Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 68

The 68th Story

After that, I had to endure a rather lengthy period of questioning before they finally accepted that I was, in fact, a man. Despite my repeated assertions, they remained skeptical but eventually conceded. Of course, this didn’t entirely dispel their suspicious glances.

“No wonder the Champagne Mercenaries told you to wear a hood.”

“I know, right? A guy with a face prettier than a girl’s. I bet you could get into a noble family as a concubine and live in luxury if you cross-dressed. Actually, maybe you could even without cross-dressing?”

“Stop teasing me.”

“No, I’m serious. It’s weird that you were born a man. Is there something seriously wrong with you?”

“……Actually, I’m starting to wonder myself.”

“What?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

How could I tell people who didn’t even know my real identity that I might actually be a woman? Besides, it was even more unsettling because it felt like these people would believe me without a doubt if I revealed that I was a woman. I sighed in despair when someone spoke up, as if suddenly remembering something.

“Ah, now that I think about it, you’re parting ways with the Champagne Mercenaries when you arrive in Clamore, right? You’d better be extra careful there. Make sure to wear a hood.”

“Yes? Why?”

“Why else? They say the Grand Duke’s knights are all over the place. I heard a rumor that the Grand Duke is collecting children these days.”

“……Children?”

“Yeah, anyone who hasn’t had their coming-of-age ceremony yet [a traditional rite of passage into adulthood]. They’re grabbing anyone with a decent appearance, regardless of gender. So if you stand out, you might get caught right away. Of course, it’s just a rumor.”

“What do they do with them after they catch them?”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? He hasn’t even gotten married yet, so they’ll probably make them serve him at night.”

“Cough!”

Good heavens. Not only did he contribute to my brother’s death and chase away his own nephew, but now he’s doing such perverted things? What kind of trash is he? But the story didn’t end there. Every time I heard a new piece of the rumor, I couldn’t help but be shocked.

“They say a considerable number of girls have already been offered to the Grand Duke, right?”

“It’s not just girls. The pretty boys have already been offered. They say he prefers men.”

“Ugh, creepy. If you’re of the Grand Duke’s status, shouldn’t there be plenty of women around? Why would he want to do that?”

“How would we know what someone that high up is thinking? Actually, the Grand Duke has been quite famous for liking young children for a while now.”

“That’s right, I heard he regularly visited the slave market to buy boys and girls. Even though he’s a priest, the Demon God Church doesn’t force abstinence anyway, so he seems to have enjoyed it openly.”

“Some even say the reason the Emperor ran away was because the Grand Duke was hitting on him?”

“Puhaha, is that true? That’s hilarious!”

“……”

For them, it was just a casual conversation to pass the time, but I couldn’t laugh along. What was a trivial story to others was an immediate reality for Isana and me. The person we had to face was such an ultra-pervert. I felt like I was staring into the abyss.

* * *

As the night deepened, the excited atmosphere gradually calmed down. Around that time, I glanced at the mercenaries and left my seat. I wanted to clear my complicated head and take a light stroll around.

“Don’t go too far. If anything happens, just scream.”

“Yes, I’m just looking around nearby. Don’t worry.”

I reassured the people who were giving me instructions and slowly moved away. As I approached the forest, the thick earthy smell unique to autumn rushed to my nose. On the overflowing wind, the sylphs [air spirits] who had forgotten to sleep were excitedly stomping their feet.

As if proving the change of seasons, unlike before, small frosts were forming on their transparent bodies. The sparkling snow crystals covered every strand of their hair and eyebrows completely white. The sight even gave the illusion that they were ice fairies, not wind fairies.

However, the most obvious change was the number of high-level wind spirits, Jin. The number of them, which used to be only one or two occasionally, had recently increased noticeably to the point where they could be seen everywhere. Each time, the air that touched my skin also had a lower temperature.

‘I should get some winter clothes soon.’

I’m fine, but Isana will need thick cotton clothes. The clothes she’s wearing now were hastily prepared when we ran away, so the material wasn’t very good, and above all, it was too old and thin to get through the winter. As soon as we reach the village, I should go to the clothing store.

That’s when it happened.

『……s.』

“Huh?”

Did I just hear something?

I looked around with a strange feeling. However, I was already quite far from where the group was, so there was no one nearby. If there were any, it would be the natural spirits, but they were also far away from me.

‘Did I mishear?’

I shrugged once and turned my head back. At that moment, there was a sound that brushed my ear again.

『Elquines.』

“……!”

This time it wasn’t a mistake. It was definitely a voice calling me.

I felt my face stiffen and quickly looked around. Not an honorific, but ‘Elquines’. The only people here who know my identity are Trowel and Isana. No one else would call me by that name. But the tone of the voice wasn’t like theirs. It was definitely from a completely unfamiliar person I didn’t know.

“What… who is it?”

『Elquines.』

The voice became clearer than before. It was a chillingly low, yet strangely sweet baritone that made my heart flutter.

『Answer me, Elquines.』

The repeated voice was now in a clearer form, and gave me an order with a very arrogant attitude. It was definitely a good voice to listen to, but it didn’t feel very likable. I couldn’t help but frown at the incomprehensible phenomenon.

Where is someone calling me? I could definitely hear the voice, but I couldn’t figure out who the other person was, so it was frustrating. This is like when Isana summoned me…

‘Wait! Summoning?’

The thought that flashed through my mind made my face harden. As if waiting for it, golden waves began to rise beneath my feet. A circular border and a feast of complex characters, filled with numerous symbols and shapes. It was a summoning magic circle that I had seen once before.

