Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 333

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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 103.
Ninety-Eight Souls (16)
Juspian bristled at those words.
“Do you have any idea what an extraordinary privilege it is for a great mage like myself to take you as my disciple? Others chase after me begging for even a scrap of my magnificent magic, yet here you stand with your nose in the air! What gives you such audacity?”
“Don’t assume everyone in the world thinks alike. But let me ask you this—does that school of yours, Nenyaple or whatever it’s called, provide room and board?”
“Of course it does. You pay tuition.”
“What? Money? I don’t have any money. Not a single coin.”
“Would you go if I gave you a scholarship?”
In that moment, Maximian quickly composed his expression.
“Full tuition?”
Joshua, watching from the side, was so moved he whispered to Riche.
“His acting is better than mine.”
Juspian squinted like a boy, pulled out the parchment notebook tucked at his waist, tore off a sheet with a flourish, and produced his self-made automatic ink pen, scrawling in magnificent handwriting.
To Hirak Kalmarin, Personal Delivery.
Use the value of those two jeweled flower pots you borrowed from me before to cover this talkative brat’s tuition instead of making me listen to endless complaints.
Give the change as pocket money.
Note 1: Brown-haired fellow with glasses and slovenly appearance.
Note 2: You must repay the value of the remaining three pots without fail.
The Great Reclusive Archmage
Alberic Juspian.
“So we have a deal? Guard this carefully. The money you can claim with this document is no small sum.”
Maximian, accepting the parchment scrap—which looked nothing like an important document and was even torn at an angle—muttered under his breath.
“Blast it, you could’ve just written your name. What’s this about a brown-haired fellow anyway?”
Cash would have been preferable, but this wasn’t a bad bargain. Besides, I had other motives at play. Joshua, reading over the contents from beside me, pointed something out.
“‘Personal Delivery’ should be written on the envelope. If it’s visible the moment you open it, what’s the point of marking it as personal?”
Joshua’s characteristically pointless observation was wasted on Juspian, who, like any true genius, pretended not to hear such criticism. Instead, Juspian suddenly added as if remembering something.
“Oh, I forgot to mention—Nenyaple has an entrance exam. I hear it’s notoriously difficult. You might need to prepare for retakes, maybe even a third attempt.”
At the same moment, Maximian cried out with the expression of someone who’d been struck on the back of the head.
“What? You mean I can’t just enroll? Shouldn’t you have mentioned something this important from the start?”
7. The Spirit Girl
He will not see you. You will never meet him, not even at the moment of your death. And neither my daughter nor I will follow you. You have lost your one chance. How rarely does the world grant a second opportunity? And this is not a matter that permits even two chances. I have nothing more to say to you. Please leave quietly. And do not return.
“The encirclement is perfect. No one will be able to slip away from this Meadow undetected.”
Since it was a routine report from his subordinates, the Tall Man asked as if in passing.
“What about by air?”
“Sir?”
The Tall Man looked up at the sky. It was remarkably clear. There was still time before nightfall, so even if something took flight, he doubted anything would escape notice—though it was possible someone might brazenly slip away with a casual farewell.
“In my opinion.”
The subordinate tensed. His commander spoke softly, but he was utterly devoid of sympathy, mercy, or understanding.
“The weather is… far too fine.”
“Sir?”
The Tall Man gazed up at the sky once more, as though he believed that the perfectly clear, cloudless expanse was concealing something.
When his adjutant fumbled for a response, the Tall Man smoothly changed the subject with an unhurried tone.
“But is there no way to send a message inside the barrier?”
Inside the barrier, preparations for the journey were progressing smoothly. Riche was busy pressing Juspian to unpack travel supplies—provisions, blankets, and the like—while Maximian, following her instructions, had moved the heavier luggage and then retreated to the Attic under the pretense of resting before departure, apparently mulling over something. And Joshua was reading a book he needed to read, sitting in a corner of the Grand Hall.
It took Joshua roughly two hours to finish reading “The Fundamentals of Airship Navigation.” Of course, he memorized it as he read. Once finished, he naturally felt the urge to examine the interior of the Ship.
Unlike Riche, Joshua found himself agreeing to some degree with Juspian’s effusive praise of this vessel. The interior resembled any ordinary ship, yet each plank was cut with perfect precision and fitted together with meticulous craftsmanship—there were no hastily sawn sections or crude nail repairs, and not even a trace of excess glue marred the surface. Standing in the middle of the Deck, surrounded by such perfectly arranged planks, and gazing about in all directions, he felt an inexplicable sense of delight.
There were no sails on the mast. Had they simply not been attached yet? Then again, if this was a flying vessel, perhaps sails weren’t strictly necessary. But if that were the case, why construct it to resemble a ship so closely? If it was going to fly by magic anyway, the form could be anything—a bed, a plate, it shouldn’t matter.
Could it be that if it crashed, they were supposed to sail from that point onward?
