Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 495

495.

“Ellie.”

What caught my eye next was an unfamiliar sight. Ain Idris was standing in the space where nothing had been just moments before. Looking awkwardly stiff, he was supporting someone who appeared unconscious. I quickly composed myself and approached, helping him lay the person down so he could examine them more easily. A familiar face emerged from the disheveled hair. Though his face was covered in wounds, as if he had been tortured, it was definitely Davian.

“Is this the right person?”

“Yes, it is. What happened?”

“I’m glad I got the right one. While I was trying to get him out, I was discovered. So, I had no choice…”

So, he summoned Minerva.

I was still taken aback, but I roughly understood what had happened. The most concerning thing was his face. He had been wearing a mask when he went in, but now he wasn’t wearing anything.

“Was your identity exposed?”

“Ah, it’s alright. I was wearing a mask at the time. Minerva didn’t reveal herself either.”

If she had, the commotion would have been much worse. A sigh of relief escaped me involuntarily. Perhaps because he had almost been caught, Ain Idris didn’t look very happy, even though he had successfully rescued the person he was looking for. He even seemed a bit resentful.

Well, the result is good, so I guess it’s fine. I looked at the sprawled-out Davian and took a long breath. At this moment, I was glad he was Minerva’s contractor. With the Spirit King of Concealment involved, there was no need to worry about being discovered or caught. He could walk right past the soldiers without anyone recognizing him.

“A prisoner has disappeared!”

“A prisoner has escaped!”

Even amidst all this, the noise was getting louder. The lights from the soldiers’ lanterns illuminated everything. Just then, one of the soldiers running busily shone his light in our direction. But their gaze quickly shifted elsewhere. I watched them and smiled bitterly.

“Let’s go back now.”

* * *

The rescued Davian was handed over to Lamias, who had been waiting. He said he would hide and protect him in a safe place until the situation was resolved. I thought that my involvement with Ain Idris would end there since we parted ways immediately afterward. I had underestimated the world.

A few days later, a notice arrived at the guild office from the Hunter Association and the Imperial Family. Due to the recent frequent appearances of monsters, a headquarters for countermeasures against the cracks in the defense of the capital had been established, and a special task force composed of hunters would be formed. The hunters selected for the special task force were required to participate regardless of their affiliated guild, and my name and Ain Idris’s name were on the list. It was obvious who was behind it. A familiar name was prominently stamped at the bottom of the notice Chris handed me.

“The head of the headquarters is Duke Sepion?”

“Yeah, that’s what I heard. He proposed and organized it himself.”

Ha, what am I supposed to do with this damn dragon?

I couldn’t help but think he was born to mess with me. My blood pressure rose, and I clenched my fist tightly. I just wanted to hit him once, no more, no less.

“What happens if I refuse?”

“You’ll go to jail or be exiled.”

Chris answered with a look that said, ‘Isn’t that obvious?’ All residents of the empire had a duty to pay taxes and perform labor. Even if drafted into a newly formed army, they had no right to refuse. Of course, even without that, in an absolute monarchy, you had to do what you were told.

“Almost all hunters of Makina-class or higher are included, except for the guild master. Cracks have been appearing so frequently lately. It makes sense to form a dedicated team since the security forces are limited.”

“…It’s a really good excuse.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“I said I’m going to be tired from now on.”

Chris’s face showed pity. A special team was nothing more than a standby team, so my leisurely life was over for the time being. It was the perfect environment to keep me from getting distracted.

“The first summons is tomorrow at 4 o’clock, so don’t be late.”

“Haa, I understand. Oh, have you heard from Davian?”

“No, not a word. He’s not the type to contact me with trivial things, but I’m worried since I haven’t heard anything. I hope nothing happened to him.”

“He’ll be fine. He just returned, so he must be busy with various things.”

I deliberately didn’t tell Chris about Davian’s situation, so he wouldn’t worry. I hadn’t received any separate contact, so nothing should have happened. “I guess so?” Chris smiled, shaking off his worries.

