Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 251

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 21.
Not All Children Are Angels (21)
The next room and the one beyond held nothing but empty beds and vacant wardrobes—no people, no clothing. A staircase descended toward the Warehouse, but I had no desire to venture into such a dim, oppressive place in my current state of mind.
Joshua returned to the original room of unknown purpose. This time, I decided to explore rightward. After passing through one room, a single-story terrace-adjoined chamber appeared overlooking the Backyard. I glanced at it briefly and peered into the next room as well, but still no shadow of a person. Joshua’s heart grew heavy, and I strained my eyes, scrutinizing every corner of the final room as though willing someone to appear. Yet no one could emerge from these empty walls.
I had truly become lost.
With no one around, I could have wept if I wished, but Joshua did not. The thought of crying like a child over merely losing my way was unbearably childish to contemplate. When I tried to suppress it, I felt my pride asserting itself needlessly, and the absurdity made me want to laugh—but laughing in such circumstances seemed equally mad, so I stifled that as well.
I had been vaguely anxious following this stranger. True, had I known it might come to this, I should have paid closer attention to the route. After four days by carriage, Keltika must now be impossibly distant.
Opening my small bag revealed only drawing implements and bundles of paper. For whatever reason, Father had given Joshua no money at all.
Ultimately, I decided to leave the house. Yet when I returned to the room with the terrace, a powerful sense of having overlooked something struck me. Joshua’s head snapped toward the terrace.
Creak…
What had appeared to be a tangled mass of netting hanging from a pillar in the sunlight was, in fact, a hammock bed. Only then did I discern a human-like silhouette sprawled within it. I looked again more carefully. It was unmistakably a person!
The figure should have sensed my presence, yet it remained motionless—apparently taking an afternoon nap. However suspicious this place and my circumstances, the person before me was Grandfather. I could hardly demand an explanation outright. Joshua considered waiting for Grandfather to wake, but my curiosity about my own fate proved irresistible, so I approached cautiously and peered down. And I was utterly bewildered.
I had discovered a Young Boy sprawled out in leisurely slumber.
“Who are you?”
No answer came from the sleeping figure.
Observing more closely, the boy’s composure was genuinely remarkable. One leg stretched out comfortably while he remained crouched at an angle, his hair disheveled, and most notably, traces of drool lingered at the corners of his mouth. Whether he had covered himself with a book before sleeping or had knocked it aside trying to shield himself from the sunlight, a single volume lay scattered nearby. Its pages were creased and worn, refusing to fold properly.
In any case, this was not Grandfather. Even if he aspired to become one, he would need to wait fifty years. In other words, the Young Boy was Joshua’s age.
Joshua felt anger rising subtly at the boy’s carefree appearance. Unaware that I had not been angry in an extraordinarily long time, I shook the Young Boy awake.
“…What.”
The boy spoke without even opening his eyes. His voice was deeply irritated, yet he was clearly awake.
“Who are you?”
But an utterly absurd answer tumbled out.
“I’m someone bothersome.”
Then, without opening his eyes, he buried his head into his shoulder.
“I asked who you are!”
“Too bothersome.”
“What do you mean, too bothersome!”
The boy opened only one eye, as though opening both would be far too much effort.
“You’re bothersome too.”
Then he shut it again. Before Joshua could respond, the boy had already begun snoring softly.
I had never received such treatment. Joshua was so taken aback that I could not determine what to do. Until now, everyone meeting me for the first time had either been excessively wary or excessively familiar. I had never experienced such perfect indifference.
Under different circumstances, Joshua would have simply ignored him and withdrawn, but my situation was different now. Bothering others contradicted my usual nature entirely, yet I had no choice—Joshua shook the boy’s shoulder again.
“Mmm… waking me costs five Elsono, or if you prefer, I’ll bill you later…”
“What?”
“I said I’ll bill you later… Really, just leave me alone!”
The moment the boy shouted, Joshua bristled as well. If this truly was Grandfather’s House, then this mysterious wretch was undoubtedly a shameless squatter occupying an empty dwelling!
Joshua seized the edge of the hammock and flipped it with all my strength, trapping the boy within the netting. The boy’s eyes flew open and he cried out.
“My glasses!”
Where were his glasses? Joshua glanced around and spotted something resembling crushed spectacles beneath the boy’s rear end. They must have been caught on one end of the hammock. I pointed at them and asked.
“Those?”
The Young Boy tried to catch a glimpse of the glasses from the corner of his eye. Soon enough, he could make out something.
“Damn it, broken again! This is all your fault! Why’d you have to wake me up and cause all this commotion! You scrawny little runt!”
“Scrawny… what?”
Joshua, who had never heard a curse in his entire life, turned crimson. Yet the other boy paid no mind, thrashing about inside the net while shrieking.
“What are you doing? Get my glasses out of there, now!”
I pulled out the glasses as instructed. The frame was twisted, making it impossible to wear immediately. Realizing this was indeed my fault, Joshua apologized despite his confusion.
