Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 432

By the time I found my way back to Ransi’s house, the day was almost over. As I approached, a faint light spilled out, and I ran into Ransi, who was just coming outside. Her eyes widened as she spotted me, and I gave her an awkward smile.

“I’m too late, aren’t I, Ransi?”

“El! Is that you, El?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

Ransi rushed over, blinking in disbelief, examining me closely. Only then, realizing it was really me, did she smile brightly.

“I thought you’d just left.”

“Of course not. I just had somewhere to go for a bit. How’s your mother?”

“She’s doing better. The healer came by and said she’ll be fine in a few days with some rest.”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

The house was filled with the smell of medicine. Guided by Ransi, I entered the room and saw Erina sitting peacefully on the bed. She looked a little pale from the treatment, but she seemed much more stable. I had thought they resembled each other even when she was unconscious, but seeing her with her eyes open, the mother and daughter looked exactly alike. Ransi would look just like that when she grew up. Erina thanked me. She was wary of strangers, but her attitude was generally friendly.

“I heard about the priest. That you removed the monster’s poison. Thank you so much.”

“No, it was nothing. I’m glad I could help.”

The bustling space was now occupied only by Simon and Della. The rest of the group had returned to their own homes, they said. When they asked where I had been, I explained a fabricated situation. I told them that I had a headache after seeing the divine inscription, and some of my memories had returned. So, I went to the place where I had parted ways with the group, and they all seemed to understand. They seemed to believe that I was out of my mind because my memories were suddenly returning.

“I see. So, you really met up with the group. That’s a relief, but…”

Simon muttered, glancing sideways. Following his lead, everyone else turned as well. Their eyes, filled with unease, were fixed on the window. There, a blue-haired man with a mysterious aura stood like a painting. It was Ellyuen, who, for some reason, hadn’t returned to the Spirit Realm and was still accompanying me.

“What’s that?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Startled by the attention, the people flinched all at once. Their faces were as red as burning coals. I don’t know why they bothered to look when they couldn’t even make eye contact properly. Still, this was a pretty mild reaction. Ransi had started hiccuping as soon as she saw him, and she was still hiccuping now. Well, I guess it’s understandable that they’re taken aback when I, who disappeared without a word, suddenly bring back someone who looks so dazzling as my companion.

Honestly, I don’t really know how things turned out this way either. I just asked to borrow some money since I had nothing on me. I thought he’d just toss me a few gem flowers and leave, but he just kept asking strange questions, like how much you could buy with a *don* of gold [a unit of currency], or how many silver coins you needed to equal one gold coin, mainly asking about the value of currency. Of course, I had no idea about the currency values here, so I answered based on the standards of my time, but the response wasn’t great, probably because he couldn’t ignore the 4,000-year gap in market prices.

“It’s clear you lack common sense.”

Then he just told me to speak up whenever I needed something. I didn’t realize that meant he was going to accompany me. He must have thought he couldn’t trust me with money. He probably thought I’d get scammed or spend it all without thinking. There are gems and gold all over Evas Eden, so what if I wasted a little? I’d never heard that Ellyuen was a miser, so this situation is a bit perplexing. Well, thanks to him, I guess I get to travel with him, which isn’t so bad.

Anyway, I had roughly explained the situation to him beforehand. We had also agreed on how to introduce him to people. Though, “agreement” is just a word to describe that I decided to do whatever I want after he said so.

“So, what’s your relationship?”

“He’s my father.”

Of course, the only relationship I can explain with him is that one. As I answered casually, the surroundings fell silent. It seems they still can’t believe it, as if they’re newly shocked, even though I’ve been introducing him that way from the start.

“Not… your older brother?”

“He’s my father.”

You told me off for asking too many times, but you’re repeating yourself like a broken record. If you ask one more time, I’m not letting it slide. As I glared at him with a warning look, Simon cleared his throat, feeling a bit guilty.

“…Ahem, I see. Your father is quite young-looking. No, but to have a child this grown, how old were you when you got married…?”

“My father is still unmarried.”

“Gasp! He’s not even married…!”

