Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 133

133.

“10 gold, 5 silver!”

“I’ll add 20 silver to that!”

“10 gold, 30 silver!”

In an instant, the deck transformed into an auction house. It was a common sight during the past voyages, so there was nothing particularly new about it. The only difference was that the auction prices were much higher than usual. It seemed everyone was getting more desperate as the end of the event approached.

Amidst the chaotic scene, I quietly searched for the man I had seen at dawn. Endil only takes two customers a day, so it was time for him to make his move. But for some reason, he was just watching leisurely like a bystander, showing no signs of stepping forward. Naturally, I couldn’t tell who his target was.

Endil seemed just as bewildered by the unexpected behavior. He was smiling as calmly as usual, but he occasionally glanced at the man with an anxious expression. Meanwhile, the auction had already exceeded ten times the starting price.

“20 gold, 50 silver!”

“Ugh! 20 gold, 51 silver!”

“20 gold, 52 silver!”

“……25 gold!”

A sigh erupted from the competitors’ mouths at the boy’s final shout. To me, that sigh sounded like a declaration of defeat. Perhaps not only I, but others felt the same way. Indeed, the fierce heat cooled down in an instant and began to subside quietly. The auction was finally over. The boy looked back at Endil with a face full of joy.

“It seems like everyone is willing to concede. There’s no problem now, right?”

“Well, yes, but…….”

Endil nodded with a dazed look, searching for the man with his eyes. Even then, there was no change in the man’s face or expression. Had he perhaps withdrawn his plan? My mood became as complicated as Endil’s troubled expression. The boy, unaware of this, was chattering away, full of dreams.

“Ah, great. Can we go a little deeper this time? I want to see that fish I saw earlier up close. And if possible, I’d like to touch things like seaweed…… Are you listening to me?”

“Ah, yes, of course, sir. Well, shall we go again then?”

Endil, glancing at the man with a queasy expression, soon returned to his merchant’s face and smiled again. He looked relieved, as if he thought it was for the best.

It was then.

“Oh, my. Young master, are you really going to do it again?”

“……!”

Suddenly, someone spoke from among the people. It was a very familiar voice. A man was slowly walking out from where I was looking. Endil’s eyes shook greatly as he discovered the figure. The prediction was unerringly correct. It was the man from dawn.

“Mr. Moose.”

The boy, knowing nothing, greeted him with a bright face. The man smiled kindly at the boy, not even giving Endil a glance.

“You said you’d only do it once. Don’t worry Loki too much.”

“But it’s so much fun. You should try it too, Mr. Moose. Then you’ll understand me.”

“But the water is really dangerous. What if something happens…….”

“It’s okay. You saw that I came back safely. And I have the guardian amulet that Mr. Moose gave me.”

The boy proudly lifted a long string from his neck. At the end of it was a small golden medal. The man, seeing it, smiled as if he couldn’t help it and raised both hands.

“Haha, you’re really impossible. Alright. Then be careful and have a good time again.”

“Yeah, thank you!”

While the conversation was going on, Endil was frozen in place. I was worried if he was even breathing. The man gave the boy a final kiss on the forehead, then turned to Endil leisurely and said,

“Then I’ll leave our young master in your care again.”

“…….”

It was a natural request without any suspicious aspects. But I sensed that it was a signal sent by the man. Endil’s eyes also seemed to sink even further.

To think that the target of the contract killing would be such a young child. Endil seemed to be as shocked as I was. He didn’t move from his spot for a long time.

“Aren’t you going, Endil?”

“Yes? Ah, yes, I’m going.”

Only when the boy urged him first did he seem to come to his senses and fix his expression. The boy’s eyes sparkled with excitement as Cyciel approached quickly at Endil’s hurried gesture.

“You didn’t forget what I said earlier, did you? We’re going deeper this time, right?”

“Yes, we are. ……But if you don’t mind me asking, how old are you, sir?”

“Me? I’m fourteen this year.”

Even with the sudden question, the boy answered without much wariness. At that moment, Endil’s expression slightly distorted.

