Taming The Villainesses

Chapter 455: Side Story – Everyday Life Is Always Honey-Colored (4)

“Outsider. Is Emperor Jinshinoi still alive?”

“Is the Nymph-hating Forced Labor Act still in effect in the outer world?”

The black-haired nymph was speaking words I couldn’t understand.

Emperor...?

A Nymph-hating Forced Labor Act? That unfamiliar phrase stirred something in my memory, and I quickly opened the documents Stella had given me.

Flip, flip.

They contained records about ancient kingdoms and empires that ruled over this continent before the founding of the Angmar Kingdom—back when Angmar was still just a tiny city-state.

What I was looking for was here:

“The Ancient Fairy Empire.”

Apparently, in the area where Angmar’s Monarch City now stands, there was once an empire established by Nymphs. The first emperor of the continent—so it said—had hailed from this very empire.

“However, the Fairy Empire, steeped in illegality and idol worship, was ultimately dismantled by martyrs and crusaders of the Church of Radiance.”

That’s how it was written.

As I read the book aloud, Tartar, who had been listening beside me, shivered.

“But... Jinshinoi! That’s the name of the ancient Nymph emperor! Then surely—this black-haired Nymph must be a survivor of that old empire!”

Tartar, the imp with the orange armband, was visibly thrilled for some reason. Before I could even question it, he explained.

“There may be precious ancient relics nearby, from back when the Nymphs were powerful...! There might even be the height-growth mushroom here...!”

Oh.

Could that really be possible?

A survivor from a thousand-year-old empire? I’d heard before that Nymphs were a long-lived race. But even the oldest ones I’d met were only about a hundred years old.

Could a Nymph really live a thousand years?

It left me feeling dazed.

“━━─.”

Whoosh.

Just then, the black-haired Nymph murmured something incomprehensible—and darted away.

She wasn’t just running—her speed made it impossible to catch her. In an instant, the distance between us widened, and she vanished down the tunnel.

Marmar spoke.

“Looks like she wants us to follow! Come on!”

“Right.”

Was it really okay to follow her? It felt sketchy as hell, but we didn’t exactly have many options.

And besides... if I introduced her to Stella, she’d absolutely love it.

So I sprinted off after the vanishing Nymph.

Whoosh!

But she was far faster than I’d expected. She completely disappeared into the depths of the cave.

Only Punchnoi, the Iron Fist, managed to keep pace with her—barely.

“Tch—! I lost her! Her footwork was incredible...! With martial arts that sharp, she might even know how to defeat Yujinoi...!”

Even {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Punchnoi failed to keep up with her and had to give up.

But that wasn’t the only problem.

When we finally caught our breath, we realized—we were lost.

“Where are we...?”

We’d run blindly past fork after fork in the tunnel. Now, we had no idea where we were. Which direction led deeper, and which one led out?

More than that—the cave hadn’t looked nearly this large from the outside. But now, it felt like a labyrinth. Like we were walking through a maze deliberately constructed to confuse intruders.

“My poor legs can’t take it anymore...!”

Imps and Nymphs started collapsing, one by one, exhausted from the reckless chase. So we decided to take a break, sitting on nearby rocks and boulders.

It was lunchtime, after all. Probably best to eat.

Just as I reached for the lunch Mirna had packed for me that morning, intending to pull it from the bag tied to my waist—

“Ah...!?”

A Nymph or Imp—someone—let out a strange cry.

“Ah—!”

“Aaah!?”

A chorus of shocked voices rang out from all sides.

And I was no different.

“...Wait, Mirna’s lunch for me—”

...was gone!

The very lunch I had triple-checked in my bag that morning—gone without a trace!

Panicked, I tore open every pouch and compartment in my pack. Nothing!

“Hiiiiik...!”

I felt like I was about to shoot a destruction beam out of sheer Nymph-hating fury!

But I wasn’t the only one.

Other Imps and Nymphs, realizing their lunches were gone too, began to tremble and shout in outrage.

“Who took Moromoro’s sandwich container?!”

“My lunch is gone too...! Tartar’s entire meal vanished without a trace!”

“Even my sugar stars disappeared, all of them! This—this Nymph-hating theft of our food is intolerable! Punchnoi is FURIOUS!”

“Garrururu! Garrururururur!”

“Ah—! Even Gargar is angry! I’ve never seen Gargar use such vile profanity before!”

The cave was filled with an uproar. The shouting echoed back at us from all directions, making everything more chaotic.

But it was only natural.

Lunch is the heart of any picnic or outing. It’s the moment when you sit down, share side dishes, swap fruit, and enjoy warm conversation.

That joy had been stolen from us.

Of course we were angry!

—Hiooong...!

Bael rustled gently in my heart.

Yes, I should calm down.

Just getting angry won’t solve anything.

“Hmm...”

A mass disappearance of lunches. Simultaneous. Coordinated.

There was only one likely suspect.

The suspicious outsider.

Just as I arrived at that conclusion, Punchnoi raised a fist and shouted,

“It must’ve been that black-haired Nymph who stole our food! What a wicked little thief! Let’s hunt her down and give her a proper beating!”

Rumble...

The party’s collective rage echoed through the cave.

