Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 608

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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 60.
The Velvet-Lined Invitation (21)
3. Archnober Street, Number 20
Keltika was renowned among great cities for being particularly difficult to navigate. It wasn’t merely a matter of scale. Within the span of a decade and a half, the city had been overturned from Kingdom to Republic and back to Kingdom again, and with each successive ruler reshaping the address system, the residents’ memories and newly assigned addresses had become so hopelessly tangled that the place was perfectly suited for getting lost.
Pleasance’s residence was said to be in Rockly District, Archnober Street, Number 20. However, Rockly District had been created by the Divine Kingdom, while Archnober Street was a name that had persisted since the Old Kingdom era—so whether these two names would get along at all remained a mystery until one actually visited.
Espin and Maximian decided to walk there. When Maximian suggested it might be better to take a carriage, Espin said she wanted to walk to digest her lunch. Maximian started to mention it would likely take about an hour, but stopped himself. First, he didn’t know Keltika’s geography well either, and second, he thought it necessary to learn more about their host before arriving at the house.
Maximian’s prediction was both right and wrong. It took them nearly two hours to find Archnober Street. The reason was that along the way, there were countless streets like Archnoa, Archmober, and Arcnoie. Two of them weren’t even in Rockly District. It was obvious that the people here must have made a daily habit of going to adjacent streets to collect misdelivered packages and letters.
He did learn a few things about his companion. When Espin had something to think about, she paid no attention to her destination. And these street names, which seemed designed to confuse people, were apparently quite distinct to her ear.
“‘Arch’ is the same, but Noa, Mober, and Noie are completely different, aren’t they?”
She was certainly a very different kind of person from Maximian, who had spent his life glossing over complicated words with a vague “that Arch-whatever thing.” But even with such skill, when lost in thought, she wouldn’t notice circling the same street a third time, so the outcome remained unchanged. Fortunately, both of them were good walkers.
“Anyway, listening to your story, it seems I bear about half the responsibility for Nenyaple closing its doors. The troubling part is that I lack the ability to understand it. I had no idea that dust from Psyche combined with Keepdust would cause problems. But even if I didn’t know, the fact remains that I caused harm. Now you’re the only one I can apologize to, but…”
Maximian waved his hand dismissively.
“That’s fine with me. I was going to be expelled anyway—this just moved it up a bit. Besides, it was during the break. I won’t stop you if you want to go to Nenyaple later and apologize formally.”
“But that incident also led you to take on a strange position and come all the way to Keltika.”
“Well, I was annoyed at first, but now I just feel relieved. I think I stayed in a position that didn’t suit me for far too long anyway.”
In that moment, Maximian spoke with considerable honesty. But Espin, recalling what she’d heard from Duchess Moniz, gave him a suspicious look.
“From what I heard somewhere… is it true you deliberately failed just to quit school because it wasn’t your level?”
Maximian interpreted the phrase “wasn’t your level” in reverse and shrugged.
“Something like that.”
“But if you quit this way, is it really okay with the person who sent you to Nenyaple? I heard they paid your tuition too?”
“The tuition was outrageously expensive, but I’ll repay it for the rest of my life. Well, what can I do? It’s not entirely my fault, and I never asked to be sent there… But wait, how do you know so much about me when you haven’t even enrolled?”
“Oh, that’s… there’s a way. I did some investigating because I wanted to hire you, you know? You were famous. Right.”
Espin’s eyes suddenly sparkled as if she’d had a brilliant idea.
“If you’re really thinking that way, why not open a detective office here in Keltika while you’re at it? Wouldn’t a big city be much better for that kind of business?”
“I don’t know. If it looks like I’m going to starve, I’ll think about it. But I have no idea who would hire someone like me.”
“Haven’t you already taken on your first case?”
Espin extended her thumb to point at herself and smiled wickedly. Maximian replied flatly.
“Hey, you said it was free.”
“Usually when you solve the first case well, the next ones become paid, don’t they? Isn’t that how it works?”
“First you acted like you’d give me a blank check, and now look at this attitude change.”
“That’s not because I don’t want to give you money, is it? You know that too.”
Maximian walked a few steps ahead without responding, then turned back to look at Espin.
“Since we’re talking about the case, I need to clarify one thing—about that Psyche. Can you see it at a glance?”
Espin shook her head.
“It’s different. I’d say I feel it more than see it. When it’s close, the space feels slightly warped or folded. Once I locate it, I can make it appear in front of people. And I can eliminate it too.”
“Is it here right now?”
At Maximian’s question, Espin glanced around. They were walking down a fairly large street where carriages could pass. After a moment, Espin shook her head.
