Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 33

33. Episode 33

“Huh! Wh-what is this! A person?”

I quickly bent down and examined the fallen figure closely. The person lying unconscious was a boy around my age. His face was contorted as if he had suffered a seizure and was covered in cold sweat. Flustered, I grabbed the boy, trying to wake him up.

“Hey! Are you okay? Hey…”

At that moment, a strange sensation ran through my skin, sending shivers down my spine. It felt like touching dry mushrooms—a rough, brittle feeling.

“Huk, there’s no mana in his body… right? What is this? How can he be alive like this? Is he really human? Ah, wait a minute! Could it be that this kid summoned me?”

I should have realized it when I noticed that there was no one else around. But even now, seeing it with my own eyes, I couldn’t easily believe it. The boy who summoned me (or is presumed to have summoned me) looked human in every way.

‘What? Humans are supposed to have a hard time summoning me! Then is he perhaps not human? A polymorphed dragon?’

Since dragons can transform into humans, it’s highly possible. But there were too many strange things to accept it right away. First of all, dragons are said to be creatures of mana, with mana filling their entire bodies. How could such a being become exhausted to the point of fainting just from summoning me?

“Ugh, this isn’t the time for this. He’s going to die. I need to restore his mana first…”

I carefully poured some of the mana surrounding me into the boy’s body. It was a method Ellyuen had taught me, saying it would be useful when I eventually made a contract (a magical agreement between a spirit and a mortal).

Then, the boy’s pale complexion visibly improved. Soon, the boy, moving his body, groaned and slowly began to open his eyes. Delighted, I leaned my face close to his.

“Hey! Did you summon me? Are you human or a dragon?”

…I think I went a bit too far. To ask someone what their race is as the first question when they haven’t even fully regained consciousness.

Fortunately, the other person barely registered my question. The boy just blinked blankly for a while with a dazed expression, as if he were dreaming. And after a long time, he moved his parched lips.

“You… who? …Blue hair… a dream?”

His voice was too small and completely cracked, making it hard to understand. I barely understood what he was saying and frowned.

“What? You summoned me and don’t remember? I’m El… no, I should introduce myself formally at times like this. My name is Elquines. Don’t you remember summoning me?”

“Elquines…? What… is that… Elquines?!”

Suddenly!

The boy, who had suddenly raised his body, grabbed my collar—or rather, my throat—in an instant. As I was flustered by the unexpected action, he shook me up and down, shouting like a scream.

“Why did you do it! Why did you do it! Tell me! Tell me!”

“Wh-what? What on earth…? Hey, let go and talk! I’m getting dizzy!”

“Shut up! Answer me quickly! Why did you do it? Why! Because of you, I… my father! Why!”

His unfocused eyes weren’t normal. This guy hasn’t fully woken up yet. But how could he have such monstrous strength in such a state, and what was with the endless questioning? I was about to catch a Saint Spirit [a fit of anger] just by asking about his race.

I began to think fiercely about how to solve this difficult situation. Even as I did, he continued to shake me and press me.

“Tell me! Tell me! Answer me quickly! Hurry!”

In the end, I couldn’t stand it and exploded.

“Ugh! How am I supposed to answer if I don’t know what you’re talking about! Let go of me and talk, you son of a b*tch!”

“Elquines!”

“Yes! My name is Elquines, so stop calling me and shut up! Just because you’re my summoner? Are you ignoring me too because the dragons are all over me? Aish! Why does everything always turn out like this for me!”

What summoner in the world would shake the Spirit King they summoned at the cost of their life and badger them without any plan! And it’s not like there’s a reason! He doesn’t even explain what’s going on and just tells me to answer… Am I a genius? Or does he think I have the insight like Troel and can read people’s minds? If that’s what he wanted, he should have summoned Troel from the start! Why summon someone like me and make each other suffer!

As I glared at him, huffing and puffing, he seemed to have calmed down a bit and stopped shaking me. His face was a little dazed.

“Really… Elquines?”

“Haa. Yes, it’s Elquines. How are you going to use it with so much suspicion? Ah, right. You’re not a dragon, are you? You must be human, seeing how suspicious you are. Right?”