“……Shit.”

“Huh? What did you say just now?”

“No, it’s nothing. It’s just that you’re the same age as my younger sibling.”

Endil gave a bitter smile to the boy who was smiling brightly. Looking at his increasingly complicated face, it seemed like he was projecting his younger sibling onto the boy.

At that moment, the eyes of the man called Moose and Endil met briefly. In that fleeting moment, I could feel Endil’s nerves on edge. He didn’t grit his teeth outright, but his eyes were filled with clear hostility. However, Moose was not at all shaken. He had a nonchalant face, as if he hadn’t expected much in the first place. Endil seemed even more enraged by that and turned back to the boy.

“Excuse me, sir…….”

“Oh, did you know, young master? Bale lost his beloved bird the other day.”

Endil’s words were cut off because Moose intervened. Endil closed his mouth, and the boy immediately showed interest.

“Bale’s beloved bird, you mean…… the one he said was a rare species? The one Bale said he found a nest in the mountain near his house?”

“Yes, that’s right. He enjoyed watching it from afar, not even getting close in case it ran away.”

“Oh dear, to lose that bird. How did it happen?”

“He accidentally talked about the bird in front of people, didn’t he? It seems hunters who heard the rumors caught it.”

“Oh my…… Bale must be very shocked.”

“I know, right? That’s why I told him so many times to be careful with his words. He was a fool who didn’t know that you have to cherish your words to protect something precious.”

‘……In other words, don’t blab unnecessarily, huh?’

The meaning Moose was trying to convey was clear. He was disguising it as a monotonous chat, but it was clearly a warning to Endil. His eyes shook greatly as if he felt it too.

“Anyway, that’s really too bad. I should send Bale some flowers of consolation.”

“He’ll be happy if you do, young master.”

“Okay. Oh! Come to think of it, Endil, weren’t you about to say something to me a little while ago?”

With the boy’s question, Moose’s snake-like gaze reached Endil. Even though it was only a moment for others, it was enough time to pressure him. Endil opened his mouth as if to say something, then let out a long sigh.

“……No, if you’re ready, let’s go now.”

“Ah, yes. I’m all ready. Please take care of me this time too.”

The boy, knowing nothing, smiled brightly and replied. Moose smirked quietly at the sight, and Endil clenched both fists. It was amazing that he was holding back without rushing in right away with that fiery temper.

“Then I’ll be back!”

With the boy’s bright greeting as the last, the two went back into the sea. As their figures completely disappeared, the event naturally took on an atmosphere of closure. Since it would end anyway when Endil returned, it was a natural reaction. Except for a few who were pointlessly holding their places, most of the onlookers began to disperse.

Until then, I wasn’t particularly worried. Just looking at the complicated expression Endil had on his face towards the boy, or the hostility he was sending to Moose, it was clear that he wouldn’t follow the instructions. More than anything, I wanted to believe in the promise he made to me.

What bothered me was Moose. He must have read Endil’s refusal as well. Judging by his unusually calm reaction, there was a high possibility that he had anticipated this situation since he gave Endil the decision-making power. The problem was what he would do with Endil, who knew his plan. He had silenced him for now, but he wouldn’t be relieved by that.

I carefully examined Moose’s situation. He was leaning against a pillar, leisurely smoking a cigarette. He would scold the boy’s servant whenever he stamped his feet, but it was difficult to guess his true feelings from that alone. I sensed a strange atmosphere some time after that.

“Doesn’t it seem like it’s taking a little longer this time?”

“Hmm, it does.”

I heard a few sailors standing on the gunwale [the upper edge of a ship’s side] murmuring. Not only them, but a slight commotion was spreading among other people as well.

Come to think of it, how long has it been since Endil went into the water? I quickly estimated the time in my head. He can last about 10 minutes in the water. Usually, he would come up in advance before reaching the limit. But now, the surface of the water was calm even though the time had been exceeded.

‘Could it be…….’

