Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 62

62.

“Wow! Ly, that’s amazing! You really succeeded in summoning! It’s Undine!”

“Huh! Is that, really Undine?”

Isana couldn’t hide his bewildered expression, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. For a moment, time seemed to stop for him. His face, unable to take his eyes off the spirit, gradually filled with joy and excitement. It was such a touching expression that even my heart fluttered. His body, exhausted from the extreme mana consumption, trembled pitifully, but his eyes were shining more brightly than ever.

Then, Undine slightly lifted the ends of her dress and greeted.

“—Undine greets the noble Water King.”

“E, El! What is Undine saying now?”

Isana reacted quickly, noticing the spirit’s small action. He looked like a novice father watching a newborn baby’s babbling. I smiled and explained.

“She’s greeting me. I guess you can’t hear it because it’s the language of spirits.”

“Hee, El understands the language of spirits.”

“Of course. I’m a spirit too.”

“Haha, that’s right. I know, but it’s still a bit amazing. When I look at you like this, El, you just look like a human.”

“Really? I’m sometimes amazed too.”

“Huh?”

“Ahaha, it’s nothing. Now, Undine, you should greet Isana too.”

How could I say that I sometimes forget that I am a spirit myself? Fortunately, Isana’s attention was easily stolen by Undine just by hearing her name. His face was frozen and red, and he showed anticipation for what would happen next. This time, Undine grabbed the ends of her water-colored dress and bowed politely.

“—Nice to meet you, King’s Contractor. I am happy to be able to assist you.”

“E, El?”

“She says it’s nice to meet you. She’s happy to be able to help you.”

“Ah! M, me too. Please take care of me, Undine. I’m Ly… no, I’m Isana.”

His inability to hide his excitement made him look just like any other boy his age. Undine seemed to feel that innocent feeling too, as a faint smile flickered on her small lips, which had been expressionless all along. It was only natural that Isana was even more excited to see it.

“Wow! Wow! Look at this, El! Undine smiled! She smiled at me!”

“Yes, yes. It seems Undine likes you.”

“R, really? Wow— what should I do, El? I’m so happy.”

Isana said shyly, not knowing what to do. Somehow, he seemed more moved than when he summoned me, the Spirit King.

“It’s too early to be happy yet. Summoning সিকু엘 [Sikuel] requires several times the mana of Undine. You’ll have to be prepared for that.”

“Ah, right. What does সিকু엘 [Sikuel] look like? Is he as cute as 나이아스 [Naias] and Undine?”

Was সিকু엘 [Sikuel] cute? At Isana’s question, I unconsciously tried to picture his appearance in my mind. Of course, he was just cute in my eyes, but objectively speaking, he didn’t have a face that could be called cute even as a compliment. No one would call his huge size, 풍성하게 휘날리는 갈기 [a richly fluttering mane], fiercely raised eyes, and sharp fangs in his mouth cute. Therefore, I shook my head lightly without needing to think for long.

“He’s not cute, but he looks cool. He looks like a wolf. His voice is also like a man’s, and he’s quite taciturn.”

“Hee, I see. A wolf, I’m really looking forward to it. I want to meet him soon. I’ll work harder in the future, El.”

“Okay. At this rate, you’ll definitely be able to summon him soon. Ah, come to think of it, how long do you think you can last in this state?”

“Hmm, well. If I’m just maintaining it, I think I’ll be fine for a while. But I wonder what will happen if Undine uses her abilities…….”

“Hmm, really? Then shall we do a test?”

“Huh? A test?”

“Undine, use your mana.”

Loyal Undine immediately followed my instructions. Then, with a whoosh, Isana’s complexion turned pale in an instant. As he staggered and sat down, the intangible energy surrounding Undine’s body dissipated. The bond was automatically broken as Isana lost his concentration. He probably thought Undine had disappeared. Isana lay on the floor with a face that hadn’t lost its pain and gasped for a long time.

“Huk, huk. El…… that’s too much.”

“Ahaha, sorry, sorry. It’s still too much to use your abilities yet. Hmm, let’s gradually increase the amount of mana little by little. If you can increase the number of Undine summons, you’ll be able to last about two hours even if you use mana like crazy.”

“R, really?”

“Of course. In that sense, shall we set a goal? Let’s try to increase the number of Undine summons to three by the end of this week. How about it? Is it a good plan?”

