Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 188

The Great War (1)

“He was a Sword Master and the contractor of the previous Elquines, wasn’t he? I don’t know what that guy’s true identity is, but he probably isn’t a natural being.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s true that humans receive the blessing of the Main God, but even so, there are limits. It’s really rare for multiple miracles to overlap in one person. Moreover, he doesn’t look old enough to have achieved so much. There’s no way a being who seems to have received the Main God’s special favor could have just appeared by chance. Water King, you should keep a close eye on him. Those types always stab you in the back someday.”

“R-really?”

“I guarantee it from my experience. Especially his appearance, you really need to be careful. The appearance of a god is unique. Likewise, so is the Spirit King who is close to a god. Even if you can compare the level of beauty, no one can have the exact same appearance. Not even with dragon magic. But there’s a human who looks exactly like the Water King. No matter how I think about it, it’s unrealistic.”

“……”

I didn’t know what to say, so I fell silent again. I should tell him that I’m the one who looks like El, not the other way around, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it. Deron didn’t mention anything more either, so a silence naturally settled between us. Fortunately, the noisy sounds coming from behind prevented the walk from being too quiet.

It was about an hour later that Deron spoke again. He suddenly stopped walking, smelled the surroundings, and said something welcome.

“I think we’ve arrived.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, it’s right ahead.”

Everyone in the group, not just me, rushed forward at the moment we had been waiting for. But when I checked the direction he was pointing, I couldn’t help but space out for a moment. I was too dumbfounded to even express my joy, because the path was cut off as if to show off. Below was a dizzying cliff.

“Deron, there’s a cliff ahead?”

“……That’s right.”

The following answer was a little slow. He seemed to think something was strange too.

“But I’m sure this is the place.”

At the repeated confirmation, I and the group looked at each other with troubled expressions. A path that was cut off with no way to go further. All that was spread out before our eyes was empty air, and nowhere could we see anything that could be called a magic sword. There was only one conclusion to draw in this situation.

“I guess it’s down the cliff.”

“Hmm, is that so.”

Tsu-tsu-tsu―

The situation that followed didn’t give us time to calmly continue our thoughts. Suddenly, a very annoying sound rang out from somewhere, and black things began to appear from all directions. The round shapes with their thorns raised were like giant sea urchins, or like tough chestnut burrs. On either side were four pairs of legs larger than their bodies, stretched out like hooks.

“……Hell Tarantulas?”

They were the guys we hadn’t even seen a trace of, even after searching the entire forest for the past few days. It was already embarrassing that they suddenly appeared, but the problem was that there were too many of them. Next to me, El, who was horrified, lightly whistled.

“They must have thought it was worth a try since it’s a dead end. They can’t move carelessly because the bottom is a cliff, and they must have thought they could push us off and kill us if they pushed hard enough? They really are smart guys.”

Before we knew it, all sides were filled with black lumps. The floor, as well as the trees, were covered so densely that it felt like a black wave was surging. Isana, with a hardened face, stood in front of Alisa as if to protect her. Sibelius also looked around warily and looked back at El.

“What should we do, El?”

“Hmm, well. It’s a bit annoying to get rid of them one by one. ……Shall we just do as they want?”

“Huh? What do you……”

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Suddenly, El drew his sword and immediately plunged it into the ground. Then, with a cracking sound, the ground began to shake terribly. By the time I felt that the ground beneath my feet was empty, there was no place to step. It didn’t take long to realize what that meant.

“Kyaaaa!”

“Alisa!”

With a scream, everyone’s figures fell at a rapid pace. I watched with a dazed feeling as the hand reaching out to me quickly moved away.

It felt like I was having a terrible nightmare.

* * *

To put it bluntly, the group was all safe. That’s because I created a large pillar of water and caught them one by one as they fell from the air. I swallowed them from the top so that there would be as little impact as possible, so they drank some water, but no one was hurt. There had never been a time when I was so grateful that I was a Spirit King.

