Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 184

Caribdis watched him for a while, then took his hand off the necklace and placed it back into the child’s arms. The spirit, too, quickly nestled into his arms and peeked out, as if trying to gauge Caribdis’s intentions. Caribdis smiled almost unconsciously. Until that moment, the child had been frozen, speechless, with a blank look on his face.

“Don’t show it to anyone.”

At the quiet warning, the child trembled and nodded. Caribdis sighed softly and picked up the still-frozen child. He didn’t know exactly how, but this child was definitely connected to the Emperor. Moreover, though he couldn’t be certain, the child seemed to be a Spirit User [someone who can interact with and command spirits]. He had to take him somewhere to ascertain the details.

“Master, I…”

The coachman belatedly ran up, fidgeting when he saw Caribdis holding the child. Caribdis shook his head lightly.

“No, I’ll go as is. Send someone to clean up the body.”

“Yes, yes. I understand.”

The child trembled quietly in his arms. Caribdis stared at the sniffling child’s face and sighed again.

The waves were rising, little by little.

The waves that would soon swallow him whole.

* * *

“T-tell me one more time. Who is who?”

At the voice filled with obvious trembling, Isana and I exchanged awkward glances. Alisa had her mouth wide open, her face a mask of astonishment. She’d been making the same face ever since I revealed my true identity a little while ago. She didn’t even notice that the hood she’d been wearing had fallen off and was fluttering around.

“S-Spirit King? Is El really the Spirit King? And the Water Spirit King?”

I patiently nodded at her repeated questions, as if she couldn’t quite grasp it. After deciding to work together, I’d vaguely thought I would reveal it someday, but I hadn’t known that day would come so soon. But I couldn’t just leave her in the dark.

After El joined us, we left the house and headed straight into the desert. The area was entirely within Isiorta’s territory, and we couldn’t rest easy in the house because there was still a risk that remnants of the Demon God Church might be nearby. Therefore, we chose to cross this section as quickly as possible and get as far away as possible. As a result, our days consisted of endless barren scenery, bringing our destination closer day by day.

Revealing my identity was a decision made after sufficient discussion with Isana. It was my fault, but Alisa’s questioning was becoming more and more persistent. In fact, there was also the problem that our caution had become lax since everyone except her knew my identity. Mistakes would likely increase in the future, and I thought it would be better to reveal it in advance rather than making excuses every time.

“I’m sorry for deceiving you, Alisa.”

As I awkwardly apologized, Alisa’s eyes shook again. She seemed to realize that I wasn’t joking because of those words. I smiled awkwardly at her, who was frozen in place. It was better to get it over with, and I even felt a sense of relief. On the other hand, Alisa seemed to be experiencing very complicated feelings. While suspecting my identity, she probably never imagined that I wasn’t human. First of all, I don’t look much different from humans. As expected, she looked me up and down for a long time and touched my body here and there.

“B-but it’s the same as a human? If you’re a spirit, shouldn’t you feel a little more transparent? Or have a different texture? In the case of Muldin or সিকুয়েল [likely a typo, needs context to correct], you can tell at a glance that they feel foreign, but El doesn’t have that at all.”

“The Spirit King can disguise himself perfectly. When I’m in this form, I can get hurt and bleed. Of course, if I get hurt badly enough to risk my life, I’ll be reverse summoned [returned to the spirit realm].”

“I-is that so? Then what about divine power? You used healing magic, right?”

“Ah, that’s not divine power; it’s my unique ability.”

“Unique ability? …Huh, that’s right! I saw something like that in the book I read! The story of the Water Spirit King saving people with healing magic. I thought it was a made-up setting because it was a fairy tale, but it was real.”

The book Alisa was talking about was probably the one Troel gave her. She took a deep breath, her face flushed.

“I thought it was a little strange. When I saw you using healing magic, I knew you weren’t a Demon God, but you were fine even though you were impersonating another priest? I heard that a real priest wouldn’t be able to do that. Besides, you’re strangely strong. So I thought you might not be a priest. But I never thought you’d be the Spirit King…”

After muttering with a blank face, Alisa suddenly raised her head with a look of realization. The person she stared at was Isana.

