Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 442

The journey to the Seike Empire’s territory was a long one, taking over ten days. Day after day, all I saw was the vast ocean. It wasn’t my first long-distance trip by sea, and of course, I knew this before boarding. As a Spirit King, I even enjoyed such an environment.

But a human body was far too different. There was nothing to see or feel, and my stamina depleted quickly, making me tire easily. I couldn’t bear the boredom and started to squirm after exactly five days.

“I’m bored…….”

Looking at the deck, exercising, and trying to sleep were all reaching their limits. The world was so dull that I wondered if it was even possible to be this bored. The other passengers seemed to be interacting and having parties every day, but my group was too conspicuous to do that. Especially Ellyuen, who would cause trouble if it was known that he joined us midway. I also thought it would look strange if I was the only one eating alone, so I requested that meals be brought to my room even though there was a separate dining area. In other words, I was spending most of my time in self-imposed confinement. The problem wasn’t the confinement itself, but that there was nothing to do in the room. The biggest mistake was not buying books to pass the time because there was no bookstore at the port. I realized once again how patient Isana really was.

“Are you finally opening it?”

The repetition of a simple daily life spent only in the cabin made me seek stimulation. Trowell chuckled as he saw me suddenly get up from the bed and rummage through my backpack. He seemed to know what I was looking for at a glance, even though I hadn’t mentioned it. I smiled awkwardly and took out a thick envelope. It was the very thing that the suspicious man I met on the train had forced on me.

‘He was a really strange person.’

Trowell said he had only discovered that man by chance. He saw a man desperately running away in an alley while he was looking around. His overall explanation was that he intervened because it seemed interesting. The man probably didn’t know it, but the process of him safely escaping and hiding on the train was Trowell’s arrangement from the start.

Trowell probably knew the man’s story, but he didn’t mention it, perhaps because he didn’t want to tell me. Anyway, he advised me not to open it, and I felt uneasy, so I had left it in my backpack and deliberately avoided looking at it. But now that I think about it, I should at least know what I’m delivering. That way, I can respond if something goes wrong.

Honestly, I can’t guarantee that nothing will happen, because everyone acknowledges that I get caught up in incidents and accidents more than usual. It seems to be even more so since I came here. So this will definitely cause problems. Definitely. One hundred percent!

“Well, it’s not that you get caught up in things, but rather that you create problems that wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t interfere, isn’t it?”

I ignored the evaluation of my lengthy excuses and untied the string that held the envelope tightly closed. As the outer envelope opened, a thick bundle of paper inside spilled out. They were documents divided into several bundles. I was even glad that I had something to read.

The top document was a summary of the distribution of goods within the Epen Kingdom over the past few years. Just a quick glance showed that the royal family was collecting specific materials and goods. The most frequently handled items were iron and magic stones, and they were also buying a significant amount of lumber. They were also gathering laborers and technicians, mostly blacksmiths and warship designers. I paused slightly as I read that far.

‘This feels like… they’re preparing for war.’

No, at this point, it’s definitely war. Since the Seike Empire is the closest country to the Epen Kingdom, it was highly likely that the target of the war was the Seike Empire. I heard it was a poor and peaceful country, so are they trying to start a war of aggression? Or maybe they sensed signs of invasion from the Empire and are trying to defend themselves. Either way, it was clear that the situation was serious. So that’s why the Crown Prince and the Royal Guard stepped in. I had already guessed it was confidential, but I was even more taken aback when such blatantly confidential documents appeared.

‘To entrust something like this to someone like me who’s seeing it for the first time, what kind of person is he?’

No matter how desperate he was, this was too risky to gamble with. It’s fortunate that it was me; an ordinary person would have reported it to the royal family or burned it.

The rest were documents about the Queen and materials that seemed like spell formulas. There was also a list of names that seemed to be related to something, but I couldn’t figure out its use at the moment.

“Did you find something you liked?”

I was about to roughly read through it and put it back in the envelope when Trowell spoke to me. He seemed curious about what I would do after confirming the classified information, and there was an unreadable expectation on his face.

“Well, it seems like it was something that others shouldn’t see.”

