Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 335

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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 105.
Ninety-Eight Souls (18)
From the tone of his voice, I could picture him smiling—a chilling image that sent ice down my spine. The fact that I couldn’t see his face, that all I could conjure was a mask instead of an expression, made the unease all the more unsettling.
If one pitied the rabbit fleeing the wolf and killed all the wolves, the exponentially multiplying rabbits would devastate the meadow and harm other herbivores as well. The protagonist of this world isn’t the rabbit. Nor is it the wolf. Only children believe in designating one as the hero and condemning all who oppose them as villains.
It was then that Maximian suddenly swung his arm and shouted.
“Silence that voice!”
Only Juspian could stop the sound. Yet Juspian didn’t answer Maximian’s command immediately; instead, he merely tilted his head slightly and gazed upward at the ceiling. All the while, the voice continued to echo.
But from what I know, The Mage rarely allows himself to be swayed by such personal perspectives. The Mage understands balance. Especially if he’s a “great mage”—he would know it well.
Maximian pressed close to Juspian, his tone demanding.
“Can’t you stop it? I don’t want to hear it—isn’t there a way to shut that bastard’s mouth?”
Only then did Juspian turn his gaze to Maximian and respond.
“I’m listening.”
“What?”
“Wait a moment.”
Just as Maximian was about to force down his irritation and speak again, a sudden, louder and clearer voice rang out above his head. It was unmistakably the same voice of the madman he’d heard that day in Caesar’s House Dining Hall.
In this world, there exists balance because some die and some kill.
Joshua lowered his gaze from the ceiling. I could see his jaw clench as his head bowed. Maximian spoke with cutting precision.
“You—don’t tell me a Demonic like you was influenced by such pathetic drivel?”
“No, that’s not it.”
Joshua continued, his lips pressed tight.
“His words sounded like he was saying I was hunting the puppet without justification.”
Maximian shot back sharply.
“Without justification? Self-defense is a creature’s instinct! You—do you lack even the will to resist when someone tries to harm you?”
Joshua met Maximian’s gaze directly.
“Then doesn’t the puppet have equally sufficient justification to hunt me?”
“That puppet isn’t you. What you must pursue is your own survival! Not someone else’s!”
Joshua shook his head.
“No… that’s also me.”
In that moment, the final voice came through.
Then let’s meet again soon. I’ll be waiting here.
No more sound followed. Yet for a long while, no one opened their mouth. Joshua’s eyes were squeezed shut, his fingers pressed against his temples. Maximian deliberately refrained from speaking. He’d witnessed this strange self-objectification of his before, more than once or twice, but precisely because of that, it wasn’t easy to break through.
It was Juspian who finally spoke.
“It seems like he’s begging me to spare him?”
From Juspian’s perspective, that interpretation might have been correct. He continued immediately.
“What does that wretch have to do with me that he thinks I’d chase him down and kill him? Who teaches whom about balance? You all should prepare to depart.”
Riche looked at Juspian.
“There’s nothing more to prepare. We just need you to tell us the method. How to get out and how to set the ship afloat.”
“The ship must be sent outside the boundary first. I’ll handle setting it afloat. It will take some time. What you need to do in the meantime is simple. Buy time.”
“Pardon? Buy time?”
Riche, seized by an ominous feeling, asked again, and Maximian opened his mouth.
“Is there no way to make the ship appear from the start in a distant location?”
Juspian shook his head.
“The airship needs a wide open space like that meadow to take off safely. There might be other meadows elsewhere, but without confirmed coordinates and landmarks, I can’t send it there. I can’t just drop it onto someone’s rooftop in the middle of a meadow—the ship would be damaged, and it wouldn’t benefit any of you either.”
Riche asked a question.
“Then we should wait here until the airship is ready to depart, shouldn’t we?”
“I can move outside on my own, but if I leave first, who’s going to let you out? And while it’s troublesome, even if I went back and forth, activating the airship for the first time requires me to concentrate and apply incantations for a while. During that time, I’d need to stop anyone who tries to interfere, wouldn’t I?”
Hearing those words, one fact suddenly became clear.
“Wait—you’ve never actually flown this ship before, have you?”
“That’s right. Why?”
Everyone went blank.
“…Damn it, it will actually fly, won’t it?”
When Maximian, who had been staring at the ship, said that, Juspian flared up in anger.
“Who exactly are you doubting right now?”
“What if a problem suddenly occurs and it doesn’t fly?”
“That won’t happen!”
“How would you know that!”
“My ship is perfect!”