There was shock mixed in with the gasp. How surprised were they that the people who couldn’t even look at him straight until now started glancing at Ellyuen with eyes full of meaning. Before he could react, I decided to smooth things over.

“Haha, just kidding. To be exact, he’s my father on paper.”

“On paper?”

“Yes, I’m adopted.”

As I explained with a smile, expressions of understanding appeared on their confused faces. Ellyuen looked a little surprised. I wonder what he thought of me, that I would insist he was my biological father no matter what. Even I know that there doesn’t seem to be much of an age difference between him and me.

The problem was the level of understanding of adoption culture, but fortunately, they didn’t seem to find it strange. That was a bit unexpected. In my era of Arkhadon, when you became a priest, you had to sever all ties with the secular world, no matter your birth. I thought it was always like that, but it seems it wasn’t from the beginning.

“He must be a noble, right? Still young and unmarried, yet he adopts someone first. That’s unusual.”

“If he’s a high priest, it’s understandable.”

“But are they really not blood-related? Don’t they look a bit alike?”

“Oh, I thought I was the only one who thought so. Honestly, when he said he was his father, I just believed it.”

“Me too, actually. Their appearances are different, but their aura, or something, that fancy feeling is too similar. Honestly, isn’t it scarier that people who look like that aren’t related by blood?”

“Well, who knows if they’re really not blood-related, even if they say so. Noble families’ genealogies are complicated.”

“Stop gossiping.”

The whispering stopped immediately at the cold voice. To silence them with just one word, as expected of Ellyuen. As expected of someone who will become the God of Punishment, his presence is undeniable. It’s something I could never do, even if I died, so I was even a little envious.

More than that, they think we look alike. Feeling good for no reason, I was about to grin when his brow furrowed. At this rate, his furrowed face will become his default expression. Of course, he’s a Spirit King, so he won’t get wrinkles.

“Anyway, I didn’t expect you to come back. You found your group, so why did you bother coming? Ransi is just a chance encounter, isn’t she?”

“Yes, that’s right. But I didn’t think it was right to just leave without saying goodbye.”

Also, I was planning to build a well as I had envisioned. Now that I can get help from the spirits, I could create a waterway even if there wasn’t one. Then, Simon, looking embarrassed, scratched the back of his neck as he looked around.

“Well, it’s a relief that we don’t misunderstand, thanks to you. To be honest, I thought you had run away. I thought the priest here was the one who caused the rift.”

“Rift?”

Ellyuen was the first to react to those words. Simon flinched and answered with a more cautious attitude.

“A monster appeared.”

“What kind?”

“It was a 4th class Aranea [a type of spider monster].”

“Definitely not a naturally occurring species.”

“You’re right. In the first place, this Root Forest has the attribute of heaven. There are many monsters, but it’s not an environment where monsters can live. It can never occur naturally.”

“I suppose not.”

“I’m glad you seem to understand. Anyway, that’s why we thought the priest here was involved in the rift. Does your adoptive father know anything? The priest has lost his memory and doesn’t remember anything.”

At those words, Ellyuen’s gaze turned to me for a moment. His expression clearly said, ‘How long are you going to continue this pathetic charade?’ Of course, I’m not a real priest, so I’m naturally unrelated to the phenomena that a Demon Priest can cause. But I couldn’t say I wasn’t a priest now. I looked at him, implying that he should just go along with it, and he gave me an openly pathetic look.

“Do you have any idea?”

“Well, even if I knew something, do I have to answer?”

“People were hurt because of the monster. Even if you’re a noble, the law is the law. If you’re not involved, you’ll have to explain.”

“…How insolent.”

With a soft murmur, the corners of his indifferent lips slightly lifted. The air turned cold in an instant, and everyone’s faces hardened. I thought something was going to happen, so I quickly jumped into the conversation.

“Um, what exactly is a rift?”

The effect of my intervention was good. However, it was too good, as not only Simon but also Ellyuen turned to me with a dumbfounded expression. Anyway, I succeeded in my goal of diverting their attention, so I smiled shamelessly, pretending not to know.

