Elqueeness - Chapter 19

l.. El? What’s wrong?”

Tom-Well, who went to scout the premises, came back and was sitting next to me. It seemed like I was too worried about Hosane and Sherry to notice him approach.

“Ah, sorry Matthew. Anyways, where did you go?”

“Aha. For a moment, I felt a strange presence.”

His casual words brought great surprise to Hosane. His eyes seemed to ask if it was the presence of monsters. However, Trom-Well lightly shook his head.

“It was nothing. I must have imagined it.”

“But Trom-Well, there’s no way you would make a mistak..”

“Well, sometimes I do. We needed to do some scouting anyways.”

Hosane, who did not want to take any chances, looked extremely worried but Trom-Well simply smiled. Is it really nothing? But at that moment, Trom-Well spoke in the Spirit Language.

-El, do you remember what I said? The existence of a foreign power that seemed to be interested in you.

-Ah, yes. What about it?

-Be careful. The being’s identity will soon be revealed.

We could differentiate whether it was an enemy or friend. Though, what should I do if the being turned out to be hostile? Despite my concerns, Trom-Well simply smiled to cleanse my worries.

-It’s alright El. You have me by your side.

-But..

-Don’t worry. Even if you are seriously injured, the worst thing that could happen is that you are forcefully deported back to the Spirit World. Also, there is no way that there’s a human that is strong enough to kill you. Even if there is, I won’t let that happen so relax.

-Thank you, Trom-Well

-No need for that. As a friend, it’s natural. Also, it’s not like we’re ordinary friends. WE, the 4 Spirit Kings, are no different from family. So you don’t need to say thanks to express your gratitude.

A family… My heart overflowed with joy at Trom-Well’s beaming smile. Those words were something I wished to hear when I was human, but was unable to. How much did I struggle to be acknowledged by my family? But here, I was accepted as family by two people.

If this was a dream, I don’t wish to wake up. My friends from the past world may feel sad, but I do not regret coming here.

‘Be happy, Kang-Jee-Hoon.’

Since the first day Isana and I have joined the Champagne Mercenaries, it has been over a month. When we first started, it was no more than the middle of autumn. But now, the leaves died red have started to fall off its trees as it began to decay. Just seeing the pile of leaves gathered in the road was enough to feel the aura of autumn.

Since the road to Kalmore was estimated to take 2 months, we have only traveled half of the distance. By the time we can meet Marquis Kawell, we will probably see snow.

But I could no longer pass the days in leisure.  Suddenly, in one of the bushes sprang out an enormous black shadow as it leaped into the skies.

“Kuwweeeee!!”

“Ack!”

“El!”

Even though I half heard that noise countless times the past few days, I still cannot get used to it. Fortunately, Trom-Well was next to me and he roundhouse kicked the assaulting monster.

With white foam bubbling in its mouth, the goblin lost its life to Trom-Well.

“Are you all right?”

“Thanks Matthew.”

“Don’t get too close to the bushes. Monsters often hide there. Anyways, are you done on your side Harol?”

Harol, who was busy butchering a pack of goblins, leisurely replied in a boisterous voice. Around his body were halves of what used to be goblins.

“Oy, our side is perfect! Should we help the others clean up as well?”

Unlike Harol, whose eyes were burning enthusiasm, Sherry pitched her sword to the ground and screamed in fury.

“I’m sick of this! How many times does this make it?! Even if monster activity is at its peak, there should still be a limit. Isn’t this too much? At this rate, we’ll die of exhaustion before we get to the second checkpoint!”

“Sherry~ If you’re going to collapse, my arms are always available …”

“If you don’t want to join these guys on the ground in parts, then SHUT UP!”

“Ugh. You’re so mean~.”

No matter how many times Matey egged her on, Sherry had locked Hosane in her sights and wouldn’t even spare a glance at him. Her slender form turned away from Matey, ignoring him. She scanned the ground littered with corpses and wiped away green stains while grimacing in disgust.

Monster blood had splashed onto her clothes during battle.

After passing the first checkpoint, the scale and frequency of monster attacks began to escalate.

The monsters who had been attacking were of the lowest class and therefore the weakest, so it did not give the mercenaries any reason to sweat. However, although the quality was lacking, these monsters made it up with quantity. Even both Iale and Harol, who were always filled with excitement when entering combat, began to frown in annoyance.

The number alone was enough to overfill an entire village.

Trom-Well even started to suspect the existence of a dragon lair nearby.

“These bastards are too nasty. If they see their friends die out, shouldn’t they know that they don’t stand a chance and retreat? With what confidence do they keep up their assault?”

Harol quickly responded to Iale’s grumbling.

Even though they spent half their time together quarreling, they were unbelievable well matched when it came to fighting.

“I know, right? Well, since they say it becomes easier after the second checkpoint, try to endure it. We’re almost there anyways.”

“Eh? Fine. Is anyone hurt?”

“Not on this side. Since we have a priest, that’s not a problem anyway.”

As the monster attacks continued without showing signs of ceasing, casualties began to rise. Although no one has been killed thanks to Kai’s efforts, many have been injured. Those who were critically injured to the point that they could no longer travel were placed to rest in the carriage.

Members of Salad Mercenaries who were mostly made of Bronze Ranks, along with Cocktail Mercenaries who were almost identical in terms of power, suffered numerous casualties day after day.

Fatigued from the constant combat, they often let down their guards and made themselves vulnerable for ambushes. Many of their men were hurt like that.

