Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 165

165.

“El, I’m sorry, but I have a favor to ask.”

“Huh? What is it?”

“I want to handle this myself. Would that be okay?”

Sibelius and I looked at each other. There was only one meaning behind those words.

“You mean you want to take down the monster alone? You want us to stand back and do nothing?”

“Yes, please.”

“Hmm. Well, I don’t particularly mind, but…”

Isana’s spirit magic is now at a level where it wouldn’t be out of place anywhere. At that level, he could handle large or high-level monsters on his own, as long as they didn’t swarm him. However, his attitude toward this battle was unexpected. From what I’ve gathered so far, Isana doesn’t particularly like being in the spotlight. It’s partly because he needs to hide his identity, but even aside from that, his natural disposition doesn’t seem to enjoy standing out. This is also the case during battles; he never tries to take the lead unless it’s absolutely necessary. Yet now, he’s actively stepping forward, saying he wants to handle it alone.

Could it be that he’s too angry and excited? A worried look must have crept into my eyes as I gazed at him. Isana gave an awkward smile.

“I’m not caught up in some clumsy hero act. This is just a matter of my resolve.”

“Resolve?”

“I couldn’t save my father.”

“……”

The faint sigh he let out was something I had already anticipated to some extent. So, I wasn’t taken aback and simply stared at him. Feelings of anger, sadness, regret, and pain were swirling chaotically in his clouded eyes.

“I’ve always regretted not doing anything in that moment. I kept thinking, I should have just recklessly jumped in and destroyed that execution platform. But in the end, I just kept watching.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Yeah, but I think if I had the power I have now back then, the situation would have been different.”

“……”

“So, this time I want to save them. With my own hands. I feel like I have to.”

The eyes he opened after briefly closing them were calm once more. His face was set with a firm resolution. I had no intention of opposing him in the first place, but there was no way I could say anything when he put it like that. I chuckled and stroked his head.

“Alright. Then we won’t interfere. Do as you wish.”

“……Sorry. For acting selfishly.”

“Sorry? I don’t mind if it makes you happy. Have you forgotten? This journey is for you.”

When I replied with a smile, Isana looked at me with eyes that seemed ready to burst into tears. A bright smile soon spread across his stiff face. I watched the sight with satisfaction before turning to Sibelius and saying,

“Sibelius, please understand the situation.”

“Hmph, I can’t help it. It seems I have no choice but to yield the glory of helping the maiden to a comrade.”

Unlike his regretful tone, he was already crossing his arms and adopting a spectator’s stance. He winked lightly at Isana and said,

“Go and overcome your past in a splendid manner. But if it seems dangerous, I’ll step in, okay?”

“Yes! Thank you!”

His voice is full of energy as he replies. It seems he has completely returned to his usual self. Pleased with that, Sibelius hugged Isana’s head and stroked it vigorously. From the start, they seemed to have an unusually good rapport, and now it was clear to see how much he cherished him like a younger brother. I was watching the scene with a warm feeling when suddenly…

‘……Huh?’

I suddenly felt a gaze watching us from afar. As soon as I turned my head in that direction, I met a pair of small eyes twinkling amidst the crowd. The owner of the gaze was Alisa. Even though she was wearing a hood, she seemed to have recognized us. Her expression was strange. She seemed relieved, yet also questioning. No, to be precise, it was an expression of distrust. In any case, it was difficult to grasp its meaning.

Rumble.

“……!”

The reason I couldn’t examine her reaction further was because of the sudden vibration I felt. A faint but persistent sensation of something drumming began to emanate from beneath my feet. It seemed I wasn’t the only one who felt it, as a moment of silence descended among the bustling crowd.

“……It’s coming.”

Someone’s muttering sounded as clear as if they were shouting. The sight of people’s Adam’s apples bobbing up and down was easily noticeable. The commander’s expression was just as stiff.

“Everyone, prepare! We’re moving out!”

The sun, which had already sunk low, cast a deep red light through the gaps in the cliffs. The moment of the decisive battle had finally arrived.

* * *

The vibration beneath our feet grew stronger with each passing moment. The faces of the people advancing toward the cave were pale, almost white. Some couldn’t overcome their tension and were vomiting.

