Elqueeness

Elwien’s priests had too short of a history, so they were excluded from the discussion.  According to Rooyan’s explanation, in the long history of accepting disciples, those who received the god’s crest on their faces could be counted on a single hand.  Moreover, most of these men received their crests when they were born, and they grew up to become Supreme Pontiffs or grand priests.

It was miraculous for someone, who was over the age of 10 (although I’ve been born only a couple months ago) and to have lived his life as a civilian, to have received a god’s crest. As if that wasn’t enough, it was located on my face, so Rooyan was taken aback.  It was as if a random stone had rolled in, and it had replaced the existing stone.  Some random outsider just showed up, and the person had leapfrogged his position as the grand priest.

The current Elwien’s temple wasn’t well established yet, so besides the grand priest, there weren’t any pontiffs unifying the disciples. However, there was a high probability that this event might have made me the highest ranked person here.  It was evident in how they treated me as the disciples looked at me with devotion. I predicted my future would not be smooth. This is why I asked this question….

“I know Soltere worships the Demon god as its only god. Doesn’t this alienate the other religions?”

By seeing the reaction of the people up until now, it didn’t seem like everyone was required worship the Demon god. It seemed people weren’t averse to worshiping other gods, but I still had to ask the question.

Usually the humans in the leadership role was more in danger than the religion itself. Usually it was more effective to suppress a leader rather than the several hundred disciples.

I might be cursed for weaseling out of this, but I wasn’t going to keep my new crest. I didn’t wanted the added risk. Even if I had to call Elwien again, I was going to erase it. Fortunately, the answer that was given made me hopeful.

“Of course, people have a stronger belief in the bottom of their heart for the Demon god. However, this doesn’t mean they ostracize or push out the other temples. The 10 year calamity shifted the people’s sentiment towards the Demon god.  Everyone is careful since the pontiff’s power is strong in Soltere.  Still, other countries accept all religions that doesn’t cause harm.”

“Hmm. Does this mean all the gods are equal…in status?”

“There is a slight difference in rank.  Still, it doesn’t mean gods can be easily ignored or despised.”

It was much easier for gods to intervene here compared to Earth.  Therefore, it was much harder for the unconstrained Arkadon to be monotheistic.
Was this the reason why priests were treated as peers to the noble families in all kingdom?  Once it was verified one had a god’s crest, the person had the right to stay at a nobleman’s house during their travels.

Previously, when they were harassed by the perverted nobleman, we could have repelled him easily if Mr. Kai was still part of the party.  A high ranked priest of Elwien couldn’t be easily dealt with even by the Demon god’s pontiff.
At first, Rooyan wondered why I would ask such a question, but he quickly realized we were in midst of traveling.  So he patiently gave an explanation.

“As ‘the person chosen by god’, El-nim will be awarded the title of grand priest. No, anyone who lays their eyes on El-nim’s engraved crest, will realize you are this temple’s leader. Even if the region you travel to accommodates other religions, you will probably have to overcome some inconveniences.”

“Ha-ah…is that so?”

“I advise you to stay at the temple.  I know you won’t be able to easily come to a decision right now. If that isn’t possible, then you could pull down your bangs or wear a circlet to cover the crest.”

“A circlet?”

I asked him with round eyes, and he pointed toward Isana.  He explained it was the jewelry decorating Isana’s forehead.  Most nobles wore it, and it was hard to dislodge it once it was affixed.  It was more effective than covering the crest with one’s hair. The crest was almost the size of a 500 won coin, so I wondered if there was a jewel big enough to cover it.

Kalmore, which was know as the merchant’s heaven, should probably have something like that? I decided to cover it with my hair until I could make the purchase.
“Oh yeah, what is going on with Lapis?  He hasn’t woken up yet?”

“No. I wonder what happened inside. He’s showing no signs of opening his eyes…”
Isana had also lost his memories like the disciples.  He queried in concern.  However, I decided to respect Lapis’ pride, so I kept my mouth shut. If he found out Lapis was beaten within an inch of his life, because he was being insolent to a god then Isana’s mouth would fall to the floor.  It would probably be recorded as the most humiliating moment in Lapis’ life.

“There was a slightly ugly incident…it’s nothing. Anyways, I wonder if I could heal damages he took from the god’s power.”

“He was hurt from the god’s power?  He looks fine from the outside…Did he just fainted or is he hurt?””

“Mmm. I’m not sure, but he probably sustained some internal injuries.  First, I’ll heal him.  If that doesn’t work, then we’ll just have to wait for him to wake up. He probably won’t die.”

“…El…somehow I think you are becoming more wicked…”

Pfft. You try taking care of this sick bastard for once. I wonder if kind words would be coming out of your mouth. Truthfully, if we weren’t on a tight schedule, I probably wouldn’t have tried to heal him. Since it has turned out this way…should I just leave him, and let him catch up?  It was a very tempting option.  Still, I decided to heal him. It was basically giving a rice cake to a hated person.(TLN: idiom)

I went to the lodging prepared for visiting guests, and I saw a red haired man sprawled out on top of a bed. As Isana had said, he didn’t have a single mark on his face. He looked so peaceful that it made me think he was asleep.
If only he shut his mouth, he would receive a lot of points since his face is handsome….

