Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 547

547.

“……Lend it to me? To a Unicorn?”

“Oh, about a year ago, they came saying they heard rumors about the sacred object and asked to borrow it for a while. They pleaded so earnestly, saying it was absolutely necessary, and I felt sorry for them. So, I lent it to them. Now that I think about it, I forgot to get it back.”

*I’ve found another way to meet the master directly.*

*To think that’s what it meant. They were trying to directly summon Luseph through the sacred object.* I was dumbfounded that I was rejected by Lantasha, but I never imagined I’d be beaten to it by a Unicorn. My head was spinning.

“What, you needed it too?”

“Yes……”

“Why are you looking for it? Trying to find your destined partner? It doesn’t necessarily show only good matches. If you’re unlucky, you might get tangled with a destined nemesis. I’ve seen plenty of couples ruined by getting involved like that.”

At this point, the sacred object’s additional function hadn’t been revealed yet. So, Lantasha naturally assumed I wanted the mirror’s original function. I don’t know how the Unicorns found out about the information that even the owner didn’t know. Maybe they were the ones who revealed the additional function to the world. Either way, being a step late stung.

“But how did you know I had Highton’s sacred object?”

“Oh, well, someone told me.”

“Who? …Was it Rals, that bastard?”

The languid eyes that had been relaxed while smoking immediately sharpened.

“No, it wasn’t.”

“No, my ass. Who else would have told you such a thing if not him? Did that bastard blab about seeing himself in my mirror? Seriously, he can’t keep his mouth shut.”

……So, his own story was included in those couples ruined by bad matches. There was no point in denying it since he wasn’t going to believe me anyway, and I couldn’t honestly say who told me, so I decided to just stay quiet. The fact that situations for a bad match kept getting added meant that mirror was indeed miraculous.

“Anyway, if you’ve come all the way here, you must really need that mirror, right?”

“Yes, I need it.”

“Then let’s do this. I’ll write a letter to the Unicorn Elder. You go in my stead and get the sacred object. You can take care of your business at the same time, don’t you think?”

The momentary hesitation might have been unavoidable given that I knew the future. The sharp Lantasha didn’t miss that brief pause.

“Why, you don’t like this idea?”

“Ah, no! I’d be grateful if you did that for me. It was a rude request, but thank you, Lantasha.”

As soon as I snapped out of it and answered, Lantasha, who had been looking at me with strange eyes, soon gave a bitter smile. Then, he immediately wrote a letter on the spot, stamped it with his seal, and handed it over.

“Here, take it. There’s nothing to thank me for. Either way, even with my letter, the process of getting it back won’t be easy. Unicorns aren’t friendly to other races. Especially humans.”

“I’m prepared.”

“Alright, good luck.”

The farewell was simple. Thankfully, Lantasha told me not to break the barrier next time I came. I thought he would ask me to deliver it through Ifrit even if I found the sacred object, but at least that meant he was willing to see my face again.

That was already two days ago. How much progress have I made in the meantime? I haven’t even started, let alone left, and I haven’t even brought it up to Sibelius. I tried a few times, but seeing Sibelius’s face, who knew nothing, I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

Why did the Unicorns have to be the ones to take the sacred object? There’s no need to accompany me, I can go alone, but this journey itself feels like a prelude to Sibelius being trapped in the circlet, and my heart is heavy. Isn’t my playing a decisive role in my friend’s dark past already more than enough with the last incident? I really wish they’d stop now.

“If it’s going to happen anyway, shouldn’t it happen?”

Lapis said something comfortable, as if it wasn’t his problem. That’s right. What has to happen will happen. I could have watched it from a distance if it wasn’t happening because of me.

*‘Do you know how it feels to be the seed of misfortune?’*

“Give me a break.”

*‘No, think about it. It’s no different from condoning something you can prevent. How can I face Sibelius after going back?’*

“Here we go again. Weren’t you done with that worry?”

*‘What are you talking about?’*

“You kept trying to twist the future because of those thoughts, didn’t you? Right?”

“……!”

“Right? I warned you, but you didn’t even pretend to listen.”

He must be talking about when I decided to kill Karyuan. I thought I heard someone warning me, but that was Lapis too. My heart fluttered at the thought that I wasn’t alone even in that terrible moment. Come to think of it, Lapis was with me at the meeting with Kanos. How does he remember that moment? Can memories be manipulated even in gem form?

