Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Queen of Fire
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Of course, I knew.
Ancient Seals. Also known as ancient seals.
Seals might conjure up images of something cute and familiar, but the ancient seals that actually existed in reality were anything but soft and squishy.
Just like the Ancient Wolves. These guys had bodies several times larger than ordinary seals and possessed tremendous strength.
And that was the very reason no one could approach these islands by boat.
If humans tried to approach the islands by sea, dozens of those massive seals would swarm out and sink the ship without hesitation!
A similar example was the Sea Serpents that had occupied Yoton Bay, but these were a step stronger and smarter, making them far more troublesome.
Unlike the Sea Serpents that roamed the entire ocean and plagued humans everywhere, Ancient Seals only inhabited these Isles of Fire.
That was why it was said they posed no great danger as long as you didn't approach the islands first...
“...Hello?”
I greeted the massive seal in front of me.
But there was no reply. Seals over six meters long stared down at me with indifferent eyes, maintaining their silence.
Come on! React or something!
With these giants looming over me in a pack... I already felt small, but now I felt downright tiny!
“Yes. It seems you’ve all gathered.”
The Queen who had come with me nodded quietly as she looked at the seals assembled on the northern coast of the island.
“Thank you for responding to my summons, my kin. Our natures are so different, yet I am grateful for your loyalty.”
Then, an ultra-massive seal, far larger than the others, slid forward smoothly and spoke.
“It is our honor to follow the will of the great Queen.”
“Vicent. It’s been a while. Chief of the Ancient Seals.”
The Queen placed a finger on the seal’s snout and smiled. So that’s its name, Vicent. Surprisingly refined sounding?
“You’re the only one who can produce a core right now, aren’t you, Chief?”
“Did you just say core? Yes, my Queen.”
“Good. Then, I want you to give your core to this human right now.”
The Queen pointed straight at me and issued the command. The seal chief immediately glared at me with clear displeasure (though it was hard to read seal expressions).
“I have heard your august command, my Queen. However, the core is sacred. It is a special symbol that can only be passed to those with deep ties to our tribe.”
“Is that so? How convenient.”
Whoosh!
In an instant, the Queen ignited a light flame around her body and laughed.
“The human here just formed a contract with me. In a way, he’s become a being who can command me like a servant.”
“Such... How dare he, to the Queen...”
“And you are kin who have served me across generations. Doesn’t that mean you and he are bound by a very special connection? Isn’t that connection deep enough to warrant handing over the core?”
“My Queen...”
The seal chief bowed its head, flustered. Hmm, the Queen is handling this more logically than I expected? I thought she’d just crush it with power or authority and seize the core.
“...Understood. If that is your wish.”
After writhing in agony for a while, the seal suddenly made a gurgling sound and vomited something onto the ground.
“Bluuuugh!”
A blue orb encased in slime dropped to the ground.
But the smell!
When Regal vomited its core before, it wasn’t this bad? It reeked like rotten fish!
“...Listen well, human.”
The seal chief stared at the orb it had vomited, its voice pained.
“This is the core. Only Ancient Seals who have survived over 300 years can produce one from their bodies.”
Yeah. I know. Regal said the same thing.
“If the Queen hadn’t commanded it, I never would have given this to you. We hate humans. At least you smell a bit better than most.”
That must be referring to my monster affinity.
I used to have terrible affinity as a human, but after eating Regal’s core, it had improved quite a bit.
“Even so, handing a core to a mere human is agonizing. So absorb it quickly. Then you’ll become close to us, and I won’t have to feel this pain anymore.”
“So... I should eat this right now?”
I picked up the core, and a warm heat and chilling stench assaulted me. The Queen standing beside me nodded with a smile.
“Yes, Claude. Eat it quickly. I can’t wait to see how much better you’ll feel.”
Sigh...
How did things end up like this?
I came here to contract with the Fire Spirit Queen.
How did I end up filming an unscheduled gross-out eating show in front of these terrifying spectators?
“...”
