Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 562

562.

I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t even think to ask what he was doing. Besides, the other person was still a child. What good would it do to get angry at a kid? The anger that couldn’t find its direction bubbled inside me before fizzling out. I just stared blankly at my hair, and Sibelius tried to offer some clumsy comfort.

“Well, let’s think positively, El. You don’t have to go through the trouble of growing your hair back.”

“…Is that all?”

“Huh? No, um… Actually, I think blonde suits you better…?”

“No, never mind. Don’t say any more.”

Please don’t try to comfort me. Unless you want to see me explode. I smiled thinly to convey that meaning, and Sibelius drooped his shoulders, looking dejected. I could almost see ears that weren’t there drooping on his head.

Well, it’s not your fault. Getting annoyed here would just be taking it out on the wrong person. I sighed and looked up to see the little mermaid hesitating. It seemed like she thought she was doing something good, but the reaction wasn’t great, so she looked scared. Her expression, as if asking if she had done something wrong, was quite cute, which eased my troubled mood. It’s already done, so there’s nothing I can do. But I decided to let her know what she did wrong.

“Little one, you have to get permission before doing things like this. Don’t change things without asking from now on, okay?”

The little mermaid blinked at my gentle scolding. She didn’t seem to understand, and sure enough, a cheeky reply came.

“Why?”

“Well… because this is my hair? You shouldn’t touch other people’s things without permission. It’s the same principle.”

“But I was helping you? It was different from your original hair color.”

“Well, not everyone lives with their original hair color. Some people want to change it to a different color.”

Perhaps the little mermaid thought something terrible would happen if her natural hair color changed. Maybe she thought it was contaminated or damaged. So she might have been trying to help by restoring it. Or maybe the mermaids’ world is very conservative. I was considering possible reasons when the little mermaid smiled brightly.

“But you shouldn’t change it.”

“Huh? What?”

“All spells have a basic foundation. No matter how solid it is, it’s best to maintain these basic rules. Besides, your spell is unstable right now. You should protect it even more.”

…What on earth is she talking about?

I felt like I was hearing a foreign language. It wasn’t something a child would say, but the content was even more nonsensical. Spells, basic rules… Was she talking about my current state? My face hardened as I felt the blood draining from it. The mermaid’s eyes sparkled playfully as we met again. My head felt numb, as if I had been hit.

“…Kanos?”

Like a lie, everything around me became silent. I couldn’t feel people breathing, or even the air flowing. I quickly turned to Sibelius, but he was frozen as if time had stopped. It was as if all the time around me had stopped, except for where I was standing. No, to be precise, it wasn’t just me. The little mermaid opposite me—or rather, another being wearing the mermaid’s skin—was also moving perfectly fine. It was the Demon God Kanos, with a sly smile on his face.

“Oh, you’re quite perceptive? I didn’t expect you to notice right away.”

Hearing his admiring words, as if he was genuinely surprised, the headache I thought had disappeared returned. I didn’t want to guess this right!

“What is this, Kanos!”

“I said I’d come to see you. I just kept my promise? Weren’t you waiting for me?”

“Of course, I was waiting! No, that’s not it! Why in that form!”

“What’s wrong with my form? Isn’t it cute? Didn’t you like it too? You were looking at me with an expression that said you were so in love you didn’t know what to do.”

I never did! Even if I did, it was only for the innocent little mermaid, but if Kanos is inside, it’s a very different story. Seeing his face smiling shamelessly, knowing everything, made me grind my teeth.

“Change back right now.”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“I’m not fine, okay?”

“Is that important?”

“…Who is the god gleefully throwing lightning right now? Does he have to be in the form of a species he’s exterminating?”

“Oh, you got me there. Alright, alright. Wait a moment.”
The little mermaid, or rather Kanos, clicked his fingers lightly with a look of being caught off guard. Then his form grew rapidly, quickly taking on the appearance I knew. The moment I met his tall height, jet-black hair, and dark eyes filled with deep darkness, I unconsciously swallowed.

“Is this better?”

