Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 135

135.

“……!”

When I came to, everything around me was dark. I blinked blankly for a moment, then held my breath slightly and slowly turned my gaze to look around. The ceiling was lined with old wooden planks, and the dim light of dawn filtered in through the creaking window. It was the familiar interior of the cabin I had seen so much of over the past few months.

‘It’s real.’ As soon as I recognized that fact, I started breathing normally. I couldn’t help but chuckle at myself.

‘Why am I so relieved now? I knew it was a dream from the start. I think I know why I had that dream now. It’s probably because of the story I heard last night.’

“Is your sister sick?”

After that day, Endil completely disappeared from the deck. Rumors spread throughout the ship that he could no longer summon spirits.

It was extremely rare for a spirit master to suddenly lose their abilities. Because of this, Endil’s story was the talk of the ship wherever we went. There were grim stories circulating that he was holed up in his cabin crying every day, or that he had become a wreck, but none of them were confirmed.

Most people assumed that he had lost his spirits. It seemed that his usual gruff manner and miserly personality contributed to this perception. The fact that it happened when he was involved in a questionable incident only added to the suspicion.

Amidst all this, his past came as a bit of a surprise. Endil had a younger sister who had been ill for a long time.

The person who revealed this was the captain, who had been watching him for years. He seemed to have stepped in to defend him a little, as public opinion about Endil was steadily declining. When people reacted with surprise, he nodded with a heavy expression.

“Yes, that’s what I heard. It seems to be a rare disease, and the only place where herbs that are effective grow naturally is in the Alphons Empire. So, he takes this ship to the Alphons Empire every two months. I told him it would be better to just move there, but it seems the environment there is too harsh to live in permanently. So, he seems to have chosen to endure this hardship alone.”

“Hee, is that so? Since when has that been going on?”

“Well, it’s been like that since I started this job, so maybe it’s been about 11 years?”

“Gasp! 11 years? How old is that kid now? He still looks like a teenager!”

“He’s an elf. I heard that their race has a coming-of-age ceremony at the age of 100. He may look like that, but he’s older than our grandfather.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Isn’t it amazing? Actually, it wasn’t long ago that I found out he was an elf. Before that, he wore his hood low and acted like a human. His way of speaking [ 말투 – mal-tu, Korean for ‘manner of speaking’ or ‘tone’] was quite rough, so I couldn’t imagine him being an elf. I think he deliberately acted that way to disguise himself. But now that 말투 has become a habit. Anyway, one day he happened to summon a spirit, and from then on, he just revealed that he was an elf. Thanks to that, he quickly became famous.”

The captain had a wistful expression, as if recalling that day.

Before that, Endil’s only source of income was digging up and selling rare herbs and grasses that only grew in elven territory. But after becoming a spirit master, he became more actively involved in human society. Wherever he went, the spirits protected him, so he didn’t have to fear his surroundings.

Thanks to his increased income, he was able to seek treatment for his sister’s illness from more doctors and temples. It was from then on that he began to obsess over making money. The more he earned, the more different treatments he could find. If he did that, his sister might be completely cured someday. That was the only hope Endil had.

“Wow. So all that money goes to his sister’s medical bills?”

“That’s right. It’s no exaggeration to say that he lives for that. Rather, it seems that he’s always in the red even when he earns that much. Temple treatment is a bit expensive, you know.”

“Hmm, I see. I just thought he was a huge miser, but I didn’t know he had such a situation. I feel a little bad for him.”

At the sound of someone clicking their tongue as if feeling sorry, I bit my lip. These were all stories I didn’t know either. In fact, I had several opportunities to find out, but I deliberately avoided them. Surely, Cyciel wanted to defend his contractor. If I had asked why, he would have explained the whole situation right there.

But what did I do then? I told him I’d listen to his excuses later and shut him up. Maybe I wouldn’t have cared much even if I had heard the circumstances. I was really angry at the time. I just thought Endil was annoying. Later, I thought he might not be such a bad guy, but even at that moment, I didn’t completely get rid of my prejudice.

When I found out that the seal was completely gone, I secretly thought it was a good thing, even though it wasn’t. I thought it was a good thing because he wouldn’t be able to make money using spirits in the future. Besides, it wasn’t by my order, but a natural occurrence due to an unfortunate accident. I didn’t have to feel guilty anymore, so I even felt relieved. When I remembered that fact, my chest felt indescribably heavy. But what really bothered me was the conversation that followed.

“But why is he the only one struggling to earn money for medicine? What are the other family members doing?”

At someone’s sudden question, everyone’s eyes turned to the captain at once. In fact, I was also curious about that part. Even though he was older than humans, Endil was still a young boy among the elves. His still-growing physique proved that.

Protecting children is the top priority for any race. Even the elven race, known for its isolation, doesn’t recklessly send even fully grown adults into the human world. It was strange to see Endil, who was just a child, making money on his own without a guardian.

As the gaze intensified, the captain scratched his face as if he was in trouble.

“Well. I don’t know the details, but I heard that he doesn’t live in an elven village. I heard that he lives alone with his sister.”

“Huh? Doesn’t he have parents?”

“No, that doesn’t seem to be the case. I heard that his parents are still alive, but they don’t seem to interact with each other.”

“What, did he run away from home or something?”

“No, it’s the opposite. His parents abandoned him.”

“Huh?”

“……!”

At the captain’s hushed voice, everyone held their breath. I was the same. A heavy weight settled in my chest. At the surprised reaction around him, the captain smiled bitterly, as if he knew it would happen.

“Unexpected, right? I guess they abandoned the kids because of the disease. I think they left the village because of the disease.”

“Goodness. So they abandoned them? What kind of parents are there in the world?”

