to hold an alumni reunion as well…! We shall gather all the nymphs…! Ilinoi must contact Coris…! And Kalinoi too…! And we must invite Yuranoi, who became an Honorary Nymph…!"
Rummage, rummage.
As she declared this, Oinoi fished her phone out of her pocket.
"With this 'phone,' one can contact anyone at all…! This Oinoi has had a phone line activated too…! Oinoi may yet evolve into a nymph of the latest and greatest modern conveniences…!"
A nymph of modern conveniences, huh. One thing was certain: Oinoi had fallen head over heels for the phone she'd had activated through the Telos corporation a while back. She'd clearly been dying to show off her shiny new phone.
"Is this the right place?"
Seo Yerim pulled into the parking lot and stared at the shop visible beyond the window. It was an utterly ordinary samgyeopsal joint. The kind of place that sold fresh pork belly and soju, and tossed in a bowl of rice with your doenjang stew. The sort of venue some middle manager at any old company would pick for a team dinner. Emphatically, relentlessly 'ordinary.'
Seo Yerim seemed unable to comprehend that a reunion of Korea's very first awakeners was being held somewhere this unremarkable.
"I expected somewhere more expensive and flashy. A lot of the first-generation are doing great for themselves, you know—the ones still alive, anyway. Although some of them did drag things out for a long, long time."
Just as Seo Yerim said, the surviving first-generation members were mostly thriving. If they'd wanted to, they could have booked out a swanky restaurant, no problem.
"But ordinary is good. Ordinary is best."
"……"
Born into a chaebol family, raised like a princess her whole life, and rocketing straight into an S-Rank awakener's seat—Seo Yerim clearly couldn't wrap her head around what I was saying. Fair enough, I supposed.
"Want to come in with me? Once you're inside, you'll understand what I mean. Quite a few people bring family or acquaintances along. The first-generation crew would mostly know who you are."
At my words, Seo Yerim panicked so hard she practically jumped out of her skin.
"…What? Why on earth would I attend your class reunion? Let me say this right now—I never liked the first-generation crowd! I always thought they carried themselves with a chip on their shoulder!"
So that's how it was. Well, sure—she'd only driven me out here because she had business in the area. Asking her to tag along to a reunion on top of that was probably pushing it.
"Fine, I'll face it alone after all!"
The truth was, walking into that unassuming little shop made me a little nervous. I'd already skipped out on the first-generation gatherings any number of times! There'd even been periods where I'd gone full ghost mode, so showing my face now with a shameless grin felt embarrassing and awkward, even to me. That's why I'd thought, maybe if Seo Yerim came along, the pressure would be spread a bit thinner—but that was wishful thinking.
"It's just a reunion—why are you so wound up about it? Don't tell me… you had a crush on one of your old classmates or something?"
Seo Yerim snorted derisively.
"All right. Decision made. Whatever happens, happens—how bad could it be, dying? Seo Yerim, thanks for the ride. I don't know what your business is, but good luck with it."
Step—
I got out of the car. Time to head inside before my hard-won resolve could crumble.
Creak—
Pushing open the door, I found the place already abuzz with lively chatter. I approached a woman who looked like she might be the owner.
"Excuse me, I believe there's a gathering here tonight?"
"Ah, head on over that way."
Step—
The moment I headed in the direction the owner pointed, every eye in the room snapped to me. The bastards all stopped mid-conversation and, upon seeing me, started hamming it up.
"…Oh my, oh my, a handsome stranger has arrived! Pfft-hahaha!"
"Who the hell is that guy?! Doesn't ring a single bell! Khehehehehe!"
"……"
Wow. So this is the treatment I get after not showing my face for years. Open mockery, straight to my face. Little troublemakers, the lot of them.
My face burned, and all I wanted was to sit down somewhere, anywhere. Before long, Kim Dan with her mechanical arm waved me over.
"Hey! Over here. Sit here. Am I right or not? You said you'd actually show up this time. Ha Ildo, over here—your seat's waiting! Sit, sit!"
Point—
My first-generation classmate Kim Dan indicated the seat right in front of her. But the instant I looked at the face of the woman seated beside my spot, I found myself flustered in more ways than one.
"…Uh, you're, um—Jihyun?"
"Hey, Ildo. Long time. Good to see you."
I was so caught off guard I couldn't get a word out. Before long, my classmate Kim Dan was snickering.
"Lucky you, Ildo. You used to have a thing for Jihyun, remember? Isn't it great, getting to sit right next to her? See, this is why coming to reunions pays off. Isn't it wonderful?"