I Am the Monarch – Chapter 149 : Tale Barony (4)

“Is it her? That ridiculous candidate?”
“Yeah . Because of her, the spirit world completely flipped . ”
“Was her name Kinis?”

Blue hair and transparent skin .
The ones gathered here and there and having barbed chats were water spirits who had rather large factions even within the spirit world .
Their gazes were all directed at one place .
An unusually blue hair and skin slightly tinted red .
A water spirit with a faint smile but an expression that somehow looked sad .
Her name was Kinis .

‘Say whatever you want . Since it’s not related to me . ’

Kinis cared not for the gazes that poured down nor even the barbed chatters .
She purposefully walked even more confidently .

‘I didn’t become the Spirit King candidate because I wanted to like you . ’

The candidates for the next Spirit King were chosen by the current Spirit King’s choices .
And traditionally, it was custom for the Spirit King candidates to be chosen from the bloodline that was called royalty even in the spirit world .
But .

‘I’m the lowest of the lower class . ’

She didn’t even have parents who had given her power of the spirits and was born in the human world instead of the spirit world .
Perhaps because of that, she had a red tinted skin instead of a clear skin unlike other spirits .

‘Because of that, I was always alone . ’

The other water spirits didn’t talked to Kinis, whose birth was of lower-class and even her looks were different .
Kinis too, besides when she first entered the spirit world, didn’t try to start a conversation first .
She couldn’t handle the other spirits’ cold looks and apathy .
The meaningless and lonely life that no one bothered with started like that .
But .

‘After the spirit king chose me for the next spirit king candidate, everything changed . ’

The other spirits, who treated her as a nonexistent spirit, began to pour out all sort of envy and jealousy .
The biting words and pointings were at least on the nicer side .
The occurrences of stealing and harassing became frequent .

‘I don’t care . I don’t care . ’

Kinis clenched her teeth .

‘I was alone anyway, and I’ll always be alone . ’

Spirit King?
She had no interest in such a thing .
No, in her honest feelings, she wanted to boastfully become the Spirit King .
But .

‘In the first place, it’s ridiculous that I, who is from a lowly class, would become the Spirit King . ’

There were plenty of spirits of royal background amongst the candidates .
Probably, one of them would become the next Spirit King .

‘I was selected just to make up the numbers . ’

A short sigh leaked out .
Kinis hurried her steps and headed towards the Spirit King Ellaim’s residence .

“I received King Ellaim’s call and came . ”

When she lowered her head in front of a grand door, the door soon opened .
When she stepped on the fluffy cloud floor and walked inside, there was a chair made out of water .
On the chair, a beautiful woman with a long blue hair sat .
She was Ellaim, the very Water Spirit King who traveled the human world with the Queen of Water Biate and who had saved Roan’s life .

‘Beautiful . ’

The moment Kinis saw Ellaim, she became half dazed .
Because she was of a low class and hadn’t grown yet, she was merely about the size of a palm .
It was a look more like a small fairy than a woman .
Compared to that, Ellaim’s look was literally that of a perfect woman .
A beautiful face and smooth figure and, most of all, an aloof grace that exuded from her entire body .
It was a beautiful look that even Kinis, who was of the same gender, would fall for .

‘Yeah . The beings exactly like that become the Spirit King . It’s a place that a lowly birth like me……’

Looking at her own skin tinted with a red light, Kinis dropped her head .

‘Can’t even dream of . ’

When her thoughts had reached that point .

“Kinis . You’re slightly late . ”

She heard a beautiful voice .
Kinis raised her head and looked at Ellaim .

“Ah……”

A quiet exclamation flowed out .
With a faint smile, Ellaim was staring at Kinis .

“I, I”m sorry . I received the notice late . ”

It was the truth .
The spirit who should had passed the news had dawdled .
This also was something that happened because of the envy and the jealousy .

