Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 83

83

After that, Kaitain and I sat in the clearing and talked comfortably for a while. During our conversation, I heard an unexpected story from him.

“By the way, Elquines-nim, have you ever mentioned being a priest of Eluien before?”

“Um, I think I might have. But I didn’t make it up myself. There was a sick child, and after I healed him, he misunderstood me as a priest.”

“I see. Then do the knights who left know about that incident?”

I nodded, recalling what had happened back then. Was his name Ray? I had explained the situation to the knights to some extent, in preparation for when that child would come to the imperial city with the necklace in the future. Kaitain nodded in understanding, stroking his smooth chin.

“Ah, I see. So that rumor was because of that.”

“Pardon? What rumor?”

“Didn’t you know? Actually, there have been various rumors spreading around the empire since the Miracle of Three Days. One of them was that the god protecting the current emperor is the god of punishment, Eluien.”

“Huh? Is, is that true?”

When I looked at him in bewilderment, Kaitain nodded nonchalantly.

“Yes, that also came from the righteous thieves who spread the Miracle of Three Days. It was a bit strange that a small order like ours was being mentioned even though there is a national religion, the Demon God, but now my question has been resolved.”

“W-wait a minute. Could it be that someone was harmed because of that…?”

“Ah, no, it’s not that. It’s just an unconfirmed rumor anyway.”

“Is it really okay, though? I heard that they worship the Demon God as the supreme god here. Even the Pope issued an arrest warrant for those who seek the Emperor, so if they hear such rumors, wouldn’t they pick a fight with you?”

“Um, I don’t think that will happen.”

“But…”

“It’s really okay. I don’t know the exact reason, but the Demon God Church seems to be a bit wary of our order. I think the knights who spread the rumors thought it would be okay because they knew that too.”

“Wary?”

“Yes, definitely wary. Usually, a small order is subject to internal interference from the temple with a large force, but we have never experienced such a thing. Rather, they even tried to provide us with convenience. Even now, the rumors are rampant, but I have never heard that the main church has contacted us. Normally, they would send a letter to confirm the facts. I think all of this is thanks to Eluien-nim’s grace.”

…It’s not that, it’s probably because of Eluien’s dirty temper.

I swallowed the words that rose to my throat and forced a smile. How high was his notoriety, that even the demons and other gods feared him? I never thought that it would have such an impact in the human world.

At this moment, I couldn’t bear to tell the truth to this pitiful and innocent lamb.

* * *

Herol regained consciousness late in the afternoon the next day. Perhaps because of the long-accumulated fatigue, he did not wake up easily even though his wounds had completely healed. As a result, the group couldn’t leave his side all day and were just circling around him.

“Ugh…”

“Herol!”

“It’s me, Herol! Are you awake?”

As his consciousness began to return, the group all crowded in front of the bed with brightened faces. However, Herol himself didn’t seem to be able to distinguish whether this was reality or not. He blinked blankly for a long time, slowly looking at the group. He had a puzzled expression, as if he didn’t understand something.

“…Is this, perhaps, a dream?”

A hoarse voice came out from between his chapped lips. But no one answered that question. That was because he suddenly jumped up and shouted with wide eyes.

“Ah, damn it! What, you guys! Don’t tell me you couldn’t beat one measly monster and you’re all dead?”

“Huh? What nonsense are you talking about?”

“If that’s not the case, how else would you be here! I died! If you’re in the same place as a dead person, then you must be dead too, right?”

The group all had dumbfounded expressions at his confident exclamation. They thought he had finally woken up, but they never expected him to start spouting nonsense as soon as he did. However, it was clear that he was not normal yet.

“…Um, wait a minute, Herol. You just woke up, so you must be confused about something…”

“Ah, it’s okay. Don’t make excuses. Well, that monster was a bit strong. It’s the one who killed this Herol-nim [term of respect], so it would have easily taken care of you guys. Oh well, it can’t be helped.”

“That’s not what I meant…”

“It’s okay. I understand everything. I never thought I’d have to live with you guys even after death, but if this is my destiny, I have to accept it. Anyway, now the most important question remains. So, is this heaven or hell?”

“…”

With that serious question as the last, a heavy silence flowed into the room. However, Herol didn’t seem to sense the strangely stiff atmosphere around him at all. He made eye contact with me and had a bright expression, but when he found Iril next, he immediately made a disappointed face.

“Tch, I thought it was heaven because El was here, but it was hell after all.”

“…Do you want to die?”

Iril frowned fiercely. Frequent fights between the two were now commonplace, but this time her eyes were even more ferocious than usual. When she had made such an affectionate confession, and now her attitude had completely changed, it was no wonder she was even more angry. Then Herol hurriedly shook his hands.

“Ah, wait. That’s not what I meant. I mean… I wanted you to live, if possible.”

“…What?”

“Are you stupid? If possible, it’s better for the person you love to be alive, right? If you come here too, there’s no point in me protecting you, and what’s that? It’ll break my heart every time I see you, so what else would that be if not hell?”