His voice returned to normal as well. I finally calmed down and slowly nodded. Now I felt like I could have a proper conversation.

“Looks like you’ve found the friend you were looking for.”

His smiling face, as if everything was going well, made me feel strange. Lapis had also been quiet since he appeared. It wasn’t just silence, but a feeling of disconnection.

“What did you do? This isn’t real space, is it?”

“That’s right, I only brought your consciousness here. The real you is currently leaving the forest with your unicorn friend. You seem to know it well since you’ve experienced it before.”

Of course, no one knows it better than me. Thanks to that, all my carefully laid plans were ruined. This solved all the questions I had. It meant I was being deceived. I was dumbfounded, but seeing his bright smile, which showed no guilt, made me sigh.

“Ellyu, no, Father… What did you do to Elquines?”

“Puhaha, why do you have so many titles?”

“None of your business. Why do you care?”

“Alright, alright. I won’t laugh, so don’t pout. I sent your Spirit King back to the Spirit Realm. He’s probably still asleep.”

I was about to argue that I wasn’t pouting, but I stopped at his next words.

“Asleep?”

“Your identity was exposed, so I erased his recent memories and replaced them with others. It’s a side effect. I made it so he just wanted to rest and returned to the Spirit Realm, so you should stick to that story too.”

“…Is that possible?”

“It’s not impossible, but it’s very difficult. That’s why I used so much divine power.”

He was smiling normally, so it didn’t seem like it at all, but I believed him since he said so himself. Let’s not forget. Kanos is a god who didn’t show any signs until right before he disappeared. Don’t be fooled by his attitude. The more nonchalant he is, the more likely he is hiding his true feelings. If he touched the mind of a Spirit King, especially Ellyuen, he must have poured out all his divine power.

“I’m sorry. I was too careless.”

“Hmm? Oh, well.”

Kanos, who blinked as if he didn’t expect me to apologize, chuckled.

“Actually, this wasn’t really your fault, but rather the other party was too perceptive. How many types of spells have prohibitions on them? Usually, they wouldn’t think you were a Spirit King from the future just because you revealed one of them.”

“Still…”

Anyway, I should have been more careful. As I was deeply reflecting, I soon felt a heavy hand on my head. Kanos, whom I looked up at, seemed very pleased.

“An Elquines who isn’t arrogant. I like it no matter how I think about it.”

“Oh, is that so…”

“It’s also quite interesting that you’re gentle but actually a formidable opponent. I guess this is what it means to have thorns on a rose? Actually, I was aiming for something like this, but it doesn’t work out well. I guess the effect is greater when it’s unintentional.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“It means my cute junior is still taking a considerable amount of my divine power.”

So, it meant that I was also a Spirit King, so it wasn’t easy to take over my consciousness. He explained that even with the best efforts, a few years was the limit, and thanks to that, his divine power was completely depleted, and he couldn’t move for a while. That was why he hadn’t responded to my calls and why he had indirectly conveyed his intentions through the oracle. Because he lacked divine power.

“Wow, the day has come when I’m exhausted and passed out from divine power depletion. This is the first time I’ve ever experienced this. How are you going to take responsibility?”

“Ugh, I won’t apologize for that. Kanos did it on his own.”

“That’s true. It’s all because of my greed.”

A moment of silence passed. It seemed like the time had come to bring up the main point that I had been consciously avoiding.

“There must have been a reason why you had to do that, right?”

Kanos’s smile became strange. His face didn’t show whether it was positive or negative, which made me even more anxious. He, who had been looking straight at me, looked away for the first time.

“Well, how about we have a more beneficial conversation than that? For example, how you can return to your original world. Wasn’t that the biggest reason you wanted to meet me?”

“…Is there a solution?”

“You can’t return even if you try, right?”

I could clearly feel him changing the subject, but I couldn’t help but nod. This was also an important issue.

“It must be a side effect of me supplementing the spell. But I don’t think I can give you the answer you were hoping for. The problem occurred while tampering with the formula, so there’s no separate way to fix it. If you want to maintain the spell, you have to accept the side effects.”

“Th-Then what do I do? Can’t I go back like this?”

