Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 276

Chapter 276

‘But why does it feel similar to that time? How strange.’

Alisa tilted her head repeatedly. She didn’t think there could be another experience as intense as the world Isana and his group had shown her that day. Yet, her heart was as restless and turbulent as it had been then. She didn’t quite know what it was, but she felt sure she would meet someone at the end of this path.

As much as she felt anticipation, she also felt a strong desire to avoid it. Being led along like this suggested that the other party was quite formidable. However, being formidable didn’t necessarily mean they had a good personality. She had been lucky with Isana, but usually, people of such noble status were exceedingly arrogant. Getting involved could only lead to trouble. Besides, maybe it was just her imagination, but she felt like she was heading into an increasingly remote area. The alley, lined with various bars, looked like a pleasure district. The identity of the person she was about to meet was becoming suspiciously obvious. In a place like this, it would be hard to get help if something happened. She felt like a fool for inviting danger, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop. By now, Sibelius would have realized she was missing. The thought of him looking for her made her even more anxious.

“Do I really have to come to a place like this just to buy alcohol?”

Just then, she heard voices from somewhere. The moment she heard the low, calm voice, Alisa involuntarily turned her head. A group of men were walking out of a bar. Except for one person, they were all wearing dark black armor. In this empire, there was only one group that wore that color armor. Alisa reflexively frowned.

‘The Grand Duke’s army! Even the Dark Knights, the Grand Duke’s direct unit?’

Even a regular soldier would have been overwhelming, but there were six knights, no less. The Dark Knights were all skilled upper-level swordsmen. Her spirit magic, inflated with bluff, was no match for them.

Perhaps it was the impending crisis that finally stopped her runaway legs. Alisa grabbed her hood and quickly hid at the end of the alley. Fortunately, the knights hadn’t noticed her yet. Their conversation continued.

“You said you wanted high-quality alcohol, didn’t you? The alcohol sold in regular stores isn’t very good and not worth recommending. The real stuff is what you find in taverns like this.”

“Hmm, is there that much of a difference?”

“The difference is greater than you think. You’ll know as soon as you taste it…”

“Sorry, I don’t really enjoy alcohol.”

The man who answered indifferently was the only one in the group not wearing armor. Judging by the way the knights were addressing him respectfully, he seemed to be of high status.

Alisa glanced at the man. At first, she thought he might be the Grand Duke, but he looked too young. She had heard that Duke Yukarte was in his forties, but this man didn’t look that old, even if you overestimated his age. He didn’t look much like Isana either. Not only his appearance but also his hair color was completely different. Isana had blonde hair, while the man’s hair was a unique magenta color. His eyes were also a different shade of navy blue. Blood relations didn’t necessarily have to be the same (in fact, there were quite a few different cases), but she could intuitively tell that they weren’t related.

“Come to think of it, people who practice magic don’t really like alcohol. I heard that the intoxicating ingredients in alcohol scatter magical power.”

The following words confirmed Alisa’s guess. Judging from the conversation, the man was probably a mage. The publicly known Duke Yukarte was a priest, so the possibility of a connection was almost gone. Only then could she exhale the breath she had been holding in. Of course, the fact that the man wasn’t the Grand Duke didn’t mean the current situation was optimistic. Still, the tension that had been crushing her body lessened considerably.

‘A mage with the Grand Duke’s knights. Who the heck is he?’

Alisa examined the man more carefully. Unlike the knights, who were quite friendly, his attitude was consistently aloof. Even when the knight made a comment about mages, he only glanced at him briefly and didn’t give a proper answer. The knight’s face was flushed, as if he wasn’t used to the reaction. Just looking at that, it didn’t seem like they were particularly close.

“Haha, to come out and buy alcohol yourself when you don’t even enjoy it. You said you were giving it as a gift to someone named Asel? You really care about your subordinates.”

“Asel is not a subordinate. He’s a friend.”

“Yes? Wasn’t he your aide?”

“He is now. But he might quit and leave at any time.”

“Haha, surely not. Not just any position, but the Em….”

