Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 576

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

Episode 28.
The Princess and the Detective (28)
Maximian stood at the entrance of the Dormitory, lost in contemplation. A few passing students glanced at him and tried to strike up a conversation, but their words never reached his ears. After careful consideration, I concluded that returning to the dormitory to open the letter together with my roommates in some cozy fashion would be far from ideal. I made my way behind the dormitory and climbed into the Grassland where no one lingered.
Continuing upward from here would connect to the middle slopes of the Back Mountain. However, the invisible protective barrier of Nenyaple blocked the way, making it impossible to actually proceed. During my first year, I’d collided with it several times and fallen before learning its location—a place I’d avoided ever since.
Having spent considerable time as an idle Inn guest exploring every corner of the Academy, I knew the barrier’s position well. I stopped right before it, crouched down, and opened the letter. A faint light from the protective enchantment provided enough illumination to read. From the envelope came a single sheet of paper folded twice. That was all. I couldn’t fathom why the envelope felt so thick.
As I unfolded the letter, my expression suddenly softened and I tilted my head in confusion. There was nothing written inside. In other words, it was blank paper.
“What is this?”
I held the letter and envelope in separate hands and fluttered them back and forth as if trying to shake something loose. Then a familiar voice burst forth from nowhere.
“Hey, you fool! Stop that!”
I flinched in surprise and dropped the paper. The letter fell upside down, but the voice didn’t stop.
“Pick it up! Right now! Immediately! This instant! Hurry!”
I didn’t pick it up. Instead, I stared at the paper with wary eyes, as if a centipede might be hiding beneath it. This was a sign that something very troublesome was about to happen.
“What are you doing!”
I kept my eyes on the letter while sidling closer, moving cautiously as if something might spring out from it. Reaching what I believed to be behind the letter, I carefully pinched it between my index and thumb, then placed it on the Rocky Outcrop beside me.
“Phew… My head is spinning. Don’t throw it again, understood?”
I spoke while maintaining distance from the disagreeable letter.
“Ah, well, that’s fine then. But what brings you here, sir? You seem busy.”
“Look at your speech. I spent good money sending you to an expensive Academy, yet somehow you’ve become a street thug.”
“That’s because I just came out of the Tavern until a moment ago, and anyway, why did you send something so creepy?”
“Creepy? Why would you find this scary?”
The letter remained white and blank, but as I looked closely, faint letters appeared and disappeared. I tapped the letter as if offering a chestnut, then spoke.
“Words should come from a person’s mouth. Only Mages enjoy creating unpleasant things like this.”
“Really? I didn’t know you wanted to see my face. If I’d known, I would have visited during the Dormitory Open House last time as your guardian. Next year, I’ll definitely make time to—”
Imagining such a nightmarish scenario, my response came with incredible speed.
“Absolutely not! Haven’t I told you before? Let’s never meet again!”
An eerie laugh emanated from the letter.
“Shut up, you disciple of a charlatan. Why wouldn’t we meet? There’s plenty of reason for us to see each other. You took an exam today, didn’t you? Did you do well?”
I pressed my forehead and hesitated before answering. Though I’d chosen a secluded spot, there was still a possibility that someone passing by might overhear this irritating conversation. Yet going into the bathroom with the letter to sit and talk seemed equally awkward…
“Why are you asking that now? You didn’t care until now.”
“Because I didn’t give you enough attention, you’ve been making a mess of things? Should I start showing some interest now? You Grade 4 failure king! Do you know whose answer sheet was graded first today?”
A bad premonition rushed over me. Juspian might have appropriately blackmailed the Headmaster of Nenyaple, with whom he’d built a strong relationship, to magically view my exam paper—but in times like this, I ignore such premonitions.
“Ah, that’s just because Grade 4 is the simplest to grade. Since I’m a Grade 4 failure king, I got Grade 4 and failed, naturally.”
“I was going to overlook that much! But this time it’s Grade 5!”
I didn’t make an expression like “mission accomplished.” Even if sound only came from a scrap of paper, he might still be able to see my face.
“Ah, is that so? How unfortunate. My talents and efforts were insufficient. While I’ve built beautiful memories at this Academy and received much consideration and attention from the Professors, perhaps it’s time for me to leave and return to my Homeland…”
“…or so you thought!”
I suddenly realized something. Juspian often raised his voice, but today his tone kept getting higher. What if he was truly angry?
