Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 369

369. The Ambition Remains

“So, is that ambition of yours still the same?”

Since then, I hadn’t been asked to create a lake even once. Since joining Isana’s journey was a prerequisite for the contract, perhaps he was patiently waiting for his turn. To be honest, I had initially planned to completely ignore it, and I’m still not thrilled about it. But considering how much I owe him, pretending not to know wouldn’t be a good response. Maybe not a hundred years as he wished, but a few years might be okay? I was steeling myself to make a big decision when Lapis glanced at me and chuckled.

“It’s okay now.”

“Huh? What do you mean, ‘okay’?”

“It stopped mattering after I made a contract with you.”

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know. I find it a bit strange myself. I thought I could get satisfactory water if I contracted with the Water Spirit King. But it wasn’t just that. The moment I made the contract, I felt complete in itself. To the point where I don’t need anything else.”

“Oh, really?”

“I already have the best water, so nothing else catches my eye.”

…Wow.

I must have reflexively moved away from him without realizing it. When I became aware, Lapis, who was a little further away, was looking at me with a frown.

“What’s with that reaction?”

“……I just got goosebumps.”

“You don’t have to be that touched.”

“Touched, my foot! It’s because you’re being cheesy! Stop using those weird expressions!”

“Weird expressions?”

“Saying you ‘have’ me! And that nothing else ‘catches your eye’!”

“Ah, is that what you’re talking about again? I didn’t treat you like an object.”

“I’d rather you treat me like an object!”

“Why are you changing your tune?”

Seeing his genuinely bewildered expression made the back of my neck stiffen. As before, he clearly didn’t understand why I was so horrified. Every time I talk to this guy, I feel like conversations with someone who has different values are really bad for my mental health.

“You’re sometimes so embarrassing in the way you treat people.”

Still, I couldn’t just let it go, so I grumbled with the will to reflect. Then, Lapis looked at me with an even more dumbfounded expression.

“That’s what I should be saying to you.”

“What about me?”

“At least I don’t treat just anyone like that. I need what I think is most suitable for me, and because it’s what I need, I treat it the best. But you give affection to even insignificant things. You easily make friends with anyone, and you pay attention even to relationships that won’t benefit you at all. You can’t stand by, especially when they’re weak.”

“That’s not true.”

“What do you mean it’s not? Isana is your contractor, so fine. But what’s your relationship with the others that you take care of them so much? You were even eager to solve the story of an elf you met passing by. And you risked your life to save some kid.”

“If you’re talking about a kid, are you talking about Ray? That’s because Naias…….”

“Isn’t Naias part of you? How are you different?”

I had nothing to say to the accurate point, so my mouth shut on its own. Certainly, Naias was derived from me, so the essence was the same. His judgment could be regarded as the judgment I made. Seeing me stammering, Lapis gave me a look as if he knew it.

“There’s a limit to being nosy. You give away too much affection. In my opinion, that’s more embarrassing.”

“Hmm, is that so? But I’m just doing it because I need it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I feel good because people think well of me when I help someone. I also feel like I’m needed in the world. In the end, I’m just filling my desire to be recognized in that way. You could say it’s a kind of self-expression. In a way, I’m the one using them.”

“……”

Lapis stared at me for a moment. He looked somehow dumbfounded. Did I say it too honestly? I regretted it a little when I thought he might be disappointed in me. While I was subtly looking at him, Lapis swept his hair back with a slightly rough hand, as if he was annoyed. A thick sigh flowed from him, as if from the bottom of his heart, as he looked up at the sky.

“You, really… No, never mind. Let’s drop it.”

“What, what! If you have something to say, just say it.”

“Forget it. I know you’re a very dangerous guy. Tsk, I’d rather you be a generous busybody.”

“What does that mean?”

“First of all, I’ll tell you, you don’t need to do that to be needed in the world.”

The words that followed unexpectedly caught me off guard. Thanks to that, my reaction was a little late.

“Oh? Ah, well, I guess so? Because I’m the Water Spirit King.”

“If you know that, don’t look for your value in other people’s evaluations.”

