Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 12

12.

“Nice to meet you. Are you newly born?”

“Yes, yes. Nice to meet you.”

“Let’s get along well in the future.”

“Yeah, yeah, I look forward to it too.”

‘What is that sound?’

I opened my eyes to the faint chattering near my ear. The sound of giggling and chatting was like the gentle murmur of a spring.

‘Huh, was I asleep?’

I hadn’t realized I was sleeping until just then, and I was momentarily disoriented. I raised my head, and suddenly, something black loomed before me.

“Uwaaak?! Wh, what is it!”

“Huk! I, I’m sorry, my King. Did I startle you?”

“Ehh?”

My King……?

Surprised, I clutched my pounding heart and blinked. This time, I was dumbfounded for a different reason. A huge beast, the size of a bull, stood right in front of me.

The beast resembled a wolf, but its body was made of shimmering, transparent water. Even its eyes, staring at me, were a chilling blue.

The water wolf spoke in a voice as heavy and dignified as its majestic form.

“My noble lord, I, Ciel, the ruler of water, greet you. I am Ciel, born from the abyss, brought into being by your call.”

“Ci, Ciel?”

You don’t mean *the* Ciel, the high-level water spirit, do you? I never imagined Ciel looked like this. But more than that… did I create a high-level spirit?

The surprises didn’t stop there. Still flustered, I noticed something peeking out from beside Ciel—a girl with a very cute face, looking about ten years old, with long, flowing hair.

‘Why is there a girl here……?’

The girl’s body, like Ciel’s, was made of transparent water. When she met my gaze, she panicked, unsure what to do, and then hurriedly grabbed the ends of her water-colored dress and bowed.

“Ah, hello. Oh, noble Water King. I am Undine, who governs the essence of rivers and lakes, and I greet my lord. I was born by your call.”

“Undine? Are you perhaps a mid-level water spirit?”

Since the high-level was Ciel and the lower-level spirit was called Naiad [a type of water nymph], the only possibility left was mid-level. As expected, the girl nodded, looking flustered.

“Y-yes? Yes. Th, that’s right.”

‘Hee, she’s prettier than I thought.’

I thought Ignis, the high-level fire spirit, was cool when I saw him, but it couldn’t compare to the feeling I had now, facing my own spirits directly. Maybe it’s because they are water spirits like me, but I felt an immediate sense of connection.

“So, I created you guys?”

“Yes, we were born by the call of the King,” both spirits answered as if it were obvious. At that, I couldn’t help but doubt myself again. No matter how hard I tried, I had no memory of calling them. I didn’t even know Undine’s name.

‘Ah, could it be…?’

I recalled the meaningless cry I had unconsciously shouted yesterday. Come to think of it, I suddenly felt like my body was losing strength right after that. And it was at that time that hundreds of thousands of bubbles began to fill the surroundings.

The phenomena that had occurred then had already disappeared. It was completely different from when Ifrit showed me a demonstration, but perhaps that was the sight of a spirit being created.

Besides, although it wasn’t certain, I felt like these two weren’t the only spirits born. The range I could sense had become wider than before.

As evidence, the terrible thirst that had plagued me yesterday had also subsided considerably. I still felt like it wasn’t enough, but it wasn’t as unbearable as it had been when I reached my limit. Also, the feeling of water is much fresher and clearer than yesterday, like opening a window and taking a deep breath on a misty morning.

‘The high-level spirit is called Ciel, and the mid-level spirit is called Undine. Then where is the lower-level spirit?’

I heard that the lower-level ‘Naiads’ don’t need to be created and are born on their own when they sense my energy. But I was curious as to why I had never seen them before.

Just then, the sound of clear spring water rang out from somewhere. The faint trickling sounded familiar. As I listened, it gradually began to form into a clear voice.

“Let’s ride the clouds heading to the northeast sky today!”

“I’m so happy that our companions are increasing.”

“Listen, I can hear the sound of humans cheering over there.”

“Let’s diligently make dew since it’s morning.”

“May the plants grow healthy and lush!”

It was the very voices that had been chattering in my ear when I first woke up. I thought I had been hallucinating because I was sleepy, but this time it was so clear that I couldn’t have misheard.

‘Wh, what is it? Why does the sound of water sound like a conversation? Am I going crazy?’

The voices, which had been talking non-stop, soon disappeared as if nothing had happened when I consciously tried to block them out. More uneasy than ever, I stiffened my face and slowly looked around. Ciel and Undine were looking at me with bewildered expressions.

“Lord?”

“What’s wrong?”

“You guys, did you hear it just now? The sound of children over there…….”

At that moment, an unexpected visitor appeared. Suddenly, a huge wall of earth rose in front of me, and a dark-skinned boy emerged from within. It was Trowell.

“Jihoon! You succeeded in summoning a spirit! The water has risen so much overnight that it’s almost scary. It’s really amazing. At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before nature returns to its original state.”

“T, Trowell!”

He was smiling brightly as he approached, but he stopped and tilted his head, sensing something strange in my stiff posture.

“Why do you look so flustered? Like someone who heard a hallucination.”

That’s it!

I couldn’t help but gape at him, his words hitting the nail on the head. Trowell chuckled as if he knew something.

“You haven’t fully realized it yet. It’s okay. The conversation you thought was a hallucination is the voices of the Naiads.”

“Ehh? Na, Naiads?”

