Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 574

574

“……This is truly absurd.”

I was about to greet him, opening my mouth to speak, but he muttered lowly first. I flinched, bracing for a scolding, but he was still just staring at the spot where I had stabbed him.

“I knew you weren’t afraid, but I misjudged you. You lack the most basic instinct as a human being.”

“Oh, um…… is that so.”

Where have I heard that before? Didn’t Lapis say something similar to me before?

“You should be careful after the contract was terminated. Why on earth are you…….”

I could sense deep fatigue in his appearance as he sighed and rubbed his eyes. It’s strange. He, who was always as solid as an iron wall, seemed particularly weak now. Enough to remind me of the moment when he collapsed, covered in blood, after saving me.

The moment I realized that, I also realized what I had been missing all along. I was so busy protecting my own feelings that I didn’t have the 余裕 [yoyuu – leeway, room to spare] to look back at others. Lapis warned me so many times. I knew what had happened because of that. And I forgot it again.

I thought this world was too harsh on me, that only I was suffering and struggling. I thought that since it was a relationship I had forcibly started from the bottom with nothing, it would only have meaning for me. So I thought I was the only one holding on all along. But I wasn’t the only one who was hurt. He was hurt as much as I was.

“I’m sorry, Father. I was wrong.”

I hurriedly reached out and hugged him. Ellyuen didn’t avoid me and remained still.

“I was really wrong.”

The breath I felt nearby was faintly disturbed. After a moment, a slow touch reached out and gently stroked my hair. I hugged him tighter. I felt like I was going to cry at the warm body temperature.

* * *

The commotion outside was felt some time after that. I was ending the hug with Ellyuen with an embarrassed feeling, but at that moment, the door burst open and someone hugged me as if tackling me.

“Oh, Master!”

I could tell it was Ifrit just from the way he spoke.

“You’re finally awake! Are you okay? Are you really okay? What on earth is going on! Why did you do such a thing! You should have stabbed Trowel with that sword instead! That guy was already running out of power, so he wouldn’t have been able to resist and would have been reverse summoned in an instant! Then, for decades to come, he wouldn’t have even been able to see the Middle Realm, let alone destroy humanity! Oh, what did this pretty and kind Master do wrong!”

“Ugh… wait, let go of me… so I can speak…….”

It’s nice that he’s worried about me, but he was hugging me so tightly that it was hard to breathe. As I was coughing, his body flipped backward and forcibly fell away. Ellyuen had grabbed him by the back of the neck and threw him.

Thanks to that, I finally got to see Ifrit’s face, who was in the form of Lil with blonde hair. He groaned in pain, probably because he had hit the back of his head as he fell, and glared at Ellyuen with a resentful face.

“What are you doing!”

“Don’t be annoying.”

“What does it matter to you! You’re not Master’s contractor anymore! What gives you the right to disturb my and Master’s cozy time together!”

“I didn’t quit being his father.”

I was the first to gasp at that answer. Certainly, he quit the Spirit Contract, but he didn’t say he was quitting the father-son relationship. He didn’t say anything even when I kept calling him Father. But I didn’t expect this answer from the original Ellyuen, or from him in this era. Ifrit was also flustered, with a dumbfounded expression, and soon shouted in anger.

“Huh! Look at this sneaky guy! So you were planning this from the start? Do you even have a conscience?”

“Get lost.”

“Why do you always tell me to get lost whenever I do something! I don’t want to! I’m not going to get lost! It’s my heart’s desire where I stick around!”

“Then you’ll have to take responsibility for the consequences.”

“Master! Your father is bullying me!”

……I don’t know if this is a fight between Spirit Kings or a children’s fight.

I stared at Ifrit, who was pretending to hide behind me, with an absurd feeling, and shook my head. Even in this situation, the corners of my lips kept rising, making it even more difficult. It’s not the time for this yet. The situations that have been happening since I woke up have been so peaceful that I can’t help but lose myself.

I looked around to get my mind back on track. It’s nice to have an unexpected reunion, but Trowel and Sibelius, who were with me, were nowhere to be seen. I didn’t know how the situation had turned out after that, or how much time had passed.

“Um, how long has it been since I woke up?”

“Master? You’ve been sleeping for two full days.”

Ifrit answered my cautious question. Two days. It was a longer time than I thought.

“Elquines said that it’s because Master hasn’t been sleeping properly lately. Thanks to the healing magic, your fatigue was relieved, and your body became relaxed, so it’s like a reaction to that. Right, Elquines?”

“…….”

