Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 29

Chapter 29

“Though he’s dead now, Minerva once made a contract with a human. He was a young, capable man, poor but very diligent and passionate. Minerva, charmed by his pure heart, asked him to stay with her for life as a condition of the contract.”

“Minerva did?”

“Yes, it was fine at first. But their happy times didn’t last long. The human man grew more and more greedy. When he knew nothing, he was just happy that a beautiful spirit like Minerva had reached out to him. But as he got older, he realized that reality was different from his ideals. He couldn’t marry or have children with Minerva, who was a spirit.”

The real problem started a few years later. A young lady from a count’s family fell for him and began to court him passionately. At first, the man ignored her, but he gradually wavered because of her beauty, her family’s wealth, and, above all, her pitiful appearance of loving him.

But even after his heart was completely swayed, he didn’t tell Minerva the truth. If Minerva knew that his heart had left her, she would let him go and disappear. If that happened, the achievements he had built up as the contractor of the Spirit King would also collapse. He was afraid of that.

“S, so?”

“So… he lied diligently. He said that the girl was unilaterally bothering him. He wasn’t interested in any other woman. Only Minerva. Funny, isn’t it? But Minerva, who didn’t lie, naturally thought he would be the same and trusted his words. I warned her several times, but she didn’t believe me.”

And when that precarious tightrope walk reached its limit, tragedy finally struck. The man, unable to bear his lies, asked Minerva to assassinate the girl.

He naively thought that Minerva would never do such a cruel thing. By saying that, he wanted to prove that he didn’t love the girl. Or maybe he wanted Minerva to step down on her own, pitying the girl’s situation.

But at that time, he overlooked one fact. Minerva was a spirit contracted with him. Most spirits do not go against the will of their contractors, and they consider their words the top priority. That was the same even for the Spirit King, who had reason. Moreover, it was a request from the person she loved.

In the end, Minerva killed the girl to fulfill the wish of her contractor and lover. And to prove it, she even brought the girl’s corpse directly to the man.

“Then that man…”

“Of course, he was shocked. In front of the cold corpse of the girl, the man poured all sorts of curses at Minerva, even though everything came from his own words. He was a cowardly bastard who didn’t even admit that fact until the end. And after that, the Wind Spirit King began to be known to the world as a brutal and cold being.”

“…Did you just leave a guy like that alone?”

I’m so angry just listening to this. I can’t even imagine how Minerva felt. When I asked with a hardened face, Trowell shook his head calmly.

“Of course, the contract was terminated. He lost his most powerful weapon in an instant, lost the person he loved, and even lost his honor. He became a cripple until he died, wandering the streets like crazy. And on a rainy day, he met a miserable death in a dirty, dark alley that no one looked at.”

I was the one who watched his end.

Saying that, his eyes, smiling coldly, exuded a colder chill than ever. But when I tensed up, he smiled brightly as if nothing had happened and returned to his usual friendly face.

“Anyway, that’s what happened. Sorry, I said I’d tell you an interesting story, but it seems like I brought up a boring topic instead.”

“Ah, no. Minerva had such a thing happen to her. I didn’t know. I thought she looked a little sad…”

“Minerva looks sad?”

“Yes, her eyes and atmosphere… um, sorry. This would be a very rude thought.”

“No, El. I actually agree a little.”

Trowell smiled and stroked my head once, then carried the jar and walked to the lively drinking party. For some reason, his back looked particularly lonely.

I hesitated for a moment and then joined him. Then Ifrit immediately started scolding me.

“What took you so long to get a glass?”

“Haha, it just happened. Um, but what’s Ellyuen doing here? Aren’t you very busy with work?”

I asked, carefully watching Ellyuen’s eyes. He brought the glass to his mouth and replied.

“Since you can’t come to me, now that we’ve become father and son, it would be strange if there was no interaction at all, wouldn’t it?”

“Huh? I’m fine…”

“Even if you’re okay, I’m not okay. Even though I look like this, I have no intention of being an irresponsible father. Actually, I was going to come earlier, but I waited until you seemed to be less busy.”

“…”

Wow, to be honest, I was a little touched. A father who comes to see me without caring about being busy. I thought it would be difficult to see him again until recently, so it felt even more strange.

“What’s that El nickname from earlier?”

“Huh? Ah, Trowell gave it to me. I guess you can call it my nickname.”

“Nickname? Hmm, that’s not bad either.”

