Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 21

21.

‘Come to think of it, what happened to Ifrit? Is he okay?’

I raised my head to look for him, the one who had experienced this situation before. But at that moment, what unfolded before my eyes wasn’t Ifrit, but a large and enormous tree.

It wasn’t enough to simply describe it as big; the trunk was so wide that even a dozen adults couldn’t fully encircle it. The thickness of the branches seemed to be that of a typical tree trunk.

This huge tree had pure white fruits hanging from every branch. The size of the fruits was as abnormally large as the tree’s bulk. Of course, if that was all, I would have just thought that the trees in the Divine Realm were quite large. But the moment I looked closely at the fruits, I couldn’t help but gape blankly. Because the peel was so thin that it was transparent, the contents inside were clearly visible. And the identity of those contents was none other than…….

“P, people? It’s people!”

The fruits on the tree, what was inside them, were undoubtedly people, no matter how I looked at it. And not just children, but fully grown adults.

What is this! Do people here grow on trees? Or does that tree have man-eating habits and capture people to imprison them!

Panicked, I didn’t know what to do and started to fidget. I had the urge to save them immediately, but the tree was so huge that I couldn’t even reach the fruits, and I didn’t even know if it was okay to touch them.

Rustle.

“……!”

At the sound I heard at that moment, I reflexively turned around. I wondered if Ifrit or Arehis had come to find me.

“Huh?”

But standing there was a blonde man I had never seen before. He was incredibly handsome! I thought I had become quite accustomed to handsome men and beautiful women while living with the Spirit Kings, but he shattered that thought in an instant.

The platinum blonde hair, lightly tied near the shoulders and extending down to his waist, sparkled as if each strand was made of pure gold, and his skin was as white as if it were carved from ivory. His eyes, with a light blue tint like inlaid chilling ice, made him look even more mysterious. It was like… yes, like a sculpture carved from jewels come to life.

This living sculpture-like beauty was looking down at me with an indifferent gaze. His slightly narrowed eyes seemed to show some dissatisfaction.

“What are you?”

Huh! His voice is good too.

It’s a low and resonant baritone that feels refreshing the moment you hear it. Perhaps that’s why, even though he spoke informally from the start, I didn’t find it offensive; rather, I foolishly thought it suited him. What kind of fraudulent character is this?

Having been spacing out for a moment, I quickly shook both hands, startled by his staring gaze.

“Ah, s, sorry. I’m just…….”

“Why is a Spirit King here?”

“Huh?”

“……Moreover, you’re not the only one.”

Wow, amazing. How did he know that?

While I was frozen in surprise, he scanned me up and down with a displeased look.

“Hot and dry energy, humid and gloomy energy… The door opened, so is it the work of the underworld?”

Muttering to himself for a moment, he soon turned his head to the other side as if he had no interest.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking coming all the way here, but go back quickly. It’ll be a headache if you leave the Spirit Realm empty for too long.”

“Ah! J, just a moment!”

He, who was walking past me, sent an indifferent gaze again at my call. His expression said to speak quickly if I had something to say. Is he more impatient than he looks? With the feeling that he would just leave if I hesitated, I quickly blurted out.

“Actually, I don’t really know what’s going on right now.”

“……What?”

“Is this the Divine Realm?”

Was my question that strange?

The man looked at me with a dumbfounded expression, then replied in a cold tone.

“Yes, and to add to that, it’s the Azure Sky Chamber.”

“Azure Sky……?”

“Did you come without knowing?”

“Y-yes, I just fell and ended up here… Huh! Then is this a completely different place from the Corridor of Gods? I have to go there!”

“……You got caught in a random warp. Well, you couldn’t have entered here otherwise.”

He frowned his beautiful eyebrows while muttering something incomprehensible again (he seems to be grumbling about that damn Highton), then pointed somewhere with a look and asked.

“Do you see that?”

What he pointed at was the very huge tree that I had discovered and was shocked by a little while ago. I nodded in a daze and answered.

“Ah, that tree with humans hanging from it…….”

“Not humans, but a Divine race.”

“……Huh? A Divine race?”

When I showed a sign of not understanding, he frowned again and let out a soft sigh. I wondered if he was annoyed and was sweating, but he spat out a short word.

“Wait.”

“Yes?”

He left me standing there bewildered and strode towards the tree. Then, at that moment, an amazing thing happened. One of the fruits that was full of them wriggled slightly, and suddenly, it fell to the ground with a thud.

“……!”

Even after falling to the ground, the fruit wriggled from side to side as if it had its own will. The person inside didn’t seem to feel these vibrations at all and was sitting with their eyes closed and knees bent.

Then, with the sound of something being cut— *jiieeek*— the end of the fruit, which was firmly budded like a peach, began to open little by little. At the same time, an unidentified liquid welled up from the cracked gap.

*Kuuk*— *Chwaaaa!*

The peel split exactly in half and slowly pushed to the sides. Each time, the liquid filling the inside burst like a waterfall and flowed to the floor. The volume of the fruit, which had been plump like swollen cheeks, was halved in an instant. Now, all that remained was the shriveled peel that had lost its elasticity and the person covered underneath.

‘D, did they die?’

Even after the fruit burst, the person inside remained motionless for a while. As I was about to approach, worried, the man who had been watching indifferently until then stretched out his arm and stopped me.

“I told you to wait.”

“Just a moment. Even so, I have to check if the person is alive…….”

“You’re talking nonsense. Of course, they’re alive. They were just born.”

“Yes?”

Born?

I looked at him to ask what he meant. But before I could open my mouth, I felt a slight movement inside the drooping peel. The person who had regained consciousness was getting up.

“……Cough, cough!”

