Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 132

132.

“God damn it, were you the bastard who poured water on me back then?”

“…….”

Ah, now that he mentions it, that did happen.

I internally sweated, wondering if it had been counterproductive. But it seemed my actions had served as a sufficient warning. The aggressive energy that had him ready to pounce immediately seemed to deflate. Instead, fear settled into his eyes, replacing the hostility.

“…What are you planning to do to me?”

The power of appearance is truly great. Perhaps it’s because of his cute face. I had resolved to be firm if I faced him directly, but seeing his dispirited appearance quickly softened my heart. Even knowing his true nature, Endil’s tense face looked like a frightened animal. I guess this is why honey traps exist. After sending Cyciel back, I said with a sigh.

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.”

“You won’t tell?”

“Of course, there’s a condition. You promise not to accept that man’s offer.”

“Ha, is that even a question? Of course, I won’t do that kind of thing! What do you take me for?”

“But you accepted the money at the end.”

“…Damn it, you saw that in such detail in the pitch-black night. Where the hell were you watching from? I’m an Elf, so my senses are much more sensitive than humans, but I didn’t detect anyone nearby at all.”

“Stop talking nonsense and just answer.”

At my words, he scratched his head irritably. Then, with a listless face, as if all his energy had drained away, he muttered.

“Hoo, if you saw it, you should know. That bastard forced that money on me. I was planning to return it today.”

“Really? Well, either way, even if you carried out that plan, it would definitely fail. Because I’ll be interfering. I’m warning you in advance not to waste your energy.”

“This is fucked up, seriously. I won’t do it! I said I won’t!”

Endil, bursting with anger, turned away. He seemed to have regained his confidence after hearing that I wouldn’t reveal what happened last night. As I shrugged at his behavior, he suddenly turned back to me and said.

“Hey, do you think I’m trash?”

“What?”

“You’re a spiritist, so you’ll see this situation more objectively, right? Is that why you told me not to harass Cyciel? I’ve been agonizing over it all night. Is what I’m doing really that despicable? Can’t a spiritist make money using their abilities? Is killing someone better than this?”

Caught off guard by the question, I paused for a moment. Not because I didn’t have an answer, but because I was taken aback by his appearance. Although he was hiding it with his rough language, his face was very solemn. As if humbly accepting the impending criticism, he didn’t seem to expect a good answer from me in the first place. He looked like a prisoner awaiting sentencing.

Involuntarily, I lowered my gaze and slightly gasped at what I saw. Endil’s hands were trembling so much it was pitiful. Seeing that he wasn’t even trying to hide his trembling hands, despite his high pride, it seemed he wasn’t even aware of it himself.

Perhaps that was why. Using spirits for profit is definitely unpleasant. So, I should be harsh about that point, that’s the right thing to do, but a different answer than I expected popped out of my mouth.

“…You’re not trash.”

“Huh?”

“You didn’t force Cyciel to do it, did you? He’s not the type to obey just because a high-level spirit forces him to. It doesn’t matter what a spiritist does as long as they have the consent of the spirit they contracted with. Who cares what others say.”

Of course, regret washed over me as soon as I said it. What am I doing! What am I going to do later? I wanted to bite my tongue, but there was no way to take back the words I had already spoken. Even Endil seemed taken aback by this answer. He blinked blankly, like someone who had received unexpected help.

“…Do you really think so?”

“O, of course. I don’t care about that at all.”

Well, here goes nothing. I said, half giving up. But it was definitely obvious that I was awkward, as Endil gave me a suspicious look.

“But you poured water on me.”

“…Eek, that’s different! Anyway, saying murder is better is nonsense. That’s why I came to interfere.”

“I see.”

“Yeah! Don’t worry about what that man said at dawn. From the start, that person seems to think that the only purpose in life is money. There’s no need to be swayed by such a narrow-minded way of thinking. Everyone’s way of life is different. Of course, the purpose of life is not something that one person can dictate. Just as not all knights serve lords because they want to become rich, similarly, just because a spiritist is affiliated with a country doesn’t necessarily mean that money is their goal. But contract killing? That’s really just to make money. The value is completely different.”