I thought he would immediately criticize it as childish, but unexpectedly, he seemed to like it. Ellyuen smiled lightly at me, who was smiling awkwardly, and asked.

“I heard that the maintenance of Arkadon is all finished now, is that true?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“I see. You’ve worked hard.”

“Ah, no. What did I do…”

It was a word that could be said out of courtesy, but somehow it felt like I was being praised when I heard it from him. Ellyuen lightly stroked my head, who was embarrassed.

“I’ll visit often from now on. It seems like it will be a very good time to strengthen the bond between father and son.”

However, it was Ifrit who answered before I could. His eyes were shining brightly as he thrust his face at Ellyuen.

“Ellyuen! What about me?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I mean, quality time. Give me quality time too!”

“I don’t plan on having any more sons besides Elquines… no, El now.”

“No, not that! If it’s a daughter, it’s a daughter, why am I a son… Eee, that’s not it! I’m a future Ellyuen bride candidate!”

Then Ellyuen’s face, who had been listening silently, frowned slightly.

“Who decided you were a bride candidate? You’re just a kid with more days to live than you’ve lived.”

“B, but later when I become a goddess!”

“I told you to say that when the time comes.”

“Tch, stingy.”

Ifrit, who was grumbling, glared at me with fire in his eyes. Then, in a small voice that others couldn’t hear, he subtly snapped.

“You, don’t you dare monopolize Ellyuen as a son. I’ll never forgive you, got it?”

“Ahaha…”

A stepmother ‘candidate’ who is not even a stepmother to a non-biological father….

Why does my life keep getting so twisted? It was the moment when a deep question arose for the first time.

* * *

Since the first day he visited, Ellyuen visited the Spirit Realm almost every day. As the number of visits increased, the time he stayed gradually shortened, but as he said, I quickly began to adapt to life with him as our relationship grew.

And that was the same for the other Spirit Kings.

At first, they just seemed to find him difficult, but recently, the Spirit Kings have started talking to Ellyuen first, and I often see them exchanging jokes.

According to their evaluation, his personality has become much milder than when he was Elquines. Before, he would not only get angry at light jokes but also retaliate mercilessly, making it difficult to even talk to him.

“Hee, was he worse than now?”

“He’s much better now, you know? These days, he just ignores you if he’s annoyed. He didn’t have that back then. He tormented you until he got a surrender declaration from the other person. It felt like he was covered in thorns. When the previous Ifrit was around, every day was like a battlefield.”

“The previous Ifrit?”

“Yes, he had a personality that liked to interfere. So he often angered Ellyuen.”

Trowell, who had a nostalgic expression for a moment as if recalling that time, soon turned to me with a face that reminded him of something and said.

“Oh, right, El. I think I’ll be staying in Arkadon for a while.”

“Huh? In the human world? Why?”

“I’ve been doing a game for a few years, and now that things here have mostly stabilized, I’m thinking of living there in earnest. I’ll visit periodically, but I don’t think I’ll be able to come as often as I do now. If you ever need to contact me, please let ‘Nom’ know.”

“Okay. But if it’s a game, is it that? Making a contract with a being in the human world and hanging out with the people there.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Hee, that’s great. When will I be able to go out to play?”

Then Trowell’s face, which had been smiling, seemed to harden for a moment. He asked with a slightly embarrassed smile.

“…El, you want to play too?”

“Yes, of course! It seems like it would be a lot of fun. Come to think of it, when does the summoning usually happen? I want to go out to the human world officially soon.”

Even if I travel, it won’t mean much if people don’t recognize me and I can’t interact with them. Above all, the fact that I’m making a contract with someone felt very special. However, Trowell gave me an apology, which dampened my expectations.

“Sorry, El. Maybe… it’ll be hard to play for a while.”

“Eh? Why? Can’t someone summon me?”

“Um, how should I say this? Spirit Kings are really rarely summoned.”

“Gasp… ?”

I was greatly embarrassed by Trowell’s explanation that followed. Unlike ordinary spirits, summoning a Spirit King requires so much mana and affinity with nature that you have to risk your life. So the attempts themselves are rare, and even if they succeed, they are usually quite rare, happening once every hundred to a thousand years.

But there was another fact that shocked me even more than that. That is……!

“Eh, no one has ever summoned Elquines? Not a single one so far?”

“Yes, among our four Spirit Kings, the water spirit’s energy is the roughest. That’s why there are very few humans who can handle it properly. That’s why water spiritists are quite rare.”

