Elqueeness – Chapter 40

Posted on August 8, 2016

TLN: First scheduled chapter of the week.  I’ll have SS Necromancer out in a day or two.  Next week will be Dragon/Legend.

As if my threat(?) was quite a shock for Lapis, he couldn’t talk for a while. However, his dumbfounded expression only lasted a moment. His expression became composed again, then he let out a grin.

“I don’t care if you are in a male form. Aren’t all Spirits genderless?”

“…….”

Well, this guy did fall for Elwien’s charisma. He simply likes the unique energy given out by Elqueeness, so he didn’t care about my appearance?  It really felt like I was wrongfully caught up in something, so I naturally frowned.

“If you don’t care, then I would like you to treat me as a male existence. Even if I am genderless, I’ve only had 4 months to get used to it…I’m starting to get annoyed by being mistaken for a woman.”

“Hmm? That’s strange. To my knowledge, Spirits aren’t assigned a gender at birth? Why are you so insistent on taking on a male form?”

I hesitated to think about what I should say. If I wanted to convince him, I would have to tell him an accurate explanation of my situation. I slowly opened my mouth. Anyways, nothing good will come from hiding the information.

“I have 17 years worth of memory living as a man.”

“What?”

“…?”

“That is to say…I was male in my previous life. I was suddenly born as a genderless being, but I can’t easily change my behavior pattern.”

At my calm answer, Isana’s face indicated he didn’t understand what I was talking about. Lapis had a surprise expression, and his facial muscles froze. It was as if he couldn’t believe it.  His voice lightly shook from agitation and shock.

“You are lying. Anything related to rebirth and death is handled by the Underworld, but I do know a little about the process. A reincarnated Spirit King should not have any memories. They are born from the most pure spirit created. So how could you still have your previous life’s memories?”

“I don’t know about the exact situation. During the rebirth process, there was a mistake, so I was dropped in the wrong dimension. Then I returned from there. Anyways, I’m sure my memories were transferred, so let’s just leave it at that.”

“Jeez…so that is why your actions have been strangely human-like.”

“……?”

Lapis nodded his head as if he had accepted everything. Isana still had a confused expression, so he kept his mouth shut. I had nothing to boast about, so I didn’t speak again about my unpleasant past. It would have been great if we could have just moved past it…Lapis had a mischievous expression until the end, and he tried his best to make my stomach turn.

“He-eh. Then the ‘kiss’ should have been quite a shock.”

“…shit. It will be recorded in the rank of my most humiliating memories as number one. Is that what you want to hear?”

“Ke ke. You are like that right now, but your previous life’s memories will become fuzzy after 1000 years. This is the true nature of Spirits.”

“…….”

Truthfully, I was afraid it might turn out that way. As a matter of fact, I was afraid since my personality seemed to be changing a lot recently. Even if he hadn’t pointed it out, it was a truth I already knew about. At Lapis’ friendly warning, I bit my lips in vexation. At that moment, Isana continued to speak as if he had thought of something. It seemed his aim was to change the topic.
“Jeez. So what should I call you now? I can’t call you by your true name during the vacation….”

“Ah ah, I don’t care. Just call me Lapis. Your name is…”

“Just call me Rai. I’m trying to pass as a Summoner.”

“Hmmm. Is that so? Then what should I be….”

“W..wait a moment! Let’s go have the conversation where there are no people.”

If someone was purposefully trying to listen in on us then there was a possibility we could be over heard even with our low voices. It was a bit  too late, but I had realized our conversation could pose a danger to us. With a frightened expression, I hurriedly tried to stop the conversation, but Lapis answered back in a confident manner.
“I’ve already casted a Silence magic on our surrounding. The other humans can’t hear us.”

“Huk! When were you able to do that?”
His shoulders retracted in a proud manner as Isana and I looked at him with a surprised expression.

“Don’t think of Dragon’s magic as being in the same category as human magic. I don’t need any activation words to cast this level of magic. Anyways, let’s resume our previous talk? Should I just choose the easy option and go with being a swordsman?”

“Huh? You know how to use the sword?”

“I’m a 3000 year old dragon. Moreover, any existence on a vacation would at least learn one or two sword styles. Even though, my magic isn’t perfect, it’ll be enough to protect one person.”

He lightly pointed his thumb towards Isana. He spoke like someone who was experienced on going on vacations.  He correctly assessed the key figure.

I was satisfied inside since I thought I could dump anything related to Isana on Lapis.  However, he replied back with a flat expression.

