Children of the Rune – Winterer - Chapter 612

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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 64.
The Velvet Invitation (25)
Shortly after, the Living Room held five captives, and Maximian and Espin surveyed them with expressions as grave as they could muster.
When asked their business, these three also claimed to have entrusted something to Pleasance—one a matter of business, another an advance payment, and yet another a lawn rake and ten ounces of cooking salt, or so they said.
Maximian found their story difficult to accept at face value, and even if he did, he reasoned that none of it justified forcibly breaking into someone else’s home.
“I understand what you’re saying, but whether I believe you is my own affair, and regardless of whether it’s true, you cannot simply break into an empty house and force your way inside.
As a cautious homeowner living in a major city, I cannot trust the goodwill of intruders, and I trust you understand that this was self-defense born of necessity.”
“Self… self-defense? Ha!”
“The door was open!”
The lock wasn’t broken—it was merely removed temporarily for repairs. But whether the lock was engaged or not, the fact remains that you entered someone else’s home without permission, does it not?”
“Then what about these people?”
“They attempted the same actions as you and received the same treatment. Ah, burglars really ought to drop the casual speech—wouldn’t you? My patience is thin, and I’m tempted to give each of you a blow to the back of the head.”
The men were considerably older, and their faces flushed crimson at being addressed so by someone so young, yet their bound state left them powerless.
Still, Espin and Maximian found themselves unexpectedly burdened with five captives. What were they to do with them?
The two exchanged glances in silent deliberation, then climbed the Staircase, fearing another misunderstanding might arise. Espin glanced down at the lower floor and spoke quietly.
“What we just did—that’s a crime, isn’t it?”
“Please don’t ask such innocent questions.”
Both furrowed their brows simultaneously. Espin spoke again.
“What do we do with all of them? The Living Room is completely packed now.”
“We can’t keep doing this. We’re not jailers.”
“I said I could manage two, but five is overwhelming.”
“I don’t know if we can just leave them here and sleep later.”
“Sleep is a later concern, but I’m getting hungry. We can’t leave to eat without them, and it seems wrong to cook dinner for these people.”
“Still, even so, to be so lacking in conscience…”
The mention of hunger touched something in Maximian, and he felt a sense of duty to resolve the problem.
Descending to the lower floor, he took a deep breath, then returned to his persona as Maximilienne de Pleasance, the noble heir of the Merchant Ship Service, and opened his mouth with trustworthy low tones and upper-class pronunciation.
“Now, gentlemen, it seems that some misunderstanding has clouded this unfortunate situation we all find ourselves in. Therefore, we must recover our reason, and I too wish to hear your thoughts on several matters.
First, I am indeed Pleasance’s grandson. However, since I saw him only in earliest childhood, it would be dishonest to claim I know him well.
Moreover, my presence here stems solely from my mother’s advice to check on my grandfather’s wellbeing should I visit Keltika during my travels—a brief visit that, by some cruel twist of fate, led me to encounter you.
Therefore, I fully understand that you have important business with Pleasance, but I trust you also understand that I possess neither the ability to comprehend it nor the means to address it.
Though our initial encounter was marked by poor communication and some conflict, it is difficult to determine who bears greater fault—those who entered another’s home without permission, or those who threatened the intruders. Moreover, if my grandfather has truly gone missing, can we not say that you, having unlawfully invaded this house, might appear to bear responsibility for the owner’s disappearance?
Once the Keltika Security Force reaches such a conclusion, would it not be difficult to alter the situation, regardless of my own views?
Even if you and I speak openly, there is great potential for disagreement on this matter. Would it truly be wise to involve the Keltika Security Force to arbitrate? I would like to hear your thoughts on this.”
Maximian’s brief speech, as always, deftly wove subtle distortions of fact into smooth, flowing rhetoric, and his fine attire and measured baritone created a synergistic effect that lent considerable persuasiveness to his words—though his friends would have laughed had they heard him.
There was also a fact Maximian did not fully appreciate that aided him: the Keltika Security Force found it tedious to parse complex matters of fault in minor incidents, sided with the homeowner when confused, and did so even more readily when the homeowner was of noble standing.
Whether Pleasance was truly nobility or not, being addressed as “Lord” made him the sort of person the Security Force would favor.
Those living in Keltika knew such facts well, and they nodded in agreement, forgetting entirely that they remained bound in curtain scraps, when a short, stout man spoke.
“You speak well. But surely your words would be more believable if you freed these hands first?”
