Elqueeness - Chapter 29

Translated by Dellphit

Edited by Solitaire and Lore

At this point, I began to worry that he may perish. ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ But at this moment, Seacuel’s vague outline solidified into a magnificent creature of power. The scattered aura of water vanished and in its place was the figure of a single wolf.

When Isana saw this, he immediately began to relax but I tightened my grasp on his shoulder so that he would remain alert and not faint from relief.

“Stay alert, Isana! If you lose consciousness now then it’ll be even harder next time. Endure just a bit longer. Got it?”

“Yes…ha…ha… It..it is an honor to meet you, Seacuel. M…my name is Isana…”

Seacuel lowered his head. But that was not a salute to Isana, but to me. It was only after he

finished paying his respects that he paid attention to Isana.

Pleased to meet you, Contractor of the King.

“…huh? He speaks? Ah, I mean, how can I hear him?”

Superior Grade Spirits can deliver their will to their contractor. I will be under your care from now on.

“Ah…yes…thank y…”

“Isana!”

Before he could finish his line, Isana lifelessly collapsed. He had long since passed his limit and could no longer endure. Since Isana had lost consciousness, the mana that anchored Seacuel to this plane of existence was cut off and the Spirit vanished as well.

I immediately used my healing arts to have Isana recover. But even with that, he did not regain consciousness for a long time. He seemed to be having an even harder time than when he had summoned me.

“To think that he could not endure for even a few minutes… This isn’t good. Even if he practices all night, it will be difficult to use Seacuel to his full abilities tomorrow.”

“You’re right. Trom­Well, what should we do? I didn’t think it would be this hard. Damn. If Irial was okay, then Undine would have worked just as well…”

“There’s no choice. Even if he can’t endure for a long time, he should be able to summon

Seacuel long enough for him to launch a single attack. That attack may be the deciding factor of tomorrow’s battle. But, El, are you okay? Even you will be tired after expending such large amounts of aura like that…”

I smiled in answer to his insistent worry. It wasn’t easy, but I could not allow myself to be weak.

Isana had suffered and endured much greater difficulties than I had. Any complaints that I had would only be senseless whining compared to that.

Furthermore, I had not used a single ounce of my power so I had a great reservoir of unused aura. Although that surplus had now been depleted, it wasn’t to the point that I would be forcefully deported away from this dimension.

Unlike the Minor, Intermediate, and Superior Grades of Spirits, the Kings only consumed our contractor’s mana when we used our abilities. This meant that we did not require any mana to anchor us to this world. If that was not the case, Isana would have been just a distant memory for some time.

“Ah yes, Trom­Well. Can the Gods pass down their wills to the humans?”

“Hmm… That’ll be difficult for the average human but it is said that it is possible for those who have the Stigma of the Gods. Why do you ask?”

“Ah, that’s… Mr. Kai claimed that he received Elwien’s will, so…”

“Are you serious?”

“He also mentioned that Elwien wanted to see me. He commanded Mr. Kai to treat me with respect, too. Because of that, Mr. Kai insisted on escorting me to the March.”

“Heh. I’m surprised he had time to look into the human world. He shouldn’t have known that you were here…”

“That’s what I thought. But thanks to his careless words, Mr. Kai is starting to catch on. Is there no other temple around that is dedicated to Elwien?”

If there was a place that was closer, I planned to make a stop there. Trom­Well shook his head.

Elwien simply did not have a long enough period of existence. Therefore, the priests that served him were few in number. The total number of Elwien’s temples should not have surpassed ten.

“Regardless of his longevity, Elwien’s influence is spreading fast. After ten or so more years, some Kingdom or Empire may declare him as their official God.”

“Hm…If there are more temples, then wouldn’t it be harder for Elwien? He’ll be even busier…”

“Haha. Why? Worried?”

My face flamed red in embarrassment at Trom­Well’s teasing gesture. I quickly shook my head in strong denial and blurted out any excuse I could think of.

“That’s not it. I was just concerned because Elwien is already extremely busy since Ifrit

destroyed his office…”

“Haha, I understand so don’t be so embarrassed. It’s natural that a son would be worried about his father. Why the overreaction? But it is as you said. He should become even busier but, with his current workload, I can’t really see how that’ll be possible. That priest who named himself Kaitae, he’s not a bad person. Even if your identity is exposed, he wouldn’t have any malicious thoughts. Rather, they’ll try to protect someone who is Elwien’s son.”

“Hm, you’re right.”

The heavy weight in my chest seemed to have been lifted as my worries began to wash away.

Perhaps it would not be so bad even if I had my identity exposed. Since enough time had passed, I decided to wake Isana. I wasn’t comfortable with waking someone in deep sleep so abruptly, but he needed more training so that he did not become a burden.

“Isana? Isana? Wake up. Let’s try summoning Seacuel again, hm?”

“…ugh…what?”

“If you want to use Seacuel properly tomorrow, you have to practice hard. Since I’ll be giving you even more power than last time, it shouldn’t be as difficult.”

“…what…? Ack! Did I lose consciousness?”

*Crash*.

Once he caught onto the present, Isana bolted straight up. He didn’t seem to remember any of the events prior to fainting, so he seemed to assume that he had failed. As he whipped his head around, hoping to see even a faint trace of Seacuel, I chuckled in amusement.