“No, that won’t do. But it’s not too twisted, so I think it will be solved automatically if you find out the core keyword of the spell.”

“The core keyword…?”

“The incantation connected to the god who cast the spell on you. It’s in your subconscious. I can’t do anything about this. You have no choice but to awaken it yourself.”

Awaken it myself. Is that even possible? A sigh naturally escaped my lips. If I could have remembered it, I would have remembered it already. It meant I had to wait indefinitely until I remembered it, but I thought it would be faster to have my identity exposed before that. Kanos seemed to think so too, as he had a troubled look on his face. The next moment, he muttered something and lightly flicked his fingers. For a moment, my vision blurred, and a cool sensation enveloped my whole body. When I looked at him in confusion, a bright smile returned.

“I’ve put a safety device on it for now.”

“A safety device?”

“It’s just for buying time, but it’ll still be useful. If someone seems to recognize your identity, hold their hand and say you’re sorry. Then they’ll lose their memory of that part.”

“Wow, really?”

While I was looking down at my body in amazement, he explained a few precautions. It was only effective for things that were inferred, and it was useless if I revealed the truth first. If the other person was a Spirit King, they would feel a sense of incongruity even if their memory was erased. The more they were aware of that incongruity, the higher the probability that the sealed memory would be broken.

“Once the seal is broken, I can’t take responsibility. So try to think of the keyword as soon as possible before that happens.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

A farewell gift. My heart dropped at his next words. It didn’t just mean he was going back now. It meant this was the last time we would see each other. I couldn’t even smile back at his playful wink. I desperately grabbed him, as if he would disappear at any moment.

“Please answer just one thing before you go.”

“You really don’t know how to give up, junior.”

Kanos smiled with a helpless expression. He was showing signs of being troubled all over his body, but I didn’t back down. If today was the last day, I had to hear the reason even more. The reason why he deliberately blocked a future that could be changed.

“Do you perhaps know everything about the future?”

This was the only reason I could guess. Then Kanos blinked and soon burst into a clear laugh.

“Ahaha, no, no. Even Radeka can’t do that. Do you know how many forks the future has? Depending on what choices you make in the same situation, the results are all different. And which one you choose depends on the situation and emotions of the day. So, in fact, none of them can be said to be the right answer.”

“Then…”

“But you can follow each path of choice.”

My heart dropped again. Kanos, who was looking at me in agitation, seemed to have made up his mind to explain now. He seemed a little relieved.

“For example, you put in settings and run a simulation. Of course, this also has errors compared to reality, so it’s just a matter of inferring possibilities.”

Until now, no matter what he did, the results were almost the same. Whether it was Karyuan or another name, that soul always hated God and greedily craved power. Most of the time, he couldn’t stop it, and even if he did, he couldn’t even estimate the extent of the damage.

“But you told me about a peaceful outcome.”

“…”

“So I have no choice but to take that path.”

I clenched my clothes tightly as I looked at his deepened smile. So, in the end, it was the same thing. Because I came from a future where Karyuan was safely destroyed. Therefore, the situation I know must unfold as it is so that the future Divine Realm can stop Karyuan. That was a conclusion that only Kanos could make. Because he already knew it would happen from this point on.

“You didn’t show any signs at all…”

“Nyahaha, I’m good at that. Lying is my specialty?”

No. He wanted to save Karyuan. He believed he could change the path and didn’t give up until the end. It was hard to imagine how many choices he had been involved in and tried to lead in different directions in unseen places. But he failed.

“Can’t you just destroy his soul completely now?”

“Hmm, that’s too obvious, so I didn’t even try to infer it. He’s actually a corrupted soul from the beginning. If you destroy him without purifying him, the turbidity will remain and someone will inherit it. It might even go to the worst. Ah, by the way, now is the purification process.”

“That’s ridiculous…”

“Haha, right. Isn’t it boring? It’s always easier to commit something than to undo it. The same goes for the affairs of the Divine Realm. It’s all karma.”

My heart felt heavy at his calm smiling face. Even more so because I knew the results were terrible.