Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 43

43.

“Huk……!”

As the bright blue water wolf landed, Ferris looked like he was about to breathe his last. However, Cyciel, in his complete form, went straight to me, not him.

—Greetings, Great Water King, our lord.

Cyciel’s unique, low, and respectful voice echoed. The presence of a high-level spirit was distinctly different from that of a mid- or low-level one. I nodded with a smile, and Cyciel finally turned his gaze to Ferris, who had summoned him. Ferris, sitting down and exhausted, flinched and shrank back when their eyes met.

—Are you the one who summoned me?

“Y-yes.”

—State your name, the one who called me to this land.

“Ferris de Zello… I am.”

Ferris answered with a slightly stiff face. Cyciel stared at him for a moment before speaking again.

—You are qualified to contract with me. By the promise of the beginning, if you grant me the power of existence, I will become your protector in this land. Ferris de Zello, do you wish to contract with me?

It was the contract phrase. Only then did Ferris snap to attention, his eyes wide as he nodded frantically. He looked so desperate that I felt embarrassed just watching.

“I-I will! Of course, I will! No, please contract with me!”

At his desperate acceptance, Cyciel’s blue eyes seemed to curve into a smile. Ferris made an awkward expression.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, Cyciel’s body floated lightly into the air. He kicked off the ground and leaped. After turning upside down in mid-air, Cyciel transformed into a mass of water, becoming a stream that plunged intensely into Ferris’s forehead.

“Heok!”

—The contract is complete, Ferris!

At the same time as Ferris gasped, a majestic voice echoed. The noble wolf form was gone, leaving only the lingering essence of deep water.

“Ferris? Ferris, are you okay?”

“Yes? Ah, yes… I was just a little surprised.”

Ferris, who had been frozen for a while, finally came to his senses when he heard me. He looked around with a dazed expression and touched his forehead with trembling hands. He had no idea what had just happened.

But I, as a spirit, could see it clearly. Next to the wind seal on his forehead, a new water seal had been added. It was definite proof that the contract had been successfully completed.

“Um… did I really contract with Cyciel, Elquines-nim [term of respect]?”

“Of course. Cyciel said so himself at the end.”

“Y-yes, but it doesn’t feel real.”

“Then why don’t you try summoning him right here and now?”

“Yes? Ah, there was such a way! Hmm… Cy-Cyciel?”

—Did you call me?

“Euk!”

Even though he had summoned him, Ferris was startled and flustered when Cyciel appeared. It felt like watching a comedy. In any case, Ferris was very moved to see the water wolf he had summoned.

“It’s real. I really contracted with Cyciel…! Oh my gosh, how could this happen!”

“Are you that happy?”

“Happy doesn’t even begin to describe it! I’m starting to wonder if this is all a dream.”

However, he couldn’t maintain the summoning for long. His body wasn’t strong enough to support the amount of mana consumed by a high-level spirit yet. He would probably have to go through a period of adaptation by constantly practicing summoning for the time being. Ferris was satisfied with just that.

“I really can’t believe it. I’m going to become one of the top ten high-level spirit masters on the continent! Thank you, Elquines-nim! It’s all thanks to you, Elquines-nim.”

“You don’t have to thank me. It’s all possible because Ferris has the talent. Even if it’s hard, try to summon Cyciel often for a while to get used to him. Once you get used to his energy, you’ll soon be able to summon Jin, the high-level wind spirit.”

“R-really?”

Ferris looked shocked, as if he hadn’t expected that at all. I chuckled and nodded.

“I told you before. No matter how much I help, it’s hard to summon a high-level spirit if you don’t have the talent. The fact that you summoned Cyciel means that Ferris already has the potential to become a high-level spirit master. It’ll be much easier to summon Jin, actually. Ferris is originally a spirit master with the wind attribute.”

“I can’t believe it…”

“So, work hard. From now on, it all depends on what Ferris does. I hope to see you as a high-level spirit master of both wind and water when we meet again.”

“Yes! I will try my best, Elquines-nim! I will definitely become one. I will never let you down!”

Ferris replied, his face burning with fighting spirit.

Judging by his attitude, he was about to devote himself to training starting today. It seemed like it wouldn’t be long before he would be considered the strongest person among Isana’s subordinates.

* * *

As soon as dawn broke, the knights and I cleaned up all traces of our stay. This was to prevent any pursuers from reaching this place.

In this process, the spirits played a shining role. Especially the earth spirits’ skills were outstanding. Wherever their hands touched, artificially carved or dented marks were restored to their original state. When the wind spirits moved last, even the air that had warmed up with human body temperature cooled down. Now, even if someone accidentally discovered the cave, it would be difficult to realize that someone had been hiding here.

After completing all the preparations, the knights carried their respective luggage and lined up in front of Isana. A sense of determination filled their faces as they exchanged their last greetings.

“Please be well until we meet again, Your Majesty.”

“…I wish you good fortune.”

Isana replied weakly with a face that could neither cry nor laugh. The knights who watched him also had pitiful expressions on their faces. Kay, their captain, also wore a bitter expression.

However, overall, their atmosphere was bright. Especially after learning that Ferris had become a high-level spirit master the night before, they were full of confidence.

Since they needed even one more person with strength, it was natural that they were happy with their comrade’s achievement. Above all, they were most pleased with the fact that they didn’t have to go around looking for water.

“Please take good care of His Majesty, Elquines-nim.”

“Yes, don’t worry too much. Everything will be fine.”

“It’s reassuring to hear the Spirit King say that.”

After that, the knights conveyed their words of request several more times before leaving on their long journey.

Isana stood there, unable to move, as if nailed to the spot, until their figures completely disappeared. I picked up our share of the bags and patted him on the shoulder.

