Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 258

“Lapis! Lapis!”

I rushed breathlessly to the camp, where dinner was in full swing. Lapis had just finished eating and was rinsing his mouth with water when he frowned.

“What’s all the fuss?”

“The baby is about to be born!”

“Ptooey!”

The sound of him spitting out water erupted. Similar sounds echoed from elsewhere. Was it just me, or were the people around me staring blankly? More precisely, at a certain part of my upper body.

‘Why are they staring at my stomach like that?’

Confused by this inexplicable phenomenon, I heard a short click of the tongue. “Ah, damn it,” Lapis muttered under his breath, roughly wiping the water from his mouth before fixing his gaze on me. What he said next left me frozen in place.

“When did you get pregnant?”

“What?”

“You said the baby is being born.”

“What nonsense! I said the egg is about to hatch, you idiot!”

“I know. I was just kidding, okay?”

“What kind of joke is that? It’s not funny at all!”

“I didn’t do it to be funny. It’s just that the nuance of what you said just now…”

“The nuance of what?”

“…Never mind. Anyway, to be called an idiot by you. It seems my death is near.”

Seeing the genuinely shocked look on his face, I felt a surge of wanting to punch him. I sighed and held out the egg to him.

“Shut up and take a look at this.”

“Look at what?”

Lapis, openly wearing a look of annoyance, glanced at where I was pointing, and his eyes lit up. He, too, recognized the faint vertical line I had spotted earlier.

“It’s cracked. Looks like it’s about to hatch.”

“Right? It is about to hatch, isn’t it?”

I guess I wasn’t seeing things. I had always expected it to hatch someday, but now that it was actually happening, I was filled with anticipation. At the same time, I started to feel incredibly nervous.

“What should I do? Can I just leave it like this? Shouldn’t I wrap it in something warm? When do you think it will hatch?”

“How should I know? Just hand it over to the nanny. He’ll take care of it.”

“I looked for him on the way here, but he was nowhere to be found. He was nearby just a moment ago.”

I went back to the tree where he had been lying, but Deron was already gone. It seemed he had moved to a less conspicuous spot. Lapis scoffed.

“Blatant slacking. That nanny is really taking it easy.”

“Don’t say that. Something bad might have happened to him.”

“Isn’t it the opposite? His rank has risen.”

“What?”

“That guy’s hair color. It’s a unique color that only the Northern Duke can have. Karten, ruled by the Northern Duke, is the heart of the Demon Realm. In terms of symbolism, he’s even more important than the Demon King.”

As a self-proclaimed genius dragon, Lapis seemed to have recognized the meaning of the hair color at a glance. It was something I had been curious about, so I cautiously asked.

“About that. What happened to the previous Northern Duke?”

“He’s probably dead.”

“Hmm, really?”

“That mark isn’t just passed on. I heard it only transfers when the holder dies.”

My heart sank at the expected answer. Watching Deron wander around, I had somewhat suspected it. But hearing it confirmed made me feel bitter.

Was the Northern Duke’s name Zak? I remembered Deron’s regret at not being able to deliver the news to him. When I asked if they were close, he didn’t deny it, even as he spoke as if it couldn’t be helped. He had described him in harsh terms, but those were words he couldn’t have said without affection. And now he was dead, and Deron had inherited his power. Even guessing his feelings was difficult, so I couldn’t offer any words of comfort. I don’t know what’s going on in the Demon Realm right now. I was relieved to see that the Demon God’s mark was safe, but I realized that things might be worse than I had expected.

“What are you two doing here? Do you know how conspicuous you are right now?”

“……!”

I snapped out of my thoughts thanks to the sudden voice. My vision brightened, and the face of a cotton-candy-like, lovely girl came into view. Alisa, dressed in light travel clothes and leather armor, was waving her hand. Sibelius was accompanying her.

Looking around at her words, I noticed people nearby hurrying away. They had been watching me and Lapis whispering. We had been talking in low voices, so they probably hadn’t heard the content, but it didn’t feel good to be a spectacle.

Why was I talking to Lapis in front of people? I was so focused on the fact that the egg was cracked that I forgot how much he stood out. After belatedly realizing my mistake, I took a step away from him. Alisa, quick to notice, immediately gave me a dumbfounded look.

“It’s not going to work if you avoid being next to Lapis. You’re just as conspicuous, El.”

“Oh, really?”

I smiled awkwardly, and this time Lapis and Sibelius also gave me bewildered looks. Before their gazes turned into reproach, I quickly changed the subject.

“Ah! More importantly, look at this, Alisa. It looks like the egg is about to hatch.”

“Oh, really?”

When I pointed to the cracked part, she reacted immediately. Alisa was busy examining the egg with a curious expression. At first, she tried to hold it, but she immediately took her hand away as if she was afraid to touch it and stuck out her tongue.

“It’s very hot. I can’t even touch it.”

“Really? Ah, I guess so. At this point, it’s much higher than human body temperature.”

I was a little embarrassed by the belated realization. I knew the egg’s temperature was high, but I hadn’t been affected by it, so I hadn’t even thought it was hot. Alisa looked at me with envious eyes.

“But is it okay for him to be born like this? We can’t exactly go to war carrying a newborn around.”

“Ah, that’ll be fine. Demons grow incredibly fast. He’ll be walking around in a few hours, probably.”

The answer came from Sibelius. Being a race created to fight demons, he said he had received specialized education about the demonic ecosystem from a young age. In this area, he actually knew more than Lapis.

“He’ll grow to look like a teenager in about two or three months. He won’t be a complete adult until after 10 years, though. Until then, no matter how big he gets, he’s still classified as a juvenile.”

“You mean he becomes an adult at 10? He really does grow fast.”

