Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 151

A silence stretched out, feeling like an eternity. Of course, that was just my perception. The man who was the cause of all this seemed genuinely happy and delighted. His eyes, curved with anticipation, stared directly at me, and I couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat. …This is awkward.

He’s the one mistaking me for someone else, so why do I feel so embarrassed? I swallowed hard and slowly scanned the smiling man before me. His appearance was undoubtedly elven, but his skin was an unusually striking blue. His silver hair, like finely ground moonlight, was almost as dazzling as Isana’s. As that thought occurred to me, I suddenly remembered there was a name for beings like him.

“Um, so… a Blue Elf…?”

I seemed to recall hearing that elves living in the sea had this kind of appearance. The man immediately reacted to my words, nodding his head, though his subsequent answer was far from what I wanted to hear.

“Are you asking if this form is for your amusement? Yes, it’s a Blue Elf.”

“Pardon? Amusement?”

“Yes, as you know, my true form is too conspicuous.”

“…Then, is the… horse form I saw earlier your true form?”

“Why ask something so obvious now? But it’s not a horse, it’s a unicorn.”

“A unicorn?”

“Also known as a unicorn. It resembles a horse in appearance, but strictly speaking, it’s a completely different being. So please be careful when you mention it in the future. Humans don’t call humans monkeys just because they look alike.”

“Um, okay, fine. That aside, how can a unicorn transform into a human?”

“How? Because I can transform?”

…Someone, please explain this situation to me so I can understand!

I must have grabbed my head without realizing it. The man—was his name Sibelius?—whose expression instantly hardened, strode towards me.

“What’s wrong, El? Are you hurt somewhere?”

“Yes? Oh, no, it’s not that…”

Startled by his sudden approach, I stepped back as he came closer. The man’s eyes wavered greatly. He looked so hurt that my conscience stung.

“El, do you still not recognize me? Even after seeing this form?”

“Uh, well, you see…”

I panicked and started racking my brain for an excuse. Honestly, I wanted to confidently retort that I was seeing a Blue Elf for the first time, but I had a sinking feeling that it wouldn’t work at all. And my ominous premonitions have always been accurate.

Just then, something crunched under my foot. I inadvertently looked down and immediately frowned. I was standing on the remains of a monster.

Even though it was just ashes after being completely burned, it was once the remains of a human. Horrified, I quickly moved my foot. The thing that had been under my foot fell to the ground with a thud. It was a round, hard, yellow object. Everything else had turned into black powder, but only that retained its original color and shape.

‘What is this?’

Unable to resist the sudden surge of curiosity, I forgot about the man in front of me and bent down to examine the object closely. The surface was hard, but it was surprisingly light, and above all, its shape was very familiar. I soon easily identified what it was.

“…A seed?”

But somehow, it felt strange for an ordinary seed. Usually, plants have a strong life force, but this was closer to the opposite. Yet, it didn’t look dead either. I tried to take a closer look to identify the seed. But then, someone snatched the seed from my hand. The culprit was Sibelius, the unicorn in the form of a Blue Elf—or so he claimed. Dumbfounded, I looked up at him, and he shook his head with a stern face.

“Be careful, El. This isn’t from around here.”

“What do you mean…”

“It looks ordinary on the surface, but it contains demonic energy. It looks like a seed from a Demonic Tree. Why is something that should be in the Demon Realm here?”

“…!”

Demonic Tree.

As soon as I heard that, I jumped up from my spot. I could feel Sibelius staring at me with bewildered eyes, but I didn’t have time to care about him right now. Scanning my surroundings, I could only see a dense forest. I glared between the tightly packed trees and shouted.

“Lucarim! I know you’re there! Come out now!”

Whether it was because of my shout or the wind, the leaves on the branches swayed. But there was no response, let alone the reply that should have come. I got even more agitated and yelled.

“Can’t you come out?!”

Swish.

At that moment, the scenery in front of me began to distort and crack as if glass were crying. I could clearly see black demonic energy crawling out of the cracks like snakes. Soon, the gathered energy slowly poured down from above as if dyeing with paint. The bizarre phenomenon soon completed the form of a man with black hair. It was Lucarim.

“…What’s that?”

Surprised by the sudden appearance of the man, Sibelius’s face hardened. Lucarim, as if he didn’t care about him, looked at me and smiled languidly.

“Oh my, why is the beautiful Water King so angry?”

His tone was still nonchalant and annoying. I glared at Lucarim with force, then approached Sibelius and snatched the seed he was holding back. He, who was already flustered, seemed very surprised by my actions, his eyes widening. Ignoring the intense gaze I felt from the side, I showed the seed to Lucarim.

“This, is this your doing?”

At my question, he blinked slowly. It seemed more like he was suppressing his rising excitement than trying to understand the situation. My stomach churned at the sight.

“What on earth have you done?”

If I remembered correctly, Lucarim definitely said he grew various kinds of Demonic Trees. That hobby itself was clearly unusual, and now a seed from a Demonic Tree was found on the person who attacked us? It was not a situation that anyone could dismiss as a coincidence. As expected, he readily confessed.

“It’s the fruit of a tree called Asura. After feeding it blood and imprinting it, if you put it in the host’s body, it lies dormant until the owner wants to turn the host into a monster.”

“You…”

“Ah, don’t be so angry. It’s a misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding?”

How could he say that after seeing such obvious circumstances? Dumbfounded, I stared at him, and he quickly nodded.

“Really. I just listened to his concerns.”

“Concerns?”