“You want to become a priest? Your name is…”

“Just call me El. Actually, I’m not sure about becoming a priest. It’ll be impossible if Elwien doesn’t cooperate with us. He did tell me to come over, so there is some hope…”

“…so what kind of relationship do you have with that god called Elwien? You are close enough to ask him for a favor, but it seems you don’t think he’ll reject your request. Your relationship doesn’t seem like a simple friendship. Is he someone with seniority over you?”

I mumbled, ‘what a sharp bastard’, then I unhesitatingly nodded my head . Lapis made an expression as if he had something to say, but he kept his silence when I continued to speak.

“You’ll find out once you meet him.”

“…….”

Of course, he will never find out unless he meets him. I bet he’ll be really surprised. The haughty Water Spirit King he had clung on to for 3000 years will show up as a god. Who wouldn’t be surprised? Still, I hope he doesn’t also ask to become Elwien’s priest in joy. That was how I really felt.

By looking at his current posturing form, it was very unlikely.  However, he had obsessed over Elwien over a long period of time, so it was possible.

‘I hope he doesn’t declare he wants to be my mother like Ifrit.’

He used to be genderless, but Elwien is a perfect male now. If Lapis didn’t give up after seeing him, it would really put us in a bind. If such an unprecedented event happens, then I’ll probably terminate the contract. I firmly decided to take this course of action as I looked at Lapis.   He was smiling, since he had no idea who Elwien was.

As Tromwell had predicted, this vacation was very turbulent

The snow storm continued through the night, and it seemed as if it would never stop. When the morning sun came up, it finally showed signs of stopping. It would be very hard to push through the knee-deep snow.  However, we didn’t know when the next snow storm will come, so we decided to quickly seek out the temple.

After eating our dinner, we decided to sleep near an inn located near the restaurant. When I ordered a single room for the three of us, the owner of the inn was scandalized. She wondered why two men would share a room with a woman. I was pissed off, so I told her we were siblings. After a light meal, they headed towards the northern forest located at the outer edge of the city.

Before we departed, I heard a rumor indicating the forest located near the north end of Kalmore was called ‘Magical Winter’. Even during mid-summer, the temperature was always low, and there was a never-ending snow coming down in the forest. If one climbed the mountain connected to this forest, one could find Elwien’s temple. Of course, before one could reach the temple, one would probably freeze to death on the mountain.

When the lady I asked for direction yesterday said, ‘a lot of people froze to death’, I thought it only applied to the winter season. Now that I learned more about it, it seemed the hardship had to suffered through all four seasons. I was taken aback when I learned all of Elwien’s temple including this one was built in harsh environments.
If Elwien wanted to increase the number of believers, then the first thing he had to do was move his temples. If not, no one would gather.
We were able to easily pass through the inspection in front of the castle gate. Before long we came to a secluded forest. I could tell at a glance that this place didn’t get much foot-traffic. However, it was fascinating to feel the atmosphere surrounding our bodies change in a subtle way after we passed a certain point. An alien energy surrounded us, and the feeling was indescribable.

If it was summer, the difference between the climates would have been obvious…. However, it was already winter outside, so the forest looked almost normal. I tilted my head in confusion as I couldn’t decipher the strange feeling. I was about to ask how a forest could stay in winter year round, but Lapis spoke as he frowned slightly. I turned to look at him with round eyes.

“This bastard really has a lot of time on his hand to do such an necessary….”

“Huh? What are you trying to say?”

I asked with a surprised expression. He continued to look around his surrounding as he gave a clipped answer.

“Isn’t it strange that this location is always winter? Someone casted a magic over the entire forest and part of the mountain. The only ones who could do such an act are the Silver bastards.  However, I don’t feel any energy coming from a dragon. It doesn’t seem like any of them are on vacation. I think a dragon moved his lair, and he forgot to dispel the magic.”

“Huk. That is a destruction of the ecosystem!”

It was fascinating to create winter around a fixed space with magic. However, I couldn’t continue speaking.  I was shocked to realize a portion of the mountain had been intentionally made unusable. Lapis smirked when he saw this. He called me a celestial Spirit King then he roughly stroked my head.

“What, what are you doing?”

“Don’t worry about it. Once the magic is dispelled, everything will return to it original state in a short amount of time. So, shall we go?”

“W..wait!”
“…?”