I clicked my tongued inwardly, then I started healing him with my hand on top of his stomach.
【Recover】
Pah-ah-aht-

A bright light exploded forth and it started to surround Lapis’ body.  Since he didn’t have any superficial wounds, I couldn’t tell if I was healing him. I estimated the amount of power I needed to pour into him, but he didn’t respond in any way.  I just decided to leave him alone until he opened his eyes. I didn’t know whether the treatment was effective or not, but I didn’t want to exhaust myself.
“I hope it really doesn’t take him one week to wake up.”

“Why? Is he in such a dire shape?”

He had used his healing arts, but Lapis didn’t get up. Isana looked at Lapis with worry, then he responded seriously to my mumblings. He had the same gold eyes as Tromwell, and it shook from anxiety. I gave a light smile to calm him down.

“He looks fine from the outside. He is a dragon, so he’ll open his eyes soon.”

“Hmmm. Then we have to wait here until Lapis wakes up?”

“Yes. I guess we have no choice. We can’t just leave him here. Since it has turned out this way, let’s just think of this as our resting period. Recently, we haven’t been able to comfortably enjoy ourselves.”

We couldn’t jump to conclusions. Even though, they had arrived at Kalmore without much trouble, the next leg of their journey wouldn’t be as easy. Even if we had arrived here, we might not get the Marquis’ assistance. No, maybe the Marquis might have already joined the Archduke’s side by now.

I didn’t know what our future would bring, but I just wanted to rest peacefully for now, while I thought about nothing.  Isana seemed to hold the same sentiment, so he vigorously nodded his head in assent.

“What will you do if the Marquis doesn’t help you?”

“I’m not sure…truthfully, when I decided to come here, I thought about giving up if I wasn’t able to receive assistance from big brother Karwell…Not anymore. For the people who trusted and protected me, I must return to the capital.”

“Hoo-hoot. You still don’t need my help?”

“I’m already receiving your help. If El wasn’t with me, it would have been hard for me to have come here.”

“It’s something any comrade would do for each other.  If something goes wrong, you could reveal yourself as the contractor of a Spirit King. I don’t care. This isn’t the time to discriminate between cold and hot water.”

Luck was a form of skill. The fact that Isana was able to summon me was his skill and luck. Therefore, if he used me to regain his throne or conquer the world, it was safe to assume it was because of his skill.  Isana’s pride was strong, so he was really embarrassed about the logic of this argument.

However, if he can’t get the promise of support from the Marquis, then he had no choice. He’ll probably have to use my existence as the ‘Spirit King’ as a leverage. Moreover, he could also use the dragon Lapis’ strength.

I thought it would be bad not to use every available resource. It would be a problem if he didn’t use the resources readily available to him. I just hoped Isana will be able to control the steps involved in our plan.
Lapis woke up after 4 days. It happened at dawn when everyone was still within their sweet dreams. At the moment, I approached his bed to check up on him, his red eyes opened, but his eyes didn’t move.  I was so surprised that I took in a deep breathe. If he was awake, then he should have given some kind of a signal. What was he doing lying down with his eyes open?

Lapis looked at me absentmindedly.  Before I could ask if he was ok, he opened his mouth and he spoke in a very hoarse voice.

“…that bastard?”

“Huh?”

“I said where is that bastard? That…Elwien…”

“Elwien? He went back to the god’s world.”

“What?”
Bul-dduk. (TLN: sfx getting up abruptly)

The bastard, who hadn’t moved an inch for 4 days, suddenly woke up as if nothing had happened. My surprise lasted only a moment.  Soon, I recalled I had used my healing arts on him, so I nodded my head.  It seemed it was impossible for me to treat the root cause, but it seemed I had lessened the symptoms…

However, Lapis didn’t know about the hard work I put in.  The fact that Elwien had disappeared made his face contort mercilessly.
“That cowardly bastard. He didn’t even give me the chance to fight back.  He beat me up then he ran away.  How dare a 25 year old noob god do this!  Bboo-dook.(TLN:sfx gritting teeth)”

“Be thankful he left it at that.  It seemed he wanted to beat you more, but he held back. I’ll say this again, but you are mainly at fault here.”

“What did I do?”

Lapis turned around with an aggrieved expression, and his expression didn’t hold a single ounce of guilt.  Is he really implying Elwien was the only bastard that deserves to die?  I let out a sigh as I answered him.

“You kept aggravating him.  Don’t you think you were the one who started the quarrel?   You guys met again after a long time yet you were only able to say those words.  Jeez.  This is why he wouldn’t make a contract with you.”

“Hoong.  It’s already in the past. I have no interest in him, since he isn’t the Water Spirit King. That is why I don’t have to treat him with kindness.”

“…that means you’ll lose interest in me once I step away from being the Elqueeness?”

