The Water Spirit King, Elraim
"This was your doing, wasn't it...?"
"Hmm? What do you mean? I just felt so bad seeing you, the Hero, leaving without even eating breakfast..."
Just as Edwin had said...
Illuen possessed a level of shamelessness rarely seen in an elf. Dealing with her was utterly exhausting.
"Didn't you just hear that? The forest is on fire. And you're talking about breakfast?"
"The local elves will put out the fire anyway. Why should a High Elf like me bother?"
"Are you sure you didn't start it?"
"What are you talking about? Why would an elf like me, who loves the forest, ever start a fire? Hahaha."
If it was her... she was more than capable of it.
To achieve her goals, she wouldn't hesitate for a second to burn down an entire forest.
"Hero, let us depart for now."
"Lucia...?"
"I think... I can do it."
The timid girl who had cowered before Illuen was gone. Lucia spoke to me with a confident expression.
There wasn't a trace of hesitation or anxiety in her voice.
"All right. Roman, let's head out."
"H-Hero... You mean you want to go toward the fire?"
"Yes. Once we get there, Lucia will handle it."
"U-Understood."
Only then did Roman approach the carriage and begin preparing for departure.
Illuen, who had assumed we wouldn't leave because of the forest fire, approached me with a flustered look.
"C-Carlos... Are you insane? You're going toward a burning forest? And because of what this half-breed bitch said?"
"Yes."
"What can a half-elf like her even do? Can she even summon a spirit properly?"
Furious that I wasn't playing into her hands, Illuen demanded answers in a shrill, irritated voice.
I stepped closer to deliver one final word before we left.
"Illuen, I'm sorry things didn't go according to your plan, but let me say it one more time. She is not a half-breed. Her name is Lucia. Lucia. No matter how stupid you are, surely you can understand that by now?"
"Carlos...!"
"And for the record, I never enjoyed sleeping with you. I was just curious about what a proud High Elf tasted like, but you smelled like a sewer. Trash is trash, after all."
"Carlos... How... how could you say such a thing..."
"So, farewell. And stay out of my sight."
If I were my past self, I probably wouldn't have been able to speak to Illuen like this.
I would have been dragged around by her whims, and today, I might have just believed her lies and turned back.
"Hero! We are ready!"
At Roman's shout, Lucia climbed into the carriage first.
Leaving the collapsed Illuen behind, I followed Lucia inside.
"Hero, if we encounter the fire on this narrow path, we won't even be able to turn the carriage around... Will we be all right?"
"Yes, it's fine. I trust Lucia."
I had only answered Roman to soothe his anxiety, but Lucia, sitting next to me, stared at me with a face flushed bright red.
When I shrugged, silently asking what was wrong,
Lucia covered her burning face with her hands and hung her head low.
"We're off, then! Yah!"
With Roman's shout and the crack of the reins, the carriage slowly began to move.
As we left the village and entered the narrow, dark forest path, the acrid smell of smoke grew thicker.
"Roman, please go as far as you can, then let me off."
"Understood, Lady Lucia!"
Sensing the proximity of the flames, Lucia was already preparing to disembark.
As we drew closer to the fire, the number of elves fleeing the area began to multiply.
"Do not run! We must protect the forest to the end!"
An elf warrior I recognized from yesterday's banquet shouted down from a high branch at the fleeing crowd.
He and a few other warriors remained behind, summoning the water spirit Undine to combat the raging flames.
However, the remaining elves were far too few to contain a fire spreading rapidly on the wind.
Several elves had already collapsed from mana exhaustion.
"Hero, I will be right back."
"Be careful, Lucia."
As the Undines vanished one by one and the flames roared with renewed vigor, Lucia stepped down from the carriage and walked steadily toward the blaze.
"You're in the way! Go back!"
One of the elf warriors fighting the fire noticed her approach and barked a warning, clearly annoyed.
"I want to help."
"How is a half-breed supposed to help? Do you even know how to summon a spirit?"
"Yes!"