“Okay, let’s get going too. The knights will be fine, so don’t worry too much.”

“Okay.”

Isana nodded awkwardly and soon gathered his things, following me. Then he mumbled in a small voice.

“Um, Elquines… thank you.”

“Huh? For what?”

“For providing the expenses, for making Ferris a high-level spirit master… and for everything else. I’m so grateful I don’t know how to express it.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it. You’re my contractor. It’s only natural to help you this much. And just call me El.”

“El?”

“All my close friends call me that. Besides, we’ll be visiting villages and cities a lot in the future, so I can’t call myself Elquines in front of people, can I?”

Isana, who had been puzzled, nodded with a convinced look.

“Okay. I understand, El.”

“Good. Oh, right. Let’s make up a fake name for you while we’re at it. How about ‘Lie’?”

“I don’t mind. But what does it mean?”

“It means ‘lie’.”

“Lie?”

I smiled brightly at him, who was making a surprised expression.

“It’s a fake name. So, it’s a lie. It’s pretty good for something I made up on the spot, isn’t it?”

“Haha, yeah. It really is.”

“Then from now on, I’ll call you ‘Lie’ in front of people. If anyone asks about our relationship, let’s say we’re brothers, traveling to meet relatives who live far away.”

“Brothers…?”

“Yeah, I’m the older brother and you’re the younger brother. Why, do you not like it?”

“No… it’s not that, but will people believe it?”

“Well, so what? Brothers don’t necessarily have to look alike. If it doesn’t work out, we can say we’re half-brothers.”

“That’s not it…”

“If it’s not that, then what?”

“…No, it’s nothing. I was just saying.”

I shrugged, looking at Isana, who was smiling awkwardly.

“What, you’re no fun. Anyway, I saw the imperial map earlier, and it looks like there’s a fairly large city about half a day’s walk from here. Let’s go there today and get a place to stay. Oh, and just in case, never take off your hood outside. Got it?”

Isana nodded like a well-behaved child. As he continued to look at me, it seemed like there was something he wanted to say.

“Why?”

“Um, I think it would be better if El wore a hood too…”

“Huh? Me too?”

This time, he nodded.

“Aren’t I okay? I’m not on the wanted list, and there’s no one here who knows me.”

“…But you stand out.”

“Stand out? Ah, is it because of this hair color?”

I held up a strand of my hair. Even in this place where there are quite a few striking colors, my hair color is uncommon. That’s why I wore a hood when I went to get food (to avoid leaving an impression on anyone since it was a small village), but I didn’t think I needed to do that in other places. But Isana’s position was firm.

“Anyway, I think it would be better if El wore a hood too.”

“Hmm, okay. I’ll do that.”

When I nodded, Isana’s face brightened. It was an expression close to relief. Did he not want to be the only one wearing a hood? He’s at a sensitive age, so that might be the case.

* * *

As we came down from the mountain and headed towards the entrance of the village, we discovered a group of soldiers camped out in front of it. Among them stood a man with sharp features and auburn hair. At a glance, it was clear from his attire and belongings that he was a nobleman.

He was talking to a few people who appeared to be villagers, holding a long scroll in his hand.

At that moment, Isana stiffened and moved closer to me. Although his face was hidden by the hood, he seemed frightened.

“What’s wrong, Isana?”

“Count Setnio…”

“What?”

“He’s my uncle’s subordinate.”

“……!”

I hardened my face and looked at them again. The man named Count Setnio was talking to the residents and didn’t pay any attention to us. The soldiers didn’t seem to be particularly vigilant either. I whispered to Isana in a low voice.

“Don’t be nervous and walk as naturally as possible. Got it?”

Isana nodded slowly, but his body was stiffening, and I could feel a slight tremor in the hand that was holding my arm.

We walked as far away as possible from the place where the soldiers were camped. Since it was a busy time of day, there were many people walking along the same path as us. Unless we were incredibly unlucky, we wouldn’t be caught.

As we passed by, I was able to briefly overhear their conversation.

“You saw him heading towards this mountain?”

“Yes, I definitely saw it with my own two eyes.”

“Are you sure it’s similar to the description on the wanted poster?”

“There’s no mistake. It would be hard to create such identical features on purpose.”

“Hmm…”

It was clearly a conversation aimed at us. It seemed like a report had been filed overnight.

‘I almost got into big trouble.’

I breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.

I can’t believe they tracked us down this quickly. It’s a good thing we left early in the morning. The knights will probably not be discovered by them. It will be difficult for them to even find traces, let alone search. I felt cold sweat running down my spine as I thought about how we had narrowly avoided danger.

“Hey, you there!”

But the crisis was not over. Just then, one of the soldiers, who was looking around, spotted us and called out. Surprised, I looked at him, and he gestured for us to come closer.

“E-El…”

“It’s okay. Stay calm.”

I was nervous too, but I tried to calm Isana with a calm tone.

As we got closer, something suddenly flew towards me. I reflexively caught it and saw that it was an empty wooden bucket. Puzzled, I looked at it, and the soldier who had thrown it said without even looking at me.

“Go fetch some water.”

“……Excuse me?”

“Didn’t you hear me? The water’s all gone, so go get some fresh water.”

“…….”

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like we were called because they suspected us. But apart from being relieved, an unpleasant feeling began to rise up. Who does he think he is, telling others to fetch water? As if noticing that, Isana carefully tugged at my sleeve from the side. His eyes told me not to provoke him if possible.

I held back and looked at the soldier again. Since we can fill the water right now, it’s not particularly troublesome. It seemed like we could just pretend to go and come back. Then, a thought suddenly flashed through my mind.