This was no time for jokes. I needed to survive first. For an ordinary human, the anger of someone like Juspian was no different from a natural disaster. If I didn’t stop him quickly… But I had no chance to speak.
“Maximian Lipkne! You of all people! The Grand Mage Juspian personally recommended you for the first time in my life! I sent you here with a scholarship! And your answer sheet looks like this!”
From this, I could understand one fact: Juspian had truly seen the answer sheet I’d submitted hours ago. Despite living in a bizarre barrier in a distant land that would take two months to reach if departing from Nenyaple tomorrow.
Based on clear deduction, it was highly likely that over the past two years, Juspian had been watching Maximian’s grades without making a fuss about them. But this answer sheet had undoubtedly struck a nerve in an exceptional way.
I suddenly grew curious. What could have bothered him so much?
“How could you! How could you write ‘barrier’ as ‘hanging cloth’!”
I understood immediately.
“That was just a mistake, sir. There’s no way I wouldn’t know something like that….”
“Don’t make me laugh, you fool. You think I wouldn’t notice you deliberately scribbling nonsense and turning it in? Even if you’ve managed to avoid studying, how much did you see and experience back when the Young Duke incident happened! How could you possibly get something like that wrong? Why didn’t you just write ‘rag’ instead?”
Juspian’s deduction was accurate. At this point, it might be better to admit it quickly. Maximian straightened up lazily and adopted a rather composed posture as he spoke.
“I apologize. I was just going to write ‘rag,’ but then I tried to use my head for some reason and ended up with that result….”
“Shut up! That Headmaster Kalmarin won’t stop laughing about this—I’m so embarrassed I’m ready to sever ties with him! Anyway, you deserve a proper punishment for pulling something like this! I just thought of the method!”
No, that can’t happen.
Maximian knew all too well how dangerous it was when Juspian said he’d “just thought of” something. He had to prevent him from speaking the next words at all costs. Often, if he could just buy some time, Juspian’s mind would change—sometimes for the better, sometimes not—but the first thought was always the most dangerous.
“Wait a moment, sir. There’s something odd about this. If I use my clear powers of deduction….”
“What powers of deduction do you have! You spend every day drinking and going through the day with a muddled mind!”
Even as he said this, Juspian didn’t continue immediately and closed his mouth as if he were willing to listen to what Maximian had to say. Since Juspian had dealt with Maximian quite a bit in the past, he knew that while Maximian was difficult to handle, he wasn’t a simple fool.
“I took the exam today, sir? Of course, it’s possible that the Sorcerer King has already seen that answer sheet, but wouldn’t you have had to send this letter before that? It must have taken dozens of days to arrive by courier, so there’s no way you could have predicted my grades back then.”
“Why couldn’t I predict it! I didn’t know it would be a grade five, but I knew it would be a grade four! That’s why I sent it as a warning. But seeing the answer sheet you turned in today, I can’t let it end at that level. A grade four student continues for another year, but a grade five student doesn’t! Did you know that? Therefore….”
Just as the words were about to continue, Maximian folded the letter. Back to its original shape.
Once the letter was folded, the voice could no longer be heard. Maximian put the folded letter back into its envelope and tossed it into the Grassland. At that moment, someone interjected from behind.
“Whatever that is, is it alright to just leave it like that?”
I turned around to see an unfamiliar face. Why is another person picking a fight with me? Is today the day strangers decide to bother me?
“I don’t know who you are, and precisely because I don’t, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t meddle.”
As Maximian stood up, the stranger gazed down at the fallen letter with an oddly restless expression. He was a man who seemed too old to be a student but too ambiguous in age to be a Professor. And as I said, I didn’t know him. In other words, he wasn’t from Nenyaple.
“Aren’t you going to take it with you?”
“Why? If you want it, take it yourself.”
The man laughed awkwardly.
“That can’t be right. How could I pick up something so expensive, made with such costly materials, that a student carelessly dropped, without a clear conscience? From what I can see, it took three hundred Elso to make one of these. Even if you break it down, you’d get a hundred Elso back.”
What? A hundred Elso?
Maximian looked down at the letter. The desire to pick it up immediately clashed with the anxiety that touching it might trigger an explosion of scolding, but ultimately the hundred Elso won out. Maximian quickly picked up the letter and stuffed it into his pocket. Then he looked at the man again.
“But who are you?”
The man was about to leave with a relieved expression. He waved his hand as he spoke.
“I’m Mandrea Apel. A poor Mage who’s sensitive to material costs.”

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