Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 95

95.

“Ah, I knew it! I figured as much. Still, even if the world has changed, it’s not really appropriate for grown men and women to stay in the same room. You must be on a family trip with your husband. Welcome to Clamore.”

“……”

Now I understood what the problem was. And why the girl’s gaze had turned so cold so suddenly.

So… she thought I was a woman? Even a promiscuous one, keeping handsome men on both arms and sharing a room with them?

‘Good heavens! Someone tell me it’s not true!’

But the innkeeper, oblivious to the nuclear bomb I had just dropped, seemed to remember something else and disappeared leisurely. I had no time to protest my innocence and had to follow the employee’s guidance, moving my feet blankly.

The special room we were led to was better than I had expected. Not only was the room large, but the luxurious interior made it feel like I had entered a noble’s mansion.

Perhaps because Isana had been living like a vagrant all this time, he couldn’t hide his childlike excitement upon entering the overly extravagant room. If it were any other time, I would have showered the place with unrestrained admiration. If only that incident hadn’t happened.

“Well, it’s not bad.”

As soon as he entered the room, Lapis leaned back on the sofa as comfortably as if he were in his own home. Then, noticing me still standing there blankly, he gave me a puzzled look.

“Why are you standing there like that?”

“Ugh! How can you even ask? This is all your fault! How are you going to take responsibility? Why did you say such a thing!”

“What? Ah, you’re upset about being mistaken for a woman? What’s the big deal? It could happen.”

“’It could happen’?”

“You’re ambiguous-looking anyway. Why not just take this opportunity to think of yourself as a woman? It’s simple.”

“It’s not simple at all! Who said you could change my gender?”

“Change your gender? You’re asexual to begin with. Actually, it’s hard to call your current form male, isn’t it? I don’t understand why you’re so fixated on being male.”

“That’s because……”

“Because of what?”

I hesitated for a moment before answering. I was worried about whether I should reveal such personal matters. Perhaps because I stopped mid-sentence, Lapis looked even more curious. I sighed and said in a small voice.

“……It’s because I was a man in my past life.”

“Huh?”

Lapis looked at me as if I were telling some ridiculous joke. Isana didn’t show it as openly, but he also looked quite taken aback. Since things had come to this, I thought it would be better to reveal everything and calmly explained my past.

“I have memories of living as a man for 17 years before I was born here. I have habits that solidified back then, so I’m not used to being mistaken for a woman. So, I’d appreciate it if you guys could be a little considerate.”

“What is this……”

Realizing that I was serious, Lapis’s expression changed. He stared at me with a serious look and said.

“Do you know what you’re saying? The creation and reincarnation of souls are under the jurisdiction of the gods, but I’ve heard about it to some extent. Spirit Kings are only born as the first, purest souls created without memories of reincarnation. How can you have memories of a past life?”

“I don’t know the details either. It’s just that there was a mistake in the process of being born, and I briefly fell into a different dimension before returning……”

“Fell into another place and came back? What, was the drought also because of that?”

“……”

Instead of answering, I quietly watched Isana’s reaction. As the person who suffered the most damage from it, I was worried about how he would react. He looked a little surprised, but fortunately, his expression was calmer than I had expected. Lapis, on the other hand, seemed more flustered, repeatedly gasping for air.

“Goodness. I can’t believe it. I just thought the Spirit Kings were deliberately causing disasters……”

“That’s not possible. The Spirit Realm was in complete emergency because I wasn’t born. I heard everyone had a very hard time.”

“Tch, no wonder Lord Trowell often discussed things with Trowell. The Holy Dragons often volunteered to spread artificial rain for that reason. What, so everyone knew except for me?”

“You didn’t know at all? Trowell is your godfather, too.”

“I wasn’t really interested.”

Is that something to be proud of?

I was dumbfounded and stared at Lapis. So many people were dying, and he didn’t even think about finding out the cause. His indifference was almost a disease.

“Anyway, it’s amazing that the gods make such mistakes. Especially with special events like the birth of a Spirit King, it’s hard to make a mistake. Well, that aside, your previous life was human, right?”

“Ah, yes. How did you know?”

