Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 512

512

“Yeah, what can you do?”

“Sibel is good at everything.”

“Tsk, tsk, saying that only diminishes your professionalism. Why do you think there are separate pastry chefs, bakers, and cooks? If you’re going to be so vague, you should at least state your experience. Like awards you’ve won in competitions, or places you’ve worked.”

“The Special Forces kitchen.”

“The Special Forces kitchen? …Are you talking about that temporary hire this time?”

“Yes.”

Lamias lightly touched his forehead as I nodded.

“You know how picky I am? My kitchen isn’t just any ordinary kitchen. It’s a very special kitchen staffed only by people with years of experience in the Imperial Palace!”

“Sibel is good, too.”

“Don’t you know what experience means?”

“Isn’t it enough to be good at cooking?”

“Hmph, that’s why you’re a country bumpkin… Listen carefully, kid. Nobles, you see, don’t just operate on simple things like that. We also consider dignity.”

“Wow, that’s the most useless dignity in the world. Why do you live like that when you try so hard?”

“What do you mean by that? Huh?”

What do I mean? I mean you have no dignity.

Electricity sparked in Lamias’s eyes as he gritted his teeth. I didn’t back down and glared back with a smile.

“I also have experience working in the royal palace.”

Sibelius, who had been listening silently, opened his mouth at that moment. Oh, right. Come to think of it, this guy had once boasted to Isana and Alisa about his experience working in the royal palace. I thought he came straight to the Empire as soon as he left the village, but when did he gain that experience? I looked at him in surprise, and Lamias’s expression also changed with interest.

“Really? Where and for how long?”

“In the Rosen Kingdom,” Sibelius replied calmly, glancing at me.

“…One week.”

“…Are you kidding me right now?”

He was boasting about a week’s worth of experience? I was dumbfounded and stared at him, and Sibelius’s earlobes turned red.

“I could have kept working, but someone recognized me, so I had no choice.”

“A pursuer?”

“No, a Blue Elf who came as a goodwill ambassador. He had visited our village before, and he remembered my face.”

According to his explanation, the Rosen Kingdom was the country with the most Blue Elves. That’s why he chose to go to the kingdom, but to meet someone who knew him, he could only be said to be extremely unlucky.

“Anyway, it’s still experience working in the royal palace.”

“What experience with just one week? Did you even cook there? Weren’t you just doing chores and preparing ingredients?”

“I did. I was assigned to the kitchen from the first day. I even oversaw all the meals for one day, though it was just one day.”

“They entrusted such an important task to a newbie?”

“All the cooks collapsed due to mass food poisoning, so I was the only one left.”

“…”

“Apparently, they felt bad about throwing away the oysters left for disposal, so they shared them and got sick. If they got caught, they would all be fired, so they tried to handle it secretly. They gave me the recipes and had me make a few dishes, and they liked them, so they put me in charge of the kitchen that day. And it went smoothly without any problems. I even heard that the meals that day were particularly well-received.”

“Hmm, okay. Thanks for letting me know that the Rosen Kingdom’s kitchen is a mess. Even my informants didn’t know that.”

Lamias replied with a face that couldn’t hide his bewilderment. Still, he seemed intrigued, and his gaze wasn’t as dismissive as before.

“If you were in charge of the meals, it seems like it’s true that you’re good at everything. Well, I was thinking too much from a human perspective. How long have you been cooking?”

“About 300 years…?”

My mouth hung open at the unexpected number. Ah, right, come to think of it, Sibelius is over a thousand years old, isn’t he? At that point, it would be stranger if he couldn’t do anything he learned.

“Not bad.”

Lamias’s expression also softened a bit. He added that he was acknowledging his experience because his true identity was a unicorn. He had met a cook among the elves before, and they had served him only sliced fruit, claiming to be serving a meal.

“I realized then that centuries of experience mean little to a race that mainly enjoys raw food.”

