Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 238

Chapter 238

At my signal, Alisa stepped forward. She pointed to the spot I had indicated earlier—the weakest part of the foundation—and said,

“Mulden, extend your roots along the base, starting from here and going towards the wall.”

Crack! Thump!

As soon as she gave the command, Mulden began to extend his roots into the ground. Alisa’s face was strained by the rapidly draining mana. I infused her body with energy to help her endure. After waiting for the roots to extend sufficiently, Alisa gave the next order.

“Dig deep and create a large fissure!”

Thump! Rumble!

Again, Mulden faithfully carried out his task. The earth’s energy intensified, and Mulden’s roots began to churn wildly within the ground. Each time, the wall vibrated violently, unable to withstand the tremors. The people standing on it were naturally thrown into confusion.

“What, what is this!”

“The ground is shaking!”

“Earthquake! It’s an earthquake!”

Screams of people panicking above reached our ears. From their perspective, it must have felt like the world was suddenly collapsing.

‘Undermine the foundation to collapse the wall.’

This was the plan Alisa and I had devised. Buildings are constructed on the foundation of the earth. No matter how sturdy they are built, they cannot withstand a collapsing foundation. Magical defenses only block external forces and cannot defend against attacks from within the ground. We aimed to exploit this gap while everyone was focused on external attacks. The Earth Spirit was the perfect entity for this task. Even a mid-grade spirit could damage a portion of the foundation. I could assist with the subsequent steps, so there shouldn’t be any problems.

Rumble! Crack!

Before long, thick fissures began to appear from within. I drew in water to increase the pressure. The floor, unable to withstand the accelerating speed, began to crack in other places as well. The fissures spread rapidly throughout the entire wall.

Once a balance is broken, it brings down other parts like dominoes. Now, the wall was twisting on its own without Mulden needing to touch it. My drawing in water accelerated the process even further.

Looking at the wall, I could hardly feel the presence of the people who had been swarming there just moments ago. Most seemed to have taken shelter. I didn’t want to harm people even while destroying the wall, so I was relieved. By then, Alisa’s face had turned pale from using too much power. I replenished her stamina and then gently patted her shoulder.

“This is the last one, Alisa. Let’s finish it.”

“Okay! Mulden!”

At her energetic signal, Mulden, who had been dominating the underground, responded immediately. He retracted all the roots he had driven deep into the ground at once. Naturally, this created empty spaces. At that moment, the ground that had been barely holding on collapsed all at once.

Rumble! Crash!

Along with it, the towering wall began to crumble helplessly. The surroundings were filled with thick dust, accompanied by resounding noise echoing in all directions. It was impossible to see even an inch ahead.

As the dust settled, I felt my vision clearing. When the hazy sky regained its original color, I could see the results. Most of the towering wall had disappeared before my eyes. All that remained were the remnants of a pile of rubble.

“Did we do it?”

“Yes, we did it.”

Alisa smiled wearily as she confirmed the same scene. It was the moment when the impregnable fortress, which had never allowed an enemy to invade since its construction, met its end.

* * *

The aftermath proceeded surprisingly smoothly. The soldiers inside the castle were unable to regain their senses for a long time due to the shock of the wall’s collapse. As a result, all attacks ceased, and the soldiers of our camp, who had been observing the situation from the midpoint, began to push in. The first to arrive was Duke Cael. With Ferris’s help, he crossed the lake in the same way we did.

That was the end. The enemy soldiers, who were panicking among the ruins of the collapsed building, immediately lost all will to fight upon discovering Duke Cael. With the wall gone, the magical defense that had been built upon it also lost its function. In this situation, the appearance of a Sword Master was like a hungry lion appearing in a rabbit den. When those at the front dropped their weapons, the others also threw away their weapons and surrendered. Later, two pale-faced lords submitted letters of surrender and allegiance, signaling the end of the battle. I later heard that it was the fastest fall in the history of siege warfare.

The two surrendered lords claimed that they had no intention of opposing the Emperor and had instead tried to rescue him from Clamore. They firmly believed the rumors that Duke Cael was involved in the Emperor’s disappearance. As a result, they were not charged with treason and were spared immediate execution, but they became prisoners according to the rules for those defeated in territorial warfare and were imprisoned. Once Isana returns to the Imperial Palace, their titles will be revoked, and they will be demoted to commoners.

