Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 500

500. The Reunion

The Ma-mok sap I brought was immediately reported and submitted to the commander. Although there had been numerous battles since the unit’s creation, this was the first time the Special Forces were so openly targeted. The surprised commander questioned every detail, from beginning to end, and hurriedly took the sap before leaving. It seemed the internal affairs would be chaotic for a while.

Of course, my insides had been in turmoil long before. If it had been ordinary poison, I would have just accepted it, but it had to be Ma-mok. The image of someone I couldn’t help but recall asserted its presence like a thorn in my throat.

‘Please, just let it go.’

I didn’t want to complicate things further here. I was trying to pretend I didn’t know, to turn a blind eye, but the situation didn’t seem to care about my circumstances at all. Just thinking about it made my head spin, and I sighed deeply when someone quietly approached me. It was Schultz, who had been dragged along with me the whole time because we were together.

“They said we can return now.”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”

“You too, El.”

After answering calmly, he hesitated slightly and looked at me. He seemed to have something to say, so I was about to turn to him, but he seemed to realize his actions and immediately looked embarrassed.

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Is there something you want to ask me?”

“…No.”

“It doesn’t seem like nothing. You can ask me comfortably. What’s wrong?”

When I didn’t back down and kept asking, Schultz looked a little embarrassed. But he must have felt that there was something to say, as he soon opened his mouth with a serious expression.

“About purification. How far is it usually possible?”

“How far do you mean?”

“Generally, some poisons are difficult to detoxify depending on the type. I thought there would be limits even for spirits, but if you can extract only the poison like today, it seems like there would be no range that you couldn’t detoxify. I was wondering if that’s possible because you’re a high-level spirit master, or if all spirit masters can do it. I was also wondering if you can purify not only water but other things as well.”

His words surprised me even more. In the common perception, spirits were powerful and miraculous living weapons. Just like how people would even ask me, a water spirit master, if I could get water, many didn’t even know that spirits could purify pollution. But Schultz was taking that fact for granted.

Come to think of it, I also learned this during the reporting process, but the reason they found me in the kitchen in the first place was because Schultz, who happened to be passing by, advised them. No wonder he guided me right away without a messenger. I guess he felt some responsibility for being dragged along.

“Are you interested in spirit magic?”

“Just a little, I’ve read some related books.”

“So you are interested. What do you mean by purifying other things?”

“People, for example…”

People, does he mean people who are poisoned? I stopped abruptly as I turned to him for a more detailed explanation. Schultz, who was waiting for an answer, tilted his head with a puzzled look as I stared at him.

“What’s wrong?”

“Come closer for a second.”

“Yes?”

He stepped back even further, seemingly embarrassed by the sudden request. I approached him without paying attention, and I could feel him fidgeting. I got closer and slowly scanned his whole body. His hair was dark brown, and his eyes were almost the same color. His impression was ordinary, without any striking features, although his hair, which covered his face thickly, made him look a bit gloomy.

“Hmm, so that’s what it was.”

“What do you mean…”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I tend to get backstabbed a lot. So, I have a habit of suspecting things if I feel even a little uneasy. But this is quite an unexpected result.”

I immediately reached out and grabbed something near his neck. Following the chain on my fingertip, a round medal appeared. The shape and the engraved pattern were familiar.

Schultz’s face turned pale in an instant at the sudden attack. But honestly, I was more bewildered. So, this was what he meant by asking if I still hadn’t noticed.

“You were supposed to be kept safe in a secure place, why are you here?”

I never imagined he would be so close. I especially didn’t think he would be among the people I faced every day for almost two months.

“Davian.”

I whispered in a low voice so only he could hear, and Schultz, no, Davian’s expression stiffened even more. I let him step back and took my hand away, and he quickly hid the necklace back in his clothes. The face he raised carefully was stained with a complex light.

“Did Duke Sepion give you that?”

At first, I thought he had borrowed Ifrit’s, but upon closer inspection, it wasn’t exactly the same. It seemed that the request through Ifrit was for the production of the same magic tool. Davian hesitated and nodded slowly as expected.

