Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 546

546

‘How is it? Do you think you can find the coordinates?’

“Ah, damn it.”

But what came back was a low curse. It was an ominous reaction even to hear, and my heart sank.

‘What? What’s wrong?’

“Hey, it’s ruined. Screwed. They put a double security on it.”

‘What? You said it was okay this time!’

“I don’t know. I was fooled too. When I raided Diagon’s subspace [a virtual storage space], Lantasha acted the most surprised. She made a big fuss about strengthening security right away. So I thought she hadn’t done it before. When I think about it, there’s no way that meticulous woman would have managed the subspace normally.”

It seems that there’s always someone better. I guess this is what they mean by that. Lantasha herself probably didn’t even know that the feigned ignorance back then would have an effect in the past!

‘Then what do we do now!’

“Leave it to luck.”

‘Are you kidding me right now!’

The price for imitating a master thief when it wasn’t in my nature was high. I guess not just anyone can be a villain. I had no idea how to fix things from now on. I guess there’s a saying that people should live according to their nature.

“How long are you going to hold on?”

“Ah, I’m sorry!”

Since there was no reason to hold on any longer, I let go right away. Lantasha, who didn’t know what was about to happen to her, seemed to interpret my flustered, frozen appearance in a different way. Lantasha looked at me with a face as if she was looking at a strange creature and sighed.

“Well, you must be upset that my attitude suddenly changed. I don’t have any particular hard feelings towards you. But it’s true that I can’t enjoy it like before. You know why, right?”

“…Yes, I know.”

“It’s not your fault that this happened. Saying it like this, it really is just a pointless tantrum. But what can I do if you’re human? I get annoyed just by looking at humans now.”

I clenched my clothes tightly. I had already expected that. But Lamias’ attitude hadn’t changed much, so I guess I hadn’t given up hope. Well, it’s not just Lantasha. The spirits’ attitudes have also changed. The water spirits are the least affected, but those who used to react as soon as they made eye contact are now avoiding me, busy avoiding me even when I talk to them. Having good eyes isn’t always a good thing. It makes me check things that I don’t necessarily need to know.

“Why are you making that face? I feel bad.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m not saying apologize…”

Lantasha scratched her head and sighed again.

“Come in for now.”

I raised my head, which had been facing the ground. Lantasha, who met my eyes, slightly avoided my gaze.

“You came knowing you’d hear something you didn’t like. I guess I should hear what kind of great business you have.”

Even if the sky falls, there’s a hole to escape.

* * *

The things that happened during the skipped period usually don’t come to mind. Then, when someone asks about what happened at that time or tries to recall it, the situations at that moment begin to be remembered one by one. Like looking into a drawer locked with a key, finding something you didn’t even know was in there. The memory that comes to mind now is also one of them.

“Cibel, I’m here.”

At that time, Cibel was about a year into his job as a chef at the Sepion Estate. He had entered as an assistant chef and started out enduring all sorts of bullying and being mindful of others, but he had completely taken over the kitchen. I had visited the mansion because I had business with Lamias, but I stopped by the kitchen to kill time because there was a guest who had arrived earlier. I went to the food storage where he was said to be, but I found Cibel in the back garden. He was crouching under a small garden tree, looking intently at something.

“What are you doing here?”

His posture was unusual at a glance, so I asked in a small voice, and he turned around with a flustered face. I nodded when I saw him quickly put his index finger to his lips and approached carefully. I crouched down in a similar posture to him and looked at the side he was looking at, and I could see a small terrace beyond the garden tree. Several people were having a conversation with refreshments at the table set up there. One was Lamias, and the other three were people who looked like priests. They seemed to be the guests who had arrived earlier.

‘What’s a priest doing at the Duke’s residence?’

They seem to be priests wearing priestly robes, but I couldn’t feel any divine power. They seemed to be lower-ranking priests or people closer to the related parties. Neat white clothes had blue embroidery on them. It was a pattern of a flaming arrow loaded on a fancy bow.

