Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 569

569

But the surprises didn’t end there. Ifrit, who had been turning away with a bitter expression, froze in his tracks at the sight that suddenly entered his vision. He had felt something was missing, and now he knew what it was. One of the fortresses guarding the Spirit Realm had vanished without a trace. He rushed over to investigate, and the situation became even clearer. The earth territory had been completely destroyed.

“You have got to be kidding me…….”

Ifrit cursed under his breath as he stared at the remnants of the land. Even when he had genuinely started wars and provoked others, he had never been so brutally trampled. To a Spirit King, their territory was the source of their power. Damage to it directly impacted their strength, and it wasn’t easy to regenerate. At this rate, it would take decades to restore. He couldn’t even begin to estimate how many earth spirits had been annihilated.

Of course, Trowel had committed an act that warranted such a response. To interfere with another king’s contractor was tantamount to declaring war on that Spirit King. Hadn’t he himself been severely punished for trying to torment Elquines out of spite? Trowel had even crossed the line. Trying to torture and kill someone else’s contractor… it was a wonder Elquines hadn’t annihilated him.

“No, El must have stopped him from annihilating him. That’s why his contract was terminated. Wow, this is insane.”

Trowel must already know that his territory was in this state. Without its master, the territory wouldn’t regenerate; instead, it would only deteriorate further. If even the remaining ruins disappeared, turning the land into a complete wasteland, it would take more than just decades to recover. He needed to return as soon as possible, but who knew where he was or what he was doing? Saying he couldn’t find Trowel wasn’t just an excuse. Judging by how deliberately he was hiding, he clearly hadn’t come to his senses yet. At least he would need time to recover, so he wouldn’t be able to cause any trouble for the time being. That was the only consolation.

Sighing, Ifrit slowly looked around. Of the four Spirit King territories, one was sealed, one was destroyed, and one had locked itself away. What was going on? And that was the reality he couldn’t avoid.

“Wow… the Spirit Realm is in such great shape, really great shape.”

Once again, Ifrit reaffirmed his unique truth: there wasn’t a single sane Spirit King among them. It wasn’t just this generation; he had heard that previous generations were all the same. Spirit Kings were supposed to be composed of pure, newborn souls, so what was the problem? Or was that the reason?

If this messed-up place was ever going to function properly, someone needed to be born with memories of their past life or regress. The fact that neither was possible made the situation even more hopeless.

* * *

『What’s wrong, El?』

A pure white horse with golden horns and massive wings turned to look at me with sparkling eyes. Even though I knew it, I could never quite get used to Cybellius’s true form.

“No, I’m just wondering if this is really okay.”

『Haha, it’s fine. Come on, get on.』

He smiled lightly and turned his back to me. He even lowered his wings to make it easier for me to mount, but I hesitated. It was funny how the human heart worked. I could ride on সিকুএল’s [unidentified character/being] back without a second thought, but riding Cybellius felt different. It felt like I was violating his human rights(?). He didn’t seem to mind, and I had seen him carry others before, but for some reason, I felt awkward and embarrassed.

『Just think of it as getting a piggyback ride.』

“That’s embarrassing in its own way. How old do you think I am…….”

『El, you’re much younger than me. By my standards, you were born yesterday.』

I was momentarily speechless at his playful words. Of course, that’s how it would seem from the perspective of a creature who had lived for over a thousand years. Wasn’t 100 years still considered childhood for a unicorn?

“Whatever. You’re just a newborn in my eyes.”

Lapis grumbled, consumed by petty jealousy. He was completely ignoring the fact that he hadn’t even been born in this era, caught up in his childish rivalry. There was no point in pointing it out; he would just argue that we should count the years he spent as Rafneria, so I just let it go.

“I’ve been thinking, and I think I have a fear of flying. I had a terrible experience when I rode a Bijo before.”

『It’s an insult to compare the riding experience of a unicorn to that of a Bijo.』

No, please don’t call it a riding experience. It feels really weird.

In any case, riding on the unicorn’s back was surprisingly comfortable. There was no saddle or anything to hold onto, but as we soared through the sky, I felt no turbulence or even air resistance. The tension in my body, which had been bracing for the Bijo experience, melted away.

