Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 499

The concern I had about my relationship with Ain Idris didn’t turn out so bad. He went back with a heavy face that day, but from the next day, he came back as if nothing had happened. I didn’t know if he decided not to take it to heart or if he was just avoiding an uncomfortable situation, but thanks to him, the days went by smoothly.

There was an incident where Lamias suddenly barged in, having heard the news, and asked Eluien to call him father too, only to be chased out. And after that, he was so sulky that he declared a one-sided cold war on me. Anyway, even including those things, it was just like any other day.

“But what did Lamias ask Ifrit for?”

To offer a precious liquor made only once every thousand years as a reward, it must have been something big, but I don’t know what he was up to. He said I would find out soon, so it must be something related to me, but I had no idea. Lamias, who was very sulky, wouldn’t tell me, so when I tried to check with Ifrit again, he laughed with an amused look.

“Oh, Young Master. Haven’t you noticed yet?”

“…Was it something happening so close that I should have noticed already?”

“Well, it’s not that big of a deal. There’s a field that Lamias isn’t good at, and he just asked my contractor to do it for him. He’s the only one he can’t ask directly.”

“Why?”

“You shouldn’t be curious about other people’s love lives. Especially if it’s a one-sided love that ends in a miserable rejection.”

…Ah, I see.

I think I unintentionally learned about one of Lamias’s sad memories. When I looked at him with an astonished feeling, Ifrit winked with a mischievous face. When you get to know him, he might be the most ill-tempered among the Spirit Kings.

Anyway, that was that, and time continued to pass without me knowing exactly what Lamias had asked for. As winter approached, the chilly weather became so cold that we had to wear winter clothes. The island wasn’t severely cold, but it snowed often. As the body froze and movements became sluggish, the damage increased in the process of suppressing the monsters. The fatigue accumulated from the daily battles was also a cause.

Perhaps that’s why the Special Task Force’s meals these days were all health food. The chef seemed determined to burn his soul, and it became more delicious day by day, so these days, everyone regarded mealtime as their only joy. It had become a natural routine to wonder what the menu was for the day when they came to work.

“Did you know? The kitchen works in two shifts, day and night. The day team’s food is much better.”

“Oh, really?”

“A friend from Team 3 who temporarily worked a shift with our team member told me. The chef’s skills are on a completely different level. At night, there are often cases where only porridge that’s not even edible comes out.”

“Ugh, we’re doomed. We’re on night duty from next week. We’ve been holding on by looking forward to the food.”

“Still, if it’s night, we’ll probably deal with fewer monsters. It’s the most peaceful time.”

“Honestly, I think it’s better to fight monsters while eating delicious food than to be peaceful while eating bad food.”

“Hmm, that’s true…”

“No, it’s better to be comfortable. You can buy food separately.”

“Is there a restaurant as delicious as the kitchen here?”

Before going out on patrol, during the time to check equipment, a serious topic emerged among the team members. Each person’s argument was reasonable, and no one was willing to back down, so no one could come to a conclusion.

“Team leader! What do you think about this?”

“Ah, well, that’s a difficult question…”

Ain Idris smiled awkwardly with a troubled expression. I was also contemplating which side to take.

“Excuse me.”

Someone approached and spoke to me. When I turned around, a man was standing there with a hesitant face. I think his name was Schultz. Unlike the other team members who got along moderately well, he was introverted, so we rarely talked.

“What’s wrong?”

“The kitchen just called. They’re looking for El.”

“The kitchen is looking for me?”

I go to the cafeteria every day, but I haven’t had any contact with the people in the kitchen yet. I don’t even know the chef’s face, except for a few people who distribute the food. I was puzzled, but I followed Schultz. When I went to the kitchen, I saw people milling around in front of the door. “You’re here!” Some of them found me and their faces lit up.

“Hello. I heard you were looking for me.”

“Ah, yes! That’s right! You’re the water spirit caster [a magic user specializing in water spirits], right? Then can you create water?”

“Yes, I can do that…”

As soon as I agreed, exclamations burst out from all directions. One of them grabbed my hands with a tearful face.

“Oh, how much can you fill? Can you fill a whole jar?”

