Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 317

317

Just then, a passing breeze calmed my churning insides. Or rather, it stopped me from overthinking. I rushed to the window and leaned out, craning my neck. The sky was a hazy color today, and the signs of a strong wind weren’t promising.

“Great Uncle, what’s wrong?”

As asked worriedly, noticing my serious expression as I stared at the sky. “No, it’s nothing,” I answered immediately, but I still couldn’t tear my gaze away from the sky. To be honest, it wasn’t nothing, but saying it aloud made me feel a little better. *Am I cursed?* Nothing seems to be going right these days. I sighed and sat back down in my chair. I could feel everyone watching me intently, their expressions stiff. It was like they were bracing for a bomb to go off, which left a bitter taste in my mouth.

“First, we need to find Ray’s guardian.”

“Guardian?”

“Ray had a mother, a woman who raised her son alone. But she might already be dead. No, she’s probably dead.”

“How do you know that?”

“Ray met Naias [a spirit] too early. If things had gone according to my plan, he would have encountered her after growing up a bit more. Something must have happened in the meantime. For the seal to break, he must have suffered a considerable shock, and the death of a parent would be shocking enough for a child his age.”

“So he’s an orphan. Doesn’t that mean there’s no guardian to find?”

“But then again, his nutritional status is pretty good. He seems healthier than when he was with his mother. His teeth and nails are well-cared for, too. And the clothes he’s wearing are high-quality.”

“So someone else was taking care of him.”

I nodded at the logical conclusion. Deron asked with a puzzled expression.

“Are you going to send the child back to his original guardian? A precious spirit sacrificed himself to save him. Wouldn’t you be sad to just send him back?”

“Of course, I’d be sad. I’d like to take him in myself if I could. But I don’t know if Ray would want that. It’s not something I can decide on my own.”

“But…”

“When he wakes up, he’ll definitely look for his guardian first, right? He’s already lost his spirit; I can’t let him lose something precious again. And he’ll be better off emotionally with someone he knows than with a stranger.”

“Hmm, that’s not wrong, but…”

Deron looked like he reluctantly agreed. He seemed more disappointed than I was. *Is it because he’s a Duke of the North?* He seems quite sensitive about parenting issues.

“And I have other things to do right now.”

“Are you talking about the Grand Duke?”

“Well, that too, but…”

*Whirr—*

The passing wind brushed my cheek again. My face was about to stiffen on its own, so I let out a long sigh.

“…It looks like I’m going to be very busy from now on.”

* * *

“Blaster?”

I nodded at the question. Leaning out the window wasn’t enough, so I had climbed onto the roof. Feeling the wind from the highest point made the strange sensation even more distinct. Lapis, who was also standing next to me in the wind, was frowning deeply.

“You’re saying that the Wind Sword has started to go berserk?”

“Yeah, the flow of air is unusual. It doesn’t feel natural.”

“It definitely feels sharp. This is more like bloodlust than wind. If it gets any stronger, it could cut people, couldn’t it?”

“‘Could’? The problem is that it really is happening. If we leave it alone, everywhere it goes will be devastated. It’ll be a moving disaster.”

“Then we just need to catch it before that happens.”

I sighed at his ‘what’s the problem?’ look. I wanted to tell him that if it were that easy, I wouldn’t be worrying about this in the first place.

“We need to know where it is to catch it. How can we catch it when we don’t even know where this energy is coming from?”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“It’s hiding! It’s using Minerva’s unique abilities right now! And it’s specialized in avoiding the eyes of the spirits! It would be easier to find if it was completely berserk, but it’s not at that point yet, so it’s not visible!”

“Then we can just wait for it to go completely berserk and then catch it.”

“No! Then it’ll be completely corrupted and beyond saving! We won’t even have a chance to purify it; we’ll just have to destroy it!”

“What do you want me to do?”

“I don’t know! That’s why I’m angry right now!”

