Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 181

181

Time seemed to crawl. The blonde boy blinked slowly the moment our eyes met. He looked just as surprised as I was to see someone who looked exactly like him.

“Huh?”

He quirked the corners of his lips, looking slightly embarrassed, yet also intrigued, his eyes shining with interest. I tensed up involuntarily at his gaze, which slowly scanned me from head to toe.

“…I’ve never heard of having a long-lost twin brother. This is getting interesting, isn’t it?”

“What, what is this? Two El’s?”

By then, the others in the group had also noticed the boy and were expressing their bewilderment. I could clearly feel their gazes shifting between him and me, along with the sounds of surprised breaths. The boy seemed to hear Alisa’s muttered words, and he looked at me with even more curious eyes than before.

“El? You mean your name is El too?”

“…Something like that. It’s more of a nickname than a name, though.”

“Still, you’re called El, right? Wow, this is really amazing. Same face, same name. How old are you? I bet that’s about the same as me too.”

I took a step back, unnerved by his casual questions and approach. The boy looked awkward at my reaction.

“Wait, I know I probably look pretty suspicious from your point of view right now, but don’t be so wary. I’m just as confused as you are. I don’t know if this will tell you who I am, but…”

“…I know.”

“Huh? You know?”

I bit my lip, seeing his bewildered expression. Wouldn’t it have been easier if I didn’t know? The problem was that I knew him all too well.

“El…?”

At that moment, a small voice, as if about to fade away, rang out from right beside me. I turned my head in surprise to see Ciel standing there blankly. He was staring at the boy in front of him with a dazed expression.

“You… are you El?”

The boy’s gaze left me and landed on him at the voice filled with agitation. This time, he widened his eyes as if a little surprised. What was different from when he looked at me was the hint of joy in his face.

“…Ciel, you’re safe.”

The voice filled with relief clearly revealed his overwhelming emotions. His softly curved eyes shimmered as if he were about to cry at any moment.

“You, really… do you know how much I’ve been looking for you…”

However, the peaceful atmosphere didn’t last long. The boy’s eyes, which had been gazing fondly, suddenly turned fierce, and in an instant, he disappeared from sight. Or rather, the feeling that he disappeared was just an illusion; in reality, he had rushed at Ciel. At the same time as feeling a strong wind brush past my cheek, there was a dull thud, like bones breaking! When I turned to look at where the sound had come from, Ciel was already lying on the ground, as if he had been sent flying. The boy had kicked him in the stomach.

“Ugh! Wh, what…!”

“You damn brat! I told you not to go! You never listen to me, and you ended up walking right into danger and getting kidnapped? Do you know how much I suffered looking for you? You even got me caught because of you! How are you going to take responsibility for this! Huh?”

Ciel, who had been reacting with a confused expression to the sudden attack, now wore a blank look again at the ensuing barrage of abuse. The boy frowned at the sight, then straddled him as if mounting him, grabbing him roughly by the collar.

“What are you looking at me blankly for? Why don’t you try making some excuses?”

“…El.”

“Not my name! I know my name is El better than anyone else, okay?”

His honey-gold hair cascaded down like a curtain as the boy moved. Ciel blinked for a moment, then slowly raised his hand and touched the boy’s cheek. It was a cautious touch, as if he were approaching a phantom that might disappear at any moment. But when the boy didn’t disappear even when his hand touched him, he looked incredulous, his eyes shaking wildly. He flinched as if surprised by the sensation of his skin touching his, then this time grabbed the boy’s face with both hands.

“No way… You… you’re really El?”

“What do you mean, ‘no way’? Who else would I be if not the real El? What, can’t you even recognize your friend’s face anymore?”

“But…”

Ciel gasped at the words that were spat out as if they were absurd. I could feel his gaze, filled with shock and confusion, glancing at me. Another El had appeared in front of me, the one he had believed to be El all along, so it was no wonder he was confused. But the agitated boy didn’t notice the look.

“What do you mean, ‘but’? You better know that I’m not going to let you off easy this time! I’m going to get an apology for your careless actions, and for what your clan did to me! Locking people up without a word! What kind of people are they? I know they’re wary of outsiders, but this is too much!”

