Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 346

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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 116.
Ninety-Eight Souls (29)
The silence stretched long again. When the answer came, Kelsniti’s voice had grown subdued.
「Joshua sometimes speaks of you, calling you a friend who possesses qualities superior to his own demonic nature. Only now do I truly understand those words. Yes, there are truths I did not share with Joshua. Though my reasons existed, the fact remains that I deceived him.」
Maximian furrowed his brow and spoke without mercy.
“Fine, you admit it. Now tell me exactly what you hid. I didn’t bring this up to hear your remorse. I’ve found you suspicious in many ways. I believed you only because Joshua spent years with you, but I never understood why you followed him around. It seemed odd for someone merely visiting like a friend’s grandchild—you took far too much interest in Joshua’s life. In other words, I suspect you stand to gain something from him.”
Joshua’s expression went blank. He looked at Maximian, then back at Kelsniti. Riche appeared tired of Maximian’s blunt manner toward the spirit. When no answer came quickly, Maximian glanced at Joshua, shook his head, and continued.
“This fellow claims to be demonic yet his heart is far too soft. I’m always cast as the villain. Tell me—doesn’t your very existence and power depend on Joshua? I saw this afternoon how spirits crave the bodies of the living. For someone as powerful as Joshua, a skilled medium, you’d find him invaluable, wouldn’t you? Moreover, leading a legion of spirits who call you Priest, it’s hardly unreasonable to suspect you’ve devised some scheme to use Joshua.”
Though his words were harsh enough to provoke anger, Kelsniti’s response remained calm.
「I understand the misunderstanding. But I must first clarify this: my meeting Joshua was a coincidence whose reason even I do not know, and I have caused him no harm whatsoever—that much is truth. You asked whether I depend on his power. That assumption is correct. After death, I was what you might call a bound spirit, never able to leave Jade Ring Castle. But after contact with Joshua, that binding loosened, and I could finally depart. A spirit without substance must maintain some connection to this world to preserve its sense of self. Until then, the concept binding me to this world was the place called Jade Ring Castle. However, on the night I first met Joshua, I unknowingly transferred to him—a descendant of Icabon and a powerful medium. When I first encountered him, I thought I should not appear frequently, but once it happened, that became impossible. I also discovered that by maintaining communion with Joshua, a medium, I could travel remarkably far. From that perspective, yes, one could say I have used him.」
“You transferred without intention? Blast it, that’s infuriating. And these spirits who call you Priest?”
「They too were bound to Jade Ring Castle like myself. But as Joshua persistently spoke to them and they answered, they too were freed from their long confinement and began following him. However, I have prevented them from manifesting as physical forms rather than mere voices. I was a Priest in life, so even now as a spirit, I retain some power over other spirits. But that too has now shattered. I still do not know who that Spirit Girl is.」
“Then why didn’t you tell Joshua these facts? Surely you hid them because you harbored some ill intent?”
Unexpectedly, Kelsniti laughed.
「It has been so long since I was interrogated—it feels refreshing. For someone like you, I should speak plainly from the start. I did not tell Joshua because I felt it was better for him that way. Above all, I did not wish for a result like this. I guided Joshua to find spirits strange and unpleasant, to avoid communicating with them. So I told him that spirits cannot understand one another and are filled only with desire, but truthfully, not all spirits are thus. At least I and they are not. Furthermore, I had to prevent all manner of spirits in the world from approaching Joshua. The reason was…」
Only Joshua saw Kelsniti turn his head. Their eyes met, and Kelsniti spoke with emphasis toward Joshua, not Maximian.
「If exposed to countless spirits, the fragile boundary of reason I barely maintained would likely collapse.」
Maximian noticed Joshua staring blankly into empty space. Joshua opened his mouth.
“No. That thinking is wrong. If I hadn’t experienced it myself, I would have believed you. Of course, since you hadn’t experienced it either, you thought that way. But thanks to my mistake, I can now say with certainty—even if hundreds of spirits circled around me, I wouldn’t lose my mind. That’s because it was truly….”
Joshua turned to Maximian this time and spoke clearly.