The territories and people they possessed were annexed by Clamore. Only the owner changed while maintaining the existing system, but the reorganization of personnel was necessary, so it seemed that internal reorganization alone would take quite some time. Duke Cael delegated the task to his adjutant and immediately entered into an operational meeting for the next battle. Although they had achieved their first victory, it was only the beginning of the war, and there were many more battles to come. While allowing the soldiers to enjoy sufficient rest and the joy of victory, the commanders maintained the same routine without letting their guard down.

However, there were some minor changes from before. First, I and my companions were allowed to participate in the operational meetings. Until now, we had only been informed of the predetermined results, but now we were given the authority and qualification to participate directly in the meetings and express our opinions. There still seemed to be some controversy over our conduct, but the disapproving gazes were not as intense as before. In particular, the attitude towards Alisa had changed noticeably. Those who had ignored her as if she weren’t there now greeted her politely with honorifics whenever they saw her. It seemed that she was to be treated as an equivalent to a knight since she was the greatest contributor to this victory, even though she was still a young girl. Already, her name was rising almost like an idol among the soldiers.

‘Alisa, the daughter of the victory goddess Sphere!’

It seemed that even grand titles had already been attached. Passing through the camp, I could hear her name and hymns echoing several times a day. It must have been really impressive to collapse the wall. It was what we intended, but the reaction was more enthusiastic than expected, so it was fun to watch.

“I’m so embarrassed I could die.”

However, Alisa herself was very distressed. Every time she passed in front of people, she couldn’t lift her head with her face flushed red. Each time, the mischievous companions chuckled. I also smiled and said,

“They’re praising your contribution. Just think of it positively.”

“But it wasn’t just me who did it, it was El and I together. And if I tell the truth, El did almost all of it! But I feel so embarrassed and upset because I’m being praised as if I did it all by myself.”

“What’s there to be upset about? I’m deliberately not revealing it. And even though I helped, that doesn’t mean what you did wasn’t great. You can be proud of it.”

“But I’m just a mid-grade spiritist.”

“Not just, but amazing. You don’t realize it because there are only high-grade spiritists around you. Originally, this is strange, and it’s usually not easy to become a low-grade spiritist at your age. If you only consider innate talent, there’s no spiritist more talented than you.”

“Really?”

“That’s right. Why else would Trowell have shown interest in you directly?”

“Huh? Are you talking about the Earth Spirit King Trowell? The Earth Spirit King showed interest in me?”

“Yes, that’s why he came to see you. He recognized your talent and wanted you to learn spiritism.”

“Come to see me?”

Alisa, who had been listening with an excited face, tilted her head at those words. Then, as if suddenly realizing something, she made a blank expression.

“…Don’t tell me that the older brother who gave me the fairy tale book was Trowell?”

“Oh? Didn’t I tell you?”

“You didn’t! You’ve never given any indication of that before?”

“Ah…”

Come to think of it, I hadn’t revealed my identity yet when I first learned that fact. It was a time when I was hesitant to acknowledge it, so I couldn’t say anything and moved on. After that, I completely forgot to tell her because of the series of hectic events.

“Sorry. I forgot.”

As I apologized with an embarrassed feeling, Alisa’s face became even more blank. The truth she had suddenly learned seemed to be quite shocking. Well, it was understandable. It was as if the Earth Spirit King, whom she had been determined to summon someday, turned out to be her first love, the boy she had cherished in her heart.

“Oh my gosh…! I can’t believe it! That mysterious and handsome older brother was Trowell!”

Sibelius and Lapis’s faces twisted in the same way at her exclamation. They looked as if they were disgusted by something they couldn’t eat.

“Who’s mysterious and handsome? Damn it, it feels like my ears have been defiled. I’m hearing all sorts of things.”

“Memories of childhood are often beautified. Especially for humans.”

“Well, they’re a race that’s easily deceived by appearances. They mistake you for a good person even if you’re just a little nice to them.”

“Humans are too naive.”

Seeing the two of them seriously exchanging opinions, I thought that they would soon become close friends. I wondered what kind of expression Trowell would make if he knew that he had made a significant contribution to that process.

“Come to think of it, Lapis doesn’t know the whole story. What I mean is…”

“No, I know roughly. I’ve already heard some of it.”

“Oh? From whom?”

“Who else but Trowell himself.”

