Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 449

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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 219.
An Angel’s Face and
The Blood Flowing Through a Demon’s Heart (28)
“The only way to pierce through a magical storm is this method. Just as Icabon and Kelce did in the old days. The people of Sunset Island created the storm barrier to block invasions, but they built small ships that the tempest wouldn’t destroy for their own use. They must have thought that even if outsiders managed to slip in, one or two people wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything significant. Moreover, according to Kelce, this storm has an extremely narrow range. It’s thin, like a curtain. Once we pass through it, the sea should be calm all the way to the coastline.”
Kelsniti had been the very person who pierced through this storm with Icabon in a small boat long ago. Therefore, he was a more reliable advisor than anyone else. Even when Sunset Island’s magic was at its strongest, the storm’s thickness was merely half an hour’s worth, so now that magical power had weakened, it couldn’t possibly have grown stronger.
I left Riche behind partly out of concern that she might be caught in the storm and face danger, but more importantly because only two people had been aboard the single ship that passed through this storm in the old days. I still didn’t know the exact nature of the magical storm. If that was the case, I had no choice but to recreate conditions as similar as possible to what Icabon had succeeded with. Whether the ship’s size mattered or the number of people aboard mattered—if I didn’t know, it was safer to follow both conditions.
But nothing in this world was as easy as theory suggested. Even with Kelsniti, an experienced navigator who had pierced through this storm and an excellent sailor, giving me the most precise advice, my hands—unaccustomed to seafaring—were clumsy. Learning to move the ship efficiently while using minimal strength required considerable time. Not knowing this, I had overworked the wrong muscles at the beginning, making rowing, steering, and adjusting the sails all exhausting tasks.
And the storm barrier drew closer.
Riche, who remained aboard the Altena, leaned against the ship’s rail for a while, gazing into the mist. But soon she dismissed her worries with the thought that those two capable fellows would manage just fine. Those arrogant ones had always pushed forward with their own intentions, whether it made sense or not. She had never managed to stop them through objection, and worry certainly wouldn’t change anything. She even found herself thinking that her discomfort came not from being unable to stop them, but from not being able to go with them.
But when Riche returned to the cabin, the sailors eagerly tried to lift her spirits. At first, it had been awkward when they tried to treat her like a noblewoman because she was the Young Duke’s friend, but this time was even worse, and their attitude seemed strange.
“Since ancient times, those born with the Young Duke’s bloodline inevitably commit several impossible deeds in their lifetime. If they don’t, they wouldn’t be Arnim.”
“The blessed Arnim are fortunate. A storm like that is nothing. There’s no way anything bad could happen.”
“The first Duke managed it well, so how could I say the Young Duke couldn’t? Ah, there’s propriety to consider. Besides, with all this time that’s passed, things should have improved somewhat, not regressed, right?”
“The South Sea cannot touch Arnim. Not a single person has ever fallen to it. So please don’t worry and rest easy. That way, when the Duke returns safely, he’ll know you were well and feel reassured. And we’ll save face too.”
At first I thought they had a point, but the more I listened, the stranger it felt. Eventually, I had to ask.
“Wait a moment. I think you’re mistaken about who you’re talking to.”
“Mistaken?”
“What do you think I am? I’m worried because we’re friends, but you don’t need to go to such lengths just because I’m concerned….”
At that point, not one, not two, but three sailors responded in unison with the same tone.
“Aren’t you engaged to the Young Duke?”
Riche immediately jumped to her feet and cried out.
“That’s absolutely not true!”
The reaction was so violent that not only the three who had asked but all the others whose faces showed they shared the same thought retreated in a rush. The chair Riche had been sitting in tipping backward certainly contributed to the intensity of the reaction.
“What on earth made you think that? Not just one or two of you, but somehow you all thought the same thing? It’s written all over your faces, so don’t bother making excuses that it wasn’t you. Did I act in a way that suggested it? Does traveling with a man automatically make you his fiancée? Of course I didn’t want this either. I didn’t want to do anything that would cause misunderstanding. But I had a desperate reason I couldn’t help but follow these two! You people, making assumptions without even asking!”
Riche pointed at them with her fingers brandished like a knight drawing a sword, and the sailors retreated further.
“Tell me quickly. Give me the legitimate reason you had to think that way. You can’t just be confident about something like an engagement that easily, right? Surely Joshua or Maximian didn’t say anything like that.”
“You’re really saying the Young Duke didn’t propose to you? There, on the Island.”
“I said no! Why on earth would you think that?”
No one stepped forward readily. Perhaps it was difficult to determine who had thought of it first. But their expressions were somewhat different from acknowledging a misunderstanding. They whispered among themselves—though of course she heard everything.
“Then what about the Periwinkle flower on the table that day?”
The White Sand Beach, warmed until noon, was scorching hot. Lying there in only a thin layer of clothing, every grain of burning sand seemed to burrow into and embed itself in my skin. Bare skin was unthinkable on a beach like this—only those with tough, hardy feet could hop and skip across it quickly enough to dive into the water and survive. It wasn’t far. Just four or five steps away, where the wave crests had rolled in, foam broke apart. Yet the two of us didn’t move an inch.
