Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 52

The Phoenix Merchant Guild, which the Champagne Mercenary Corps was escorting, was one of the three largest merchant guilds on the continent.

They regularly visited Clamore every two to three months to supply goods, and each time, they hired additional mercenaries in addition to their own bodyguards. The guild’s leader was cautious and preferred a safe schedule above all else. Consequently, they had hired more than three mercenary groups besides Hussen’s.

“Ugh, aren’t those guys the Vodka Mercenary Corps?”

On the day of departure, Harold, who had gathered at the meeting place, frowned upon discovering someone in the group. He was looking at a group of mercenaries wearing black leather armor. Similarly, Iril and Mighty, who also spotted them, simultaneously hardened their expressions.

“Vodka? Ugh, it really is them. Why are those guys here?”

“Don’t tell me they’re coming with us too?”

“Ugh, I hate this. My motivation to work just plummeted.”

“Did the captain know? Why didn’t you say anything?”

Hussen simply shrugged at the people’s dissatisfied gazes.

“If I had said something, what would have changed?”

“Of course, we would have refused this request! Don’t you know how awful those guys are? They loot and rape women at every chance they get, acting worse than third-rate thugs. What were you thinking when you accepted this request?”

“The pay is good. It’s hard to get this much anywhere else. Just put up with it, even if they’re annoying.”

“I don’t want to! Just thinking about being with those guys for months makes me sick. Can’t we just return the down payment and cancel the contract?”

“No. We don’t have enough to return the down payment, and we’re barely scraping by with the remaining operating expenses this month. We can’t afford to be picky.”

“What? We worked hard last month. Why is the operating budget already depleted?”

“…Are you really asking that right now?”

Harold flinched under the fierce gaze. Hussen glared at him with an expression that seemed ready to chew him up and spit him out.

“Before you start flapping that big mouth of yours, remember how many pieces of equipment you damaged during the last request. We told you to subdue the monsters, but you completely wrecked the barricades. And that’s not all, is it? You beat the client to a pulp in the request before that. Where do you think the treatment costs came from?”

“W-Well, that’s because that bastard said something derogatory about mercenaries…”

“A simple threat would have been enough. But you broke his wrist and completely ruptured his leg muscles. Your hot temper is driving our mercenary corps to financial ruin. I’m warning you, if you cause any more trouble this time, I’ll kick you out of the corps, so be prepared.”

“Tch…”

“The answer?”

“Alright, alright. I’ll be careful, okay?”

However, none of the corps members seemed to readily accept his words. Instead, they looked as if they were waiting to see how well he would do. Just from that, it was clear that he wasn’t very trusted by his companions.

“Well, well, who do we have here? Isn’t it the Champagne Mercenary Corps?”

Hussen and the others naturally turned their gazes toward the voice they heard. Their faces twisted in the same way as if they had made a promise upon discovering the person standing just a step away. It was the Vodka Mercenary Corps.

They scanned Iril and Sherry with lecherous eyes for a moment. Then, they asked Hussen, the captain, in a sneering tone.

“This mercenary corps still has a lot of beauties, I see. How does it feel to work with women on both sides? Does it make you feel more like a hero?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I just thought that being next to such beautiful ladies would make you want to work harder to impress them. But no matter how I think about it, I still don’t understand. How can women be helpful in combat? They look like they can’t even lift a sword properly with those slender bodies.”

“Haha! Maybe they just scream and hide when monsters appear?”

“Watch your mouth. Iril and Sherry are Silver Wing mercenaries.”

“Oops, my mistake. It’s just that the women I know only know how to cling to men and act cute. I thought everyone was like that.”

“That bastard…!”

Mighty looked furious at the blatant insult. He clenched his fists and was about to rush toward them.

Swish!

The Vodka Mercenary Corps froze in place at the sharp sound of air being cut. The man at the front stroked his cheek with wide eyes. Red blood was flowing from the deeply cut cheek, as if it had been torn.

