Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: The Forbidden Ancient Script
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Nihil was lost in thought, pondering the origin of the characters, when the history teacher interjected.
"That is estimated to be an ancient language used five hundred years ago."
"...Ancient language?"
The teacher pushed up his large, round glasses and continued. His turquoise eyes, matching his hair, sparkled as they reflected the light.
"It's believed to be the language of a fallen kingdom located in part of the Harpen Kingdom. After the Heavenly Demon War, records were such a mess that its exact location is unknown, but the world's first known map was discovered in the Forest of Winds to the west. Oh, the Forest of Winds is right next to our marquess's estate! It's a truly beautiful place—shall we go on a picnic together sometime?"
"Nonsense..."
"...Picnic?"
Nihil had been about to tell him to cut the nonsense and continue with the explanation, but he shut his mouth upon seeing Lianus's eyes light up at the word "picnic." Marquess Francesca pressed on.
"Ah, but there's a rumor that ghosts appear in that forest! That's why it's also called the Ghost Forest. Even people from my family avoid it after getting hurt there a few times. Still, it's so beautiful— you should at least admire it from afar!"
Lianus visibly deflated at the mention of the Ghost Forest. No way they'd go on a picnic there.
Watching the disappointed Lianus, Nihil thought he should take the kid on a picnic sometime. Somewhere without ghosts.
Nihil jerked his chin at Karus, as if to say, get on with the explanation.
"Haha, anyway, modern maps mark national borders clearly, but they say the first world map had no borders at all when it was found—just a raw depiction of the land itself. That memo is thought to be in the language of the mapmaker's home country...
As he listened, Nihil tilted his head slightly. The explanation didn't seem related to these characters at all. Frowning faintly at the vaguely familiar yet elusive origin of the script, Nihil drummed the pen he'd been idly holding against the desk.
"Yes, strangely, that language hasn't been found anywhere else. So it remains undeciphered and is printed on every map as a symbol."
"So it wasn't just a doodle."
"Huh? I don't doodle in books."
"That's why I thought it was weird. But your explanation has too many contradictions, teacher."
"Pardon?"
The round turquoise eyes beneath the large glasses widened like the lenses themselves. Then, curiosity piqued, they sparkled as he scooted closer to Nihil, squatting down and resting his chin squarely on the desk. At the uncomfortably close distance, Nihil leaned back slightly and continued.
"This isn't the language of any kingdom. It doesn't matter what country the mapmaker was from. The premise is wrong from the start. Even if a nation fell, it's impossible for its entire language to vanish after leaving just a few sentences on a map. It was probably a language rarely used even back then, or a cipher for secrecy. Or..."
"...Or?"
"A language passed down only among a very select few."
That was Nihil's explanation, but he actually knew this language. If it were a cipher or restricted to a handful of people, he wouldn't know it. He had never seen this language system. He had only heard it. Where on earth had he heard it...?
"Uh..., a select few would be...?"
"Ah. I remember now."
"Pardon?"
The marquess, about to ask who those select few might be, sprang to his feet at Nihil's words.
Nihil began agonizing over whether to share the information he'd recalled or keep it hidden. It wasn't something to reveal lightly.
As Nihil kept silent, a heavy quiet settled over the parlor.
Lianus cautiously called out to Nihil from the side, but Nihil seemed not to hear, lost in his deliberations.
Finally, the marquess, who had been pacing and stamping his feet in frustration, grabbed Nihil's shoulder and shook him out of his reverie.
"What did you remember? Tell me!"
"No."
"How can you say that!"
Sensing he'd pull an all-nighter staring at the ceiling until the next history lesson if they left like this, Marquess Francesca slammed the desk.
Nihil stopped responding to the marquess altogether, merely casting his eyes downward. But the marquess, deadly serious about linguistics, proved more tenacious than expected. He'll give up if I hold out, Nihil thought.
But Nihil soon had to revise that notion.
This guy's nickname was definitely "mad dog."
"Tell me!"
The young marquess, secretly called "Mad Dog Professor" among the students, was living up to his reputation.
It had already been an hour. Nihil was dumbfounded, at a loss for words, watching the young marquess strike instead of teaching. Class time had long ended, in fact.
Lianus, unsettled by the marquess's unfamiliar behavior, eventually settled into spectatorship, munching on the cookies the marquess had gifted him—made by his youngest sibling.