There wasn’t a single wisp of cloud in the sky. Only the sun gleamed white and brilliant. The wind that brushed against our hair seemed ready to envelop our entire bodies the moment we stood up. Despite all this, we had sufficient reason to lie collapsed like fish on a grill for a while. Though we couldn’t stay long.
“Isn’t it hot?”
As if that were a signal, Joshua jerked his upper body upright. He quickly brushed the sand away, then stood up entirely, dusting off his pants as he spoke.
“If I lie here much longer, I’ll get gray spots on my back.”
“Why gray spots?”
“The parts the sand touches get cooked. Meat turns gray when it’s done.”
While Maximian sent him an incredulous look, Joshua removed his shoes. He threw off his socks too. The moment he tried to step barefoot on the sand, he realized anew just how scorching it was—a cry nearly escaped him. Long legs had their uses at times like this; with two bounding strides, he moved into the water, barely avoiding having the soles of his feet roasted. Warm water—cool compared to the sand—flowed between his toes.
Maximian merely raised his upper body to a sitting position and tossed out a comment.
“A cat dipping only its paws.”
“If I swim, I’ll be covered in salt from head to toe. There’s nowhere to wash it off.”
“You’re already covered in salt. Sweat, not seawater.”
Maximian rose slowly and stretched, but at the same time his face contorted in pain. Everything ached—his arms, shoulders, sides, waist, thighs, buttocks, back. Joshua was no different. Moments later, both men stood ankle-deep in the water, performing stretches in an awkward stance while cursing the one person absent from this place—or rather, the Ghost.
“Damn it, to think we’d be tricked like this. The real gauntlet came after we passed through the storm. Your ancestors must have recruited Kelce based on his rowing skills, no question about it.”
“So from his perspective, this was nothing special? Ugh… I can’t even curse properly right now. He’s neither a Priest nor a pirate—from now on, I’m calling him a rower. And I’m holding a grudge. Don’t try to stop me.”
“Stop you? Hey, can a medium hit a Ghost on the back of the head? And these people can conjure storms with magic, but they can’t even create a favorable wind in their own waters? They’re completely inflexible.”
“Unfortunately, hitting the back of the head is difficult. I’ll wager one gold coin that every intruder who broke through the storm gave up in this stretch.”
“Hey, you’re not even a Sailor—what’s one gold coin? Bet something bold, like Jade Ring Castle.”
“That’s not mine.”
“Then I’ll bet the rotten Pasture.”
They stared at each other. Moments later, Joshua muttered.
“Well, Grandfather might give it to you…”
“Why are you acting like you’re just now accepting this? I’ve had the Pasture keys all along, remember? I can open the vault whenever I want.”
If this were that Pasture, they would have collapsed on the Grassland and rested for an hour, they both thought the same thing.
They could no longer remember what the storm had been like. The moment they entered calm waters, they spotted the outline of The Island and cheered, thinking the hard part was over. But had they known they’d have to row through windless sea for half a day to reach it, they might have turned back and plunged through the storm again. “Calm waters to the Coastline”—that phrase was the worst trap of all. And Joshua himself had said it.
The Island, which had seemed so close, never seemed to draw nearer no matter how much they rowed. The weather had turned deceptively clear, and within just ten minutes of starting to row, they were drenched in sweat from head to toe. When they began complaining and even threatening to demand solutions, Kelsniti fled. (‘A medium’s threats are quite serious to a Ghost.’) After that, the morning was consumed by the hardest labor they’d ever attempted in their lives. The half-day included a stretch where they’d given up, thrown down the oars, and collapsed on the deck, but when they finally arrived, it was noon.
Both desperately wanted to enter the sea, but they hesitated, uncertain how vast The Island would prove to be. Maximian muttered as he watched Joshua splash seawater on his forehead.
“We’ll find a place to wash as we go. This is an inhabited Island after all. There’s bound to be a well or a Sacred Spring somewhere.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Maximian grabbed his friend’s shoulder, spun him toward the sea, and shoved him hard. With a splash, a large wave surged forward and drenched Maximian as well. Once both were equally soaked, the salt and everything else ceased to matter. Any reason would do. The muscle soreness they’d been nursing moments before was forgotten as a fierce, almost violent water fight erupted—just as it had in that nameless River in Kotzboldt long ago. It was as if, ever since the two who had once thrown pebbles from the Riverbank and talked of the sea reunited in the sea itself, this moment had been inevitable.
The noon sun, no longer scorching, gazed down at them with gentle bemusement.
“My skin is stinging.”
“You didn’t expect that?”
“I can bear it elsewhere, but my face feels so tight.”
“Salt water doesn’t actually shrink human skin, so rest assured.”
“It certainly feels like it’s shrinking.”
“If it were true, the elderly would be delighted. They could wash their faces in saltwater and never worry about wrinkles.”
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 content, 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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