Standing in front of him was Iril, her purple hair tied up in a bun, smiling seductively. In her hand was a long, black whip.

‘Wait, a whip?’

I was taken aback and looked at Iril again. Even after looking again, it was definitely a whip in her hand. Moreover, it was clearly a whip designed for torture, with bone fragments embedded in various places.

“C-Captain!”

“That bitch! What are you doing all of a sudden? Wielding a whip out of nowhere!”

The person who was hit by the whip seemed to be the captain of the Vodka Mercenary Corps. As the members screamed in shock, Iril replied with a bright smile.

“Oh my, I’m so sorry. As you said, I’m a woman, so I don’t have the strength to hold a sword. So, as you can see, I’m using a different weapon. I just wanted to show it off, but I didn’t expect you to get hit. You should have dodged it. I don’t know if you can even catch a single goblin being so slow.”

“W-What?”

“Don’t lie! You did that on purpose!”

“Oh my, really. If I had swung it with all my might, you wouldn’t be alive right now.”

“What nonsense…!”

“Shall I show you?”

But they couldn’t say anything more.

At that moment, the whip that Iril swung wrapped around a tree right next to them. At the same time, the tree’s body trembled as if it had been struck by lightning, and cracks began to appear in the once-intact trunk.

Crack, crack! Thump!

The tree, leaning to the side with a loud noise, was soon split in two and fell to the ground. It was an unbelievable phenomenon that could have been caused by a single whip strike. The faces of the people who witnessed the shocking sight all turned pale.

“O-Aura…?”

She smiled as brightly as an angel at someone’s muttering.

“If you understand, get lost, you idiots.”

The tone was as refreshing as her bright face (although the content contained within was far from refreshing).

The Vodka Mercenary Corps members retreated obediently while hardening their faces. Having seen the power of the whip with their own eyes, they didn’t seem to have the courage to attack. However, they couldn’t abandon their pride until the end, and they didn’t forget to throw a few clichéd words before leaving.

“W-Well, anyway, we’ll be traveling together for a while, so let’s get along.”

“Hey! Don’t think we retreated because we were scared!”

“…”

Hussen and the others’ faces twisted in the same way at the petty appearance until the end. And Iril lightly coiled the whip that was hanging on the floor and snorted.

“Just let one of you get caught. I’ll tear you to pieces.”

Even though I knew she wasn’t talking to me, my body trembled involuntarily. Not only me, but the other members also wrapped their arms around themselves as if they were feeling a chill. Among them, I heard Harold grumbling in a small voice.

“Seriously, with that temper, that’s why she hasn’t been able to get married yet.”

There was no way Iril wouldn’t have heard the words that I heard. Now I knew why she hated Harold. That unnecessarily chattering mouth was the problem. Iril raised her eyes sharply and glared at Harold.

“What did you say just now, Harold?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Don’t make me laugh. What’s wrong with me that I can’t get married? Do you want to die by the hand of a woman who can’t get married?”

Swish!

The coiled whip fell to the floor again. Harold took a step back with a pale face.

“Hey, hey. That’s cheating. I don’t have any weapons right now?”

“Do you think I’ll let you off just because of that?”

The terrifying whip that could cut down a tree whole flew towards Harold without hesitation. What was unexpected was that Harold, who had a large build, had pretty good reflexes. He rolled around and ran away from the range of the whip. However, Iril’s attack was relentless. The more times he dodged, the more small and large scratches appeared on his face and body.

“Uwaaak! Someone stop this witch!”

I looked around at the other people with a nervous feeling. However, every gaze I met shook their heads. It was a kind warning not to get involved and get caught in the crossfire.

In everyone’s thorough indifference, Harold and Iril’s life-or-death hide-and-seek continued.

‘Is a murder going to happen soon?’

It was a moment when I was sincerely worried about the future of this journey.

* * *

Unlike the uneasy start, the journey that followed was smoother than expected. The group, who had been growling at each other as if they were about to eat each other, were only focused on their duties after departure. Furthermore, there was hardly any contact with the Vodka mercenaries that I was worried about. This was because the procession was so long and each person had a different area to cover.

