The Nymph Wants to be Plundered - Chapter 15
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The next morning.
Evelyn woke up feeling refreshed, a hint of cheerfulness returning to her. The rise of her cheeks and the faint dimples that appeared when she spoke proved her energy had been restored.
“…And so, that’s how I’ve lived.”
“It seems your life has been relatively uneventful, aside from your childhood.”
She blushed and smiled shyly.
Her story was unremarkable—what could be so extraordinary about the life of a country girl? It was so monotonous that it could have been summarized in just a few lines, yet Cassis listened to her ramblings with genuine seriousness.
“Yes. I don’t even remember when my father, who was said to be a minstrel, left me with the village chief…. Is there anything else you’d like to know?”
“Hmm. Try to recall if anything particularly unusual has happened to you recently.”
“Recently…?”
Cassis nodded.
“It’s rare for a human to become a nymph, but it’s not entirely unheard of. However, it’s not a natural phenomenon that happens without a cause. Can you think of anything that might have triggered it?”
She hesitated for a moment before answering.
“Well, there was something strange that happened recently. I was so overwhelmed that I didn’t get a chance to tell anyone about it.”
“What was it?”
She recounted the events of Faye’s wedding day—how a strange old woman with strikingly red hair had given her a potion called the “Elixir of Love,” which she drank before passing out.
Cassis’s brow furrowed.
“Hmm…”
“The last thing I remember as a human was how strangely delicious that potion tasted. It was like plum juice, I think?”
How absurd. Cassis thought to himself, though he didn’t laugh at her bizarre story.
There had never been a potion that could turn a human into a nymph. So, what could have caused such a transformation?
In rare cases, it was the remnants of magic left behind by transcendent beings. But even those instances were few and far between, more like ancient legends than anything else. And most of those remnants had long since been used up or faded from the world.
If there had been a recipe for such a potion, the elves would have known about it. They would have used it during the time when the extinction of nymphs became a pressing issue. Perhaps they still would.
The world was losing its mysteries as time went on.
And a woman with vibrant red hair, you say… Could she have been a Semyudian?
Cassis shook his head almost immediately. That possibility seemed just as unlikely.
Currently, the greatest adversaries of the elves were not humans but the Semyudians. They were once a thriving branch of the harpies, but their wings had degenerated over time, and now they lived in groups on the ground. They resided in the Shadow Forest near the border of Jupiter, which, in theory, was close enough to Debrun…
The Semyudians, as Evelyn described, all had fiery red hair without exception. However, their appearance was similar to elves in that they aged very slowly and maintained their youth for a long time.
Would the Semyudians, who took pride in their youthful appearance until the day they died, deliberately age themselves and mingle among humans? It was hard to believe. Elves, too, were proud beings who considered disguises or magic that aged their appearance to be shameful. At most, they might hide their slightly pointed ears, but that was the extent of it.
“We’ll look into that matter gradually. For now, eat this. Once you’re done, we’ll head to the city of Jupiter.”
The wild strawberries he had tried to feed her yesterday were still wrapped in large leaves, untouched. Not a single one had gone soft, each berry still perfectly intact. When he handed them to her, she hesitated, then carefully picked up half and offered them back to him.
The gleaming strawberries in her small palm looked strangely unfamiliar, even though he had brought them himself. The fact that her fingertips had touched them made them seem almost foreign. Cassis stared at them, knowing it made no logical sense, yet he couldn’t help but be captivated.
“Cassis… you should have some too.”
“……”
“Huh?”
It would have been easy to refuse. He had plenty of reasons to shield himself. I am the guardian of the great World Tree, so I’m fine. You, who are still bound by human limitations and ways of thinking, must not neglect your nourishment. So…
But the flowery words didn’t leave his lips, nor did they embarrass her by brushing past the ear his lips had once touched.
Instead, he accepted the strawberries she handed back and, before tipping them into his mouth, said, “I’ve had my share, so make sure you finish the rest without leaving a single one.”
“Yes…!”
The way her small lips moved as she happily ate the gifts of nature he had gathered was a pleasant sight.
After the brief meal, Cassis finally mounted his horse. The pace was noticeably slower than when they had first set out yesterday with her in tow.