***

We walked hard in search of the black-haired nymph—but sure enough, the cave was like a labyrinth. If monsters or bandits had jumped out, we’d have had no trouble calling it a dungeon.

After nearly an hour lost, I began thinking it was better to focus on getting out of the cave first, rather than chasing her.

Still, that was easier said than done.

I was stuck deep in thought when I noticed something glittering on the cave floor.

It was a soft, fluffy—

“...Feather?”

No, it was down. White, fuzzy down. Fairly large, too. I thought maybe it was rabbit fur at first, but the texture and softness felt more like duck or goose feathers.

Actually, no—there was way too much of it for it to be from ducks or geese.

Rustle, rustle.

The down I held in my hand wavered.

“...!”

That’s when something clicked in my head.

Swipe.

I immediately licked my finger and held it out into the air.

—Nymph Technique: Pathfinding!

Rustle, rustle.

A breeze brushed against my fingertip.

If wind was blowing, it meant there had to be a passage to the outside somewhere nearby!

“Everyone, this way!”

I led the angry mob of Nymphs and Imps toward the direction the wind was coming from.

And finally—we found it. A place that looked like an entrance or an exit, bathed in glowing light.

As we emerged into it, bright sunlight flooded over me, making me wince and instinctively squint my eyes.

“Ugh...”

It was blinding. The sunlight pierced through my closed eyelids like needles. But once my eyes adjusted to the brightness, I couldn’t help but gasp.

“...Wow.”

Spread out below the hill was a village. A river meandered through it beneath the shining sun, and smoke curled gently from chimneys dotting every home.

It looked... idyllic.

But there was one odd thing. From even this distance, I could tell—the houses were gleaming. Their rooftops shimmered emerald green.

Emeralds? Jade? Or some kind of gemstone? I wasn’t sure.

I’d have to get closer to know for certain.

Rustle.

I pulled out my map as I approached the village.

Was there a village this large near the ancient forest we’d been exploring? From what I remembered... there wasn’t even a river anywhere near here.

Where was this place?

It felt like... a different world entirely.

“━━──.”

“━─?”

As we drew near the village, the children and people playing in the streets all turned to look at us.

They must have realized we were outsiders.

The difference between us was simple. All of them had black hair and wore clothes made of silk or rough linen.

Meanwhile, our bizarre clothes and multicolored hair must’ve stood out like sore thumbs.

Would soldiers suddenly swarm out and surround us?

I was tense.

But the Imps and Nymphs seemed utterly thrilled.

“So many black-haired Nymphs all over the place! There must be someone here with a secret martial arts scroll, I’m sure of it...!”

“That awful Nymph who stole Tartar’s lunch is definitely here too, without a doubt...!”

As we clumsily stood around, a figure stepped out from the crowd forming around us.

She wore black and white silk robes, had neatly cropped bobbed red hair, and a slim, elegant figure. Her features were poised and graceful—undeniably beautiful.

She said,

“It’s been a long time since outsiders came through the cave. Are you envoys sent by the Emperor?”

She speaks our language?

The fact that someone here could communicate with us after hearing only indecipherable speech until now was more than encouraging.

As the leader of our group, I stepped forward.

“No, we’re not from the Emperor. We’re citizens of a Queen.”

“A Queen?”

“Yes. The Queen of Angmar.”

“Angmar?”

The woman tilted her head as if she’d never heard either name before.

“Well, if you’re not imperial envoys, that’s fine. We’ll prepare a place for you to stay in the village. Rest for now. The road back to your world will open tomorrow.”

“...Wait. You’re saying we can’t return today?”

My vision swam.

I’d told Elga I’d be back today.

If I stayed out without calling again, the noble ladies were going to tear me apart.

Especially since today was Thursday—Narmee’s day.

If I didn’t return tonight, Narmee would be stuck waiting, all alone.

I couldn’t let that happen.

Narmee gets really scary when she’s mad.

“Is there really no way to return today?”

“There isn’t,” she replied bluntly.

“If I open the gate now, soldiers who covet our mushrooms will breach the barrier. And then the peace we worked so hard to build will be shattered.”

I didn’t fully understand what she meant.

But one word stuck out clearly:

“...Mushrooms?”

At my question, the woman raised a hand and pointed to something nearby—what looked like cultivation beds.

Now that I looked more closely, I could see dozens of colorful, exotic mushrooms growing in boxes and trays all around the area.

Naturally, the most excited person was Marmar.

“There’s a ton of mushrooms! I bet they’d be amazing grilled, or in a stew!”

My stomach growled at the thought.

We’d missed lunch, and my bento box was gone, so just talking about food made me ravenous.

I swallowed hard and asked the woman,

“Do you... have the kind of mushroom that makes you taller?”

“...If you mean the ancient Max Mushroom, then yes.”

With that, she fell silent.

The villagers around us began murmuring in a language we didn’t understand.

“━─Max of the Ancients...”

“Go-dai Max...”

Their faces were pale, their bodies trembling as if in fear.

The woman sighed.

Then she said,

“It exists. But you won’t be able to get it. The field where Max Mushrooms grow is downstream... past the Little Fairy River. And that place...”