“Lazen.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. Surely he wouldn’t quit Lord Lazen’s aide position. It’s a position that everyone admires.”

“Well, he’s not the type to pursue such conventional desires.”

“Haha, is that so? He seemed like an ordinary person, but it seems he has more extraordinary aspects than I thought.”

“…Asel is ordinary?”

The man turned and raised the corner of his mouth. He looked as if he had heard the most foolish thing in the world. The knight’s face, who was trying to change the subject, turned even redder. Alisa involuntarily sighed with pity. Even though she knew he was a Dark Knight, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. At the same time, her curiosity about the mage man, called Lazen, grew.

She wanted to get a better look. Her eagerness took over, and she momentarily forgot to be careful. In a moment of carelessness, Alisa finally caused an accident. She leaned her head out too far and made eye contact with the man, who happened to be turning his head.

“……!”

Alisa quickly turned away. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought it would jump out of her chest. But what really shocked her was something else.

‘Oh, no.’

The moment their eyes met, she knew. That man, Lazen, was the person she was ‘meant to meet.’ The one who had made her walk all the way here, the one who had led her as if she were bewitched. Once she realized the truth, she couldn’t calm down. His eyes, his presence, everything about him seemed to be shouting that he was special. It was almost the same level of shock she had felt when she first saw Isana.

‘What is this? Who is that person? Why am I like this?’

The fact that she was shocked was shocking in itself. Isana was the Emperor, a water spirit mage, and even a contractor of the Spirit King [a being of immense power and authority over spirits]. That’s why she thought she had felt something special when she first saw him. But to feel the same way about that man, she couldn’t understand it no matter how hard she thought about it. Even if he was as high in status as the Emperor and as powerful as a spirit mage, being a contractor of the Spirit King was a different matter. It was a condition that could never be considered equal.

‘Surely that person can’t be contracted with a Spirit King too… right? He’s a mage.’

Magic and spirit magic were mutually exclusive, so they couldn’t be learned together. The only ones capable of that were dragons like Lapis, but Alisa was sure that man was human. If he were a dragon, she wouldn’t have felt anything at all. Her intuition, which was close to inspiration, didn’t work well with beings of a higher race than herself. That was the case with El, Lapis, and Sibelius. She had never felt anything at first glance when she saw them. Their appearances and actions were so striking that they seemed special enough without it. Anyway, the fact that she ‘recognized’ him meant that the man was already human.

Feeling strangely anxious, Alisa bit her lip. There was definitely something in common between the man Lazen and Isana. But she didn’t think it was their status or abilities. It wasn’t a particularly important part, but it bothered her strangely.

‘More than that, we just made eye contact. What should I do? He seems to be on the Grand Duke’s side, and there’s nothing good about getting involved. I need to get out of here first.’

She was uneasy, but she never thought she would walk into enemy territory on her own. Damn ability. If you’re going to sense something, at least do it in a way that guarantees the owner’s life!

Silently grumbling, Alisa looked around for an escape route. But contrary to her wishes, the situation didn’t go smoothly.

“Lord Lazen. The Imperial Army camp is right in front of us. When will we execute the plan….”

“Shh.”

The conversation that had been continuing was cut off by a whisper. Alisa involuntarily cowered.

“There’s someone eavesdropping.”

“……!”

“Who’s hiding there? Show yourself.”

The relaxed atmosphere turned sharp in an instant. The knights had already drawn their swords and were guarding their surroundings. It seemed like they couldn’t get away with it quietly.

‘Ah, I’m really going crazy.’

Why did I stick my head out? Even though she knew it was a belated regret, Alisa clutched her head and sighed. But she didn’t want to obediently show herself as the man demanded. She was upset that she had been caught, and she felt like she was following orders, which hurt her pride.

“You’re not going to respond easily?”

As she hesitated and stalled, his voice became lower than before. So what if I don’t? Alisa muttered inwardly with a bit of spite. As if he had heard her, the man’s voice continued.

“Okay, then I’ll do it my way.”

