Chapter : 159
“…A sheep?”
“It’s your daughter-in-law.”
Wolfgang asked this while staring at my hair, which was a complete mess today, as we gathered for breakfast.
“Did you have a dream or something?”
“Ye…yes.”
And not just any dream.
“A terribly awful one.”
“What?”
“There is such a thing.”
I muttered to myself, rubbing my hair, which had twisted and puffed up, probably from thrashing around in my sleep.
Not that it would get any neater.
Even Betty and Angie had given up brushing it at this point.
Sighing, I gave up entirely and plopped down into my chair at the table. Hugo poured water into my cup.
“I’ve sent the letters and invitations you requested.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Franz, tearing a piece of bread with his hands, muttered unnecessarily.
“You told me not to go outside, and now you’re bringing in outsiders.”
“Eh, Sophie isn’t some complete stranger, is she?”
Hearing that, Franz quieted down and just picked at his bread.
You’ve got nothing to say now, huh?
Anyway, Sophie was already a fairly close friend within Franz’s domain.
Meanwhile, Levi, who was serving me a salad loaded with strawberries, asked,
“What will you do today?”
“What do you mean ‘do’?”
I let out a deep sigh, fork hovering over the salad.
I’d rested enough, prepared the groundwork for Bastion’s image transformation, and now I had to tackle something important.
“I can’t put it off any longer. Deciphering the code.”
“Why do you sound like that?”
“My head’s broken, it has to be used.”
I chewed my salad mechanically, my eyes devoid of life.
After coming home to avoid failing, I now had to decode the old scripture without an answer sheet. That was my cursed life.
If Wolfgang and Benjamin had found the initially hidden code phrases, now it was time to decipher their meanings.
Ugh… my head already hurts. But since who knows what unexpected truths might be hiding there, I couldn’t just leave it alone.
“By the way, Hugo, the newspaper for today?”
“Here you go.”
When I took the newspaper from Hugo, Franz, with a sullen expression, asked,
“Is some cheap street paper really that important?”
“It is, of course.”
I scolded him for ignoring the media and skimmed the papers.
I didn’t even need to open it fully—the front page was all about me!
“Hmm… straightforward enough.”
All the articles objectively described my Hakate, with its reddish hue. Speculative expressions like “she’s like a witch” or “peculiar” were minimized.
Probably because it’s Bastion, and especially since Ingrid praised my Hakate, people were afraid to say anything reckless.
Reading the additional note that our pleasant family outing had widely publicized my current situation made me smile.
Though it was amusing that even the theater we visited and the shops we stopped by were mentioned—I wasn’t sure if this was a newspaper or a blog.
Well, it wasn’t bad. It meant people were interested in our every move.
I hummed a tune and leisurely finished breakfast with my family.
That was the extent of my peace.
“…I’ll just let it bloom.”
After half a day staring at the unsolvable code, I half-resignedly muttered to myself when Franz reluctantly handed me the pen again.
Among my family, still using my room as an office, Wolfgang and Levi had urgent family matters to attend to.
Instead, Franz, who was strong in languages, took on code deciphering with me, and keeping me from giving up was his responsibility.
“They said your spiritual power might explode.”
“Better than my head exploding right now, I guess.”
“Neither’s acceptable. Don’t give up.”
Sniffling, I gripped the pen and stared at the code-filled paper, filled only with scribbles.
Yeah, I couldn’t give up, no matter how frustrating.
If my spiritual power exploded in the future, Levi’s magic might explode too.
I didn’t want to imagine such a horrifying repeat of events.
‘Of course, things are different now than before…’
I glanced at my family and held up a hand mirror, one I had brought from the basement—one of the Holy Spirit mirrors.
Still, nothing was reflected on its surface.
‘Something’s changed, but there’s no guarantee it’s good news.’
That’s why I felt uneasy, and the more uneasy I was, the more I wanted various contingencies. People’s fates can change at any time.
I sighed and focused on the code again.
[Seven chicks, seven chickens, and thirteen chicks.]
Maybe I should just give up.
No matter how many times I read it, I couldn’t make sense of it.
After that, it continued with cryptic code: how many dogs, how many ponies, how many horses…
Putting aside the animals, it was clear that combinations of two or three numbers were repeated.
So it was either a combination of two, or a combination of three…
Hmm… wait a sec. Should I do it like this? Or like that?
I tried adding, subtracting, multiplying the numbers, but still, no solution appeared.
“Wow… I really don’t get it.”
I dived in, but if Wolfgang and Benjamin couldn’t solve it, what chance did I have?
Frustrated, I scratched my head with my nails.
Honestly, besides the code, the bigger question was:
‘Why does this old scripture have such codes?’
I thought it might just contain information missing from modern scriptures, but hidden within were codes—even double-layered ones.
Of course, as expected, there were some passages slightly different from what I knew.
One thing that surprised me was how positively it referred to “blood.”
‘Modern scriptures and temples are extremely wary of blood…’
Because of such conventional thinking, I thought revealing my enlightenment process would be difficult.
Now, I just let things be.
Was it coincidence that the Holy Empire revised the scripture like this?
Had someone in the distant past known the scripture would change and hidden the code tightly?
“Phew… let’s take a break.”
“…Huh? Uh, yeah.”
Even Franz, who had been staring at the scripture as intently as I was, raised the white flag.
I glanced at his code sheet as he stretched. Unlike my paper, which just had basic number calculations, his was densely filled with characters written in the ancient language.
Phew… maybe he was trying formulas to solve it. Though he didn’t get much either.
Sigh… should I just quit? Isn’t this a waste of time? Wouldn’t it be better to go find Lumi and Nua directly?
While I was tangled in indecision, the day came for Sophie’s visit.
Clatter, clatter!
I went out to greet her with Levi and Franz, and a dazzling white carriage charged into the garden.
The carriage stopped in front of us, and surprisingly, it wasn’t Sophie who got out first.
It was Mercedes.
“…An uninvited guest.”
I muttered, and Mercedes, with a sparkling smile, pointed behind her.
Behind came a wagon carrying a substantial amount of gold.
“So I brought a small gift.”
“Welcome!”
Just as I was bowing deeply, Sophie descended gracefully from the carriage, escorted by Mercedes.
Ignoring Levi’s sharp glare, I hugged her tightly.
“Sophie, welcome.”
“Thank you for inviting me.”
At that moment, Mercedes interjected with a feigned look of pity, raising her eyebrows.
“I think I need a welcoming hug too.”
“Really? Want to do a proper one with my husband?”
Wow… it was the first time I saw both Levi and Mercedes make such annoyed expressions.
I giggled, shaking my shoulders, and then Sophie cautiously asked after a long pause,
“Asha, are you still unwell?”
“Huh? No, I’m fine! I’m excited! Look, I even polished myself up this morning.”
I smiled with dark circles under my eyes.
I had already removed all the bandages; physically, I was fine.
…Mentally, maybe a bit worn out.
“Is there anything else going on?”
Sophie asked. Mercedes looked at me with concern.
Ah… what’s going on?
My children were still missing, code deciphering had barely progressed, and I had other matters to handle.
And most importantly…
“I’m having dreams.”
“Pardon?”
“Terrible dreams.”
“…Pardon?”
And every day, the dreams were similar yet different, and very vivid.
“Guys, you know what?”
“What?”
“There are truly all kinds of curses in this world.”
My faint, solitary mutter made Sophie and Mercedes tilt their heads at each other in confusion.
