Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 152

Chapter 152

For a moment, Sibelius was stunned, then his face hardened as he muttered to himself. His wide eyes slowly filled with shock, astonishment, and confusion.

“Four thousand years have passed since I was sealed? Is that what you’re saying? Not tens or hundreds… four thousand years?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Unfortunately.”

“Impossible! Then the El here is…?”

“As I mentioned, he is the Water Spirit King, Elquines. The Spirit King you know is probably the Elquines who preceded him. Tall, with a handsome, mature male appearance, and a cold, aloof personality. I heard that the previous Water King looked like that. Is that correct?”

“Yes? Ah, yes…”

At Lucarim’s question, I nodded absentmindedly. Come to think of it, 4,000 years ago would have been when Eluien was still the Spirit King. Why didn’t I realize it immediately when I heard the description? It was Eluien’s appearance no matter who looked at it.

However, Sibelius still looked unconvinced. He shouted with an angry face.

“Don’t lie! Who would believe the words of a demon? I know you demons lie like you eat!”

“Well, if you say so, there’s nothing I can say, but unfortunately, everything I’ve said is true. Isn’t that right, Elquines?”

“Yes? Ah, well…”

“Instead of this, why don’t you show that poor man the power of the Spirit King? I think he’ll believe it then.”

“The power of the Spirit King?”

“Since you are the Water Spirit King, it would be good to show him how you control water directly.”

Hmm, is this what you mean by water?

I shrugged and then spread my hands to create a ball of water in the air. Swish! Splash! Sibelius’s breath seemed to catch for a moment as a huge fountain splashed before his eyes. He stared at me with a blank face.

“Really… a Spirit King?”

“Do you believe me now?”

Lucarim wore a triumphant smile, as if saying, ‘See?’ I felt a little uncomfortable, as if I had played a role in making him stand out, like the bear performing tricks while the owner earns the money. But in the end, it was a very effective method. Sibelius, who had been unmoved by anything he had heard so far, was finally beginning to recognize reality.

“…I can’t believe it… Then it really has been 4,000 years…”

Muttering slowly, he then collapsed to the floor. He seemed unable to shake off the shock of losing such a long period of time. I stared at Sibelius, who was as blank as a person who had lost his soul, with pity. Lucarim also said with a face that was uncharacteristically regretful.

“Do you have no memory of what happened while you were trapped?”

“…No. Nothing. All I remember is being trapped in the seal. I was aware that some time had passed, but I thought it would only be a few years at most. But that ‘some time’ was thousands of years…”

After muttering in confusion for a while, he suddenly raised his head as if he had realized something.

“Wait a minute…! Then what happened to the El I know…? What happened to El?”

“Well, I don’t know who that is. But if that person you know was human, they would already be dead. Humans cannot live for 4,000 years.”

“…Yes, I suppose so.”

Lucarim’s answer was nothing more than a confirmation of a predetermined fact. Sibelius also nodded with a hollow murmur, as if he hadn’t expected much. His pale face was distorted as if he was about to cry.

Is this something that all Spirit Kings who have undergone a change of generation experience? Lapis was like that too, but it felt a little strange that everyone I met knew the Water Spirit King as Eluien. That meant Eluien’s influence was that great. It was as if the things he hadn’t resolved and left behind had been forcibly passed on to me.

‘But who is the ‘El’ who looks like me? Does Eluien know that person too?’

Why? For some reason, my mood suddenly plummeted at the thought that came to mind. I myself was confused because I couldn’t understand this feeling. At that moment, Sibelius, who seemed like he would be sitting there forever, slowly got up. He still looked dazed, but he seemed to have recovered from the shock a lot.

“Are you okay?”

“…I’m more okay than I thought. I feel terrible, though.”

“If you wish, I can help you join the Divine Realm now. Your clan, the Unicorns, currently called the Holy Horses, have barely managed to maintain their appearance over the past few years thanks to losing the Rune bloodline. They will be very happy to know that you are alive.”

I don’t know what the Rune bloodline is, but it seemed to be quite important to the Unicorn clan. However, despite the friendly offer, Sibelius immediately shook his head. He seemed to feel even worse about the offer.

“No, I don’t need it. The ones who trapped me in the seal in the first place were those damn clansmen.”

“Oh dear, was it an internal conflict?”

“At the time, it was almost certain that we would move to the Divine Realm, but I refused. I have no intention of changing my mind now, nor do I want to see them again. Let them live well on their own.”

“Then what are you going to do now?”

“Well…”

Sibelius trailed off with a bitter expression. His eyes, lightly scanning his surroundings, seemed to be struggling to accept the unfamiliar. In a world where even mountains and rivers change in ten years, thousands of years had passed. There would be no one he knew, nothing familiar left.

Starting anew in a completely unfamiliar space is not as easy as it sounds. Although the circumstances are very different, I also felt more overwhelmed when I was first born here. So I could understand his feelings a little.

How much time had passed? It was the moment I felt him turn his head and look at me.

“You, what are you?”

Suddenly, Sibelius glared at me with sharp, blue eyes. His attitude was so cold that I couldn’t recall his friendly demeanor from before. I couldn’t react immediately to the sudden hostility and just blinked blankly.

“…Pardon?”

“I’m asking what you are. What are you doing looking exactly like El? Even your voice and scent are exactly the same! Damn it, Spirit Kings are all jerks! You’re the worst of them all! Is it fun to deceive others?”

“Wait a minute. You’re saying strange things. When did I ever deceive you?”