“Yo, you were locked up?”

“Yeah! That old geezer who’s the elder of your clan or whatever! He said he’d take me to where you were, but he just locked me up in some weird magic circle! I felt like I was being sucked somewhere, and I don’t remember anything after that!”

“…!”

Could that bracelet have been a sealing tool? Now I understood what was going on. It seemed he had been sealed in the same way as Ciel.

There was no way Ciel couldn’t have realized the situation I had figured out. Ciel stared at the grumbling boy for a long time without saying a word. The boy looked askance at him, seeing his dazed expression, and asked:

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…Am I dreaming right now?”

“What?”

“Is the person in front of me really El? The El who shares the same memories as me, my only friend?”

“What’s with you all of a sudden? Would you rather I wasn’t?”

“No!”

Ciel shook his head like a child at the question asked with a smirk. He distorted his face as if he were about to cry and wrapped his arms tightly around the boy’s neck.

“El! It’s El. It’s really my friend El.”

“Ugh! What’s with you? A grown man acting all clingy is just gross and doesn’t suit you.”

Regardless of the boy’s grumbling, Ciel hugged his neck even tighter. The boy didn’t seem to dislike it either, as he patted his head with a helpless expression. It was a familiar sight, as if they had been doing it for a long time.

“I’m sorry. You were looking for me a lot, weren’t you? I must have worried you.”

At that moment, as if he had been waiting for it, Ciel burst into tears. The boy hugged him tightly and comforted him as he sobbed and clung to him like a child. It was a reunion that had taken place only after going back thousands of years. Was that why? It felt as if only the two of them existed in this vast space.

After some time had passed, Ciel finally managed to stop crying. As the sobs subsided and the agitated air calmed down, the boy, who had been patiently waiting until then, smiled gently and asked:

“Are you feeling a little better now?”

“…Yeah.”

“More importantly, Ciel, there’s something I’m curious about.”

“Hmm?”

“I feel like my spirit contract has been severed.”

“…”

Ciel, who had been quietly burying his face in his shoulder, flinched and raised his head. The boy’s gaze sharply scrutinized his eyes.

“Judging by your expression, you seem to know why?”

“Huh? Ah, well, that’s…”

“Come to think of it, where is this? It doesn’t look like your village. Besides, it feels like quite a bit of time has passed since I was trapped. Is it just my imagination that it hasn’t just been a few years?”

With each question that followed, Ciel’s face grew paler and paler. The boy smiled brightly at him as he hesitated in embarrassment.

“Well then, why don’t you explain everything that’s happened?”

* * *

The explanation lasted for quite a long time. Ciel did most of the talking, and El just listened quietly. Isana, Alisa, and I were watching the two of them from the side, like jurors listening to a trial.

“I see, so that’s what happened. …4,000 years, you say.”

El reacted surprisingly calmly after learning that a tremendous amount of time had passed since he had been sealed. Of course, it wasn’t that he wasn’t shocked; he did hold his head and take deep breaths for a while. Still, he was considerably calmer compared to Ciel.

“Then Elquines must have had a generational change. That’s why my contract with him was severed.”

“Ah, you understand?”

“He already said back then that the time for his extinction was approaching. No matter how long the lifespan of a Spirit King is, there’s no way he could have lived for thousands of years after that.”

Ciel couldn’t raise his head, looking like he had committed a sin, at the words muttered as if sighing. The boy, El, noticed his expression and smiled bitterly.

“Why are you so down?”

“Sorry, because of me…”

“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault.”

El shook his head lightly at the apology given in a voice that seemed about to fade away.

“I was overwhelmed with emotion earlier, so I got angry first, but I have no intention of blaming you for something like this. It was something no one could have predicted. Anyway, it’s the result of what I did, and it’s entirely my responsibility. It’s a shame and I’m sorry that I couldn’t say goodbye to my acquaintances, but there’s nothing I can do about it. They would have understood too.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Seriously, I told you not to apologize. I told you it’s not your fault.”

El smiled gently and patted Ciel’s shoulder as Ciel’s eyes turned red as if he were about to cry. He was probably the one who was having the hardest time right now, but he was comforting the other person instead, showing an unwavering strength.