The gathering place I went to the next day was a military camp. It was originally one of the training grounds used by the security forces, but it was temporarily being used to operate the special task force. The gloomy colors of dark gray seemed to foreshadow my future, and I couldn’t help but sigh.

“Ellie.”

I was about to cross the threshold when I heard a voice calling from behind. It was Ain Idris, which was no longer surprising. He was accompanied by his fellow guild members from the Requiem Guild, as if they had departed together. Unlike our guild, which had only one person drafted, Requiem was a large guild, so many of its members had been selected.

“Hello, Ain. We meet often.”

I greeted him with a smile, and he smiled brightly, as if he had been nervous.

“So, Ellie was also drafted. I didn’t expect such a unit to be formed so suddenly.”

“Tell me about it. I look forward to working with you.”

“The pleasure is all mine.”

After a light handshake, he and I chatted as we entered the building.

After confirming our identities and receiving passes at the entrance, we were told to go to the training ground. It was already chaotic with people who had arrived earlier. The atmosphere was disorganized, so it seemed like we could just grab a spot anywhere.

“By the way, I heard Ain Idris is coming here too?”

As we entered, the voices of the people became clearer. Ain Idris stopped walking abruptly.

“You mean the contractor of the Spirit King? Is he really coming?”

“All hunters of Makina-class or higher are being drafted. Even if he’s the contractor of the Spirit King, there are no exceptions. Duke Sepion is famous for not making any exceptions.”

“Well, yeah. It’s kind of amazing to work with such a famous person.”

“I saw him summon the Wind Spirit from afar before, and it was really cool.”

“Maybe I can build some rapport this time?”

Up to this point, the conversation was relatively harmless. Ain Idris’s face was slightly flushed, perhaps because he was embarrassed to be the subject of discussion. But then the topic suddenly shifted to an unexpected place.

“Come to think of it, there’s another spirit user, isn’t there? The spirit user from the Dawn Guild.”

Again, my steps halted. It would be nice if it ended as a passing remark, but this time, people’s attention immediately focused on it. Moreover, it was in a more troublesome direction.

“Ah, I know who you’re talking about. The Water Spirit user who caused a stir recently? They say that spirit user caught the monster that Ain Idris couldn’t catch in one shot? Does that mean they’re stronger than Ain Idris?”

“Idiot, there’s no way. Ain Idris is the contractor of the Spirit King. He must have just been careless then.”

“No, I don’t think we can look at it that way. I looked into the situation back then. Ain Idris was helplessly struggling, but the Dawn’s spirit user caught it really easily, they say.”

“That spirit user also uses swordsmanship. Ain Idris doesn’t even summon Minerva unless he has to, so realistically, isn’t the Dawn’s spirit user stronger?”

“No, but I think…”

The conversation that started lightly had turned into a full-blown debate. I didn’t know why they were competing over something so unimportant, since they were both spirit users anyway. If I were alone, I could have ignored it, but it was mortifying to be listening with the person involved. Ain Idris also looked back at me with an awkward expression.

“Um, let’s go in.”

“Ahaha, yes.”

Why do I have to suffer when it’s other people who are talking nonsense? Fortunately, people stopped talking one by one when we showed ourselves. “It’s Requiem.” “It’s Ain Idris.” With a few words, the noise subsided, and the surroundings quickly became quiet. They didn’t seem to have the nerve to talk in front of him. Ain Idris glanced at them and gave me a gentle look.

“Ellie, it seems like there’s still time. Would you like to stay with us in the meantime?”

“No, I’m more comfortable alone.”

I reflexively refused and swallowed my disappointment. Lamias was carrying out this damn plan to separate the Requiem Guild and Ain Idris. I knew that I should actively build a relationship with him to hinder Requiem, but my heart wouldn’t cooperate.

“I understand. It can’t be helped.”

Even with a regretful look, Ain Idris readily stepped back. It seemed that he couldn’t force me since the relationship between Requiem and our guild wasn’t good. I sighed in relief as I distanced myself from him. People’s attention was focused solely on Ain Idris, so not many people were looking at me, who was standing alone. Even if they showed interest, it was just curiosity, and it soon faded away when no one recognized me. The hood I habitually wore helped to prevent unnecessary attention.