The moment that thought crossed his mind, an ominous feeling washed over him, and he quickly shook his head to dispel it. He had memorized the entire book on airship navigation, but his knowledge of seamanship amounted to little more than knowing that a ship moves forward rather than backward.
As the heir to a Family Clan that bore a steering wheel as its emblem, the irony struck him, and as he chuckled silently to himself, Kelsniti’s words came to mind: “At times like this, I find it utterly unbelievable that you’re his descendant.”
“I suppose it is rather unbecoming of the heir to someone once called the ‘Sailor Duke.'”
As he murmured this, someone from the stern called back.
“The—Sail—or—Duke—?”
Joshua started in surprise and turned to see a girl dressed in clothes the color of the wooden planks, resting her chin on her hand as she watched him. Her hair was a pale yellow, and her skin had a yellowish tint, which made him wonder if that was why he hadn’t noticed her until now. In any case, Joshua found himself saying without thinking:
“Ah… that name shouldn’t be used carelessly.”
It was Icabon’s nickname, but since it was hardly an elegant epithet, it was the sort of name that had only been spoken in drinking gatherings without the person in question present. Now that even the person himself had died and vanished, Joshua found it strange that he immediately thought it was not a name others should speak in front of the descendants of House of Arnim.
“Is—that—so—?”
The girl stood and approached. Up close, Joshua realized that the girl’s clothing and hair color differed greatly from the planks—both were closer to a dark brown. Then why had they appeared that way before?
“Yes. But who are you? Ah, you must be Juspian’s daughter?”
Since no one had introduced her, and there was no other girl who could be here, he assumed this must be Tichiel, whom he had only heard about. The girl neither confirmed nor denied this, instead launching into a different topic altogether.
“Is your hair naturally that color?”
The girl was looking at Joshua’s gray hair. Joshua, flustered, unconsciously ran his fingers through his locks.
“My hair? Ah, well, it wasn’t originally this color.”
Even as he wondered why she was asking such a thing, he continued his answer.
“Somehow it became like this. I don’t know the reason. I simply assumed I was going gray prematurely.”
“But old people’s hair is white.”
“It’s somewhat different, but well.”
“Do you like this Ship?”
“Yes… it seems I do. Did you help build this Ship as well?”
“I don’t know how to build ships.”
Her answers seemed to bounce around somewhat evasively, but Joshua still thought her condition was better than Juspian’s, and so he smiled.
“You don’t seem as peculiar as your father, which is reassuring.”
“I don’t take after my father.”
“Yes, that’s true. Well, perhaps a little.”
In truth, Joshua wanted to examine the Ship more than continue this conversation with the girl. Still, it seemed rude to simply leave, so he pondered for a moment before speaking.
“Would you like to look around the Ship together?”
“Yes.”
As Joshua walked toward the bow, the girl followed. At first, Joshua had hoped she might show him around the interior, but that was merely wishful thinking. The girl seemed to know even less about this Ship than he did.
“Is this steering wheel really meant for navigation? There was a rudder attached to the bottom of the Ship as well, but in truth it would be useless when flying through the sky.”
“I’m not sure.”
“The book didn’t mention anything like this either.”
“The book?”
“Your father’s manual on piloting airships. I memorized it just a moment ago.”
The Spirit Girl did not answer. Joshua walked a few more steps before speaking with a slight smile.
“But honestly, that book was nothing but thick and filled with more than half useless content. It was packed with things like the motivation behind building the airship, the materials he collected for its construction, memories from when he nearly gave up, the exhilaration upon completion, and expectations for the future—there was barely anything about the actual piloting techniques.”
“Is that so?”
Joshua was beginning to suspect whether this girl was truly Juspian’s daughter.
“You haven’t read that book at all?”
“I’m going to read it from now on.”
That was an odd answer as well.
“If you haven’t read it until now, why?”
Then the Spirit Girl turned her head and looked directly at Joshua as she spoke.
“Because I’m going with you.”
As Joshua stood bewildered, uncertain whether he had misheard or if something had gone awry, he heard footsteps and voices coming from the entrance. It seemed the others were returning. Joshua decided to go meet them and spoke to the Spirit Girl.
“Wait here.”
He descended several rungs of the rope ladder before jumping down. He had always lived thinking his light body made such a distance trivial, but Joshua suddenly felt a sharp headache. It was brief, yet struck like lightning, passing through him in an instant.
“Ah….”
Pressing his temple, he barely regained his composure and approached the three people. Riche stepped forward and spoke.
“Everything’s ready. We can depart today if we want.”
“Really? But what about Miss Montplayne?”
Juspian answered in her stead.
“Caesar seems to be having a fine time playing in the Meadow.”
“Is there no one else in the Meadow, by any chance?”
“Someone else? Well, there was a group of cavalry riding around.”
This was the first time Juspian had mentioned this, so all three tensed immediately. Riche was particularly alarmed.
“Since when? No, when did you see them?”
Children of Ron – Winterer
Author: Jeon Min-hee
Publisher: 14 Months Publishing
The copyright of this book belongs to the author and 14 Months Publishing.
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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