Lamias, expressing his feelings at the time with a bitter expression, repeatedly emphasized that it was fortunate that unicorns enjoyed cooked food. That incident must have been quite shocking.

“Then, does he qualify?”

“Well, for now…?”

Sibelius looked at me with a much brighter face.

“But it’s a bit unexpected. Cooking is something that only weaklings who can’t contribute to the war effort are assigned to among unicorns. Did everyone just let Rune learn to cook?”

Though his expression quickly hardened again at the following words. How did he know I was a Rune without seeing my wings? I didn’t even think he would find out that far, so my body tensed up involuntarily.

“Have you seen Sibelius before?”

“No. But I know that Rune has silver hair and blue eyes. Aren’t those the symbolic colors of the god Lusef? I wondered if that’s why you transformed into a Blue Elf, to hide your colors.”

Lamias leaned back against the backrest and smiled leisurely. Why is it that someone who understands the situation so well loses his mind only when it comes to Elquines? I felt confused again.

“But wasn’t Rune supposed to be a being hidden and concealed? Is it okay for you to be out in human society?”

“If you know that much, you probably know why I asked you to hire him.”

“Are you going to use my house as a shelter now?”

“It’s a win-win situation. You can hire a great cook, Sibelius can get a place to stay comfortably, it’s good for everyone.”

“Well, that would be the case if my kitchen was short on staff? I’m already satisfied with the cooking in my house.”

“Oh, really? Then how about this deal? I heard a story from Davian.”

The smile quickly disappeared from the Duke’s playfully grinning face. He even put down the leg he had been crossing, and it seemed that controlling his anger was quite a decisive blow.

“Hey, you’re really being unfair!”

“Who was unfair first?”

“Did you forget that you agreed to cooperate with me in exchange for finding the item you’re looking for?”

“That’s why I accepted the Special Forces summons without skipping. But there’s been something going, but nothing coming?”

“Ugh, you really don’t give an inch! How can you be so devoid of any cuteness?”

“What do I gain by looking cute to you?”

He must want to see me groveling, what a nasty hobby. Sibelius, who seemed to have the same thought, was nodding with an uncomfortable expression. “El is more pretty than cute.” …No. He was completely lost in a different context. I pretended not to notice that he had missed the point and was talking nonsense, and smiled. Only then did Lamias give up on his pointless stubbornness and sighed.

“Damn it, fine. What would I gain by arguing with you? It’s not like it’s difficult to make a place in the kitchen. Do as you please.”

That’s it. I turned to Sibelius with a proud heart, and his face was also bright.

“Anyway, tell me now. What did that guy who’s only loyal to you tell you?”

Lamias’s expression was sulky, as if he thought he had stepped back. He’ll think completely differently once he tastes Sibelius’s cooking himself. I clicked my tongue at the foolish man who didn’t know he had won a fortune. Anyway, it was a story I was going to tell him anyway, so I obediently started explaining. From the crown prince’s power of fascination to the possible abilities of the princess. I even told him about the identity of the magic used in the royal family and what I had experienced while entangled with the crown prince, and Lamias’s expression became serious. In particular, he seemed to have no idea that the crown prince was using black magic.

“Hey, why are you telling me this now?”

“You didn’t ask.”

“Is that what you’re saying now…”

“I was originally going to handle it personally. But it seems like the situation is more serious than I thought. I thought it would be good to tell you in order to prepare.”

I thought they used black magic boldly in the slave market because it was a special situation. Because it was easy to cover up even if they got caught, and it wasn’t a problem. But who knew they would use it indiscriminately even in ordinary shopping districts. They had kept everyone around them away, but I thought they wouldn’t have cared much even if there were people watching. Everyone knows that black magic is taboo, but that’s only when you can distinguish it. The problem was that magic and sorcery all looked similar on the surface.

“The power of fascination alone is a headache, but even black magic. That’s why it was useless.”

“What do you mean?”