“Does that mean it was useful to you?”

“Not really?”

No matter how great the information is, it’s only useful to those who need it. It might have been important if I were from this place, but honestly, I just think, ‘Okay, so what?’ It just added another reason to deliver it quickly and get rid of it. Then Trowell’s expression became strange. Even Ellyuen, who seemed uninterested, was making a strange face.

“Do you really not know? Or are you pretending not to know?”

“……Huh?”

“That thing on the back of your hand.”

His slightly lowered gaze reached my hand. It was exactly where the Demon God’s mark was.

“I thought it was something you would find interesting.”

“Oh? No, that’s…….”

“It’s okay if you don’t want to answer. The reason your life is still intact is because of that mysterious point of not knowing your identity. Inducing curiosity is a good method. But I’m curious how you’ll prove that you’re a trustworthy human.”

Cold sweat ran down my face at his meaningfully smiling face. It seems that there was something in this document that a priest would recognize. In other words, he doesn’t believe that my mark is fake. It should be common sense that a priest can’t be a spirit master, but I guess I’m suspicious enough to ignore that.

Ellyuen isn’t saying anything here either, so he probably didn’t believe me completely. Well, he was acting like he was just going to let it go from the beginning. I felt uneasy, but I decided to just let it go because it was better to be misunderstood. If I tried to explain, it would never end. I didn’t have the confidence to fix the errors that would inevitably come out in the process.

‘But what exactly is related to it?’

I couldn’t ask directly, so I looked at the documents again in detail. But there was no way I, who wasn’t a real priest, could know just by looking at them. The distribution ledger was really just a record of distribution, and the documents related to the Queen were close to a background check. For example, the Queen was from a region called Zenon, and her family had a unique genetic disease, and all the children born with it were killed to conceal the fact. I didn’t know what the list was no matter how I looked at it, and the spell formulas felt a little familiar in some parts. But they were all just basic designs, so there was nothing that I could properly recognize the form of.

‘It looks like black magic of the curse type…….’

Are the Demon God’s priests involved in this magic? Come to think of it, I heard that the Epen Kingdom and the Demon God’s Church don’t have a good relationship, so maybe it’s related to that. Maybe the reason they’re preparing for war isn’t the Empire but the Church. Of course, it was all just speculation right now. I looked at it for a long time after that, but I couldn’t figure anything out.

Koo-oong!

What stopped my worrying was the strong vibration that hit the hull. Surprised, I looked up and felt the ship slowly stopping. Soon after, the sound of people’s busy footsteps echoed from outside.

“What is it? Did we hit a reef? Or pirates?”

“Well, why don’t you go out and see if you’re curious?”

Trowell, who said that, seemed to have already checked the situation. I don’t know what he saw, but there was a strange light in his eyes. Ellyuen also had an amused expression. The ability to see everything from a seat, I used to have that too. Everyone knows but me, so I felt a little sad.

I had no choice but to leave the cabin and trudge outside. The other passengers who felt the vibration were also coming out into the hallway one by one. When I opened the door connected to the deck, a thick fog rolled in as if the weather was cloudy. I reflexively frowned at the thick moisture sticking to my cheeks.

“……Something’s strange.”

“What’s strange?”

I was startled and turned around at the voice that came as soon as I spoke to myself. Trowell, who I didn’t even know was following me, was standing there. He urged me to answer while I hesitated.

“Tell me. What’s strange?”

“Oh, uh, just…… it doesn’t feel like natural fog. It doesn’t feel like magic either, but it feels like it’s not related to the work of spirits?”

“It’s usually not easy to distinguish that far. You can tell?”

“So it’s not, right?”

Trowell shrugged. He’s urging me to answer, but he doesn’t seem to want to give me a proper answer himself. Even though it’s Trowell, I felt a little annoyed this time.

The passengers who were already on the deck were gathered in one place. Their faces, looking somewhere in confusion, were full of fear. In the direction where those gazes were fixed, the sailors were hanging on the ship’s railing. “It’s wrong! Just give up!”, “Stop!”, “Come back! You’ll be in danger too!” The shouts that went back and forth were desperately echoing each other.

