Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 580

580

Visiting the Demon God Temple on the way back was a rather impulsive decision. I was just looking out the train window when I saw a white temple at an unnamed station. Once I confirmed the Demon God’s symbol was engraved on the spire, I had already gotten off the train.

“How may I help you?”

A priest, who looked like a novice, approached me as I hesitated at the entrance. Not having a good answer, I simply said I came to pray. Fortunately, he didn’t seem suspicious and skillfully led me to the prayer room.

“You may pray until you wish to leave.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Perhaps it was the ambiguous time of day. There was no one else in the prayer room. I sat down in a corner of the arranged chairs and looked towards the platform. As I looked around the quiet room, memories of visiting Ellyuen’s temple came to mind. But no matter how long I waited, unlike Ellyuen back then, Kanos did not suddenly appear before the platform.

“It’s been a while, Kanos. Are you listening?”

I grumbled as if complaining, feeling a little disappointed. Words spoken in the prayer room have a high probability of reaching the gods. So, this lament should reach him too, if he’s doing his job properly.

“As you probably already know, I succeeded in persuading Troel.”

I changed the future you showed me. I’m really happy about that, but I think I’ll be very sad if I get praised by you. Was there really no ending where everyone could live? Is this going the right way? I wanted to pour out all these words, but I held them all back. I didn’t want to complain about things that couldn’t be changed.

“Can I tell you just one thing?”

Instead, I decided to say something else. Something that would be beneficial and enjoyable for everyone, if possible.

“You know Lamias, the Blue Dragon, right? That dragon is collecting soul stones. I know of more than ten, and I don’t think it’s right to leave it as is. Those people have all disappeared from their homelands. Please help them all return to their original places.”

I had been planning to report it anyway. I was going to ask Ellyuen how to report it, but since I came to the temple, I thought it would be good to pray about it.

“Oh, but you must never say that I told you. Okay?”

It was obvious that Lamias would become very troublesome if he knew who reported him. Anonymity had to be guaranteed. Was it a hallucination caused by anticipation? I felt like I heard laughter somewhere.

My steps were very light as I left after the tattling. The expressions of the priests who saw me off were content, as if they thought I had laid down all my worries and concerns before God.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever felt sorry for that old man.”

Lapis muttered in disbelief. For reference, the old man here refers to Lamias.

“I wonder if the report was properly received? Should I go to other temples too?”

“You probably don’t have to. That old man said that all the soul stones he had secretly collected were *털렸다고* [stolen] before. He kept grinding his teeth, saying he couldn’t find out who reported him. That was you.”

Oh dear, so that’s what happened. I’m not sorry at all. More than that, Kanos does work. I felt even better thinking that the laughter I heard earlier might not have been a hallucination. I smiled unconsciously, and Lapis let out a hollow laugh.

“You’re really something… backstabbing someone you’re close to.”

“That’s different.”

I can’t condone a friend’s criminal behavior. Rather, I’m preventing him from accumulating bad karma, so Lamias should be grateful to me. No matter how much collecting is a hobby, how can you collect souls? Frankly speaking, it’s no different from kidnapping and confinement.

“You don’t deny being close.”

There was a subtle thorn in the following words.

“Do you dislike Lamias?”

“Then do you like that old man?”

Isn’t answering a question with a question against the rules? Well, Lapis’s answer was obvious anyway.

“Well, he’s not a bad person. There are many things I’m grateful for. He often comes to visit me because he’s worried I’m bored.”

“Then will you contract with him when you return?”

“Huh?”

I was momentarily taken aback because it was a completely unexpected question. Ah, right. If I meet Lamias in my era, we can form a contract. He’s in a dormant state, so I don’t know when he’ll wake up again, or he may choose eternal sleep as it is. Anyway, it was a matter to consider if we meet again.

“Hmm, I haven’t thought that far.”

“Is that so?”

Contrary to my expectation that he would press for an answer, Lapis didn’t say anything more. That made me feel even more uneasy.

“Don’t contract with Lamias?”