The explanation that followed was this. Aegis had already figured out to some extent that the crown prince had some kind of ability to win the favor of others, though they didn’t know about the fascination. So, when they heard that he was coming to the Empire, they told the Emperor and the Crown Prince not to make eye contact with him, and they had them wear magical tools to clear their minds. But it was no use, and recently the Crown Prince was getting too close to the Crown Prince. They knew that he had added something else, but they didn’t think it was black magic. The most unexpected thing was the next thing he said.

“…The Crown Prince is in love with the Princess?”

“Yes, we’re in a state of emergency right now to prevent that from being known to the outside world. What’s driving me crazy is that this crazy guy is even thinking about divorcing the Crown Princess. Does that make sense? They were a loving couple who couldn’t live without each other. Moreover, the Princess is not originally the Crown Prince’s type.”

It was something I had heard a lot. My stomach felt stuffy as if something was stuck, and I couldn’t help but sigh. Even if I didn’t know anything else, I felt like the Aylbra family was trying to swallow the Empire this time using the same method as the Epen royal family.

‘Then the princess falling in love with Ain Idris was an unexpected situation.’

I felt quite strange. I didn’t know where and how much I was entangled in this complicated skein [a tangled or complicated arrangement]. And I didn’t even know if there was a way to get out of it. The more I tried to cut it off, the more stubbornly it became entangled.

“First of all, we need to find out what the princess is hiding. So, will you find out?”

“How can I?”

“There’s one more person who’s been close to those royal siblings recently. Coincidentally, they’re all attending a banquet held at the Baron’s mansion soon, I hear?”

“Don’t tell me…”

“That’s right, someone you know very well.”

Yes, just like this. Lamias responded to my sullen gaze with a brighter smile than ever.

“Friends are really good, aren’t they? They’re relationships where you can greet each other happily and join in naturally, right? Especially if it’s a place where you want to introduce people. There’s almost no chance of being suspected of approaching with other purposes.”

“…Why are you doing this to me?”

I pressed my forehead and gritted my teeth, and Sibelius, who didn’t know what was going on, sent me a flustered look. I smiled to mean that I was okay and glared at Lamias. But he didn’t care.

“I’m not asking for any substantial information. Just grasp the atmosphere. The princess is always right next to her brother, so there are hardly any people who have talked to her directly.”

“I never said I would.”

“Are you going to leave what you promised to give me before as it is?”

“…”

My body flinched reflexively. I looked at him in a hurry, and he shrugged leisurely. I could tell from his confident face, but I bothered to open my mouth to confirm.

“Do you really have it?”

“Would I lie about something like this?”

Is it a dragon’s racial trait to only do annoying things? Following the unicorn, I think I’m going to have a prejudice against dragons too. Otherwise, there’s no way that every dragon I’ve come into contact with would turn people inside out like this.

“That’s why you keep getting dumped.”

I couldn’t just let it go, so I blurted out the words that had been welling up inside me. His relaxed expression changed in an instant.

“Hey, who did you hear that from? Lily? Did that girl say that?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I was talking about Elquines.”

“Huh? E, Elquines?”

“You get dumped all the time. Or is there someone else who got dumped?”

“No, that’s not it… Ugh!”

Seeing him unable to get angry and just grabbing the back of his neck made me feel a little better. Only then did I get up from my seat and turn to Sibelius, who had a relieved expression on his face, for some reason as much as I did.

“Then Sibelius, you stay here. I’ll come to see you often.”

“Ah, El. Take this.”

He nodded and took out a bundle of paper from his arms and handed it to me. It was the protective charm he had given me before. It was enough to block at least ten times even if the crown prince used black magic.

“Is it okay to give me all of this?”

“I originally made it for you.”

How do you make something like this? I don’t think the production process is easy. It must be something so precious that you can’t put a price on it. I could guess that just by looking at Lamias’s wide eyes. I felt sorry for receiving something like this for free, but I couldn’t refuse when I thought about the things I would face in the future, so I gratefully accepted it. At that time, Lamias, who was staring at us, said with a mischievous smile.