Ellyuen gave him a look that said, ‘Why are you explaining that?’ While the two Spirit Kings were glaring at each other fiercely, I chose my next words in my mind. But Ifrit opened his mouth even before I could ask.

“Trowel went to clean up his territory.”

I guess it was too obvious that I was looking for someone. I see. He went back to the Spirit Realm. I don’t know how to interpret this. Surely everything hasn’t ended in the meantime.

My memories after collapsing are hazy. I think Trowel grabbed my hand and cried, but I was too drunk with sleep to be sure if it was a dream or reality. The atmosphere I feel right now isn’t bad, but you never know. Maybe I became the last human while I was asleep. I wish it was just temporarily postponed. I was afraid to ask in case my ominous imagination came true. Then, as if noticing my anxiety, Ifrit smiled.

“Don’t worry, Master. I think that guy has come to his senses now.”

“Huh……?”

“I’m talking about Trowel. He decided not to kill humans.”

I stopped breathing without realizing it. It was the words I wanted to hear the most, but when I actually heard them, it didn’t feel real at all.

“……Really?”

“Really.”

Ifrit’s smile deepened.

“He didn’t touch anything except the first village he destroyed. He immediately cleaned up the scene and rescued the survivors. Fortunately, everyone was out working, so the casualties weren’t as great as I thought.”

When I blankly stared at Ellyuen, he also nodded. Only then did I start breathing and unconsciously put strength into my hands. Trowel decided to stop. He withdrew his plan to exterminate humanity. He twisted the future that Kanos had shown. He prevented the ending where he would fall.

“That’s a relief…….”

My voice trembled because I was so overwhelmed with relief. I was so happy that I wanted to cry, so my head was confused. It was clear that my expression right now was ridiculous.

“You really worked hard, Master. Thank you for stopping him.”

Ifrit, who had an expression as if he was about to cry as much as I was, opened his mouth in a low voice.

“Actually, I was really 막막 [makmak – feeling lost, hopeless]. If it wasn’t for Master, no one would have been able to save that guy. It’s all thanks to Master. It’s actually something we should have done, but I’m ashamed. Not only humans but the entire Spirit Realm owes you a great debt.”

“No, Ifrit. Don’t say it so difficultly. I’m just doing it for my family.”

Ifrit, who had widened his eyes at those words, smiled softly.

“I’m really glad I met Master.”

He was always kind, but it felt like it was the first time I had heard such a sweet voice. He held my hand tightly.

“It’s not much of a substitute, but Master, I’ll definitely help you when you have a hard time in the future. I won’t let you go through hard times alone. Rely on me as much as you want.”

“Yeah, thank you.”

“I mean it. I’ll be your best friend.”

After saying that as if swearing an oath, he lightly kissed my forehead. I realized what had happened a beat late. It was Ifrit’s unique ability, the Kiss of Blessing. A blessing of fire that he doesn’t readily give to contractors. It meant that he had acknowledged me as his person.

“Th, thank you, Ifrit.”

“That’s what I should be saying.”

As I was dumbfounded by the unexpected gift, Ifrit smiled and stroked my head. Ellyuen, who had been sending dissatisfied glances the whole time, knocked away his hand as if he couldn’t stand it anymore. Once again, the two Spirit Kings’ gazes clashed fiercely.

Just then, I felt someone entering the room. It was Sibelius. He must have already known that I had woken up, because his expression as he looked at me was calm.

“Sibelius.”

Come to think of it, I have to apologize to him too. Seeing his friend trying to commit suicide right in front of his eyes, I gave him such bad memories. If it were me, I would have cursed him out as soon as I met him, but he was just quietly watching, which made me feel even more guilty. While I was hesitating about how to start the conversation, Sibelius came up to me without saying a word and placed a tray with a bowl on it in front of me. When he opened the lid of the bowl, a sweet and savory smell wafted out.

“It’s been two days since you woke up, so you must be hungry. I made your favorite bean soup. Eat it before it gets cold.”

“……Sibelius.”

I grabbed the hem of his clothes as he turned around and tried to leave. Sibelius, who had been forcibly stopped, turned his body back to me as if he couldn’t help it. His expression was stiff, but his eyes were red as if he was about to cry. Seeing that, my mouth opened on its own.

“I’m sorry.”

At that moment, tears fell from Sibelius’s eyes. He distorted his face and bit his lip tightly. A suppressed sob flowed from him as he lowered his head.

“I thought you were going to die.”

“……I’m really sorry.”

“Never, never do that again.”

“Okay.”

I nodded, engraving his sobbing voice in my heart. Ellyuen and Ifrit’s expressions were also heavily sunken. I slowly took in each of those appearances. There were things I had to remember for the rest of my life.