At this moment, dozens—maybe hundreds—of pitch-black eyes were focused on my tiny body.
Screw it...
Whatever.
A core’s a core, so eating it should improve my body, right? I shoved the core into my mouth and held my breath.
“...Hnnng.”
“Ooh!”
“That human is really eating the core...”
“The Chief’s core is entering a human body...”
As gasps rose from the watching seals, I felt the orb in my mouth shrinking and grimaced.
This feels awful!
As the core dwindled, it released a gas that absorbed back into my body, making it impossible to hold my breath!
And every time I inevitably breathed in, the rotten fish stench invaded my nostrils!
“Ughhh...”
I wished I could just pass out right now.
But like with Regal’s core, my consciousness didn’t fade. Sob sob. I’m really healthy now. No toxins left in my body.
“It’ll take about 30 minutes to fully absorb. But hmm...”
The seal chief shook its head cutely, disproportionately to its size.
“It already feels much better. Welcome, human. You are now essentially one of us Ancient Seals.”
“...Yeah. Thanks. I’m so happy.”
I replied like I was reading from a textbook and plopped down right there.
Even then, the rotten smell kept assaulting my nose.
Wow, I might actually go mad.
What I need right now is a mental detox. So I quickly reached into my pocket for the sugar bar...
“...!”
It melted.
The sugar bar had turned to syrup and was sticking gooily inside my pocket.
Damn it.
Still, sucking on my syrup-coated fingers improved my mood a bit. I looked up at the Queen beside me with resentful eyes and muttered.
“This is all your fault...”
“What did you just say?”
The Queen leaned down quickly, forcing our eyes to meet.
“But you’re already feeling better, aren’t you? It’s a familiar, lovable sensation. Claude, it’s like a scent of happiness is rising from your body.”
“...Not rotten fish?”
“Hmm? What?”
“Nothing. Anyway, I have a question.”
How could she change like this?
Is the Fire Spirit Queen I knew before really the same as the one in front of me now?
9th round Ignis wasn’t this friendly at all—there wasn’t even anything resembling communication.
She was just like a Pokémon: summon her, she fights briefly, then vanishes. So what’s with this attitude change? Why is she babying me like this?
“...Do you usually treat contractors this well? You even got me an Ancient Seal core without me asking.”
“Of course not. To me, contractors are just strangers.”
But you’re not treating me like a stranger at all?
Even now, the Queen stroked my forehead with her finger and smiled.
“But this time is different.”
“Different? How?”
“Normally, this kind of contract is impossible. A human beating me just can’t happen. There’s a proper method for contracts, of course.”
“What is it?”
Of course I knew, but I played dumb. The Queen extended her other hand far out and began drawing pictures in the air with flames.
Whoosh!
“Uh... is that a lizard?”
“Yes. This is Sarif, one of my subordinates. A fire spirit. Normally, you’d contract with Sarif first, earn his recognition, and only then meet me.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I give missions to humans recommended by Sarif, and if they succeed, we contract according to the established laws.”
“That’s how it usually works?”
“Yes. Tedious, but it’s the natural order, independent of my will. Two beings have contracted with me this way before, and I never showed them personal interest.”
“Then why are you so interested in me?”
“You subdued me by force.”
The Queen’s eyes narrowed into soft crescent moons.
“You’re the first to force a contract through strength. Even if it was just making me take one step from my throne. It was a fresh shock, breaking the rules and natural order.”
“...Really?”
“Something I thought impossible even for eternity happened. So I got interested. If you’d contracted normally... I’d have just vanished back to the spirit realm.”
The Queen’s expression suddenly cooled as she stepped back.
Yes. That expression.
The Spirit Queen who appears when summoned, fights, and vanishes when time’s up. Exactly like what I saw last regression.
In the end, the normal route wasn’t the answer—winning the fight was.
Thanks to that, I got an unexpected Ancient Seal core, which is great, but...
The problem is that the Spirit Queen’s interest itself is overwhelmingly burdensome for a human body.