“I’m sorry the glasses broke… but I’ll buy you a new pair….”
“What money does a little squirt like you have to buy glasses?”
Despite being a child himself, he spoke with the tone of an adult forgiving childish pranks. But then, twisting like a fish caught in a net, the boy immediately shrieked again.
“Forget the glasses! Just get me out of this net!”
Realizing he couldn’t back down now, Joshua shouted back.
“I said I’d pay for the glasses! So tell me who you are! Why are you in someone else’s house?”
“That’s rich coming from you! This isn’t even your house!”
It was hard to explain, but once he’d raised his voice, there was no retreating now.
“I… am the grandson of this house’s owner!”
“Grandson? What nonsense is this? How could an old man with no wife and no children have a grandson?”
Joshua realized the owner was indeed elderly and felt somewhat relieved, though he didn’t show it.
“Just because you don’t know someone doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Stop making excuses and tell me who you are.”
“First, you need to fix this properly! Do you enjoy having a conversation with someone hanging upside down?”
When the other boy showed no sign of yielding, Joshua flipped the net once more and tied it up completely. As he did so, he felt he was acting differently from his usual self.
“Now do you feel like talking?”
“Ugh….”
The boy tried to glare at Joshua through the mesh of the net, then seemed to change his mind and opened his mouth.
“So that old man really is your grandfather? But he’s been gone from this house for quite a while now.”
Though it was what I’d suspected, Joshua frowned and asked again.
“He’s not here?”
“Well, I think I might know something about that problem, but I’ll tell you after you let me out of this.”
Somehow so infuriatingly confident, Joshua felt his anger rise and shot back.
“Forget that—just tell me who you are.”
“Me? I’m just someone who lives in this neighborhood.”
“Then why are you in here!”
“Didn’t you hear me say let me out first and then we’ll talk!”
The boy sure could shout through the gaps in the net. Joshua stared at him with wide eyes without responding. As this standoff continued, the boy in the uncomfortable suspended position was at a disadvantage.
“Hey, imagine if you were peacefully taking a nap and suddenly got wrapped up tight and hung there for interrogation. How unfair and absurd would that be? If this keeps up, I’ll get cramps all over and might even lose consciousness with the net around my neck. Then I won’t be able to answer your questions at all.”
But Joshua had plenty to say in return.
“Then how would you feel if you came to your grandfather’s house, only to find him gone and a stranger sleeping in an empty home? And that person won’t even answer your questions, just keeps spouting nonsense. How am I supposed to know if you’re a thief or not? How would I know where you’ve hidden my grandfather or if you’re just playing dumb? Answer my questions before I set fire to that net.”
Unexpectedly, the boy burst into laughter. He giggled for quite a while before speaking.
“You say you’ll set fire to it—that sounds terrifying, you know… but this net bed and this house made of rotting wood? That’s your grandfather’s property. Burning it down wouldn’t exactly lead to favorable results, and besides, who did I hide? I’m telling you, you’re not the only one who’s bewildered. Think about my position too, would you? A bolt from the blue—that’s what this is. I haven’t just started coming to this house! I know the old man well! But I was peacefully napping at my friend’s place, and suddenly some grandson I’ve never even heard rumors about shows up and starts making a fuss, demanding his rights. Do you think I’m in a good mood?”
As Joshua listened to what sounded like sophistry, one word caught in his ears: ‘friend.’
“Friend?”
“That’s right, friend! I’m your grandfather’s friend! He himself gave me permission to come and go from this house as I please. So why should I be treated like this? Not only do you fail to apologize, but you bind up someone trying to clear up a misunderstanding and even threaten them? A reckless brat like you deserves to be tied down and have your backside beaten!”
“….”
Joshua found himself at a loss for words. It was absurd enough that this small creature called his grandfather a friend, just as he was small himself, but what truly astounded him was how this boy remained utterly confident despite every disadvantage stacked against him. He was utterly unpredictable.
Until now, Joshua had encountered only those who were either too exceptional, too refined, or too disagreeable to warrant conversation. As a result, he had scarcely ever engaged in quarrels with peers. Even adults found themselves merely defending themselves before a child superior to them. Since his opponent never attacked, there was nothing to counter—he had lived in a smooth, self-sufficient world where he only needed to speak and debate with himself.
Being suddenly cast into such an absurd place was disorienting enough, but this boy he encountered here showed no concern whatsoever that his logic might reveal flaws. He spoke without hesitation, as though he were obviously right.
Ah, yes. It was because this boy knew nothing about Joshua.
The moment this thought occurred to him, Joshua’s mood brightened so much that he forgot his current predicament entirely. This boy would have no idea that Joshua was a Demonic being. Not unless Joshua told him directly—never!
Children of Rune – Winterer
Author: Jeon Min-hee
Publisher: 14 Month Books
The copyright of this book belongs to the author and 14 Month Books.
To reuse all or part of the contents of this book, written consent from both parties is required.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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