Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Arriving at the palace, a grand hall greeted us. It was a pristine white space, decorated in a way that revealed the owner’s refined tastes. However, contrary to its formidable reputation, the palace interior was remarkably quiet. Not a single cleaning servant was in sight.

“Do you think no one’s here?”

“No, Lord Ellyuen rarely leaves his palace. It’s unusually quiet because he dislikes commotion. He hasn’t attended a single divine banquet because they’re too noisy. That’s why his appearance wasn’t well known at first. He especially hates those who visit without permission….”

“Ugh! Is that okay? We came without permission, didn’t we?”

“……Well, it’ll work out somehow.”

What’s that supposed to mean!

I started sweating as I looked at Arehis, who was smiling ambiguously. Even Ifrit looked fed up this time.

“Don’t tell me you came without a plan?”

“Hmm, I can’t say that’s entirely untrue. Actually, it’s my first time seeing Lord Ellyuen after he became a god… But it’ll probably be fine. He must have sensed us approaching already, but there haven’t been any counterattacks so far, right?”

“Counterattacks?”

“Like lightning strikes, fireballs, sudden ground collapses, and other things….”

…So it was a place you couldn’t just waltz through?

The thought that I might have died on the path I had been walking on so carelessly just now made my chest feel cold. Of course, Arehis replied cheerfully that I wouldn’t die from *just* that. So it’s okay to get hurt, you jerk!

“Anyway, the fact that there hasn’t been such a reception means he’s already given us half his permission.”

“……It seems like it?”

“Ahaha. No, really. If we wait here, his attendant angel will come out soon.”

What are you so sure about!

But his words proved true. Before long, a woman appeared with rustling footsteps. She was a beautiful angel with six wings on her back.

“I greet the God of the Dead, Arehis, and the two Spirit Kings.”

Ifrit and I exchanged embarrassed glances at the angel’s elegant bow. The angel, who smiled softly at us, said in a neat tone.

“Lord Ellyuen is waiting. Please come inside.”

* * *

“……Huh?”

The place the angel guided us to was Ellyuen’s office. As I walked behind him, I suddenly noticed something peculiar. Along the upper part of the corridor walls, small patterns were engraved in a straight line.

And the engraved shape looked very familiar, as if I had seen it somewhere before. As I narrowed my eyes, trying to recall where I’d seen it, Arehis next to me asked with a puzzled expression.

“What’s wrong, Lord Elquines?”

“No, that… I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere….”

“Yes? Ah, you mean the divine crest [a unique symbol representing a god]?”

“Huh?”

……A divine crest?

At that moment, I felt a stuffy feeling, as if a thorn was stuck in my throat. Arehis smiled calmly at me, who was frowning at the bad premonition, and continued his explanation.

“Gods each have their own unique crest that symbolizes them. The crest of a pure white scale with a snake wrapped around it is the mark of Lord Ellyuen, the owner of this palace.”

“……Wait a minute. That mark, it’s not like it’s engraved on the foreheads of the angels, is it?”

It’s not, right? It can’t be. No way, it shouldn’t be!

I let out a hollow laugh and looked at Arehis earnestly. But he uttered words that shattered my expectations!

“How did you know? You’re exactly right. From the moment they are born, the divine beings engrave the crest of the god they serve on their foreheads.”

“헐……?” [Korean slang expressing disbelief or shock]

“What’s wrong, Elquines?”

Ifrit seemed puzzled as he looked at me, who had stiffened up. But I was already in a panic and flustered.

“Wait, just, wait a minute. I just, just now, had a very ominous thought, okay? So, I was wondering, can’t I just go back?”

“What? What are you saying, coming all the way here?”

“No, well… Actually, when I think about it, I don’t think I need to meet him. You’re the only one who has business with Ellyuen. Isn’t that right, Ifrit? Ahaha! In that sense, I’ll just go back, so you stay here and enjoy your reunion to the fullest and come back slowly….”

However, I couldn’t get a chance to finish my words. At the antique door that appeared just in time, the angel, who had stopped walking, notified me in a businesslike tone.

“We’re here.”

Huck! We’re already here?

When I reflexively turned my head, the angel had already pulled the doorknob. It happened in an instant before I could stop him.

Squeak.

The heavy sound of the door opening sounded to me like the gates of hell opening. The angel, as kind as her beautiful face, whispered the language of hell to me, who had frozen stiff.

“Please come in.”

“…….”

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you going in?”

In the end, I had no choice but to forcibly enter the door, unable to resist Ifrit’s urging to push me from behind.

Hey, Ifrit. I know you’re eager, but can you stop doing this? Right now, my heart is pounding more than yours, I’m going crazy! You may be excited about the longing for your first love, but my life is on the line with this meeting!

Of course, all of this was just a cry in my heart, and in reality, I was diligently looking around at the scenery inside. The first thing that caught my eye was the mountain of paper piles. The huge mountain of paper, which I couldn’t figure out where it started and where it ended, reached the ceiling like a precarious tower. I clearly heard it was an office, but it’s full of paper.

‘Surely this isn’t all documents… is it?’