“I can do more than that.”

“Oh my god! Thank you, God! Spirit caster! Please help us!”

“What’s going on?”

“Come this way!”

They grabbed my arm and started dragging me away without any explanation. Schultz, who was forcibly separated, was embarrassed and hurriedly followed. I was caught up in the situation and pushed to the inner part of the kitchen. There, I saw people standing around with serious faces. They seemed to be discussing something with a few wooden tubs filled with water.

“This is not enough.”

“It’s getting longer now.”

“Can we do it in time at this rate?”

The voices of their conversation were faintly heard. The man who grabbed my arm tightly shouted excitedly.

“Chef! We can get water!”

“What?”

At that, the people inside turned to look at us at the same time. Their faces showed surprise and doubt.

“You got water?”

“Yes! Look! We brought the water spirit caster! She said she can fill a large amount of water!”

“Water spirit caster?”

The eyes of the man called the chef lit up. But I couldn’t react for another reason. The chef’s appearance, which should have been unfamiliar, looked familiar no matter how I looked at it. The shape of his ears, which were longer than humans, and his bluish skin. Although it was covered in a hood, it was clear to anyone that his hair was silver.

“…Sibelius?”

No, why is he here?

There was no mistake. It was a face that I couldn’t mistake even if I passed by. It was definitely Sibelius. At that moment, his expression hardened and he quickly approached and snatched off the hood I was wearing. It was so sudden that I didn’t even have time to defend myself. But when our eyes met, he became even more rigid. His wide eyes shook as if he had encountered an unexpected scene.

“…”

The surroundings became silent in an instant. The people watching were as frozen as Sibelius, who had turned to ice before my eyes.

“Um… can you let go of this first?”

Only then did Sibelius come to his senses and hurriedly took his hand away from me. He seemed to be very embarrassed, as if it wasn’t the situation he had intended.

“I’m sorry. I thought you were someone I knew because you knew my name.”

After hearing that, I roughly knew what misunderstanding he had. It seemed that he wasn’t allowed to be here. The unicorn clan, who are wary of humans, would not have let Rune wander the world, so he must have run away from home. He must have thought he was caught because the person he met seemed to recognize him.

“Aren’t we acquaintances?”

When I deliberately answered mischievously, he swallowed dryly and became even more flustered. It felt like just yesterday that I was embarrassed because he suddenly acted like he knew me at our first meeting, but now that I was in the exact opposite position, it was new in many ways. Yes, Sibelius. Aren’t you embarrassed that I’m acting friendly? I was more embarrassed than that. I could only laugh as I tried to bury the words I couldn’t say here.

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it. I didn’t expect to meet you like this. What happened? Were you working here?”

Sibelius, who had been hesitating, slowly nodded. He didn’t give me a detailed explanation, but I roughly knew the process. I heard that the kitchen also hired more temporary workers while operating the Special Task Force. He must have passed the chef interview among them. When I glanced at him, he was completely stiff. When I saw him at the slave market, he didn’t even think of saving me because I was human, but now he was living among humans without any problems, so he must have been embarrassed. He certainly didn’t have the same cold atmosphere as when I saw him before.

“I didn’t know you were the chef. If I had known, I would have checked it out sooner. No wonder the food was so delicious.”

“…Delicious?”

“Ah, I work here too. I’m in the Special Task Force.”

At that, Sibelius paused again and nodded.

“You said you were a hunter.”

Muttering, he looked at me with a slightly hesitant face. Then he hesitated and opened his mouth.

“Does the food… suit your taste?”

“Of course. I told you it’s delicious, right? It’s not just a compliment, it’s really delicious. Not just me, everyone is eagerly waiting for mealtime.”

“…I see.”

Sibelius, who nodded lightly, seemed a little relieved. Knowing that he was full of pride in his cooking skills, his cautious appearance was refreshing.

“But isn’t it too much? If you were on the island, you should have come to see me first. Didn’t I tell you where to come back then? Ah, did you forget?”

“It’s not that but…”

“Then why?”

“I thought it was just a polite greeting.”

“There’s no way. I was waiting for you.”