“…”
There was no point in arguing at this stage. Since there were no alternatives, we had no choice but to ask the practical question.
“How long will it take for the ship to take off?”
“About thirty minutes?”
My facial muscles twitched involuntarily.
“That’s just enough time for that bastard to deal with the three of us and unpack his lunch.”
It was then that Caesar spoke up.
“Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“That’s not really possible…”
Caesar turned to look at Juspian.
“Ro… no, Al… no, Mage. Could you create an illusion?”
“An illusion?”
When Riche asked, Caesar looked between them and spoke.
“Create illusions that look exactly like us. The kind that disappear after a few dozen minutes. If we can use them to draw that bastard’s attention and send him elsewhere, we might be able to hold out for thirty minutes, don’t you think?”
“It might work, but what if it doesn’t go well?”
Caesar tapped the sword at his waist lightly.
“Then we’ll have to rely on this.”
8. Ninety-Eight Souls
I promise you. I will create ‘that’ which you have so long desired.
I swear that I will gather all the records and magic remaining on the Continent and recreate ‘that’ in this land.
And ‘that’ will send you back to your homeland.
It was around that time that Maximian sensed something amiss.
After Juspian created the illusion—what he called ‘shadow puppets’—and sent them toward where the Boundary Stone was, Maximian noticed that Joshua had been silent the entire time. At first, he thought Joshua was simply lost in strange thoughts. But as Joshua’s complexion grew increasingly pale, he could not simply ignore it.
“Joshua, what’s wrong with you?”
But Joshua, standing a little distance away, gave no answer.
“Joshua!”
His gaze seemed fixed on empty air. Just as I was about to approach and ask, Juspian, who had been chanting an incantation while counting on his fingers, spoke.
“Done. The creditors have scattered. So you’re ready then? We’re leaving all at once!”
The moment the words left his lips, my vision turned white, then shifted to a different place. The change was so rapid and vivid that we all stumbled, unable to adapt immediately.
In the meadow where we had wandered days before searching for the Boundary Stone, a single sailing ship now stood prominently. It was a strange sight, like a relic left alone in a place that had once been sea, yet too new to regard sentimentally.
Beside the towering hull, only four people stood. Juspian had apparently moved back into the ship as soon as we emerged into the meadow. The ship rested on somewhat sloped ground with long grass, which partially concealed us standing beneath the hull.
Caesar was the first to regain his composure. He tilted his ear, listening for any signs of people beyond the grass. No particular sounds reached us yet. Caesar drew his sword and spoke.
“Everyone stay close together.”
Riche, who had risen by then, gripped the wooden practice sword she had brought from Caesar’s House and looked at Maximian.
“Why don’t you give one of those to Joshua?”
Maximian had two things: a club and a short sword, both picked up from Juspian’s House. Of course, he had intended to give one to Joshua. When I looked back, fortunately Joshua seemed to have regained his senses.
“Are you alright now?”
The answer came after a brief pause.
“…Yes.”
Then Maximian promptly thrust the sword toward him, as if temporarily entrusting him with it.
“Hold this.”
Joshua looked dazed, his eyes alternating between Maximian’s hand and his own, then spoke.
“Why are you giving me a sword? More than me, you should…”
“I prefer the club to such a short blade.”
I hadn’t expected Joshua to be much help in combat anyway. But if danger suddenly struck, a sword would certainly be better than nothing.
The last time Joshua had held a sword was during his days at Mona Sid School. Even then, it was merely holding it, and the only time he had wielded it with any enthusiasm was when he was younger, playing war games with his father in the Jade Ring Castle Forest. Duke Arnim was undoubtedly an excellent swordsman. That was the last time his father had ever attempted to teach his only son the art of the blade.
At first, it felt terribly awkward. Riche, unable to bear watching, had tried to correct his stance. But soon, as Joshua’s memory returned, he mysteriously assumed the proper posture without assistance.
“Now, stand about an arm’s length apart. You two as well—form a semicircle so you can protect each other’s backs. And try to keep your voices down as much as possible.”
Caesar’s judgment was most useful at this moment. I wanted to shout into the ship asking Juspian when he’d be done, but given the situation, I had no choice but to wait patiently.
“Just waiting aimlessly is driving me mad.”
Honestly, I wondered if Juspian could have simply swept away the enemies with magic. Could a mage capable of creating such a ship not manage that?
I had some idea why he wouldn’t.
Children of Rune – Winterer
Author: Jeon Min-hee
Publisher: 14 Months Publishing
The copyright to this book belongs to the author and 14 Months Publishing.
To reuse all or part of this book’s contents, 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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