Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 325

325. The Murderer Was Caught

The murderer was caught? I reflexively turned to look at the bed. The Duke was still lying there, unconscious. If the culprit is here, who on earth was caught? Deron, mirroring my actions, was also frowning deeply.

“What on earth is going on?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

The surroundings were noisy. Listening carefully, I could hear talk about a murderer caught on the main street and the brave citizens who apprehended him. I’m probably just being overly sensitive, worrying about those two who haven’t returned at times like this. I tried to ignore it, but I couldn’t help but sigh.

“Let’s check it out. See what’s happening.”

* * *

To cut to the chase, there was no need to go looking for Lapis and As. As soon as I expanded my senses to locate them, I found them returning to the inn. Moreover, they were riding in a four-wheeled carriage, escorted by soldiers in uniform, whether they were from the Royal Guard or the city guard.

But what surprised me more than that was something else entirely. Lapis’s appearance was different from what I knew. To be precise, how was it different…….

“We’re here.”

Waiting at the entrance, the carriage soon stopped in front of the inn. As got out first, followed by Lapis. No, to be exact, he was about to get out. But before he could, a soldier offered his hand.

“Please watch your step.”

“…….”

It was a kindness not extended to As, who had gotten out earlier. After a moment of silence, Lapis took his hand, seemingly lost in thought. As his radiant hair was revealed, the atmosphere among the soldiers seemed to change. They all seemed shy, as if suffering from the throes of first love, which made me even more bewildered. But the reason soon became clear. Eventually, a girl as beautiful as a sculpture completely revealed herself.

Yes. It was a girl.

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

I had already confirmed it, but seeing it again didn’t make the absurd feeling go away. Rather, seeing the vivid reality with my own eyes made the shock even greater.

“Is that… perhaps Lapis?”

Deron, who had witnessed the same sight as me, also asked in a dazed voice. “I guess so.” I nodded blankly. If the face was different, I might have been able to accept it as someone else. But the features were so similar that I couldn’t even try to deny it. It was a bit absurd that a face that looked like a man now looked like a natural-born woman. Anyway, there couldn’t be two people in the world who looked like that.

“Godfather!”

I couldn’t even pretend to know him and just watched, but As recognized me first and ran over. The soldiers, who had been넋이 잃고 [넋이 잃다 (neoksi ilhda) means to be absent-minded or to lose one’s soul] by the girl’s beauty, turned around at the shout and widened their eyes when they found me. Lapis also looked this way and smirked.

Smirk?

Is this a time to be smiling?

While affectionately stroking the head of the big kid who was hugging me tightly, I frowned at the absurdity. What was the reason for this extreme escort, and why had Lapis, who had left as a handsome adult male, returned as a girl? Just then, a soldier who was looking back and forth between me and him hurriedly ran over. Just looking at his flushed face, I knew what he was thinking, which made me feel even worse.

“E-excuse me. Are you perhaps with these people?”

“Um, yes. This one is definitely with me. …I guess that one is too.”

“Haha, I don’t think you need to say that. Seeing how much they resemble each other, I can tell at a glance that they are sisters. You are both so beautiful.”

Yeah, I knew they’d mistake us for that.

They say you can’t tell they’re alike just by the color of their hair and eyes. I don’t know why these premonitions always come true. As even called me Godfather outright, but I don’t know if he didn’t hear it, or if he heard it and just ignored it. Besides, what’s with suddenly saying we’re beautiful? Is that supposed to be a compliment? “Puhaha!” A sound of outright laughter burst out. While I was glaring at Lapis, who was clutching his stomach and laughing, the excited soldier continued.

“Today, the sisters have done a really great job. On behalf of the guard, I would like to express my gratitude once again.”

“……What did she do?”

“They made a great contribution to arresting the heinous murderer who was a headache for the capital.”

“…….”

At the boastful words, I couldn’t hide my dumbfounded expression this time either. I had thought there would be a connection since I heard the story that a murderer had been caught out of the blue, but I never thought they would be the ones who caught him. I don’t know what’s going on. I stared at Lapis silently. Sensing my gaze, Lapis waved his hand as he walked over.