“Of course. However, that wasn’t the reason why I was really mad at Elwien.  Didn’t he proclaim ownership of you when that isn’t possible?  He made some excuse about you being his son or something.”

Ha-ah.  So basically he felt bad since someone was coveting his possession?

He had known about his obsession with the Elqueeness.  However, he hadn’t known Lapis only wanted the ‘Water Spirit King’.  Was I in the wrong for thinking his interest was clumsy?  I shook my head from side to side.
“I’m sorry, but…Elwien is right. First, I did become his son.  Of course, I was adopted.”

“What? Even though, it doesn’t make any sense yet you are dancing to his tune?”

“I guess.  However,I know one thing for sure. He thinks more highly of me than you. I have my pride, so I’d rather be treated as a ‘son’ rather than an ‘item’.”

“…I never said you were an item.”

He softly mumbled to himself yet his expression crumpled as if he felt guilty.  It seemed he did have a conscious.

“Even though I have a lot of short coming as a Spirit King, there is no reason why I should be dragged around to various location by you for no reason. Moreover, I really really don’t like being treated as an object.  We are comrades, but there is a limit on how accepting I will be of your behavior.  Please remember this.”

“What if I refuse? Will you anull the contract?”

“Of course, isn’t that obvious?  Also, if I decide you are causing delays in my vacation, I won’t hesitate to act.”

“Ho-oh. Are you saying you will kill me?”

“At the very least, if you are in your dragon form, I won’t feel guilty about ‘killing you’.”

He didn’t flatly state, ‘I understand’, but it seemed the meaning of my words was delivered.  I didn’t plan on being this blunt, but just by looking at his unrepentant attitude, I knew it wasn’t guaranteed he wouldn’t act the same way.

My unexpected animosity was quite effective.  It caused Lapis to slowly adopt an agreeable attitude.
Still, he spent half the time grumbling in anger.
“Instead of asking if the person waking up from fainting is all right, you are threatening me in a menacing manner.  Is this too much?”

“You are worse for cursing Elwien as soon as you woke up.  Just show a little bit of contrition.  You said you didn’t need to treat him in kindness since he isn’t the Water Spirit King.  Isn’t that too much?”

“Chet. I’m just speaking the truth…ah ah, I understand. I understand.”

At the last words he mumbled, he retreated as he was pressed down by my glare. As if he was fed up, he waved his hand in defeat. This finally caused my rigid face to loosen a little bit.

“How are you holding up?  Are you hurting anywhere?”

“Now you ask about me?  You are a Spirit King, so it is a joke that you are claiming him as your father, but…isn’t your attitude toward your current comrade a bit too indifferent?”

“You seem perfectly fine.  So there isn’t any problem, right?  We are leaving the temple in the morning, so be ready. You were out for 4 days, so we’ve been in the temple’s care the whole time.”

“What? I fainted for that long?”

Lapis recoiled as if he couildn’t believe what I had said. I unhesitatingly nodded my head.  Then I kindly added an explanation saying, ‘I thought you would be out for a week, but you woke up faster than I thought.’

Even if he was a dragon, he was hit by a god…no matter how I thought about it, how could it not be funny?  This caused Lapis’ face to turn red like a ripe persimmons.  Even though he was in such a state, he attributed his lack of pain to his outstanding physique.

“Ooh-ook! That damn noob god! He better watch out next time!  He dare make me go into coma for 4 days?  I’ll put the Dragon race’s pride on the line, and I promise I’ll break you into pieces!”

….I also thought about saying such words when I woke up, so I didn’t feel like challenging his words. Honestly, even if he tried hard, he wouldn’t even be on par as Elwien’s opponent.

Lapis vented his anger for awhile, then he turned his head towards me. As if he saw something he didn’t like, he frowned. His gaze was directly on my forehead.

“Hey, what is that?  What are you doing by getting the god’s crest on your forehead?  Do you want to catch everyone’s eyes?”

“Ah ah, that is…Elwien went a little bit overboard.  I’ll probably have to cover it while I travel.”

“Jeez. What is that bastard thinking? I have no choice. Wait a moment.”

“……?”

After he spat out those words, he put a hand out then he started moving his hand about at a certain location in the air. He looked ridiculous as if he was trying to chase a fly away. When his gestures ended, he suddenly had a round item in his hand.

Silver was woven around the circumference, and it had fine blue gems on it.  In the middle, there was a clear large diamond about the size of the bottom of a yakult container.(TLN: a korean probiotic drink)  It was very shiny, and even I knew this was a very expensive item.

For a moment, I stared at the appearance of an unknown item with a quizzical gaze.  Soon i felt Lapis trying to put it around my forehead, and my eyes became round.

“Maybe…is this a circlet?”

“Can’t you tell by seeing it?”

“Huk. Where did you get this? I’m sure you didn’t have it a moment ago.”

“This is one of my personal collectibles I stored in my sub-space. I think it was around a thousand years ago? It was the Mahuang Kingdom’s treasure. To humans, it is known as an artifact from the Golden age.”