The Runesmith

Chapter 659: Return To The Institute.

“Is this fine?”

“Oh, you’re done already?”

“Yes.”

“What nice handwriting. Were you perhaps a scribe in a past life?”

“...”

“The strong, silent type, I see. Well, you can go now, Mister Siegfried.”

Roland nodded to the guild member as he handed over the sheet of paper. On it, he had written his statement about what had transpired the previous night. For some reason, no one truly questioned him. It did not seem as though the guild master actually wanted to know what had happened. Roland had expected to be pressed for the truth, but instead the man appeared more interested in letting the matter fade away.

‘I faked the handwriting and the mana pattern, so everything should be fine.’

As someone who possessed the Runic Mana Scribe class, forging handwriting was quite simple for him. Written text sometimes carried a mana signature if examined closely enough, and that too, could be imitated.

‘That should settle it.’

He stepped out of the guild building and made his way toward the Red Dragon Inn, where Agni was waiting. His thoughts had already shifted to his upcoming projects and how best to complete them. Now that his name was established here, he could continue hunting sea serpents without interruption. Even if someone grew suspicious, no one would connect him to the earlier grinding attempts, as Siegfried had only arrived recently.

‘I did not even have time to properly congratulate Bernir on his new class. I wonder what we could accomplish with those soul skills.’

Roland knew about his assistant’s new class, but he had been too busy to speak with him while he was on the clock. The idea of gaining direct skill boosts through crafted items was highly enticing. At present, his runes were mostly limited to enhancing raw statistics or elemental affinities, and occasionally other energies such as aura. They could not directly increase skill levels.

There was a vast difference between a swordsman with Swordsmanship at level one and another at level nine. Even if the latter had lower overall stats, he would likely win a duel if both fought with swords. To bridge that gap through attributes alone would require a significant difference in raw numbers. Roland understood this well, especially given the high stat multipliers he himself possessed.

Then there was the approaching school competition, and his involvement in it. Although the participating students had not yet been selected, he already had several ideas for what he might create. Before that, however, he wanted to obtain the high-quality battle golems crafted by Hasim. He had mentioned bringing the Runesmith from Albrook to negotiate an exchange of secrets. However, Roland was still unsure what knowledge he should trade for the golem schematics.

‘There is one thing that I can entice him with…’

He had an idea of what Hasim might truly want, but he was not sure if giving away such technology was wise, at least not until he could fully trust the man. There were not many runic technologies that would tempt a master craftsman of his level. It would likely come down to the prosthetic designs or the runic batteries, though perhaps a few improvements to existing runes would be enough.

“Welcome back, Mister Siegfried. You really gave me a scare. Amun was gone from his pen too, I almost had a heartattack!”

When he arrived at the inn, Millie was there to greet him. Agni had still been in one of the pens when he retired to his room, but when they began chasing the assassin, he had quietly freed him. Millie must have assumed that something terrible had happened, but he had no time to explain.

“My apologies. It was a rather urgent matter.”

“I heard. An assassin. That must have been frightening, but people are saying you managed to chase him down.”

“Yes, more or less. The matter has been resolved, so you do not have to worry.”

Rumors about the previous night had already begun to spread, though not the full truth. The adventurers staying here did not seem overly concerned about thieves or about punishments carried out without a formal trial. To them, this was simply another incident that ended in death, no different from what happened regularly inside the dungeon.

“The stew is still warm. I am sure you must be famished after such an eventful night.”

Millie beckoned him inside, but in truth, he did not plan to continue living there. The Siegfried persona had only been a cover to justify his operations within the third ring, and now he had little reason to fully maintain it. He had delivered her father, Ermes, safely and had even gained Harphon’s support. While his business in this area was not entirely finished, he no longer needed to stay, and his time could be better spent elsewhere. ℞𝘢ＮꝊ𝔟ËṤ

“I am actually heading back into the dungeon. I am not sure when I will return, so you may vacate my room.”

“Oh. Are you really leaving? Amun too? Why don’t you stay a bit longer?”

“...”

It seemed she was more saddened by Agni’s departure than his own. He still considered taking the girl under his wing, but that would have to wait until he returned in his role as a runesmith. He was not yet certain how to arrange it, though there were a few people he could ask to pose as his adventurer guards once he came back.

‘Those two might not be ready for this palace, but perhaps I could help them improve a little while they are here.’