The person who revealed themselves while letting out a small cough was a beautiful girl with pure white hair and pink eyes. On her forehead, which she raised, was engraved a unique drawing. It was a pattern of scales with two weights hanging from them, surrounded by a long snake.

‘It’s like a brand…….’

The reason I thought so was because the pattern area was dented. There was no reason for such a mark to appear unless the wound was made on purpose. However, unlike ordinary brands that leave red marks, the pattern on the girl’s forehead was pure white. Perhaps that’s why it felt more mysterious and beautiful than painful or grotesque.

After staring blankly at the pattern for a moment, I was startled and quickly came to my senses. I realized that the girl was naked, not wearing anything. No, to be exact, she was still wrapping her body with the peel of the fruit.

“E, excuse me, are you okay? First of all, clothes…….”

“Leave her alone.”

The blonde man said coldly again. I was furious and looked at him.

“Hey. Why do you keep doing that since a while ago, instead of helping…….”

But that was the end of what I said. Suddenly, light burst from the girl’s body, and the shape of the peel covering her began to change.

Each of the split parts wriggled separately and continued from the back of the girl. As the number of fluctuations increased, the thickness of the drooping and unsightly peel gradually thinned, and it could be seen completely adhering to the girl’s body. They soon stretched out towards the sky as if stretching and then transformed into six pure white feathered wings.

Having watched all the changes one by one, I had no choice but to freeze silently. That figure, which I had seen a lot somewhere, was very familiar to my eyes, like, like…….

“……Angel?”

“That’s what they’re called. Although it’s a title.”

It was the usual blonde man who reacted to my words. I stiffly turned my stiff neck to him.

“I, is this where angels are born?”

“To be exact, it’s a Divine race. I told you before.”

“What the heck is a Divine race?”

“……As you can see. A race born to serve God. Usually, they are tied to the birth tree, and when they sense the existence of a god who needs them, like now, they awaken.”

“Eh? Then are you a god?”

His expression distorted at my flustered words. It was the most frowned face I had ever seen.

“You’re saying something obvious. As a Spirit King, you couldn’t recognize the energy flowing through my body?”

“Ahaha, I’m a bit slow…….”

“……That seems to be true. Since I’m telling you anyway, I’ll teach you one more thing. Originally, only gods can enter here.”

“Yes? R, really?”

“Do I have to answer that again?”

I shut my mouth tightly at the chilling gaze. He’s a petty guy, just like Arehis, even though he’s a god. Doesn’t he have the kindness to answer even that much of a question?

While I was grumbling inwardly, he approached the girl who was staggering and getting up. Then, he took off his outer garment and wrapped it around her body, saying.

“Your name is Nadhiel.”

“Nadhiel…….”

“Can you recognize me?”

The girl, who had been staring at the man with a somewhat dazed expression, soon nodded. Then, the pattern engraved on her forehead began to glow with a bright blue color. It was a beautiful light, as if sapphire had been ground into powder and sprinkled.

“Nadhiel, I greet my noble master.”

Soon, the girl, who had covered her chest with both hands, knelt respectfully on the ground. Then, a faint smile appeared for the first time on the man’s lips, which had no expression and looked like ice. He gently stroked the kneeling angel’s head and whispered.

“Welcome, Nadhiel. My child.”

“…….”

At that moment, what should I say? It was a scene that had nothing to do with me, and I was just watching it, but my heart felt touched. Suddenly, the whole world turned pure white, and it felt like only he and the girl existed in this world.

Ah, I see. To a god, an angel is like a cute child.

Only then did I think I knew why he had stopped me when I tried to approach. Who would stand by and watch when some random guy tries to touch a precious child who was just born?

The bond between them was something that a completely unfamiliar being like me couldn’t dare to interfere with. And I didn’t even know that and thought he was preventing me from helping. I wondered how pathetic he must have thought of me inside.

“What is it?”

The man looked at me with a look that said, ‘Are you still there?’ Embarrassed, I unknowingly babbled anything.

“Ah, no! I just thought it was a very nice scene. Um, what does it mean to call her a child?”

“Since she was born with my energy, she is my responsibility forever. It’s a title I called her in that sense.”

“Hee, I see. That’s really cool.”

“Cool?”

“Ah, it doesn’t have any particularly strange meaning. What should I say? A strong bond that flows only between the two of you. Like a parent-child relationship, those things that cannot be shared with others exist for each other. I’ve always admired that kind of thing. I felt that way while watching you and the angel just now. I’m a little jealous.”

“……You’re jealous of everything. Shouldn’t the Spirit King feel the same way towards the spirits under your command?”

“Ah, well, that’s true.”

I smiled awkwardly because I hadn’t thought that far. The man stared at me intently, then muttered in a slightly hollow voice.

“Covered in scars.”

“Yes?”

“I’m surprised that a fragile glass like you is Elquines. This is, wow. I shouldn’t have been relieved that the Water Spirit King has returned.”

“……You’re being a bit harsh for someone I just met. I haven’t done anything wrong enough to hear those words from you. There’s no reason for you to interfere.”

“Well, if that’s the case, then that’s what it is.”

His muttering lips had an open sneer. It felt like the mood that had been lifted up until just now was sinking in an instant.

I said, feeling resentful.

“But why do you keep talking down to me since a while ago? You may be a god, but I’m a Spirit King, you know?”

“So?”

“What do you mean, ‘so’! Haven’t you ever had a social life? I guess you only lived as a god, so you don’t know yet! No matter how young you are or how low your rank is, it’s polite to respect someone who is the king of a world! I’m very upset if you keep showing such rude behavior!”

“Then you can drop it too, can’t you.”

Damn it, he’s going to keep coming out like this until the end. The man was looking at me with a rather amused face. He was wondering what kind of reaction I would show. I lost my temper and got angry at the searching gaze.