Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 377

Chapter 377

Asel, who had been gazing wistfully in the direction the Crown Prince had left, made eye contact with me and hastily lowered his head.

“U-Um, I apologize for the late greeting. I’m sorry, I, um, I’m meeting the Spirit King.”

“Haha, what’s with the formality, Asel? Just treat me like you always do.”

“H-Haha, but, I never imagined you would be the Spirit King…”

“It’s okay, just treat me like before. Only my identity has changed, nothing else.”

“That’s a huge change though…”

I pretended not to hear his muttering, though I felt a little stung. At that moment, Serium, who had been hesitating next to Asel, cautiously asked.

“Um, but can you really see that far from here? Enough to distinguish each person?”

“Ah, yes. I answered that already, didn’t I?”

When I nodded, his eyes instantly sharpened. If he had a light bulb on his head, it would have lit up at that moment. His gaze was so intense that I almost flinched when he leaned in close.

“I think you said earlier that you could find anyone anywhere if you wanted to. Can you really see everything from this spot?”

“Well… if it’s a place where spirits are.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can share their vision whenever I want.”

“So… you really are the Spirit King?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Really, you’re really the Water Spirit King?”

“Does it not seem like it?”

“Ah, no. I’m not doubting you. It’s just that it feels unreal…”

Well, I guess so. On the outside, I look like a human no matter who sees me, so even if I say I’m a spirit, it probably doesn’t feel real. It’s probably rare to believe it so readily like Asel. It wasn’t something to be particularly unpleasant about, so I just shrugged. Still, he seemed much less nervous now that he was showing curiosity. The flow was a little different from what I had expected, but I was glad that the atmosphere had changed.

“Ah, but if it’s Danimel, isn’t that the person Alex was trying to investigate? He said he was going to search Sage Danimel’s mansion too, right? I wondered why he was being investigated, but it seems like there’s something to it.”

“Gasp! T-That’s true… but how did you know that?”

“I’ve been watching.”

“…!”

“In that sense, you don’t have to look around the aqueduct here. I’ve been watching it since yesterday, but there wasn’t anything suspicious.”

Everyone’s eyes widened as if they hadn’t expected such an answer. Even Sibelius, who had been calm all along, showed a look of bewilderment this time.

“Yesterday? El, you were here before us?”

“Ah, yeah. I thought you were coming this way, so I came ahead and waited.”

“You didn’t just stop by for a moment.”

Sibelius’s gaze settled on me. He seemed to have judged that I had something important enough to him to come and wait in advance. It wasn’t exactly wrong, so I smiled wryly.

“I’ll explain the details later. For now, shall we follow the Crown Prince? I’m worried about sending him off like that.”

Zooming in on my vision, I saw the Crown Prince heading towards the front door. It seemed he was planning to confront the President who was out there directly. Since the distance was already too far to catch up on foot, the group decided to take an extreme shortcut: the window right in front of them. It was on the 3rd floor, so it wasn’t exactly low, but it was a manageable height. The knights each took care of themselves, and Sibelius simply solved the problem by carrying Alisa and Asel on either side and jumping down. I checked that everyone had landed safely and turned to look at Serium, who was left alone.

“What are you going to do? Do you want me to help you?”

“No. I can go down alone.”

Unlike his resolute answer, Serium didn’t go down right away. After hesitating at the window for a while, he turned to me with a serious face the next moment. I thought he needed help after all, but what followed was different from what I expected.

“But you really are the Spirit King, right?”

“…”

He really had an unnecessarily thorough personality.

* * *

“No, but it’s too unrealistic. The Spirit King is a mysterious being with almost no known information, let alone historical records. It’s not to the extent of defining them as fictional objects like unicorns, but they felt like gods that humans couldn’t dare to approach. How can I feel real when such a being is right in front of me, laughing, talking, and even living with me?”

Serium, who had become discouraged after receiving my gentle ribbing, was desperate to justify his actions. The others were also making expressions of agreement, though they couldn’t openly defend him. Even Alisa was staring at me intently, as if her interest in me had deepened. I could feel such gazes even from Alex and the knights, who were following from a distance, hiding their presence. It was annoying, but it wasn’t that I was particularly displeased with their curiosity, so I let out a light sigh.

