Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 474

474.

“…First, let’s get out of here. Sir Sibelius, have you prepared an escape route?”

“I’ve folded space, enough to get out of this forest.”

“That’s a bit close. Aren’t you capable of a greater distance?”

“I am, but if I had, I would have arrived later than I did. I thought it was more important to hurry and save you.”

“That’s true. But this area is under their control. Just escaping the forest won’t stop them from catching up quickly. It would have been better if you had brought a space 이동 [transfer] scroll.”

“I do have one.”

At Arel’s words, Sibelius took out a scroll from his pocket and held it out. But Karian’s expression, which had brightened as he received it, soon clouded over.

“This is a village return scroll. Don’t you have a regular 이동 [transfer] scroll?”

“The elder told me to take it.”

“I see. Still, if something like this happens again, it would be good to bring extras.”

Watching them, I realized the reason for the uncomfortable feeling I’d had since earlier. They were treating Sibelius in a subtly overbearing way, as if he were a subordinate they were instructing, only using honorifics.

What is it? Is Sibelius the youngest? But if someone has a high position, age shouldn’t matter, right? Is there no such hierarchy in the Unicorn world? Since I don’t know anything about this world, I couldn’t figure out how to interpret the situation.

“Since it’s come to this, I’m afraid our sightseeing trip has to end here, Weldy.”

“Ah, are we returning to the village right away? I don’t want to. We haven’t seen much yet. Can’t we just go out on the road?”

“We can’t. Safety is the top priority right now.”

“But you know how Grandpa will react. If we go back like this, I won’t be able to go out for a thousand years.”

“Probably. But there’s no helping it. It would have been better if the scroll Sibelius brought was just a regular 이동 [transfer] scroll.”

“Oh, why did it have to be a return scroll? Sir Sibelius, you’re so inflexible.”

But no matter how I thought about it, this didn’t seem right.

“Excuse me.”

Before I knew it, I had opened my mouth. As if they had just remembered my existence, everyone’s eyes turned to me. I didn’t particularly intend to step in, but since it had come to this, I had to say something. My breathing had finally calmed down, so I felt like I could move.

As I got up, their gazes intensified. Surprised by my approach, they stepped back. Ignoring them, I walked more boldly and stopped next to Sibelius. Arel, looking bewildered, furrowed his brow.

“What are you doing?”

“I have a question. I don’t know the details of your relationship or how you usually interact. But isn’t this person the one who came to save you?”

“Can’t you tell?”

“So I’m right? Then shouldn’t there be something you should say first?”

“…What…”

“You should say thank you. Gratitude comes first.”

Perhaps they thought they were being criticized unexpectedly. The Unicorns, who had been talking, shut their mouths and hardened their faces.

“I’ve been watching since earlier, but it seems like no one is offering their thanks. I thought maybe there was something being conveyed without words, but it seems a bit much to speak as if you’re blaming him, even if it’s a joke.”

“A human who knows nothing shouldn’t interfere in our affairs…”

“Yes, I’m telling you this because even that human who knows nothing seems to know the manners that you people have forgotten.”

Arel closed his mouth again. Weldy and Karian were looking at Sibelius with pale faces. Seeing them trying to gauge his mood, it seemed they didn’t mean to be rude. Maybe they were just too comfortable with him and ended up treating him carelessly. Still, I couldn’t help but feel angry. I sighed and looked up at the person standing next to me.

“Are you a pushover? Why aren’t you saying anything when they’re treating you like this?”

Sibelius, who had been frozen like ice, blinked slowly. He’s definitely not the type to let people walk all over him, so why is he just standing there blankly? Feeling inexplicably upset, I roughly reached out my hand to him.

“I’m El.”

“…”

“You’re Sibelius, right? Thank you so much for helping me. I owe you my life.”

There was no response, but I didn’t give up. I forcibly grabbed his unresponsive hand and shook it in a half-hearted handshake. Sibelius flinched but didn’t resist. However, his stiff face was clearly more agitated than before.

“Oh, right. The bread was delicious too. It was the best bread I’ve ever had. I guarantee you’ll succeed if you go down that path. I hope you don’t give up such a talent.”

Again, Sibelius didn’t answer. He swallowed slightly, but it was far less of a reaction than I had hoped for. When he awkwardly tried to pull his hand away, I squeezed it again, and his gaze wavered. I looked straight into his eyes, which were rippling with emotion.