“…But how did you know?”

“That magic tool is supposed to be perfectly effective, but if you start to pay close attention, you can feel a sense of incongruity. It’s so ordinary that it makes you suspicious.”

“It’s usually difficult to notice. You’re amazing as expected.”

Davian muttered in vain and swallowed a light sigh. I wondered if I had done such a great job to deserve the word ‘as expected,’ and then I remembered that I had been working with him throughout the crack processing operation. He had been the most unremarkable member until just before, and I didn’t know how things had turned out this way.

“By the way, your tone has changed a bit. Didn’t you speak more casually before?”

“…Because you are my benefactor.”

So, he was the type to care about that. He was too reckless when we met on the train, and I didn’t have time to talk to him after he was released from the workshop, so I never thought he was this kind of person. I found it amusing and stared at him, and he avoided my gaze.

“What instructions did you receive from the Duke?”

“There weren’t any specific instructions. I requested to be here on my own.”

“You did?”

“I wanted to be of help when needed.”

His steadfast gaze turned to me. What he meant was that he wanted to help me. He probably wanted to do something rather than just hide. But even this was probably intended by Lamias. According to my memory, Ifrit had left his seat at his request before going to rescue Davian. He wouldn’t have prepared the magic tool in advance without anticipating this situation.

“Why don’t you contact Chris? He’s worried.”

“…It’s difficult because there are eyes watching.”

“Still? They’re quite persistent.”

I expected that Davian’s connections would be monitored for a while after escaping from prison. But it had been quite some time, and they were still watching. It seemed that Umbra’s work wasn’t the only reason for their thoroughness.

“It seems we have a lot to talk about. You know it’s too late to draw a line now, right?”

Davian hesitated and nodded slowly. Fortunately, he seemed willing to explain. Just in time, the other members of the patrol team came to find us, and the conversation ended there.

“Let’s talk again later.”

Davian, who managed to understand the quickly delivered words, expressed his intention with a nod this time as well. Watching him return to his unremarkable Schultz persona, I swallowed my complicated feelings. Following Sibelius, even Davian, it seemed today was a day for reunions.

* * *

The opportunity for me and Davian to talk came sooner than expected. That evening, I received a summons from Duke Sepion. He wanted to hear directly about what had happened in the kitchen, so I went to the designated place and found Davian already waiting in front of the door.

“Welcome.”

As we opened the door together and entered, Duke Sepion raised his hand to greet us. The way he was sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed was obviously bad posture. That’s half Lamias. I shook my head inwardly and greeted him as if I didn’t know.

“Greetings, Duke.”

“Ah, you can skip the cumbersome formalities. Just come and sit down.”

…Aren’t you skipping too much? I sighed inwardly as I watched him wave his hand dismissively with a bothered attitude. Davian, who didn’t know the complicated circumstances between me and him, was understandably nervous.

As I sat on the sofa opposite him as instructed, Duke Sepion glared at me with fiery eyes. I returned his gaze with a smile, as he didn’t seem to have any intention of hiding his true nature. He twitched his facial muscles wildly. But he still hadn’t lost his reason, as he spoke to me again calmly.

“So, how was your day today? It seems like there was no usual report.”

“It was quiet today.”

Davian answered calmly, noticing the atmosphere. As he said, the cracks that occurred every day didn’t happen today. The members who didn’t know about the situation because of the gag order enjoyed the rare free time, but it was quite a coincidental timing. Duke Sepion’s expression also became serious, as if he had the same thought.

“Why do you think I called you here?”

“Has the composition of the liquid been identified?”

Davian spoke again this time. That was inevitable, as Duke Sepion was only focusing his gaze on him. It seemed difficult for him to maintain his composure when he looked at me. I preferred that, rather than getting into a pointless war of nerves. But it would have been much better if he hadn’t called me at all.

“It’s as you reported. The analysis of the liquid in the tank confirmed that it was Ma-mok sap. We are investigating when, who, and how they accessed the tank, but so far, we haven’t found any traces.”

