Elqueeness - Chapter 13

have never imagined Trom-Well as an emotional or rash person. Whenever I thought of him, I pictured him as calculating and rational. Even when Sherry was in danger, his expression did not even change and always remained tranquil.

So I was dumbstruck when his face changed murderously in an instant.

What in the world?! Trom-Well!! What am I supposed to do if you act like El-Wee-En?! Can’t you see Sherry is staring stupidly at you!

Before Trom-Well could make a move on the unconscious thugs, I shouted out loud in hopes of diverting his attention and bring back his self-awareness.

“Matthew! Sherry is still stuck under the Magician’s spell. I don’t think she can move. Is there a way to dispel it?”

Fortunately, it worked. Trom-Well, who seemed to have lost all rationality, stopped upon my words. He glanced in turn at Sherry who was restrained, and the 3 thugs who were downed. Knowing what the best course of action was, he sighed.

“The Binding Spell is something even I can erase. But Sherry doesn’t know that I can use magic, so I have to force that trash to undo it.”

After whispering his response, Trom-Well walked slowly towards the Magician who was coughing violently and seized his collar while lifting him so that his feet were hanging in air.

Then, as if the murderous intent was a lie, he gave him his brightest smile.

“Release her. Immediately.”

“Aieee!!! I.. I got it, so please calm down! Please, have mercy and spare my life, I beg you!!!”

Sherry’s mental and physical exhaustion had long since passed her limit. The only thing that was keeping her awake was that of will power. Now that the crisis was over, she could finally relax. Once the spell was removed, she immediately collapsed and fell unconscious.

Using Sherry’s urgent need for help as an excuse, I tried to convince Trom-Well to head back immediately to the inn for treatment. Tending Sherry was a bigger priority than punishing some evil-doers.

But Trom-Well ignored me and stated that he could not just let this men go.

“They’re humans that assaulted you, El. Even beating them unconscious is not enough to soothe this rage.”

“I’m really fine, it doesn’t really..”

“That’s not the problem El. You were reminded of your human years when you were hit, weren’t you?”

“Eeh?”

What are you saying now? I couldn’t understand, but at the same time, I felt like his words had merit.

Although I would like to deny it, he was right.  Whether I encountered violence that was big or small, I was always reminded of the time when I was human.

When the blow wasn’t very painful, I would think, ‘It doesn’t hurt as much as when my father hits me.’ When the hit was powerful, I thought, ‘He’s more aggressive than my father’.

Also, that was how I learned to feign being in pain.

No way.. Does Trom-Well dislike having me think of my past in such a manner?

Then, as if Trom-Well could read my thoughts, his lecture resumed.

“That’s right. I don’t want you to ever remember your life as a human. Especially when it’s related to your sufferings.”

“Thanks for worrying, but the past has no hand in my life now..”

“El, you’ve been brainwashing yourself by franticly saying ‘It’s alright’ so you may feel that way.

But do you know about the subconsciousness El?”

“Subconsciousness?”

That’s… The subconscious is a place that cannot be accessed at will. Also, it is a territory beyond our self-awareness. A subconscious behavior is an action performed without the doer even realizing.

How does such a theory relate to this?

You’re not saying that I’m still in pain within my subconsciousness, right?

‘No way…’

“You may be right. Perhaps deep inside where my awareness does not reach, there may be an area still clouded with pain.

But Trom-Well. I really am alright.

I was fine in the past… I am fine as I am now, and I will be fine even in the future.

Also, don’t I have priceless friends like you to support me?”

“El…”

“That’s why.. Trom-Well, I hope you can overlook this and continue to act the way you always did. I don’t wish to see your angry face.

I realize that this is a strange request, considering our time together was very short..”

“Haha.. What do you mean strange? That’s not true. I got it. I know El. I was too sensitive.

I have a protective instinct which might be why I always try to take your back. If you felt uncomfortable, then sorry..”
“Eh? No need for apologizes. I didn’t feel uncomfortable Trom-Well. Rather, I feel happy. Thanks for thinking about me.”

That chaotic night finally came to a close with a heartwarming scene of sincere friendship.. Is what I would have wished to have happened.

Not too long after, a soft feminine voice came in between Trom-Well and I.

“…..What do you mean Trom-Well?”

“Ah, that’s… Eck!!!~ She…Sherry! Yo..You were awake??”

“Yeah.. Ah.. Just now.. I heard a lot of loud noises.. But why’d you call Matthew Trom-Well?”

“Uhhh….”

Agghh. This can’t be happening.. What do I do now? Since the 3 thugs and Sherry were unconscious, I thought I could talk freely. I didn’t expect her to awake in such a scenario.