It’s amazing that it’s standing without collapsing. Around the huge mountain of paper, angels with six wings were busily moving.

Among them, I easily found a familiar face. A girl with snow-white hair and red eyes. It was Nadiel.

‘I suspected it, but in the end….’

Feeling the last hope I was holding onto collapsing, I glanced over the mountain of paper.

As expected. A slightly protruding wooden desk between the heavy bundles of paper, and a man sitting slightly twisted in front of it, could be seen. Platinum blonde hair and a face so beautiful that it numbed my mind. It was definitely the god who had teased me in the Azure Sky Chamber.

‘You were Ellyuen!’

Even the heavens are heartless, why did the god I met there have to be Ellyuen among so many gods.

He was holding a quill in one hand, his face contorted as if he didn’t like something. He must know we’re here, but he didn’t even give us a glance.

At that moment, I felt someone grabbing my arm tightly. When I turned my head slightly, I saw Ifrit stiffened. The composure he had just shown was nowhere to be found, and he was visibly nervous. The way he bit his lip with wide eyes was a little funny in a way. Isn’t this exactly the expression of someone who looks like they’re about to throw their heart out of their throat?

“Oh, what should I do? It’s Elquines. His hair color has changed, but… it’s him. It’s definitely him.”

“I *am* Elquines.”

“Eek! I’m not in the mood for jokes right now?”

“No, I just meant to ease the tension….”

When I smiled awkwardly, Ifrit glared at me with a blue gaze. But the rebuke that should have followed immediately was cut short by the low voice that followed as soon as he opened his mouth.

“It’s noisy.”

“……!”

The owner of the voice was Ellyuen.

He didn’t seem to care about us at all, but he was listening to all the conversations? He glanced at me and Ifrit, who had closed our mouths at the same time, and then turned his gaze back to the angel standing next to him.

“So, what’s next?”

“It’s about the commotion that happened in District 36.”

“District 36? Isn’t that a slum?”

“Yes, that’s right. A problem arose between the human residents there and a demon they accidentally came into contact with, and this is a report on it.”

“……Those guys again. Damn bastards. So, what’s the matter this time?”

Ellyuen’s voice, answering casually, had a faint hint of annoyance. As if proving that he wasn’t very interested in the matter, it was obvious that he was skimming through the documents he was holding.

“The incident started when a young human child carelessly picked up a demon’s egg. The egg, which was about to hatch, hatched not long after, but the demon child born inside was not sufficiently supplied with the necessary nutrients. So, he attacked not only the human child who picked him up, but also other humans around him, and took their blood. The surprised humans formed a vigilante group and killed the demon child after a long chase.”

“And?”

“By chance, the female demon, who was the mother of the demon child, later learned of this fact. The female demon was filled with anger and committed massacres not only in District 36, but also in nearby cities. The number of casualties from this is over 3,000.”

“Did you catch the demon?”

“Yes, we brought her to the palace, sealed all her magical power, and imprisoned her in the underground prison. We are awaiting Lord Ellyuen’s disposition.”

“Tsk…….”

Ellyuen clicked his tongue briefly and put down the quill he was holding as if throwing it.

“Why did the demon’s egg fall on Bytan [a region] in the first place? All demon eggs should be thoroughly managed in the forbidden area of the Demon World?”

“I’m sorry. We don’t know the reason for that….”

“……Damn Canos, it’s his doing.”

Ellyuen, who grumbled briefly, lightly swept up some of the hair that covered his forehead with a frown. Even that simple action is as elegant as a model in a TV commercial. Needless to say, Ifrit’s face, who was watching, turned as red as a persimmon.

‘Anyway… this is quite a troublesome problem.’

Of course, the demon was wrong to commit the massacre, but in the first place, the cause could be seen as lying with the humans who killed the demon child. What mother in the world would leave alone those who killed her child? It’s natural to lose reason.

But on the other hand, from the humans’ point of view, they couldn’t just leave a demon who attacked people alone, no matter how young he was. Above all, their own defense is the top priority.

‘It’s hard to blame the demon child unconditionally because he was simply hungry.’

How will Ellyuen handle this case? I waited for his verdict with a pounding heart, like a person waiting for the judgment of a wise judge. But the reality that unfolded was neither as warm nor as clear as expected. When I heard the words that followed, I felt frozen from head to toe.

“A thousand strokes of the whip. Then peel off all her skin and throw her into the salt field.”

“Yes? But….”

“I can’t just kill a criminal with a bad crime nicely. If you’ve harmed 3,000 innocent lives, shouldn’t you pay the price? It’s a good thing we needed a new example. Let her writhe in the pain of her skin burning. And when she becomes a corpse, skewer her and throw her into the Demon World. So that no one will ever do such a thing again.”

“I understand, Lord Ellyuen.”

Good heavens! Does he really give such a cruel punishment? Even if he is the god of punishment, this is too much!

Kwaang!

With my mind going blank, I forgot the current situation and jumped in front of him. The moment I slammed the desk, I felt the surprised gazes of the angels and my companions, but it was already an arrow that had left the bow.

“Don’t you know the word leniency! How can you give such a terrible punishment!”