“You can’t go near there.”

I was wondering what was going on and tried to go, but some of the sailors blocked my way. They were blocking the way as if protecting the passengers, holding their weapons.

“Excuse me, what’s going on?”

“There was an attack.”

“An attack?”

So pirates appeared? But even if I looked around, I couldn’t see a ship that looked like a pirate ship. Even if it was hidden by the fog, the appearance of the sailors hanging on the railing was still hard to understand. If pirates attacked, shouldn’t everyone be ready to defend themselves? I was tilting my head when someone poked my back. When I turned around, I met the eyes of unfamiliar faces who looked frightened. Judging from their ordinary travel clothes, they seemed to be passengers like me. They whispered in a low voice.

“It’s mermaids.”

“Pardon?”

“Mermaids have appeared. They dragged a few people on the deck into the sea.”

Goodness, it was truly like a story from another world.

As I was about to ask in detail in embarrassment, a testimony from someone who directly witnessed the situation followed from the other side. There was a light social gathering on the deck because the weather was nice, but suddenly the fog started to set in at a rapid pace. Then, a strong vibration rang out as if they had hit something.

“Everyone was panicking, but a few people walked towards the railing. Then, before anyone could stop them, they jumped straight down.”

Their staggering appearance was as if they were possessed by something. When the surprised people looked at the railing, they could only see the tails of the mermaid swarm turning around and diving.
The sailors who immediately noticed the situation jumped in, but it seemed too late to catch up.

“Damn it, it doesn’t make sense that mermaids appeared! This isn’t even their territory! It’s not even near Zenon or McKellan, so why are mermaids here!”

A loud voice was heard from somewhere. The captain, whose face had turned dark, was yelling at the sailors.

“The singing! Did anyone hear the singing? No one? You came to report right after the fog set in, right? Ah, I’m telling you, how did those guys drag people away if the illusion didn’t even start!”

The captain was about to foam at the mouth and collapse. The faces of the sailors who were explaining were also full of embarrassment. It seemed that this was an unusual incident even for the people here.

‘Which way did they go?’

How long can an ordinary person last in the water? I don’t know if I can save them in time even if I follow them now. I slipped back and dove into the sea through the other railing. I didn’t think anything of it until then, but after being submerged in the water, I realized that I couldn’t breathe.

‘Ah, damn it, again!’

Why do I keep forgetting? It’s fortunate that there’s a way to fix it, but it would have been a disaster if I hadn’t made a contract with Ellyuen.

‘Sicuehl, summon!’

Without delay, I called the guardian of the sea, who was most needed at this moment. The summoned water wolf quickly recognized the situation as soon as it appeared and immediately put an air bubble on me.

―King’s contractor, are you okay?

Sicuehl, who was looking at me coughing, seemed quite embarrassed. Well, even I wouldn’t have thought that there would be a spirit master who summons a spirit after jumping into the water. I nodded to reassure him, and then I finally came to my senses and looked around. The deep blue scenery of the sea was peaceful, regardless of the situation above the ship. Nowhere could I see a swarm of mermaids that hunted people.

‘Where did they run off to?’

When I was a Spirit King, the sea was more comfortable than land, but it’s clear that there’s too little information I can find in the water since I became human. My vision isn’t clear, and my movements are heavy, so even my senses seem dull. I grabbed the location where the mermaid attacked and went straight down, but I still couldn’t see anything.

―What are you looking for now?

“Mermaids kidnapped people. Can you see any mermaids?”

At those words, Sicuehl seemed to concentrate for a moment and then shook his head.

―It doesn’t seem to be around here.

“Hmm, really?”

If even Sicuehl is saying this, it really means they’re not there. I thought I could at least find traces, but I don’t know how fast they are. I was contemplating whether to go deeper.

―King’s contractor, it’s a message from the King.

Huh?

Surprised, I turned around and saw Sicuehl staring at me intently. A cool expression was added to the face of the handsome wolf.

―Are you out of your mind right now? Come back.

The following voice was the same as Ellyuen’s. I was so embarrassed that goosebumps popped up all over my body.