“They’re a very warlike race. They have to grow quickly to increase their chances of survival.”

After finishing his explanation, Sibelius took the egg from me (Alisa gave me another envious look at this point) and examined it closely.

“Judging by the state of the cracks, it looks like it’ll hatch tonight. El, you’ll stay by the egg, right? I’ll make a separate chamber for you to stay in.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Newly born demon children are very sensitive and ferocious. They might attack other races on sight. It’s best to keep them isolated from the outside world as much as possible.”

“Ah, o-okay.”

I felt like I had just heard something incredible, but I must have misheard. Sibelius handed the egg back to me, and I took it with a sense of unease. I had been mindlessly excited about the imminent hatching, but my expectations cooled down a bit. *Is it really okay for him to be born like this?* Alisa’s earlier question hit me in a different way, and I started to genuinely worry.

Deron needs to come back soon.

Right now, his presence is more crucial than ever.

* * *

Toc, toc—

“……Hmm?”

I felt something touching my cheek. It felt like tapping, or maybe tickling. Unable to withstand the repeated sensation, I opened my eyes to a dim light.

The first thing I noticed was how dark it was all around. The surroundings were so quiet that I could almost hear the air flowing, and the overall temperature was cool. A faint light nearby barely illuminated the shapes around me.

*Where am I?* It wasn’t until I lifted my head, still groggy, that I realized I had been lying down. I belatedly remembered that this space was inside the tent that Sibelius had created separately.

*Ah, right. I was waiting for Asmodel to hatch.* As my mind cleared, I began to grasp the situation. Originally, I was going to leave everything to Deron. But his return was much later than expected, and the cracks in the egg only grew larger as time passed. I thought it would be troublesome if it hatched like this, so I ended up bringing the egg into the tent alone. I put it down on the soft floor and sat in front of it to watch, but at some point, I lost my memory. I must have fallen asleep while watching.

After clicking my tongue lightly, I got up and slowly looked around. The chambers that Sibelius created with magic were tents on the outside, but the inside was the same as any mansion. That fact didn’t change much even if it was a custom-made personal one. The bedding, as well as the shape and pattern of the carpet on the floor, were identical. It was just a little smaller than the room I shared with the others. I don’t know how long it’s been since I fell asleep, but I know it’s late at night. I was the only person in the space, which felt eerie because of the darkness.

Just now, didn’t someone touch me?

I raised my hand and gently pressed both cheeks. I definitely felt a sensation on my cheek right before I woke up. I thought it was someone’s touch, and naturally assumed that one of my companions was waking me up. But when I woke up, there was no one around. It felt like I had been touched by a ghost.

“That’s strange…….”

As I swallowed my bewildered feelings and turned around, at that moment, a pair of clear red eyes were distinctly visible in the darkness.

“……!”

I barely managed to hold back a scream. My body stiffened, and at the same time, I felt my back touch a wall. I must have reflexively stepped back. The owner of the red eyes stared at me as I took a deep breath.

“……Why are you surprised?”

The one who caused it asks as if it’s strange. It’s a voice I’ve never heard before, but it sounded like it knew me. I took another breath and stared intently in the direction of the eyes. I could see a silhouette flickering in the dark space.

“You, what are you? Who are you?”

I hadn’t felt such a clear presence at all until just now. As I asked cautiously, the eyes slowly closed and opened. It was as if he didn’t understand the intention of the question. I felt a hesitant air, and after a long time, a short answer came back.

“I don’t remember.”

“……What?”

“My name. It’s long. It was difficult. I haven’t memorized it all yet.”

“What…….”

“Can’t Godfather call it again? I’ll remember it this time.”

“……!”

At that moment, everything became surprisingly clear. Because there was only one being in this world who could call me Godfather. Come to think of it, I wasn’t the only one in this space. Although it wasn’t in human form, there was one more being who had been with me from the beginning. And that being was about to become human. After thinking that far, a groan escaped on its own.

“W-wait a minute! You, you, are you perhaps…… Asmodel? Is that what you’re saying right now?”

“Asmodel. Yeah, that’s it.”

I could feel the silhouette swaying up and down. He nodded. *Good heavens!* Seeing him affirm it, I felt a different kind of darkness before my eyes now.

“Ugh, no way! Really Asmodel? You’ve already hatched? Why didn’t you wake me up!”

“……I just woke you up.”

“Ah, w-was that it? Just a moment! Wait a second!”

I hurriedly looked around and then lit a lantern nearby. Light burst out and the surroundings brightened in an instant, and finally the figure in front of me came into view. The figure of a young child standing tall, with long hair hanging down.

I was a little dazed at the sight. The first thing I felt when I saw him was ‘black’. Maybe it’s because his ebony black hair covered his naked body. His distinct features, unlike a child, and his snow-white skin were also noticeable. But the most impressive thing was his red eyes, which shone clearly even in the darkness. Lapis, Ifrit, and Deron also had red eyes. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen a color as beautiful as the child in front of me.

*No, more than that, how is this a newborn child!?*

The child looked to be about twelve or thirteen years old. It was too much to call him an infant; to be honest, he looked more like a young boy. No matter how fast demons grow, isn’t this a bit much? The child was blinking as much as I was scrutinizing him.

“Just now, it suddenly got bright.”

“Huh? Ah, I turned on the light.”

“Light? That’s light.”

Judging by his naive reaction, it seems he really was just born. I quickly grabbed a blanket nearby and covered his naked body. The child’s eyes widened again as if he was curious about the sensation of the fabric touching his skin.

‘Cute.’

When I made eye contact, his curious eyes immediately followed. I heard that newly born demons are sensitive, but he doesn’t seem to be showing any of those traits. Far from being ferocious, he was so docile that I was embarrassed.