Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 29

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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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Chapter 29
The Winter Sword (29)

Boris nodded slightly, thinking that the Count must have mentioned this to him beforehand.
Even the Count, observing his daughter’s reaction, subtly played along with the man’s jest and said nothing. And so the walnuts, suddenly transformed into mysterious fruits, were solemnly carried away by the servants.
Rosnis watched carefully before reaching toward the lone fruit remaining on the table. It was then that Boris offered a gentle warning.
“Touching it with bare hands will give you a rash.”
Her fingers flinched and withdrew. She then examined the walnut with renewed curiosity. Boris had not lied—it was indeed true that one shouldn’t touch the outer shell of a walnut.
After the maid brought refreshments, the Count spoke.
“Then, Professor Whittler, this is my son Boris, and this is my daughter Rosnis.”
The man suddenly shook his head.
“Ah, Whittler is not my real name. It’s merely an alias used in that region.”
“Then what might your true name be?”
The Count treated the man—whose appearance seemed at odds with the elegant reception room—with considerable courtesy. Yet the man gave another unexpected answer.
“I apologize, but I have a principle: I do not reveal my name to others.”
“Then shall we continue calling you Whittler?”
“That won’t do. When one’s place of residence changes, the alias must change as well. Hmm, yes, that’s right. How about Walnut? That suits me well enough.”
By this point, Rosnis should have grasped the situation. Yet she remained absorbed in her own thoughts, still intensely curious about the properties of the mysterious fruit, and was not listening carefully to their conversation.
“Then we shall call you as you wish. In any case, thank you for accepting our invitation. I hope you will guide the children well going forward.”
“My daughter as well?”
The Count turned to look at Rosnis with a somewhat troubled smile.
“That is how it has come to be. Perhaps they can simply practice together.”
Hearing the Count’s tone, Walnut seemed to understand the implication. Rosnis was not the sort of girl who could endure calluses forming on her delicate hands or muscles growing sore.
She had likely pestered her father incessantly while sitting here. Her curiosity was unmatched by anyone.
“If you wish to begin today, I shall instruct the servants to show you to the training grounds, but—”
“No, no, there’s no need to rush. We’ll begin lessons tomorrow; today we’ll simply become acquainted. Ah, there is one thing I must ask your permission for. According to my personal principles, I will not use formal speech when instructing the children.”
The Count readily agreed. After exchanging a few more words, Walnut rose from his seat. He spoke to Boris.
“Let’s have a separate talk. We’ll see the girl a bit later.”
Rosnis had never in her life heard herself referred to as “the girl.”
She was both bewildered and indignant, but since her father had consented, she could not protest. Walnut bowed to the Count, then gestured to Boris with a curling finger, instructing him to show the way to a room.