“……”

My body flinched at the cold response. Maybe I felt a little guilty. Lapis didn’t loosen his hardened face. The voice that followed was still cold.

“If you leave your value to others, your true self will inevitably disappear. It’s just a mirror reflecting other people’s expectations. Of course, that’s a mirror that can never be perfect. Someday it will definitely get tired, or it will be corrupted. It’s especially dangerous for someone like you to be swayed by others. If you’re misused, you’ll ruin the world.”

“I, I can tell the difference, you know?”

“You believe you can tell the difference. Because you’re using human rules as a standard now. But as time goes by, that boundary will become increasingly blurred. In the first place, you’re not human, and human rules are full of contradictions. When that line completely disappears, can you confidently say that you can tell the difference?”

“That’s……”

I wanted to say yes, but I couldn’t readily conclude a part that I hadn’t experienced yet. I frowned with a feeling like a heavy stone was placed on me.

“Keuheup!”

Then, a strange sound was heard from somewhere. I was embarrassed and looked back, and Diagon was looking at us with a somewhat impressed face. He seemed to have been drawing a magic circle hard until just now, but I didn’t know when he came.

“What, what’s wrong, Diagon? Why are you doing that?”

“No… Lapis is treating someone so kindly. It’s like a dream to see this sight with my own eyes.”

“……Kindly?”

Which part of the conversation so far was kind? His tone and expression were very stiff. Frankly, it felt closer to being scolded, so I couldn’t easily agree. Diagon shrugged his shoulders as if he had read my thoughts.

“It’s kind. He wouldn’t give advice if he wasn’t interested.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s right. Especially Lapis. He’s the kind of guy who makes poison for experiments and just tells you not to touch his stuff without any other explanation. It was a deadly poison even for dragons!”

“……You ate it.”

“It smelled so delicious. Isn’t it against the rules to add a good scent to such a dangerous poison? I really suffered for years after eating that… Anyway! He’s not interested in other people’s affairs to that extent. But he’s advising El not to do that. How amazing is this…!”

No matter what Diagon said, Lapis didn’t even look at him. Seeing him consistently ignoring him made only me embarrassed.

“Well, I guess it’s because he’s afraid I’ll destroy the world. Ahaha…….”

“No, no, how could that be! Is he the kind of person to worry about that? Since he was a kid, his habit was, ‘Isn’t it okay for the world to be destroyed once or twice periodically?’ He was that kind of guy! I was so nervous that someone would hear him…!”

“If not that…….”

“Of course, he’s worried about you.”

I glanced back, but Lapis didn’t say anything. He’s the type to say no if it’s not, so is this a sign of affirmation here? Something that had been firmly lodged in my heart softened in an instant. It felt like a warm heat was spreading from where it started to melt quickly. But there was too much energy disturbing me from enjoying that feeling.

“Lapis is worried about others! This is a miracle! Be happy, Kanil! Our child has grown up so wonderfully!”

The troublemaker was Diagon, who was more impressed with what he said than I was. His appearance, taking out a handkerchief and shedding tears, looked like nothing more than provoking Lapis. Just looking at his eyes getting more and more fierce, it wouldn’t be just a simple guess. I was so worried that a rebellious incident would happen that I didn’t have time to take care of the emotion. Fortunately, the situation was resolved before Lapis exploded. It was thanks to Ifrit’s roar that echoed at the right time.

“Diagon! What are you doing there? I told you to call him, why are you sitting there chatting?”

“Ah, that’s right!”

As if he had just remembered the business, Diagon made an embarrassed expression. The fire formation was scheduled to start all consciousness from the magic circle in the center that he was making. It was time to enter the full-fledged stage, so Lapis, who should be the basis of the magic circle, had to enter the formation, but he had come to deliver it and had forgotten it altogether.

“Tsk.”

Diagon smiled and waved his handkerchief at Lapis, who got up from his seat with a click of his tongue. Lapis glared at him strongly and strode towards the magic circle. After confirming that he had entered the formation, I turned to Diagon and asked what I was curious about.

“Isn’t your way of expressing affection too bad?”

“Really? Is that so?”

“At least Lapis seems to hate it.”