“Do you even know what gender he is?”

He seemed to think that this was a great opportunity to make fun of me. Of course, it was an attempt that was completely mistimed. Sibelius, who looked at him with a pathetic gaze, retorted sullenly.

“I know. He’s a man.”

“…Huh? You know? You know he’s a man and you’re being this nice to him? A unicorn? I know it takes more than an hour to make one of those protective charms. I know it consumes a lot of magical power too. And you’re just giving it away to a boy like that?”

“What does it matter?”

The gaze of pity deepened. The gaze I sent him was the same. Lamias, embarrassed, turned to me with a dumbfounded face.

“Why do you only become friends with people who are hard to 攻略 [gong lüe – a Chinese internet slang term meaning ‘to capture’ or ‘conquer’, often used in the context of dating or gaming]?”

I naturally ignored the question that followed. He clearly couldn’t think that it wasn’t that I was doing well, but that there was a problem with his personality.

* * *

I felt a familiar energy from somewhere.

I woke up from my sleep at the pleasant sensation. It felt like something was shaking my body, or like cold water droplets were touching me.

Was I sleeping quite deeply? For some reason, it felt like it had been a long time since I had thought about anything. However, unlike my consciousness being awake, I couldn’t move my body at all. It was as if I was being forcibly crammed into a narrow and stuffy space.

I don’t remember when I fell asleep. The only thing that came to mind were the desperate afterimages of the last moment when my consciousness remained. A huge explosion occurred, and a strong wind blew. The remnants of sand poured down from all directions as if swirling.

And…

What are you doing now!

Someone’s voice shouting at himself.

Who was that? I tried to force myself to recall the unclear memory and recall his face. But no matter how hard I tried, only black and black scenes continued. There was almost nothing to see properly. Rather, the frustrating feeling only intensified and seemed to be painful.

‘And where the hell is here?’

I knew one thing for sure. I was already dead. Even if it wasn’t for that last explosion, I was in a state of fatal injury that could not be recovered. There was no way I could still be alive.

Ah, then is this the underworld? A somewhat acceptable judgment was made. It seemed a little different from the afterlife I had learned about, but I decided to give up thinking anymore. The more I tried to concentrate, the more the things I recalled scattered like broken pieces. Perhaps because I had been asleep for too long, my head seemed to be firmly hardened. I only felt like I wanted to fall into a deep sleep again. If it weren’t for the voice that kept digging into my head, I would have definitely done so.

…!

…s…!

Who is it? What are you saying? I can’t hear anything. If you want me to recognize you, speak louder so I can hear you better. Even as I grumbled lowly, I became anxious that I would miss the voice as it was. It was a voice I had heard somewhere. It was definitely the voice of someone I knew…

Lapis!

…!

The hazy vision cleared up in an instant. In the brightened space, the figure of one person became clear. Watery eyes looking back at himself with embarrassment. I thought the hair scattered in the wind looked like waves. I didn’t like the lifeless, pale face, but I couldn’t deny that even that icy appearance suited him well.

Ah, I see. It was you. You were the one looking for me?

I quietly swallowed the laughter that flowed out. I thought I already knew a lot, but it was amazing that I felt like I was learning something again. Once I realized it, my situation became clearer. In comparison, he didn’t seem to be aware of my existence yet. The fact that he was just wandering around aimlessly was so foolish that it was like him.

Thanks to you, my mind seemed to be completely clear. The deep sleep that I had enjoyed comfortably for a long time waved its hand, saying let’s be together again, but I no longer felt like obediently entrusting my consciousness to it.

Someone is calling me, so I have to get up now. I was always weak to his requests. If I ignored him desperately looking for me, I would be hated, and I didn’t want that. So, try a little harder. I bothered to say it even though I knew it wouldn’t be conveyed yet.

I’m here, El.

Very close to you.