“The other candidates have all went down to the human world and are taking the test . ”

The candidate selection test .
The test to select the next Spirit King was simple .
Contracting with a human who realized the essence of water or absorbed the essence of water, and staying together with that human .
That was all .
What they had to do, what they shouldn’t do, how long was the duration…… there was nothing that was revealed .
Ellaim spun her finger in a circle .
Instantly, a clear drop of water rose in front of Kinis .

“He is the human you will contract with . ”

On the drop of water, a man’s face appeared .
A young but manly face .
It was Roan .

“I hope that it will become a good result, no a good relationship . ”

Ellaim cheerfully smiled .
Kinis quietly lowered her head and then closed her eyes .

Paat!

Water erupted around her, and soon, she disappeared .
When she opened her eyes again, the scenery had changed .
At that moment .

“I will make a completely new troop for you . ”

She heard a dignified and low voice .
Kinis quickly turned her head and looked for the owner of the voice .
A fine looking elderly old man .
He was Count Io Lancephil .
Io was staring with a burning light in his eyes at the young man in front of him .
Kinis’ gaze naturally moved following that light .

“Ah……”

The young man, he was the human that she had to contract with .

“Troop commander Roan . Will you use Rose as the name of the troop?”

The young man, Roan looked to be momentarily in thought .

‘Is his name Roan?’

Kinis flew up into the air and stood up on top of Roan’s shoulder .

‘He should be a human who has either realized the essence of water or absorbed it, but……’

Strangely, she couldn’t feel the aura of water very well .
At that moment, Roan, who had been in thought, shook his head .

“I want to use another name . ”
“Did you think of something?”

At Io’s words, Roan stared at the eyes of the soldiers around him .

“Amaranth, we will be the Amaranth troop . ”

He spoke in a low but powerful voice .
Kinis, at the burning heat that flew out from Roan’s body, flew up into the air in shock .
For a one who realized or absorbed the essence of water, the heat was too strong .
But strangely, it wasn’t uncomfortable or painful .
Kinis quietly stared at Roan’s face, no, more exactly at his eyes .
Deep eyes as if one may fall in .
At her appearance reflected on the eyes, she exhaled up a long sigh .

‘In the first place, I’m not interested at all in something like Spirit King . ’

No, in the first place, it was a dream she couldn’t even dream of .
Now that it had became like this, she planned to just follow the contractor and go sightseeing the world .

‘To do that, I have to make a contract first……’

Kinis flew up to Roan’s ear .
She planned to talk to him .
But Roan couldn’t hear Kinis’ voice .
And like that, the time flew by as if it had no regret .

[You couldn’t even see me or hear my voice . Thanks to that, I couldn’t even form the contract until now . ]

The sharp voice tore through Roan’s ears .
Roan listened to Kinis’ story that went on for a long time, then fell into thought .

‘As expected, that water drop I absorbed at Biate’s cave was the essence of water . ’

A disparate strength that was different than the heat within his body .
It was a moment when its identity became clear .

“Then were you always next to me since then to now?”

Roan stared at an empty space .
He still couldn’t see Kinis’ appearance .
For now, hearing her voice and talking with her was the best he could do .

[Of course . Since that’s my mission . ]

“Wasn’t it lonely?”

Roan’s voice quieted down .
With a gruff voice, Kinis replied .

[Not at all! I wasn’t lonely!]

Her red-tinted skin became even redder .

‘Since I was always alone . ’

She tightly swallowed back those last words .
She forcefully changed the subject .

[Anyhow, for a guy who even absorbed the essence of water, how could the aura of water be so faint like this?]

Because of that, it had been impossible for the two to converse .
At least because Roan had been more or less living in the water recently, it felt as if the essence of water inside his body became strengthened .
Thanks to that, at least having a conversation became possible .

‘Is the reason the aura of water is faint probably because of that……’

Roan inwardly had a guess .

“It’s probably because of the Flamdor Mana Technique . ”
[Flamor Mana Technique?]

Kinis’ voice was full of questions .
For a while, Roan explained about the Flamdor Mana Technique .

[Hhm . So that amazing heat I felt from time to time was because of the Flamdor Mana Technique . ]

Her voice sounded as if the questions were resolved .
At that moment, Roan slightly creased his forehead .