“I won’t do that again.”

* * *

Sibelius wasn’t the only one I had to appease. After finishing the soup, I came out to the living room and saw Lamias sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed, looking very sulky. As soon as our eyes met, he gestured with his finger, and I approached him hesitantly. I sat down in the opposite seat like a criminal, and he stared at me for a long time before saying as if grinding his teeth.

“I heard everything.”

“Ahaha, yes. You heard…….”

“You! You didn’t even tell me about this important thing!”

“I’m sorry.”

“How could you just do such a big thing without fear…… huh? What?”

The words that were pouring out quickly like a machine gun suddenly subsided as if he didn’t expect me to apologize right away.

“I was so impatient that I couldn’t see anything else.”

“……Hmm, well, that’s true. You wouldn’t have had the time or mind to think properly. I just wanted you to know that there are people who are worried about you.”

“Yes, I know. Thank you for worrying about me.”

His expression softened even more at my smiling reply. Lamias, who was looking at me with a complicated face, sighed deeply.

“I didn’t think Trowel would really commit to that crazy plan. I thought he would just vent his anger and stop. My own kind were enough to show that there’s no answer when a crazy guy has power, but I didn’t realize that even when looking at a Spirit King……. I’m glad things worked out somehow.”

“Ahaha, me too.”

“Trowel himself restored the accident site, so it seems to have been roughly cleaned up. I sent condolence money anonymously to the bereaved families and victims. It was a bolt from the blue for the people there, but it’s a peaceful ending considering that a Spirit King ran wild. It’s all thanks to you.”

Well, can I say it’s thanks to me? It was probably Lamias’s intention to make me feel comfortable, but my mouth felt bitter because I was also the reason why they were struck by a bolt from the blue.

“I have one question.”

“What is it?”

“There’s a girl who became an orphan at the scene…… her name is Emily. Can you find out what happened to her?”

Everyone at the scene must have been shocked, but Emily experienced Trowel’s hostility with her whole body. I was bothered that I couldn’t properly calm her down when she was crying sadly at the end. Lamias nodded with a face that said he knew who I was talking about, as if he had already heard about her.

“Do you want to go check?”

The place Lamias took me to was in front of a beautiful mansion that looked like it came out of a fairy tale. Inside the high walls, there was a lush garden and a playground. A small sign was attached to the iron gate. In the playground, children in the same clothes were laughing and running around. I could easily find a familiar girl among them. It was Emily.

“She was sick all night and lost almost all of her memories. It’s better for the little one.”

“……What’s the probability of having aftereffects later?”

“I can’t say there’s none at all, but she’ll be fine. The director here is very interested in taking care of war orphans and children suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and has a lot of related experience. She said she’ll pay extra attention to her.”

“I see. That’s a relief.”

It was Lamias who entrusted Emily to the orphanage with a large donation. He was horrified when he heard the news late and went to the scene, but as soon as he arrived, Trowel threw something at him and told him to take care of it. When he reluctantly accepted it, it was a girl. That was Emily.

“I see. Trowel…….”

“Well, he had some mercy.”

Lamias grumbled lowly, saying that he would definitely charge him for the donation that went to Emily.

“When I investigated, it turned out that her father wasn’t her biological father either. The group that was with her that day was a gang of thugs who dominated the area, and they led around orphans who had no parents. They kept them under their control and sold them to brothels or slave markets when they got older.”

When I heard that, I sighed because it was too heavy. Still, I should say it’s fortunate that she’s not related to such a villain by blood. Lamias said that the orphanage he chose was the best facility in this country. She said that they have a high probability of being adopted into good families, and even if they leave the orphanage when they reach adulthood, they help them with basic independence so that they can adapt well to society. When I thanked him, he shrugged his shoulders.

“Actually, I don’t think humans are born with good nature either. Not all children are innocent. But I felt sorry for that child. She wouldn’t have been involved in such a thing if she had lived in a good environment. Anyway, you don’t have to worry about this side anymore.”

“I’m sorry for leaving all the aftermath to you.”

“It’s nothing. These things are common when you play in human society. And would you compare it to what you did?”

I smiled awkwardly at his tongue-clicking words. At that time, I saw a shadow lingering a little distance away. Someone was hiding behind a tree trunk and peeking at us. To my embarrassment, it was Diagon.

“Why is that guy there?”

Lamias also frowned when he found him. Diagon, who was waving his hand at me as if he was happy to see me, started gesturing frantically at Lamias. Roughly grasping it, it seemed like a signal to come closer.