Sibelius, who had been motionless for a while, finally came to his senses and hurriedly transformed into his true form and flew, carrying El, as I began to save the group. Thanks to that, the only two people in the group who didn’t get wet were those two, except for me.

“Is everyone okay?”

“Ugh, I thought I was really going to die.”

Alisa, who had been slumped over, spat out a few mouthfuls of water and muttered with an exhausted face. Isana and Deron also looked noticeably more tired than before.

“Wow, as expected of the Spirit King. I didn’t know you could catch them like this. Is everyone okay?”

Just in time, the unicorn carrying El landed lightly on the ground. Even while looking at the group’s miserable condition, El didn’t have a serious expression at all. I got off the ground and approached him, grabbing his collar as if to grab his neck.

“What the hell are you doing!”

“Haha, sorry, sorry. Were you surprised?”

“Are you laughing right now? Suddenly collapsing the ground! What if someone got hurt!”

“But everyone’s safe anyway. It seemed like this was the best way to save time. Besides, I was sure that no one would get hurt.”

“How can you say that now……!”

It was a situation where anyone could have been in danger. I couldn’t understand El’s attitude of brushing it off lightly even after doing something so terrible. I was about to protest more when someone forcibly pulled my hand off of him. It was Sibelius, who had already returned to his human form.

“That’s enough.”

“But!”

“It was a bit of a violent method, but as El said, it wasn’t a bad choice in that situation. We had to climb the cliff anyway, and we couldn’t catch all the monsters one by one. As a result, everyone is safe, so there’s no need to get angry like this.”

“So you’re saying everything is fine as long as the result is good?”

“That’s not what I mean, but it’s not entirely wrong either.”

“What?”

“I don’t know why you’re so worried in the first place, but we’re not a group that’s weak enough to be affected by something like this. Everyone has the skills to survive on their own even if you don’t step in. El just knew that.”

I bit my lip at the calmly spoken words that made me angry. When I glared at him with force, Sibelius flinched for a moment, but soon responded in kind. Fortunately, he understood my feelings, so he wasn’t as blunt as usual and had a slightly complicated expression.

“Come on, come on. Don’t fight, everyone. It’s my fault. I guess I was a little nervous when I saw the monsters suddenly swarming all at once. I was so focused on getting out of this situation that I didn’t even think about how surprised everyone would be. Forgive me, Jihoon. Huh?”

The confrontation was barely ended only after El intervened. I couldn’t get any angrier at the person who was apologizing as if pleading, so I sighed.

“……Give me a warning before you do something like this in the future.”

“Yeah, I will. I’m really sorry.”

El apologized again and smiled awkwardly. He looked really embarrassed, so I completely let go of my anger. It was already over anyway, and it seemed like we would only hurt each other’s feelings if we pushed it any further here.

More than anything, it was stupid for me to be the only one getting excited when the other members were still. Sibelius’s words weren’t wrong either. The group would have survived on their own even if I hadn’t stepped in to save them. Everyone has that much skill. So El believed that everyone would be fine even if they fell. In the end, I might have been the only one who didn’t trust the group’s abilities. Thinking that way made me feel ashamed and miserable.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your cozy conversation, but would you all come over here?”

At that time, Deron’s voice was heard from afar. He was standing a little away, looking back at us. It was a secluded place right under the cliff, and lush bushes were growing in front of it.

“What’s wrong, Deron?”

“I think I’ve found something you might be interested in.”

Something to be interested in?

I and the group approached where he was with puzzled expressions. Then Deron brushed aside a part of the bushes with his hand. I thought it would be blocked by a wall, but surprisingly, the back was empty. Another passage was connected beyond that.

“This is……”

I took a slight breath at the sight that was revealed. Inside the passage, between the densely packed boulders, a black cave was gaping open. Judging from the shape of the entrance, which was dug from the ground and led underground, it was not a naturally formed cave. As if to replace the group who were just swallowing their breaths without saying a word, Deron’s calm voice rang out.