“Everyone, line up.”

A knight in uniform appeared and shouted, and the atmosphere began to settle down. People who were awkwardly lining up noticed something and stirred. A man was walking out from the inside with knights in tow. It was Lamias, disguised as Duke Sepion.

“Gasp, it’s Duke Sepion.”

“It really is Duke Sepion.”

The air in the hall completely stiffened at the appearance of the great noble who commanded the empire. Without anyone instructing them, everyone straightened their posture with determined faces.

After that, a formal ceremony followed. Duke Sepion, who had ascended the platform, heated up the atmosphere by stating the purpose of the founding, which everyone already knew. The other trivial explanations were the responsibility of the person in charge of the special task force.

“You will be divided into groups and work in three shifts. This special task force will be maintained until the cause of the cracks is identified and the capital is stabilized. The safety of the citizens rests on your shoulders. I hope you will have a special sense of duty to be responsible for so many lives.”

It sounded good, but it just meant they were going to freely exploit high-level personnel. Some people’s eyes sparkled with pride, but most had cloudy expressions. Working in three shifts meant giving up guild activities altogether, and since the operating period wasn’t fixed, it was understandable that they felt hopeless. Even if the Imperial Family paid them, it couldn’t compare to the profits from hunting monsters.

“Now, I will announce the formed groups. It will be posted on the bulletin board, so check the list and confirm your affiliation.”

The soldiers who received the order put up a huge poster. It was a summons for all hunters in the capital, but there weren’t many hunters with a rank of Makina or higher.

In total, there were just over a hundred people, so each group had about thirty to forty members. Within that, they were divided into smaller teams to share patrol areas, so ultimately, they were grouped into teams of about six people.

The reactions of the people who went forward to check the contents were all different. From the sounds of it, it seemed they were grouped regardless of their affiliated guild. It wasn’t surprising that Ain Idris and the Requiem Guild members were all in different groups. Soon it was my turn, but for the same reason, I didn’t feel like checking. I felt like I knew the result without even looking. Lamias, who had somehow found me, was winking meaningfully with one eye, which made me feel even more so.

The prediction was spot on. After reluctantly checking the poster, I found my name on the first group list. Along with a familiar name etched right next to it.

Ain Idris

Ellie

“…Should I kill him?”

Perhaps they heard me muttering without realizing it, the people next to me flinched and looked back. I gave them an awkward smile as they cautiously distanced themselves. Living in this world was never easy.

* * *

Crack! A massive forefoot crushed the brick floor like a cracker. The ground shook, and stone dust flew everywhere. Someone who lost their balance, perhaps because they were too slow to dodge, fell on their butt. They tried to get up immediately, but they were already trapped in the monster’s red gaze. The monster, having locked onto its target, opened its mouth wide and charged.

“Aaaah… Ah?”

The man, who had protected his head while screaming, tilted his head with a bewildered expression and widened his eyes when he discovered the monster lying on the ground. I pulled out the sword that was stuck in its neck and shouted at him.

“Get back!”

“Gasp! Yes!”

The man, having assessed the situation, retreated. The monster, which had been momentarily stunned thanks to being stabbed by the sword, struggled again. At the same time as the signal, Siciel quickly climbed onto the monster’s body. Following that trajectory, a long stream of water wrapped around the monster’s body like a rope.

“Ain!”

Ain, who had been waiting, spread his arms wide. His sleeves and cloak fluttered greatly, riding the swirling wind from the ground.

“Wind of Annihilation! Punish the enemy before my eyes!”

Soon, Jin, descending as if from the sky, plunged the Wind Spear he was holding into the monster. Whoosh! The pouring wind instantly washed away everything.

Kieeeek!

The trembling monster cried out pitifully. It was the dying scream that would soon fade away. Ain, having returned the spirit, turned to me and smiled.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“You too, Ain.”

I smiled lightly as well.