City of Backstreet Nymphs

Chapter 32

32 – 032 – My Lime Golden Apple Tree # 3

032 – My Lime Golden Apple Tree # 3

Being from the same neighborhood meant sharing a similar past in many ways.

For example, it feels like this.

“Don’t you know the best stationery store? There is a rock-paper-scissors gambling machine with 100 won in front of it. If you win at rock-paper-scissors, a card comes out and you use that card to buy junk food.”

A stationery store that contains my childhood memories intact.

I liked to think about and talk about it.

My elementary school days were all at the best stationery store.

But lately, I haven’t had anyone to talk about.

However, Lee Jin-ah understood and understood exactly where I was talking.

“Was each card 100 won? I think it was just like buying sausages and hotteok with a card and roasting them on a burner. Eat it with sausage sandwiched between hotteok.”

“Yes! You called it a hamburger by sandwiching a sausage between two hotteok. That, in my neighborhood, I made it popular again. I see you’ve eaten it too. Know that it is because of me.”

“What?”

Lee Jin-ah and I had a moderate age difference.

But it wasn’t that much of a difference, and it was good to say that we shared memories of the same generation.

Lee Jin-ah also talked a lot more than usual.

“I did a lot of ‘mechanical snail’ in front of the stationery store. If you put in 100 won, it goes up to the 4th round.”

Mechanical Snail.

It was a game I knew well.

And, more than I thought, I noticed that Lee Jin-ah and I shared our memories.

“I think the time when there was a mechanical snail in a stationery store was probably when I was in the 5th grade of elementary school. At that time, there must have been no one I didn’t know among the kids who were knocking on arcade machines at the stationery store.”

Did Jina Lee and I ever meet when we were young?

Nothing really came to mind.

If it was such a strong impression, there was no way I wouldn’t remember it.

But well, childhood memories are bound to fade little by little in the waves of time, like letters written on a sandy beach.

Anyway.

Today, I sat in the passenger seat and talked a lot about Lee Jin-ah and her neighborhood.

Silence sometimes ate between us, but it was far better than sitting in the passenger seat and keeping our mouths shut.

“Haildo, didn’t your aunt put up a placard saying that she placed second in the whole school when she was in elementary school? At the intersection in front of the mart. Every time she passed by, she saw your name, so I wondered what the hell she was doing.”

It was when I was in the 6th grade of elementary school.

I thought that it would become a memory after seeing it, but as expected, embarrassing memories don’t become a whole lot no matter how much time passes—I also thought.

Another minute of silence.

I was always the first to open my mouth whenever there was an awkward silence like this, so I was thinking about what to say this time too.

“The best stationery store still exists.”

“Really?”

“Although the aunt and uncle are very old.”

Is this a true story?

The place where my childhood dreams were filled.

Does the place where I spent half of my elementary school days still exist?

In many ways, I felt like I was being touched.

“Let’s go together once. We have to go on a date anyway.”

Lee Jin-ah’s story was unconventional.

You have to go on a date.

Wanting to know what this meant, her head was stuttering as if it was slightly lag, and she opened her lips as Lee Jin-ah skillfully reversed the car in the parking lot.

“Because of her sister, my dad is sensitive about his daughters’ boyfriends, so he has a lot of things to do. Just pretend you’re going on a normal date and take some pictures and show them.”

Indeed.

I think I know what you mean.

And it was not a bad story for me either.

My mom and dad have been digging into a family chat room lately and have been throwing things like “Are you having a good date?” To me.

If you send me at least one picture, it will be quiet for a while.

“Get off first and stand in line. I’ll finish parking and get off.”

“Yes.”

At Lee Jin-ah’s words, I got out of the car.

And in front of me, the Awoken who came to explore the fixed rift were lined up. They gave me a quick look up and down as I got out of the old truck and gave me a welcome look.

Soon the man asked me.

From noble mtl dot com

“Did you come alone? The two of us came. Won’t you come in with me? This fixed rift is for three people.”

Next to the man was a woman with arms crossed.