“Gasp, no way……. Then does that mean that no Elquines has ever experienced a game?”

“No, no, that’s not true. So, first of all, everything I’ve said so far is about humans. Other races… for example, races like dragons can summon Spirit Kings without difficulty. The same goes for Elquines. So until now, Elquines have been making contracts with dragons to enjoy the game. In fact, that’s better for us. Dragons have abundant mana and don’t rely on our power, so there are many convenient points.”

“Hee, I see. Oh? Then can’t I make a contract with a dragon?”

“Hoo, that’s what’s hard.”

I looked at Trowell, who was sighing again, with a puzzled expression. That’s hard. Did the dragons collude not to contract with the Water Spirit King?

“Um, maybe similar.”

“Gasp! Is that really true? Do they hate me because I’m clumsy?”

“No, that’s not it. The dragons don’t even know that you were born as a human.”

“Then why……?”

“El, do you know which tribe the dragons with the water attribute belong to?”

“Um, I know. It’s the Blue Dragon and the White Dragon, right?”

I nodded immediately at Trowell’s question.

According to the information I’ve collected so far, there are seven types of dragons living here. Red, Blue, Green, White, Silver, Black, and Gold tribes are the names that distinguish them.

Each dragon tribe has its own unique attribute, and that attribute is directly related to the four major attributes of nature. For example, Red Dragons have the fire attribute, Blue and White Dragons have the water attribute, Silver and Green Dragons have the wind attribute, and Black and Gold Dragons have the earth attribute.

“Then do you know which tribe is the strongest among those dragons?”

“Um, the Red tribe… was it?”

“That’s right, it’s the Red tribe.”

Trowell nodded as if he was proud.

Unlike spirits, dragons are a race in which the difference in power varies greatly from tribe to tribe. Among them, the most ferocious and powerful tribe is the Red Dragon, and I heard that they are the most feared among the tribes.

“The problem is that one of those Red Dragons… is interfering with the contract between the dragons and the Water Spirit King.”

“……Why?”

“That guy is the previous Elquines. So he’s completely fallen for the current Ellyuen.”

“…….”

W, what on earth does that mean?

As I blinked in bewilderment, Trowell scratched his cheek with a slightly troubled expression.

“Um, how should I explain this? About three thousand years ago, a guy named ‘Lapis Lazuli’ was born in the Red Dragon tribe.”

“……Lapis Lazuli?”

“Yeah, it’s a unique name, right? Dragons are called ‘hatchlings’ until they are a thousand years old, which means they are still young dragons, and they stay under the protection of the tribe. It’s a time to learn the work of the tribe and the wisdom of living from adults. Most of them make contracts with spirits around this time. To be honest, once they become adult dragons, they hardly need the help of spirits.”

Originally, the grade of spirits that ordinary hatchlings could summon was limited to the upper class. Even if they accidentally summoned a Spirit King, it was only possible for the Spirit King who was directly connected to their attribute.

However, unusually, this Red Dragon called ‘Lapis Lazuli’ possessed great power from birth. Breaking the existing common sense, he succeeded in summoning Elquines, the Spirit King of the opposite attribute to his own, that is, the current Ellyuen, even though he was a hatchling.

“The Red tribe was very happy as it was an unprecedented event. There’s nothing happier than a great dragon being born in the tribe. But from Elquines’ point of view, his pride was hurt. A baby dragon who hadn’t even reached adulthood summoned him, who wasn’t even of the water lineage.”

“S, so?”

“Of course, he refused the contract. Elquines’ personality would never accept a contract that he didn’t like.”

But it just so happened that Lapis Lazuli had already completely fallen for the Water Spirit King at that time. Shocked by the failure to make a contract, the adult dragons advised him to make a contract with another Spirit King, but he never gave up his stubbornness.

After that, Lapis Lazuli continued to try to summon Elquines, and each time Ellyuen coldly refused. The last words he coldly snapped when he refused were these.

‘There are plenty of dragons to contract with even if it’s not you.’

Yes, that was the problem. Angered by those words, Lapis Lazuli began to interfere with the contracts between other dragons and Elquines from then on. He, who had boasted outstanding power since birth, had become so powerful that no one could touch him when he became an adult dragon, and his personality was just as ferocious.

Even among the same Red tribe, they tried not to offend him. Naturally, Elquines was tacitly becoming an object to be avoided among them.