“He’ll hate whatever I do anyway. Well, I have to do this much to keep the balance.”

“Balance?”

“Didn’t you think the kids were all intimidated by Lapis?”

When I asked what he meant, he was talking about the attitude of the dragons when they treated Lapis a little while ago. They were generally friendly and seemed a little shy, but when I thought about it, it seemed like they were intimidated. When I nodded, Diagon made a slightly bitter expression.

“Lapis is a bit special among dragons. Even though his personality is like that, no one can disobey him. Instinctively, they’re just suppressed in front of him. Frankly, even if someone interferes, isn’t it a bit strange that none of the dragons, who would be second to none in pride, are trying to contract with the Water Spirit King?”

“Um, come to think of it…….”

“Trowell said that Lapis was born with a fairly strong energy. Not only magical abilities, but also the power to fascinate and dominate the unconscious.”

“Oh, really?”

“Just looking at that appearance, he’s not normal? Even for a Red Dragon, his innate fire energy is so strong that he couldn’t handle it well when he was young. The exact reason has never been revealed, but I think the reason he became obsessed with water is because of that. Even if there’s almost no practical effect, he must have felt something calming when he touched the water, which is the opposite. He must have liked that.”

That was another story I didn’t know. I was a little embarrassed that there was a valid reason for the behavior I had considered abnormal so far. I felt like I had done something I shouldn’t have without knowing the situation.

“Anyway, his influence is a bit dangerous. Fortunately, he’s indifferent by nature and doesn’t like to get involved with anyone. If he had a personality that liked to interact even a little, he would have easily created followers. If there are many followers, they will be deified, and then the gods will pay attention. That’s not good either way. So I try to change the atmosphere by scolding or teasing him as much as possible. The influence is a little less between blood relatives.”

“Hmm, is it that serious? It doesn’t seem that serious.”

“Haha, El probably didn’t feel it. The Spirit King is the center of this world. It can’t affect you.”

“Is that so? But the other members of the group had a similar attitude to me. Everyone wasn’t cowed by Lapis.”

Of course, Isana and Alisa, who were human, treated him carefully, but that’s because they couldn’t treat a guy who was a dragon and had a prickly personality comfortably. However, Sibelius, who could be said to be equal to him, not only wasn’t intimidated, but also openly fought a war of nerves. Deron also revealed his desire to win without hiding it, and Asdo was only showing respect because he owed him a debt. If Lapis’s influence was really a power that dominated everyone, they should have all been swayed.

“Ah, that’s thanks to you.”

“Huh? Me?”

Diagon smiled and nodded at my embarrassed question.

“Because you made a contract with him. Thanks to that, the nature of magic has changed a little because it’s mixed with the Spirit King’s energy. It’s a kind of purification effect. Frankly, I was a little surprised that Lapis’s atmosphere became more comfortable when I saw it this time. Well, it seems that those who have already been fascinated are still affected.”

“Hmm, even if you say that, I don’t really feel it.”

“Of course, you won’t because you haven’t experienced it. For reference, Trowell becoming a godfather was also aimed at a similar effect. At that time, he was just born, so he couldn’t make a spirit contract, so instead, he suggested that we form a deep relationship. It is said that even that has some effect.”

Ah, so that’s why Lapis became a godfather after he was born. One of the things I was curious about was solved in an unexpected way, so I was dumbfounded. Diagon scratched the back of his head as if he was embarrassed.

“Well, that’s not the only reason… Anyway, if it wasn’t for that, our clan would have been ruined in some way. Even so, there were so many love triangles that happened to him.”

“Love…….”

“How many suitors were attached to a hatchling? So I dressed him in dresses every time. I was trying to reduce at least one person’s taste. It didn’t work.”

“Ahaha……. Why didn’t you contract with Trowell? It would have been better if you did it later.”

“Lapis refused. He’s 워낙 엘퀴네스 순애보인 데다가 [so devoted to Elquines] spirit contracts aren’t forced, right? And Lapis doesn’t know about this situation. I’m not telling him because his energy gets stronger when he’s conscious. So keep it a secret from El too.”

“Oh, I see. Ah, I understand.”