Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 211

Opening the door, a bright sky unfolded before my eyes. I expected a completely different place, but everything around me looked familiar. The dry rock walls and the rough path between them, and even the lush vines hanging down like curtains. It was exactly the same scene that greeted us when we first discovered the dungeon. We had returned to the entrance we initially entered from.

Seeing the unchanged scenery, I felt like I had just woken up from a long dream. But soon, a boisterous voice quickly brought me back to reality.

“Ah! This scorching temperature! The gentle breeze! We’re finally out! I’ve always longed for this moment! How long has it been since I’ve seen sunlight! Ah, Ifrit! Please rejoice! I’ve finally done it! I’ve met the hero who rescued me from that dark underground!”

The talkative voice belonged to Fire Buster. The presence of the dark gray longsword was the most solid proof that we had been inside the dungeon until now.

For a sword, it was enjoying the joy of being outside with its whole body. Its appearance was so touching that no one frowned at its fussiness at this moment. Or, to be precise, everyone was too distracted by their surroundings to pay attention to it. Everyone was busy looking up at the clear sky and taking deep breaths. It seemed like everyone was moved to be out in the open.

In fact, I was too. The dungeon was quite spacious, but it couldn’t compare to the feeling of standing in an open space. Everything that touched my skin felt new and vivid, and my heart fluttered. It felt like I hadn’t seen sunlight in a very long time, even though it hadn’t been that long since we entered.

“It has been a long time, hasn’t it? It’s been about a month.”

“…What did you say?”

“About a month has passed since you entered the dungeon.”

Kanos said something shocking as if it were nothing, with a bright smile. It was such a shocking statement that I couldn’t accept it, and my mind went blank.

A month. I had a vague feeling that the concept of time had become blurred since we started wandering in the same space. I knew intuitively that we had stayed longer than I thought, but I thought it would be only three or four days at most, and I never imagined it would be longer than that. But a month had already passed? Not a week, not half a month, but a whole month?

“Are you kidding me?”

“Why would I joke about something like this? The dungeon is much bigger than you thought. You didn’t realize it, but you stayed on one floor for several days. Of course, being trapped in the last illusion took the longest.”

“But everyone is fine, considering that? We haven’t eaten in the meantime…”

“Ah, that’s because I stopped the time inside the dungeon. In other words, time for your bodies was frozen inside. You have no idea how much I cared to keep your party from starving to death.”

Kanos boasted in a proud tone, as if he couldn’t see my dumbfounded expression. At that moment, I felt an urge to hit him on the head. Perhaps sensing my murderous gaze, he quickly took a step away from me. He was an extremely quick-witted god.

“Ahem, you shouldn’t try to solve unpleasant situations with violence. Just like Ellyuen’s son, you’re just like your father in this way?”

“Don’t you think you should just not do things that deserve to be hit in the first place?”

“Nyahaha, my motto has always been just one thing: the world revolves around me!”

“…That’s a very you-like motto.”

It’s only possible to get angry when the other person is willing to accept it to some extent. He was so brazen that I didn’t have the energy to argue anymore. The swelling anger subsided in an instant, and my whole body drooped like a deflated balloon. I just felt sorry for the month that had been wasted meaninglessly. The road back was already daunting, and I felt like I had used up all my energy before even starting. In comparison, Isana was surprisingly calm.

“Don’t worry too much, El. It’s not that late now. We shortened the schedule a lot in the middle, so it doesn’t make a big difference even if we’re delayed by a month or two.”

“Well, that’s true, but.”

“It’s okay. And the way back will be much faster, right? Lapis said he would come.”

“Ah! Come to think of it!”

A fact I had forgotten came to mind, and I exclaimed. It was something we had arranged in advance. When we acquired the Demon Sword, Lapis was supposed to come and pick us up at that point. It was a plan we came up with, considering that he could teleport if he knew the exact location. In fact, most of the time spent on the journey was wasted on the road, so if he came to pick us up, we could shorten the period by as much as half. If we don’t use our abilities at times like this, when will we ever use them!

For this reason, the communication stone I have has a tracking magic on it. It’s a method similar to GPS [Global Positioning System], and it seems that if you cast this magic, you can always know the exact coordinates of the place where the object is located. Even now, the location where we are staying is being transmitted to Lapis in real time. Even if that wasn’t the case, Lapis would be able to pinpoint the location by tracing the traces of mana connected to me.

“I see. That guy Lapis was there.”

I felt relieved as hope seemed to appear in the bleak future. Since we determine the time of return, we can contact him at any time. …The problem is that Lapis is probably in a very bad mood right now. When was the last time I contacted him? I think it was long before I entered the dungeon, and I hadn’t heard from him for quite a while. In that situation (although it wasn’t intentional), I had been silent for a month, so he must be very angry now. He wouldn’t give up his role because he promised, but the thought of coaxing and appeasing him, who would be grumbling, already made my head throb.

“Lapis? Who is that? Is he also El’s companion?”

I smiled awkwardly and nodded at Sibelius’s question.

“It will be much easier to return when he comes. He can teleport.”

“Is he a wizard?”

“If you call a wizard, a wizard. To be exact, he’s a dragon.”

“D, Dragon?”

“I think I know who you’re talking about. You mean that red-haired man.”

Following Alisa, who gasped in surprise, Deron muttered gloomily. His eyes were burning with a desire to win.

“I still remember that man clearly. He was a man with tremendous magical power that was difficult to fathom. I thought he had left because he was invisible, but you left him behind.”