Cybellius spread his wings and soared high into the sky at a rapid pace. Clouds spread out like carpets, and a bright blue sky unfolded beneath the dazzling sun. I couldn’t help but smile at the refreshing feeling.

『How is it, El? It’s incomparable to a Bijo, right?』

Cybellius boasted like a child seeking praise. I smiled and stroked his silver-white mane.

“Yeah, it really is.”

“The hell it is! I can fly faster and more comfortably than that!”

I laughed again at the voice, still burning with tireless competitiveness. It was a peaceful time. So peaceful that I wondered if it was okay to be this content.

One month passed, and the world remained quiet. There was no news from Trowel or Ifrit. Without Eluien’s protection, I couldn’t visit Lantasha’s lair, which was like a pit of fire, so I spent my days waiting.

Of course, I couldn’t just sit around and do nothing, so I tried to find my own way. The first thing I tried was summoning Trowel and Ifrit. That was the easiest way to contact a Spirit King. But for some reason, neither of the spells worked properly. Ifrit’s spell would start to activate but then dissipate midway, and Trowel’s wouldn’t even activate at all. Was it possible for a spirit to reject a summons? I couldn’t think of any other reason.

Reluctantly, I shifted my focus to finding Diagon, but that wasn’t going smoothly either. Lapis knew the location of the lair, but it was deep underground and had no entrance, making a normal visit impossible. On a whim, I sent a messenger bird to Lamias to see if he could help, and the reply I received after several days was this:

「He’s not home right now. I found out he’s been gone for several years. That means he won’t be back for a while.」

He was just using euphemisms to avoid saying that he had gone out to play. But just as I was about to give up, a second reply arrived in quick succession.

「There’s a bar he frequents. You could try going there. It’s in Aisen Village in the Seygal Principality, and the bar is called ‘The Little Giant’s Paradise.’ It’s run by a retired soldier, and I heard he visits once or twice a month.」

As expected, the head of the intelligence agency was amazing! There were also some minor additions, such as how he was very disappointed that I was contacting him after so long only to ask about someone else, and that he wanted a full explanation of what I was up to later, but I decided to ignore those.

In any case, now that I had a destination, the problem of how to get there followed. Ever since I met Trowel, I had been avoiding places with people as much as possible. I didn’t know when he might come looking for me again, and I didn’t want to involve others. Naturally, I couldn’t use accommodations or transportation like trains or ships. But Seygal Principality was an island surrounded by the sea. Just then, Cybellius suggested a new method.

“Ride on me.”

……It was a phrase that could cause a lot of misunderstandings, but he meant that he would transform into his true form and give me a ride. I refused a few times at first, but he insisted so much that I eventually gave in. I had been relying on Cybellius for accommodation, but I never thought I would be entrusting him with transportation as well. He even dropped me off in a secluded forest after we arrived and went to scout the village alone.

“Trowel might be there or watching. El, you wait here. I’ll go and see, and if he’s there, I’ll bring him here.”

“How would you know who he is? You said you were too distracted to even get a good look at the dragon back then.”

“Still, I can roughly distinguish a dragon-like guy. It’s better than El going directly and things getting worse in the village.”

“That’s true, but…….”

“Yeah, so leave it to me.”

It was a kindness I had no reason to refuse. He was already taking care of every meal, so I wondered if this was really okay. At this point, I had to seriously consider whether I was any different from the unicorns he used to serve.

“What’s new? You used me thoroughly too.”

Um, that’s true. I couldn’t refute Lapis’s claim, so I quietly agreed. I still had a conscience; I couldn’t deny it.

Cybellius scouted the village every day from early morning until dawn. While he was in the village, I stayed alone in the forest, guarding the tent. For the first few days, it was bearable. I could chat with Lapis or do some physical training if I was bored. But as that turned into a week, then two weeks, then a month, I gradually began to feel disillusioned with this life.

Diagon hadn’t shown even a shadow. I had no way of knowing if he had noticed I was looking for him and was hiding, or if he couldn’t come for some other reason. I wanted to find out if there was another place to go, but I couldn’t make a decision easily, fearing that we might miss each other. Being unable to do anything made me increasingly irritable.