Sibelius’s eyes shook again. The shock and confusion he was feeling were conveyed as he quietly closed his mouth, as if he was speechless.

“Ahem.”

I was about to laugh when I heard a small cough. It was a signal from Schultz, who was behind me. Only then did my eyes turn to the people around me. Everyone was confused because they didn’t understand the situation, but they couldn’t interfere and were just pacing around. Seeing their anxious faces, I remembered why I came here.

“But what’s the problem? Why do you need water?”

Every building on the island had water facilities. It was even more obvious for such a large kitchen. Sibelius also belatedly remembered and hurriedly changed his expression.

“For some reason, only contaminated water is coming out of the tank overnight. We’re getting it from other places as a matter of urgency, but we’re running out of time…”

“Can I take a look?”

He nodded and immediately led me to the water tank in the basement. When I turned on the connected pipe, the color of the water pouring out was obviously murky. The stench was so strong that it was obviously contaminated. I took a little with my hand and licked the tip of my tongue, and a chilling sensation spread.

‘…Is it poison?’

It seemed that it wasn’t just dirty.

“Undine.”

The one who responded to the call immediately appeared. As water rose from the air and a translucent girl appeared, the sound of swallowing breaths echoed among those watching. Undine smiled brightly and greeted me, holding the hem of her dress with both hands.

“Can you purify the inside of the tank? And analyze what’s mixed in it.”

Undine nodded and slipped into the tank. Water was still pouring from the faucet that wasn’t turned off. Soon, the murky water gradually began to clear and turned completely transparent. People’s eyes widened.

“Oh, the water is clean.”

“Oh my god…”

Amid the exclamations, Undine rose up and landed gently next to me again after purifying.

“Did you know what it was?”

Undine shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t seem to be able to figure out exactly what it was. As I listened to the explanation she was giving, my face naturally frowned.

“You think it’s someone’s blood?”

I asked for a small glass and handed it over, and Undine poured a purple liquid into it. It was a collection of the components that acted as poison while purifying.

When it was mixed with water, it smelled bad, but when it was collected separately, it didn’t smell at all. It didn’t even smell like blood, so it just looked like paint or ink.

“Was this in the tank?”

“That’s right. It’s what was extracted from the water.”

As I was looking at it, Schultz approached and examined the liquid with me. I nodded and answered his question, and then a low groan was heard from somewhere else.

“This is…”

Surprised, I raised my head and saw Sibelius staring with a stiff face. He looked a little confused as he examined the liquid.

“Why is this in a place like this…”

“Do you know what it is?”

When I asked carefully, he hesitated and nodded.

“I think it’s the sap of a demon tree.”

“Demon tree?”

I was puzzled because I didn’t know what that was, but soon I understood the situation and hardened my face. Demon tree was a term for trees that grow in the Demon Realm. Although they were plants, they were no different from monsters, and because they only grew in the Demon Realm, they could never cross over to other worlds by ordinary means.

“Are you sure?”

“There’s a demon tree I know that has this color sap. It’s not a high-grade demon tree, so it doesn’t have magic power, but it can cause strong hallucinations, so demons often use it to play pranks without revealing their identities.”

If Sibelius, a unicorn, was saying it, it was almost certain. The continuous rifts were a problem, but now it was the sap of a demon tree, I don’t know what’s going on. I swallowed the sigh that was about to come out and took the liquid.

“Thank you for letting me know. I’ll take this to the higher-ups and report it right away. Anyway, the tank has been purified, so it should be fine now.”

“…Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I have to go now. I can’t leave my post for long because it’s almost patrol time. I’ll come back to see you later. Let’s slowly catch up then. By the way, what’s on the lunch menu today?”

Sibelius, who was listening to the words pouring out like a machine gun with a slightly complicated expression, opened his mouth at the last question.

“Duck stew, steamed potatoes, and grilled abalone. Dessert is butternut squash pudding.”

“Wow, really? Everything sounds delicious! I’m looking forward to it!”

I had been waiting for mealtime anyway, but now that I knew the chef was Sibelius, I was looking forward to that time even more. Sibelius, who blinked at the words I said with a smile, slowly nodded. I thought I could see a little of his face that I knew in his very slightly softly curved eyes.