The warrior, who had initially dismissed her, stared at her with skepticism upon hearing she could summon spirits.
Even amidst the chaos of the fire, Lucia's soft, mana-infused voice resonated clearly throughout the entire forest.
A moment later, a woman made of pure water, clad in an ornate dress with long flowing hair, materialized before Lucia and smiled warmly.
"It's been a while, hasn't it, Lucia?"
"Have you been well?"
"You only ever call me when it's an emergency, don't you?"
"I'm sorry."
"Last time it was monsters, and today it's a fire?"
Elraim spoke with feigned disappointment as she looked at the rising flames around them.
Lucia clasped her hands together, looking apologetic.
"T-This is..."
Watching the exchange between Lucia and Elraim, the elf warrior was left utterly speechless.
He was so stunned that his concentration shattered, and he didn't even notice his summoned Undine dispersing into mist.
A spirit capable of actual conversation—a trait unique to the Spirit Kings.
Hearing their dialogue, he immediately realized the entity Lucia had summoned was no ordinary spirit.
Even the other Undines summoned nearby began to tremble in her presence, slipping from their summoners' control.
And so...
The warrior, along with the numerous other elves fighting the fire, stared blankly at the scene.
They stood transfixed, gazing at the Spirit King—a legendary being none of them had ever witnessed in their lifetimes.
"So, I just need to put out this fire, right?"
"Yes, Elraim. Please extinguish the fire so our carriage can pass through that road."
"Sure, leave it to me."
Answering Lucia, Elraim floated up into the sky, spreading her arms to commune with nature.
Rumble, crash!
Torrential Rain
The sunlight that had filtered through the forest canopy just seconds ago vanished. Dark clouds blanketed the sky, followed by flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder, and a sudden, violent downpour.
Whoosh!
As raindrops the size of fists pelted down from the heavens, the raging flames began to dwindle.
However, beneath the dense canopy where the rain couldn't penetrate, pockets of fire still burned.
"Elraim, over there..."
"Yes, I see it."
Lucia pointed to the remaining fires, worried Elraim might have missed them.
Already aware, Elraim extended a hand toward the flames to cast her next spell.
Water Jet
Four magic circles materialized beside Elraim, unleashing concentrated streams of water at the burning trees and areas shielded by the thick foliage.
The volume and pressure of the water were so immense that thick branches snapped under the force.
In an instant, the fire that dozens of elves summoning Undines couldn't contain was completely extinguished.
Any remaining embers or smoldering leaves were naturally snuffed out by the falling rain.
The once-lush forest was now a landscape of charred, skeletal branches, with white steam rising where the rain met the extinguished wood.
"Thank you, Elraim."
"Don't mention it. Next time, summon me when you're going to eat something delicious or see something fun. The Spirit Realm is just too boring."
"Yes. I'm sorry."
Finding Lucia's response endearing, Elraim smiled and patted her head.
Murmurs began to rise.
Hearing the commotion, Lucia looked around to find the elves gathering to catch a glimpse of the Spirit King.
"Is that... the Spirit King...?"
"The Spirit King that even Her Majesty the Queen cannot summon?"
"How could a mere half-elf..."
The realization that Lucia, a half-elf they had looked down upon as inferior, had summoned a Spirit King left them in deep, paralyzing shock.
Just then, the warrior who had told Lucia to go back approached her hesitantly.
"Is... is that really Elraim, the Water Spirit King?"
"Yes."
The man who had treated her with such hostility and annoyance looked back and forth between Lucia and Elraim. Unable to believe his own eyes,
he rubbed them and stared again.
For elves, who possessed a stronger affinity for spirits than any other race, this situation was impossible to comprehend.
Normally, a Spirit King was a being
believed to be summonable only by dragons, the strongest race in the mortal realm, or an elf queen of legendary achievements.
And yet...
Not a royal or noble High Elf,
nor even a common elf,
but a half-elf of mixed blood had summoned a Spirit King. It was a clear omen of a massive upheaval soon to sweep through the elven race.