“Your behavior is strangely human-like. There must be a lot of human races, so it’s amazing that they found you among them. Is your friendship with the gods related to that?”

“Something like that.”

“Hmm……”

Lapis nodded with a convinced expression. Why did I feel uneasy even though I was being understood? Both of them had heard my confession, but I felt uneasy about Lapis. It seemed I didn’t trust him very much. However, contrary to my uneasy feelings, Lapis surprisingly said.

“Okay. You don’t like being seen as female, right? I’ll try to be more careful from now on.”

“Really?”

“Never mind if you don’t want me to.”

“Ah, no! Thank you for saying that.”

I answered hastily, and Lapis chuckled. I was expecting to endure some teasing, but he was so quick to understand my position. It was truly unexpected.

“By the way, what should I call you? I can’t call you Elquines outright. From what I see, Trowell and everyone else calls you El. Is that a nickname?”

“Yes, it is. Trowell gave it to me.”

“Hmm, I see. Then I’ll call you El too.”

“Okay.”

As I nodded, Lapis smiled again and patted my head. After a moment, he got up lightly and walked to the window.

“The snow has stopped. We can leave right away tomorrow.”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

As he said, the snow that had been falling heavily had stopped. When I opened the window, a wind full of cold air rushed in quickly. The temperature seemed to have dropped even further because of the snow. Then, Lapis, who had been looking outside for a moment, suddenly asked a random question.

“But you, do you have any other friends besides the gods?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like demons, for example.”

“I’ve never even seen a demon.”

“Is that so? Never mind then.”

I tilted my head at the question with an unknown intention, but Lapis didn’t ask anything else.

That night was coming to an end.

* * *

Whoosh.

The forest trembled greatly whenever a strong wind blew. Lapis slowly raised his head, enduring the pouring cold with his whole body. It was a deep hour when everyone was asleep.

El and Isana were already deep in sweet dreams. The reason why he, who should have been sleeping with them, was out at this hour was simple. It was because of the strange feeling he had felt since encountering El’s group. Lapis narrowed his brows for a moment and slightly twisted the corners of his lips.

“Two dark auras…… El, what is he carrying around so much? Even if it’s a game, it’s going to be quite tiring.”

However, unlike his grumbling words, his eyes were shining like a child who had found a toy. At first, he thought that El was aware of their existence but was tolerating it. But after hearing that shocking confession, he became more convinced that he might not have noticed at all.

He didn’t show any particular reaction even when he openly mentioned the word demon, so it was clear that his guess was correct. This level of restrained energy was hard to detect without opening one’s senses considerably. That meant that the other side’s energy control was excellent, but it also meant that El’s own ability to recognize it was slow. Perhaps Trowell had been subtly obstructing their vision until now.

‘A Spirit King with a human past life…… No wonder his personality is so unique. It’ll be fun to watch for a while. But…… if the energy is this strong, they must be at least duke-class [high-ranking] . Two demon dukes are moving? And why aren’t they attacking and just watching? Are they conducting a reconnaissance [exploratory mission] ?’

He didn’t know the other party’s intentions, but one thing was certain. El’s surroundings were by no means safe. That meant that a smooth game life was impossible from the start. Lapis grumbled softly with a displeased expression.

“If a demon duke is moving, that means the Demon King is behind it…… Goodness, why is such a big shot flocking around him when he hasn’t even been born for long? He’s already made a god he knows in the God Realm, and he’s receiving Trowell’s full trust. He might be a formidable guy in another sense.”

He had waited 3,000 years to get his hands on this existence. Even if it was just simple possessiveness, it would be strange if he didn’t feel affection at this point. That’s why El was even more special and endearing to him. Moreover, he was much easier to handle than the arrogant predecessors. Even though he had a lot of complaints, he ultimately had a weak heart, which he liked.

It was a satisfying time for the first time in a long time. As such, he had no intention of getting involved in petty disturbances. He would gladly respond to any fights that came his way, but he intended to uproot them completely.

“Let’s see. There’s no need to step in and spoil things now, right? I don’t know what they want, so it’s better to watch for now. It seems they haven’t even figured out what my identity is yet.”