“But are you okay?”
[With what?]

Kinis gruffly asked back .

“You are a water spirit . Shouldn’t you be avoiding strong heat like the Flamdor Mana Technique?”
[Hm?]

Come to think of it, that was true .
Fire and water were opposites .
At least in the case of other water spirits, they would feel greatly pained and run away if there was even a bonfire level of heat .
But .

[I’m fine?]

Hot .
She simply felt only that much of a heat .

“Is it? Then that’s good . ”

Roan nodded his head with an expression that seemingly found it trivial .
Because he didn’t knew the physiology of spirits very well, he hadn’t noticed just how strange that was .

“Then what do we need to do now?”
[The contract first . The contract . ]

Kinis spoke with strength in each word .
Roan awkwardly smiled and nodded his head .

“Alright . Let’s make a contract . ”
[Wait a bit . ]

The contract was made instantly .
Although she originally needed to lay out all sorts of flowery and embarrassing words and then danced with a fluttery movements, Kinis completely skipped all those useless works .

‘He can’t see in the first place anyway . ’

She pulled up the aura of water, then flew in front of Roan’s face .
Kinis extended her right hand and touched Roan’s forehead .
With her eyes closed, she murmured unintelligible words, then spoke in a sharp voice .

[You want to contract with me?]

Abruptly, she threw out those words .

“Un? What kind of contract is like this?”

Roan creased his brows .
From books and rumors, he roughly knew how a contract with a spirit was made .
He had thought that it was quite graceful and beautiful process, but .

‘This is shabbier than a slave contract . ’

As if she had read Roan’s such thoughts, Kinis spoke in a blunt voice .

[You going to do it, or no?]

At the words that snap at him, Roan nodded his head .

“I’ll do it . ”

Since there was the fault of making her wait for so long, he couldn’t be any more obstinate .
The instant he spoke those words, blue light wrapped around Roan and Kinis’ body .
However, Roan himself couldn’t see that light .

[It’s done . ]
“It’s done?”
[Yeah . It’s done . ]
“It’s really done?”
[Yeah! It’s really done!]

Kinis shouted aloud .
Somehow, her head ached .
It was the first time she talked with someone for so long .
The emotional stress was worse than she had thought .
Of course, her mood didn’t feel bad .

“Okay . Then I look forward to working with you . ”

Roan extended his hand towards Kinis, who wasn’t even visible .
Kinis gently flew and stood on the tip of his finger .

[Looking forward or whatnot, increase your aura of water first . I’ll be seen only if you do, you know . ]
“Okay . I got it . I’ll work hard . ”

Roan cheerfully smiled as he nodded his head .
He moved his feet and walked out of the lake .

“Then what will you do from now on?”
[What do you mean do what . I’ll just have to sightsee the world and wait for the next Spirit King’s heir to be chosen . ]

Roan, who was cleaning up his things while listening to Kinis’ story, shook his head towards her who he couldn’t even see .

“No . That’s not good . ”
[What do you mean that’s not good?]
“You’re a full-fledged Spirit King candidate . Then you should confidently aim for the Spirit King’s position . ”

Kinis snorted at Roan’s words .

[You didn’t listen to me, did you? I’m not a royalty but a lower class . And a lowly one at that . Me becoming the Spirit King is……]
“Impossible?”

Roan cut off her words and asked .
His face was rather serious .
Kinis wordlessly nodded her head .
But soon realizing that Roan couldn’t see her, she spoke in a quiet voice .

[Yeah . ]

The moment she spoke those words, Roan faintly smiled .
He laid down on the ground and looked up at the blue sky .

“I’m from a commoner background . And a poor countryside village on the grain mountains at that . We were so poor that when it became early spring,  we would have to dig up tree roots because there was nothing else left to eat . But the truly horrible things were the monsters who attacked regardless of day and night . We sent people to the fief lord several times, but they pretended not to know . Instead, they said all kinds of excuses and ripped off an unbelievable amount of tax . It was so difficult that I volunteered for the army as soon as I turned eighteen . ”

The weight of his life could be felt in his voice .