“Everyone, stop!”

The commander’s command echoed when we reached the inside of the canyon. The expedition was puzzled by the sudden halt before even reaching the cave, but they looked even more tense. After confirming that everyone had stopped, the commander lowered his gaze to Alisa, who was beside him.

“Begin.”

The meaning of those words didn’t need to be deciphered separately. It was because Alisa nodded slightly and extended one arm. Judging by the way the energy of the earth was gathering in an instant, it seemed she was trying to summon a spirit.

“Come forth, Muldun.”

As expected, the ground that received her call began to rumble greatly. The dry dirt floor rose up in a bubbling manner, and thick branches sprouted from within. Thud! Rumble! With a series of violent roars, dry dirt and stone fragments fell in a shower amidst the rapidly rising stems. It was a magnificent sight in itself.

Soon, a giant tree stood before everyone’s eyes. The difference from ordinary trees was that it had the transparent texture unique to spirits, and that most of its roots were protruding out of the ground, writhing.

By the time the hazy dust had settled to some extent, two black holes flickered in the once-empty trunk. Muldun had opened his eyes. The eyes, different from those of humans, emitted a pure white light, and the sound of people gasping could be heard from here and there. These were the people who had been wearing pale expressions since Muldun’s appearance.

“……Monster.”

Even if I hadn’t heard someone muttering, the fear and revulsion in their eyes clearly revealed how they perceived Muldun. As for me, it was a scene that was beyond absurd and frustrating. Sibelius seemed to feel the same way, as he scoffed with a dumbfounded expression.

“Are they idiots? How can there be a monster in this world with such pure energy?”

“……If they could feel that, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Even in Isana’s tone of reply, his discomfort was evident.

After a while, one of the soldiers next to him lit a torch and handed it to the commander. The commander, with a stiff face, slowly handed it to Alisa.

The bewildering thing happened right after that. At the commander’s silent gaze, Alisa began to walk forward alone. It seemed they had a separate plan agreed upon among themselves before coming here. I felt something strange, but I dismissed it as her simply starting ahead and watched the situation casually. …Until I heard the commander’s subsequent instructions.

“Everyone, follow while maintaining a distance from the vanguard!”

“……!”

At first, I thought it was a simple misunderstanding. As if to shatter my expectations, the soldiers in the front row stepped back. These were the people who had been in the vanguard until just now, or rather, who I had thought were in the vanguard. Even as they did so, Alisa continued to move forward, widening the distance between her and the expedition. The only one following Alisa was the spirit Muldun, whom she had summoned. Unless they were fools, there was no way they couldn’t know what the designated ‘vanguard’ was in this situation. It was a way of saying that grown adults would hide behind a small girl as a shield.

“They don’t even have the slightest sense of decency.”

A light of contempt flickered in Sibelius’s blue eyes. I probably felt no different from him.

To think they would push her to the edge of the cliff so blatantly. I thought they would at least pretend to fight together, but that was a complete misjudgment. Just then, I felt a large movement beside me. Isana had broken away from the formation and started walking forward. I instinctively reached out to grab him, but then I remembered his words asking me to leave it to him, and I lowered my hand again. My job now was to trust Isana and watch over him.

“Stop there. What are you doing?”

Startled by the sudden defector, the commander stared at Isana with a stiff face. All the other soldiers were also paying attention to him. Amidst everyone’s gazes, Isana calmly stopped and scanned his surroundings. Perhaps it was because of the gloomy impression caused by the hood, or perhaps it was because of the last bit of conscience within them, but I could see people flinching whenever his gaze reached them. Isana looked at them all once and then said calmly,

“I would also like to stand in the ‘vanguard’.”

“Wh-What? Are you serious?”

“Even that little girl is taking on that position alone, so I don’t think there’s any reason why I can’t.”

If they were normal, there was no way they couldn’t read the critical tone in those words. The commander’s face flushed with shame, but he replied with an unpleasant expression.

“It seems you’ve misunderstood something. Didn’t you see that child summoning a monster? That child is not an ordinary girl. She possesses a power stronger than ours. Because she is strong, she is simply given a role that suits her power.”