“He had a separate job to do. He was supposed to come and pick us up as soon as this job was over.”

“Hmm, I see. I promised to meet him again next time, but I didn’t know we would meet so soon. I wanted to compete with him properly someday.”

“…Please bear with me.”

Deron, blinking blankly, had an expression that he didn’t know what the problem was. Is this group really okay? I suddenly started to feel uneasy.

“Of course not. You may have been enemies in the past, but from now on, you’re supposed to see each other’s faces and get along. I won’t tell you to get along well, but I hope you will refrain from rough behavior at least.”

“El is right.”

As soon as I finished speaking, someone expressed agreement. Realizing that it was Isana, I opened my eyes wide. Until now, Isana had never spoken directly to Deron. Perhaps because he was burdened by the fact that the other person was a demon duke, he always kept his distance. But now he was facing Deron straight without avoiding his gaze.

“Duke Deron, may I call you that?”

“As you please.”

“Then, Duke, while we’re on the subject, I’d like to ask you something. I know that the ecosystem of the Demon World is very different from the world of humans. But most of the people you will be dealing with in the future will be ordinary humans. I hope you will be aware of this fact and be considerate, even if it is uncomfortable, while you are with us.”

“Hmm, you’re saying to follow the rules here?”

“You don’t have to follow all the systems, but please keep the parts that are ethically problematic. In particular, murder is absolutely not allowed.”

The firm voice was almost a warning. Deron shrugged.

“Well, I know that much even if you don’t emphasize it. I know that I have to put up with that much to be mixed in human society. But since you’ve even asked me to do so, I’ll be more careful.”

“I believe that promise. I will also try to be as considerate as possible so that the Duke is not uncomfortable.”

Isana’s calm yet polite appearance showed more composure than before. He was originally a calm person, but there was an impression that he was being dragged by the other person to some extent, but now he did not hesitate to take the lead.

He has really grown a lot. It seemed like he was impressed by his experiences in the dungeon, and the changes were becoming more and more noticeable. Perhaps because he had returned to his original form, the difference was even clearer.

I looked back at Isana’s appearance with a fresh feeling. The combination of dark sunlight-like blonde hair and bright blue eyes suited him very well, and the boy who felt my gaze smiled brightly. Even if it wasn’t as fancy as when he was disguised, he was handsome enough to attract attention. No, rather, the impression itself seemed to have become more intense as his unique atmosphere was added.

Was this face so noticeable? I certainly thought he was decent in the past, but now the feeling was definitely different. His appearance hadn’t changed. He was still a teenager with a bit more height, and his face still hadn’t lost its childishness. However, the atmosphere that made him up, such as subtle gestures and gazes, made him look like a different person than before.

When I first met him, Isana was very tired of life and was in an unstable state as if he would collapse at any moment. He gradually became more stable while he was with me, but he often had an insecure face. But now I couldn’t find such a look anywhere. His face, which confidently looked ahead, was as bright as if it was shining, and a noble aura flowed from his whole body like someone who didn’t know humiliation. Indeed, he was like the person in the highest position in an empire.

At first, I thought it was the effect of becoming the owner of the sword, but since he had just accepted it, it couldn’t have had such an immediate effect. This was a change that Isana made himself. The confidence that began to emanate from his attitude brought vitality to his face, which clearly changed his impression.

He will change more and more in the future. Even to my ignorant eyes, that much was clear. I felt more proud and happy, but at the same time, I felt a little sad. It was definitely a desirable growth, but it was also true that Isana, who seemed to have grown up so suddenly, was a little unfamiliar.

If I’m like this, there’s no need to talk about the other members. I could feel that Sibelius and Deron were treating him more carefully. Alisa couldn’t even make eye contact with him.

“Hey, Alisa…”

“Uh, uh? Wh, what is it…!”

“…Um, never mind.”

Every time I talked to her, she was so startled that I couldn’t even continue the conversation properly. The conversation that ended as soon as it started was already repeated several times.

‘It’s lasting longer than I thought.’

I muttered as I looked at Isana’s drooping figure. Even though he had become more mature, he couldn’t hide his sullenness in such matters.

The voice, filled with astonishment and even horror, still lingered vividly in my ears. It was what Alisa shouted in horror when Isana, who looked different, came down with the sword. I still laugh when I recall the situation at the time. For a while, Isana didn’t understand her reaction and had a puzzled expression. After I showed him the mirror, he belatedly grasped the situation and started to panic, but he was so embarrassed that he couldn’t even say a word, let alone make excuses. It was to the point where I wondered if a person’s face could turn this red.

It would be absurd to have the magic dispelled just by holding the sword. It was an unexpected accident that the polymorph magic cast on Isana was dispelled. According to Kanos’s explanation, it was because the power of Fire Buster was imprinted on Isana’s body, which changed the nature of his energy. In other words, the activation conditions changed from when the magic was first cast, so it could no longer be maintained.

I knew that magic formulas involved complex calculations, but it seemed to be a more delicate and precise field than I thought. Originally, magic was designed with these things in mind, but in Isana’s case, it was said that it was easily dispelled because it was cast lightly from the beginning. Of course, the situation itself was very special. How many times in life would the nature of one’s innate energy change?

Since it was magic that had to be dispelled someday anyway, it wasn’t a problem to think that we had moved up the timing a bit. The other members generally accepted it without any problems. But Alisa’s position seemed to be different. She couldn’t easily adapt to Isana’s face, which had become more handsome in a manly way. She was so easygoing that I thought she would easily understand, but it seemed that her sense of betrayal was greater than I thought.