“W-wait a minute! Then what’s your relationship with Isana? Water Spirit User and Water Spirit King. You didn’t just meet by chance, did you?”

“Isana summoned me.”

“Huh! I knew it! In short, you’re saying that Isana is the contractor of the Spirit King?”

Isana nodded with an embarrassed face as the surprised gaze reached her. Alisa made a hollow expression at the sight.

“Haa, I see. I knew you were too unusual.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, what should I say? I’m not bragging, but I can roughly tell what kind of person someone is just by looking at their face. Social importance or value? Anyway, I know that automatically. The stronger the feeling, the higher the status of the person, and Isana was the most intense person I’ve ever met. So I wondered how great a person he was, but I guess it was because he was the contractor of the Spirit King.”

Come to think of it, Alisa showed particular interest in Isana when we first met. That reminded me of the blacksmith Fallon’s conviction that he was a nobleman. Of course, Isana’s actual status was also high. But instead of telling her that, Isana just smiled awkwardly. It seemed he didn’t have the courage to reveal that yet.

“But it’s a little strange. If you’re talking about something special, El, who is the Spirit King, is more amazing, right? But I didn’t feel anything special when I looked at El. Why?”

“Well, I don’t know?”

“That’s because Alisa is human.”

At that moment, an unexpected person answered. It was ‘El’ [the spirit]. When everyone paid attention to him, El gave a gentle smile. True to his lively first impression, he quickly integrated into our group as soon as he joined the journey. His unreservedly friendly tone and the way he treated us were so natural, as if he had been with us from the beginning, that the group accepted him without any resistance.

In particular, the knowledge he possessed often won everyone’s favor. He lived in a different era and wasn’t that old, but El was surprisingly knowledgeable in many fields. He even seemed to know more about spirits than I, the Spirit King (although this was partly because I was a special case).

“Because I’m human?”

“The Spirit King is almost like a demigod, so he’s a higher being than humans. That’s why human foresight can’t recognize him, especially when the Spirit King decides to hide his identity.”

“Haa, I see.”

After letting out a sigh-like exclamation, Alisa looked at me with eyes that were so nervous that it was burdensome. She looked like she had finally realized that I was the Spirit King. She hesitated for a long time and glanced at me. She seemed to have something to say, but she couldn’t open her mouth.

“Why, Alisa?”

Only after I reacted did Alisa speak in an embarrassed tone, as if she couldn’t help it.

“Um, well, what should I do from now on?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“You’re the Spirit King. Shouldn’t I treat El so carelessly? D-do I have to use honorifics now?”

“What? What are you talking about? Just do as you always do.”

I was flustered and waved my hands at the unexpected words. But Alisa couldn’t shake off her uncomfortable expression. She seemed to be taking my identity more seriously than I had expected. I was wondering how to comfort her when El suddenly intervened.

“Haha, Alisa, wouldn’t that make it more difficult for El? El revealed his identity because he trusted Alisa. Just do what he wants.”

“But…”

“It’s okay. Just because he’s the Spirit King doesn’t mean that the El that Alisa knows has disappeared. You don’t have to think too seriously. Look, we know El’s identity, but we’re treating him so comfortably, right? El doesn’t care at all, right, El?”

When I nodded at the words that skillfully asked for agreement, El shrugged his shoulders as if to say, ‘See?’

“Besides, Alisa is a Spirit User. Other people may not know it, but we Spirit Users shouldn’t be too afraid of spirits. We’re like family.”

“Family…?”

“Yes, family. For your information, I was the contractor of the previous Elquines [likely a title or name of a powerful spirit]. In terms of the Spirit User’s lineage, I’m Isana’s direct ancestor. Feel free to ask me anything you don’t know.”

Alisa smiled as if she had finally relaxed as El boasted playfully. Thanks to this, the stiff atmosphere brightened up, and the momentum rose at once. The topic now began to be led by El in earnest.

“Can’t El make a contract again?”