What bothered me was that the pattern somehow looked familiar. I had actually seen a bow that looked like that before. Could it be a simple coincidence that the bow used by Lusef, the god of justice, looked exactly like that?

“So, you’re saying you have business with someone who works in my mansion?”

“That’s exactly what I mean. I heard that there is a Blue Elf among the chefs at the Duke’s residence. I would like to meet him.”

…It seems that it is not a coincidence after all. Among the many bows, the fact that they were wearing a pattern resembling Lusef’s bow, and the fact that they were specifically looking for a Blue Elf chef among the many chefs, there was only one reason I knew of. It was the same reason why Cibel was doing this here. Lamias’ eyes were also shining.

“Blue Elf, you say. That’s right, there’s one person among the kitchen staff. But what business do you have with him?”

“There is someone we are looking for. We owe him a great debt and must say hello, but many things overlap with that chef. We want to confirm whether he is the person we know.”

“Ah, I see. If you’re looking for him so desperately, you must be quite close?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Then I don’t think you need to meet him. It seems like a conclusion has already been reached.”

“Yes? What do you mean…?”

“The cake and tea you’ve eaten are all made by him. Especially these kinds of cakes; each person’s unique sense is embedded in them. If you know him, you would have known the moment you tasted it.”

At those words, the priests, who had been confident, showed signs of embarrassment for the first time. They had faces that suggested they had never thought they would be called out on such a point.

“…I have never eaten his cooking, so I don’t know well based on this.”

“Oh, then it’s even more unlikely. My talented chef is very happy to serve food even when he’s not working. If you haven’t even gotten a piece of bread from him, it’s hard to see him as someone you know, right?”

‘So I can’t let you meet him carelessly,’ the intention that came to mind on the leisurely smiling face was clearly readable. As expected of someone who has built a large family, it was a smile that felt seasoned [experienced]. On the other hand, composure completely disappeared from the faces of the priests who had hardened their faces. It would have been easier for each other if it had ended there, but the situation could not flow as they wanted.

“To be honest, he is a criminal. He is the one who dared to steal and run away with a precious treasure that is the only one in the world. The signal of one of the trackers who were searching various places to find him was cut off in the capital of this empire. We believe that the person here is the most likely.”

The person who answered now clearly misunderstood the meaning of honesty. I was about to frown because I was so upset, but Cibel grabbed my arm. I unknowingly leaned forward, and it seemed like I was about to jump out.

“If that’s what you should have said from the beginning. But if that’s true, it seems like it has nothing to do with my chef. He’s not the kind of person who would steal someone else’s stuff.”

“How can you be sure of a person’s entirety with just the appearance you see? I hope you will consider that everyone has a different side.”

“That’s right. And if you really don’t care, you can show him to us, right?”

“Please allow us to confirm whether he is the person we know. If it becomes known that you are hiding a criminal, it will not help the Duke’s reputation.”

Just because the tone is polite doesn’t mean it’s polite. The words that are pouring out now were a good example.

“It seems like you guys see me as very funny.”

Lamias’ smile deepened. He was clearly smiling, but the feeling of being unpleasant was obvious. Those who felt pressured flinched and looked at each other. After a moment of silent eye contact, the person who led the conversation opened his mouth with a determined face.

“There is one more thing I would like to say. We are not actually priests. We are not even ordinary humans.”

At the same time, a golden long horn began to sprout from his forehead. Even someone who doesn’t have any sense couldn’t not know the identity. Even though he must have already noticed everything, Lamias widened his eyes as if he was surprised. The faces of the unicorns who gained confidence in that appearance became elated.

“We want to resolve this situation quietly as much as possible. We don’t want to cause damage to human society because of this.”

It seemed like it was a winning move [회심] of the unicorns. However, they didn’t know that they had chosen the wrong person to threaten [협박].

“This is a welcome sound. Actually, I’m not that ordinary either.”