“That’s up to you. Why are you asking me that?”

“You don’t like me contracting with other people.”

“That’s true… well, what can I do now? I’m going to the underworld anyway.”

For a moment, my head went blank as if I had been hit. I couldn’t remember what I had been thinking about until just now.

Right, that’s right. When I return to my original world, I have to part ways with Lapis. It was so obvious, but it was funny that I was shocked as if I had just realized it. From Lapis’s point of view, I must have seemed quite insensitive all along. I hesitated, not knowing what to say, when I heard a snicker.

“Why are you so hesitant? If you’re going to contract, do it. You’ll need a dragon’s mana to have fun. Isana’s meager mana will be inconvenient.”

“Lapis, you…”

“Yeah, what about me?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

The breath I forced down tasted bitter. I thought it would be better to get angry or be stubborn. Seeing this proud and possessive guy giving up so calmly made me feel indescribably upset.

I had only been thinking about returning as soon as possible, but today it was very difficult. My mind was confused in many ways.

* * *

I was running frantically. The plastic bag hanging on my wrist rattled loudly. It was an errand to buy tofu. My mom told me to be back by 7 o’clock, but the checkout line was too long, and time passed while waiting. I was scared thinking about my mom being angry. Fortunately, my dad wasn’t home yet. Then at least I wouldn’t get hit.

“Kang Jihoon, you little brat! Are you not coming here right now?”

But that expectation soon disappeared. As I turned into the alley in front of my house, a roaring shout erupted. My breath stopped involuntarily when I saw the large man standing in the alley.

“Ah, Dad…”

He was already off work. My heart was pounding. I remembered a fairy tale book a friend had shown me recently. It was a story about a scary goblin who punishes bad humans, and my dad’s face, approaching with a fierce look, was exactly like the goblin drawn in that fairy tale book.

“What time is it now! Huh? I told you to be back by 7 o’clock, didn’t I!”

“Y-yes, you did.”

“But what time is it now! Are you blind? Can’t you tell time? Look at the clock and answer me!”

At the urging, I hurriedly took out the watch my mom had given me from my pocket. She had given it to me to keep the time for errands.

“7:05…”

“You know how to tell time, so why don’t you keep your promise! What were you doing somewhere else again! You made dinner preparations late because of you! Are you trying to screw me over? Huh?”

“N-no, that’s not it. There were too many people…”

“Where are you making excuses! You should apologize first if you did something wrong!”

The force of hitting my head repeatedly was too painful. My dad got angry, telling me to stand straight, but no matter how hard I tried, it was difficult to keep my balance. The rough hand stopped only after a few passersby said something.

“You come with me right now! I’m going to fix your *버르장머리* [bad habits/manners] today!”

The fierce hand grabbed the back of my neck and dragged me away. I couldn’t walk properly, so the hand became even more violent as I struggled. Tears welled up in my eyes at the words scolding me to walk straight.

Then suddenly, my dad stopped walking. Surprised, I looked up and saw my dad groaning with a flushed face. I saw someone grabbing my dad’s arm. I followed the porcelain-white hand and was startled. Standing there were incredibly handsome Westerners. One had blonde hair and blue eyes, and the other had black hair and golden eyes with dark brown skin.

“W-what, who are you guys! What are you doing!”

It was rare to see Westerners in this neighborhood. Perhaps that’s why my dad was also very flustered. Then the blonde man, who was glaring at my dad with a cold expression, turned to me. Wow, he’s really handsome. I admired inwardly when he opened his mouth.

“El?”

I blinked blankly at the voice. Someone was looking down at me quietly. Looking at the hair and blue eyes that seemed to contain the sea, his name naturally came to mind. It was Ellyuen.

“Father?”

“Are you alright? What kind of dream did you have? You were sweating a lot.”

Ah, I see. It was a dream. My sense of reality gradually returned with the hand stroking my hair. He said I was sweating, and I felt completely soaked all over. I finally came to my senses after getting up.

“Did you have a nightmare?”