A bright and strong person like sunshine, whom everyone couldn’t help but like.

It was exactly as Ciel had described him once.

As I was quietly watching the two of them, my eyes suddenly met with ‘El’ who was comforting Ciel. He smiled at me, seeing me hesitate in embarrassment.

“You said your name was El too, right? You’re the one who released Ciel’s seal?”

“…In the end, yes.”

“I see. I think I understand what happened. Did Ciel perhaps mistake you for me?”

The words he spoke were in the form of a question, but his tone was already filled with certainty. Then, before I could answer, Ciel, who had been leaning on him as if clinging to him, startled and raised his head, making excuses.

“I, I thought you had been reincarnated!”

“Ah, I see. So you did mistake him for me?”

“B, but you look so alike…”

“Hmm, I have to admit that too. My heart almost dropped the moment I saw you. I thought I had a long-lost twin brother.”

I was just as shocked. But it wasn’t the atmosphere to pour out such complaints, so I quietly kept my mouth shut.

“Anyway, I’m sorry. It seems there have been a lot of misunderstandings, so I’ll apologize on his behalf.”

“Huh? Ah, no, it’s okay.”

“No, it’s obvious. This guy must have been bothering you for no reason. What are you doing, Ciel? Why don’t you apologize quickly too?”

At those words, Ciel raised his head with a sulky expression. His gaze flickered for a moment as he glanced at me, but his expression soon turned sullen.

“…I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“What do you mean you didn’t do anything wrong? You were mistaking someone else for me, weren’t you? Imagining that someone who isn’t even dead has been reincarnated.”

“Th, that’s definitely my mistake, but…”

“See? I’m disappointed that that’s all my existence means to you.”

“No, that’s not…”

“Haha! Just kidding, just kidding. Why are you so flustered?”

El clutched his stomach and laughed as Ciel’s face turned blue.

“Ki, kidding?”

“Of course. I’m not so petty that I’d get hung up on something like that. So much time has passed, so it’s natural to think I’m dead. Besides, if someone who looks exactly like me appeared, I would have thought they were reincarnated too. And even the same name, what kind of fate is this?”

His eyes, sparkling intriguingly, landed on me. At that moment, Ciel shouted with a flared expression.

“It’s not a name! It’s just a nickname!”

“Huh? Ah, that’s right. But a nickname is still a name, isn’t it?”

“No, it’s completely different! How can a formal name and a title that others just made up be the same?”

The fiercely distorted expression was one I had seen once before. Just like when he was wary of me at first, he couldn’t stand the fact that someone else had the same name as his friend.

In a way, he was a truly consistent guy. It wasn’t that I didn’t understand his feelings, but I wasn’t happy with the way he had suddenly changed his attitude. It seemed that I had inadvertently frowned because of that. Ciel glared at me with a stiff face.

“What, what is it! It’s true that it’s just a nickname for you, isn’t it!”

“…Yeah, that’s right.”

“I, I didn’t say anything wrong. It’s your fault for making it so confusing. If you didn’t look so alike…!”

“I know. I wasn’t planning on saying anything. Anyway, I’m glad you met the friend you were looking for. Congratulations, Ciel.”

I had said it with as much sincerity as I could, but Ciel’s expression only hardened. I couldn’t help but be bewildered by what he said next.

“That’s it?”

“Huh?”

“You’re not bothered at all that you found out you’re not El?”

“…? I said that from the beginning.”

As I answered with a bewildered feeling, he made a complicated expression as if he had something to say, then bit his lip.

“…I see, you hated me thinking of you as El. That’s good. Now there’s no chance of being misunderstood anymore. You must be relieved that an annoying guy is going to leave you alone?”

“What? No, that’s…”

“Ciel, why are you saying such things? You should be grateful that he understands. Hey, I’m sorry. This guy has been raised so preciously that he’s always been self-centered. Please don’t take it too badly.”

El suddenly cut in, thinking that it wouldn’t do to leave it as it was, just as I was about to retort. I nodded my head in agreement at his words, but a lingering feeling of unease remained. It was as if I had agreed with Ciel’s claim. Ciel seemed to feel the same way, as he was glaring at me with an even angrier expression.