Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 437

Chapter 437

I blinked repeatedly at the sight before my eyes. Seriously, am I really seeing Trowel right now? I couldn’t believe it from afar, but seeing him up close makes it even more unreal. It was as if the person from the screen had jumped out. The man was the first to react. He must have thought Trowel would just pass by, so he stepped back. But Trowel didn’t move. I wasn’t surprised because I already expected it. His gaze had been fixed on me from the start. Only then did the man realize something was wrong, and he looked flustered. Trowel stared for a while, then curved his eyes and smiled languidly.

“Hello.”

“…Ahaha, hello.”

I greeted him with an awkward smile, and a strange light flashed in his eyes.

“You’re different after all.”

“Huh?”

“You’ve been the only one reacting differently since earlier. You weren’t interested in my appearance, nor were you trying to listen to the performance. Yet, you kept staring at me intently.”

“Ah, that’s…”

“You know me.”

I don’t know why that short sentence makes my heart pound so much. I swallowed hard, and he smiled languidly.

“That’s strange. How do you know? Even if you heard an explanation beforehand, it wouldn’t be this form.”

“Um… just a hunch?”

“Then you probably know that I came to meet you.”

So he really did come to meet me. I had guessed as much to some extent, but I wanted to believe otherwise.

Unable to answer, I just rolled my eyes, and his clear golden eyes gleamed dangerously. Even in his original form, it would have made my heart sink, but in his adult form, the pressure was even greater.

“Hey, you have no manners. This kid was talking to me. Even if he’s a mixed-blood of a different race, he should know human culture.”

The man, who had been watching blankly, hurried to step between us. He still seemed to misunderstand Trowel as a Dark Elf. Just the fact that he was thinking of intervening in this atmosphere showed that he was utterly clueless. Trowel didn’t even look at him. It was a complete disregard.

“Actually, I was a little surprised. I didn’t expect you to be so young. Besides, I like your appearance. It’s amazing that humans can have such looks.”

“Oh, th-thank you…?”

“Yeah, so it’s a bit of a problem. I wasn’t planning on doing anything right away, but I can already see several problems arising because of you. Most people are too weak to what they see. If I start acknowledging one exception, everyone’s minds will be distracted. It seems more dangerous than I thought, so what should I do?”

My body flinched as he met my gaze again. His face was smiling, and his tone was gentle. It was the same as the Trowel I knew, but I don’t know why I’m so nervous. I forced myself to focus so I wouldn’t forget to breathe.

“Hey, are you listening to me?”

The clueless man interrupted again. He must have been angry at being ignored, as his demeanor had become fierce. This time, Trowel turned to look at him. It was just a quick glance, but still.

“See, you’ve already attracted something annoying.”

“What? Are you talking to me? Do you know who I am…?”

The man’s face turned red as he reached out to Trowel, enraged by the repeated disregard. It was a hasty and rough movement, as if he was about to grab his collar. At that moment, there was a sound of something being pierced, and hot liquid splattered on my face. I wiped it off without thinking and paused for a moment. My palm was covered in red blood. I turned blankly and saw the man stiffened. The red streaks etched on his upper body were clear. There were wounds on his chest and abdomen that hadn’t been there a moment ago. Blood was seeping out, spreading quickly.

For a moment, I couldn’t grasp what had happened. Even he didn’t seem to understand what had happened to him, his face blank. I forced my unmoving head to turn and stared at Trowel. He was shaking blood off a sword that I didn’t know when he had drawn. Just seeing that, I couldn’t help but know the identity of the blood. Soon, the man coughed up blood and staggered, collapsing. The blood flowing from his fallen body began to soak the floor. “Aaaagh!” Screams erupted from the crowd.

“It’s, it’s murder!”

“He killed someone!”

The surroundings soon turned into chaos. People were running away quickly, and some were awkwardly drawing their weapons, each reacting in their own way. Meanwhile, I stared blankly at Trowel. Even in the chaotic situation, he was calm. He simply brought the blade of his sword to the forehead of the fallen man with an indifferent face. A red line was slowly etched where the blade touched. It was a pattern of diagonal lines, which was also the mark of the Earth Spirit King. Soon, he sheathed his sword and smiled softly at me. It was the same face he had when he smiled a moment ago. Just looking at him, it was as if nothing had happened.

“You’re surprisingly brave. I thought you’d be trembling and collapsing.”

“Why…”

“Are you asking why I killed him? It’s just a hobby.”

“Killing people is your hobby?”

I had already heard a similar warning. Still, it was hard to bear hearing it directly from his mouth. He chuckled at my difficult question. It was a slightly twisted smile.

“Not people, trash.”

“What…”

“The stench is too disgusting to call them people. I can’t stand things like that.”

Trowel muttered and kicked the man’s already lifeless body. Then something rolled out from his body. I recognized what it was at a glance. It was the unidentified wooden tube that the man had been holding.

“It’s an anesthetic.”

I was wondering what that was and was looking at it when an unexpected word came. I turned around in surprise, and Trowel smiled again.

“It’s structured so that a needle pops out when you press the button on the bottom. The anesthetic applied to that needle is powerful enough to knock out an elephant with a single drop, although it doesn’t work on Dark Elves.”

“That’s…”

“You know what? Among the creatures called intelligent beings, only humans rape or kill their own children. Only humans sell out their own kind.”

Ah, I see. So that’s why.

My mind calmed down, and my surprised heart quickly settled. Just in time, soldiers running from afar came into view. It was clear that they were the guards who had been dispatched after receiving a report. I quickly grabbed Trowel’s arm.

“Let’s go!”

“What?”

