Kays Translations

Chapter 23: Letters and a Painting.

A slight crease marked the edge of the letter, as though its recipient had gripped it while thinking about what was written.

“Could Geno have been the director of this orphanage?” Licia asked while leaning in from one side.

Fiona looked over the letter from the other side and responded to her.

“If so, this appears to be a message from the director’s friend. Very few people could have traveled to the Sky Continent during the era of the Demon King’s attack.”

“Was it that difficult?” Ren asked.

“Yes. Magic-ship technology had not developed very far at the time, so the available means of reaching a continent floating in the sky were extremely limited.”

All three wanted to know what came next. Ren turned to another sheet.

“I have decided to forgive you for sending the Dragon-Eater seed I gave you to a research institute instead of planting it. I admit that may have been my fault. Still, it is a rare flower, so please treat it carefully. By the way, I recently met Mirim Altia on the Martell Continent. I saw her without telling the other six and had her make several things for me. Now I can finally return to your side.”

Mirim Altia.

Ren, Licia, and Fiona could not hide their surprise when the letter named one of the Seven Heroes and the ancestor of Nemu Altia.

“Dragon-Eaters are extinct monsters, aren’t they?” Licia said, stunned.

“Yes,” Fiona replied. “As the name suggests, they are enormous flower-shaped monsters that prey upon dragons. I believe a small number of their seeds are preserved in the Imperial Museum.”

“Why would anyone send one to the director of an orphanage? Ren, is the sender’s name written on the envelope?”

“No. Neither the sender nor the recipient is named.”

Ren shook his head.

They would eventually need to determine whether the contents were genuine, but the sheer scale of the claims overwhelmed every other consideration for the moment.

After thinking, Fiona said:

“There may have been special circumstances.”

It was unlikely that such private letters had passed through an official institution or guild. Fiona explained that highly personal correspondence was often carried in secret by trusted attendants serving as intermediaries between the two parties.

In other words, the person exchanging letters with Geno had possessed some reason to keep the relationship hidden.

If the letters were genuine, that much was almost certain.

One final sheet remained.

Acting on behalf of their shared curiosity, Ren unfolded it.

“I have a problem—or perhaps only a worry. Do you think she will speak to me again? The last time, chasing me away may only have been an excuse… No, I do not mean to criticize your younger sister, Geno. I am simply so worried that I cannot settle down. I know what you are thinking as you read this: stop complaining and come home. So that is what I will do. I will hurry back.”

The sudden difference in tone from the previous letter made all three relax slightly.

A final passage followed.

“I understand that the continuing war against the Demon King has created many orphans. Even so, this must be difficult for you too, Geno. You still have your original position to consider. You probably do not want to hear caution from someone as reckless as me, but please do not push yourself too hard.”

Even after reading everything, they could not identify Geno or the sender.

They had learned very little with certainty. The sender knew Mirim Altia and appeared to have romantic feelings for Geno’s younger sister.

Even so, Ren could not shake the strange impression that the sender might have been connected to his own ancestor, Adventurer Ashton. The idea rested almost entirely on intuition—little more than a vague possibility.

“We should bring the letters back with us,” Licia said.

“I agree,” Fiona replied. “The Bureau of Mysteries will need to investigate them.”

“Then I’ll keep them safe for now.”

Ren placed the letters inside his coat and turned his attention to the paintings.

A mural covered the wall above the altar, while a smaller canvas rested upon the altar itself. Both depicted a man and a woman.

“They look very happy,” Fiona said with a smile.

The scene appeared to take place in the orphanage garden. A girl sat on a wooden swing in one corner while a man watched over her from nearby.

The difference in their clothing was mildly striking: the man wore simple traveling clothes, while the woman wore a dress. Even so, the gentle scene filled anyone looking at it with warmth. The mural and the small canvas shared such a similar atmosphere that they had probably been painted by the same artist.

Licia and Fiona did not voice what both of them noticed.

The painted man’s features resembled Ren’s only faintly, yet the kindness in his expression was remarkably similar.

He was clearly a different person, so they decided it must be their imagination and said nothing.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

“Would you join us after you graduate?”

“No.”

That same night, after hearing what had happened, Ragna attempted to recruit Ren into the Bureau of Mysteries.