“Just because someone is strong doesn’t mean they are safe. Moreover, that girl doesn’t seem to be a trained soldier. Although, it seems pointless to talk to someone whose qualifications as a commander are questionable in the first place.”

“—Keuk, so you’re really going to go?”

“It’s better to have two people than one.”

“Fine, just don’t regret it later.”

The commander smirked with a crooked face and gestured with his chin. It was permission to go to the vanguard. He probably thought that Isana was just showing off because he was young and didn’t know the value of his life. The others seemed to think the same, as they cast sympathetic glances at Isana’s retreating figure.

“Ah, now that I think about it, about that thing about monsters.”

“……?”

As Isana brushed past the commander, he suddenly spoke as if he had remembered something he had forgotten. The commander wore an unpleasant expression but turned around with a nervous gaze. A faint smile flickered on Isana’s lips as he met his wavering eyes.

“It would be better to correct it before you become the laughingstock of other regions. There is a separate term for calling them.”

“Wh-What? Them? There’s a separate term?”

“Have you perhaps heard of beings called spirits?”

At that question, the commander paused for a moment before bursting into hearty laughter.

“Hahaha! Spirits! Of course, I know them very well! Don’t tell me you think that monster is a spirit?”

“I’m not thinking it, it is a spirit.”

“This guy really doesn’t know anything. Spirits don’t look so hideous. They’re famous for being very beautiful.”

“Judging by what you’re saying, it seems you’ve never actually seen a spirit before.”

“Wh-Well…….”

“The subjectivity of beauty is different for everyone. In my eyes, the appearance of that tree is beautiful enough. And I’m sorry, but I probably know more about spirits than you do.”

“What does that…….”

The commander made an angry face but couldn’t continue speaking. It was because a stream of blue water shot up from Isana’s hand at that moment. Shoo-ook, chaaaak! The stream of water, which climbed up Isana’s arm like a snake, instantly burst out like a waterfall in the air and soon transformed into the form of a wolf. Cyciel had been summoned.

Only then did the smile on the commander’s face completely disappear. Isana glared at him, who was frozen with his eyes wide open as if he was about to suffocate, in a chilling tone.

“Don’t pretend to know about spirits when you can’t even recognize them.”

“……”

“……”

The bustling sounds subsided, and silence descended. People couldn’t take their eyes off the water wolf that was landing gracefully on the ground. If they had any sense, they would be able to recognize the identity of the wolf that had appeared in this situation at a glance. Even if they didn’t, Cyciel looked like a spirit to anyone because of its glamorous appearance.

After glaring at the commander, who had been standing still for a while, Isana averted his gaze and began to move again. Only then did the air, which had been stiff as if it had stopped, quickly loosen. However, the atmosphere flowing among the people was already completely different from before.

“Th-That’s a spirit. That person must be a spiritist [one who can summon and control spirits].”

“Oh my god, I’m seeing a spiritist for the first time.”

“But didn’t that person say that the tree monster earlier was a spirit?”

“Th-Then does that mean that’s really a spirit?”

As the commotion spread, people’s faces turned even paler. Because the only conclusion that could be drawn from the fact that Muldun, whom they called a monster, was a spirit.

“Miss Alisa is… a spiritist?”

Alisa herself was also wearing a complicated expression. Although she was at a distance, she seemed to have grasped the situation unfolding from behind and stopped walking. As Isana approached, she swallowed slightly and looked at him cautiously.

“You… you’re the person I met yesterday, right? The one who was in front of Fallon’s smithy.”

“It’s nice to see you again. Nice to meet you.”

At the polite greeting, Alisa wore a bewildered expression for a moment. She was relieved that she had guessed correctly, but her face was also confused. Her gaze turned to Cyciel, who was standing quietly beside him, making her even more complicated.

“This wolf… feels similar to Muldun.”

“It probably is.”

“Is it a spirit? Are you a spiritist?”

“Yes.”

“Then am I a spiritist too?”

Isana didn’t answer, but it seemed she had already realized the answer herself. It was probably an answer she had been looking for for a long time. Like someone who had found their way at a crossroads, her complexion felt brighter. Her large eyes shimmered as if tears would well up at any moment.