Undisguised annoyance was evident on his face as he explained. The Special Forces, which were created to divert Ain Idris’s attention, unexpectedly became active, which wasn’t good for him either. Pretending to take responsibility and actually having to take responsibility were different in many ways. It was also someone expanding the situation according to his plan, so he couldn’t have been happy.

“The situation has changed again. This is no longer just a matter of repairing cracks. So, I want to assign a separate mission to the two of you.”

“To us?”

I turned to Davian in surprise, and Duke Sepion smiled. He seemed to enjoy teasing me even in this situation. No matter how I thought about it, I shouldn’t have come to this empire. I should have gone to find another dragon, even if it took a little longer. As expected, my father’s words were becoming my flesh and blood.

“I know that you’ve already found out who he is. Honestly, I thought you would have noticed earlier. You were surprisingly late.”

“…I don’t want to hear that from someone who didn’t give me even a hint.”

“I told you to skip the formalities, not to act presumptuously.”

“I didn’t know that’s what you meant. I’m really sorry.”

We smiled at each other for a while, staring intently. If we could send electricity with the intensity of our glares, lightning would have struck between us by now. Only the innocent Davian couldn’t find a place to intervene and kept swallowing hard.

“So, what mission are you going to give us?”

“Infiltrate the Temple of the Evil God.”

“…What?”

I blurted out a question in embarrassment. Duke Sepion didn’t take issue with it this time, perhaps because he thought it was understandable. He just reminded me with the same smiling face that I hadn’t misheard him.

“I said, infiltrate the Temple of the Evil God.”

Of course, hearing it twice didn’t make the words sink in properly.

“What on earth do you mean by that?”

If it wasn’t Duke Sepion in this place, or even if Davian wasn’t next to me, I would have grabbed his collar right away. Maybe that’s why he called Davian with me. He smiled shamelessly at me, who was trying to respond calmly.

“The cracks are related to the Demon World. The Ma-mok is the same. The Temple of the Evil God is the only place that can analyze this situation, but it’s sealed, and the agents who have infiltrated it have all disappeared. Isn’t it a problem that can’t be ignored anymore, and don’t you already know what to do?”

“Of course, I know, but why us?”

“Of course, I judged that there is no one more suitable than you. You are strong enough to handle this, you understand this situation better than anyone else, and aren’t you the people who are deeply involved?”

That was true. But I also knew, and he also knew, that there was a barrier in the Temple of the Evil God, and the Evil God was directly involved in that barrier. To find out what the high-level god was deliberately hiding, the only way was to be trapped in that barrier. I thought it was too mean to trick me, but Duke Sepion didn’t budge.

“If it’s infiltration, it would be better to send Ain Idris than me.”

“If you want, I’ll attach him too.”

“My tongue is not working properly…”

My words weren’t pronounced properly because I was clenching my teeth. Duke Sepion finally smiled, satisfied.

“To be honest, I can’t fully trust Ain Idris.”

“When did you ever fully trust him?”

“Didn’t I say the situation has changed again? Do you know who his swordsmanship instructor is?”

“I heard it’s one of the Knights of the Royal Guard…”

“That’s right. He’s the commander of the 3rd Knights. His daughter recently got engaged to a noble from the Epen Kingdom.”

“…”

“Do you understand what I mean now?”

It seemed that nothing was going right. I barely got him out of Jinheon, and now there’s a problem with his instructor? I couldn’t think of anything to say and just swallowed a groan. Was it just getting twisted like this because it was a hopeless situation anyway? In any case, it was full of holes everywhere.

“If you come back, what you’ve been looking for will be prepared again.”

“…!”

I raised my head sharply without realizing it. Duke Sepion’s eyes, which met mine, curved softly, almost mockingly.

“You can’t back down anymore. Investigate the Temple of the Evil God. All you have to do is find out what’s going on inside.”

The voice that followed again echoed like a death sentence.

No matter how I think about it, this era doesn’t welcome me. That much seemed certain.