There was no process of persuading her with leeway. Judging by the way he changed his attitude right away, the man didn’t seem to have much patience. Is he going to come this way himself? Alisa quickly rolled her eyes. She desperately wanted to run away, but it wasn’t a good choice. Running away from here would be like shouting that she was suspicious.

Because she had often ditched the family soldiers since she was young, she knew the psychology of the pursuer better than anyone else. Even if there was nothing wrong, if you tried to run away, the other party would definitely rush at you. Rather, it often provoked anger and led to bad results. In this case, a surprise attack was more effective.

Yes, let’s act.

Alisa calmly nodded. She would wait quietly for the other party to approach, and when he appeared in front of her, she would show him that she was trembling with fear. As if she was too scared to come out.

It was a plan that actively utilized her appearance, which looked like a fragile girl no matter how you looked at it. Not all of the Grand Duke’s soldiers would know her face anyway. They probably wouldn’t think that ‘that’ Alisa would be alone without guards, so they were more likely to think of her as just a local resident. It wouldn’t be strange for an ordinary girl to freeze when she saw the knights. No matter how angry they were, they would soon become disillusioned and let their guard down. By then, she could create as many gaps as she wanted.

“The power I desire is the apostle of annihilation. The punishment of the destroyer. I desire to punish the enemy with the power of flames that swallow everything. The form is an arrow, the number is five. Deka of 70 Esna, 5 Tus, 60 Alpora.”

‘……Huh?’

But the situation went in a different direction than she had expected. Suddenly, she felt a chill, and the man began to mutter something quickly. The blood drained from Alisa’s face. She could feel the surrounding air fluctuating vividly on her skin. It was much rougher and slower than the method she knew, but she knew the moment when this phenomenon occurred. It was when she used magic.

“I will burn the enemy in front of me to ashes. Go forth! Fire…….”

“……! W, wait a minute!”

The moment the last sentence was about to be completed, Alisa hurriedly regained her senses and screamed in horror. This was not the time to sit back and prepare to act. She quickly jumped out of the wall where she had been hiding.

“Wait a minute! I’m out! I’m out!”

Even as she threw herself out, Alisa hoped that she had misjudged. That she had been nicely caught in the other party’s baiting operation. But the result was as she had guessed. When she went out, she saw a bundle of huge fire arrows floating on the man’s hand. The already clear form looked like it was about to be completed to anyone. The thought that the magic would have been activated if she had been even a little late sent a chill down her spine.

‘This is a civilian area! Without even knowing who the other person is! Are you crazy?’

To think that he would try to attack without hesitation. What kind of man is that? She was shocked, but she was so dumbfounded that her body trembled.

“A girl?”

As expected, the Dark Knights had a lackluster reaction as soon as they saw Alisa. It was a natural reaction since the enemy they had expected was nowhere to be seen, and a small, fragile-looking girl who couldn’t even hold a sword properly had popped out. If they had known she was glaring at them, their reaction would have been a little different, but they couldn’t see her expression because she was wearing a hood. The body trembling with anger also looked to them like she was just terrified. That was the reaction Alisa had expected. The knights laughed in vain and turned to the man.

“It’s just a girl. I guess she’s a local resident.”

“Is that so?”

But the man’s reaction was different. He was still looking at Alisa with cold eyes. The number of fire arrows had decreased from before, but they were still there.

“At least she’s not a commoner.”

“Yes? What does that…….”

“Do you think a girl who helps with housework or farming in this rural area would recognize magic just by hearing the spell?”

“……!”

“Usually, they don’t even know what’s going on in front of them.”

The corner of the man’s mouth turned up crookedly. Only then did the Dark Knights begin to take a defensive stance again after hearing those words. Alisa glared at the man with displeased eyes. The magic he had executed had stopped just before it was activated. Alisa could bet all her assets that if she hadn’t recognized it, she would have been attacked as it was. But to make an issue out of recognizing it. In the end, he was going to harass her no matter which option she chose.

‘He’s more of a psychopath than Lord Lapis!’

Alisa poured out the worst curse she knew at the man. As if he had read her gaze, the man made a momentarily amused expression.