“It’s a dungeon.”

* * *

The inside of the cave was brighter than I thought. The round interior had no seams at all, as if it had been made by carving out the rock whole, and the surface was smooth. On the wall side, rhombus-shaped stones were embedded one by one at regular intervals, and surprisingly, they contained a faint light. It was as if the stones themselves were emitting light. It seemed that the reason why the cave without torches was bright was thanks to that.

“What is this? It can’t be a light bulb……”

“It’s a noctilucent jade.”

As I was looking into it with curiosity, Sibelius, who was next to me, answered indifferently.

“Noctilucent jade?”

“……Don’t you know?”

“What is it?”

At the question, Sibelius made a complicated expression for a moment.

“……It’s a type of jewel that emits light on its own. There’s a mineral called Ralke that strongly absorbs the surrounding properties. When lightning strikes this mineral, it transforms into a property that emits light. The jewel made by processing the transformed mineral is the noctilucent jade. Ralke itself is difficult to obtain, and the process is complicated, so it was a very precious jewel.”

“Hee, I see.”

As I muttered in admiration, Sibelius’s expression became more complicated. I could feel his gaze slowly scanning me, containing the question of how I couldn’t know something like that. I knew how he felt. It would be natural for a Spirit King to have that knowledge from the moment they were born.

“Noctilucent jade? Is this all noctilucent jade?”

Isana, who belatedly heard our conversation, reacted with a surprised face. Sibelius, who had finally taken his eyes off me, nodded and continued to explain.

“Yes. Moreover, the light is constant, so it all came from one lump. If it was this big, it would have been worth whatever you asked for, but they’re just putting it in a secluded dungeon like this. Has the value of this also dropped a lot like lapis lazuli [a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone]?”

“Ah, no. Noctilucent jade is still a very expensive jewel. You could buy a mansion with just one the size of a fingernail.”

“Really? Then the value has gone up even more. That means the market price would have been similar when this dungeon was made. ……Whoever made this dungeon must have been a very rich person with money to burn.”

“Ah, I know noctilucent jade too! It’s very precious, right? A certain princess wore a brooch made of noctilucent jade to a social gathering of noble ladies, and it became a big topic.”

Alisa readily participated in the conversation, happy that a word she knew came up. According to what she added, the princess who wore the noctilucent jade brooch became the main character of the day and received the envy and jealousy of many women. Then, at the next social gathering, another woman wore earrings made of noctilucent jade, and at the next social gathering, the princess wore a necklace made of noctilucent jade and smiled victoriously. Among the power struggles that took place among noble women, it was the largest ever, and the next competition did not continue. Because the necklace purchased by the princess was so expensive that the imperial finances faltered, the enraged emperor banned the wearing of noctilucent jade ornaments altogether. It was a finish that was possible because of absolute monarchy.

“How long has it been since the drought ended. Isn’t it really pathetic? But it really is pretty when you look at it like this. It looks very expensive just by looking at it. How much would it be if we sold all of this?”

“Well, wouldn’t you be able to buy a small kingdom or so?”

“Gasp! It’s a bit of a waste to put it in a place like this. Can’t we dig it out?”

“No, it’s better not to touch anything inside the dungeon if you can help it…….”

Sibelius’s words were not finished. That’s because Alisa was already touching the noctilucent jade.

“Huh?”

Alisa blinked and looked back, as if she had belatedly heard his words. The omen occurred at the moment Isana groaned with a frustrated expression. With a rumbling sound, a great vibration began to be felt throughout the cave.

“Wh-what is it!”

“Alisa, over here!”

Alisa, who was flustered, quickly took her hand off the noctilucent jade and jumped into Isana’s arms. At the same time as she landed safely, I felt the back suddenly darkening. When I turned around with a feeling that I had missed something, the entrance we had entered was already blocked in black. It was as if a huge rock had rolled in and been embedded. It seemed that it was set to close if something inside the dungeon was touched.