“If you come to the capital, there’s a hunter guild called ‘Dawn.’ If you ever need my help, come find me anytime. Or, you can just come visit without any reason. You’re welcome anytime.”

“…No, I…”

“Got it? Promise. See you again.”

His eyes wavered again. Seeing his eyes filled with more emotion than before, I felt relieved. I didn’t intentionally plan this, but I felt like I had overcome a crisis. I felt like I had successfully laid the groundwork for the future. We were close, so we would have met again somehow even if we had just parted ways, but I don’t know why I felt so uneasy. It seems like the task Troel gave me has made me too determined not to change the future.

“Sir Sibelius, let’s go.”

Arel hurriedly grabbed his arm and pulled him away. The way he quickly distanced himself from me was as if he were dealing with a plague. He glanced back at me as he was being dragged away. I smiled and waved, and he quickly averted his gaze again.

“Everyone, you’ve worked hard. Goodbye.”

The Unicorns flinched at my last farewell. The faces that turned to look at me were filled with unease. Soon, the sound of paper tearing rang out, and a white light surrounded them. It was the same phenomenon as when the crown prince disappeared, so I could easily guess what would happen next. As expected, their figures soon disappeared before my eyes. It was a simple escape, almost anticlimactic compared to the time I had been held captive.

“Then, shall I go out too?”

The space where I was left alone was silent. It seemed even more so because of the terrible sight of corpses scattered everywhere. It was so quiet that it felt like all the sounds of the world had disappeared. But that wasn’t just an illusion. Even when I went out the exit, I still couldn’t hear any sound.

Just in case, I clapped my hands, and the sound rang out immediately. So there was nothing wrong with my ears. The reason it was so quiet was clear just by looking around. I couldn’t see anyone anywhere. All the scenery I knew was the same, but I couldn’t feel any presence. The colors were also strangely blurry and dull, as if I had entered a monochrome space where time had stopped. I paused for a moment, then remembered Sibelius saying that he had set up a illusion formation [magical barrier]. It seemed to be the effect of that.

I didn’t bother to think about how to get out of here. Sibelius had also said that the illusion formation wouldn’t last long. That meant it would break on its own if I just waited. That was soon proven before my eyes. The next moment, the scenery seemed to ripple, and something was swept away with a loud cracking sound. The blurred colors became clear in an instant, and the wind poured in all at once. It seemed that the formation had broken, revealing the reality.

The problem was that the reality that appeared was by no means paradise. In the space where there had been nothing a moment ago, countless soldiers were lined up. The soldiers, with bewildered faces, slowly looked at me. For a while, an awkward silence flowed.

…Um, this is a bit troublesome.

The signal was my awkward smile.

“Catch her!”

The soldiers, who had fully come to their senses, moved all at once. A formation was quickly set up, and an iron net spread out over my head. Even in this situation, they knew it would be dangerous to approach me, so they seemed to be using tricks first. I clicked my tongue and quickly dodged out of range.

콰과광! [Sound of a large explosion]

“…!”

A sudden, loud noise erupted, and the surroundings vibrated greatly. Caught off guard by the unexpected situation, I lost my balance. The moment I realized I had fallen, I couldn’t help but feel dismayed that my future had become even more difficult.

‘Magic?’

Fortunately, it seemed to be an unexpected situation for everyone, so the attack didn’t continue immediately. I quickly tried to get up, but suddenly something strange caught my eye. Something white and small was fluttering in front of me.

Without thinking, I caught it, and the snowflake-shaped crystal that landed lightly on my finger turned into water and disappeared. I wasn’t mistaken. It really was a snowflake crystal. I watched the cold particles dancing in front of me, then blankly raised my head. The surroundings had all turned a hazy white.

Now, in the middle of summer.

It wasn’t just the scenery that had turned white. Only after slowly looking around did I realize that the soldiers hadn’t missed the moment to attack, but that they would never be able to attack. They were all frozen in the same pose they had been in when they were about to attack me.

It was an unreal sight, like a dream. My body trembled involuntarily from the sharp, piercing cold. Each breath I exhaled turned white and obscured my vision, but I couldn’t find the cause of this phenomenon. I raised my gaze a little higher. Beyond the piles of ice statues, I could see the roof of the tent, towering high. It, too, was covered in frost and had lost its original color. Someone was standing in that all-white place.

