Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 35

“Hey, we’ve got big trouble. The Captain’s fever is getting worse.”

“What? Damn it, this is bad. We don’t have any medicine….”

I wasn’t sure when I had fallen asleep, but I woke up to the sound of urgent voices. The atmosphere was tense.

After blinking a few times, my vision cleared, as if a hazy fog had instantly lifted. Quite some time must have passed; a dim light from outside had crept further into the cave. But even so, the inside was still mostly dark.

‘Is it still dawn…?’

But what’s all the commotion at this early hour?

I forced my aching body up and sat upright. I saw a group of people huddled in one corner, all looking anxious as they checked on someone lying down. Even the guards were focused entirely on them.

‘What, is someone sick?’ Alarmed, I spoke to the guards in front of me.

“Hey, what’s going on? Why is everyone so worried?”

“Quiet, kid. It’s none of your business. If you’re awake, just stay quiet and don’t interfere.”

“But….”

Just then, someone in the group shouted, “Damn it! Captain, wake up! Hey, someone get some fresh water. The canteen is empty.”

“Wait a minute. I’ll go get some.”

The person who got up was Alex, who had brought me here. As he hurriedly grabbed the canteen and turned to run out, I shouted, “Alex! Wait a minute!”

“What is it?”

Surprised by my call, he stopped and turned around. In that moment, I lightly snapped the bonds that were tying me up. Everyone’s eyes widened as they saw the remnants of the rope fall to the ground.

“Gasp!”

“Wh, what!”

Gasping and exclamations of astonishment echoed around the cave. They must have been surprised that someone so young and small could break through the thick rope as if it were cotton. Some even reflexively drew their swords.

I ignored them and walked straight into the middle of the group. The bewildered people couldn’t seem to react, and just stared blankly.

As I got closer, I could see the person lying down. He was a man in his late twenties with bright blond hair and sharp features.

His whole body was tightly wrapped in bandages, as if he had been seriously injured. But they hadn’t bothered to keep things clean, and the bandages were filthy with pus, blood, and other grime that had seeped out. At this rate, he’d die from a bacterial infection.

I clicked my tongue slightly and then cut the bandages neatly, just as I had cut the rope. The men next to him, who seemed to have barely regained their senses, shouted angrily, “Hey! What the hell are you doing…!”

“Just stay still. I’m trying to look at the wound.”

“Wh, what?”

They seemed dumbfounded by my confident attitude. Taking advantage of their hesitation, I quickly examined the man’s injuries. His condition was much worse than I had expected. There were several cuts and tears, as well as bruises and what felt like broken bones.

But the most serious injury was a burn covering his back like a grotesque tattoo. It wasn’t just a burn, but also burst and sunken marks, with festering skin dangling inside.

‘Did something explode on his body? It’s a wonder he’s still alive.’

“When did he get hurt like this? How long has it been?”

At my question, the people hesitated for a moment and then answered uneasily, “…It’s been two days since today.”

“Seriously, it’s been two days? Why didn’t you take him to a healer or a hospital right away with such a serious injury? And you barely even did first aid.”

“That’s….”

“No, well, that’s not important right now. Besides, even if you took him, I don’t think there’s much anyone could do with this kind of injury. More importantly, he must be in a lot of pain. Did you give him any painkillers?”

“We gave him some herbs that are good for reducing fever….”

“But it didn’t seem to have much effect.”

I could tell that much just by looking at the fever raging through his body. I sighed lightly and nodded.

“It certainly seems that way. Anyway, he’s going to die if you leave him like this, so I’m going to treat him right away. No objections, right?”

“What? Are you saying you can treat him?”

“Well, I wouldn’t offer if I couldn’t.”

“But… how…? There’s no medicine or anything here….”

“You’ll see.”

As I said this, I gathered my healing energy and focused it on the affected area. The people around me, horrified by my actions, tried to rush at me, but I could heal the man’s wound faster than they could grab me.

“Heal!”

Instantly, a white mist rose and enveloped the man’s body. The people approaching me seemed to freeze at the sight.

I ignored my surroundings and focused only on healing. ‘Is it because this is the human world?’ The energy consumption was greater than I thought. Even so, the recovery speed didn’t seem to reach even half of its original level. Of course, that’s just my subjective feeling, but it probably wasn’t that weak in reality.

As proof, the mist slowly began to dissipate. When I took my hand away, the man’s injuries were completely healed, leaving only a slightly pink mark.

‘It’s done.’

I swallowed a sigh of relief. At the same time, I felt someone grab my shoulder strongly. It was Alex.

“Wh, what happened! What did you do to Kay? What just happened!”

“Is this person’s name Kay? Hmm, I’ve healed the wound for now, but since it was such a serious condition, he shouldn’t move too much right away. It would be good to give him time to recover his strength slowly.”

“Healed? Was that what you just did?”

‘No, would I say I gave him hemorrhoids instead of saying I healed him? Why are these humans so suspicious!’

Feeling that it wasn’t worth answering, I pointed at Kay’s body. I thought they wouldn’t say anything else after seeing that he was completely healed. As expected, they discovered the cleanly healed wound and were speechless for a while. Then, after a long pause, they spoke in hushed tones.

“H, how did this happen….”

“Are you perhaps a priest?”