Muttering to himself, he soon turned around with a leisurely pace. A sly smile crept onto his lips as he stretched as if he were bored.

And at the exact same time. A pair of men and women were watching his figure from afar. It was the demon dukes Deron and Serpis. They watched Lapis’s back as he returned to the inn with wary eyes. Since it was a late hour when people were not active, his appearance was relatively more noticeable.

Fortunately, they were relieved that he was returning without any particular signs, but they did not stop watching him with wary eyes for a while. But neither of them could have dreamed that their identities had already been exposed. That was because Lapis’s actions were so nonchalant.

“Taking a walk alone in the middle of the night, he has quite a unique taste in companions.”

Serpis muttered with a dumbfounded expression, and Deron’s eyes turned cold.

“He’s not human.”

“What do you mean, Deron?”

“You would have known if you had seen it earlier. He was using large-scale magic in a place where there were many people without anyone knowing. Such sophisticated skill in handling mana is rare even in the Demon Realm.”

“Hmm, is that so? Well, he was quite skilled, but.”

“It’s not just that. It’s a realm that’s impossible for human abilities. Moreover, the outline of the Emperor’s group has become more blurred since he joined them. We’re far away, but we can’t accurately grasp their movements even at this distance. Don’t you think that’s strange no matter how you look at it?”

Only then did Serpis realize the seriousness of the situation and harden her face.

“Now that you mention it, that’s true. Then what is that guy’s identity?”

“That’s the problem, I can’t even figure that out. Anyway, he’s not ordinary.”

He might be the most dangerous opponent among the Emperor’s group. Deron swallowed the words that had risen to his throat. His mouth was dry and his hands were shaking. He was shocked when he found out that the Spirit King was helping the Emperor, but it wasn’t to this extent.

After all, the Spirit King was an existence that they couldn’t dare to face even if they combined all their strength. That’s why he didn’t even think about challenging him rashly. Of course, in order to eliminate the Emperor, there would come a moment when he would have to face the Spirit King someday. And the result would surely lead to death, but he wasn’t afraid of that. It was a natural thing.

But the red-haired man was different. If the Spirit King’s power felt like wandering in an unknown mystery, he felt a clear fighting spirit from him. From head to toe, everything that made him up was revealing a strong vitality. It was a power that greatly stimulated his dormant competitive spirit. Even if they hadn’t met as enemies, Deron would have wanted to kill him the moment he found him.

However, he suppressed his murderous intent. It wasn’t just because of the Demon King’s order to watch secretly. On the one hand, he felt the urge to get closer, but his instincts prevented his body from moving. After reflexively avoiding a gaze that was about to meet, Deron clicked his tongue inwardly. It was like being prey in front of a crouching beast. For a demon duke to feel this way. All of this was unfamiliar to him.

Demons are born fighting races. Their bodies were so sturdy and powerful that humans couldn’t even compare. Even in the Demon Realm, where such demons swarmed, he was always in the position of a predator. Except for the Demon King and some dukes, it was no exaggeration to say that there was no one who could threaten him. But to think that such a thing would happen in the middle realm, which he thought was inhabited by savages. It was absurd, but he felt good instead. The demon’s unique destructive instinct was boiling. Just thinking about the man lying bloody under his feet made his whole body heat up. He looked at the inn where the Emperor’s group was staying with greedy eyes.

“Maybe killing that guy will be more thrilling than becoming the Demon King.”

“Oh my? Is it okay to say such things carelessly? Then I’ll take the Demon King’s seat?”

“As you wish.”

After all, Serpis’s power was not enough to take the Demon King’s seat. Deron, who answered nonchalantly, turned his gaze back to the inn. The figure of the man with red hair had long since disappeared, but the arrogant eyes of the man he had last seen were still lingering in his eyes.

The man’s identity was not important. No matter how strong he was, he was just a creature of the middle realm. In his imagination, it was impossible for a demon to lose. A fierce battle would take place, but in the end, it would be the red-haired man who would be defeated. Deron was so sure.

‘You’re my opponent. I’ll kill you in the most painful way.’

Has waiting for the moment of the decisive battle ever been as boring as it was today? Thinking about the coming day, Deron smiled bitterly.