Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 336

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

Episode 106.
Ninety-Eight Souls (19)
“This blasted balance…. Why don’t you just wrap up some crepes with your precious balance and eat them….”
As Maximian muttered to himself, Riche suddenly spoke as if a thought had occurred to her.
“But that gentleman’s daughter must have learned magic too. Couldn’t she have helped with teleportation or something? Then we wouldn’t have to come out here and risk danger from the start.”
“His daughter or whoever—she’s nowhere to be found. Not a trace of her.”
Maximian didn’t seem to have held much hope, as it appeared Juspian wasn’t particularly doting on his daughter. But Joshua, who had been listening quietly, suddenly spoke up.
“I saw her, though.”
“You saw her?”
“This household’s young lady.”
It sounded as though he were referring to the daughter of some noble family, but that was merely Joshua’s manner of speech—there was only one person he could mean. Riche asked.
“You mean Tichiel?”
“I didn’t mention her name. But doesn’t he have only one daughter?”
“Well, that’s true. But when did you see her? I haven’t seen her.”
“A while ago, when I was reading a book on the ship….”
As he spoke, he recalled something odd about that girl. Joshua furrowed his brow and asked.
“What does this young lady Tichiel look like?”
Riche searched her memory before answering.
“Honestly, I saw her so long ago that I don’t remember well. Platinum-colored hair? She had a rather quiet, diligent impression.”
“Platinum-colored?”
As Joshua’s expression grew bewildered, Juspian’s voice came from above. Looking up, I could see him leaning over the ship’s rail with his upper body half-extended.
“Everyone step back! About ten paces!”
As they retreated as instructed, Joshua called out a question.
“Sir, I have something to ask… Where is your daughter right now?”
“My daughter? Why do you ask?”
“It’s just that I think I encountered her inside the house.”
Juspian waved his fingers dismissively through the air as if Joshua were spouting nonsense.
“I sent my Tichiel on an errand to Anomarad about two weeks ago. How could you have seen her?”
“What?”
Juspian’s face disappeared from the rail. Maximian looked at Joshua with a suspicious expression.
“What did you see? Could it be….”
Maximian trailed off, remembering that Riche was listening. Joshua didn’t respond, his bewildered gaze fixed on the earthen ground. But Juspian appeared at the rail again.
“Did you really see Tichiel?”
“I’m not certain. I simply encountered some girl.”
At that, Juspian suddenly cried out.
“Could it have been a ghost?”
Maximian and Joshua both flinched and looked up, while Riche burst out laughing.
“A ghost in broad daylight? You must have seen a maid or something.”
“We have no maids. The barrier prevents anyone from entering from outside. What you saw was surely….”
As Juspian spoke, Joshua gazed up at the rail. But then—weren’t two people appearing behind Juspian? Could they be attackers coming from the opposite direction?
“Watch out! Behind you!”
As Joshua cried out, Juspian turned to look behind him. Then, slowly rotating his body, he gazed down at Joshua and spoke.
“There’s no one there.”
“….”
Joshua stood speechless, his expression bewildered. Maximian and Riche wore the same confused look—neither understood what Joshua saw. Yet in Joshua’s eyes, it was unmistakably clear, and remained so even now. Two figures, then three, and now five people had materialized.
They stood on either side of Juspian, leaning casually against the ship’s railing as they gazed down at Joshua with an almost brazen composure.
“Joshua.”
Maximian called to him, but Joshua merely stared fixedly upward at the railing.
“Joshua, you… can you really see them?”
“….”
“Joshua….”
“Joshua!”
Joshua could not answer. They had begun speaking, one after another.
「So you can finally see us now, can you?」
「We’ve spoken to you so many times all this while.」
「I nearly came to hate you for pretending not to hear.」
「But now we can all get along well together.」
「How does that sound, young Arnim?」
As if they were different mouths belonging to a single person, they spoke their sentences in turn. Yet among them were two women, two men, and one elderly person.
Joshua stood frozen, unable to move. He had thought himself accustomed to this because of Kelsniti, but he was wrong. Why had they suddenly appeared? Until now, they had been nothing but voices—how had five of them manifested their forms all at once?
Most troubling of all, their appearances were not hazy but vivid and clear. Nearly identical to how he perceived Kelsniti. Had there been no one else to tell him they were invisible, Joshua would have taken them for ordinary people.
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Kelsniti’s words echoed back to him. ‘No matter how they linger around you, you must not show any reaction.’ Had he shown a reaction? Ah, yes… he had.
He had responded to the girl he’d encountered on the ship.
“Ghosts and all that nonsense—what are you even talking about? Are you seriously saying this?”
Riche’s voice pierced through Joshua’s spinning mind first. In that same moment, he realized Maximian had been calling for him.
“Maximian, Kelce was right.”
Joshua’s voice sounded like he was muttering to himself.
“So it’s really… like that?”