I think I started by grabbing him without hearing his answer. Fortunately, Trowel followed me without any resistance. We entered a complex alleyway, and a chase ensued for a while. When I felt that there were no more signs of pursuit, I found myself in the middle of a forest of unknown location.

“Now, huff, huff, I don’t think they’re chasing us anymore.”

I think I ran for dozens of minutes without rest. Catching my breath, I sat down on the floor with my exhausted body. Unlike me, who was so fine, Trowel just stared at me silently.

“Why did you run away with me?”

“You can’t get caught by the guards.”

“Do you think I’ll be caught by human guards or anything?”

“Ah, that’s right.”

Come to think of it, it would have been easier to run away alone. I thought that Trowel was in the same situation as me because I had become human. I made a big mistake again. I couldn’t help but sigh at this embarrassment.

“Sorry, Trowel, you ran for nothing because of me.”

“Do you know that you were the one who got caught up in the first place?”

“It’s the opposite. Trowel saved me.”

“What?”

“I thought that person was a little strange. I was wary because he kept trying to get close to me, but I never dreamed he was going to use an anesthetic. Thank you for helping me. I was surprised that you killed him suddenly, but honestly, he deserved to die.”

“…Do you really think so?”

“Of course, I do. Ah, were the humans you killed all like that? I see. I understand a little now. I should have listened to people.”

That’s right. He wasn’t just killing anyone indiscriminately. Even though it was a more daring and cruel method, he had his own rules. I felt relieved to find a familiar side of him that I had only thought was unfamiliar. Maybe it was because I couldn’t hide my joy. Trowel, who had his mouth shut, frowned the next moment. He looked shocked by something, as if he had experienced something impossible.

“…I can’t read your mind.”

“Huh?”

I was startled as soon as I asked without thinking. The gaze staring at me was sharp. A hardened face with a slightly angry, intense look of vigilance appeared.

“It doesn’t make sense that my power doesn’t work on humans. What the hell are you?”

I wondered what he was talking about, but I wasn’t very embarrassed because I had already guessed this. If my inner thoughts were revealed, my identity would naturally be revealed, but in Sibelius’s memory, I got along with Trowel, but the spell wasn’t broken. I vaguely thought that the ability didn’t work, but that must have been the case. I don’t know if there is some kind of magical protection measure, or if it’s just because my soul is a Spirit King. Maybe it’s both. But I can’t explain it like this, and there’s only one answer I can give in this case.

“I’m El.”

“What?”

“El. That’s my name.”

The only truth I have in this land is this name, so this is the only answer I can give. Trowel frowned a little. The bewilderment that he couldn’t hide was clearly visible in his disheveled eyes.

“I didn’t ask for your name.”

“It’s not much different. That name is like my identity to me.”

“That’s quite a grand answer for an evasive answer. Or do you want to say that you don’t know anything about yourself?”

“Just think whatever you want. Anyway, I wanted to let you know my name. Especially, I wanted Trowel to know.”

“Why?”

Because you are the one who gave me this name.

When I just smiled without saying anything, Trowel narrowed his eyes. Just looking at his narrowed brow, it was clear that he didn’t like this situation. Suddenly, Ellyuen’s warning came to mind, but I decided not to care. Even if this action stimulates him, I won’t be able to stop anyway.

Do you know that, Trowel? That name is not only an identity here. It was always the same in the place where I used to be. If Ellyuen supported me with my father’s name, the name I received from you completed me as a member of this world.

You probably don’t know how happy I was when I received that name. You don’t know how sad and miserable I felt when I almost lost it. So I’m just grateful for this moment because I know that this name, which is more precious than anything to me, is also meaningful to you. Because I was able to confirm that it was entirely given to me from the beginning, that it was mine.

“I want to be friends with you.”

Trowel, who paused, frowned. He glared at me with a cold sneer.

“You want to be friends with me? You, a human?”

“Shouldn’t I? I think we have quite a bit of potential.”

“Potential?”

“You came to see me because you were curious. I want to know about you too. If we become friends, we can learn a lot about each other. Would you like to travel the world together?”

“…Elquines wouldn’t be a kind contractor. You’re strangely fearless.”

The following voice was soft and languid. Thanks to that, the price of being careless for a moment came back harshly. The next moment, I felt like my heart was sinking, and my body began to tremble. It became difficult to breathe, so I clenched my fists tightly. I didn’t even need to check why this was happening suddenly. Trowel had released the aura of the Spirit King.

“I know kids like you well. There are especially many among the spiritists [people who communicate with spirits]. Types who think they’ve been chosen because they’ve contracted with a spirit. These kids always mistakenly think that all spirits will love them.”

His golden eyes held a brilliant light as he endured me with difficulty.

“Didn’t Elquines tell you? The reason I’m not killing you is to avoid stimulating him yet.”

“Trowel, I’m…”

“Be grateful to him. You’re the only human who has survived after saying such arrogant things to me, wanting to be friends. Of course, that won’t last long either.”

“I’m, not that…”

“I don’t trust humans, especially not unreliable humans like you. I don’t know what your ulterior motive is, but you shouldn’t even think about playing tricks.”

Trowel didn’t even try to listen to me. With a cold voice as the last word, his figure suddenly disappeared before my eyes. Thanks to that, the air that seemed to suffocate me also disappeared, and the trembling of my body barely stopped. Only then could I take a deep breath.

“He said, ‘Please take care of me.'”

I knew this would happen, Trowel.

Following the prickly father, is it a prickly brother this time? I don’t know why this family relationship is so twisted. I swallowed a hollow laugh and sighed again. Nothing in the world was easy.