Clueless in what to do, I glanced at Trom-Well for help, who acted like everything was under control. Seeing his confidence, my heart relaxed. Yeah, calm down Kang-Jee-Hoon. No, I mean Elqueeness.

It’s not like Sherry is suspecting us to be Spirit Kings. All she heard was the name Trom-Well and was asking out of curiosity. Also looking at her, I can see that her eyes were still dim. Since she recently awoke, her ability to make judgements should have gone down considerably.

I just need to give an acceptable excuse.

The person who took on that role was Trom-Well.

While I was desperately searching my head, hoping to dig up anything that could be used as an explanation, Trom-Well calmly approached towards Sherry’s proximity.

“Is your body alright Sherry? Does it hurt anywhere?”

“Yeah.. I’m fine, but El called you Trom-Well.. Isn’t that the name of a Spirit King?”

“Aha~ Yeah you’re right. It’s the name of the Spirit King of earth. Why? Is it not fitting?”

“No it fits you very well. But that’s not the problem..”

‘Huh? Trom-Well what are you trying to do?’

Rather than making an excuse, you’re giving her more information to discern the truth! Even though I felt nervous, since Trom-Well has always done everything perfectly, I decided not to intervene.

I knew that as long as he does not want to end this game of his, he must keep our identities a secret.

“In truth, El’s real name is Elqueeness. It’s the name of the Spirit King of Water. Because he was receiving a lot of stress under that name, I decided to pick a name of a Spirit King for myself. Trom-Well, who is the Spirit King of Earth, is known to have high compatibility with the Spirit King of Water. That’s why I chose that name.

It’s a nickname between us.”

“Eh… Really? El’s birth name is Elqueeness? Good heavens. Your parents must be unique. How could they give their child such a name?”

“El’s parents dreamt of becoming Spirit Summoners. When they had their child, El’s hair was azure blue so they gave him the name of the Spirit King of Water, Elqueeness.”

“Ah~ So there was a deeper meaning.”

Without showing any signs of noticeable suspicion, Sherry accepted everything very easily. Seeing that, I could finally relax.

It felt as if I walked a fine line between heaven and hell. I never thought that the fear of having your identity revealed would be so intense.

It looks like I was too optimistic about Isana.

“I have a favor… Please don’t tell this to anyone. It doesn’t matter so much if strangers knew, but Matey and Harol have a tendency to tease others.

El had to suffer a lot as a child because of that name..”

“Yeah. I could do that.. Ah, Matthew! What about those guys? What happened?”

Fortunately, the topic changed. The person to change the topic was Sherry, so the transition felt smoother. Trom-Well didn’t let this opportunity go and pointed at the three males who were on the floor.

“When you say those guys… You mean the garbage trio?”

“Ah yeah. What happ.. Don’t tell me you killed them?”
“Of course not, I would never do such a thing. I just lightly hit them so they would faint. While El distracted them, I came in and took them down.”

As if trying to recall a far away memory, her forehead wrinkled from the concentration. Her eyes brightened when realization struck her.

“Ah.. That’s right. I think that’s what happened. It was really scary..”

“So why would you approach random strangers like that? If we hadn’t been there by coincidence, who knows what could’ve happened. Even if you’re angry, you should treasure yourself.”

“Eeeek… Sorry.. I.. just..”

“You can’t justify yourself like that. Even if you are young, you are a dignified lady so please be more careful. It’s important that you choose your partners well.

Dating several people in hopes of inciting jealousy of the person you love is not something I can applaud.”

“……..Sorry.”

Trom-Well, who was preaching, seemed extremely adult like. His calm and serene way of severely reprimanding a person instant killed a person’s will power and left them docile even though they couldn’t discern any anger in his voice.

They could accept their faults without even fighting back.

Nevertheless, Sherry’s mental condition was fragile at this moment. I feared that she would break down into tears, so I decided to make a joke.

“What’s so good about Hosane that makes you so attracted to him?”

“Eh?? Th.. That’s…”

It’s true that he’s handsome and has a strong sense of responsibility, but he rarely speaks a word and I don’t see much merit in his charisma… Am I wrong?”

“Yo..You’re wrong! He’s an honorable and gentle man! People just don’t know, but he’s really charismatic!!”

Ah, she got agitated. When girls get agitated, they become scary… I wanted to end it by acknowledging her, but she never gave me a chance.

The following series of lines were all compliments regarding Hosane.

“…. I’ve never seen a person wield the Sword Arts so beautifully. Even though he doesn’t talk much, he’s better than Matey and Harol who never have anything intelligent to say.

His apathetic expression is a habit he made while working as a mercenary. But when he smiles, he’s the best!!

Also he’s extremely considerate of children. When he goes to the temple, he always brings sweets and snacks to the children! He even acknowledged me when others couldn’t even bare to send a single glance in my way and complimented me, saying I had talent!