Therefore, they all looked at the Champagne mercenaries with tired expressions; this was because even while facing the fiercest attacks, the latter did not suffer a single scratch. They seemed to regard us as even more monstrous than the monsters.

Among them, one of the Cocktail mercenaries made the initial complaint.

“This isn’t fair, how could the difference between Bronze and Silver Rank be this large! Hey Pete! You’re a Silver Rank too, so how come you’re not as good as them?”

Besides Pete who was the leader of the Cocktail mercenaries, all the members were Bronze. As such, their overall team strength was in the lower bounds of the ranking. However, if we were to compare them to other Bronze Ranked teams, the quality of their skills were actually much higher.

Captain Pete furthermore had astounding abilities as a leader along with his Silver Ranked level of skill. Therefore, even the Guild treated him with respect and he gained the acknowledgement of his peers.

As a result, they had strong levels of pride. However, that was shattered after travelling with us for a few days.

Losing to Hosane who was a Gold Rank wouldn’t have mattered; however, when Kowell realized that his team was far weaker than the Silver Ranks of the Champagne Mercenaries, his face was clouded with disappointment.

Noticing the change, Pete tried to come out with excuses to reassure Kowell.

“Even if we’re the same Silver Rank, their experience in the field are on a different level from ours. You know I’ve only recently received the Silver Rank Pass, so why are you so upset?”

“Huh? Then what about them? There’s not much of a difference in my age when compared to them. Then they must have received the Silver Rank way earlier than you Pete.”

“Of course. Most of them got to that rank before they were 20. Among the mercenary guild, there is not one that doesn’t know of the Champagne Mercenaries. Do you think they are weak when they are all made of at least Silver Rank?”

“Before 20? They really are monsters.”

As if feeling extremely displeased, Kowell glares at us with eyes that burn with jealousy.

It almost felt strange that he did not draw his sword and issued a challenge.

However, as if this wasn’t the first time this happened, no one tried to intervene. The Champagne Mercenaries actually looked annoyed rather than offended.

Tiredly looking at Kowell, Harol spoke quietly so that only we could hear.

“This is why I hate people who entered this occupation late. They always do this even though they don’t know our history.”

“Hehe. Leave them be. They won’t be able to do anything anyways. The difference in weaponry is enough. Before they can even make a move, I could cut them all down with my whip.”

“Should I get hit I few times during the next attack? I can’t live with them glaring at us the entire journey.”

“Don’t be stupid. There’s no way you will get off lightly after being hit by a hammer. You may end up leaving for the other world like that. ”

Iale and Matey nodded in unison. Although they constantly fought, when they found something they both could agree on, they got along pretty well.

Even with their rotten relationship, they would still take care of each other’s needs.

Seeing that Isana was alone, I walked up to him.

After summoning Undine some time ago, everyone learned that he was a Spirit Summoner. However, he was unable to contribute due to Iale who became a lunatic every time something adorable caught her eye.

Isana felt upset about this.

As someone who was responsible for the entire empire, rather than leading the company in battle he was being protected the entire time. So he wanted to fight with the sword but was denied by Trom-Well who argued that the Imperial Sword Arts would lead to his identity being discovered.

Since he trained in the Imperial Arts ever since he was a child, the swordsmanship was etched into his very bone and made it impossible for him to hide it.

So instead of engaging in combat, he tried his best to not get in their way while observing the battle as a bystander. Just seeing other people’s swordplay was enough to improve your own Sword Arts.

Even though he wasn’t on that level, this would still aid him in the future.

“Rai, are you injured anywhere?”

“Yes. I was only watching. Honestly, my whole body is itching. I didn’t know that the Sword Arts would be so interesting when I first learned. I’m going to start training my sword in the future.”

“Good, good. You definitely won’t be weaker than anyone once you master your sword play.

Till then, focus on your Spiritual training. Once you can summon Seacuel, you will be able to use him in front of Iale.”

“Huh? Then Seacuel isn’t adorable this time?”

Seeing Isana’s round eyes, I carefully thought back and debated whether or not Seacuel would fall in the ‘cute’ category.

Although he looked cute in my eyes, ordinary humans would only see him as a savage wolf..

Rich and powerful in aura, his presence alone was enough to intimidate any humans.  Adding onto his dagger like canines, I doubt that any humans would ever describe him as such, so I confidently nodded my head.

“Instead of cute, I would say he’s more charismatic and intimidating. He takes the shape of a wolf. He doesn’t say much, but he’s a likeable fellow.”

“Wow, a wolf? I want to meet him, so I’ll practice hard, El.”

“Good, and be strong. At your pace of improvement, you’ll definitely be able to summon him soon.”

Maybe because I was helping him, Isana was improving at an earth shattering pace. In the past, summoning a single Undine was enough to tire him, but now he is able to summon and control 3 of them simultaneously.

Summoning Seacuel was only a matter of time..

But because he was unable to join in battle, all he could supply was water.

It may be unfortunate, but for Isana, we must separate from the Champagne Mercenaries as soon as possible.

I had no desire to leave Trom-Well, but it wasn’t like it was a farewell.

We will meet again in the future, so I had no reason to feel sad. I just felt guilty that I was bothering him from enjoying his own vacation.

“… Ignoring Hosane’s invitation may have been better..”

No matter how close we are as friends, there was a limit to everything. Because of my sudden appearance, I caused many problems for Trom-Well. I also nearly exposed his identity. The more I thought about it, the more ashamed I felt.