Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 155

155.

“I’m sorry. You put so much thought into it for me.”

“Ah, no. It can’t be helped. Anyway, El, are you okay? You, who said eating was the joy of life, can’t taste anything anymore… Aren’t you struggling or in pain? I can’t even imagine.”

“Well, I don’t really feel hungry, and it doesn’t matter if I don’t eat, so it’s not that inconvenient.”

“I see. Now that you mention it, I think I’ve heard something similar before. But it’s a bit strange. Elquines used to participate in meals quite often. So, was he deliberately enduring it and eating then?”

“Huh? Wait, what are you talking about?”

I felt like I heard something I shouldn’t just let pass, so I quickly asked him. And Sibelius’s explanation that followed surprised me even more.

“I’m talking about the Elquines before you. That guy ate whatever El offered him. So, I thought all spirits felt the same appetite.”

“…Ellyuen?”

“Huh? Who’s that?”

“Ah, never mind. It’s nothing.”

I quickly shook my head and tried to calm the confusion in my mind. He ate whatever food was offered? Was Ellyuen like that?

I’ve heard almost nothing about his time as the Spirit King. But I knew very well that he wasn’t the type to deliberately eat human food while enduring unpleasant sensations. Rather, he was said to be more aloof during his time as the Spirit King than he is now, so it would have been even more so.

Could the previous Elquines that Sibelius is talking about really be Ellyuen? Why does it become more and more unclear as I get more information? At first, I thought we were looking at the same picture and giving different evaluations, but now I’m not even sure if we’re looking at the same thing.

“Come to think of it, Sibelius, you said you were trapped for 4,000 years, right? So, how old are you now?”

Just in time, Isana’s question naturally changed the subject. Sibelius shrugged and replied.

“Me? I was a little over a thousand years old back then, so I guess I’m 5,000 years old now? It’s not a small number, but it’s not a very old age either. Our race lives up to 10,000 years without any major problems.”

“I see. Still, you’ve been asleep for almost half your life. That’s too bad.”

“Well, I don’t think it’s that bad.”

“Huh?”

Isana asked, puzzled, and he lightly rubbed his body and said.

“Even though we’re a long-lived race, our skin should have aged, or our bodily functions should have changed over that much time. But it’s the same as before. It seems like my body’s time stopped while I was sealed. Well, that’s why I don’t remember anything that happened in between.”

“Heh, so your physical age is still a thousand years old?”

“To be exact, it’s about 1,200 years old. I’m glad. It would have been really unfair if I had just gotten older without doing anything. Honestly, I still don’t feel like the times have changed. It doesn’t seem like the language or clothing has changed much either.”

‘Ah, come to think of it…’

At those words, I took another look at Sibelius’s attire. I didn’t pay close attention, so I didn’t know, but it was very similar to what people wear now, so it was hard to find any differences. I heard that it [the world] was destroyed once and started again, so I thought that might have had an impact.

Then, I suddenly felt a gaze and looked up to see Sibelius staring at me. I wondered what he was going to say again, so I asked with an anxious feeling.

“Why?”

“No, I was just thinking again how amazing it is. Aren’t you amazed, El? It’s been 4,000 years, but we’ve met again like this. I think we have a really great connection.”

“…”

“Come to think of it, El, what happened to you? It doesn’t seem like time has stopped for you like it did for me… Since our races are different, maybe you were reincarnated?”

In this world, where things that were considered unscientific on Earth are the norm, the afterlife was not just a vague concept. From his point of view, reincarnation would be the easiest judgment to make. Maybe if I had met him in a different situation, I would have thought the same thing. If I weren’t the Spirit King, that is. I shook my head with a bitter feeling.

“I’m sorry, but you’re mistaking me for someone else. The Spirit King’s soul is different from that of a human. A Spirit King can be reincarnated as a human, but the opposite is impossible.”

“But there are always exceptions. And how do you know? Maybe there are Spirit Kings who were born as humans first.”

Yes, that was true. I was the Spirit King who was ‘born as a human first.’ But there was no way I would have had such a unique experience twice. Especially 4,000 years ago. I didn’t know anything about such a distant time. So, I shook my head firmly.

“No. Absolutely. No way. Never.”

“…Aren’t you being too sure?”

“Of course. Because that’s something that can never happen.”

“Huh? But, El. Before…”

Then Isana, who was listening next to me, hesitated and opened his mouth. He must have remembered the confession that he had lived as a man before. I hurriedly replied before he could continue.

“That was a kind of accident, and it didn’t happen here. It’s not related to what that guy is saying at all.”

“R-really?”

“Yeah, so Isana, don’t listen too much to what that guy is saying.”

“Ugh! Wait, El. Don’t just say no unconditionally, think about it. Maybe you’ll remember.”

“As I said, that can’t happen.”

Of course, it can’t. If I did remember, that would be a tragedy. It’s not just decades, it’s thousands of years ago. If I was born for the first time back then, how many lives have I lived to get to this point? It means I’ve been wandering around without finding my identity for that long. Just thinking about it makes my head spin, so I didn’t give up my firm attitude until the end. I could see Sibelius making an openly disappointed expression, but I couldn’t help it. Fortunately, Isana appropriately changed the subject again, so the atmosphere didn’t flow too badly.

“Um, Sibelius, why did you turn into a Blue Elf?”

“Huh? Why? Is it weird?”

