Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 158

158.

As we moved, the surrounding scenery gradually changed. The dense jungle and swamp areas slowly receded, replaced by the vast expanse of desert stretching before us. This signified our complete entry into the Alphonse Empire’s territory. I’d heard that most of the country was desert, and the environment was as barren as I had imagined. The ground was mostly withered, and strong sandstorms blew constantly.

What surprised me was the climate. I had sensed it even in the forest, but the temperature wasn’t as high as I’d expected. I thought it would be different once we entered the desert, but there was almost no significant change, except that it was slightly hotter. The daily temperature range was large, but the humidity in the air wasn’t bad, considering how dry the ground was.

If an ordinary desert was like this, then the Baron Desert, which was said to have the best climate, would have very mild weather. It seemed strange to even call it a desert at that point, but seeing it confidently marked as a desert on the map gave me a strange feeling. It was as if it was a desert just for the sake of being a desert.

“Now I get it. This is the Tara Continent.”

Siberius muttered, gazing at the endless desert stretching in all directions. He had wrapped a long cloth around his face, barely revealing his eyes. Isana, next to him, was dressed similarly. The sandstorm was so intense that covering as much skin as possible was unavoidable.

“Tara Continent?”

“That’s the name of the region from the era I lived in. The most prosperous country here would have been the Raban Empire. Do you know it?”

“No. But how would you know that?”

“Because it’s a desert.”

He recognized it because it’s a desert?

It was a difficult answer to accept, but I nodded casually. So it was a desert even 4,000 years ago. Even though the empire disappeared, the terrain didn’t change much. Well, the desert was a difficult condition to reclaim, even for a reasonably prosperous country.

“By the way, what is this place called now, Isana?”

There must be a name for the continent now, just like there was in ancient times. When I asked the question that suddenly came to mind, Isana smiled and answered as expected.

“It’s called the Rom Continent.”

“Rom?”

“Yes. It’s divided into three continents: Masca, Aratus, and Rom. The place we were in is the Masca Continent, and Aratus has the magic empire, Carters. Aratus and the Rom Continent are almost attached, so there are frequent disputes between countries.”

“Hee, I see.”

I nodded, recalling the information I had just learned. In fact, Akkadon is much smaller than Earth, so even if it’s called a continent, it’s not that large, so there’s no point in dividing it. Perhaps that’s why it has a mediocre climate, unlike other desert areas. But the scenery was still a magnificent desert.

Around that time, a major change occurred in our schedule. We decided to abandon our existing plan to travel to the center of the empire by boat and switch our route to land.

The reason was that the ship we were supposed to take broke down. The mast and oars were completely damaged by the storm, and the condition was so severe that it would take at least a month to repair. It was even the only ship going to our destination.

I had expected some waiting time, but only a few days at most, and I had no intention of being stuck in one place for a month. Another problem was that there was no guarantee that this wouldn’t happen again. If we continued to be stuck every time, we’d arrive later than planned. In this situation, switching to land was almost an inevitable choice. Of course, that didn’t mean it was a particularly pleasing decision.

“Sigh, this is ruined.”

As I sighed deeply while looking at the map, Siberius smiled and asked.

“Does the land route take that long?”

“They said it would take several years even if we rode a horse. We’ve already crossed the continent, so it won’t be that long, but still…”

“Hmm, can I see the map too?”

I readily handed the map to Siberius. I hadn’t realized it when I received it, but the Alphonse Empire map given by Ifrit was a detailed map with terrain information as well as road directions and markings. He said it wasn’t completely accurate, but I could still get a rough sense of the distance. The land route marked on the map was much longer than the sea route, and just looking at that, it was almost a foregone conclusion that the land route would take longer. But Siberius, who had been scanning the map for a while, said something unexpected.

“It seems like we can just go off-road.”

“Huh? Off-road?”

“In the first place, the land route that humans have set is based on their limitations. In other words, it’s a safe route from a human perspective. We don’t necessarily have to follow that method, do we?”

“……!”

Wow, now that I think about it, that’s right!

I was dumbfounded by the fact that I had just realized this. Why hadn’t I thought of that until now? Even though I had been looking at the map all along, I had never considered other routes. I just thought that I should follow the map as it was marked.