“No way……”

I forcibly suppressed the exclamation that came out. According to the knowledge that came to mind, a Spirit King can only contract with one person in an era. Now that Isana has contracted with me, no one can summon the Water Spirit King. But the golden pattern rippling under my feet was clearly evidence that someone had summoned me.

『Answer the call, Elquines.』

Perhaps reading my hesitation, the lowered voice called me again.

『I am qualified. You cannot ignore me.』

It was a snarling, ferocious voice. It seemed that he was very angry because I kept not responding to the summons. I sighed softly.

“Hmm, I guess I have to go? I need to find out what’s going on……”

Could it be that the prophecy Trowel spoke of was this? A summons by someone other than Isana? If so, it was natural to be separated from the group. Whoever is calling me, it won’t be someone around here. Could it be that someone’s excessive interest in me is related to the person outside this summoning circle?

As I looked at the magic circle with a complicated feeling, the voice began to ring out again as if urging me. It was fortunate that only I could hear it, otherwise all the mercenaries on guard would have come running.

『Elquines! Do not refuse me!』

“……Damn it, whoever it is, look at the vocabulary they use. I’m going, I’m going!”

It’s the same summoning, but why is it so different from Isana? That girl called me with a desperate voice, as if asking for help.

But for me, this might be better. After all, I had no intention of contracting with anyone other than Isana. If it was a nice person, it would have been difficult to refuse, but for some reason, I felt like I could confidently refuse only this person and come back.

Having made up my mind, I slowly stepped onto the magic circle. Then, just like before, a brutal force began to pull me in. Feeling helplessly sucked in, I bit my lip to keep from screaming.

Damn it, to make me feel this terrible feeling again! Just wait until I meet whoever it is! I’m going to punch them as soon as I get there!

* * *

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a huge lake and a forest of trees surrounding it. In the dark night, the surface of the lake reflected in the moonlight had a fine silvery-white color like ice. And I was floating in the middle of that lake. The sudden change in space was still unfamiliar, but I wasn’t as panicked as the first time because I had already experienced it.

Was it because I passed through the summoning circle? The mana surrounding me had changed. It was probably from the person who summoned me now. I slowly looked around. But no matter where I looked, I couldn’t find the summoner who called me.

“Over here.”

I was startled by the voice I heard at that moment and lowered my gaze. Then I saw a shadow stretched out under a dark tree. Someone was leaning against the tree with their arms crossed.

I slowly came down from the air and landed on the water. This summons was very different from Isana’s. Not only the way he called me, but he didn’t seem to have lost consciousness or be struggling. Meanwhile, the other person also slowly walked towards me. As the shadows covering his face receded, delicate features began to emerge one by one under the pure white moonlight.

As the other person’s appearance gradually became clearer, I unconsciously stopped breathing. He was a young man who looked to be in his early twenties. His hair, scattered below his shoulders, was a deep red color, and his eyes, set between his sculpted white face, were the same. He was tall and slender with well-defined muscles, as if he had been exercising for a long time. To put it a little too much, he seemed more handsome than Ellyuen.

‘……There was another person who looked like this.’

Is this what it feels like to be overwhelmed by appearance? Thanks to that, the thought of punching him as soon as I met him disappeared.

The moment I felt his red eyes staring at me, I tensed up and stared back at him. Then, he narrowed his brow slightly and muttered as if something was wrong.

“What, who are you?”

“……Yes?”

“Who are you? I clearly called Elquines.”

What, he summoned me and doesn’t even recognize me? It was an unpleasant attitude, but since it was my first time meeting him, I answered politely for now. Then, he frowned even more as if he didn’t like it.

“Why are you using honorifics? Something’s really strange. The energy is definitely Elquines’, but the appearance…… There’s no way a spirit can polymorph [change form]……”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what you’re saying. Have you ever seen me somewhere?”

“Huh? Have I seen you? This is the 250th summons including this one. Are you saying you don’t remember me?”

“What is that……”

“Ah, never mind. More than that, what’s with the sudden change of heart? I thought you were finally going to destroy Arkadon when you suddenly took away the water, but then you suddenly restored it again in the last few months. And how did you change your appearance?”

“Wait a minute.”

I quickly raised my hand to stop him from pouring out all the words at once. I’m not quick at judging situations, but I felt like I knew who he was.

“Could it be, you…… a dragon?”

Then he frowned even more as if I was saying something obvious. Only then could I recognize the powerful mana flowing through his entire body. Two hearts existing inside his body, a pure mass of magic emanating from them. It was a power that no human could ever have. Furthermore, the essence that was embedded within was very hot and sharp. It was an energy that reminded me of the heat of the flames burning in a huge crater.

……Yes, like Ifrit [a powerful fire spirit].

At that moment, an existence that had been buried in my memory for a while came to mind. A red dragon with a unique personality who was particularly obsessed with the previous Elquines. Thanks to him, he was the one who led my game to frustration from the start, that Lapis Lazuli.

“I’m asking this out of caution. By any chance, is your name Lapis Lazuli or something like that?”

“……What kind of joke are you playing?”

“Haha! Right? There’s no way……”

“Hmph, it seems like you want to pretend you don’t know me, but it’s no use. I’m never going to back down this time.”

“……”

Damn it, I was right.

I barely managed to fix my face that was about to be distorted. I never thought I would meet Lapis Lazuli so suddenly. Besides, judging by his expression, he didn’t seem to know about the change of generations of the Spirit King yet. He didn’t even suspect anything when he saw me, who looked completely different from Ellyuen.

‘What has he been doing all this time?’

Come to think of it, he said he had summoned me 250 times? I was planning to take revenge when I met him someday, but somehow I felt sorry for him now that it turned out like this. From his point of view, he had a one-sided love that was never reciprocated. Of course, the fact that he was a man was quite unexpected.