Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 202

202.

“Then, El?”

The commotion ceased at the sound of a small voice that seemed on the verge of fading away. I turned to see Sibelius sitting with a blank expression.

“Sibell…”

“Does no one else remember El? Am I the only one who knows him? Is he someone who never existed? Then what are all my memories? The image of El is still so vivid. Am I going crazy?”

At his rambling, as if he were losing his mind, Ellyuen released Kanos’s hand. He still looked displeased, but his expression was much calmer than before.

“He might have existed.”

The unexpected words came from Kanos. Surprised, I looked at him. Sibelius was also staring at him, bewildered.

“He might have existed? What does that mean?”

“It’s as I said. I told you that the El I disguised myself as was created based on your memories, right? Memories created out of nothing wouldn’t be that detailed. There were no awkward or sloppy parts, and every situation connected seamlessly and intricately, so it’s definitely not a dream or illusion. If that’s the case, then the existence in those memories must have actually existed.”

“But a moment ago, you clearly…”

“Of course, I can’t be sure that’s true either. The providence [divine will or intervention] set by the Chief God is very mysterious, and sometimes it flows in ways that even the gods can’t understand, especially things related to space-time. But there’s one clear rule: anything that’s not allowed will eventually be erased, no matter how intense it is.”

“I… I don’t understand.”

“You probably won’t, because no one can clearly explain this.”

With a gentle smile, Kanos bent down and sat in front of him, holding up two fingers.

“In short, assuming that the El you know really existed, there are two ways to define him.”

“Two ways?”

“He was either an existence that didn’t need to be there, or an existence that shouldn’t have been there. Either way, both are records that aren’t allowed, so the world erased him.”

“That…”

“So it’s best to think that he never existed in the first place. I know it’s hard for you to hear.”

Sibelius flinched at the firm tone.

He looked like he was about to cry, but he didn’t rush in like he had a moment ago. Instead, he seemed to be trying to understand and accept the situation. I tried to approach him again, but this time, Kanos shook his head, indicating that I should leave him alone for a while.

I nodded reluctantly, and he smiled as if I was commendable. His demeanor was as mature and gentle as my first impression of him, and I felt that strange feeling again.

Looking at his face, it was hard to believe that he was the one who had been toying with us and playing such harsh pranks.

“So, what do you think, Ellyuen?”

“What are you talking about?”

Ellyuen frowned slightly at Kanos’s grinning question. His eyes were wary, as if he was wondering what he was up to. Just looking at that, I could tell that Ellyuen didn’t trust him at all, but Kanos didn’t seem to care.

“About the El from the past. If he really existed, then that means he was also your contractor, right? What if his existence was erased due to some situation, and you’re only maintaining your memories because the Holy Sword was sealed? Wouldn’t that be a huge twist? In the end, you’re the fool for obediently losing your memories.”

“Nonsense.”

“No, this is a surprisingly important point. The reason you adopted the current Elquines as your son might be due to that influence.”

I unconsciously stopped breathing at those words. It was the part that had been bothering me all along, the part I was most concerned about. It’s not that I doubt Ellyuen’s affection now, but I couldn’t help but wonder about his reaction. But Ellyuen said nonchalantly, as if my anxious heart was meaningless.

“So what if it is?”

“……!”

“Whether that’s true or not, it doesn’t really matter. Influence is just influence. Even if that’s why I took a liking to El, it’s just a trigger.”

“Ooh, that’s very firm?”

“Of course. I’ve cherished El even more since I adopted him as my son. His value is his alone, and I’m sure no one can replace him.”

There was not a hint of hesitation in his answer. I took a deep breath that I had been holding in. It felt like a refreshing sensation, like peppermint candy, was spreading throughout my body—that I was precious, that the value I possessed was my own. Ellyuen himself, none other than my father, said that directly. The words I wanted to hear more than anything else.

I could clearly feel my cheeks flushing. I was probably as red as a tomato right now. I was subtly rubbing them with both hands when I met a pair of black eyes staring at me. It was Kanos, with a playful smile on his face. When I flinched, he let out a strange laugh, “Puhuhu,” and exclaimed exaggeratedly.

