The Winds of the Past [Rune Factory 4]

Chapter 46

Avani and I arrived just as Kiel was about to leave his house. "Oh, hi! What are you two up to today?" he asked, pausing on the threshold.

"Well, for starters, I haven't yet finished that translation," I replied with a smile.

"Huh? But I thought you said you couldn't read any more?" he said, scratching his head and looking confused.

"That was then, this is now—and now I can read more of it."

"Umm... okay, I don't really understand what happened, but I'm guessing you had a hand in this?" he said, turning to Avani with a smile. She blushed and looked up at me.

"Yes, you might say that," I laughed. "Now, may I have that second page?"

"Oh, sure..." he scampered off to his desk and rummaged around for a moment. "Ahh, here it is!" He returned and handed me the page.

I scanned it, noting that on this page there was a triangle in the lower corner. I sat at his table and he handed me a pen and ink. I began to jot down my translation as I read it through, and I summarized it to Avani and Kiel as I wrote.

"As I suspected, it continues the tale from the previous page. It says here that the girl stopped crying after the promise was made, never so much as shedding a tear. But then after they grew up, the man went on a long, long journey to save the townsfolk from a crisis—so long that they both knew they would never see each other again. Then on the day he left, she went to see him off, still refusing to cry even though all around her were in tears. She struggled to keep her promise to him, believing that somehow, someday, he'd return to her."

I sat up and leaned back in the chair, rubbing my forehead. "That... that's all for this page. I'm certain that there's more to the story, though." I looked up at Kiel. "You say there were instructions to find the second page?"

"Yeah! Right on the back of the first. So if you turn this page over... see? That should lead you to the next page! It's like a treasure hunt!" Kiel said enthusiastically.

I flipped the page over. On the back, in a tidy hand, were the words:

From the palace, go southwest;

Go southeast from the fires.

The next item of your quest

In a square coppice retires.

"Palace? Does that mean the castle?" said Kiel, thinking hard.

"No, the castle's too new. I think that would refer to the old haunted mansion where Dolce was imprisoned in her Guardian form. Before my time, it had been a pleasure palace for royalty. Even in my youth, it was so old that it was abandoned and ruined. My friends and I loved to explore the grounds when we were children. I assume that it was torn down at some point while I was sealed in the tower and that manor house was built in its place. Probably not too long after I became a Guardian, because Dolce lived only a few centuries after me at most, and the mansion was already old and haunted by her time."

"So then somewhere along the Autumn Road?" Avani asked, looking up at me.

I nodded. "Yes, that seems likely. And in fact, I think I know the place now."

"Well, then, what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" Avani laughed, pulling me up.

"Sounds good! Thanks for your help, Kiel."

"Sure! Oh, and you can keep those pages—they're only copies anyway. I'll keep looking, too, and I'll let you know if I find anything! And let me know if you find anything, okay?"