Beyond the laboratory’s absurdly large window stretched Eupheim’s beautiful nightscape.

“I don’t understand why you suddenly decided to recruit me.”

“You opened a door that had never opened. No further explanation is necessary. Will you truly not consider it? I like your character, Ren. You could enter the Bureau as my assistant.”

“I’m sorry, but I intend to succeed my father and lead the village eventually. I can’t accept.”

“Hmm…”

Ragna appeared to withdraw more easily than expected, but he continued watching Ren.

“What about serving on a part-time basis?”

He had not withdrawn at all.

Ren remained cautious.

“When I have time and enough freedom, I could help with something small.”

“That is sufficient. You intend to continue associating with me as a friend, do you not?”

“I suppose it is something like that.”

“Then I have no complaint. More importantly, the situation is fascinating.”

After inspecting Geno Orphanage, Ren had tried touching several other sealed entrances. None moved in the slightest. Only the orphanage had responded to him, and even Ragna could offer no explanation.

Their interest in what lay inside the orphanage had been too great to dwell on that fact at the time, but it remained a serious mystery.

“I do not understand the paintings either, and I have never heard the name Geno,” Ragna said. “It may have been a familiar name or nickname. We will need to search historical records for people with similar names.”

“The sender’s connection to Mirim Altia may help.”

“Do not rely too heavily on it. Personal relationships from that era are exceptionally difficult to trace. If the sender merely paid her to make something, the records may show nothing at all. To her, that person might have been only a customer.”

“I see… Then the Bureau will have to investigate the matter little by little.”

“That is not a bad thing. People say the preparations for a festival are more enjoyable than the festival itself. Pursuing romance is much the same.”

Ragna was in such high spirits that he looked ready to dance.

“Oh, yes. You may take that painting home.”

He meant the picture on the small canvas.

Ren had brought it to the laboratory because someone might recognize the people depicted in it. Its small size had also made it easy to carry.

That, however, might only have been an excuse.

The feeling was difficult to explain. It resembled a sixth sense and had no evidence behind it.

It looked as though it wanted me to take it.

Ren studied the painting without speaking the thought aloud.

The idea that a picture could wish to be carried away by someone sounded absurd even to him.

“It is beautiful,” Ragna said, “but that is all I can determine. Neither the canvas nor the pigments are unusual. I considered whether something might be concealed within the frame, but repeated examination found nothing. From every angle, it is simply a beautiful painting.”

“It may still possess historical value as art. Doesn’t that offer the kind of romance you enjoy?”

“I have not forgotten my respect for things that inspire romance. In that case, leaving it inside a laboratory would be wasteful.”

“Even so, can an excavated object simply be taken away?”

“Ah… I had forgotten that detail. The Bureau is heavily involved in managing artifacts recovered from Old Town. However, House Ignat is equally connected to the site, and purely artistic objects fall under its authority.”

Ren had met Ragna through Radius, so there was no real concern about his trustworthiness. Ragna’s connection to Ulysses likely mattered as well.

“Then I’ll ask Lord Ulysses on the way back.”

“That man will probably tell you to do whatever you like. If so, display it carefully at the mansion in Elendil. The two people in it look happy enough.”

“That is true.”

The time had already passed eleven at night.

Ragna yawned.

“There is also the black, corroded coin found inside the desk. Are those corroded objects connected to the orphanage somehow…? Fascinating.”

He interrupted himself with another yawn.

“Never mind. I will investigate it later.”

Ren returned to the question of the doors. He had done nothing remarkable, which only made the event more troubling.

“Why was I able to open them?”

“As I already told you, I do not know. You may have touched the first magic tool immediately before it completed some process, or another factor may be involved. Most of Mirim Altia’s magic tools remain beyond our understanding. Even the current head of House Altia cannot fully analyze that lost technology.”

“That’s what I thought…”

“Leomel leads the world in magic-tool research, yet we still cannot understand it. The day of a complete analysis may remain far away. Do not expect an answer soon.”

Ragna sounded disappointed, then added with visible irritation:

“I doubt even the technology of the Shelgadians I despise could decipher it.”

“Really?” Ren murmured.

“The Shelgad Empire’s technology is that advanced?”

“Rotten though they are, they are regarded as the world’s second-greatest military power. Their technology is correspondingly formidable in every field.”

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