“You don’t even know what a rift is?”

“No, I have no idea.”

“Ahem. Your memory is still not good. I’ll tell you. A rift is a small crack in the dimensional wall. It mainly occurs in Quanzel, where the magical energy is strong, and monsters or demons crawl through that crack. Otherwise, rifts only occur when demons cross over.”

Ah, so that’s why they suspect me. Demon Priests can summon demons, so it makes sense that they would consider me a likely suspect. Also, this is embarrassing. I thought it was just related to certain spells used by Demon Priests, but the scale is much larger than I thought. A phenomenon related to the dimensional wall, indeed a topic that Ellyuen would be interested in. But just because I understood didn’t mean I understood the whole situation.

“Rifts appear every time demons cross over?”

It’s not like I’ve awakened all my knowledge as a Spirit King. There are still more things I don’t know than things I do know. Still, I had never heard of that fact before. But Ellyuen and the others all had expressions that said it was obvious.

“That’s why our Epen Kingdom only allows demon summoning in Quanzel. Since rifts occur during that time anyway, it’s stipulated by national law that they should all be dealt with at once. If you want to summon demons at any other time than Quanzel, you must report it to the royal family in advance and obtain permission.”

“Hmm, why does magical energy become stronger in Quanzel?”

“That’s because of the Dark Festival.”

Ah, I know what that is. The Dark Festival refers to the week that includes the Demon God’s birthday.

Magical energy certainly becomes stronger during that time. The birthdays of the gods are when their influence is strongest, so many unusual phenomena occur. For example, rain turns into holy water during the week of the Healing God’s birthday, or many flowers bloom during the week of the Flower God’s birthday. The higher the god, the larger the range of influence, and if it’s a Supreme God, it’s basically the entire Arkhadon.

The phenomenon that occurs on the Demon God’s birthday is , as you can tell from the name Dark Festival. Back in the days of the Alponf Empire, when I was crossing the desert, there was a time when nothing appeared in the night sky for almost a week. Even during the day, it didn’t feel very bright and the days felt cloudy. We were wondering if it was the weather we intended, but it turned out that it was a typical phenomenon that occurs during the Dark Festival. Places with temples become even darker, so the Holy Empire of Swalt lights torches even during the day. It’s only that much in Arkhadon, but the Demon World during that time is completely submerged in ink-like darkness all day long. It was around the time I met Alisa, so spring, probably March.

‘So Quanzel means March. Hmm, but I’ve never heard that rifts occur during that time either.’

It’s not that there are no related phenomena at all, but not in this form. Besides, it’s extremely rare, and not many people know about it. Monsters crossing over was just closer to an irregularly occurring accident, and there were hardly any cases of associating it with demons or Demon Priests.

Well, it’s the past from thousands of years ago, so it wouldn’t be the same. Besides, the Arkhadon I know is a civilization that was completely destroyed once and then reborn. At this point, I should just see it as a completely different world.

‘Contacting Kanos… wouldn’t work.’

My thoughts reached the inscription on the back of my hand, and I quickly shook my head. He doesn’t even know me now, so what am I going to do by contacting him? In the future, he’s a son of my friend and a junior, but to the current Kanos, I’m just a suspicious human with an inscription that hasn’t been bestowed. The excuse that it was made with magic wouldn’t even work for him. Fortunately, he doesn’t seem to know yet, but if he ever notices my existence, it’s bound to become incredibly annoying.

No, maybe he’s already noticed. With that personality, it wouldn’t be strange if he was watching me, calculating when and where to strangle me. He’s a laid-back god who you can’t tell what he’s thinking, but no matter how detached he is, he wouldn’t just ignore a singularity like me.

The biggest problem is that he seems like he’ll quickly figure out my identity. More than anything, I’m not confident that I can see him and be indifferent. If I see his face, my tear ducts will definitely burst. There’s no way I can hide my joy and longing. It’s like advertising for him to recognize my identity, and if the magic really wears off, everything will be ruined. The desire to see Kanos alive and well is like a chimney, but I didn’t want the ending where I couldn’t go back and was trapped in this world forever.