Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 315

A gentle whisper poured down like a melody of colorful hues. Trowel felt his heart swell, even though he knew it was a past memory. As if blinded by the light, he lowered his eyelids. What had he replied back then? It had already been a long time, but he had to give a belated response now.

“Me too.”

Before he knew it, his mouth opened unconsciously.

“It’s the same for me too. …El.”

It was the key to the secret door. *Click*, the locked latch released, and an invisible gap revealed itself. Forcibly erased memories, and the countless scenes he had shared with her, began to dance before his eyes. As the forgotten things resurfaced, everything became clear. But almost simultaneously, the world that had briefly opened immediately closed and moved away from him in an instant. Everything happened in a fleeting moment.

“El, you say?”

“Huh?”

Trowel blinked and looked back at the sudden voice. Ellyuen was staring at him with strange eyes.

“Just now, you called El.”

“Me? No. I didn’t.”

“…Do you think I’ll be fooled if you just keep denying it? I guess I’ve been too lenient with you all this time.”

“No, I really didn’t!”

Ellyuen narrowed his eyes at the face that clearly revealed his bewilderment. The golden eyes that met the blatant gaze of suspicion were unwavering. He was good at hiding his true feelings, but he didn’t look like he was lying. Come to think of it, his expression seemed a little dazed a moment ago. Ellyuen frowned.

“…A rift.”

“A rift?”

“Could it really be…? No, it’s nothing. Just forget what I just said.”

Ellyuen quickly finished speaking, turned around, and walked away. “Forget it? You’re saying impossible things so casually. There’s no oblivion, so how can I forget?” Trowel grumbled softly from behind, unable to hide his dismay.

* * *

It’s one of those sensations that I can’t get used to—when the scenery around me changes in an instant. It’s even more jarring when it’s something I experience because of someone other than myself. I slowly closed and opened my eyes to adjust to the suddenly changed view: a winter forest covered in monotonous dark brown hues. Among the trees with bare branches, even more rocks filled the area in all directions. The fact that it was a deserted place was evident from the rough tree roots and piles of fallen leaves that thickly covered the ground. Even though it was a fairly large forest, there were no proper paths. In fact, most people either didn’t know it existed or couldn’t enter even if they knew.

“Is this the right place?”

While slowly scanning the surroundings, I heard a low voice. It was Lapis asking me to confirm; he was the one who had performed the teleportation magic a little while ago. I could feel As and Deron, who had accompanied me on this journey, turning to look at me, awaiting my confirmation.

“…Yes.”

I nodded calmly to the group waiting for an answer.

“This is the place.”

The breath I exhaled scattered white above my lips. The time I had been waiting for, yet not waiting for, was approaching.

* * *

“You’re going to the Imperial City?”

The situation had changed. As soon as I acknowledged that fact, the first person I went to was Isana. I barged into the place where the meeting was in progress, drove everyone out, and arranged a time to talk with him alone. Isana was taken aback by my uncharacteristic rough manner, and even more so by the words that followed. He was probably flustered that I, who had been keeping pace with his plans until now, was suddenly saying that I was going to the Imperial City. I wanted to explain in detail from beginning to end, but I didn’t have time right now, so I went straight to the point.

“It seems the Grand Duke is still performing human sacrifices.”

“…!”

“I thought the magic he was performing had stopped because of the surveillance, but that wasn’t the case. He was secretly creating sacrifices in secret places, little by little, out of my sight. It’s all my fault. I was too careless.”

“How did you find out about that?”

“There was a water spiritist among the victims this time. Naias’s pain was conveyed to me, and thanks to that, I briefly saw the situation there.”

A long breath flowed from Isana’s mouth. It was the sound of his breath, which had been paused for a moment, turning into a sigh. I knew how he felt, but I didn’t have enough time to consider it. Even now, the terrible sensation that had captivated my whole body remained intact inside me. I had to clench my fists tightly, fearing that my fingertips would tremble if I let my guard down.

“I’m sorry, Isana. I can’t leave the Grand Duke alone any longer.”

The reason I had left the Grand Duke alone until now was because he didn’t seem to be in contact with the Demon King anymore. Even if it was the Demon King, he was human. I judged that there was no way he could move out of my sight, so I believed without a doubt that he was quietly hiding. He had already done enough to deserve divine punishment for what he had done so far, but there was no need for me to step in. I thought it would be okay to leave it entirely to Isana to punish him in this life.

But if he was still helping the Demon King, the story would be completely different. That sorcery was not a problem to be solved among humans. If an evil god was born, this world would be as good as destroyed. I had to stop the sorcery before it was completed. The Grand Duke, who was in the way, was now someone who had to be dealt with as soon as possible—even if this war ended in vain and left Isana with nothing, even if he were to make the revenge he could not complete with his own hands a lifelong regret.

“I’m sorry.”

Isana, who had been frozen with a pale face at the repeated apology, raised his head. He erased his complicated expression and calmly stared at me.

“Don’t apologize, El. It’s something you have to do. Rather, I can’t thank you enough for indulging my immature greed all this time. I’m satisfied enough with just being able to get this far. Besides, my role as emperor will begin from now on. My enemies weren’t just my uncle. This war is just the cornerstone. Maybe it’s better to end it quickly.”