“Hmm, just a brief memory of the past… Ah, not recent, but something from when I was very young.”

I quickly waved my hand, seeing Ellyuen’s expression darken rapidly. But he didn’t believe me.

“Change your clothes and come out.”

I sighed at his retreating figure, stroking my head with a bitter smile. He must have thought I was recalling the eventful time last year. I’m really fine now, but it seems he’s still worried. I thought time would solve it, but it wouldn’t be easy since spirits don’t forget.

‘Why did I have such a dream.’

Still, it’s not a bad thing since Ellyuen seems to have come because of it. It’s been a long time since I had a dream from my past life. It was probably around when I was six years old. I was being scolded as usual when some Westerners passing by helped me. It was something I had completely forgotten even when I was Kang Jihoon, but I don’t know why I suddenly had that dream. Besides, it ended right when he started talking to me. I don’t even remember what he said, but it makes me curious.

‘Come to think of it, that blonde man, didn’t he look like Ellyuen?’

Even the dark-skinned man seemed similar to Troel. I thought about it and let out a hollow laugh. No, no matter what, that’s not it. How many people in the world have similar color combinations? Childhood memories tend to be embellished, so what I thought was handsome might not be a big deal if I saw it again now. Still, it was a strange coincidence that the two people I met that day had colors similar to Ellyuen and Troel. It was a very peculiar dream in many ways.

“Uh…?”

What greeted me when I changed my clothes and came outside was an unexpected sight. The table, roughly made by cutting the bottom of a tree, was full of food, and familiar faces were sitting around it.

“Young Master, did you sleep well?”

Starting with Ifrit, who greeted me first, Lantasha and Diagon waved their hands. Troel, who was standing far away, also gave me a light nod.

“What’s with everyone? What’s all this food?”

“We came to see our Young Master’s face after a long time. These guys said they were curious about how you were doing, so I brought them along. The food is a visiting gift they brought. They bought it from the most famous restaurant in the Empire. I recommended it because they were wondering what you would like. Did I do well?”

“Yes! You did so well!”

Delicious food is the best gift after all! I nodded with a smile, and Ifrit’s face was filled with a proud expression. But Lantasha, who had prepared the gift, had a very dissatisfied expression.

“Why are you living in a place like this? Isn’t it too primitive?”

I wondered why, but it was the same reason as Lamias.

“El, is Ellyuen not giving you money?”

Diagon went even further. Seeing Ellyuen’s face turn cold, I quickly waved both hands.

“That’s not it. I’m living like this because it’s comfortable for me.”

“You’re comfortable in a house that’s no different from a hut?”

“I only sleep inside anyway. It’s enough if it can protect me from the wind and rain.”

“You have very unique tastes.”

“No wonder Lamias sighed every time he mentioned it.”

Hey, what’s wrong with my house? The spirit kings don’t say anything, but why are the dragons so picky? It’s only inconvenient to manage if the house is big. There’s no vacuum cleaner here!

“Don’t worry about it and eat.”

As I was grumbling, Troel, who had been watching silently, pushed the plates in front of me. They were all my favorite foods.

“How is Minerva doing these days?”

“She’s much more stable. At this rate, she’ll wake up sooner than expected.”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

Troel also had a faint smile on his face as I smiled brightly. “Young Master, try this too.” Ifrit, who had intervened from the side, offered me braised chicken. I said thank you and ate diligently, and he looked at me with a pleased expression before asking carefully.

“Um, El. Still no news from that guy?”

“Ah, no.”

If there was anyone to ask here, it would be Sibelius. I nodded, and his expression became even more cautious.

“Actually, I was wondering if I should say this. Since you’ll find out anyway, I’ll just tell you. It seems the unicorn has migrated to the divine realm.”

“Ah.”

“I heard that his return was confirmed, and I confirmed that the passage to the divine realm opened this morning.”

After finishing the explanation, Ifrit looked at me with a worried gaze. Troel and Ellyuen were also conscious of my expression. It seemed like they gathered because of this.