“…Even if you can save someone with that money?”

Was it my imagination? I felt like Endil’s voice had lowered a bit as he asked the question. I was a little puzzled, but I didn’t show it and answered.

“That’s even more ridiculous. Someone who steals from others tries to protect their own? Once they’ve destroyed someone else’s life, they’ve lost the right to do so themselves.”

“Someone who goes to the battlefield ends up killing someone to protect others.”

“That’s because in war, you have no choice but to lose if you don’t protect. Besides, the opponent is the enemy, and both are fighting on equal footing. In a way, it’s a fair relationship where they risk their lives. But contract killing is unilaterally harming one side. No one sees that as fair. And there are plenty of other ways to make money. Think carefully. When someone asks, can you really say that that method was the best?”

Endil didn’t say anything for a long time. Seeing his expression turn serious in an instant, it seemed my persuasion had worked to some extent. Feeling unnecessarily proud, I said with more enthusiasm.

“Anyway, that man has unpleasant ideas. Don’t pay any attention to what he says. Even if you make money using slightly petty methods, how can you equate that to a murderer? There are things you can compare, really.”

“…So you do think it’s a petty thing to do.”

“What? Ugh! Ah, no, this is…”

Oops, I accidentally revealed too much of my true feelings. As I panicked and shut my mouth, Endil chuckled. I thought he would immediately start cursing, but surprisingly, his expression was calm.

“You’re not good at lying, are you?”

“…Sorry.”

“It’s okay, honestly, that kind of talk isn’t even close to being criticism for me. It’s not like it’s wrong either. I also think murder is the worst, but I don’t think I’m clean either. From the start, flies are bound to swarm around dirty water.”

“No, that’s…”

“Did you say it’s okay as long as I got consent? Yeah, I definitely came to an agreement with Cyciel. But I also know that what I’m doing are things that a normal spiritist wouldn’t do. God damn it, you know what? I don’t just do this. I make Cyciel create water and sell it, and sometimes I do circus-like things. Anyone can see that I’m making money by exploiting Cyciel. I asked knowing all this. I just suddenly wanted to complain.”

“You…”

“Well, someone like me doesn’t even deserve to complain. If anyone heard this, they would be horrified. How dare I complain? Really, who do I think I am? Haha, you know what? Actually, I’m in a position where I wouldn’t even be able to say anything if I were cursed by the Water King right now.”

“Huh? Water King?”

“How foolish. I’m talking about the Water Spirit King, Elquines.”

“Huh?”

I was startled and looked up at my name suddenly popping up. Fortunately, Endil seemed to think that I was just surprised by the mention itself and didn’t seem to suspect anything.

“W, why the Water King?”

“It seems you haven’t heard the rumors yet. The truth is, I didn’t become a spiritist with my own power. Rather, I was someone who had no aptitude for becoming a spiritist at all. But one day, the Water King gave me Cyciel as a gift. So, I became a high-level spiritist overnight.”

I had roughly heard that story. It was Cyciel’s amazing scam. Even thinking about it again made me frown, but Endil soon muttered with a bitter expression.

“I’m treating such a precious gift so carelessly. He must be very disappointed in me. Right?”

“Umm, well…”

“That’s right. That’s why he doesn’t appear before me. No matter how earnestly I wish and pray…”

No, I’m right in front of you right now.

But is this guy saying he earnestly wishes right now? Feeling unnecessarily awkward, I looked away and suddenly realized something, then looked at Endil.

“Do you want to meet the Water King?”

“What, don’t you? I thought it would be the same for any spiritist.”

“Huh? Umm, that’s right.”

As I nodded awkwardly, Endil looked at me with a dumbfounded expression and then chuckled.