“Okay. What’s so amazing about it?”

“Everything is amazing, but if I had to pick the most amazing thing… it would be that you have such a clear form even though you’re a spirit? The spirits I’ve seen so far have all had blurry forms.”

“The Spirit King has a higher degree of completion of the temporary body manifested here. Generally, spirits are involved in this world in an indirect form, but the Spirit King is an exception.”

“Temporary body? So, your current form isn’t your real form?”

“My appearance is the same. But originally, I didn’t have a body. Basically, spirits are closer to spiritual bodies.”

“S-So, does that mean you’re invisible?”

“I’m invisible. I was with you earlier, but you didn’t see me.”

“Huh? Were you with us the whole time back then? Not watching from somewhere else and teleporting over?”

“I was with you. To be exact, I was in that spot before you guys even appeared in the room. I just put on a body when I revealed myself.”

“Hoo…”

Serium was so shocked that he kept swallowing nervously. It had become a daily occurrence for me, so I didn’t pay much attention to it, but it seemed that the concept of freely taking off and putting on a body was quite radical for ordinary people. Asel, who was also unable to hide his surprised expression, hesitated and opened his mouth.

“Um, I have one question I’d like to ask.”

“Go ahead.”

“If you’re a spiritual body, shouldn’t I have been able to see you? If not me, then Sibelius should have recognized you…”

“Ah, about that…”

“What we can see are the undead. No one can see natural spirits.”

It was Sibelius who continued the explanation from the side. Asel’s eyes widened.

“Really? Is that so?”

“Spirits are spiritual bodies, but their structure is completely different. We can see traces or energy left by spirits if we look closely, but you can’t really say we recognize them. Only other spirits can perfectly see their forms in worlds other than the spirit realm. Maybe only high-ranking gods among the gods can see them?”

“I see. That’s the first time I’ve heard that. That’s really amazing.”

“It’s a fortunate thing for you. Even if you could see them, you wouldn’t have been able to accurately distinguish between the undead and spirits. Your life would have been more difficult.”

It wasn’t just me who felt the emotion of caring for him was melted into his nonchalant tone. He seemed to be slowly opening his heart, and now he seemed to have given his group quite a bit of trust. While Asel was making an embarrassed expression, Serium was busily taking out something and writing. He couldn’t hide his desire to record this fact even in the dark and while moving. Was he always such a burdensome person? I thought he was easygoing but basically kept his distance, but it felt like his character had suddenly changed. Asel apologized on his behalf, sensing that I was looking at him with a sour expression.

“I’m sorry, El. Serium isn’t usually like this, but he tends to get a little obsessive once he focuses on something.”

“Well, Asel doesn’t have to apologize. It’s a bit absurd, but when I think about it, it seems like all magicians have a screw loose somewhere.”

The best of them is definitely Lapis. He wouldn’t have tried to create a barrier to trap the Spirit King unless he was out of his mind. He was almost perverted in that he openly put the word ‘cage’ in the spell. I shouldn’t be like this, but now when I meet a magician, I’ll probably just assume that’s how they are and treat them with prejudice. Then Serium, who had been engrossed in recording as if he had lost his soul, was flustered and raised his head.

“Um, alchemy is basically included in magic, but I’m not a magician.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I approached alchemy as a pure scholar from an academic perspective. I focused on the theory.”

“But I can feel magic power from you?”

At first, I thought it was a warrior’s aura. In fact, a magician’s magic power and a warrior’s aura are basically the same form of mana, so it all looks the same on the outside. Maybe I wouldn’t have even thought about looking into it until the end if he hadn’t introduced himself as a scholar. He looks so obviously like a warrior. There are hardly any cases where people would think of a magician when they see his muscular physique. But if you make up your mind and look closely, the nature of mana is accurately distinguished. What he possessed was definitely a magician’s energy. Serium made a surprised expression at the fact I pointed out.

“Ah, well, I did learn a little magic… but it should be very weak, do you even recognize that level?”