“I know, right? I heard that the elven race has a special affection for blood ties, but it doesn’t seem to be the case here.”

“Heo, no wonder Endil is so twisted.”

“How can parents abandon their children…….”

That was the end of what I heard. After that, people’s gossip continued, but I couldn’t hear anything anymore. ‘Abandoned.’ Only that fact was spinning around in my head.

‘……To have such a dream because of that. I’m such an idiot…….’

I shook my head at the self-deprecating feeling. I tried to get up, but my hands were strangely numb. Only after looking down did I realize that I was clutching the blanket tightly. When I forcibly released my grip, a slight tremor started from my fingertips. I couldn’t control myself properly, as if my body wasn’t mine.

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

When I recalled the voice that had sounded so desperate, I felt breathless.

‘I’m such an idiot.’

I stared blankly at my trembling hands and buried my face between my knees.

“Oh dear, did you have a nightmare?”

“……!”

At the voice I heard at that moment, I reflexively swung my arm. Because I had unconsciously channeled my energy, it was the same as swinging a sword. But the other person took a step back without a word and lightly avoided it.

“Wow, you’re more violent than I thought?”

The smiling voice sounded vaguely familiar. I cautiously scanned the other person’s appearance. A hood pulled low over his head, a trained, tall figure revealed beneath his cloak. I had definitely seen him somewhere. After being puzzled for a moment, I soon remembered where I had seen him. The man who had easily blocked the dagger that had flown toward the boy a while ago. It was that person.

“You are…….”

Why is this person here? Did he accidentally come into the wrong cabin? Before I could voice my doubts, the man took off the hood he had pulled down over his head. Then, his appearance slowly began to be revealed, illuminated by the moonlight behind him. Hair as black as the darkness that filled the surroundings, and reddish-bronze eyes shining moistly between his disheveled hair. As soon as I realized what that meant, my head went cold.

“Demon…….”

“Haha, you guessed it. You recognized me at a glance. Well, black hair and red eyes are the most prominent features of demons. But my eye color is a bit dull, so many people get confused, but you have good eyes, maybe because you are a Spirit King.”

“…….”

He also knows that I am a Spirit King. That meant he didn’t just approach me by chance. I instinctively checked on Isana and Kaitain in the next bed first. Fortunately, the two were fast asleep, unaware of anything.

The demon in front of me was calm, even though he clearly saw my wary expression. He complained in an overly friendly tone.

“Speaking of which, isn’t it too much that all demons have black hair and red eyes? There’s really no individuality. But actually, it wasn’t like this from the beginning. Because the demons were running around and causing trouble, the gods went to the Demon God and whined, asking him to create a way to identify these damn guys. So, he had no choice but to unify all the colors so that they could be easily recognized. Before that, demons also had various hair and eye colors. But now everyone is so unoriginal, it’s a pity. Don’t you think so?”

“……Forget about that, who are you? Why are you here?”

“Hmm, I thought you’d be curious. I guess you’re not very interested in this story.”

……Do you think I’d be curious about that in this situation?

I couldn’t hide my disbelief and stared at the demon. He looked decent, but he seemed to have a unique way of thinking. I sent him a stern look, but the demon who met my eyes smiled brightly instead.

“My name is Lucarhem.”

“Luca……rhem?”

“You can just call me Luca. I have the title of Duke in the Demon Realm, but this is not very important, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

“……I don’t think it’s *not* very important?”

The demon Deron, who had come to me a while ago, was also a Duke. According to what I heard at that time, the Duke was clearly a very high position held by only four people in the Demon Realm. Besides, the fact that he came alone knowing my identity meant that he was quite confident in his abilities. Maybe he was the strongest of them. Who would believe that it’s not important? I glared at Lucarhem with intensity in my eyes. Then he hurriedly waved both hands.

“No, you really don’t have to worry about it. In fact, I’m only a Duke in name, but what I actually do is closer to a gardener.”

“Huh?”

“Really. If you come to the Demon Realm, you’ll know that this is true. It’s a pity that there’s no way to prove it here. I’d like to take you to the Demon Realm sometime if I have the chance. Are you interested in Mahwa or Mamok?”

“Mahwa? Mamok?”

“Oh, you didn’t know. Those are the words that refer to plants that grow in the Demon Realm. They are much more beautiful and colorful than the plants that grow in the Middle Realm [the human world], and above all, they are very strong. However, the way to grow them is a bit tricky…… but I’m really good at it. I have thousands of Mamoks in my garden alone. I named them all too. Rebecca, Sarah, Frill, etc. Rebecca used to be the best in my garden. But these days, the trend is Marilda…….”

“Excuse me…….”

I couldn’t keep up with the rambling explanation, so I carefully called out to him. Then Lucarhem, who had been wearing a dazed expression as if dreaming, suddenly came to his senses.

“Oops, excuse me. I get like this when it comes to gardens. Let’s see, where was I? I think I’ve finished introducing myself roughly. Oh, by the way, did you ask me why I came here? That’s because I received an order from the Demon King.”

“Order?”

I was relieved that a normal conversation seemed to be continuing now, but on the other hand, I frowned. If he came with the Demon King’s order, it would never be with good intentions. But Lucarhem didn’t answer right away and frowned a little.

“Hmm, what should I say? Actually, I have a bit of amnesia. It was only a few days ago, but I’m already forgetting the details.”

“…….”

“No, but don’t worry. I think it just came to my mind now. So, what was it? According to my memory, I think he told me to kill the boy that the Water King is protecting.”

“Oh, that’s righ…… Huh?”

Because it was such a nonchalant tone, I was momentarily stunned without properly grasping the meaning. No, wait a minute. So, the Water King is me, and if it’s someone I’m protecting…… it’s Isana!