Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 461

461

“You said you’re lovers. And you’re thinking of getting married. So, you love Minerva, right?”

“Ah, yes. Of course, I love her.”

“How much? How much do you love her?”

Do you love him as much as Minerva loves you? Do you know what Minerva has given up for you, and what she might give up in the future? Knowing all that, are you still betraying her?

“El, these questions seem a bit too personal. I do want to be friendly with you, but I think this conversation is a little premature…”

Seeing his face scrunch up in embarrassment, I cooled down a bit. The fact that he didn’t know swordsmanship was such a shock that I must have lost my mind for a moment. I took a deep breath, and my mind became much calmer.

“I’m sorry. I was too rude.”

I don’t know what kind of expression I’m making. I could only see that Ahin had a rather uncomfortable look on his face. It was the most rigid expression I had seen since I met him. I must seem really strange to him, suddenly bombarding him with absurd questions. Of course, I didn’t regret doing it. If Ahin got tired of me because of this, it would be a good thing. But unfortunately, Ahin just cautiously asked.

“No, it’s not that. I was a little surprised, but if it’s El, there must be a reason. Excuse me, but are you perhaps worried about something?”

“……No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just that recently, while pondering how to further develop my spirit magic, I’ve been thinking a lot about the relationship between spirits and contractors.”

“Ah, I see. I understand. It’s amazing that you’re already a high-level spirit mage and still looking for ways to improve. You’re still young, but you’re working so hard, El, you might be able to summon Elquines.”

I already did.

I was even accompanied by Trowel, who I didn’t even summon. If there wasn’t a chance that those Spirit Kings were watching me right now, I wouldn’t even be here with you, I barely swallowed the retort. The embarrassing situation continued right after that.

“Would you like to meet Minerva?”

“Pardon?”

“I don’t introduce people to her carelessly, but I think it would be okay if it’s El. Meeting Minerva might help you with your current concerns. Let me know when it’s convenient for you, and I’ll invite you to my mansion. Or how about having dinner together today?”

“Ah, no, it’s okay. I don’t want to impose. I think this is a problem I need to solve on my own. And I don’t have the courage to meet Minerva yet.”

“Is that so.”

Ahin’s expression clouded over as if he was disappointed. But seeing his eyes sparkling, it was clear that he secretly liked that I refused. Seeing that, I could read his mind a little. He really hates anyone showing interest in Minerva. It could be just a normal possessiveness as a lover, but somehow, I felt down.

“Then, if you ever change your mind, please let me know. You’re really great, you know.”

“Thanks for the kind words. But won’t it be troublesome if I get too close to you? Especially since your guild master doesn’t seem to like it.”

“Pardon? Not at all. Our master is very interested in El.”

What nonsense is this?

I didn’t expect such an unexpected answer to a casual remark. I barely managed to stop myself from frowning and looked at Ahin, who was smiling brightly.

“It’s true. He was lamenting that such a great spirit mage is in a small guild. He also told me that it would be good for spirit mages to get along.”

“Ah, is that so……”

“Now that I think about it, I should thank the master. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have had such a pleasant time with El today.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Actually, the person who recommended the dress shop I visited today was the master. Ah, now that I think about it, every time I visited a place he recommended, I met El. It’s a strange coincidence. I feel like he’s a fairy who connects our fates.”

“……Ah, is that so.”

To be able to interpret that obvious situation so positively. I don’t know if I should call him naive or amazing.

Thanks to him, I finally know why I ran into Ahin so often, so I guess I should be glad. I smiled crookedly without hiding it. It was probably hidden by the hood, but even that seemed to fluster Ahin. Seeing him pondering as if he had made a mistake made me feel a little better. But the unpleasant feeling still didn’t disappear.

‘So, that’s how it is.’

Manipulating our paths to overlap meant that he had investigated me. The guild really knew how to provoke people in many ways.