The only person who encouraged me like that is him.

You have no idea how great he is!!!”

“Eh… S.so I.. was trying to say…”

“Yeah! So I really liked him! No, I still do like him. But stupid Hosane doesn’t even look at me.

I love him so much! Why can’t it be me? Sob…”

“Huck.. Uh.. She..Sherry??”

What the hell just happened?

Even though I tried to change the sober mood, I ended up making a girl cry.

While I was busy trying to figure out what I did wrong, Trom-Well stepped in.

“That’s enough. Don’t cry Sherry. If you cry, you’ll put El in a difficult position. Disposing the garbage is a more urgent matter. They’re from the Vodka Mercenaries?”

“Sniff.. Sorry. Yeah, they’re from Vodka. I didn’t think that they would have a Magician. Sniff..”

“If we ignore this, then conflicts will arise between our groups. If we were strangers it would have been fine, but we’re supposed to be allies protecting the same convoy. To think that they would dare to attempt such a thing right now….

We have to set this straight and get an apology from their captain. To do that, we need to inform Hosane. Is that okay?”

Sherry hesitated. But it did not last long as she nodded her approval.
It must be painful to have the person she loves know of the humiliation she endured tonight.

But she also had no intention of letting these criminals go free.

Satisfied, Trom-Well took out rope from God knows where and firmly bound the 3 thugs.

Among them, the Magician was bound more thoroughly than the rest as his wrists and ankles were together. His mouth was even gagged.

When I asked Trom-Well why this was necessary, he replied,

“Magic is casted by language muttered from the mouth and incantations casted with the hands. So in order to capture a Magician alive, you have to give him some special attention.”

“Is this Magician strong?”
“The Binding Spell is at the 4^th Circle, so he’s not bad. It is impossible to deal with Magicians that are truly strong in this sort of manner. Their powers are so great that they need to seal the flow of mana within themselves. But Dragons have no need to do such things.”

“Heh.. Dragons… They use magic too?”

While Trom-Well just nodded to my question, Sherry seemed shocked.

Seeing her reaction, I regretted asking and thought that I should have used the Spirit Language, but by now it was too late.

“Dragons are called creatures of magic. It would be abnormal if magic was not part of their lives from the day they are born and all the way to their deaths.

They are also capable of mastering magic at the 9^th circle, which is considered a realm of legends for humans.”

“9^th circle… I can’t picture its power without seeing it…”

“How should I say this, spells of that category are usually based on attack. Dropping a meteor from the sky or turning a field into a sea of flames are things 9^th circle magic is capable of. But the more practical magic are at the lower circle.

“Just what kind of environment did you grow up in El? That level of information is something that everyone in the continent knows.”

I awkwardly laughed at Sherry’s words and she seemed to notice that I had a special case, so she closed her mouth and did not press further.

Digging up a person’s past is going against a mercenary’s codes.

Duties of a Mercenary involved monster eradication, protecting a person from assassination, and fighting in wars.

People who live in such a dangerous environment generally do not care about a person’s past. So such a thing became an unspoken rule among many mercenary parties.

Despite everything, Sherry was still a skilled mercenary so she too obeyed the codes.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked. I know everyone has their own circumstances. Anyways… When are you planning to tell Hosane about these guys?”

“Let’s see… I don’t wish to wake them up; it’s too early in the morning so they’re all probably deep asleep.”

“But we don’t have a choice. We can’t just leave them here like this..”

Stroking his chin while in deep thought, his eyes suddenly flashed a brilliant light.

“No, that’s a great idea. Let’s just leave them here.”

“Eng?”

Leave them here? I couldn’t see what the point of that was, but Sherry seemed to understand perfectly.

“Then why don’t we hang them from the tree? That way, every person here can have a view when they get up in the morning? Aha~~ It’s going to be fun!”

“Uh.. What are you going to do if we get arrested by the police?”

“Huh? What’s a police?”

“Ah- I mean the guards. Won’t we get prosecuted for hanging people on a tree?”

“No way. They are the ones at fault. How dare they assault a woman and a child! They would face heavy repercussions if this gets reported to the Guild. Our side, in other words, have no fault!”

Seeing Sherry acting so confidently, along with Trom-Well nodding in approval, I naturally had no other complaints.

Instead of trying to stop them, we all hung the 3 thugs up in a tree in plain view at the middle of the road that was the busiest in the morning.

So not only would the residents of the inn see, random strangers who took that road will also get to enjoy this view.

But Sherry didn’t seem satisfied and proposed stripping them down from all the way to their underwear.

Trom-Well, however, decided against it by saying that was going too far.

An angry woman is truly scary… But I too was excited for what was to come.