He thought and then resumed his conversation with the girl.

“Yes, he will be coming with me.”

“I understand…”

The girl lowered her head for a moment, then quickly raised it when she heard her mother calling for help.

“Ah, I need to go, Mister Siegfried. Take care.”

She hurried off and returned to work while he walked over to Agni, who seemed rather bored.

“Let’s go, Amun.”

“Woof!”

Together they moved through the adventurer stronghold. His fame there was beginning to grow, and he caught a few people whispering about his exploits.

“That’s him, the guy who chased down that assassin. They say he took out a monster over level two hundred fifty on his own.”

“Really? I would like to see him fight the Drake King. I bet he would not last a single bite.”

“Want to bet on it?”

Roland kept his pace steady and unhurried. Rumors spreading about him were nothing unusual, and this kind was not so bad. If he was known for being strong, it would discourage weaker adventurers from bothering him. He neither confirmed nor denied the stories and simply let them circulate. A reputation, when shaped with care, could be useful.

Agni padded beside him, tail swaying lazily. Other adventurers stepped aside as they passed, and soon he reached the gate. The assassin had taken the form of one of the adventurers still stationed there. The man appeared unharmed and very much alive.

“Let’s go home for now, Agni.”

Once they were far enough from the settlement, he began speaking to Agni in his usual tone.

“Awooo!”

His wolf companion seemed delighted to hear his real name again. Roland patted him on the head, and before long, they were making their way quickly toward the hidden lair. Along the way, he checked the sensors he had planted throughout the settlement. They now allowed him to monitor the city even in his absence. The output had been minimized to avoid detection by the few mages living there, and for the moment, he remained unnoticed.

“It limits the scanner’s range and creates a few dead zones, but it is still better than nothing.”

Although his sensor technology had advanced significantly, it still had drawbacks. One was its limited range, and another was its mana consumption. It was not a system that functioned well outside a dungeon. In a place like this, the devices could slowly siphon mana from the environment to sustain themselves.

However, outside the mana density was much lower, which meant that cables were still required to supply additional power. Going fully wireless was not yet possible, but perhaps once they managed to activate those towers with the help of the Valerian house, it could become a reality.

‘Should I check out that area, or take a break for now?’

Even though he was heading home, there was still one location in this dungeon that he had not fully examined, the closed-off area near the waterfall with the dragon-shaped stone formation. From what he knew, a party of adventurers would be heading there soon. If he moved in alone beforehand, it might bring certain benefits.

‘They say it is a randomized reward of great value, but if it is just some equipment, it would be a waste of my time.’

To a craftsman like him, who could order materials or gather them himself, new equipment was not especially valuable. It would be far better to obtain something he could not simply build, such as an elixir capable of restoring Bernir’s lost hand, or some other rare item. Still, there was a chance that something truly exceptional could appear, which made it worth investigating before the other adventurers arrived.

“Want to go hunt some drakes?”

“Woof!?”

“Hm. I might as well take a look. But first, I need to take care of something else.”

He responded to Agni, and soon the two vanished through the teleportation portal, returning to Albrook. His wolf rode up the elevator, but he did not leave the workshop right away. Instead, he removed his current armor, shedding the dark shell and replacing it with an older model that the people at the Institute recognized him for. Once prepared, he activated the gate again and appeared within the halls of Xandar’s Institute of Wizardry.

“Welcome back, Deputy Professor. Have you come to watch my lecture?”

“No, I am just here to check on some of my old students.”

“Ah.”

He encountered Arion drifting through the runic department, which had grown considerably since his arrival. There were now multiple assistant professors, and the lecture halls were once again filled to the brim with new mages. It seemed that many had begun to recognize the value of rune mages, and even a few young students had chosen to follow that path.

“Hm. There she is.”

Roland had come for one specific reason: his younger sister Lucienne. She had returned much sooner than he expected. The incident involving Viola Castellane had been resolved, but it had been quickly followed by Robert’s case, during which she had been taken away by their father.

“So she is back and safe.”

Her presence here was both a source of joy and of unease. She had once been targeted by a high noble, and he could not be certain that one of Viola Castellane’s henchmen would not attempt some form of retribution. However, his father’s recent ascension to Marshal had elevated House Arden’s standing. There were even rumors that they might be granted a viscount title because of it.

‘She is at the dorm with her friends now.’