He didn’t react to my blatant sarcasm. He’s obviously still not in his right mind. Does he have sleepwalking or something?

‘Geez, it wouldn’t be more pathetic to babble to a sleeping person.’

I frowned and gently pushed away the arm of the guy holding my collar.

“You can see me, so it seems the summoning was successful. What were you thinking…”

“Make a contract with me!”

“…….”

I stopped talking and stared at him with a dumbfounded look. Not even a minute after he finished his endless badgering… what? Now he’s asking me to make a contract?

From beginning to end, something feels off. Is this guy… mentally sound?

Wondering if I had been summoned by a crazy human, I looked at him again with uneasy eyes. He has a haggard complexion, but his fair skin and decent features make him quite handsome.

The curly short blonde hair had a good texture that sparkled even in the moonlight, and the clothes he was wearing were plain but overall neat. No matter how I looked at him, he didn’t look like someone who was crazy and roaming the streets.

After much deliberation, I concluded that he was temporarily out of his mind because he had consumed too much mana. Well, he was in a pretty dangerous state, even to me.

‘So it’s okay to make a contract, right?’

The 찝찝한 [unpleasant] feeling still remained, but I thought it would be better to make a contract since I came all the way here. If I miss this opportunity, who knows when someone else will call me again.

‘Let’s see, how to make a contract…’

After briefly recalling my memories, I easily remembered the contract method and stared intently at the boy. He made a noticeably uneasy expression when he received my gaze.

“A-am I not good enough? Can’t you make a contract?”

“What? No, it’s not that. Anyone who succeeds in summoning has the right to make a contract, regardless of race. My name is Elquines, the Water Spirit King. What’s yours?”

“……Isana. Isana Ranne Swalt…….”

“Ah, I see. Isana, you say.”

I nodded, then drew water energy into one hand and wrote his name in the air. Then, transparent letters, as if written on a mirror, began to appear clearly, and a long contract made of water unfolded below it.

“Heok!”

Isana seemed surprised by the sight and gasped, widening his eyes. But I was just as surprised. No matter what anyone said, this was my first time making a contract.

‘Wow, so that’s how you do it.’

I swallowed the exclamation that was coming out and pretended to be calm on the outside, and began to say the phrase that had to be recited during the contract.

“Isana Ranne Swalt. By fulfilling this contract with me, you provide the power to bring me into this world, and in return, I promise to be your aide. Do you agree to this contract?”

He nodded hastily. But judging from his still cloudy eyes, he seemed to think this situation was a dream. Wouldn’t he be very surprised when he comes to his senses later?

I smiled and then placed my palm in the middle of the fully unfolded contract. Then, the contract turned into water in an instant and quickly seeped into my hand. The energy that seeped in gathered at the tips of my index and middle fingers, shining a bright blue light.

‘Next, this…’

I brought the bluish energy that had formed on my finger to Isana’s forehead as it was. Then, a clear drop of water shattered, and a beautiful blue snowflake pattern began to be engraved on his forehead. It was the Water Seal, signifying that he had contracted with a spirit.

This seal was only visible to spirits, and from now on, Isana could be treated as the contractor of the king by my lower spirits wherever he went. Of course, I had only heard about it, but this was the first time I had actually seen it.

‘It’s over…….’

I breathed a sigh of relief that I had successfully completed the first contract without any major mistakes. But at that moment, Isana, who had been standing still, suddenly lost consciousness and fell to the side.

“Ike!”

When I was flustered and quickly caught him, I saw his face already deep in sleep. It seemed that the shock was too great, both physically and mentally.

“Hmm, I need to tell you the declaration that the contract is complete and other precautions… well, it can’t be helped. I can do this when you wake up later. Anyway, thank you for your hard work.”

I smiled and gently patted the head of the guy who was breathing heavily. Now that I see it, I feel much lighter. It seemed that the restrictions on the power I had to receive here were slightly lifted as a contractor was created.

‘Hoo, this is good?’

Now, as long as Isana is alive, I can enjoy the play in the human world as much as I want. Recalling that fact, the unpleasant feeling I had at first because of him seemed to disappear in an instant.

But the excited feeling didn’t last long.

“But… what should I do from now on?”