“No, it’s not weird, but it’s not a very common race. It’s okay now because we’re the only ones here, but if you go to the Inga [a region or city], you’ll stand out a lot. Are you okay with that?”

I also sympathized with the question that contained concern. I’m used to it now, but Sibelius’s blue skin was very eye-catching. Elves themselves are rare, but if you’re a Blue Elf, you’ll be noticed everywhere you go. Then Sibelius opened his eyes wide and asked.

“Blue Elves stand out? That’s news to me. Did the number of races change in the meantime?”

“I don’t know the exact number, but you can’t easily meet other races these days. They hardly ever come out of their territories.”

“Heh, I see. It wasn’t like that before. As long as they weren’t monsters, all races tended to mix and mingle. Well, even in those days, unicorns and dragons hid their identities.”

Sibelius had a wistful expression for a moment, as if he missed those days, but soon smiled bitterly.

“About my appearance, I can change it, but if you guys are okay with it, I want to stay like this. I have a lot of memories in this form, so I’m a bit attached to it. Is that okay?”

“I’m okay with it.”

“I don’t mind either.”

“Really? Thank you.”

It wasn’t really something to be thanked for, but Sibelius was sincerely grateful. Looking at this, it seemed that his innate nature wasn’t twisted. If he didn’t mistake me for someone else, I think we could get along really well. With a feeling of regret, I sighed inwardly.

‘Is it really okay to stay like this?’

The favor he sends is only for his friend who looks like me, not for me. Right now, I’m just confused, so I’m just glossing over it, but I can’t continue this ambiguous relationship forever. It might be better to make him acknowledge reality, even if we have to break up. Until then, I couldn’t shake off my skeptical feelings about traveling with Sibelius.

…Until before evening.

“We’ll have to camp here tonight.”

As the day waned, the surroundings quickly darkened. We stopped moving and looked for a suitable place to spend the night. Even though it was a forest, it was mostly flat, so it wasn’t difficult to find a place. Before we started building our shelter in earnest, I looked at Sibelius, who was blankly looking around.

“Sibelius, I have something to ask you.”

“Just call me Sibell. It sounds stiff when you call me by my full name.”

“…Then Sibell, do you have a sleeping bag?”

“Sleeping bag?”

“You’ll need it if you’re going to camp out, but we only have ours.”

“Ah, about that…”

Sibelius nodded as if he understood, then rummaged through his pockets and took out something. It was a stick, paper, and writing utensils that looked like a brush. They didn’t look like sleeping bags at all, so I was puzzled, and he smiled.

“Wait a minute.”

Soon, Sibelius wrote something on the paper, put it on the floor, and fixed it with a stick. He repeated this several times until the stick surrounded us like a fence.

“It’s done.”

“What are you doing?”

“You’ll find out soon if you watch.”

Sibelius wrote something on the paper again and placed it on the palm of his hand this time. Then suddenly, flames soared from the paper, and a strong wind began to swirl around his body. What was even more surprising was Sibelius’s appearance. His blue eyes had turned into a deep golden color. Even his pupils had disappeared, making them look like completely transparent glass beads. In addition, a golden horn made of light sprouted from his forehead.

“Killida.”

As he chanted something in an unknown language, a clear light shone from the sticks stuck in the ground, as if lamps were turned on. And the light was scattered like gold dust and connected to the other sticks.

“Kiklos. Grami. Motivo. Spira.”

With each word Sibelius uttered, the golden dust filled the surroundings more and more. A huge circle was drawn on the floor, pillars were erected, and then they soared up and covered the sky like a roof. In the meantime, Isana and I could only watch the rapidly spreading streams of light with blank expressions. It felt like we were trapped in a shower of light.

“Simadi.”

After a while, the light that filled the surroundings disappeared in an instant as his one word fell. When we realized it, we were standing in a cozy space with beds and furniture. Carpets were laid on the floor, and walls and roofs firmly surrounded us. It was like being in a comfortable mansion.

“…”

“…”

I knew the place hadn’t changed thanks to the bushes visible outside the window (yes! there was even a window!). The shape of the trees and the surrounding scenery were all the same as what I had seen just before the change. Isana also confirmed this and swallowed hard.

“How is it? You don’t need a sleeping bag separately, right?”

Sibelius was the only one who was relaxed in this situation. He smiled casually at us, who were frozen. I couldn’t smile at all, so I asked, still dazed.

“…Is it magic?”

“No, it’s a little different from that. It’s a unique technique that only our unicorns can do.”

“Technique? Can you do this with it?”

“Yeah, it’s a bit sloppy because it uses a simple formation. But it’s not bad for temporary use, right?”

“Not bad…”

This isn’t just not bad.

When I looked at him in a daze, Sibelius gave a pure and innocent smile. It was as if pure white wings were spread out behind his smiling back. I didn’t know that this guy, who is good at cooking, would have such amazing talent.

‘…Maybe it’s okay to just stay like this.’

A resolution that was different from the beginning settled into the cracks of my wavering heart like a reed. Yeah, so what if I’m mistaken for someone else? He’s someone from 4,000 years ago anyway. As time passes, Sibelius will eventually accept that I’m a different being. If I think of it as a process of adaptation until then, it might be okay. No, rather, if I can enjoy these benefits thanks to that, there’s no reason for me to refuse.

I felt skeptical a while ago, but my mind has already changed. I’m such a pathetic guy. I felt a bitter smile on my face because I didn’t know if this decision would be a good thing or a bad thing for me now.