Isana, who was speaking with a smile, had a clear look in his eyes—an eye that contained no regrets or lingering feelings. I felt even more sorry for him than if he was feeling sad, so I opened my mouth without realizing it.

“It’s hard to say for sure because I don’t know how the situation will unfold in the future.”

“Huh?”

“I’m not good at hurting people. I’ll try to subdue the Grand Duke as much as possible. I’ll leave his disposition to you. It’s a little different from the picture you wanted, but… I’ll try to make time for you to talk to him one last time.”

Isana’s expression, which had been calm all along, wavered slightly at those words. Looking at his face, which revealed his bewilderment as if he had been hit, I realized that I had pointed out the part he had been secretly hoping for. Isana, who had been hesitating, soon laughed in vain, as if there was nothing he could hide from me.

“…Thank you.”

“I’m throwing ashes on the table that someone else is setting, so I have to do this much. Oh, and I was a little short on explanation. I’m not going to start working as soon as I get there. The reason I’m going to the Imperial City today isn’t because of the Grand Duke.”

“If not, then?”

Isana’s questioning gaze reached me. I smiled bitterly. I lightly clenched and unfolded my fist. The trembling had subsided a little more than before. I felt like I could stay sane even if I went in front of him now.

“…There’s something I need to take care of first.”

* * *

“So, why did you want to come here?”

I came to my senses at the voice falling from above. When I woke up from my reminiscence, reality unfolded again. Instead of the military camp full of tents, a dense rocky forest filled the surroundings. Was it called the Emperor’s Forest? It seemed to be one of the secret places located near the Imperial Palace, a forbidden area that only the Emperor could enter.

Against the backdrop of the serene scenery, Lapis was looking down at me with his head tilted. It was probably not just my imagination that his intently staring eyes felt like he was glaring at me. When I gave him an awkward smile, his gaze, which already seemed to be burning, became even more intense.

“Tell me why you suddenly told me that you had to go to the secret forest inside the Imperial Palace. I may be very superior to others, but I’m not Trowel, you know? I can’t read other people’s minds. You have to explain it properly.”

“…Still, you managed to understand and arrive properly even though I said it so vaguely. Amazing, Lapis. Amazing.”

“Do you know that you said it vaguely?”

I had nothing to say to the gaze that stared at me as if I was being absurd. In fact, I thought it was a ridiculous situation even if I thought about it. I also had the ability to teleport, and I didn’t need anyone else’s help to get to the Imperial Palace. It would have been an incomprehensible thing for him to ask for such a thing as if he was forcing me. Frankly speaking, it was because I left it to him that I arrived a little further away from the point I was supposed to go to. I couldn’t explain the exact location, so I had to move to a place that I roughly guessed. This is a side note, but I only found out that this place was called the Emperor’s Forest in the process.

“It’s a good thing I knew the inside of the Imperial Palace, but usually, you can’t move at all if you just say that, you know? You should at least tell me the direction. You don’t have the basic attitude of someone asking for a favor.”

“Well, I can just move without knowing that…”

“Is that what you have to say in the middle of all this?”

“Don’t be too hard on your benefactor, Eunin [Lapis’s nickname]. Thanks to you, I’m glad I could follow my benefactor. You can’t move with other people, can you? If my benefactor had left alone, Eunin would have been angry about that.”

As, who was listening from the side, said something right, admirably. Behind him, Deron was nodding enthusiastically. The two demons had offered to follow me as soon as I mentioned that I was going to the Imperial Palace. I had no choice but to bring them with me because they were about to follow me on their own, and when I saw them taking my side so actively, I thought it was a good idea to do so.

“In the end, you’re saying there’s someone you need to move.”

And as expected, Lapis was smart. He accurately grasped the outline of this situation from As’s words, which were no different from passing by. Even As was surprised and opened his eyes wide, but Lapis, who was looking back at me, was calm.

“Is this the first or second time I’ve been tricked by your schemes? You dragged me in because it’s a situation you can’t handle alone. And there aren’t many things you can’t handle alone.”

“…Sorry. I thought it would be better to see the situation directly than to talk about it.”

“Is it related to what you were crying about back then?”

“Uh… it is…”

“Hmm. What do you want me to do?”

Surprisingly, Lapis was very easygoing. I had been firmly prepared to endure even if he poured out unpleasant words, but I was so dumbfounded that he easily passed it over.

“Do you know the way? Which way do we go from here?”

“For now, we can just go straight… Why are you being so cooperative?”

“If you’re not happy with that, I’ll be uncooperative. Should I just go back like this?”

“Hahaha, there’s no way. Let’s go quickly, Lapis-nim [a respectful suffix]!”

I quickly appeased the guy who was making a sullen expression and hurriedly guided the way. In fact, I was just grabbing the direction according to my instincts, so it couldn’t be seen as a proper road. Fortunately, there was no one among the group who had difficulty with steep slopes or cliffs.

“We’re almost there.”

Finally, we arrived at a stone forest in the form of a pile of rocks. At least the other places were mixed with trees in a certain ratio, but from this area, there were only large and tall rocks. They all looked similar, so none of them were more special or noticeable. Nevertheless, as soon as we arrived, the group walked towards a rock as if they had been pre-arranged. Everyone went first before I could even tell them, so I had to follow them in the last order. Lapis, who arrived first, spread his palm and slowly stroked the surface of the rock. The eyes that stared seriously calmed down calmly.