“I wanted to become a great general . I wanted to be a great general, subjugate the monsters, and save the village . ”

That was the truth .
But in the last life, he couldn’t quite reach the dream and died .

“Huu . But……”

A short sigh flowed out .

“As I roamed the battlefields and experienced the world, there was a countless number of villages like mine . It wasn’t that only my village was especially poor and dangerous . So I thought at that time . That this isn’t something that a great general could solve . ”

This was something he felt as he lived the second life .
There was a world that he couldn’t see when he was barely living as a mere spearman .
At a level of a great general, it ended at a level of saving few villages .
To change the world, he had to look at a place higher than that .

‘At first, I had thought that if I aimed for a monarch, I would at least ended as a great general . ’

The reason he wished to become a monarch when he returned to the past .
It truly was a childish and immature reason .
But as he went from a mere spearman to leading soldiers as a squad commander, adjutant, and vice-commander, his view of the world changed .
The life was too hard .
There were too many people who died without even follow their dreams .
He wished to save them all, to save the entire world .
To do that, he needed to become a true monarch .
Not a monarch of the royalty and the nobles, but the monarch of everyone .
That was the true monarch that Roan thought of .
It was because of that reason that despite becoming a noble, he looked after the people regardless of their status .
The dream that started for an immature reason had slowly shaped up like that .

“Kinis . ”

Roan called out Kinis in a quiet voice .
He momentarily steadied his breath, then carefully spoke each and every word .

“I will become a monarch . ”

This was the first time that Roan had told anyone, no, even spoke his dream out of his mouth .
Instantly, Kinis’ eyes became wide .
Her expression was shocked .
Even her, who was a spirit, knew a bit of how the human world’s lives worked .

‘It’s a ridiculous dream . ’

Kinis shook her head .
Even in that while, Roan continued to speak .

“I’ll become a monarch and change the world . ”

Roan’s eyes moved, chasing Kinis who couldn’t even be seen .

“Kinis . You said you also lived a hard life in the spirit world . Those days that you were ignored and discriminated because you were of a lower class…… don’t you want to try and change such an unreasonable world? If a candidate from the royalty becomes the next Spirit King as you said, the spirit world will be the same as before . The lower class will receive all kinds of slight and discrimination and live out difficult days . But……”

His voice once again carried strength .

“If you become the Spirit King, you can change the world . ”

His voice was full of certainty .
Kinis’ heart began to rapidly race .

[I could change the world……]

If she could do that .

‘I’ll get rid all of these disgusting classes . ’

But .

[Could I do it? Could I become the Spirit King? Me?]

Kinis asked in a trembling voice .
Raising up only his chest, Roan brightly smiled .

“Of course . ”

It was an answer without a hint of doubt nor hesitation .
Once again, he extended his hand towards Kinis, who couldn’t even be seen .

“Kinis . I will become the monarch of this world . You become the king of the spirit world . ”
[You and I will become kings……]

Be born at the lowest and rise to the highest place .
It definitely wasn’t an easy path .
But somehow .

‘I feel like I can do it . ’

Until just a moment ago, she thought it was something absolutely impossible .
But the moment she conversed with Roan, an unknown confidence blossomed .
Kinis flew down on the back of Roan’s hand and slightly bent her knee .
Her small and cute lips touched the back of his hand .
Of course, Roan couldn’t feel nor see that sight .

[Alright . Let’s try it . ]

It was still a sharp and buzzing voice, but it was full of life unlike before .
Roan cheerfully smiled and nodded his head .
To him, a friend and a companion who walked the same dream as him had appeared today .
Roan stood up from his seat and picked up his bag .
Then, as if he had thought of something, he spoke in a careful voice .

“Ah! But were you really not lonely?”

Countless months of time that she had to talk alone, and watch alone .
Roan found it pitiable and sorry that Kinis had to spend and endure that time alone .
Smiling brightly, Kinis replied .

[Yeah . I’m not lonely anymore . ]

< Tale Barony (4) > End .