“Ah…”

Long hair, entrusted to the wind, fluttered in a pure white light. The color of his eyes was also chillingly white. He held a 창 [spear] made of ice in his hand. It was made up of unfamiliar colors, different from usual, but there was no way I couldn’t recognize who it was. At least, there couldn’t be another person who looked like that, who could give off that kind of atmosphere in this world.

“Father…?”

Perhaps my unconsciously muttered words reached him. A chillingly emotionless gaze reached me.

“Don’t call me that.”

My heart sank at the voice as cold as his expression. Looking down at me, who was swallowing hard, he smiled crookedly. It was a savage smile that seemed to freeze everything.

“It’s not good to provoke me right now.”

* * *

When the temperature drops, water turns into ice. If a spirit strongly draws out cold attributes, it can also affect their appearance. But mostly, it’s only a small part. To become completely white like that, how much did he draw out?

What’s clear is that the current Ellyuen is closer to a spirit even though he has a physical body. White snowflakes were scattering from his hair, and anyone could see that he didn’t look like a human. If someone saw him, they would probably recognize him as the Spirit King right away. At least, there was no one here who could do that.

Hugging my chilly body, I looked around. Besides me, ice statues were lined up far away. Everywhere I looked, the same sight continued. I didn’t know about the inside of the tent, but it was clear that at least those outside had all been frozen.

‘I wonder if Chris and the others are okay.’

I thought they would be safe, but I was worried because the temperature had changed so suddenly. Then, Ellyuen’s figure disappeared somewhere. After a while, he reappeared, grabbing someone by the back of the neck. The person being dragged out was someone I recognized. It was Lil. He had avoided becoming an ice statue, probably because he had taken refuge somewhere else, but he had been discovered.

“Kugh!”

Lil, who had fallen, hurriedly got up. But Ellyuen was faster, pointing an ice 창 [spear] at him. The sharp point of the 창 [spear] was aimed at the tip of his chin, as if it would pierce him at any moment. No, he was actually stabbing him. Red blood dripped from the pierced skin.

“Wa, wait a minute!”

Ellyuen, who had stopped moving at my urgent words, looked at me. I flinched at his cold gaze, and a dry voice followed.

“Step back. You’ll get hurt too.”

“N, no, but you can’t kill that person. He’s an ally.”

“…Ally?”

His straight eyebrows twitched greatly.

“Don’t talk about allies.”

The voice he muttered lowly was as if he were chewing and spitting out the words. He had the expression of someone who had heard the most absurd nonsense in the world.

Well, to be exact, he’s not exactly an ally. Rather, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that all the hardships I’ve experienced here are because of him. Still, I’ve received help, so I couldn’t let him die miserably here. To make more of a reason, I had a feeling that Lil was the one who helped when the crown prince used black magic. I didn’t want to anger Ellyuen, but it seemed like I couldn’t back down here. But then, someone grabbed my shoulder. Surprised, I turned around and saw a familiar face. It was Troel.

“Troel!”

“Just leave him alone.”

“Huh? But…”

In the meantime, Ellyuen relentlessly stabbed Lil, who was crawling to the other side, with his 창 [spear]. He screamed and flapped his body greatly, but Ellyuen didn’t care. Rather, he smiled gently. It was the first time I had seen him smile so happily here. It was completely different from the atmosphere I knew.

“It’s troublesome if you’re already complaining. You should be happier. I’m getting angry as you wished.”

“When did I… say I wanted you to get angry, you son of a bitch… Ack! Wait! It really hurts! It hurts!”

“There’s a contradiction in your words. You didn’t want me to get angry, but you did this?”

“Well, I just thought it would be good for you to know what humiliation is, just once… Ack, it really hurts!”

But the conversation was a bit strange. It wasn’t the kind of thing that would be said between strangers. What is it? What’s going on? Confused, I turned to Troel, who shrugged his shoulders. As if telling me to just watch quietly.

“Are you so tired of life that you’re going crazy, Ifrit? If what you want is annihilation, tell me that from the beginning. I’ll grant you that much mercy.”

The name I heard at that moment seemed to stop time for a moment.

“…Ifrit?”

As I blankly muttered, Lil, who was writhing on the floor, flinched greatly. Even though his face was covered because he was lying face down, I felt like I could see the expression he was making.

“Ifrit-eu?”

Ifrit! Could it be the Ifrit I know?

That man, Lil, is the Spirit King of Fire?