“The lower water spirits. The lower spirits scattered throughout the land act as our eyes and ears everywhere. You were wondering where they were and what they were doing just now, right? So their chatter was just transmitted to your ears. It’s a natural phenomenon, so don’t be so scared.”

Hoo, that’s what it was. Thank goodness……wait, no! What, Trowell! I didn’t even explain it properly, but how do you know my situation in such detail? Are you really reading my mind?

I stared at Trowell, stiff again, not even having time to feel relieved. A troubled smile immediately appeared on his face.

“Don’t be so wary. It feels like I’m threatening you.”

“B, but……you just……no, from before…….”

“You mean I know things you didn’t say?”

I nodded like crazy. At that, Trowell smiled bitterly and shrugged.

“First of all, what you’re thinking……is right. It’s not like I’m trying to read it on purpose, though.”

“Huk! Yo, you really read it? Other people’s thoughts?”

At this moment, I couldn’t help but be shocked. I had already suspected it, but I never thought it would be real. His expression became even more troubled at my horrified reaction.

“Um, what should I say……should I call it insight? Rather than reading, it’s more like quickly inferring. In a way, it’s closer to having good intuition. But it’s not like I can’t hear it at all; I can hear it if I try.”

“S, so you’re saying you can hear it after all?”

“Well, yeah. Although I can’t hear everything.”

Ssaak— I could feel the blood draining from my face. I remembered all the nonsense I had spouted in my mind when I first met him—that he was seductive for a man, that my heart was pounding, and all sorts of other things. And you’re saying he heard all of that!

“Why do you have that expression? You’ve turned completely blue.”

“B, but, that’s……! I……!”

“Haha! It’s okay, it’s okay. I told you, I can’t hear everything. Even I can’t read the emotions you want to hide. There’s a limit to how much I can see through, even with someone at the same Spirit King level. Well, it’s a different story if it’s a human.”

……It was like being rescued from the depths of hell. I swallowed the sigh of relief that burst out of me.

Could it be that Trowell is deliberately enjoying this reaction? Looking at him smiling with such ease, it doesn’t seem entirely wrong. I vowed several times in my mind that I should be careful about what I think when I’m in front of him in the future.

“Actually, my main ability is to see the past and future of others. Seeing through is just a part of it.”

“Huk! You see the past and future? Then you’re making prophecies?”

“That’s right. This also has limitations on the area that can be seen, depending on the person. It’s a unique ability passed down among the Trowells. All Spirit Kings have one unique ability each.”

“Wow, amazing.”

I couldn’t help but be genuinely impressed. It’s amazing just to be a Spirit King, but to see the past and predict the future… isn’t that almost godlike? Besides, it seems to suit him somehow, especially with his uniquely calm and deep golden eyes.

‘Huh? But everyone has a unique ability?’

I stared blankly at Trowell as the thought flashed through my mind. As if he had read my mind, he continued to explain.

“The unique ability of the Water Spirit King is regeneration and healing. If you’re still alive, you can completely heal any wound.”

“Hee? Healing?”

“Yeah. I heard it’s almost as powerful as the high-level God of Healing.”

To be able to heal wounds! It was a much more amazing ability than I had expected. I asked with excitement.

“How do you do it?”

“Well, if you don’t know, I have no way to advise you. All you can do is wait to figure it out yourself.”

“Hmm, is that so.”

Well, if it’s a unique ability of the Water Spirit King, it wouldn’t be very helpful to listen to other people’s advice. In the end, I have to realize this myself. As I became depressed, Trowell comforted me with a gentle expression.

“Don’t be too discouraged. Jihoon’s problems will all be solved over time. You said you couldn’t do it, but you’ve already created a spirit, right? It’s proof that you’ve broken at least some of the limits you set for yourself. So there’s no need to be impatient yet.”

“I, is that so?”

“Of course. I said I see the future, right? So believe it.”

It was a more reassuring word than any other encouragement. Thanks to that, I felt better and nodded. If it were Ifrit, he would have just pushed me, but Trowell is definitely kind.

“But Trowell, do spirits get hurt too?”

“Huh? Not really. The Spirit Realm is such a peaceful place that it rarely happens. Even if they do get hurt, they tend to heal on their own over time. Besides, since they don’t exist as entities when they go down to Arkhadon, there’s no chance of them being threatened at all.”

“……Then there’s no use for healing abilities at all.”

No matter how great a doctor is, they’re useless if there are no patients. What’s the point of having healing abilities if there’s no chance of getting hurt? I frowned at the indescribable disappointment. Trowell quickly answered.

“You can heal beings with bodies, like humans, for example.”

“Huh? Can you meet humans?”

“Of course. It’s impossible right now, but if you want, Jihoon, you can travel around Arkhadon later. To properly enjoy the fun, you have to make a contract with a race from the Middle Realm.”

“Middle Realm? Contract?”

It was definitely a language I could understand, but none of the words made sense. As I panicked, Trowell had a troubled expression for a moment, but soon continued to explain in a calm tone.

“You know that the place we live in is called the Spirit Realm, right? The Middle Realm refers to dimensions where human races live, like Arkhadon. Our spirits are close to spirits, so they can’t be seen by humans in this form. Therefore, in order to get along with people, we have to create a body to use temporarily, and at this time, we have to borrow their power through a contract with another race. Of course, in return, we have to help them on our side as well.”

However, he added that you can’t make a contract with just anyone. It’s quite difficult to supply mana to a spirit, so only those who are qualified can make a contract.