“Oh my, oh my, he’s precious! Saying such things in front of people, how embarrassing~”

“Shut up. Who said you were precious? Anyway, why don’t you stop provoking my son now? Isn’t it enough that you’ve been tormenting him so far?”

“Nyahaha, you noticed?”

“Your tricks are obvious. To dare to attempt such low-quality disruption in front of me. I’ll commend you for that spirit of challenge.”

A pure white light formed in Ellyuen’s hand. It was a sphere of light made of divine power that I had seen before. *Ah, that hurts a lot if you get hit by it.* No sooner had I muttered to myself than Kanos quickly backed away. The playfulness that had been on his face had already completely disappeared.

“Ah, no. Wait a minute. I wasn’t trying to torment your son. Really. I’ve said it many times, I never intended to put him under a spell. I was really taken aback when it actually worked, you know? I just wanted to check.”

“Check what?”

“A spirit king who’s like a human is fascinating. If he was born as Elquines, his personality should be a bit more nasty, but he’s too gentle. I wanted to know if it was because of his past life’s memories or the influence of his innate character. I thought if I pushed him to the bottom of his emotions, he might reveal his true nature a bit…”

“So you did that kind of thing?”

“No, I just thought he would get angry. Usually, you get upset when you touch someone, right? Especially if you’re a spirit king with high self-esteem. How could I have known that he would choose to suppress it all and hide inside? In that sense, can I say one thing?”

“What is it?”

“Your son is kind of cute. Yeah. He’s fun to tease.”

“……Is that the end of your excuses?”

“Aah! Wait a minute! That’s where you hit me before… I was wrong! I said I was wrong!”

As I listened to the sounds of beating that began to echo again, I broke out in a cold sweat. *Even so, he’s a demon god. Is it okay to treat him like that?* The belated thought came to my mind, but it was already too late to stop it, so there was nothing I could do. Deron closed his eyes tightly, as if he couldn’t bear to watch.

I heard that the reason the demon god was in the middle realm was because he was on vacation. I didn’t know that gods were given vacations, but when I thought about it, even if they were gods, they couldn’t just stay inside and work all day. Considering the amount of documents I had seen in Ellyuen’s palace, rest was essential for mental health.

But behind that, there was an unspeakable tragedy. Even while the owner was absent, work continued to come in, and the demon god had unilaterally dumped it all on the Temple of Punishment—that is, Ellyuen. Ellyuen’s merciless punishment was also mixed with anger from that. It wasn’t enough that he had dumped all the work on him, but he was also tormenting his son while he was busy dealing with it, so anyone would be angry.

“I didn’t know the demon god was this kind of person.”

Kanos smiled at the first words I said after the situation had calmed down. The blue bruises all over his face were already healing quickly without me having to do anything. As expected of a god, his regenerative power was amazing.

“More impressive than you expected?”

“Haha… Yes, in some ways.”

“In a good way? A bad way?”

“Hmm, in a good way.”

“Oh, really?”

“Why?”

“Your evaluation is quite generous. Just looking at what you’ve been through so far, you shouldn’t have any good feelings towards me?”

Even as he said that, he didn’t seem to dislike the answer. I looked at his smiling face again with a strange feeling.

As he said, the things I had experienced so far weren’t very good experiences. In fact, even if that wasn’t the case, I had only had bad feelings towards demon gods from the beginning. Isana’s father died miserably because of the oracle [prophetic message] he gave, and I had been subjected to terrible things by those related to the demon god several times while coming here. He was also deeply involved in the terrible human sacrifices that the Duke was carrying out. There were too many reasons to hate him, but strangely, I didn’t hate him.

I don’t know if it’s because of his bright smiling face or the unique gentle feeling he has. In fact, even if I wanted to be wary, I couldn’t see him as a dangerous being when I thought about how Ellyuen had beaten him up. Anyway, he didn’t seem like a bad person. It seemed that I wasn’t the only one who felt that way; Isana was also staring at him blankly.