Thanks to his monitoring technology, which now extended throughout the entire Institute, he could easily access the golem cameras. There he saw her, his younger sister Lucienne, looking genuinely happy. Her two friends, Atasuna and Marlein, were with her, but one person was missing.

‘That Margaret Braganza is not here?’

Margaret Braganza remained a mystery to him. She had doted on his sister and had been a loyal friend, yet she had not returned to the Institute. He suspected that her true identity was that of a royal, or perhaps the daughter of a duke. There was also the possibility that she was a foreign princess of considerable standing.

The surrounding empires and kingdoms sometimes allowed one of their many princes or princesses to travel the world while concealing their titles. Most likely, after the incident, she had been ordered to return to wherever she came from. It was unfortunate, but that was simply how this world worked.

‘The three of them seem happy though. Best not to bring her up around them.’

Roland chose not to listen in on their conversation. Instead, he used his authority to give an order to one of the assistant professors. She carried it out quickly, and about fifteen minutes later, he saw her approach Lucienne.

“Are you the student, Lucienne Arden?”

“Ah, good day, yes, that’s me!”

She replied in a bright voice as the woman came closer.

“The Deputy Professor wishes to speak with you.”

“Deputy Professor Wayland is here?”

Roland watched as his sister looked around frantically at the mention of his current alias. She even grabbed the assistant professor’s hand and began shaking it.

“W-where is he? Is he using some kind of concealment spell?”

“Uh, no. He isn’t here. He said he will see you in his office.”

The woman he had sent appeared thoroughly confused. Lucienne quickly released her hand and began bowing in apology while her two friends laughed. Then she straightened abruptly and hurried off with a sudden burst of energy. By that time, Roland was already waiting in the office beneath the tree tower of the Arch Magus.

Yavenna already knew his true name and his connection to Lucienne, so there was little risk even if she overheard their conversation. There was not much left that she could use to blackmail him, yet he still took precautions to conceal everything they discussed here. Even if she had no intention of using anything against him now, that did not mean others within the Institute would show the same restraint.

When she arrived outside, the hidden doors opened, and she stepped inside without hesitation. It reminded him of the first time he revealed his identity to her. Back then, she had kicked him in the shin and injured her own foot in the process. This time, however, things were different.

“You wanted to see me, Deputy Professor?”

“It’s fine. You can speak normally here, Lucienne.”

The moment he said those words, he saw her expression change. Tears welled in her eyes before she could stop them.

“Y-You’re really here…”

Roland felt something tighten in his chest. He had prepared arguments, explanations, even a few carefully constructed lies if necessary. None of them seemed useful now, faced with his sister on the verge of tears. As always, he struggled with situations charged with emotion. Even so, he stepped forward. The movement felt awkward, but he wrapped his arms around his younger sister and pulled her into an embrace.

“I am.”

He kept his reply simple, and that was enough. She finally broke down. Her hands clutched the back of his robe as if she feared he would disappear the moment she let go.

“I thought Father would never let me return here, that we would never be able to see each other again…”

She sobbed for a moment, but as she kept talking, something broke the mood.

“Ow… your armor… It’s too hard.”

“Oh… sorry about that.”

Even though he wore a robe over it, he still had a full suit of mithril armor underneath. It had not been made with comfort in mind, especially not for anyone trying to hug him. There were hard edges and thick plates, so he stepped back and removed his helmet at last, revealing his face.

“I am a bit confused as well. How did you get ‘Father’ to let you come back here?”

“Hehe, I have my ways. It's a maiden’s secret.”

She smiled brightly, giving him a vague answer and sticking out her tongue. There were many things they could talk about, but before he could ask anything, she rushed ahead.

“I got your message! Is Brother Robert really safe? Can I talk to him? Mother hasn’t been the same since he left…”

There were a lot of questions, and he was not surprised that the conversation had quickly shifted to Robert. Both he and Lucille were now under his protection, living in Valerian territory. Then there was Francine, the mother of Lucienne and Robert. It was no surprise that she had taken the disappearance of her only son poorly. Her position at the estate had likely been shaken as well, but he could not reveal anything yet. Robert had already begun a new life on Dragnis Island, and they could not afford Francine informing their father about it.

“This might take a while. Why don’t you sit down and have some tea first, and I’ll tell you everything.”

He planned to explain Robert’s current life, but he also wanted to hear about the situation at the Arden estate. They had all the time they needed, and soon the reunited siblings were deep in conversation.