The Champagne Mercenary Corps was in charge of the rear of the procession. Most people think that being at the front is more dangerous, but in reality, the rear is just as important. This is because monsters and bandits don’t always attack from the front. Rather, they often deliberately target the rear, which is easy to overlook. Also, in the event of an unavoidable escape, it was also the rear’s job to deal with the pursuing enemies.

“Ugh, it’s starting to get cold.”

Mighty muttered, tightening the leather vest he was wearing.

The weather, which had already entered autumn, had a large daily temperature range, just like in Korea. The days were suffocatingly hot, but at night, the cold was so biting that it felt like it would cut your skin.

Among the people who couldn’t stand the fickle weather, there were already many patients with colds. Fortunately, Hussen and the others were still fine, perhaps because they were born with healthy constitutions.

“By the way, what month is it now? It’s autumn, right?”

“Hmm? Ah, it’s the month when the goddess enjoying the atmosphere of midday rests her feet. When these steps are taken a couple more times, the violent saint will come with an ice spear.”

“…”

I learned this while hanging out with these guys, but people here don’t specify the exact month when talking about the seasons. Instead, there were names for each season. For example, spring was ‘the fairy’s yawn as she wakes up from sleep,’ summer was ‘the festival of spirits running along the blue waterfront,’ autumn was ‘the goddess’s footsteps enjoying the atmosphere of midday,’ and winter was ‘the procession of the violent saint.’

Well, depending on the person, they might add a little more poetic expression or call it in a different way, but it was generally the same in that it was expressed in an embarrassing way. For that reason, it was as difficult for me to find the accuracy of the date in what they said as it was for a camel to enter a needle hole [an extremely difficult or impossible task].

Think about it. You made an appointment to meet someone, and the other person says to you, ‘Let’s meet when the fairy waking up from sleep finally blinks her eyes, at the time when the sun is slightly tilted.’ What am I supposed to know what they’re saying? It’s not like a mystery novel. I might grab the guy by the collar as soon as I hear those words.

“But why?”

“No, I was just suddenly curious. How long will it take to get to Clamore from here?”

“Hmm, at least when we arrive, it will be around the time when the violent saint sticks that ice spear into the ground. Clamore is an area with a lot of snow, so the saint’s arrangement will be even more alive. It’s good to prepare thick clothes.”

“Haha, yes.”

So what does that even mean?

I answered with a smiling face, but I really can’t understand what it means. Does it mean early winter when the ice spear is stuck into the ground? Then December? The goddess’s footsteps must continue for a couple of steps before the violent saint comes, so winter will come at least two months later. So does that mean it takes that long to get to Clamore from here?

‘Damn it. A stupid guy won’t be able to live here for long.’

As I was grumbling inwardly, Trowel, who had already approached, asked with a puzzled expression. When I briefly explained the current difficulties, he kindly began to explain with his unique smiling face.

“When they say ‘when the violent saint sticks the ice spear into the ground,’ it’s already past early winter. In early winter, they only say that he ‘came.’ Also, in the middle of winter, they say that he is resting against that ice spear. So what Harold said is the middle of early winter and midwinter.”

“R-Really?”

“Yeah. In exact terms, it means early January. So you can think of it as taking about three to four months to get to Clamore from here. You said that in Korea, you divide the year into twelve months, right? It’s the same here. However, people here like poetic expressions so much that they just do ‘wordplay.’ They enjoy interpreting each other’s ambiguous meanings.”

Ugh, it’s a hobby that people who don’t like mental torment like me can’t sympathize with at all. Why do they deliberately twist it and make you interpret it when they can just say it easily? Anyway, it seems that there is no creature that enjoys self-abuse as much as humans.

Around that time, there was some kind of result. The water trade, which had been openly conducted, finally began to disappear. This was because people no longer bought water due to the heavy rain that fell every three days.