“Huk? By this week? I don’t think that’s possible…….”

“It’s okay, you can practice. You have to be able to do that much to call yourself a spiritist anywhere.”

“…….”

Of course, the process to get there will be difficult. Isana frowned as if he was overwhelmed just by imagining the challenging training. Even though I knew that, I couldn’t pretend not to know. As a spiritist, Isana would eventually have to walk that path, no matter how difficult it was.

* * *

Unlike Isana’s worries, his spiritism developed at a frighteningly fast pace. The initial target amount was achieved before a week had passed, and the following week he was able to summon five at the same time.

Isana seemed surprised by his achievements, but in fact, it was a natural result in some ways. He was already the contractor of the Spirit King.

The reason why it is difficult for humans to summon the Spirit King is because they do not have enough affinity and mana. In particular, in order to summon a spirit, the purest mana in the world was needed. However, the human body is full of various impurities, so it was difficult to absorb mana itself. Even if they did absorb it, it would not circulate smoothly and would be blocked in the middle. That was the reason why most spiritists experienced difficulties in the process of moving to the upper level.

However, Isana’s body had already had that passage 뚫린 [뚫린 means ‘pierced’ or ‘opened’, referring to the mana pathways] when I was summoned (even if it was due to a variable). In other words, it was like just filling an empty 통에 물을 채워 넣기만 하면 되는 식이었으니 [통에 물을 채워 넣기만 하면 되는 식이었으니 translates to ‘it was like just filling an empty container with water’], so his growth was bound to be faster than anyone else.

‘I realized this on my own without anyone telling me, so I must be a genius.’

Anyway, at this rate, it was only a matter of time before Isana could summon সিকু엘 [Sikuel].

Of course, that doesn’t mean that everything was going well. Once he had the skills to help with the battle, Isana became even more hesitant to appear in front of people. Since the existence of a spiritist itself was not very common here yet, it was still noticeable.

Isana concluded that there was no need to do anything that would attract people’s attention in a situation where he couldn’t show his face without worry. In addition, he also stopped the training he had been secretly doing every night. Summoning a spirit like সিকু엘 [Sikuel] required a considerable amount of mana, and at that point, even if he was careful, there was a high possibility that people around him would notice something strange. As a result, his spiritism had been stagnant without improving any further recently.

Since then, Isana seemed to be watching carefully how other people fought rather than trying to fight directly in battle. I heard that even moderately skilled swordsmen can improve their skills enough just by watching other people’s battles. Isana seemed to be expecting that part as well.

“Ly, aren’t you tired?”

“No, I’m just watching. Honestly, my whole body is 근질근질해 [근질근질해 means ‘itching’ or ‘restless’]. I wonder if I’ll ever be able to fight as 멋지게 싸워 볼 수 있겠지 [멋지게 싸워 볼 수 있겠지 means ‘fight as coolly’ or ‘fight as impressively’] like them?”

Looking at Isana, who was shining his eyes like stars every time a battle broke out, I even felt a sense of guilt for some reason. I felt frustrated that I couldn’t help him with what he wanted.

‘Hmm, maybe it would be better to create a suitable gap around this point and part ways with the mercenaries.’

I didn’t really want to be separated from 트로웰 [Trowel], but since we weren’t going to be separated forever anyway, there was nothing to be sad about. No, rather, I was sorry that I was interfering with his 유희 [유희 means ‘amusement’ or ‘pastime’], so it was something to seriously consider.

No matter how close you are like family, there is a limit to how much you can 배려하는 데는 한계가 있는 법이다 [배려하는 데는 한계가 있는 법이다 means ‘there is a limit to how much you can be considerate’]. It’s ridiculous to say this when I’m already causing so much 민폐 [민폐 means ‘nuisance’ or ‘trouble’], but I didn’t want him to be affected by my activities.

“More 쓸데없는 생각 [쓸데없는 생각 means ‘useless thoughts’].”

“Huh? 트…… 매튜 [Matthew], when did you get here?”

I was flustered and turned around at the sudden presence I felt. 트로웰 [Trowel], who looked as 수려한 모습의 [수려한 모습의 means ‘handsome’ or ‘beautiful’] as if he had been painted, was standing with his arms crossed. Judging from his 삐딱해진 [삐딱해진 means ‘crooked’ or ‘askew’] expression, he seemed to have read my thoughts a little while ago. He looked at me for a moment as if he couldn’t 못 말린다는 듯이 [못 말린다는 듯이 means ‘as if he couldn’t stop me’], then asked with a smiling face.