“W-wait a minute! What are you saying now!”

At that moment, Iril’s face turned bright red. It was funny to see her, who was always so haughty, flustered at times like this. The other members of the group also started giggling and laughing. Then Iril, still with a red face, shouted angrily.

“D-don’t laugh, you guys! Herol, stop saying weird things! Aren’t you embarrassed in front of people?”

“What’s the point of saving face here when I’m already dead? And I’ve decided not to hide my true feelings anymore.”

“Wh-what?”

As the stiff Iril couldn’t speak, Herol slowly leaned forward and grabbed her arms. Iril froze with wide eyes as his face gradually approached. She seemed to have even forgotten to breathe. The two’s faces were soon close enough to touch noses.

“Iril, I sincerely…”

Thwack!

However, the sweet atmosphere didn’t last long. Mighty, who couldn’t stand watching any longer, hit him on the back of the head.

“Ouch! What are you doing, you bastard! That hurts!”

Herol, who had fallen forward, gritted his teeth and grabbed Mighty by the collar. Mighty looked at him with a pathetic gaze.

“Oh? Does it hurt? You’re already dead, but you care about a lot of things, don’t you?”

“Huh? Oh? Come to think of it, that’s right? What is this? Does the soul feel pain too?”

As an experienced person, the answer is ‘no.’ In the first place, there was no such thing as a soul bumping into or touching something. It was common for them to just pass through. Ah, but was it possible for souls to touch each other? Then maybe it would hurt when they collided?

While I was worrying about a fact that wasn’t very important, the group started to scold Herol.

“I’ve been watching you since a while ago… you’re writing a novel, you bastard! Why would you die?”

“Huh? Then, could it be… that I didn’t die?”

“Yeah, can’t you tell by looking? Your body is perfectly fine without a single scratch!”

“Huh?”

Only then did Herol think of his injuries and quickly looked down at his body. As expected, the bare skin revealed through his open shirt was smooth without a single common scar. He groped his body with both hands and muttered in disbelief.

“What, why is this happening? I definitely got hurt? But why don’t I have any wounds? And it doesn’t hurt either. Wait, then could it be… that my fight with the monster was a dream?”

“…Get a grip, you idiot. How come your head only thinks in that direction? Can’t you even consider that you were healed?”

“Huh? Healed? Ah! Come to think of it, there was holy water!”

As if he finally understood the situation, he made a convinced expression. Then Sherry sighed deeply and said.

“It’s amazing that you thought that far with that brain, but unfortunately, you’re wrong. Mighty already used almost all of that holy water when he healed himself, you know?”

“What? Um… that’s right, I remember that too. What, then what the heck happened?”

Herol covered his head with both hands with a confused expression. Then Sherry suddenly pointed at me.

“Your savior is El over here. Come on, thank him, Herol.”

“Huh? What are you talking about? El is my savior?”

“Of course, because El is the one who healed you. You’re lucky, Herol. It turns out that El isn’t just a prospective priest or anything. He can use tremendous divine power.”

“What? Is that possible?”

“I didn’t know, but apparently it’s possible in this order. Kaitain Priest-nim himself proved it, so it must be true. He even received a divine revelation? The priest-nim said that God loves El so much. That’s why he can use divine power even though he’s not an official priest yet.”

“Hee…”

I smiled awkwardly at Herol, who was staring intently at me. I wanted to deny that it wasn’t true, but I couldn’t ruin the atmosphere that was flowing so well on its own. Rather, I was grateful to Eluien a hundred times over right now. Even though it was embarrassing and awkward, it was true that I had avoided a potentially troublesome situation thanks to him.

“I don’t know what’s going on yet, but thank you so much for healing me, El.”

“It’s nothing. More than that, I’m glad you woke up safely. How are you feeling?”

“Yeah, I feel completely refreshed. Like I just woke up from a good sleep.”

“That’s understandable. You slept for two days.”

The owner of the voice that suddenly cut in was Mighty. At those words, Herol stopped stretching his arms leisurely and was shocked.

“Huh, two days? I slept that long?”

“Yeah, you idiot. Do you know how worried we were? Even though your wounds were all healed, you didn’t wake up, so everyone was worried that something else might be wrong. Especially how anxious Iril was…”

“M-Mighty! What are you saying now? When did I ever do that!”

“You did. Didn’t you question Kaitain Priest-nim and El alternately several times a day? You kept bothering and urging them to ask when you would wake up.”

“Ugh! I, I just… !”

At that time, Iril’s gaze, who was trying to make an excuse, met Herol’s gaze. Then Iril shut her mouth like she had eaten honey.

“You were worried about me, Iril?”

“…”

“Really?”

Iril’s face, which had barely calmed down, started to turn red again. It was such an obvious reaction that it made the onlookers more embarrassed. The group all clicked their tongues and shook their heads. It was Trowel’s words that resolved the situation.