At the same time, the imperial palace also issued an official document to each region strictly prohibiting the water trade. On the surface, the reason was that the drought was completely over, so there was no need to buy and sell water anymore. However, anyone who knew the rumors circulating in the world would obviously doubt the truth.

And as soon as the official document was issued, I immediately stopped making it rain. If people could use water as much as they wanted, frequent rain would rather be an inconvenience. At the same time, I also intended to make people more suspicious if the rain stopped as if it had been planned.

And my expectations were somewhat correct. As soon as the official document was issued and the rain stopped, people began to raise their voices of suspicion toward the Grand Duke even more. On the other hand, there was also a rumor that God had intervened to save the people suffering from the Grand Duke’s ugly actions. Of course, Trowel was disgusted every time he heard such stories.

“Anyway, that damn God. He’s still taking the glory without doing anything.”

I chuckled as I watched Trowel grumble like a child.

At that time, the movement of the procession stopped. The very front stopped moving. It was still far from break time, so I was puzzled and muttered.

“What’s going on?”

“They’re reorganizing their weapons and luggage. From now on, it’s a path where monsters appear.”

“Monsters?”

Ah, I remember there was something like that. I couldn’t hide my curiosity and asked Trowel.

“What do monsters look like? You don’t mean wolves or lions are monsters, do you?”

“Hmm? Weren’t there any in the place you used to live?”

It was clear that the place he was asking about here was Korea. I slowly nodded my head.

“I guess they look like monsters…”

“They’re mostly like that. But not all of them are just hideous. There are ordinary ones and some that are so beautiful that they can captivate you at first sight.”

According to his explanation, monsters were a type of humanoid with low intelligence. For that reason, some of them walked upright, and some even spoke fluent languages. However, their personalities were very violent and aggressive, so they couldn’t get along with humans and remained enemies living in forests and fields.

“The more beautiful the appearance, the higher the possibility of being a high-level monster. There’s almost no chance of them appearing around here because there’s no dragon’s lair nearby.”

“Huh? What does that have to do with the dragon’s lair?”

Could it be that the high-level monsters are the ones that often appear near the dragon’s lair? As I turned around with a curious expression, Trowel quickly nodded his head as if he had read my mind.

“Dragons have the power to control monsters. That’s why they’re also called the kings of monsters. There are usually a lot of monsters living around the dragon’s lair.”

“Hee, I see.”

Then, Harold asked me, who was admiring, as if he was puzzled.

“Did El come from another world or something? How come you don’t know anything about things that everyone knows?”

“Ahaha, w-well… I actually haven’t been out much since I was young. So there are a lot of things I don’t know about the world.”

“Hmm, you certainly look like you’ve been raised well. Did you grow up in a temple?”

I didn’t know what he was talking about, but I nodded my head in confusion. I thought that if I grew up in a place like that, it would be okay if I was ignorant of the world. Then Harold’s eyes widened.

“Oh? Really? Then are you a candidate for priesthood?”

“Yes? Ah, yes, well…”

“Hoo, I see. No wonder you have a very pure aura. Which god do you believe in?”

Huk! Which god? Which god?

I swallowed hard because I didn’t know how to answer. I didn’t know that I would fall into such a dilemma because of a lie I had inadvertently blurted out. It was Trowel who saved me from that.

“The god El serves is Eluien, Harold.”

‘……Eh?’

As I widened my eyes in embarrassment, Harold stared at me as if to ask if it was true. I had no choice but to nod my head.

“M-Matthew is right.”

“Hee, really? If it’s Eluien, you mean the god of punishment, Lord Eluien? I’ve heard of him too. I heard that the priests of that god are good at martial arts and have quite good healing abilities. El, can you use divine power too?”

“Yes? Ah, well…”

“Ah! Well, if you can use divine power, that means you’re already a high-ranking priest. There’s no way someone as young as you is already a high-ranking priest. Sorry, I asked something unnecessary.”

Harold immediately apologized, perhaps accepting that I was in trouble as a sign of denial. Thanks to that, I let out a long sigh of relief inside.