At the same time as the answer, the aura surrounding Lamias began to change. He revealed the aura of a transcendent [초월자] that he had been concealing [갈무리]. It wasn’t enough to reveal that he was a dragon, but it was enough to let them know that he was superior to them in power. The expression of the unicorn, who had been confident while revealing his identity, quickly collapsed. They must have already known that Sepion was an excellent magic swordsman [마검사], but they thought he was just a human and looked down on him.

“…We’re just asking you to let us confirm. I don’t know why you’re refusing so strongly. Since he is the one who stole the precious object [귀물], he may also be aiming for the precious object here. Does the Duke care if such a person is a member of the household [식솔]?”

“Well, is the person you’re looking for really a criminal?”

“Do you think we’re lying?”

“I’m not thinking, but you’ve already lied to me several times. At first, you said you were looking for him because you owed him a debt, but it wasn’t true, and you said you were close, but it wasn’t. You requested an audience as a dispatched priest, but you weren’t even a priest.”

“That’s…”

“In the first place, the reason I accepted your request for an audience was because you said you were a priest of Lusef. The temple has long since disappeared, and I was curious about what urgent business the lay religious order [영세 교단], which only has followers [신도] who voluntarily follow, had to find me. How can I believe you and show you my beloved chef? What if you insist that he’s the one and drag an innocent person away?”

“We, we wouldn’t do that.”

“I’m sorry. Those words have already lost their effect the moment you lied for the first time.”

The unicorns’ expressions darkened. They finally seemed to realize that there was no way to persuade them with any words. Then one person stood up and shouted like he was having a seizure.

“Mr. Cibel! I know you’re here! Nothing will be solved by hiding like this! Are you listening, Mr. Cibel!”

Cibel’s shoulders, who had stopped breathing, stiffened. This time, I reached out and grabbed his arm. The gaze that turned around with a pale face wavered unsteadily [흔들렸다 불안정하게]. “You don’t have to be swayed [동요] by those words.” Cibel slowly nodded, distorting his face as if he was about to cry at the words I whispered lowly.

“It’s true that you guys look down on me.”

Fortunately, Lamias did not just watch them behave arrogantly. A small magic circle seemed to float [떠오르다] in front of him, and the person who was shouting fell to the floor. The other unicorns, surprised by the sudden situation, hurriedly got up from their seats. The fallen unicorn was conscious, but he could only sweat cold sweat and could not move.

“What the hell are you doing!”

“I’ve just lightly cast gravity magic [중력 마법]. It’ll feel like you’re being crushed by a slightly heavy rock. But if you make more noise here, that weight will crush [짓이기게] your windpipe [숨통].”

The more kind [친절한] explanations continued, the more the unicorns’ faces hardened. Lamias, who leisurely [느긋하게] looked back at the scene [모습] with resentful [분한] faces, returned to his original relaxed attitude and asked.

“Are you going to get out of here on your own feet, or are you going to become a body that can never return?”

That day, the unicorns chose to go back quietly. They spat out protests, saying that they would regret it if they did this, and that they would not give up like this, but they could not come back again. Or, to be precise, they tried to intrude [침입] illegally, but they couldn’t break through the security magic laid [깔린] in the mansion.

Then, later, they changed their strategy and waited for the moment when Cibel went out, but this also did not yield any results. They seemed to think that there would be a gap once or twice, but it was a judgment that was so naive [안이할 정도로 허술한]. Cibel, who had grown up confined in a limited space for the rest of his life, was a personality [성격] who did not feel any discomfort [불편함] even if he did not go out. He was also good at disguising [위장] and secretly moving around [은밀히 돌아다니는]. It was like they had reaped [알차게 거둔] the seeds they had sown [뿌린].

After that, they roamed [배회] the capital and disappeared at some point. Lamias, who was annoyed by the constantly bothering [자꾸 걸리적거리는] presence, spread [뿌렸는데] fake information about the Blue Elf chef on the entire continent, and it seemed to have worked. Even in the midst of that, they left a letter to Cibel in front of the Duke’s residence.