“Then that appearance is real?”

“Of course. I was born with this appearance.”

“But you just stood there when I called you El!”

“Well… my nickname is El too.”

“Shut up! Who said you could be El? That’s not a name anyone can use! You! Change your nickname! Right now!”

I was dumbfounded by the rapid-fire scolding. I looked at Lucarim in dismay, and he shrugged as if he was also embarrassed. Then, from an angle where only I could see him, he pointed to his head and twirled his finger around. Sibelius didn’t seem normal in his eyes either.

‘…I think I’ve run into someone troublesome.’

His appearance was unusual from the start. Why are all the alien races I meet like this? I grumbled inwardly and sighed deeply. I was upset, but in his position, everything around him would feel confusing. I didn’t want to get angry because I thought he was very sensitive.

“Ugh…”

At that moment, the groan I heard suddenly took away my attention. I had completely forgotten about Isana, who had collapsed, because I was so distracted.

“Ah! That’s right, Isana!”

I shouted in surprise, and Sibelius also flinched and closed his mouth, startled. I ignored him and quickly approached Isana and supported her. Her eyelids were fluttering, as if she was regaining consciousness.

“Isana! Are you okay?”

“…Ugh, El?”

“Yes, it’s me. Are you conscious?”

“The, the monster?”

“It’s okay. They’re all dead. It’s safe now.”

“Really? Thank goodness… Ugh…!”

Isana groaned instead of trying to get up. It was natural since the shock of the spirit being reverse summoned was still there. I clicked my tongue and immediately poured healing energy into his body.

“Oh dear, I’m sorry. Does it hurt a lot? I’ll heal you right away. You’ll feel better soon.”

“Ugh, thank you, El.”

“Tsk, who’s El?”

The peaceful atmosphere was shattered once again by an uninvited guest. The owner of the blunt voice was, of course, Sibelius. Isana’s eyes widened when she found him.

“…Huh? Wh, who? …A Blue Elf?”

Isana, who couldn’t know what had happened while she was unconscious, was very embarrassed by the appearance of a strange alien race that suddenly appeared. But Sibelius didn’t seem to have any intention of kindly revealing his identity to Isana. He pointed at Isana with his chin and asked indifferently.

“What’s that human?”

“She’s my contractor.”

“Contractor?”

Only then did Sibelius’s eyes light up with interest. He slowly scanned Isana from top to bottom with a searching gaze.

“…Really. She has the Spirit King’s seal.”

“Huh? You’re not a spirit, but you can see that?”

“The eyes of the Unicorn clan are close to spiritual eyes. They see things that ordinary people cannot see, and hear things that cannot be heard.”

Lucarim kindly explained, instead of Sibelius, who was unresponsive this time as well. Apparently, Unicorns can sense not only the seal of spirits but also the existence of the underworld—that is, the existence of spirits or ghosts. He even said that even if the corpse disappears after death, only the eyeballs remain, and they can be used to illuminate spirits.

“Wow, they illuminate spirits?”

“They say it’s not clear, but they can see it vaguely. But the most special ability of the Unicorn’s eyes is something else. Eating it allows you to temporarily contact spirits.”

“Pardon? Eat…?”

“Well, they say it doesn’t taste very good. Still, many people wanted that power. For example, people who suddenly lost a loved one or family member. Or people who want to fight ghosts and drive them out of a specific place. Or people who only have money and just want to have a special experience.”

“I, I see.”

“Anyway, that’s why Unicorn eyes were a precious treasure in ancient times, selling for whatever price they could get. There were even professional hunters who only targeted their clan. Of course, Unicorns themselves are very strong, so there were very few successful cases. Still, it must have been a very annoying thing for the Unicorns. In the first place, the spiritual eye itself does not belong to the intermediate realm, so staying in this world must have been difficult.”

“So they moved to the Divine Realm…”

“Hey demon, shut up with your useless talk.”

Sibelius’s voice became lower, perhaps because he was reminded of unpleasant memories. When I flinched and closed my mouth, he stared at me quietly (why are you only doing that to me!) and then indifferently examined Isana again and said.

“Anyway, a human contractor is unusual. Elquines, who is said to be the most difficult to contract among the Spirit Kings, has been summoned by a human again. Then is this your second contractor?”

“Pardon? No, this is my first?”

Then, as if something else didn’t like it, Sibelius’s expression hardened. A voice that seemed to chew and spit out flowed from his tightly closed lips.

“Who said first?”

“Isana here is the first human to summon Elquines.”

“What are you talking about? Then what about El?”

“El…?”

“Yes, El! El was also Elquines’s contractor. 4,000 years ago, he summoned the Water Spirit King long before that kid! So why is that kid the first?”

El was the Spirit King’s contractor? This was a story I had never imagined, so I could only blink. Lucarim also had a rather strange expression on his face.

“Wait a minute. That can’t be true. I think there’s some misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding?”

“Isana is the first human to summon Elquines. It’s a fact that I’ve confirmed with other Spirit Kings, and my instincts are telling me that too.”

“That’s right. I’ve never heard of a human summoning the Spirit King before the person you’re with now?”

Lucarim immediately helped explain after my answer. However, Sibelius didn’t seem convinced at all. He shouted, so excited that his blue skin turned red.

“What, then! Are you saying I’m lying?”

“No, that’s not it…”

“You must think I don’t know anything because I’ve been trapped for 4,000 years! My memory is correct! El was the Spirit King’s contractor! He was the first human to summon Elquines!”