Lapis was speechless at my outburst. Even at this moment, the subtle foreignness mixed in the wind was stimulating me. A non-king using the power of a king. The instinctive revulsion made goosebumps rise all over my body. I understood why the spirits had avoided Blaster all this time: an innate aversion to something with a fundamentally different form. It was almost the same feeling as when humans feel disgusted by bugs. Memories of hating cockroaches in my past life came to mind, and I gritted my teeth.

“Ah, damn it. Minerva must have felt it by now. Instead of staying still, he’s provoking the king as much as possible! Even if there’s a request from the previous generation, if Minerva changes her mind and decides to destroy him, there’s nothing I can do. Well, he must be out of his mind to go berserk! There hadn’t been any signs until now. Why is it suddenly accelerating?”

“I don’t know if you’re worrying or getting angry. But I do know that your personality is getting worse and worse.”

“Do you want to die?”

I glared at him coldly, but Lapis just shrugged with a nonchalant expression. The quick-witted guy was also good at handling situations. He immediately asked a question to change the subject, and before I could punish him, the conversation continued.

“If it’s hiding, does that mean it’s quiet now? Does that mean it’s still okay?”

“Huh? Um, no. It’s already dangerous enough. It’s going to do something to accelerate its rampage.”

“What’s that?”

“Murder.”

Lapis’s eyes widened slightly at the unexpected answer.

“The more blood it sheds, the stronger its evil energy becomes. It’s the best food for a demonized spirit sword. It’ll instinctively try to kill people.”

“Then we can just follow the trail.”

The explanation was for Lapis, but the response came from a completely different direction. When I turned around, I saw Deron standing as still as a painting, As was with him. I had been chasing the energy mixed in the wind and hadn’t even noticed the two demons climbing onto the roof.

“Since it’s a city, news of any murders will spread quickly. We might be able to lure it to us.”

“Lure it?”

“Demonic energy is quite similar to evil energy. If we spread it around, it might feel the energy and be drawn to it.”

“Ah.”

I hadn’t thought of that method. I exclaimed without realizing it, and As smiled brightly. He spread his palm as if to show off and drew up his energy. The chilling sensation felt quite similar to evil energy. It seemed like it could easily fool a half-crazed spirit.

“We’ll go around spreading our energy. The spirit sword should be quite sensitive by now, so it’ll react even if we’re a little far away. We’ll let you know as soon as we find a trace.”

“Ah, then I’ll go with you…”

“No. It’s better for El to stay away from this plan. We’re not sure if it’ll really work, and it might sense the king’s energy and run away. And we need someone to stay with the boy Ray, don’t we?”

That was definitely true. I didn’t insist and chose to back down quietly. I didn’t want to cause trouble when I was already relying on them.

“Lapis. Dragon magic is also a great stimulant, just like evil energy. You’ll have to cooperate. Don’t even think about escaping.”

“…Tch.”

Lapis, who had been subtly backing away, was caught and clicked his tongue quietly. I chuckled at the sight, but then I felt someone hugging me tightly from the side. I didn’t even need to turn around to know who it was. As was the only one who would touch me like this.

“Then I’ll be off, Great Uncle. I’ll bring good news.”

“Okay, thank you, As. Be careful not to get hurt, just in case.”

“Okay, okay. Will you praise me if I succeed?”

“Of course. I’ll praise you even if you don’t succeed.”

“Hehe.”

I ruffled As’s hair, which was now quite big. He was no longer a child. His mental age was probably the same. Nevertheless, I was proud and grateful that As still remained a cute little nephew in front of me.

“You guys are having fun. Hey, aren’t you coming? You better work two or three times harder than I do, since you’re using me!”

Lapis shouted from afar. After reluctantly letting go of As, I grumbled unhappily.

“Now that I think about it, no one should say anything about my personality, especially Lapis. He has the worst personality of all.”

“Great Uncle, you’re right. Why are you saying something so obvious?”

“Right? You think so too, don’t you?”

“Of course.”

As smiled brightly with a sparkling face. It was an angelic smile that would make everyone who saw it admire him.

“To be honest, Eunin is annoying.”