“Cyciel told me that the Water King is the most beautiful among the spirit kings. Dark water-colored hair that reaches down to his waist, and eye color as blue as the sea. With one breath, waves rise, and with a touch of his fingertips, even the most terrible diseases disappear. Honestly, I can’t imagine what he looks like. Cyciel, a high-level spirit, is so cool, how amazing would the Spirit King be?”

“Ahaha, why so much…”

“…Why are you embarrassed? It’s not like I praised you.”

“Huh? No, well. That, really? I just suddenly felt embarrassed for some reason? Ahahaha…”

“Weird guy.”

This time too, Endil looked at me with a dumbfounded face. But his expression was much softer, as if he wasn’t upset.

“Well, anyway, rest assured about this matter. As I said, I don’t really like murder either. I may definitely already be dirty, but even in the same mud, I can distinguish between mud and a pile of shit.”

“Ah, that’s…”

“Still, thank you for saying no.”

“…!”

The last words were almost a mumble, but I heard them clearly. When I reflexively looked up, Endil was already turned around and walking away. His Cyciel, who had been cautiously watching from afar in his natural form, bowed to me and hurriedly followed behind.

I couldn’t move from my spot until his figure had completely disappeared. Unfinished excuses kept swirling in my head. Should I have at least listened to his story? It’s not like he would have answered easily if I had asked, but I felt regret that I hadn’t done so.

At least one thing seemed clear. He didn’t seem like such a bad guy as I thought.

* * *

Splash!

A round object rose from the surface of the water, cutting through the waves. It was a huge sphere with a transparent interior like a glass bead. The surface of the sphere was made of water, and inside were the figures of two people. It was Endil and his guest, who had just returned from their underwater exploration.

“Oh, they’re back!”

“Lord Lehner!”

The people waiting for the two on the deck all cheered. It was the most popular moment of Endil’s short business hours.

Soon, the sphere, which had completely risen from the water, crossed over to the ship and landed safely on the deck. And as the two people’s feet touched the ground, it slowly split open to both sides like a curtain being drawn, scattering. The evaporated water instantly gathered in the air and transformed into the familiar figure of a wolf. It was Cyciel.

“Wow!”

“Cyciel is so cool!”

The sight of the sphere disintegrating and transforming back into the figure of a wolf was the most popular among the spectators. The people cheered again, but I sighed inwardly. To allow them to breathe underwater, he has to create an oxygen barrier. But normally, the spirit would remain in its original state and create the sphere separately. The reason why Cyciel chose to become the frame himself is because Endil’s mana is that insufficient. Of course, it was highly likely that Endil was unaware of this fact.

“Well, then. Thank you for using our service, guest.”

“It was really fun!”

The first guest was a young nobleman who looked to be in his early teens. Despite this being his first time, he was also the lucky one who overcame the fierce competition of regular customers by offering five times the usage fee from the start.

As Endil skillfully bowed, the boy sparkled his eyes like stars and praised him generously.

“If I had known it was this fun, I would have tried it sooner! Loki told me it was dangerous, so I had only been watching, but it was really a waste.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“I’m not just saying that. Come to think of it, you said you were getting off at the intermediate stop, right? Then you won’t be able to do it much longer. That’s too bad.”

“L, Lord…”

A frail man stood next to the boy, who was chattering like a waterfall, with a tearful face. It was the servant who had been pacing back and forth with a pale face while the boy was underwater.

“Wait, Loki. Can’t you see I’m in the middle of a conversation? Ah, right! Since I was the first guest, I still have one more use left, right? I want to do that again. Is that okay?”

“That’s fine, but we have to discuss it with the other guests.”

The clever boy immediately understood what Endil meant. He smiled and nodded.

“I understand what you mean. I just need to pay more than the others, right? Okay. Was the amount I paid earlier 10 gold? I’ll pay 10 gold again this time. Anyone want to challenge me?”

At the boy’s shout, the eyes of the waiting regulars gleamed. They began to raise the price competitively on the spot.