The three were soon released, and after brief discussion, they agreed that today’s events would be forgotten in exchange for the potato cellar in Pleasance’s backyard.
When one of them questioned the fate of the remaining two who had not been freed, Deborah herself interjected with “We’re the type to do such things,” forestalling further debate.
Just as I thought the matter had been resolved, Benet—the portly man from before—smiled suspiciously and spoke.
“But you see, I’m not sure if you realize it yourself, but the way you speak is remarkably similar to your Grandfather. I knew him quite well, you know. My father entrusted him with work three times. The man could resolve matters like magic whenever he set his mind to it. In that sense, if you wouldn’t mind hearing about a case I once commissioned….”
Maximian hastily raised his hand.
“No, no, absolutely not. There’s nothing like that. I don’t solve cases. Just tell me whether you’re leaving or not.”
“Of course I’m leaving, but….”
Maximian kindly helped the man to his feet and escorted him to the Entrance Hall, then graciously opened the door and ushered him out. After sending the remaining two out as well, I closed the door and took a deep breath, then looked at Espin.
“Did we pick up the lock earlier?”
“No.”
Maximian went out and retrieved the lock—or rather, what remained of it—but since it had already been old and I’d shattered it with a kick, it didn’t look like it could be easily repaired.
Maximian had no particular skill with such matters and was well aware of it, so I called out to Espin on the chance she might help.
“Can you fix something like this?”
Espin, who stood with one leg hooked over the Staircase railing, merely glanced across at the lock before confidently tapping her knee.
“No, I only know how to break things.”
“Both skills are remarkably useful.”
I set the lock’s remains on the corner of the table and fell into thought. Could I even sleep one night in this house? In the span of a moment, five debt collectors or whatever they were had come flooding in, and now I had to stay without a lock.
What’s more, if I believed Deborah’s words, people far worse than debt collectors might come through that door….
“I’m hungry.”
Looking up, I found Espin had somehow made her way to the third step of the Staircase, where she sat crouched with her chin resting in her hand. Our eyes met again. A moment later, Espin blinked her large eyes—like a Cat asking its owner for food.
Maximian frowned and tried to respond.
“Hey, I’m not exactly… this isn’t even my house….”
But since I’d been loudly insisting just moments ago that I was the homeowner, the argument rang hollow. Then a small murmuring voice came from beside me. It was Pickled Herring.
“I know where the ingredients are….”
“How impressive.”
As Maximian scoffed, Deborah rose smoothly from her seat and spoke.
“Wouldn’t my help be better? Since things have come to this?”
As she spoke, she wound the cravat in her hand around her finger. Seeing this, Espin’s eyes widened in surprise.
“How did you get free?”
“Magic, of course. It would be unfortunate to tear the gentleman’s fine cravat, wouldn’t it?”
Deborah stepped closer to Maximian and handed over the cravat. While I’d been struggling with the three men, I hadn’t been able to watch Deborah, so it was entirely possible she could have done this. And if she could have escaped in that moment, the fact that she waited instead suggested she expected to receive some form of help.
Maximian didn’t let such thoughts show on his face. I stuffed the cravat into my pocket and spoke.
“Whatever you make, just remember that you all have to eat it too.”
“A Mage has far better methods than poison at her disposal.”
Deborah freed Pickled Herring from the carpet with a casual gesture and pointed toward the Kitchen. Pickled Herring shook his head and pointed to a trapdoor on the floor.
Whether that was the food storage or the Underground Crypt, they muttered back and forth as they opened the door and went inside, emerging with what looked like edible ham chunks, sacks of onions, flour, cheese, and other provisions. I watched as they bickered over who would wash the frying pan and plates.
Knock knock.
It was a more polite approach than before, but Maximian was certain it was the same business. My expression became like someone who’d had foul-smelling food thrust under their nose. Espin rose from the Staircase and spoke.
“Should I go chase them away?”
“No, absolutely not. Just stay put.”
Maximian went to the Entrance Hall and took a deep breath, restoring myself halfway to being a proper Merchant Ship Service gentleman, then opened the door. But the person who appeared was Benet, his face full of a friendly smile. Maximian’s brow furrowed involuntarily.
“Why have you come back?”
“That’s the thing—I have a rather good proposal for you, yes? Ah, wait, wait just a moment. Hear me out first. It won’t take long! If you stay here, won’t people like me come flocking about to bother you for days on end? But I’ve brought a solution to that very problem, you see? Look at this. Just take it for now.”

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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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