I sat down holding his head and looked around with difficulty. When I thought about it, it wasn’t a situation where I could just be happy that I had made a contract. The surroundings were surrounded by mountains, and everything was dark. There was no place for people to live anywhere, let alone a private house.

Above all, I don’t know his identity or where he lives except for Isana’s name. The conclusion is that I was left alone with a strange boy in a strange place I had never seen before…….

“What. What do you want me to do?”

Only my bewildered voice echoed futilely into the air.

* * *

After writhing in boredom for a while, I decided to grab any spirit nearby and make them my conversational partner. Fortunately, I saw সিকুয়েল [Sikuel, a spirit] wandering not far away. He was out on patrol a few days ahead of schedule for the heavy rain that would soon pour down on this area, and he said that he had run to me as soon as he found me here.

“Hmm, so the closest private house here is at least three hours away?”

―Yes, that’s right. Your Majesty. Even then, it is a small private house with less than 50 households.

“I see.”

‘In the end, that means I walked all the way up here for at least a few hours…….’

I looked at Isana, who was lying on my lap, with a complicated feeling. He woke up all of my sleep with an untimely summoning in the middle of the night, but the person in charge was fast asleep like an innocent child.

Why was he, who was still young, alone in a place like this without a guardian?

This place is not as scientifically developed as Korea, so there are no streetlights, no flashy lights on the signs, and no car lights. In the evening, you can only distinguish objects with the small amount of light emitted by the moon and stars in the sky.

I was born as a Spirit King, so my eyesight is extremely good, so I have no problem seeing even in the dark, but isn’t this guy Isana an ordinary human? I thought he had managed to get here alone.

‘I don’t think I’ve been able to wash for a few days, but looking at my nutritional status, I don’t think I’ve lived a hard life.’

“What should I do? Should I go to the village?”

―That doesn’t seem like a good idea. Humans become more wary at night. They will not welcome visits from strangers.

“But I can’t leave Isana like this. It’s almost autumn now. It’s okay during the day, but it’s quite cold in the evening, so if I leave it like this, I might catch a cold.”

―In that case, you just need to keep it warm, right? It will be fine if you call the Fire Spirits.

“What? Is that okay? What if there’s a fire?”

―What does it matter when Elquines is here?

“Ah, that’s right. I can just turn it off.”

I scratched my head, feeling embarrassed even when I thought about it myself. I feel like I’m getting dumber and dumber, but that must be a 착각 [chakgak, delusion], right? Yes, it’s just a 착각 [chakgak, delusion].

―Anyway, in my personal opinion, I think it would be best to stay here until it is confirmed whether this boy can go down to the village.

“What are you talking about?”

At সিকুয়েল’s [Sikuel’s] calm answer, I widened my eyes. You need to check if you can go down to the village? Then does that mean that this guy might not be able to go down to the village?

সিকুয়েল [Sikuel], looking at me as if he was wondering how to explain it, frowned slightly (he’s a wolf at best, but he has a variety of expressions) and carefully continued.

―I don’t know if it’s a presumptuous thought, but if you’re someone who comes to a mountain far from the village on such a deep night, I don’t think you’re an ordinary human.

“……Are you being chased by someone?”

―I probably think so. If you go down to the village, you will inevitably get caught up in troublesome things.

“Hmm, is that so.”

Maybe I’ve become an accomplice to a huge criminal?

But I soon dismissed the thought. To summon a spirit, you need a high level of natural affinity. And having an affinity for nature meant that your heart was upright and pure. You have to cherish and cherish everything around you and watch over it to increase your affinity. Of course, that’s not always the case, but for that reason, Ellyuen and all the other Spirit Kings have concluded that there are no natural villains among the spirit masters.

Besides, I didn’t think that a young man who looked like he was only my age had committed a heinous crime that would cause him to run away from people. Could it be that he ran away from home due to unavoidable circumstances? Yes, maybe like me in the past.

That’s when I was carefully drawing inferences in my mind.

“What did you do to Isana?”

“Heok……?”

I was startled by the sudden low voice. At the same time, I felt a cold, hard sensation on my neck. I glanced down and could see a sharp piece of silver metal. Someone was holding a large sword to me.