…Maybe As is the strongest of us all.

* * *

Unlike their spirited departure, the three of them didn’t send any news for days. They seemed to be hanging around nearby for a while, but then their presence disappeared, which meant they had gone quite far. During that time, Ray continued to sleep. There was nothing wrong with his physical functions, but he couldn’t seem to regain consciousness. It seemed like it was taking time for him to accept the new heart.

It was on the third day after the group left to find Blaster that Ray regained consciousness. I heard a faint groan and went to the bed, where I saw Ray squirming. His peaceful face was now contorted, and his eyelids fluttered. The pupils that began to appear beneath his slowly rising eyelashes were a green color that resembled new sprouts. It was a color that went well with the boy’s grayish-brown hair. I quietly watched as the pupils, which had been blurry and unfocused, gradually became clearer. Finally, the large, fully opened pupils stared straight at me.

“Hello.”

“…”

I smiled and spoke, but there was no response. At first, Ray didn’t seem to recognize the situation properly. The child blinked several times with a blank expression, then took his eyes off me and slowly looked around. He looked at the ceiling and walls once each, then looked down at his feet, and finally looked back at me.

“…Who are you?”

“I’m El. I’m your mom’s friend.”

“Mom’s… friend?”

The child, who had seemed wary, blinked his eyes wide at those words. Seeing the longing and sadness filling his clearly shaking expression, I was sure that my guess was correct.

“Really, you’re our mom’s friend?”

“Yeah. Your name is Ray, right? You lived alone with your mom.”

“…Yes.”

“We met once before, but you don’t seem to remember.”

“I see. But why am I here?”

“Do you remember what you did before you fell asleep?”

“Before I fell asleep?”

Ray looked a little flustered and then began to retrace his memories. He seemed to be having trouble organizing his thoughts, perhaps because he had just woken up from a deep sleep.

“My uncle’s friend… came to pick me up.”

“Uncle’s friend?”

“Yes. He said my uncle was looking for me urgently. He said he would take me there, so I went with him. I rode in a carriage… He said I could stay with Rin in the meantime. So I played with Rin. But my uncle’s friend took me to a dark place.”

His tone was calm, but the content was incoherent and difficult to understand. Still, I could tell that the one who took him to the dark place was on the Grand Duke’s side. Luring him by saying he would take him there. It was a really obvious kidnapping.

“Um. Who is the uncle, and who is Rin?”

“The uncle is the one who saved me. Later… Ah, he said he would be my father.”

“So there was a guardian after all. Then who is Rin?”

“Rin is my friend! She’s a fairy. She’s very pretty.”

For the first time, a bright smile bloomed on Ray’s hardened face. Hearing the word ‘fairy,’ I had a feeling who he was talking about. It seemed to be the name he had given to Naias. Seeing his face light up just by mentioning her name, I could tell how much affection he had given her. I swallowed my bitter feelings, and Ray stared at me intently. His sparkling eyes reminded me of As, and I smiled.

“Why?”

“You look like Rin.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You look a lot like her. Your hair and eye color are the same blue. You’re as pretty as a fairy. Rin would be amazed if she saw you. Can I call Rin?”

“Huh? No, that’s…”

“Rin! Come out! Rin, where are you? Rin!”

The child, who had jumped up, shouted enthusiastically at his surroundings. Of course, Rin didn’t appear in response. Ray’s bright expression gradually hardened.

“…Rin?”

“Ray. I’m sorry. Rin can’t come anymore.”

I couldn’t watch any longer, so I soon told him the truth. Ray turned around with a blank expression.

“Rin can’t come?”

“No.”

“…Why?”

“Rin… had something urgent to do. So she had to go far away.”

I had tried to soften the blow by putting it in a roundabout way. But it didn’t seem to work that way for Ray. His eyes, filled with agitation, blinked rapidly, and in a moment, tears like beads began to fall. I felt embarrassed by the sudden reaction, and the words that followed were even more embarrassing.

“Maybe… Rin, is she dead?”

“…!”