“I’m a little 서운하네 [서운하네 means ‘disappointed’ or ‘hurt’] that you were thinking that way. El, did you think I was 방해받는 것처럼 보였어 [방해받는 것처럼 보였어 means ‘seemed to be bothered’ or ‘seemed to be hindered’]?”

“B, but that’s the truth. It’s true that I’m 거추장스럽게 구는 건 맞으니까 [거추장스럽게 구는 건 맞으니까 means ‘being a burden’], Even during battle, you can’t fight properly because you’re protecting me…….”

“It’s the same anyway that I’m not using my full strength.”

“으응 [Eung]?”

“It’s not like I’m saving my strength especially because of you. If I did everything I wanted to do here, my identity would be 탄로 나고 말걸 [탄로 나고 말걸 means ‘would be revealed’] right away, right? Even if you weren’t here, I would have just 적당히 시늉만 내고 말았을 거야 [적당히 시늉만 내고 말았을 거야 means ‘just pretended appropriately’].”

“Ah, is that so?”

I scratched the back of my head, feeling 머쓱해져서 [머쓱해져서 means ‘awkward’] because I hadn’t thought that far. 트로웰 [Trowel] chuckled and said.

“I’m not 불편한 건 전혀 없어 [불편한 건 전혀 없어 means ‘not uncomfortable at all’] at all because of you. I don’t think that will ever happen in the future. Even if it does, the work here won’t take priority over you. So you don’t have to 미안해할 필요 없어 [미안해할 필요 없어 means ‘don’t have to feel sorry’] to me.”

“But…….”

“Really. Rather, I think I’d be more 서운할 것 같은데 [서운할 것 같은데 means ‘disappointed’] if you left like this?”

“…….”

“I know how you feel, El. I know that this journey will be 번거로울 거라는 것도 [번거로울 거라는 것도 means ‘troublesome’] in many ways from your perspective. But you need a lot of information right now. Besides, it’s your first 유희 [유희 means ‘experience’ or ‘adventure’], right? It won’t be as 쉬운 일은 아닐 거야 [쉬운 일은 아닐 거야 means ‘easy’] as it sounds to live alone with your contractor. So I hope you’ll 의지해 줬으면 좋겠어 [의지해 줬으면 좋겠어 means ‘rely on me’] on me for the time being, at least. I know it’s 실례인 건 알지만 [실례인 건 알지만 means ‘rude’] to say this, but it’s not because I don’t trust you, it’s just because I want to do that. I want to help with the parts that I can help with.”

It was a 말이었다 [말이었다 means ‘words’] that made me want to cry. I stared at him blankly. Then, 트로웰 [Trowel], feeling my gaze, looked back at me.

“Why?”

“매튜 [Matthew]…… you’re 왠지 형 같아 [왠지 형 같아 means ‘somehow like a brother’].”

It was a 말이었다 [말이었다 means ‘words’] that came out 무심코 [무심코 means ‘unintentionally’]. At that moment, the 황금색 눈동자가 [황금색 눈동자가 means ‘golden eyes’] that had widened a little widened softly to the side.

“That’s 당연하지 [당연하지 means ‘natural’], of course. I was 태어났는걸 [태어났는걸 means ‘born’] much earlier than you.”

I felt a little 찡했다 [찡했다 means ‘touched’] at the end of my nose at the 말에 [말에 means ‘words’] that he answered 아무렇지 않게 [아무렇지 않게 means ‘casually’]. That’s because I could tell that he wasn’t 긍정한 것이 아니라는 걸 알 수 있었다 [긍정한 것이 아니라는 걸 알 수 있었다 means ‘not affirming in a simple way’] in a 단순한 의미로 [단순한 의미로 means ‘simple meaning’].

The only four Spirit Kings in the world, my brothers who have become my new family. It was a 기분이었다 [기분이었다 means ‘feeling’] that I 재확인한 [재확인한 means ‘reaffirmed’] again the 유대감을 [유대감을 means ‘bond’] that only he and I have 수많은 사람들 사이에서 [수많은 사람들 사이에서 means ‘among countless people’].”