“Nothing at all.”
“You remember it?”
He had seemed unconscious then. Yet Joshua nodded.
“From beginning to end. From when you brought me here, laid me on the bed, until just before I fell asleep—I remember it all.”
“Even the ninety-some spirits?”
Joshua’s lips twitched slightly, though not quite into a smile.
“Yes. I even conversed with dozens of them. What surprised me was….”
Joshua turned back to Kelsniti.
“Many of them were the owners of the voices that had spoken to me before. I couldn’t distinguish them at all previously, but once I met them, I understood completely. The impression they gave me was that they were fascinating people—or rather, spirits. When they eagerly shared their observations of me, I was so bewildered.”
Joshua’s expression shifted into a smile.
“Before, I couldn’t control their voices, so I found them bothersome or frightening. But the moment I declared I would accept them all, though at first I was overwhelmed by the flood of such overwhelming personalities and lost myself briefly, ultimately I understood them all. Conversing with more than forty becomes inconvenient, but I’ve learned I can summon or dismiss them as I wish. So I no longer fear them. Moreover, my first summoning was when I broke that man’s—the salaryman’s—wrist, and I’m deeply grateful for their help then.”
Joshua spoke with fatigue in his bearing, yet his face appeared refreshed. As Maximian and Riche listened, uncertain what to say, Kelsniti was not.
「You mustn’t think of spirits so simply.」
“Of course not, but….”
「I never anticipated you’d have the ability to control so many spirits at once. But don’t assume what you know is everything. Most importantly, don’t blindly believe their words. Benevolent spirits are not so common in this world.」
“But Kelsniti.”
Joshua called to him with a serious expression.
“You just said you deliberately told me only unfavorable things to make me dislike spirits. So if you speak that way again now, how am I supposed to accept it?”
This time, a truly long silence followed. Joshua kept his gaze fixed, and though Maximian could not see Kelsniti, he sensed his displeasure.
When the answer finally came, Maximian knew his suspicion had been correct.
「There’s no helping it, Joshua. There’s something I wished you’d never had to know. I hope you’ll listen to what I’m about to tell you without any misunderstanding.」
3. People of Promise
I am certain that even if I die here, Icabon will honor the promise he made with us. So I too will keep my promise and will not retreat a single step from this castle. Not until the final room, not until the last drop of blood is spilled. I will not be the first to break our covenant. And when we have each kept our promises to one another, then perhaps I can return to my homeland, even if only as a spirit.
Joshua could see clearly the light in Kelsniti’s eyes as he leaned against the mast. Even as the wind blew, his garments did not stir. How much concentration must it take for him—one who could remain as motionless as a painting, through whom anything might pass—to still walk and speak aboard this ship drifting through empty air?
「Let me speak of myself first. I was a friend who spent my childhood with Icabon and one of three Sworn Allies who supported him until he became Duke. Tikaram, Oblivion, and Valmiad. I said ‘Mid’ so you wouldn’t notice, but my true name is Valmiad.」
Joshua was silent for a moment, then spoke.
“I knew you were close friends, but… so you were Valmiad.”
Though Icabon had mentioned him as a friend before, it was the first time he had revealed that he was one of the three with whom Icabon had sworn a covenant to achieve his ambitions.
Icabon’s Sworn Allies were known to have played the greatest role until Icabon took control of Periwinkle and the surrounding islands and later became Duke Arnim, yet strangely, almost nothing had been passed down beyond their names. Oblivion, known only as the one who drew the family crest; Tikaram, remembered only as a Mage; and Valmiad, whose very identity as a Priest had been forgotten.
Perhaps because of this, Joshua did not feel as though he were seeing a legendary figure before his eyes, and simply said this:
“I’ve always thought it strange how little record there is of you all.”
「Yes, you’d think there would be more documentation of those who helped from the closest position, wouldn’t you?」
Riche heard a soft tapping sound coming from the direction of the mast—as if someone lost in thought were drumming their fingertips against something. Joshua’s eyes widened as he pondered, but he did not answer.
「First, it’s because our promise never reached its end. In other words, our covenant was broken.」
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.

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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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