“I do.”

I was curious if Lapis had memories of the past, so I asked him casually, and a short answer came back. He said he clearly understood the situation until right after meeting the Demon God, but after that, when we started talking in earnest, he couldn’t hear anything. Then I fainted, and after regaining consciousness, I returned to my daily life as if nothing had happened. It was exactly the flow that was planted in my memory.

“So, I thought you were persuaded after talking to the Demon God. But seeing you ask this, it seems your memories are different from mine?”

*‘Actually, it’s a bit complicated. I just saw illusions.’*

“Tell me in detail.”

I leaned on his more serious tone and explained my past experiences. From being suddenly swallowed by darkness after Kanos disappeared to the illusions that followed one after another. And that they were mainly illusions related to Minerva’s contractor, including the process of creating the Sword of Wind.

*‘But after all those illusions ended, two years had passed.’*

“Wow……. But don’t you have all your memories?”

*‘Yeah. I can recall them if I try to think about them. So, I thought my memories were manipulated.’*

“I don’t think so. Simple memory manipulation couldn’t make you feel the flow of time. It doesn’t make sense to meticulously manipulate the memories of spirits or spirit kings like me. I just think you were bewitched?”

I guess so. Well, memories that were simply created couldn’t be this detailed. It’s definitely impossible to completely deceive the senses of the spirit kings, even if you fool other people. At least Ellyuen can’t be fooled. Lapis summed up the whole situation in one word.

“He really played with you.”

I felt more comfortable hearing his blunt assessment. I guess it’s because I feel like someone finally understands the sadness that I thought only I knew. I don’t know if it’s a good thing that the points I’m moved by are getting lower and lower.

In the end, after much deliberation, I told Sibelius everything. He said he felt like I had something to say but wasn’t saying it, which bothered him, and when I said I might have to visit the Unicorn Village, his expression clouded over.

“So, I think I’ll have to go for a while. I’ll take care of it quickly and come back, so you just stay here. Can you just point out the location of the village?”

“…The Unicorn Village has a magic circle, so it’s hard to get in even if you know the location. They’re also very wary, so they won’t readily cooperate.”

“I’ll have to do something about that. If all else fails, I have my father [referring to Ellyuen, a powerful spirit].”

They might ignore a human like me, but they won’t be able to ignore a spirit king. Sibelius didn’t have anything to say about that, and his face immediately showed agreement. But there was something we didn’t think of. Sibelius is always in a dangerous state even if he doesn’t accompany me to the Unicorn Village.

The moment we regained our sense of urgency came unexpectedly. It was time to dispose of the prey, so we decided to visit a civilian house before leaving for the Unicorn Village. As usual, I was about to enter the Hunter Association branch when Sibelius, who was following behind, urgently grabbed my arm and stopped me. Surprised, I turned around and saw him staring intently at the door with a hardened face. As if there was something inside that shouldn’t be there.

With a bad feeling, I reduced my presence and slightly opened the door to peek inside. The place, which was always quiet without customers, had guests today. They were people who had pulled their hoods down deeply to their noses, and they looked like foreigners at a glance. The branch manager was looking at a picture that they seemed to have given him.

“Yes, that’s right. It was this face.”

“Are you sure?”

“No doubt. There can’t be two faces like this. The other party members have such flashy appearances that he tends to be overshadowed, but this one also has a handsome face, so I definitely remember him. In the first place, Blue Elves aren’t common in this area.”

Blue Elf. The word that couldn’t be mistaken for targeting someone was etched in my ears. Just as the branch manager was returning the picture to them, the inside was clearly visible in the direction I was in. The picture of a young man with bluish skin, long ears, and silver hair was Sibelius at a glance. They even considered the possibility of changing his appearance and drew him in various races.

*‘It’s the Unicorns.’*

They found out that Sibelius was here.

Now they were getting information from the branch manager about the area we were active in. After exchanging signals with their eyes, we carefully left the place quickly so as not to be detected. After that, we hurriedly returned to the tent, erased all traces of our stay, and moved the area.

So that even if they noticed we had left, they wouldn’t be able to catch up quickly. It was fortunate that Ellyuen knew how to use space movement magic, like today. We were finally relieved after moving to a place with no connection at all so that they couldn’t even make inferences.