“I’ll tell you the details. You guys can go now.”

“Ah, yes! I understand. I’m sorry for the intrusion. Then I’ll come to pick you up tomorrow.”

‘Pick me up?’

I was flustered by the incomprehensible words, but Lapis just nodded. As if it was a prearranged story, there was no separate explanation.

“Please come with your sister and grace the occasion. We’ll prepare it together.”

The soldier who had saluted and turned around spoke to me. Then, without waiting for my answer, he got on his horse and left. It was only a moment before the troops that had been filling the surroundings retreated with the carriage.

“Hey, did you hear? Judging by their appearance, they must be nobles, right? They caught the murderer!”

“Amazing! Those who look so young!”

People who had been watching the scene inside and outside the inn finally began to stir at ease. Listening to the sound with one ear and letting it flow out, I stared straight at Lapis. It would have been nice if he looked embarrassed, but this brazen lizard was just smiling leisurely even in this situation. The beauty that had overwhelmed everyone when he was a man was radiating from the body of a girl, and everyone around him couldn’t breathe. I sighed, trying to hold back the urge to grab my head.

“……Explain properly. What happened.”

* * *

The whole story of this absurd incident, as explained by Lapis, was as follows. After scattering to lure Blister, he and As began searching around the back alleys and brothels, focusing on the red-light district. It was the opposite route from me and Deron, who had been wandering around mainly in the downtown area. The two spent quite a long time wandering around, but didn’t get any particular results. Later, they tried moving to the more crowded side, but the result was the same. Everyone who made eye contact with them just slipped away, and no one spoke to them or approached them. Around that time, As raised a question.

“Could it be that 은인 [Eunin – honorific title] looks too strong, so they can’t touch him?”

“Well, I do look strong at first glance.”

Lapis agreed naturally. In fact, I had to admit that part, because he was tall and had a solid build as if he had been tailored, so he looked like a martial artist at a glance. Just as a 명검 [Myeonggeom – Master sword] is beautiful to look at, even his 화사하고 [Hwasa 하고 – splendid and showy] overwhelming beauty felt like it revealed strength. It could be said that the more colorful it is, the more poison it contains. In a word, he didn’t look like an easy target anywhere. As pointed this out.

“The Duke is looking for Isana anyway. He’ll only remember her old appearance, so he might be watching and targeting the younger and weaker ones more than the strong ones.”

“Hmm, that makes sense.”

“How about changing 은인’s appearance? Lowering the age range significantly.”

“I guess so.”

Up to this point, it wasn’t a bad idea. But right then, As’s curiosity was suddenly sparked.

“But 은인, is it true that dragons are bisexual?”

“It’s true.”

“I’ve never seen a bisexual before.”

“What else haven’t you seen? You haven’t even been born for a few years.”

“Then can 은인 be a woman too?”

“Why are you asking the obvious?”

“What does 은인 look like when she’s a woman?”

“Well, she’s the most beautiful woman on earth. No, even the goddess of beauty isn’t prettier than me.”

“Wow, I’m curious. Can you show me?”

“Show you?”

“Yeah!”

“Don’t fall in love.”

Thus, Lapis presented the final completed version that was combined with the previous plan. In a word, he polymorphed into the appearance of a young woman.

“How is that different from the man’s appearance?”

“The body shape is different. The voice has changed too.”

“…….”

As was somewhat disappointed, but that’s another matter. Anyway, since they had changed their appearance, the two walked around the streets as they were. They didn’t expect much, but an unexpected result soon appeared. Before they knew it, a faint murderous intent began to follow them. It wasn’t certain whether it was Blister, but it was certain that they had become someone’s target.

“Let’s lure them to where Godfather is.”

As suggested this time as well, and Lapis nodded. So the two of them started moving in the direction where I was, or rather, in the direction where Deron’s magic was felt. But as they were about to leave the back alley, the opponent seemed to be in a hurry. Just as they were about to step out into the square, murderous intent suddenly sprang out from behind. To be exact, men in masks holding daggers.