“You there, what’s with your hair? If you’re going to grow it out, at least tie it up neatly.”
The moment I sat down in the room at Moonshine Tower, that was the first thing out of my teacher’s mouth.
Walnut’s hair was tied up high and still reached down to his waist, but mine barely extended past my shoulders.
Yet the teacher simply pulled a ribbon from his pocket and swiftly tied my hair up without warning. Suddenly, I looked like a smaller version of Teacher Walnut.
“There, that looks much better now.”
Lanji asked if the teacher would like some tea, but Walnut complained that this house served nothing but tea day and night, that he was sick of going hungry, and ordered him to bring something more appetizing.
Lanji went out and returned with a plate of walnuts, cleanly shelled and prepared for easy eating.
“A gift from the kitchen, sir.”
Following behind, I recalled the maids gathering walnuts and burst into quiet laughter.
Lanji remembered that I had never laughed aloud before, so his expression showed surprise, though he said nothing else. Teacher Walnut looked at Lanji and spoke.
“You’re an attendant, yet you look just like a young master yourself. Would you like to learn swordplay?”
My teacher’s actions increasingly defied my common sense. To randomly grab someone and ask, “Would you like to learn swordplay?” Wasn’t it said that excellent swordsmanship wasn’t taught to just anyone?
Lanji answered politely.
“I have not been assigned such duties.”
“Hmph.”
Walnut muttered to himself about throwing away his own fortune, about how some people are simply born with destiny and there’s nothing to be done about it, then suddenly slouched against the back of his chair and spoke.
“Moonshine Tower—now that’s a fine name.”
An odd thought struck me again.
“How did you know the tower’s name, sir?”
“What do you take your teacher for? I originally know everything.”
“….”
I was increasingly doubtful whether this teacher would provide proper instruction. Then Walnut suddenly spoke.
“You and that girl aren’t real siblings, are you?”
Both I and Lanji wore suspicious expressions. Since everyone at the Manor knew this already, I answered honestly.
“That’s correct, sir.”
“That girl is the Count’s real daughter? Then you’re adopted?”
This was even more surprising. Was he simply exceptionally perceptive?
“Yes, sir.”
“Boris, Boris… Are you perhaps from Trabaches?”
Even that belonged to the past the Count had created for me. I nodded. Then Walnut said something even more absurd.
“How did I know that?”
This was ridiculous, and he wasn’t even joking…
While I kept my mouth shut, unexpectedly Lanji answered.
“Because you and the young lady are the same age, sir.”
Walnut nodded at Lanji approvingly.
“Right, you’re as clever as you look. Then how did I know you two are the same age?”
“That would be….”
Even Lanji couldn’t provide a suitable answer. The most plausible response would have been that the Count told him, but it didn’t seem like that’s what he wanted to hear.
“I’ll tell you. It’s my psychic powers.”
“Pardon?”
“You don’t know what a superpower is? A special, mysterious, secret ability—like guessing someone’s age.”
“Then how old is Langie, sir?”
Walnut glanced at Langie for a moment.
“Twelve years old, as I thought. In months, he’s older than you.”
I turned to look at Langie and asked.
“Langie, what month were you born in?”
Langie’s face showed surprise as well.
“February.”
I was right again. This time, I couldn’t hide my astonishment. I asked, “How do you know? Do you just see it at a glance? Or is it from long experience…?”
“How do you tell? Do you just know by looking? Or is it from long experience…?”
“Experience? Damn experience! When I look at a person, I see how long they’ve lived the way you’d see the rings of a tree. It’s just plain to me.”
I ventured a careful question.
“Then you must have known that Rosnis is younger than me?”
It was a probing remark. Rosnis called me big brother, after all. But Walnut’s face twisted and he shouted loudly.
“Trying to trick your teacher, are you? That girl was born three months before you!”
There was no room for rebuttal. I was born in July; Rosnis in April. Exactly three months apart.
A moment later, Walnut’s expression softened, and he narrowed his eyes as he spoke.
“Hmph, you’re not entirely without talent. With effort, you could become a fine swordsman.”
What was he seeing now?
“Can you tell that just by looking as well?”
“What are you talking about! I said it because I saw you lying!”
Conversing with this man was futile—trying to anticipate him was useless. There was no predicting where his words would go.
I protested.
“What does lying have to do with swordsmanship?”
“You think all those famous heroes across the continent became what they are just by swinging a sword all day? Of course not! Well, some use axes instead of swords, I suppose. Anyway, being good with a weapon alone doesn’t make you a great hero. You need quick instinct and a mind that thinks faster than your opponent. Without those, even a talented person falls the moment they face someone with those qualities. A man who’s only walked straight roads gets lost on crooked paths. A man who’s only fought on flat ground starts crying when he has to fight on slopes or in water. That’s when he’s finished.”
He spoke in riddles yet his words came out endlessly fast.
Still, since this was the first time he’d launched into such a lengthy discourse about swordsmanship, I was curious to hear him through.
Walnut grabbed a handful of walnuts, tossed them into his mouth, and continued speaking while chewing.
“A sharp mind is good at adaptation. You have to read your opponent’s movements to strike first. What’s the greatest skill of those who think one step ahead? Lying! You think anyone can deceive others? There are plenty of people in this world who can’t deceive even if they try. Like that girl just now—she wanted to grow up quickly, so that lie worked on her right away, didn’t it?”
I was utterly dumbfounded. Was Rosnis really the type who desperately wanted to grow up?
Lanji’s expression became strange for a different reason. Did he just call Miss Rosnis a girl?
But the two of us boys, who expected the discourse to continue brilliantly, soon faced another twist.
Walnut finished chewing the walnuts in his mouth, polished off the remaining handful in two more bites, then suddenly stretched.
“Ah, talking so much has made me tired and drowsy. We’ll continue the rest another time when I think of it. That’s the bedroom over there, right? Your teacher needs a nap.”
“….”
He had no interest in the room owner’s response. Walnut strode into the bedroom and sprawled across the clean bed, closing his eyes.
Continue the rest when he thinks of it?
When he suddenly began his passionate speech earlier, I’d thought he seemed to cut off randomly without any order. But now it was certain—his teaching had no system whatsoever. As for the overall quality of his instruction…
“Young master, shall I bring more walnuts?”
I, who had been staring at Walnut’s large soles lying in the distance—spread wide like a frog’s toes—nodded absently.
As Lanji stepped outside with the plate in hand, an enigmatic smile lingered at the corners of his mouth.

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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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