* * *

According to Trowel, my appearance is prone to causing trouble. Honestly, I don’t think he’s one to talk, but I admit that I stand out unnecessarily. If I don’t wear a hood, I get followed by attention to a bothersome degree, and the frequency of people suspiciously talking to me increases. So, after starting guild activities, I consciously wore a hood outside. I was worried that it might cause trouble for the guild members, even if I was alone. In modern times, wearing a hood was commonplace, so getting into the habit wasn’t anything new. Of course, it’s incomparably more uncomfortable than it was back then.

Ahin is the exception; usually, almost no one recognizes me at a glance when I wear a hood. Among the guild members, only Chris could recognize me when we faced each other directly. Even then, he seemed more hesitant, so it meant that it was difficult to recognize me unless it was a special case. But still, if they were determined to investigate, it wouldn’t be difficult to keep an eye on me. After all, I always carry the same coat, sword, and backpack.

So, I bought a completely different coat and backpack. I also covered Fire Buster so that even the handle couldn’t be seen, and I changed the way I carried it. I avoided places I usually frequented and changed all my routes. As a result, I haven’t run into Ahin at all for over a week, even though I used to run into him so often. It seemed that even the Jinhon Guild had difficulty grasping the newly created route in an instant.

I didn’t consider the possibility that the previous encounters were coincidental at all. No matter how many extraordinary things happen in the world, there’s a limit. The proof that my guess was correct soon came to light.

“There, stop for a moment!”

As I was returning after finishing today’s guild schedule, someone called out to me. It was a group that had been lingering in front of the inn. Since inns are places where various people gather, it was common to see strangers bustling in front of the entrance. So, I was unconsciously careless. I turned around without thinking, and the people who approached me stared at me intently. The question that followed made me feel down.

“Are you the spirit mage El?”

“……What’s going on?”

In the current situation, the people who would come all the way here to find me were obvious. I didn’t bother denying it and asked what they wanted, and the men’s faces lit up.

“We are these people.”

They slightly lifted the cloaks they were wearing. The black butterfly pattern embossed on the chest protector was visible. I don’t know all the crests, but I couldn’t help but recognize the crest of a famous guild that operates across the continent. It was indeed the Jinhon Guild.

I thought they would have figured out my accommodation, but they ended up coming directly. They must have been quite impatient because they couldn’t track my movements. I clicked my tongue inwardly but didn’t show it and looked at them.

“But why did you come to find me……?”

“Our master wants to see you.”

“I don’t want to.”

“I came myself, thinking you might say that.”

A cheerful voice chimed in, and the person behind came forward. A familiar face was revealed from within the lowered hood. A man in his thirties with wavy brown hair and black eyes. It was the master of the Jinhon Guild I had seen before.

“I don’t intend to cause a commotion. Please spare me some time.”

I never expected the guild master to come in person.

I was speechless with disbelief, and he smiled at me. After staring at his brazen face for a moment, I sighed deeply.

‘I should tell them to move the inn right away.’

It seemed like it was time to say goodbye to the beloved accommodation I had been staying in since coming to the capital.

“Please look at this first.”

The place to spend time was decided to be the restaurant on the first floor of the inn, without going far. After settling down in a suitably secluded spot, the master of Jinhon, who was sitting across from me, handed over a leather bag that reeked of suspicion. The bag contained quite a lot of documents. When I looked at it without taking it out, he gestured as if urging me to read it. It was obvious that the matter wouldn’t end unless I checked it, so I had no choice but to take out the documents and skim through them. The densely packed letters were full of self-praise about his guild, starting with guild welfare, allowances, the abilities of the members, the list of noble families that had signed regular contracts, and the achievements they had made.

“I would like to propose a transfer to El.”

“……”

I wasn’t surprised at all by the words that followed. The Jinhon Guild had a history of luring guild members when the Yeomyeong’s Bow Guild collapsed. From the moment the master of Jinhon appeared in front of me, or even before that, from the moment I knew he was investigating me, I had expected this situation.

“I refuse.”