“It was faster than I thought. But it was quite clumsy anyway.”

That was Lapis’s assessment when he recalled the time. Even though he said it was clumsy, if the expression ‘fast’ came out of Lapis’s mouth, it meant that they were quite skilled. They were probably deserters or mercenaries. Lapis, who had turned around thinking it was Blister, quickly realized that they were human and couldn’t help but be disappointed. As was the same.

At first, they thought it was an ordinary (?) robber targeting passersby. But they were attacking Lapis specifically. If they were robbers, they would try to threaten and bargain first, but the murderous intent was thicker. The intention to kill them outright was obvious at a glance.

“Hey, isn’t it a waste to kill that one?”

“But she has blonde hair and blue eyes. Is being pretty a big deal? When you die and rot, it’s all the same.”

“That’s true, but.”

They heard them whispering to each other. Lapis soon judged the situation. It was a copycat crime. As a series of murders by an unknown perpetrator began to occur, some idle people began to imitate the crime. The two, who had no intention of letting them off in the first place, became even more unpleasant at the pathetic intention. So they immediately subdued the masked men and beat them mercilessly. Because they screamed so loudly, everyone nearby witnessed the situation. The news spread quickly, and crowds of onlookers gathered and cheered.

“The serial killer has been caught! They caught the killer!”

“……That’s what happened.”

“…….”

Lapis, who was comfortably buried in the sofa, finished all the explanations. Since he was still in the form of a woman, his thin, high voice was unfamiliar, but now was not the time to worry about that. I nodded calmly after being speechless for a while.

“Okay, I understand the situation. But what about those soldiers?”

“They said they were the capital’s security forces. They heard the news and rushed over, so we got caught.”

“Why were you just standing there until the security forces came? You could have handed the criminals over to anyone and just slipped away.”

“They showed up too quickly, so there was no time. They said they were on their way to report that a murderer had appeared. We got caught in the middle.”

“…….”

It’s because of me!

I felt a little pricked because I thought I knew where the report came from. Come to think of it, I thought the appearance of people was later than I thought. That’s because they 빠져서 [Ppajyeoseo – to be engrossed] to Lapis’s side in the middle! Lapis, who was quick to notice, seemed to have grasped the expression at a glance. His eyes narrowed immediately.

“Was it you?”

“N-no, my side was the real Blister, you know? He suddenly appeared, so it wasn’t a situation where I could clean up the surroundings or anything.”

“Tsk. So did you solve it?”

“Yeah, I recovered it properly. Black Mina came and took it. The Duke is unconscious, so I laid him down inside.”

The accommodation we have now is the best room in this inn, with a separate living room and bedroom. As soon as we came in, we sat down in the living room and started talking, so there was no chance to show the Duke in the bedroom. Still, if you pay a little attention, it’s easy for those who easily notice that there is one more breath in the room, so they must have already noticed it. As expected, neither As nor Lapis showed any new interest.

“Well, that’s good then.”

Perhaps because the result was good, there was no particular rebuke. I glanced at Lapis, who was burying himself in the sofa again. The face is the same, but is it because it’s the appearance of a girl? It felt a little more difficult to treat him as if I was facing another person. Besides, he didn’t seem to feel awkward at all about his changed gender. He was so natural, as if he had been a woman from the beginning, that I didn’t feel any sense of incongruity. I knew that dragons were bisexual, but it was the first time I felt that point so clearly. Of course, the cautious feeling didn’t last long. I soon realized that Lapis was still Lapis, no matter how his appearance changed. In a very disturbing way.

“But what was that about earlier? About coming to pick me up tomorrow.”

“Ah, they said they have to commend us for catching the evil murderer who put the capital in fear. They’re going to hold a congratulatory banquet at the Imperial Palace?”

“……Why is the story progressing like that?”

The content he spat out so casually was so shocking that I couldn’t help but be stunned. A banquet. And it’s a banquet held at the Imperial Palace? Lapis smirked at my bewildered expression.