I reflexively looked at Moose. It wasn’t something I consciously did, it was almost an instinctive action. I shuddered at the sight I witnessed at that moment. Moose was smiling. His narrowly folded eyes were filled with deep joy.

‘Damn it!’

Something went wrong. As soon as I felt that, I quickly shed my form and jumped into the sea.

As a water spirit, my senses become more sensitive when I’m in the water than when I’m in the air. As soon as I submerged, my breathing became easier and my vision became clearer as if I had been waiting for it. As I stayed still for a moment, I soon felt a commotion coming from below. It was definitely Endil.

I opened all my senses and quickly went down. Fortunately, Endil wasn’t too far away. And unlike my worries, they both seemed fine. The boy was reaching his arm out of the sphere, and Endil was holding him next to him to prevent him from being in danger. At least nothing seemed to have happened yet.

Just as I was about to feel relieved, I frowned at the sudden sense of unease. It was because of Endil’s expression as he held the boy. He was strangely stiff, and his face was red as if he was exerting strength. Indeed, the veins on his arm that was hugging the boy from behind were bulging strongly.

As I got closer, the situation became clearer. The boy wasn’t just reaching out his arm. He was desperately struggling to get out of the sphere. And Endil was stopping him.

‘What, what’s going on?’

To think that the boy would cause a problem. I was flustered and approached a little closer. I wondered if he was just being stubborn out of curiosity, but now I saw that the boy’s eyes were out of focus. He was staring blankly into the air, as if he was possessed by something. Feeling a strange feeling, I examined him in detail and felt a strange flow of mana from the boy. The artificially twisted flow was starting from near the boy’s chest. I identified the object on top of it and hardened my face.

‘That necklace…….’

Was it called a guardian amulet? It was the necklace that Moose gave the boy. When I first saw it, it was clearly an ordinary medal, but now the surface was glowing bluish. Familiar shapes and letters were swirling in the light as if they were surging. Magic was being activated.

“Hey kid, please come to your senses! Can you hear me? Hey!”

Endil shouted with all his might, but the situation didn’t improve at all. No, it was getting worse rapidly. Endil was already at his limit just by enduring in the water. Trying to stop the boy’s resistance in the midst of that was bound to be dangerous.

“Cough!”

As expected. Just as the sphere seemed to shake greatly, Endil coughed up blood. His arm loosened due to the pain, and the boy did not miss the gap and jumped out of the sphere in an instant.

“Shit! Cyciel!”

Endil, who barely managed to snatch the boy’s arm at the last moment, shouted like a scream. Splash! At the same time, Endil and the boy fell into the water in turn, and Cyciel returned to his wolf form.

—Endil!

Even in the water, the boy’s resistance continued. Even though Endil was trying to hold on and swim upwards, the boy was struggling and only trying to fall off. Cyciel immediately helped Endil. He also seemed to have realized that the boy’s necklace was the problem, and tried to bite off the necklace as he approached.

‘……Ah, wait a minute!’

At the ominous feeling I felt for a moment, I quickly tried to stop him. But right then, strong magic surged from the necklace that touched Cyciel. It was designed to repel if someone tried to forcibly tear it off.

Boom!

—Keuk!

The magic that bounced back covered Cyciel’s body as it was. If he had been in a normal state, he would have been able to handle it without much difficulty. But Endil’s mana, which had already reached its limit, could not withstand the shockwave. Cyciel’s body trembled, and soon began to shatter and scatter on the spot. The mana connected to him was flowing backwards into Endil. He was being forcibly returned to the spirit realm.

Gurgle, gurgle!

The shock of the reverse summoning was conveyed to Endil as well. More blood than before was spewed from his mouth, which was widened as if he was screaming. His body, which convulsed briefly, soon drooped. He couldn’t overcome the shock and fainted.

‘Damn it!’

I clicked my tongue briefly and quickly approached Endil. The boy was already unconscious as well. I first put air bubbles on both of their faces and then tried to get them to the surface. Then the medal around the boy’s neck began to repel me this time. When I grabbed it with my hand, I felt a stronger resistance of magic. Of course, it wasn’t a big deal for me.