The figures standing at the railing vanished one by one. When Joshua regained his senses and looked around, Juspian too had already disappeared. But that was not all.
When Joshua looked at Maximian, four unfamiliar strangers stood among their group. Joshua’s eyes widened in silence, and Maximian asked again.
“You really did see them, didn’t you? Can you still see them now?”
Joshua dared not speak of the spirits standing among them. Fortunately, these spirits had not addressed him.
“I… did.”
“Many of them?”
It was Caesar, who had been gazing only toward the meadow beyond, who finally spoke.
“I had imagined spirits to be pale, shadowy figures of some sort, but you’re saying they look exactly like ordinary people? So much so that you mistook one for your daughter?”
Joshua managed only to nod. Riche covered her mouth with her hand.
“This makes no sense.”
Seeing Riche’s expression, Maximian felt compelled to offer some explanation and began speaking in a disjointed manner.
“Well, you see, Joshua has some ability as a medium. So sometimes… spirits, or things like that, become visible to him, though originally it was supposed to be just one….”
I watched Riche’s eyes widen and searched for a better way to explain, but truthfully, there wasn’t one. Moreover, I couldn’t bring myself to continue speaking—not when I didn’t know what reaction would come if I mentioned that there wasn’t just one such spirit, and that their numbers might be growing.
Then Caesar spoke in a remarkably measured tone.
“That could very well be the case. Now that I hear you mention it, something comes to mind. It was yesterday—I was alone in this Meadow when I encountered a young lady.”
Maximian turned to look at Caesar.
“But she didn’t seem like someone who would be alone in such a place. She looked like a noblewoman, and her attire was quite refined—as if she’d come to a grand ball. She didn’t appear lost, yet there she was, sitting alone in this Meadow. Wasn’t that strange? So I asked her a few questions, but she vanished the moment the cavalry appeared. And she was wearing something like a cocktail dress—she couldn’t have run in that, and there was nowhere nearby to hide. If what you say is true, sir, could that young lady have been a spirit as well?”
Riche shook her head with a look of exasperation.
“Dad, ghost stories? This isn’t a trend. Why are you following along with it?”
It seemed Riche didn’t believe her father possessed such an ability—not yet, anyway. Joshua was one thing, but her own father? That was another matter entirely.
“I’m not sure myself. Honestly, if I hadn’t heard what the Young Duke just said, I wouldn’t have thought about ghosts at all. She seemed like an ordinary person in every way. The only odd thing was that I couldn’t fathom why she was there. But, sir…”
Joshua’s and Caesar’s eyes met.
“I had a vague sense that she resembled someone, but I couldn’t quite place it. Now I remember. Looking at you now, I understand.”
Caesar continued, studying Joshua’s face carefully.
“She resembled the Young Duke.”
Four horses still galloped in the distance.
I thought we would catch up soon, but the gap refused to narrow. The horses didn’t falter, and their riders didn’t tire. Dismissing the cavalry as one might brush aside children, cursing and whipping their mounts relentlessly, they charged forward in an unbroken line.
I realized something was amiss when the curved lower reaches of the River came into view.
“Are they really going to keep going like that?”
One of them muttered, but the sound of hoofbeats drowned out his words from reaching the others. Yet in truth, they all shared the same thought. The fugitives were heading straight toward the River, but there was no bridge across it. And their speed was tremendous.
“Slow down! Hey!”
The shout wasn’t directed at the fugitives. It was the officer leading the cavalry. The pace was already slowing anyway. This was the lower reaches of the River. It was far too deep to ford on horseback. Surely they couldn’t follow the fugitives to their deaths, no matter how frantically they fled?
“Semicircle formation! Encircle them!”
The formation opened in an instant. The halted horses snorted with hot breath. The encirclement was perfect. But then something happened that defied belief.
The fugitives crossed the River. Walking upon its surface.
“How… how is that possible…?”
Everyone’s eyes nearly bulged from their sockets as they exchanged glances. Then, from behind, another horse came galloping at a furious pace and stopped. It was the Adjutant—and the Mage.
“All of you, return to the original assembly point! That’s an order!”
The bewildered cavalry murmured in confusion. The Adjutant turned his horse around and shouted again.
“That’s nothing but an illusion! Hurry! If you lose the real ones, you’ll pay dearly for it!”
At the word “pay,” the cavalry recalled the fear inspired by their commander, and only then did they realize he was no longer beside them. He had definitely been with them at first—when had he disappeared?
When had he seen through this situation? From what point had he turned back? If he was certain that what they were chasing was an illusion, why had he alone returned?
There was only one answer. The Tall Man had divided himself from all the cavalry—just one man against many—and had formed two separate forces.
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 the contents of this book, written consent from both parties is required.

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