“With the Spirit King? It’s not that he’s not qualified, but it’s impossible with the current El because Isana is already there. The Spirit King can only contract with one person each. In other words, the person who succeeds in summoning first monopolizes it.”

“I see. The person who is late would be very upset.”

“Haha, but that’s unlikely to happen. Actually, the current situation is so special, but the Spirit King is not someone anyone can summon. There may be only one person with that talent every few generations. Even I am originally a person from 4,000 years ago, right?”

“Ah, come to think of it, that’s right. Then the Spirit Kings haven’t been able to make contracts all this time?”

“No, they make contracts with dragons.”

“D-dragons?”

“Yes. The restrictions I mentioned earlier are based on humans and similar races, but dragons are an exception. You can contract with as many as you want. Even when I contracted with him, the previous Elquines already had a number of dragon contractors. I received help from them several times.”

“Then you’ve met a dragon?”

“Of course. If you’re the Spirit King’s contractor, your connections become very colorful.”

“Wow! I’m jealous. I want to see a dragon too!”

‘It’s not that good when you actually see it.’

I quietly muttered to myself, thinking of a prickly and arrogant red dragon. Either way, I would meet him later, so I would realize it sooner or later. I should just let her have her fantasies for now. Above all, Alisa’s eyes were sparkling like stars, and I didn’t want to ruin it. I always saw her as dignified and mature, but it was the first time I had discovered her real age. El was also looking at her as if she was cute.

“There may not be a dragon, but there’s someone just as great here, right?”

“Oh, who?”

“Cibel, I’m talking about this guy. He looks like an ordinary elf, but he’s actually a very noble race called a unicorn.”

“Huh! So Cibel was also disguised?”

“That’s right. You can be proud of it. In some ways, he’s more amazing than a dragon.”

“E, El.”

Sivelious was blushing and didn’t know what to do, as if he was embarrassed by the praise. Still, he had a happy expression, as if he wasn’t feeling bad.

The atmosphere around us was already becoming friendly. Alisa, who was laughing brightly as usual, seemed to have completely forgotten about her initial reaction to my identity. I was relieved to see that. Revealing my identity to her was a bit of an adventure for me. It wasn’t something I needed to hide, but I couldn’t help but worry that she would see me in a different light. In fact, the thing I was worried about happened, so it wasn’t a completely wrong guess.

I was wondering if our relationship would become awkward, but fortunately, it seemed to be going smoothly thanks to El’s fluent speech. In particular, naturally revealing Sivelious’s identity seemed to have played the biggest role. The shocks overlapped and were rather offset.

When I sent El a grateful look, he winked one eye and smiled playfully again. Then, as if infected, a smile naturally appeared on my face. Regardless of the complicated feelings I had for him, he was someone I couldn’t hate.

“Oh, by the way, El!”

“Huh?”

“Oh?”

At the call that came at that moment, El and I answered at the same time. Then I felt like, ‘Oops.’ That’s because I belatedly discovered that the person who called me—Alisa’s gaze—was directed at El [the spirit]. Alisa was also making an embarrassed expression.

“Ah, sorry. I meant the human El.”

“Ah, okay.”

As I nodded with an awkward feeling, I felt the surroundings become chilly. The atmosphere that had been excited until just now cooled down in an instant, and an awkward atmosphere lingered. I clicked my tongue inwardly. It was already the third time this had happened today.

If there was anything uncomfortable after being with El, it would be this. Perhaps because the faces that looked like looking in a mirror had different colors, there were hardly any cases of mistaken identity, but the same title was often a problem. When I didn’t make a mistake, El did, and when El didn’t make a mistake, I generally made a mistake. No, to be precise, it mostly depended on my judgment. El always reacted first, no matter who called him. In Isana’s case, he used honorifics to everyone except me and Alisa, but he often confused even his calls.

It wouldn’t matter if we didn’t care about each other, but every time that happened, the group was embarrassed like they had committed a crime, which was difficult. Seeing the quickly hardened expressions this time, I couldn’t help but sigh. I even felt guilty for ruining the good atmosphere because of me. El also had an embarrassed expression.