Compared to men, equipment was better.

An awakened couple?

I heard that a lot of fights happen when couples work together in the cracks.

I’ve seen a lot of couples who fight or break up inside a rift, ruining the party atmosphere and even giving out missions, so I didn’t really like couples.

That’s really why.

“I also have a companion. Unfortunately, I will decline the party offer. There he comes.”

Tak-.

After finishing her parking, Jinah Lee got out of the truck and unloaded the luggage in her luggage compartment.

The couple all said, “I see,” And turned her head away, probably frightened by Iljin’s energy.

“Brother, let’s not make eye contact.”

“I think that would be nice too.”

Cheerful-nuna’s style must be comfortable living here and there.

Should I frown a little and live?

“What is that expression? Suddenly, I want to rip you off.”

“… ….”

I don’t have to.

After all, happiness comes when people smile.

Soon, Lee Jin-ah said while looking at something like an electronic display board installed nearby.

“Since each team is given 10 minutes of exploration time, it will take about an hour until our turn. During that time, we can save one more member of the team.”

In this Sejong City fixed crack, three people were the rule.

But there are two of us.

It was common to find party members on the spot, so when I was looking around, someone cautiously spoke to me.

“Are you looking for party members? I came alone, but….”

It was a female voice that was somewhat passive but warm and friendly.

The moment I turned my head and saw the woman’s face, I was stunned.

“What is it, isn’t it Ari?”

“What? Seniors?”

That guy was Yuari.

I mean my juniors whom I couldn’t see because I was busy.

Soon Yua Li clapped her mate ─ she liked it very much.

“Senior! How can we meet in a place like this? I wonder if a coincidence like this can really happen! I’m really glad! I came alone in a hurry, so no one really knows—”

Shut-.

It was Yuari who raised her palm to me.

You must be asking for a high five.

Shuk, pair-.

I also clapped my hands feeling like a celebrity.

To really meet everyone in a place like this.

Korea is a small country.

“Ariya, weren’t you not doing field work?”

“Fixed cracks are safe. And for the thesis I am writing this time, I need the stone of the sun, which can only be found here in Sejong City.”

“Really? What thesis?”

I asked out of pure curiosity.

It was the first time in my life to see a person writing a thesis in person.

Then Yuari stopped with a smile and rolled her eyes left and right for a second or two.

“It’s not a mainstream thesis, so even if you listen to it, you’ll probably feel unfamiliar. ‘A Note on the Measurement of the Entropy Coefficients That Fixation Cracks Affect Female Mitochondria and Hemoglobin Production’.”

It was a really unfamiliar name.

Being a doctor from an Awakener is a very specialized and difficult term——I just admired it.

When I heard the name entropy, I didn’t know what it was.

After all, I am a field person.

Soon, Yuari’s crinkly eyes turned to Lee Jin-ah.

“Excuse me, but who is this guy? I’ve been curious about it since before.”

Lee Jin-ah did have a look that aroused question marks from people. I guess I’ll have to push myself here with the feeling of introducing her friend’s friend.

“This is Jinah Lee. She’s a C grade like me and my crack mate. Jin-ah, this is my junior Yuari. She was a famous person in her own way. Do you know me?”

“I know. Because I’ve seen it often on TV. Although it is quite old. I wondered what was going on because she couldn’t be seen at some point, but she was working as a health doctor.”

Lee Jin-ah seemed to have a pretty good memory.

She’s foremost When she remembers her memories of the stationery store or my placards, she has a vague feeling. She would have known that Yua Lee was famous before.

Well, Yoo-Ri was in a relationship with Seo Ye-Rim and Yang Kang, so it might be natural for her to know.

Anyway.

The three-person party was formed safely.

# # #

“Ariya, hasn’t it been a while since you’ve been on set? Can you do well?”

“Senior, even though I look like this, I am a person who has risen to B! Senior, isn’t this the first time you’re going to a fixed rift? Actually, she’s not scared, is she?”

As we entered the rift, we had a private chat.