I desperately tried to stop him, as he was about to walk forward, so he turned to look at me with a strange expression. He followed his gaze to where I was pointing, then he frowned when he saw Isana. Isana had been fine walking through the forest, but his body was shivering excessively after we entered the inner part of the forest. The temperature must be much lower on this side of the forest.

“Again? What’s the problem?”

“To tell you the truth, the cloak worn by Isana isn’t that thick. I planned on buying him new clothes before coming here, but I lost track of things. Do you have any magic that could make his body warm?”

“…he really is an annoying person to have as a companion. Wait a moment.”

His face furrowed deeply.  He slowly raised his hand, while he continued to complain. Then he grasped Isana’s head. I think he said the magic was called <keeping>? As a low incantation was mumbled through his mouth, Isana’s white complexion was infused with color again. He couldn’t help, but be impressed.
“Ah, Thank you…It’s really warm.”

“Next time, tell me ahead of time. I hate people who are slow to act. Are you always going to make Elqueeness take care of you? Stop being so childish.”

Even though Isana had given his thanks, Lapis replied back in a cold manner.  Moreover, his eyes didn’t have a single drop of affection towards him. It was fortunate that he didn’t act rashly towards his party members. I let out a sigh as I shook my head.

“I like taking care of him. If you are so averse to slowness, then you should  have casted the magic in the first place.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t do things I’m not asked to do.”

“…well good for you.”

Are all dragons like that? He had no qualms about blatantly showing off his arrogance as he turned his nose up into the air. It began to make me have doubts about my current life. I had thought there couldn’t be any being more unruly than Elwien, but it seems I have to make a slight modification to my view.

Since I arrived in this world, it seemed the only thing that increased was the number of ‘peerless beauties’ around me. There were too many excessively arrogant beings. I was  already acquainted with 3 of them. I met Ifrit in the beginning, then Elwien and Lapis.  This world was most definitely classified by rank, so my head hurt at the thought of meeting a more unspeakably arrogant being.

Eventually, I couldn’t continue to ignore Lapis insistence as I continued to feel a complex emotion.

“What are you doing? Aren’t we going? Let’s get that bastard’s crest or whatever.”

“O..ok. Hmm? You seem to be in a very bad mood? What is it? Your feeling was hurt, because you casted a single spell for us?”

Why are you being so condescending when you are helping a fellow party member! That is what I wanted to yell, but I held back as I asked the questions. Lapis, who was showing an unusual amount of displeasure, complained as he shook his head.

“Ice is the polar opposite of my fire attribute. This air itself  is annoying me. This is why I hate those Silver bastards.”

Maybe it would have been different if someone else said it, but I had a hard time believing Lapis’ words. He was the one who insisted on making a contract with the Water Spirit King, who had polar opposite attribute of fire. Isana seemed to have similar feelings as me. He stared at Lapis with an absurd expression.

“Umm…excuse me. To my knowledge, water is also the polar opposite of a fire attribute.”

“Did I say I didn’t know that?”

“No… But y..you made a contract with Elqueeness?”

He carefully asked the question, and Lapis’ answer was a sight to behold.

“Elqueeness is an exception. He can’t even be compared to the others. He is on a different dimension compared to those lumps of ice.”

“…….”

I couldn’t believe it. This bastard had lived for 3000 years, yet he didn’t realize ice’s true property was water?

It wasn’t something I had experienced, but I heard if I became really angry I could change any attributes to ice. I had heard when Elwien was Elqueeness, he had used this method to turn the entire continent cold. (It was usually after he had fought with Ifrit.) Before I knew it, strength was injected into my voice as I retorted.

“Don’t you know ice is frozen water? How can I be on a different dimension?”

“Of course, it’s different. This is artificial ice made from magic. Your attribute is from nature itself, so it is fundamentally different. Elqueeness’ ‘water’ can even control the blood flowing beneath the skin. Even if our attributes are opposite, I don’t have any reason to hate it. Anything within nature can’t avoid the touch of a Spirit.”

“…….”

It wasn’t as if he was wrong, but I couldn’t help feeling a sense of doubt. His explanation was flimsy. It didn’t explain why he was so obsessed with the the Water Spirit King to a point where he was rejecting his true attribute. However, it seemed he hadn’t really thought about it. It would be fruitless to argue with him any further. What could I do? The personality he was born with was too weird…I had no choice, but to gloss over it.

Why did such a weird existence have to be born in my generation? Well, now that I think about it, he had been helpful in several ways, so I didn’t have too many complaints.