Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 486

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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 256.
Playing Oneself (32)
Things had changed now. The Puppet who had once overlapped with Joshua’s position, stealing his uniqueness, had been separated from him. People now knew that the two existed as distinct entities. Even if not everyone had come to understand this truth, Joshua had nonetheless reclaimed his place. From this point forward, their lives would diverge along entirely different paths.
In a sense, the original body had been destroyed as well. They hadn’t destroyed it themselves, but when the Mage Annie took it and departed, the connection had been severed, leaving the Puppet in a comatose state. Why hadn’t it died? Did the Puppet possess a certain degree of vitality even without its original body? Would it never die so long as the original existed somewhere? Or had the Spirits been the ones to keep the Puppet alive? If the replicated Puppet was also a medium, such a thing wasn’t impossible.
In any case, because the Puppet had not died, the problem had become far more complicated. Joshua reclaiming his place meant that a counterfeit who had felt itself to be real was being cast out from the position it believed to be its own. If the Puppet were to awaken, how would it accept this truth? Could the two live separately of their own accord? Wouldn’t the Puppet feel as though Joshua had stolen its place?
They were not mere twins who shared only a face. They were beings who possessed identical memories up to a certain point, and thus could never help but have their positions overlap eternally.
The perspectives of those around them were equally complicated. Those who knew of the switch, those who remembered only the original, those who knew only the counterfeit—everyone’s position differed. Even among those who shared the same stance, conclusions sometimes diverged. To be specific, Duke Arnim had suspected the Puppet’s existence relatively early and seemed to regard Joshua alone as his son. Yet the Duchess had found meaning in the time spent with the Puppet and could not withdraw her affection.
When Joshua eventually awakened, he would find himself bewildered before those who had met the counterfeit during the period of his absence. Unless he explained the Puppet’s existence to them, the Joshua they had known would become a person who never existed.
This problem remained entirely with Maximian as well. From the moment he had rescued Joshua at the Colzetti Theater until now, those memories belonged to Maximian and Joshua alone. Yet the Puppet knew Maximian. It possessed intact memories of stealing goat’s milk in Kotzboldt, of setting fire to the Windmill House when bitten by a dog. If Maximian were to turn away from it, the Puppet would feel that its most precious friend had abandoned it—the very same emotion Joshua had experienced when treated as disposable. It would feel exactly that.
Thinking in this way, it had become impossible for me to regard the Puppet as something that ought to be dead, as I once had. Yet was it right to simply let it live as it was? Was I only Joshua’s friend, or would I also become the Puppet’s friend? Could I simultaneously fulfill the role of friend to both Joshuas?
“Damn it. If I were confused about a friend like this, what would I have done if we’d gotten married?”
At the sudden outburst, Riche’s expression became utterly bewildered. Maximian turned to her and continued.
“You’re lucky, Riche. You never knew the counterfeit, so it’s clean between you.”
Understanding at last, Riche shrugged.
“Back then, he was just an unscrupulous person who kept ordering me unnecessarily complicated clothes.”
“That certainly sounds like a beautiful memory to cherish.”
Had Joshua thought about this problem long ago? At least, he had never spoken of it to me. Yet I felt certain he must have given it considerable thought. How had Joshua envisioned the Puppet’s future?
“I’ve been turning over all manner of thoughts about this.”
As Maximian spoke, Juspian nodded.
“Did you understand what I meant?”
“I understood, but even so, I’m uncertain whether it’s truly right to allow the Puppet to live independently. It somehow feels as though that shouldn’t be the case. Setting aside the question of whether it’s even possible to do so.”
“That’s what we call baseless fear.”
“Since you say there’s no basis for it, it seems you’ve overcome it. If you have any secret to share, do tell.”
“The secret is.”
Juspian continued solemnly.
“Become a Mage. Go to Nenyaple at once.”
“Why does the conversation suddenly jump there!”
“Because you envy my composed and rational judgment, so I shared the secret with you. Don’t complain!”
“You should stop complaining and actually tell me your opinion on how two identical beings could best live!”
I had expected him to counter by suggesting that if he took the Puppet away, they would never meet and the problem would be simply solved. Unexpectedly, Juspian did not answer quickly. Maximian spoke again.
“If you succeed and the Puppet comes to exist without its original body, then what truly is the difference between the two? There’s only a slight difference in memory….”
“That’s exactly it. That difference in memory is the very crux of the matter.”
Juspian’s expression grew serious once more.
“Back when you came to me and made a fuss asking for help, didn’t you tell me? That the difference between the real and the Puppet lay in a very small memory. Because it’s Demonic, memory cannot be lost, yet it was lost, making the two different beings, and that’s how you distinguished the real from the fake. Was that your theory? At the time, I merely found it an interesting problem and couldn’t reach a conclusion.
“And then?”
“Since then, I’ve thought about it continuously and reached my own conclusion. Of course, it’s difficult to assert the matter of ‘order’ on my own authority, but the question of memory seems to be of utmost importance. If what you mentioned before—the lost memory—is what ‘order’ sees as the difference, then perhaps the two were never identical beings from the start. Yet after that, didn’t the two each accumulate new memories?”