“Really?”

Alisa, who was already excited, breathed even more heavily. She, who usually didn’t even look at Lapis because she was afraid of him, was now staring straight at him with sparkling eyes. Lapis looked at such Alisa with a gaze as if he were looking at a rare animal.

“That older brother… I mean, Trowell, talked about me? He remembers me? What else did he say?”

“With the Spirit King’s memory, it would be harder to forget. He seemed to expect a special connection between you and Isana.”

“Yes? Me, me and Isana?”

It seemed that Trowell also knew the stars of fate they possessed. Alisa’s eyes widened as if she was surprised by the unexpected words. Her cheeks were as red as apples. Lapis gave a subtle smile and scanned her up and down.

“Well, do your best. The age difference is just right, and you’d make a good couple.”

“W-What are you talking about! Isana and I aren’t like that yet?”

“Hmm. Since you say ‘not yet,’ it seems you’re not completely uninterested. Humans grow up quickly, so it won’t be long before ‘not yet’ becomes ‘soon.'”

“N-No, that’s not it!”

“Huh? What’s not it, Alisa? What are you talking about?”

Just in time, Isana opened the door and entered. Seeing his face, Alisa’s face, which was already red, turned even redder.

“It’s nothing!”

“Uh, Alisa? Wait a minute?”

Alisa pushed Isana away and ran out. Isana, flustered, apologized to us and hurriedly chased after her. I watched the scene with a smile and muttered.

“…Couple hell, solo heaven.”

“What kind of spell is that?”

“If it’s a spell, it’s a spell. It’s like a famous saying that made my life the sweetest.”

Hehehe, as I grinned darkly, Lapis gave me a look as if I had eaten something wrong.

“But when did you hear those things from Trowell?”

“It hasn’t been long. That guy was here until recently.”

“Oh? Really? Didn’t he leave for the capital right after he broke up with me?”

“He didn’t go. He said his companion lost his expenses and became penniless. He was staying for a ridiculous reason.”

“Gasp…”

I remember that the pouch containing the expenses was kept by Herol. He wasn’t the type to be pickpocketed, so he must have carelessly dropped it somewhere while wandering around. The Champagne Mercenary Corps is famous and earns well. To lose a pouch containing all that income, is he even alive? Since they are people of such a boisterous nature, I was very worried about Herol’s life.

“Then he wouldn’t have been able to take the mercenary guild promotion exam. He said he would receive a gold badge this year.”

“Who cares about that? Anyway, thanks to that, I was constantly harassed by that guy. He nagged me so much that even the Lord doesn’t nag. He was unnecessarily worried that something had happened to you.”

“Trowell was worried about me?”

“He was worried about the water feeling bad, that your mood seemed low, and he was worrying himself sick?”

“…I see.”

It seemed that Trowell had also felt it when I was psychologically unstable. I didn’t know that he was worried about me. At that time, I was too busy suspecting his intentions, so I felt a little sorry.

Why had I been worrying and cowering alone all this time? The answer was so clearly visible if I just lifted my head a little. Whether the El of the past was a real person or not, that point was no longer important. It was my fault that I had built up misunderstandings without even confirming with the person involved. The excuse that I was too afraid to confirm the facts could not be an excuse. It also meant that I didn’t trust the other person that much. When Ellyuen pointed that out, I said it wasn’t true, but in fact, I was as ashamed as if my whole body had been exposed.

I believe the words that he was worried about me, the affection he had shown all along. I should meet Trowell soon and apologize. It seemed that there would be a lot to talk about with him.

After coming to a conclusion, I suddenly wanted to see the other Spirit Kings as well. Come to think of it, it had been quite a while since we had all gathered in one place. It seemed that I was not taking care of them the most because I thought I could meet them anytime. Should I suggest arranging a meeting regularly? I thought it was a pretty good idea and raised my head. It was then that I suddenly felt a small vibration in my chest.

“…!”

In an instant, all the scenery in front of me flickered black all at once and then returned to normal. It was like falling from a distant sky. It felt like I had lost consciousness for a moment and then regained it.

‘…What is this?’

My mind went blank, and I couldn’t think of anything. I quickly shook my head. But the sensation I had felt once could not be erased. No, it was felt even more clearly.

There was no doubt. Just now, for a brief moment, the ‘breath’ of the world stopped.