“I happened to meet him at a tavern, and after exchanging a few words, I found out that he wanted to gain power beyond human limits. So I told him how.”

“And the method you told him was giving him a seed that turns people into monsters?”

“It’s true that he gets stronger. Doesn’t everything have a price to pay for gaining power?”

“How can you say that now…!”

“Of course, I warned him about all these facts in advance. Nevertheless, it was that human who chose to do it. Frankly, I didn’t even think he would really carry out that method. Humans can sometimes be more cruel than demons. But it seems like it wasn’t all bad for the Water King? You seem more comfortable dealing with monsters than humans.”

“……”

Feeling as if I had been caught off guard, I couldn’t find the words to continue and shut my mouth. Lucarim grinned as if he knew it would be like this.

“Besides, you’ve gained an unexpected harvest. Now that the circlet’s seal is broken, you don’t have to feel uncomfortable anymore. Moreover, who would have thought that what was inside was a Saint Beast? I thought it would be a demon beast with a slightly higher rank at best.”

“Saint Beast?”

“A race once called unicorns. Now they belong to the Divine Realm and have become beings that cannot be found on Earth.”

At those words, Sibelius’s eyebrows twitched slightly. He looked like he was recalling an unpleasant past. Lucarim stared at him with strangely excited eyes.

“Even a Saint Beast with wings. I never thought I would see the lineage of the broken Rune in a place like this. It’s truly an honor to meet you like this.”

“…What are you?”

“I am Lucarim. A demon.”

“I can tell you’re a demon just by looking.”

Sibelius’s eyes turned cold at the polite greeting. He glared at Lucarim for a moment, then turned to me and asked.

“El, you have ties with demons too? How did you get to know him?”

“Yes? No, well…”

“Anyway, El is too nice. But a demon, that’s too suspicious. You shouldn’t meet just anyone. You need to be more wary of people.”

…When did you start acting like you know me so well?

I stared at Sibelius, who was lecturing me sternly as if I were a child, in disbelief. You don’t seem to realize it, but the most suspicious person here is you.

“Oh, have you already allowed him to use nicknames? I’ve been chasing after you so much, but you wouldn’t even let me near you. I’m a little disappointed.”

Lucarim said annoyingly, seeing my bewildered expression. Sibelius immediately reacted to his words.

“Nickname?”

“Yes, you just called the Water King El.”

“El is just El. Rather, why have you been calling El by strange titles since earlier? Water King?”

“What’s wrong with calling Elquines the Water King?”

“Elquines?”

“Yes, the person in front of you. She is the Water Spirit King, Elquines.”

“What is…”

A stiffened face turned towards me. Seeing his eyes full of shock and confusion, I sighed deeply.

“I told you before. I am a Spirit King, and my formal name is Elquines.”

“Wh-What are you talking about, El? You’re human. Why are you saying you’re a Spirit King when you’re human? I can’t understand at all. Besides, Elquines looks completely different from you?”

As expected, he didn’t believe me this time either. To make matters worse, he was even trying to spread claims that were completely different from the truth, which made me feel beyond frustrated and even unpleasant. Conversely, Lucarim seemed very interested in his words, for some reason.

“Hmm, so the Spirit King Elquines you know looks different from this person?”

“Yes. Completely different. That guy was much taller than El, and his hair was longer too. He was annoyingly pretty, but he looked like an adult man to anyone. Besides, he had a cynical and obnoxious personality. There was nothing in common with El at all.”

“But aren’t the hair color and eye color the same?”

At those words, Sibelius’s eyes wavered as if he had been stabbed in the heart. He looked at me with a queasy face and said grumbling.

“What I can’t understand the most right now is that. El originally had blonde hair and green eyes. But I don’t know why they suddenly changed to the same color as that guy.”

“That guy…”

“That damn Spirit King. He must have done something to El! Right, El? What happened to you while I was gone? No, more than that, how long has it been since I was trapped in the seal?”

It was only natural, but I couldn’t answer any of his questions. I couldn’t even grasp the situation at all. Then, Lucarim, who had been lost in thought, smiled and said.

“Excuse me, but I think I can solve that question for you.”

“You know?”

“I have a rough idea. Before that, there is one thing I would like to confirm. What is the last year you remember?”

At the cheerful question, Sibelius frowned for a moment, then reluctantly replied.

“…Seike Imperial Calendar, year 445.”

“Oh, the Seike Empire of the Asantra Continent? Founded by the Conqueror Raviols?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I tilted my head, watching Sibelius nod calmly. No matter how hard I tried to remember, I had never heard of those names.

“I see. So that’s what happened.”

Lucarim was grinning as if he was very happy. I couldn’t stand the frustration any longer and asked.

“What are you talking about, Lucarim? What happened?”

“Ah, it’s just a very simple problem, Elquines. A time difference has occurred.”

“Time difference?”

“Do you remember what I said earlier? About why the unicorn race disappeared from this world?”

“You said they went to the Divine Realm?”

“Yes, that’s right. The gods, judging that unicorns were not suitable for the middle realm, accepted them into the Divine Realm. …About 4,000 years ago.”

“…Yes?”

At the last words, I doubted my ears for a moment. Sibelius also frowned, as if he couldn’t readily grasp the meaning.

“…4,000 years?”

“Asantra is one of the ancient names for the continent. 4,000 years ago, during the era that humans now call the Golden Age. The name of the most powerful nation among the many empires that existed at that time was the Seike Empire.”

“What does that mean… Are you saying that it’s 4,000 years after that time?”