“No matter how I think about it, this doesn’t seem right.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

“Do you know this, Lapis? I once saw a story about a knight who dug a tunnel with a spoon and escaped from prison.”

“……What kind of crazy thing are you planning to do now?”

“I’m a Sword Master, so I should be able to dig faster than that, right? No matter how deep it is, it shouldn’t take a month.”

“Hey…….”

Yeah, let’s dig. I’d rather dig in the ground. There’s a barrier installed in the dragon’s lair. If I dig into the ground and destroy it, he won’t be able to stand it and will have to come out, no matter how far away he is! Now that I thought about it, I wondered why I had been going around in circles when it was so simple.

“Where is Diagon’s lair located?”

“Hey, get a grip.”

“Whatever. Don’t stop me. I’m going to dig right now.”

Ignoring the clicking of his tongue, I jumped up from my seat. But just as I confidently burst out of the tent, I felt someone quickly running away.

‘Intruder?’

Almost reflexively, I followed and grabbed the person’s collar. A gasp echoed, but I didn’t care and slammed them to the ground before subduing them. I raised my fist, intending to knock them out, but a terrified voice rang out.

“Ugh, wait! I surrender! I surrender!”

It was a familiar voice. I stopped my fist just in time and checked the face of the person pinned beneath me. The hood they were wearing was pulled back, revealing thick black hair.

“You…….”

“Oh, hi? You remember me, right?”

How could I not remember? It was a face I couldn’t possibly forget. It was Diagon, the one I had been looking for for the past month.

“Trowel isn’t here. I’m alone.”

He continued speaking as soon as I looked around. Seeing his awkward smile made me feel frustrated, so I struck the ground next to his face. Diagon, who had swallowed a scream, curled up.

“Don’t act tough and get up. Don’t even think about running away.”

“You don’t look like it, but you’re so scary…….”

“Do you want me to show you what’s really scary?”

“No.”

Diagon shook his head seriously and jumped up from his spot. Seeing him grinning made the resentment I had built up over the past month seem to ease a little.

“How long have you been watching me?”

“It hasn’t been that long. I went to my usual bar after a long time, and I saw a blue elf there who looked familiar. I was suspicious, so I looked around the area and found you. Really.”

It was different from what I had imagined, but Cybellius had led me here. He had no idea what was going on here.

“You’re not here by coincidence…… You came to find me, right?”

I nodded at his cautious question, and he smiled with a troubled expression. He kept glancing at my leg, as if recalling the previous situation.

“Um…… it looks like you’re okay. Elquines healed you, right?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s really a relief. You looked like you were in so much pain.”

“Really? I was in pain.”

Did my nonchalant response put even more pressure on him? I didn’t mean to get angry, but Diagon’s face turned pale, and he didn’t know what to do.

“Look, I’m really sorry. It’s only natural that you’re angry, and I wouldn’t say anything even if you came for revenge. But I want you to know this: Trowel made me attack you back then. I personally have no feelings for you.”

“You attack people without any personal feelings if someone tells you to?”

“Ah, no, that’s not it…… I just thought Trowel would tell me if I helped him…… Sorry, I was blinded by my own desires.”

“Tell you what?”

He must have had a deal of some kind. Diagon was silent for a moment at my casual question. He seemed more shy than reluctant to reveal it.

‘Wait, shy?’

A sudden premonition made me frown. I hoped it wasn’t what I thought, but the law of things always worked without fail.

“Well, there’s someone I like. I was just so curious about what she thought of me…….”

“…….”

“I really couldn’t help it. I confessed, but she didn’t react at all, but she didn’t seem to dislike me either. She doesn’t show her feelings easily.”

Who was the first person to say that assumptions can kill? I think they had excellent insight. Ah, so it was because of his love life. He wanted to know Lantasha’s true feelings? I stared at him in disbelief, and Diagon’s face turned as red as a burning fire.

“Ah, damn it.”

I heard Lapis screaming in my head. If he had a physical body, he would have washed his eyes and ears with water right away. Diagon, completely unaware that his future second son was suffering, could only clear his throat.