Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 209

209.

“You’re still too soft in some areas.”

My shoulders instinctively hunched at the voice laced with amusement. It wasn’t exactly a reprimand, but it felt like one, and my mood sank.

“Here, take this.”

Kanos handed me something as I was feeling dejected. I took it absentmindedly and saw that it was a dagger about the length of my forearm. The stinging sensation as it touched my hand made me instinctively frown, then my eyes widened in surprise. The entire blade was flowing with a thick, dark aura of death.

“Huh?”

“That should easily undo the curse.”

I gaped at Kanos, and he chuckled. My guess was right. It was a demon sword. And a plain demon sword without an ego or a soul.

*Am I dreaming with my eyes open?* I never imagined Kanos would directly hand me a demon sword, so I was utterly dumbfounded.

“Why…”

“It’s an apology for teasing you all this time. I do have a conscience, you know. Are you touched?”

“…You planned this from the start, didn’t you?”

Probably from the moment Lucarim presented the contract. He had been leading me here with this plan in mind. Kanos grinned, not bothering to deny it, and winked.

“Goodness, what would you have done without me? Seeing it like this, maybe having a connection with me isn’t so bad after all, huh?”

“Ha, haha… I guess so.”

It wasn’t just ‘not bad,’ it was worthy of bowing in gratitude. It felt like being given medicine after being made sick, but the result was good, so who cared? Of course, for the sake of my mental and physical well-being, I didn’t want to go through it again.

“Thank you, Kanos! You saved me.”

Kanos’ eyes widened slightly at my heartfelt thanks before he chuckled. I clutched the demon sword tightly in both hands and looked back at my companions with a full heart. Their faces were also flushed with excitement. Seeing them, I finally felt like the long journey was over.

“Ah, right. Take this too.”

As if suddenly remembering, Kanos tossed something else. The object flying towards me was round and had a golden surface. Before I could place where I had seen it before, I was horrified. It was the demon egg that had been on the altar until just now.

“Eek!”

I practically threw the demon sword to Isana and rushed to catch the egg with outstretched arms. I barely managed to catch it, and it felt surprisingly heavy. Inside the hard shell, I could feel a churning sensation and abundant life force. Even in its egg state, it felt like holding a living, breathing baby. Relief washed over me, followed by a surge of anger.

“How can you handle an egg so carelessly! What if it broke!”

“Haha, surprised? It’s okay, it’s okay. A demon egg’s shell becomes as hard as orichalcum [a mythical metal] when it’s close to hatching. It won’t budge with ordinary impact.”

“Still…!”

“Really. You could drop it from a high tower and it would be fine, right, Deron?”

“Y-yes! That’s right!”

One would think he’d be used to it by now, but Deron still couldn’t relax in front of Kanos. Kanos gave a ‘see?’ look as Deron answered with a stiff face.

“See? So you can handle it casually too. If it cracks, that means it’s about to hatch, so you can start paying attention then.”

“…Okay. But when will that be?”

“Hmm, maybe in about a month?”

“Ugh, that’s sooner than I thought. What do demon babies eat? Do I have to feed it milk like a human baby?”

“No, just regular food is fine. Raw meat is even better. Demons prefer raw food.”

“Raw meat for a newborn?”

“I told you they grow fast. It’ll be quite different from the human babies you’re thinking of. Well, Deron will take care of all this anyway, so you don’t have to worry. Just leave all the petty chores to him and you just be the child’s godfather.”

“That’s… I feel bad.”

“What’s there to feel bad about? That’s the worker I assigned to you.”

“…….”

Even though he’s one of only four dukes in the Demon Realm, he’s being treated like someone who does chores without a second thought. Deron was staring into the distance with a wistful look. I could already see his hardships ahead.

“But what are you going to do with that?”

Regardless of whether the people watching were sweating bullets or not, Kanos continued with his own agenda. He was pointing at the sword on the altar—the Ego Sword—so I pondered for a moment. Since I had already achieved my goal of obtaining a demon sword, I hadn’t really thought about it.

The sword, still not grasping the situation, shouted in anger. I listened with one ear and muttered.

“Hmm, I don’t know. Can’t we just leave it here?”

“Ego Swords are quite rare. And that one is the only one in all dimensions that has the properties of both a spirit sword and a demon sword. You could sell it for a fortune. Wouldn’t that be a waste?”

“Ifrit cherishes that child. We can’t treat it carelessly. I think it’s right to just leave it, respecting his wishes. …Besides, it’s a bit noisy. Right, Isana?”

“Yeah.”

Isana nodded as soon as she was asked. Her reaction was faster than ever, so she must have been tired of the constant stream of voices. Of course, the others felt the same way.

“It is definitely noisy.”

“Is it even breathing while it talks? It’s killing my ears.”

“This is comparable to mental torture magic.”

“Does everyone agree with El’s idea?”

“Yes, it’s not good for mental health.”

“I don’t like it.”

“Me neither…”

“Then let’s just leave it.”

It was when Kanos made the decision with a bright smile.

A desperate voice echoed as we turned away. The Ego Sword, who seemed to be forever trapped in its own world, showed a normal reaction for the first time, so we naturally looked at it.

The Ego Sword didn’t seem to understand the situation at all. The self-praise was actually its own effort to show us its value.

Its inability to be honest was similar to Ifrit. Even though it was born as a human, it couldn’t hide its nature as a fire spirit. Of course, that didn’t change our decision. My companions and I looked at each other for a moment and said.

“Sorry. We don’t really need a spirit sword.”

“No, it’s not that you’re inadequate, it’s just that we really don’t need one. We came here to get a demon sword to undo the curse, so we’re not interested in a sword that makes you a hero.”