“That’s certainly true.”
“When you account for that, the two became increasingly different beings. Yet until then, they would have never met and each believed itself to be the only real one. But now that they’ve confronted each other and one has even stabbed the other with a blade, even ‘self-consciousness’ has awakened. Because they now know that within themselves exists a self that doesn’t belong to them, a self outside their ego.”
Riche rolled her eyes toward the ceiling.
“That’s difficult to understand.”
“In other words, their sense of self-identity has become fragmented. Consider this: people change throughout their lives, don’t they? The child you were and who you are now are different, and the elderly version of you will be different still. Yet you don’t think of them as separate people, do you? The reason you can recognize all of them as the same self—that’s self-identity. But even ordinary people sometimes lose memories or forget things from long ago, and when someone tells them about themselves they don’t recall, it feels like hearing about a stranger. It all comes down to whether you remember or not. From that perspective, looking at these two: in the past, they were one. Then at some point, they split apart while retaining nearly identical memories. After that, they accumulated different experiences and different memories. When they finally encountered each other, wouldn’t they have felt as though they had split into two?”
“So?”
“But what if they lived another thirty years in that state and met again?”
“I beg your pardon?”
As Riche asked for clarification, Maximian’s brow furrowed.
“Are you saying that if Joshua and that Doppelgänger separate and each accumulates thirty years of different memories, creating new self-consciousness or whatever, then they become different people? You’re suggesting that the shared beginning is simply overwhelmed by the sheer volume of memories?”
“That’s all we can hope for at this point.”
Riche posed another question.
“But what about ‘Order’? What will it decide?”
“How could I speak on behalf of what ‘Order’ will conclude? But ‘Order’ isn’t something as decisive as a knife’s cut. There are things that become the same or different without our noticing. When seasons change, can you pinpoint the exact moment summer becomes autumn, or autumn becomes winter? Can you say ‘spring begins on this date and time, and everything before that is winter’? It doesn’t work that way.”
“So the answer is for them to live apart, is that what you’re saying?”
Juspian crossed his arms.
“That’s why I said I’d take him with me.”
“You need Joshua’s permission first.”
“Ah, it doesn’t matter. Can’t I wait a little while for that?”
Hispanie, who had been listening silently until now, finally spoke.
“Your words may hold truth, but difficulties remain nonetheless. Even if they themselves overcome this, those around them carry their own burden.”
“What kind of burden?”
“The burden of choice.”
Maximian spoke again.
“Yes. If this is truly a problem that can be solved by the volume of memories, then suppose I don’t encounter either Joshua even once during those thirty years. From my perspective, the difference in my memories of the two would be merely a few months, so wouldn’t it be natural for me to feel they’re identical by then? Whichever one I meet would be my friend Joshua… Is that how it would work?”
This time, Riche spoke.
“But they would have lived completely different lives, wouldn’t they? Then when that time comes, do we simply choose whichever one we prefer? The one who lived in a way that appeals to us? So conveniently, we pick one as our friend and the other as not, just like that? How fortunate to have the option. How troubling.”
Juspian looked around at the three faces and made his declaration.
“Yes. That’s exactly right.”
“That’s exactly right?”
“That’s what we must do. We all must choose. Isn’t everything in this world a matter of choice? Why do we choose one over the other? It may sound cruel, but it can only be a matter of preference. Some choose based on slight differences in memory, others choose the other because artificial power was involved, and thirty years later, you can choose whoever treats you better. The reason doesn’t matter. Follow where your heart leads. Even if it’s only slightly, you can only go where your heart pulls you.”
Riche murmured.
“Since I’m not a Mage, I can’t judge as ‘calmly and coldly’ as you do. Think about the position of the one not chosen. How cruel is that?”
Juspian let out a scoff.
“Look here. If two men loved you, would you hesitate forever out of concern for the rejected one’s heartbreak? Still, there is a third answer in this problem. You’re not getting married, after all—just take both as friends. There, problem solved!”
Despite Juspian’s confident expression, the three still sighed. Maximian spoke.
“I see the solution now.”
“What is it?”
“Become a Mage. It seems that if you become a Mage, you can make clear choices like you do and cleanly forget the rest.”
Juspian’s expression was one of obviousness.
“That’s why I said it from the beginning. Become a Mage.”
There was nothing more to say. After a moment, Riche hesitated before asking.
“So you really will wait? Here?”
“I’ll observe the Doppelgänger, give Duke Arnim the rare opportunity to entertain a Grand Mage, come to understand your inner worlds, and have discussions like this today. I’ll stay here as though entering winter sleep. Oh, and I need to call the girl first. Spectacled One, you’ll be sent to Nenyaple, so I’ll have her tutor you for the exam.”
Maximian was taken aback.
“That’s not even part of our agreement!”
Juspian narrowed his eyes.
“Did you really think I’d sit idle and watch while you concocted such a naive scheme—failing your exam so you wouldn’t have to attend school?”
Children of Rune – Winterer
Author: Jeon Min-hee
Published by: 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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