“Roughly. But it doesn’t seem like a weak level?”

“Huh?”

“The amount of magic power is small, but the purity, or rather, the quality is quite good. In that respect, it seems better than the Crown Prince or Sage Danimel here.”

“…!”

“If you stopped learning halfway, why don’t you try to devote yourself to it in earnest? If you’re at that level, the efficiency you can get even if you use the same magic will be different. The amount of magic power will also increase dramatically with just a little training.”

Of course, that’s only based on human standards, and in my opinion, they’re all about the same level. It’s nothing compared to Lapis. But there’s no need to tell them that fact and hurt them. Not only Serium but also Raon Hwizen’s eyes widened at the words I said casually. Both of them couldn’t hide their bewilderment, whether they were surprised to learn an unexpected fact. Asel was staring at them with a somewhat subtle expression. Serium scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed and awkward face.

“Hearing you say that makes me really feel like you’re the Spirit King. If you can grasp even those parts, I probably won’t be able to deceive you easily?”

“Well, if you don’t let your guard down, that’s true.”

“Do you ever let your guard down?”

“Ahaha, well, you know. It’s unexpected, isn’t it? But I tend to let my guard down even more. Since there’s so much to see, I end up glossing over things appropriately.”

The fact that I overestimated my power also played a part in that process. That carelessness escalated things, and I’ve been paying the price ever since. And there will be more to pay in the future. Thinking about it again made my mouth bitter. But the worst thing is Karyuan, who committed this act. How many people are suffering because of that one guy? It also didn’t sit well with me that Ellyuen and Lapis were suffering, and that Trowel was reverse summoned. I’m enduring it because this method is easier than annihilating him, but if that wasn’t the case, I would have overturned it a long time ago. I don’t know what the ingredients needed for the annihilation circle are that make purifying it easier. Isn’t it usually easier to just burn dirty things than to clean them?

I was grumbling inwardly when I felt that the surroundings had become quiet. When I looked up, the atmosphere was strange. I could feel the fear again from those who had been treating me comfortably until just now.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, well… when you lose your expression, the atmosphere changes a lot.”

“Really? I don’t know myself well. Do you guys think so too?”

I thought it would be better to get confirmation from someone who had more contact with me, so I turned to look at Alisa and Sibelius. Alisa readily nodded.

“It’s like that when you’re expressionless, and sometimes when you smile meaningfully. I think I’m seeing it more and more often.”

“Hmm, really? What exactly does it feel like?”

“A somewhat sharp and scary atmosphere? It makes me realize that you’re an amazing being?”

Oh no, is my true nature coming out again? I clicked my tongue at the sudden realization. Looking back, the thoughts I had a little while ago seemed harsh. I thought I was okay now because I had been quiet for a while, but it was just my imagination. I used to be quick to recognize it, but now I’ve become so bad that I don’t even realize it unless someone points it out.

What if my personality gets worse like this? It seems like it’s gotten worse than before, so I need to be careful, but I don’t know what the criteria are for it to come out, so it’s frustrating. By the way, I asked for confirmation from two people, but one of them isn’t reacting at all. When I looked up, I saw that he looked a little stiff for some reason. Sibelius, who was making a complicated expression, looked surprised when his eyes met mine.

“Sibyl?”

“Ah, um, sorry, El. I just, suddenly had a little question.”

“Question?”

“…It’s a thought you’d hate.”

I immediately understood what Sibyl was saying. He was probably reminded of the El of the past from my current appearance. Looking back at the appearance of ‘El’ that Kanos once imitated, it seemed that the personality I revealed my true nature was closer to him. It would be a lie to say that I wasn’t disappointed, but it wasn’t to the point where I was greatly heartbroken anymore, so I answered lightly.

“It’s okay, you can just say it.”

“You’ll really feel bad if you hear it.”

“It’s okay, tell me. What were you thinking?”

“…The thought of why El was there.”

“Huh?”

I blinked, wondering what this meant, and Sibelius’s face frowned even more. His head was facing me, but his gaze, lost in thought, was floating somewhere else.