I told myself that I would set limits in advance, and that’s exactly what this was. The advice and concerns that the other Spirit Kings had given me came to my mind in a new way. I thought I had become quite accustomed to the life of a spirit, but I still have a long way to go.

“It seems like it’s a route that avoids the middle of the desert and monster habitats. If we just break through here, the road will be much shorter. Then it will be shorter than the sea route.”

“Ugh~ Then have I been digging a hole until now?”

“Digging a hole? You’re using an interesting idiom. If you mean you’ve been doing useless work, not really. It’s true that the sea route is the fastest way to cross the continent. But from now on, the land route will be better. In my opinion, you’ve made a good change of course at the right time.”

“Really? Ha, that’s a relief.”

I felt like I had been driven to the edge of a cliff and barely grabbed a lifeline. I sighed in relief, stroking my chest. Life is full of surprises, and I never thought I would be grateful that the ship broke down. I almost went back the long way, leaving the closer road behind.

“That’s great, Isana. The land route is faster.”

“Yes!”

It was a lucky break, but I felt better quickly. Isana’s face was also flushed with joy.

“Hehe, there might be an even better way than that, though?”

At that moment, the space in front of me flickered, and a person suddenly popped out. It was Lucarim. Why does this demon keep appearing without a sound? Leaving the wary group behind, I sighed lightly.

“What is it again, Lucarim?”

“Well, what is this?”

Despite my indifferent reaction, he smiled brightly and took something out of his arms. It was a long sword wrapped in a black scabbard, lightly shaking in his hand. I was puzzled by what seemed like a sudden, absurd act, but then a fact flashed through my mind, and my face hardened. Sure enough. I could feel the thick demonic energy flowing from the sword.

“Don’t tell me…….”

“Yes, that’s exactly what it is. It seems like what you’re looking for is related to this, isn’t it?”

Lucarim affirmed without beating around the bush. My guess was correct. It really was a Demon Sword.

It seemed like he had heard the conversation I had with Siberius the other day. Seeing the playful look on his face, I groaned slightly. I didn’t intend to be indebted to him, but seeing the Demon Sword revealing its presence in front of me made me very uneasy. Isana and Siberius also had stiff faces. Lucarim didn’t even look at them and landed gently in front of me.

“I thought you were just traveling, but I didn’t know you were looking for a Demon Sword. You should have told me sooner. I have a lot of these.”

“……If I had told you, would you have given it to me?”

“Of course, I would have to give it to you.”

“Oh? Really?”

“Ell.”

I reacted without realizing it, and Siberius called out to me as if to warn me. But even if that hadn’t happened, I would soon have had to pull myself together. It was because of a piece of paper that Lucarim handed me.

“What is this?”

“It’s a contract.”

“A contract?”

“Hehe, even for me, it’s not cost-effective to just hand over a Demon Sword. You can think of it as a kind of sales agreement. The condition is that you grant me one favor in exchange for the Demon Sword.”

“……Rejected.”

I knew it. I should have just ignored him from the beginning and not bothered to deal with him. What was embarrassing was Lucarim’s reaction. He didn’t expect me to refuse at all, and he jumped up from his seat as soon as I shook my head firmly.

“No, why! It’s just one favor?”

“Why? How do I know what kind of favor it will be, and then suddenly sign a contract? Especially when the other party is a demon.”

“But isn’t it usually the person in a hurry who gives in in situations like this? Why are you so calm?”

“Just because you’re in a hurry doesn’t mean you have to put up with the disadvantages? If you’re going to offer a contract, you should at least specify what you’re asking for.”

“But if I reveal everything in advance, it won’t be fun!”

……Okay, thanks to you, I know for sure. I should never sign a contract with this demon. I feel like I’ve aged 10 years in a short time. I sighed deeply and then waved my hand to tell him to disappear quickly.

“Fun, my foot. Forget it, go find someone else.”

“Wow, you’re really too much. I’m not the kind of person who makes unreasonable requests? I’m a good person, you know?”

“Have you ever seen a really good person say that about themselves?”

“Yes, me.”

Ah, the weather is so nice today. I openly ignored the brazen voice and pretended not to hear. Isana and Siberius had already been treating him like he didn’t exist for a long time.