“Don’t be fooled. This is more dangerous than you think.”

It was Ellyuen’s warning that followed that kept me from completely letting my guard down. I was startled and took my eyes off Kanos, and Ellyuen gave a satisfied expression, as if I had done well.

“Magic power originally contains the power to bewitch people. The demon god is the one who possesses that power most strongly. If you let your guard down because of his innocent-looking face, you’ll be bewitched. It’s best not to approach him as much as possible.”

At his kind explanation, I swallowed hard and nodded. Kanos grumbled that he was being treated like a germ, but he didn’t deny it.

“Hey, the atmosphere was good.”

I became nervous at his muttering, as if he was disappointed. From the beginning, he knew that I would show him favor. Was it intentional that he seemed happy with that reaction? I was reminded that he was someone I shouldn’t let my guard down on.

Still, the relationship between the demon god and Ellyuen is surprising. I glanced at the two high-ranking gods who were bickering without getting tired. Ellyuen had warned me about the demon god before, and the religious orders had been confronting each other recently, so I thought they would be quite hostile or have no interaction at all. But the two of them in front of me seemed to be not only well-acquainted but also quite unreserved with each other (although there was some violence involved, but that was the result of his own doing, so let’s pretend we didn’t see it). I had a feeling that Ellyuen would hate it if I said this, so I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

“But when did you find out about me?”

“Huh?”

“You said you found out about me while you were undercover, right? It sounds like you met me before you approached El. I was wondering where you were undercover and as who…”

The atmosphere became strange for some reason at the words I said without much thought. When I looked up, Kanos was smiling awkwardly. He was trying to avoid my gaze, but that attempt was soon blocked by Ellyuen.

“Tell me.”

“Hmm, everything?”

“Yes, everything.”

“No, even so, that’s a bit much. Deron is here too…”

*What on earth was he going to say?* I was puzzled by the fact that he was conscious of Deron with a troubled face. Deron was also making a puzzled expression when his name was unexpectedly mentioned. Of course, Ellyuen didn’t care at all.

“So?”

“……No, well. Now that I think about it, I guess it doesn’t matter if I say it. Okay, I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you everything.”

Kanos sighed and readily surrendered. He seemed to have given up on resisting early on.

“Hoo, okay. Now that it’s come to this, I have to say what I have to say. Honestly, I’m a bit wronged too. It’s true that I played pranks too much, but I didn’t just do things recklessly, you know? I made some considerations in advance.”

“You did a good job of considering.”

“I’m serious, you know? El, do you remember what I said? I told you not to doubt anything, right? I said that the moment you doubt, your kindness will turn into poison.”

“Yes? Ah, yes.”

“See? I warned you properly, didn’t I?”

Kanos pointed at me as if to show off and made a triumphant expression. Of course, I did hear those words, but it doesn’t seem like it was a helpful warning, since I never thought that’s what it meant. Besides, it wasn’t El who said those words…

“Lucarim said it……?”

The moment our eyes met, he smiled. My heart sank at the meaningful curve of his black eyes. *Ding-dong-daeng,* it felt like the sound of a xylophone was ringing from somewhere.

“Well, that’s how it is.”

As if nailing down what I was thinking, Kanos nodded slowly. It took a long time to realize the meaning—not because it was difficult to grasp, but because I couldn’t believe it. In the end, I gaped blankly at the truth I had faced.

“N, no way. Lucarim was… you?”

“Cough, cough! Cough, cough, cough! Cough! Keok!”

From behind, Deron started coughing like crazy. He looked like he was about to cough up blood any minute. I felt terribly sympathetic to his feelings, but at the same time, I was very worried about his condition, as he looked like he was about to faint. But I was also in the same situation, as if I had been hit in the back of the head and was losing my mind.

I don’t know what kind of expression I’m making right now. I don’t think I was this surprised even when I first found out his identity, or even when he revealed that he was El.

That annoying demon who had been following us relentlessly for a while, whose thoughts I couldn’t understand, was the demon god Kanos?