Of course, the answer was already prepared. But the master of Jinhon didn’t even blink an eye.

“You also know the advantages of a large guild. We have summarized the benefits you can receive when you transfer to our guild so that you can see them at a glance. You can decide right now, or you can think about it calmly and contact us later.”

“Hey.”

“How much of a contract fee did you receive from Yeomyeong? If you come to our guild, we can give you three times that amount unconditionally. The profit distribution and additional allocation will also be incomparable to Yeomyeong. Of course, we will take care of all the penalty fees, so you don’t have to worry about that either.”

“What are you even…….”

“Of course, the quality and level of the requests will also be incomparable to Yeomyeong. It’s honestly unacceptable for an Axis-level hunter to be doing Arma-level requests. Shouldn’t a masterpiece sword be used for work that is worthy of its value?”

Of course, that was true. But you’re not the one to point that out. Who do you think is making me only take Arma-level requests? Has your conscience frozen and disappeared? I was about to snap back in disbelief, but I gave up because I was too lazy to get angry. Instead, I put the documents back in the bag and pushed it back to him.

“As I said, I refuse. I’m not interested at all, so take this back.”

“Don’t do that and read it carefully. These are the conditions we only offer to the top hunters in our guild. I don’t think any guild will be able to offer these conditions. I don’t think you need to keep your loyalty to your current guild for the sake of El’s future.”

“I said I’m not interested.”

“Ah, I see. Now that I think about it, if El leaves, the guild will be in trouble because they won’t be able to fill the minimum number of people. But what does it matter? Isn’t it the law of the world that the weak are eliminated? Rather, they have been forcibly holding on to someone too good for them until now. If they care about El, they should send you to a bigger world, shouldn’t they?”

“That’s really unnecessary meddling. I’m the one who gathered those guild members. To be exact, I’m the one holding on to those people. It’s not that those people are holding on to me.”

“……You’re really a kind person. Then how about this? If El transfers, I will make it easier for the Yeomyeong Guild to do well.”

“What does that mean?”

“You’re asking even though you know.”

The master of Jinhon smiled subtly. In other words, he was saying that he would lift the secret sanctions he had imposed on the Yeomyeong Guild until now.

“I can guess what you heard from Chris. It’s probably mostly correct. Honestly, it’s true that I used to dislike the old Yeomyeong’s Bow Guild. But that was related to dark family affairs. I have no regrets about the current Yeomyeong Guild. I’m just keeping Chris in check because he’s always been hostile to me.”

“For someone who says that, you still seem to be using petty methods.”

“Haha, the reason I proposed a transfer to El is purely because I want to recruit a high-level spirit mage. I sincerely think that your skills are too good to be in such a small guild.”

“…….”

“It’s still uncomfortable for Chris to be like that to me. But if El comes to our side, it’s something I can put up with. El, please think about it carefully. We can get excellent power, and the Yeomyeong Guild can have a bright future. In my opinion, it seems like the best path for each other. They can’t just keep doing Arma-level requests forever, can they?”

Ah, so this time you’re going to threaten me by putting the future of the guild and its members on the line? I laughed, and the master of Jinhon laughed along. Seeing his face full of anticipation, it was clear that he was drinking a bowl of kimchi soup [being overly optimistic]. Of course, whether he did or not, I had no intention of giving him any kimchi soup or rice cakes [fulfilling his expectations].

“I’ll say it again, I refuse. Goodbye. I hope we never have to see each other again for this kind of thing.”

“……You don’t understand at all. I’m doing you a favor right now. You’ll regret it if you miss this opportunity.”

Regret, my foot.

“Seciel.”

I didn’t even want to waste time sneering, so I decided to show it with action. I summoned the spirit who was most suitable for this situation, and a stream of water gushed out, and a huge wolf appeared in the air. When the Jinhon guards around me were startled and tried to draw their swords, ice arrows were already densely aimed at them. Everyone who was stiffened by the chillingly shining arrows right in front of their eyes raised both hands.