A brown cookie, masquerading as chocolate-flavored, entered Nihil's mouth.
When Lianus reached for a charred black one, Nihil snatched his hand and ate it instead. Mistaking this for enjoyment, Lianus hand-fed Nihil more of the burnt cookies.
Nihil saw no need to correct Lianus's misunderstanding.
Thinking his dear friend loved chocolate cookies, Lianus picked out all the brown ones and offered them to Nihil.
The ashy taste lingered in his mouth, but Nihil chewed nonchalantly on the cookies Lianus fed him and said,
"Teacher, this is straight-up dereliction of duty. Slacking off here and only teaching the 1st Prince diligently is a problem."
"No class until you tell me!"
"You'll get fired."
"I'd get fired happily—just tell me!"
It was ridiculous, a marquess sitting a commoner kid down and acting like this, but Marquess Francesca didn't care a whit.
Nihil still revealed nothing. He seemed too obsessed with research to harm Lianus, but the marquess was hiding something, clinging excessively.
Without knowing what it was, Nihil couldn't trust him.
"Teacher."
"Yes! Will you tell me?"
"You're the one who needs to tell. Come back when you're ready."
"......"
Marquess Francesca fell silent for a moment—not from failing to grasp Nihil's meaning, but because he'd been caught hiding something.
Another cookie slipped into Nihil's mouth.
He'd eaten quite a few, yet there seemed to be more brown cookies than he'd thought—multiplying, perhaps.
His throat was starting to clog from the dry, crumbly cookies, but if he didn't finish them, they might end up in Lianus's mouth.
Noticing Nihil slowing down, Lianus called a maid for tea. Naive as he was, Lianus keenly sensed changes in Nihil's state.
"Uh, if I tell you, will you tell His Highness's friend too?"
Marquess Francesca hesitantly spoke up.
"I'll hear it first and decide."
"How can you say that!"
"You're the desperate one, not me."
"That's too much!"
The marquess muttered about how cruel he was, truly too much, as he circled the parlor.
After about three laps, he suddenly plopped down beside Nihil with a heavy sigh. The maid entering with tea gasped at the sight, but Lianus quickly dismissed her, averting a commotion.
Truth be told, Nihil was equally eager. A marquess's position could be useful. Though politically neutral, Lianus seemed to like him, so using this script as bait to win him over could help Lianus.
Oblivious to Nihil's intentions, the marquess hung his head, visibly downcast. Seeing this, Lianus poured tea into his cup.
"Karus, I don't know the details, but calm down and have some tea."
"Ah, then mine with milk and about five sugar cubes!"
Nihil subtly frowned. Five sugar cubes? The thought alone turned his stomach.
Lianus, who took seven in his milk tea, beamed happily at finding someone with similar tastes, plopping the cubes in one by one.
"Nil?"
"...Just black tea for me."
Black tea filled his cup.
With Lianus's steady cookie supply choking him, Nihil downed the tea the moment it was poured, without waiting.
"Nil, you know about this ancient language, don't you?"
"Just the basics. And it's not really ancient."
Marquess Francesca glanced up at Lianus's words, feigning disinterest while straining to glean even a scrap more info.
Sitting on the floor slurping milk tea, he looked comical, but no one paid it mind.
Lianus figured Nihil had reasons for silence but wanted to help the marquess a bit, glancing at him slyly.
But Nihil wasn't one to miss the intent.
"Rian, do you like this teacher?"
"Uh, uhh? Y-yeah..."
Caught by the blunt question, Lianus flushed, eyes darting, then nodded shyly. The marquess grinned ear to ear at being liked.
Watching, Nihil sighed deeply.
"That language shouldn't circulate carelessly. That's why no other records survive."
"But it's printed on every map out there..."
"The sentences on the maps are just meaningless cooking recipes. Little more than phonetic symbols."
"Cooking recipes?!"
The marquess, listening intently from the floor, shot up in shock. Still clutching his teacup, the motion sent the tea sloshing wildly before crashing down.
"......!"
Splash!
Karus lunged, but Sugar Cube No. 5 failed its emergency landing, smashing into the eternal snows and meeting its end.
"......"
"......"
A heavy silence blanketed the parlor.
Lianus rolled his eyes before peeking open his mouth.
"It's... okay...?"
"......"
Plip.
The remnants of Sugar Cube No. 5, clinging desperately to his pale, long lashes, finally dropped with Nihil's blink.