It was the first time in my life to enter a fixed rift, and I was quite nervous and excited.

-Zuji… !

Kyeongkyeongi and Angangi also seemed to be burning their fighting spirit.

I don’t know if these guys will be able to play an active part, though.

“Then, enter.”

Lee Jin-ah, who is active duty C-class and has a lot of experience in fixing cracks, took over as her team leader and gave her orders. After each of us packed our equipment, we entered the rift, and soon I encountered a strange sight.

“Isn’t it a real ruin?”

The diversity of ecology within the rift was so well-known that there was no need to explain it.

And among the ecology, there was not only a simple natural environment, but also an environment like this artificial building.

This crack in Sejong City felt like a ‘temple’ built by someone. Murals were also painted, and the stone walls were calm and tidy to look at.

Soon, Yuari explained that he knew a lot.

“According to the elves, this is Baldur’s temple. It used to be a temple dedicated to Baldur, the god of light, but it seems to have cracked like this.”

Is it Baldur’s temple?

I looked at the stones wandering nearby.

I felt warm energy when I picked it up.

“Is this the sun stone?”

“Yes, that’s right. All the stones on the floor here have the magic of the sun. You can pick up as much as you want to pick up. It resets every 10 minutes anyway. Instead, you have to be punctual.”

A rift that resets every 10 minutes.

I had heard of it, but it was the first time I actually experienced it.

“You mean in 10 minutes, no matter how many stones we take, they will be restored as they are? With the feeling that something comes from nothing? Can you? It’s amazing.”

“That’s right. Because it is a rift where resources spring up every 10 minutes, it is called a fixed rift because the rift is not closed and access is intentionally restricted. The 5th industry is thanks to these cracks—.”

Yuari was my junior.

I was in a position to inform you of this and that, but now it’s the opposite.

While I was proud, on the other hand, I felt regret and shame at the time I was stagnant.

Then Lee Jin-ah asked.

She said, “I heard she was withdrawn from the scene, but she knows quite a bit. Ordinary incumbents don’t know that much detail. Apparently, the equipment is quite new–“

Lee Jin-ah, who was saying something, took her posture.

She is an Iljin woman who draws a sword from her waist and puts on a bloody expression.

Soon, at the end of that far-off hallway, scorpions burst out screaming kaaak—.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, I decided to pretend I knew him.

“Those guys are 「Assassin Scorpions」.”

Each animal is approximately 50 cm long and 30 cm high. It is said that the carapace is strong and the tail’s poison paralyzes even a healthy cow in 10 minutes.

It looks terrifying even if you look at it, but its intelligence is the same as that of an ordinary scorpion, so it was said that if you have a C-class weapon, you can fight it.

At that moment, Yuari starts to catch her breath with a “Huh”.

The slight trembling of his shoulders and the trembling of his hands reminded me of the past.

In the past, Yoo-Ri was often scared when he was put into sparring or actual combat, and he couldn’t even show half of his normal skills.

I thought he’d gotten over that habit now that he’s risen to the B rank.

Were you nervous after a long time on set?

“Yuari, stand behind me.”

“… Senior, I’m sorry.”

“Story later.”

Jiwoong-.

I tried drawing out a lightsaber with C-class mana.

A lightsaber that shines brightly like a fluorescent lamp.

Lee Jin-ah was a bit surprised by the brilliance.

“Isn’t that an expensive weapon?”

“That’s right, so it was my dream to wield this in real combat. I’ve cut down a lot of logs, but this is my first time cutting a living thing. It’s okay, you should also stay still this time.”

A modified version of the weapon used by S-rank Lee Jeong-hoon.

My body itched at the thought of wielding it in real combat.

Itchy-.

It really tickled me! Like ants crawling on my back!

-Zuji-.

No, now I see real honey ants crawling on my back!

Pot-.

He got off my shoulders and onto the floor, stood between the scorpion and us, then lifted his forelegs from side to side and lowered them.

-Zuzuji-!

Then the scorpions that were rushing toward us like waves stopped.

Then they all started talking.

– Zuji?