“But what about the superhuman strength that cut through the rope….”

‘Superhuman strength! That was just using the power of water to sharpen it like a blade! No, more than that, is that all you have to say!’

I can understand why they treated me like a criminal at first. Even to me, my appearance seemed suspicious. But now, didn’t I help in a desperate situation? Instead of thanking me, they’re just giving me suspicious looks. Isn’t this a bit much?

I felt a surge of unfairness. But I couldn’t voice these complaints. Kay, who had regained consciousness, opened his mouth.

“Ugh… water….”

“……!”

“Oh, my God! Captain! Are you coming to your senses?”

“God! Hey, look here! The Captain is alive! He’s awake!”

“How can this be!”

The surroundings instantly became noisy. Judging by the fact that they called him Captain, this person named Kay must be the highest-ranking person among them. And I could also tell that he was a very trusted person. Seeing the people hugging each other and sharing their emotions, I felt like I was the only fool who was seething with resentment.

‘Okay. I’ll be patient, I’ll be patient.’

“Wa, water….”

Kay was constantly asking for water. The others were too happy to even notice his condition.

I sighed deeply and then gathered water at my fingertips to create a bite-sized water droplet. Then I carefully put it into Kay’s mouth. He gulped down the water like a baby bird receiving food. Well, he had sweated so much that he must have been thirsty.

But was it my imagination? I felt like the surroundings had suddenly become quiet. Confused, I raised my head and found people staring at me with stiff faces. They were all frozen in place with blank expressions.

“……Why?”

‘What, what is it? Why are they looking at me like that again? I just gave him water normally this time? Are they going to say something about even this now?’

Since they were so suspicious, I didn’t feel confident even after doing a good deed. I tensed up, thinking that I might get caught again.

Clang!

Then a clear metallic sound rang out. Someone had dropped their sword on the floor. But no one reacted. Even the person who dropped the sword didn’t seem to notice or care.

I widened my eyes at what followed. Alex was slowly kneeling on the ground!

“You are…… No, who are you?”

“……Eh?”

I couldn’t help but be flustered by his sudden actions. What was with the polite language, and what was with the fearful light in everyone’s eyes? It was as if they were looking at something that wasn’t human…… Oh? Something that isn’t human?

‘Gasp! Come to think of it, what I’m doing right now is something humans can’t do.’

Only then did I understand the reaction of the people around me. It was amazing that I healed a person instantly, but since I created water from nothing and fed it to him, they had no choice but to realize that I wasn’t human.

I must have taken the use of these strange abilities too much for granted because I lived in the Spirit World. Even though I was an ordinary human until recently. When did I get used to this kind of life?

“Please tell me. Who exactly are you?”

“Hmm….”

‘Should I just reveal my identity at this point?’

Isana hadn’t woken up yet, but it was a bit embarrassing to keep pretending I didn’t know in this situation. Besides, now that I’ve shown off all my abilities, I don’t think they’ll believe me even if I try to hide it now.

‘I can’t help it.’

I shrugged lightly and then smiled awkwardly at the people who were still looking at me with fearful eyes.

“Sorry for hiding it. I’m the Water Spirit King, Elquines.”

“……Eh?”

“El……quines?”

“Wa, Water Spirit King?”

The shockwave spread throughout the cave. Everyone had stiff faces, but the spiritist Ferris turned the most pale. After a long time, a cracked voice barely flowed from his mouth, which had only been gaping like a goldfish.

“Wh, why is the Spirit King here….”

“I received a call.”

“If you’re talking about a call….”

“I thought you would notice.”

“No, way!”

His horrified gaze went straight to one place: Isana.

“Right now, Isana is in a state of extreme exhaustion, and the mana in his body is almost depleted. This is a common phenomenon when trying to summon a spirit and failing.”

He wouldn’t forget what he said himself. Alex, who seemed to have noticed the situation as well, widened his eyes with a shocked face. He was barely breathing properly.

The people who realized where their gazes were directed all stopped breathing at once. The only one who wasn’t disturbed in this commotion was Isana, who was still fast asleep. Everyone was paying attention to him, but he wasn’t waking up. I smiled bitterly, feeling like I was conducting a play without the main character.

“Isana Ranne Swalt summoned me to this land and became the first human to contract with the Water Spirit King. For that reason, I think we’ll be seeing each other often in the future. Please take care of me.”

Thud!

At that moment, everyone in that place knelt on the floor in turn. The sight of them bowing all at once as if they had rehearsed it was quite magnificent, but as someone watching, I couldn’t help but be embarrassed.

“What…….”

I stopped what I was about to say and closed my mouth. I saw tears flowing down their faces. It was shocking to see grown men distorting their faces and crying.

Alex, who was also covered in tears, shouted in a loud voice, “Glory to this land! God has not abandoned us yet!”

“Wooaaaaaaa!”

And then a loud shout followed. Even though there were only a little over ten people, the sound was so loud that the whole cave seemed to be vibrating.

Not knowing what was going on, I could only stare blankly at the sight of them cheering. Contracting with the Spirit King may be considered great, but was it something to be so moved by?

‘Why is everyone doing this?’

The surroundings were already brightly lit by the fully risen sun.

A perfect morning, a new day was beginning.