“Wow, they were still chasing us. We almost had a big problem. Right?”

“……Yeah.”

Sibelius, nodding his head, looked depressed. He seemed to have been reminded again of his situation that he had forgotten in the brief peace. That was the same for me. We managed to get through the crisis for now, but now I couldn’t help but consider the realistic problems.

What if Sibelius is discovered by the pursuers again while I’m away? It won’t be easy to escape by luck like this time. But I’m afraid to choose to go together and break through because I don’t know what will happen there. Is this what it’s like to be unable to do either? I sighed as I looked at Sibelius, who had become pitiful like a rain-soaked puppy.

“……Let’s eat first and then think.”

* * *

The place selected by Ellyuen was a fairly large urban area. It seemed easier to hide our tracks because it was a place with many travelers and an indifferent atmosphere to people coming and going. Still, since it wasn’t an environment where we could pitch a tent, we decided to go into any restaurant nearby. Just as we set out, a small restaurant came into view.

Maybe it was because it was an ambiguous time, but there were no customers in the restaurant. It seemed to be a restaurant run by the owner alone, and there was only one worker. The man, who was surprised by the sudden customers, hurriedly guided us to our seats and took our orders.

After ordering something simple to eat, the surrounding scenery came into view properly. I knew we had come to a fairly distant place, but now that I looked, even the building shapes and people’s clothes were subtly different.

“But where is this, Father? I don’t think it’s the Epen Kingdom.”

“It’s the Cherba Confederation.”

The name of this place, which was only unfamiliar at first, was now quite familiar. If the Epen Kingdom is in the north, the Cherba Confederation is a country in the south. We had moved almost from end to end.

“I’m sorry it turned out like this because of me, El. I haven’t even explored the forest yet……”

Sibelius still looked depressed. There were many things to consider, so I haven’t told everyone yet that I found the Soul Stone. I decided to just tell him honestly.

“Don’t worry about it. Actually, I was thinking of leaving that forest anyway.”

“Wasn’t there something you were trying to find there?”

“Well, actually, that’s what I mean. I think I found it.”

“Huh, really?”

Sibelius, surprised, widened his eyes. He soon seemed to have gained enlightenment in another sense as well.

“Could it be, that necklace?”

That was the only impressive event recently. He was also the one who pointed out that the fragment in the fossil was a Lapneria crystal. When I nodded awkwardly, Sibelius was even more amazed. In comparison, Ellyuen was still indifferent, which bothered me even more.

“Why aren’t you surprised, Father?”

“I had a rough idea. Recently, your attitude towards exploring the forest has been subtly perfunctory.”

……At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ellyuen had already noticed that I came from the future. Even if he’s pretending not to know on purpose. Since the spell would have been broken at the point he realized it, I guess that’s not it.

“But that necklace, didn’t you get it from the kid you met there?”

“Uh, um, yeah.”

“You said that was right after you arrived there.”

“……Yeah.”

I wish he wouldn’t keep confirming things when he already knows what’s going on. I feel like I know what kind of expression he’s making even without seeing his face.

“Whether he’s a lucky guy or a bad guy.”

A dry face wash naturally followed the quiet clicking of his tongue. I’m the one who wants to know that more than anyone else. But what’s making me anxious isn’t these trivial things. The most decisive reason why I couldn’t honestly say that I had found Lapis all this time. The main point I’ve been waiting for hasn’t come out yet.

“I agreed to help you until you found it.”

*That’s what I’m talking about.*

Yeah, I knew that was coming. I don’t know why he remembers this so clearly when he can’t remember people. My heart sank even though I was prepared. Sibelius, surprised by the story he was hearing for the first time, widened his eyes again.

“……Are you breaking the contract?”

“Maybe.”

“Father? I’m your son?”

“Sons are bound to leave their fathers and become independent someday.”

“No, I want to live with Father forever.”

When I forcibly put my arms around him, Ellyuen seemed flustered but didn’t say anything in particular. If he didn’t like it, he would have immediately pushed me away, but it seems he’s trying to postpone his decision a little longer. Seeing this, he’s surprisingly weak to whining. I wonder if I can keep using this method in the future.

“You guys are really playing well.”

I pretended not to hear the grumbling that only I could hear. I don’t know why he’s picking a fight when we’re showing a harmonious father-son relationship.