“Calm yourself. Seacuel simply returned back to the Spirit Realm because he lost connection with your mana source when you fainted. You can always summon him back.”

“Ah, I’m sorry…I shouldn’t have fainted…”

“Why apologize to me? The one who should be upset is you. Anyways, let’s practice. We need to make sure that you can launch at least one attack with Seacuel. Only then will you be able to be of any use to the mercenaries. Of course, if you’re too tired, we could take a short break.”

But Isana shook his head in refusal. His face showed unwillingness to lose even the fewest seconds of time. If Spirits could be called by determination alone, there would be a dozen Seacuels surrounding us.

“Let’s start, El.”

“…Very well then. But be aware that you must be able to resist longer than before. Shall we begin?”

I once again poured my aura into his frame like I had in the past. Like a sponge to water, he devoured the aura I gave him with astonishing speed. This time, Isana seemed much more at ease. But in the end, he once again had his face to the floor and was convulsing when he attempted to summon Seacuel.

But after a few more attempts, his ability to endure grew. Attempt and failure, attempt and failure, and attempt and failure. This process repeated itself countless times and, despite his numerous shortcomings, he had finally succeeded.

He was now able to stay awake even after summoning Seacuel. It was a giant leap compared to his state just before.

Despite his success, he wanted to continue and practice even harder which was easy for him to say since he was receiving power from me. Although the internal reservoir of a King was gargantuan, it still had a limit since this wasn’t the Spirit Realm. My source had now run dry to the point I could no longer replenish Isana with my aura.

Continuously supplying Isana was just as exhausting as when I had destroyed Lapis’ barrier. If Trom­Well had not noticed my sorry state beforehand, I might have been forcefully deported back to the Spirit Realm because of depletion.

It was only now that I began to appreciate and even applaud Felix’s talent as a summoner.

Unlike Isana, he succeeded on his first try despite me giving him little aid.

(TLN: Felix is Isana’s retainer. Elqueeness helped him summon Seacuel in the past.)

Now that I mentioned him, I wonder how they are doing? Perhaps I should send my Spirits to collect intel.

Early the next morning, the mercenaries were stationed outside the tavern entrance after they reclaimed their weapons from the smith.

The people who had seen the crippled state of the defeated mercenaries had uneasy looks in their gazes, but the Champagne Mercenaries had a confident and unwavering light within their eyes.

Especially Harol, who had been busy complaining yesterday night, looked completely excited and rushed his fellow comrades to hurry up so that they could embark on their hunt even a minute earlier. Whether he no longer cared about life and death or he gained sudden confidence, I could not tell.

“Huh? Harol, your axe is different.”

“Ah. The handle came loose so I left it at the smith so they could repair it. Unfortunately, it’s not ready yet so I purchased a new one. But even though I bought it on a split­second notice, it’s a fairly excellent weapon. Hehe, I’m in the best condition today! Tell those pups to come at me any day!”

Harol self­confidently swung his axe around as if imagining the battle. Although it was embarrassing to look at, he still drew smiles from the others.

Perhaps because of their pride, none of the mercenaries showed any trace of fear on their faces. But that doesn’t mean that anxiety and the stress from the possibility of death didn’t exist. It was only after Harol’s one­man show that the tension finally began to subside.

“You’re right. The worst thing that can happen to us is meeting the harbinger of death.”

“Haha. That’s right! Of course! Rai, what happened to you? Will you be able to use the Spirits?”

Irial interrupted Matey who was laughing to himself and carefully asked. She most likely felt guilty since the reason why Isana was being held back was because of her.

Isana nodded and smiled. Even though they couldn’t see his face, they could tell by how he carried himself and his gesture that he had some confidence.

“Huh? You actually managed to summon a Superior Grade Spirit? Impressive, Rai. To think that you, who was a Minor Spirit Summoner just a month ago, are now at this level! Are you perhaps a genius?”

“A Superior Spirit Summoner… Every Empire wants them within their ranks! Wow~! That’s awesome, Rai! You’ll never have to starve no matter what, you brat!”

“Hehe. To call me a Superior Spirit Summoner is too much of an overstatement. I can’t summon Seacuel for long. But I’ll try to time my attack so that it will be the most effective.”

“Very well then. We’ll place our trust in you! Hahaha.”

The mercenaries who had now lost that hidden tension within their hearts became much more lively. A truly powerful Superior Spirit Summoner is an existence that could wipe out a mountain within a heartbeat. It was completely possible for someone of such level to change the landscape to the point that the maps would need to be redrawn. With a Superior Spirit Summoner on their side, it was no different then having won the fight before they even met their adversaries.

Then Trom­Well quietly muttered:

“Hmph, if El had not helped, he wouldn’t even have been able to summon a single Undine.”

“Haha. It can’t be helped. Isana’s ability alone is insufficient.”

“El, when we get into the battlefield, stay far away. Even Spirit Kings bleed when they’re hurt.

Even though our bodies are made from something entirely different from flesh, we were built in such a way to resemble the humans. It makes it convenient for us to mix in with the human population but for you, it’s different. Your blood can act as a trigger and constantly remind you of your life as a human. For your own good, it’s best that you forget that life.”