Even the mighty Lucarim seemed to have grasped the atmosphere that was turning against him. He shrugged his shoulders with a helpless expression.

“Well, fine. Someday you’ll recognize my true worth. Even if you regret it then, I won’t know?”

“I won’t regret it. More importantly, how long are you going to follow us? Isn’t this enough now?”

“What are you talking about? It hasn’t even started yet.”

“……That sounds kind of scary.”

“Hehe, are you scared?”

“No! Not at all!”

“Oh, dear.”

When I shouted back in frustration, Lucarim clicked his tongue as if he was sorry. Of course, he didn’t look sorry at all. Rather, his face was openly grinning, and he looked like he was enjoying the situation.

I stared at his annoyingly smiling face and shook my head. I should have figured him out by now, but I still don’t know what he’s thinking. I probably won’t ever get used to this demon.

* * *

After that day, Lucarim relentlessly held out the Demon Sword every day. It seemed like he was just having fun teasing me rather than aiming for a contract. From daggers to greatswords to rapiers, the types of Demon Swords he presented were varied. Seeing that the same one never overlapped even once, it seemed like he really had a lot of Demon Swords as he said. Some people don’t even have one and are desperately looking for it, but he has so many; the world is really unfair.

However, his daily boasting about the Demon Sword led to a completely unexpected result. Stimulated by the diverse forms of the sword, Isana suddenly began to devote herself to swordsmanship training.

Isana practiced her physical strength and sword training in between moves, even sacrificing her sleeping time. It seems like she’s already good enough with spirit magic, but since she originally trained with a sword, she couldn’t give up her desire to grow as a swordsman. And Siberius watched the scene with great interest.

“Hmm, interesting. Elquines’ contractors are walking the path of spirit swordsmen one after another. Is there a tradition passed down between them?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Ell, you were also a spirit swordsman.”

I blinked my eyes for a moment, wondering what he was talking about, and then I soon understood his words. It seems like he’s talking about the past ‘Ell’ who looked like me. I thought it had been quiet lately, but here we go again. I wonder when he’ll stop equating me with him. I’m too lazy to argue that it’s not me anymore, so I responded to the conversation appropriately.

“Ell also learned swordsmanship?”

“Yes, and he was quite strong. He even reached the realm of Sword Saint.”

“Sword Saint?”

“It refers to someone who has completely mastered swordsmanship and has even transcended its limits. No one can follow him in that field. It will be the goal of all swordsmen.”

“Ah, do you mean Sword Master? People who reach the highest level of swordsmanship are called that.”

“Really? It seems like the title has changed now.”

I nodded absentmindedly and then frowned slightly. I didn’t realize it right away because Siberius said it so casually, but when I thought about it, it wasn’t something to just pass over. It’s a huge deal to contract with the Spirit King, and he’s even a Sword Master. What kind of human is that Ell guy? No, more than that, is he really human?

It’s okay when I don’t think about it, but once I start to get interested, I feel strangely anxious. *Don’t touch it. Don’t touch it.* An inexplicable warning kept shouting the same words. But unlike the alarm bells ringing in my head, I couldn’t stop the surging curiosity. I hesitated for a moment and then cautiously looked at Siberius and asked.

“……Do I really look that much like Ell?”

“Huh? Ah, yes. Except for the hair color and eye color, you look exactly the same. The atmosphere is a little different, though.”

“Atmosphere?”

“The you back then had a slightly precarious feeling. He got along well with everyone and got along well, but it felt like he wasn’t settling down anywhere? Like someone who was about to leave at any moment. I wondered why, but now that I see you, I understand. It was probably because of his eyes.”

When I looked at him questioningly, Siberius said with a dreamy expression as if he was lost in reminiscence.

“Should I say it was somewhat empty? He had eyes that looked a little lonely. His actual personality was bright and cheerful, so maybe it was just his natural atmosphere. Anyway, I think that unique precarious feeling made him more eye-catching.”

“I, I see.”

“But personally, I like your current atmosphere better. I feel like you’ve finally found stability. I’m a little sad that you don’t remember me, but if your atmosphere has changed like this thanks to being reborn, then this is okay too. I like you being happy more.”