Just being near her feels like being in a steam bath. And when does she disappear, anyway?
She’s not going to stick around summoned like this forever, is she?
And why does she keep clinging to me and touching my body?
“Anyway, I appreciate the interest... but Queen?”
“Yes?”
“You’ve been trying to get touchy since earlier. Honestly, it’s hot.”
“Hot? Are you excited too?”
I shook my head immediately at the Queen’s forward expression.
“No, hot as in I might get burned. Even if you’re suppressing your flames, you’re still the Fire Spirit Queen.”
“Oh, that.”
Even then, the Queen gently stroked my nape and laughed.
“Sorry if it hurt. I just wanted to feel your flesh.”
“No...”
“Isn’t it natural to be curious about the body of a human who’s piqued my interest? It might offer me a new experience.”
No, wait.
Even if the world turned upside down, giving you that ‘new experience’ might be tough for me?
Our races are different, and the size gap is this huge?
“Hehe. Your face is priceless. No need to worry too much.”
“No, I am worried...”
“Possession.”
“Huh?”
“The experience I mean is possession. Spirits can possess contractors to temporarily experience the essence of life.”
Ah.
That’s what she meant.
The experience was spirit possession?
“And I’ve never possessed a contractor before. It would surely end in disaster.”
“Spirit possession, right? But most spirits can’t possess spiritists, can they? The body can’t handle it.”
But then, Lukkar’s voice echoed in my head, even though his body had already disintegrated.
-No. I have possessed before.
“Hey! Earlier you said it’s natural spirits can’t possess humans!”
-Of course humans can’t. But one of my contractors was an ogre.
Hmm, an ogre.
Come to think of it, this guy was like the guardian deity of the Jairut Mountains ogres?
“There are spiritists among ogres?”
-Yes. There are.
Well, sure... An ogre’s sturdy body could probably handle possession.
“I see. Seems the earth spirit has experience.”
Even as her fingers moved past my shoulders to knead them with her large hands, the Queen nodded with an odd expression.
“But as I said, I haven’t. So you might be the one to give me my first experience. Hmm... but still, your body is too weak.”
“Still?”
“Even after absorbing the Ancient Seal core... it’s still not enough to accept me. If I possessed you now, you’d turn to ash in an instant.”
Well, can’t be helped.
Eating one more core doesn’t instantly turn me into a Knight Master-level body.
“So I’ll give you a mission.”
“A mission? We already finished the contract, right?”
“Not for the contract. It’s personal—something I want from you.”
The Queen removed her hands from my body, stepped back a few paces, and released her suppressed flames.
Whoosh!
“Argh! What are you doing! You’ll kill me... Huh?”
But it wasn’t that hot after all?
Even without deploying any defensive magic. My body was withstanding the heat from the Queen burning right in front of me!
“Good. I raised it a bit, but you endured this much.”
“How...”
My flesh isn’t cooking? Even when I reached toward the Queen?
“This is the effect of the Ancient Seal core. Once absorption is complete, you’ll withstand even stronger heat. Hehe.”
The Queen quelled her flames and suddenly charged in, hugging me tightly.
“Gah! Can’t breathe! What are you doing!”
“Claude.”
“...Yeah?”
The Queen whispered softly into my ear.
“Absorb more ancient beast cores. Become a human strong enough to accept me. That’s the mission I give you.”
“What?”
“There are still many ancient beasts in the world.”
Her eyes, as we finally pulled apart from the embrace, blazed like flames.
“From the moment I came into existence in this world, I’ve never experienced the joy of life. I want you to give that to me. And if you do...”
“...If I do?”
“You’ll obtain what you truly desire.”
She poked my chest with her finger and gave a meaningful smile.
What I truly desire?
Saving this world from the otherworld invasion? But how do you know that?
I bit my lower lip hard, unable to reply. Whether she knew my feelings or not, the Queen slowly began fading into the air.
“Summon me anytime you need. Claude. I’ll burn all your enemies with my full power...”