“With so many people and open space like this, that feeling isn’t clear. Even if it’s here, it’s hard to detect. Anyway, I can’t find it now. Psyche doesn’t seem to like crowded places in the first place.”
Maximian also casually looked around before speaking.
“It’s a relief that it’s not here. But that’s not magic, is it?”
“I don’t know magic. I’ve tried to see if it was something close to magic, but it wasn’t. Besides, this ability isn’t something I earned through effort. It wasn’t like this from birth either. Around the time I was fifteen, I got caught up in an incident with Psyche that nearly killed me, and after that, it just happened on its own. I don’t even know why.”
Espin paused mid-sentence and glanced at Maximian, her expression growing slightly more serious.
“You’re questioning whether what I’m saying is a lie right now, aren’t you? For me, a promise is a matter of honor. I may not tell you everything, but what I do say is the truth.”
“Like your name?”
Espin had ultimately only revealed the name Charlotte and kept her surname hidden. She offered a bitter smile.
“Yes, Charlotte is real, like that. Ah, there it is. Archnober Street.”
Espin’s bag had grown heavy enough that she’d been paying close attention to the street names for a while now. When they’d left the dining hall, Maximian had offered to carry her bag, but Espin had flatly refused, saying that if she couldn’t handle this much weight, how could she possibly wield a sword? Maximian wasn’t the type to forcibly take someone’s bag against their wishes, so there was no further argument, but the truth was that Espin still didn’t think she should entrust her bag to Maximian. Etoile had to be capable of operating as a complete unit on her own.
The two of them turned onto Archnober Street and soon stopped in front of a house. The number “20” was written on the fence, and that fence leaned diagonally against the building’s wall. Only where the wall existed did it lean; where there was no wall, it lay neatly collapsed. So it was difficult to say it actually served as a fence. It was merely marking private property.
The private property marker didn’t seem to receive much respect from people. Scattered trash abandoned by passersby rolled about inside the fence. Dirt dust covered the steps, and footprints hardened from rain lay scattered across the backyard. Graffiti covered the door: “A house where ghosts appear.”
Maximian muttered.
“Plenty of ghosts must come out of here.”
Because the house was large. Despite appearing neglected and unmaintained, the manor had considerable size. It seemed like it might be the largest house on Archnober Street.
“It won’t be just ghosts coming out.”
Espin spoke while examining the space beneath the door carefully. Then she bent down and pulled out several trampled letters wedged in the door gap. Since one of them was already open, she didn’t hesitate to extract its contents and read it.
“…Therefore, Jeremy de Pleasance is requested to compensate 300 elso in advance payment and a combined amount of 550 elso in delayed interest and cancellation damages for the commissioned work by November 30th. Seems a fairly capable swindler lived in this house. But it looks like he’s fled and is gone now?”
As she said this and glanced at Maximian, he set down his bag and replied.
“What do I care about debts my ancestor incurred under a borrowed name? My own ancestor never even settled his.”
Maximian opened the bag and crouched beside it, beginning to rummage through the contents. He was searching for the house key that the Professors at Nenyaple had kindly placed inside.
“The Mages are impressive. They fabricated an identity and even duplicated a key in that brief moment.”
“They did. Though it wasn’t really necessary.”
While Maximian was doing this, Espin, who had climbed the two-step staircase leading to the entrance, spoke and then leaned her body slightly, aiming precisely at the square lock hanging from the door handle and kicked it off. As Maximian quickly leaned back, the fallen lock flew past his head and landed somewhere in the garden with a sound. After waiting for her skirt to settle, Maximian turned his head and frowned.
“Hey, why are you practicing kicks here?”
“It looked like it was about to fall anyway.”
Maximian examined the key he’d just found, then tossed it back into the bag and spoke.
“This wasn’t the right key.”
The key was much larger and wouldn’t have fit that lock anyway. In other words, they never had the right key to begin with. Espin probably hadn’t kicked the lock off knowing this, but regardless, it was open now, so it didn’t matter. When Maximian closed the bag and stood up, Espin had already opened the door and gone inside. As he pulled the door to follow her, a shout came from within.
“Who are you!”
Maximian deliberately slowed his pace. The shout wasn’t Espin’s, and such a line belonged to the one in danger. In other words, Espin was the one doing the threatening, not the one being threatened. That was only natural, considering what had happened on the path leading up to Nenyaplo.
Passing through the entrance into the living room, he saw exactly what he expected: a man sitting in shock in front of the living room table. Espin had one foot pressed against the man’s chest and was pointing her drawn blade at his throat. Maximian nearly applauded at the familiar and flawless composition, but barely restrained himself and casually approached to ask.
“Who is this?”

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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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