The Runesmith

Chapter 676: Misinterpretation.

“Worf!”

“No… that’s how you usually sound. Can you make it different? Maybe try a higher pitch?”

“Woo… wooourf?”

“I… I don’t know if this will work…”

“Woof!”

Roland looked at Agni, who kept tilting his head from side to side as his master asked him to change the way he articulated his wolven howls. The two stood within the compound, with no one else around. A full day had passed since his new apprentice arrived, and the time for the dreaded first lesson had come. There was one major problem, and that was Agni.

“The kid is quite perceptive… she will figure it out…”

He shook his head as he stared at the flaming wolf. The issue was the lie he had told Millie and her family about never meeting them before. Siegfried and Amun were their cover identities in the dungeon, and those identities could potentially be exposed in the near future. Roland knew that the longer a lie lingered, the harder it became to address.

‘Will they be mad, or am I overthinking this?’

Roland exhaled slowly, arms crossed as he studied the wolf before him. Agni sat obediently, his tail swaying as embers drifted lazily from his fur and faded before touching the ground. The attempt to disguise his voice had clearly failed.

While his sunlight wolf form looked very different, his mannerisms and the way he carried himself were the same as in his ruby form. Millie might not notice immediately, but Roland was not sure he could teach Agni to behave differently around her. Agni was highly intelligent, but he was not capable of acting.

“Woof!”

Agni barked again, louder this time, as if proud of his improvement.

“…That’s worse.”

The wolf’s ears lowered slightly. Roland rubbed his temple, unsure what to do.

“Is your new apprentice arriving soon?”

As he was thinking, Elodia stepped out of their home. She covered her mouth as she yawned, then smiled at both him and Agni.

“She is, and I’m worried about… You know what.”

Roland had at least chosen not to lie to his wife. When she asked the other day, he told her everything.

“Isn’t it fine? I don’t think she will hold it against you. From your description, she sounds like an earnest child.”

Elodia walked over to Agni and patted his head. Even though he was covered in flames, they did not harm those he deemed worthy of touching him. Agni had full control over his fire, and his tail wagged happily as she scratched behind his ears.

“That family still owes you their lives. I am sure they would understand if you explained everything and told them the truth. You had your own circumstances to hide your identity.”

“Hm…”

He only grumbled under his breath, unsure if that was truly the best course of action.

“There you go again. You really need to learn how to trust people.”

“It’s not always about trust.”

He replied, knowing well that information could be extracted through various other means. Elodia smiled and moved closer to her husband, but before she could say anything more, a bell rang out from the gate of the compound.

“She is here…”

Roland remarked that even without his helmet, he could recognize the mana pattern on the other side of the wall. He had decided to show Millie his true face, not the one that belonged to Siegfried. Hiding his identity from an apprentice who would have access to parts of his workshop would not be easy, so it was better to be honest from the start.

“Oh, it’s her?”

Elodia perked up, curious to see the first apprentice he had chosen. Soon, the automatic gate opened, and a lone figure stepped through. It was Millie.

“Hm, she is older than I expected… and you never mentioned she was this cute.”

“Do not worry, I am not Armand, if that is what you are implying.”

He replied in an annoyed tone. Elodia chuckled, clearly amused by how quickly he moved to defend himself.

“I did not imply anything. You came to that conclusion on your own.”

Roland sighed but said nothing. His attention shifted fully to the girl walking toward them with quick, eager steps. Millie was dressed more neatly than before, her hair tied back, her usual energy barely contained as she looked around the compound.

“Master!”

She called out, waving in his direction, but soon grew confused. The gate she had passed through led into a secondary section enclosed by a wired fence. Only after the path closed behind her did the next door begin to open. Her eyes sparkled as she watched the mechanisms move, and within moments her attention drifted from her new master to everything around her.

“She seems enthusiastic, but I do not think those clothes are suited for work in your workshop.”

“You might be right. While she will start by scribing scrolls, I want her to learn other skills before advancing to the next class; she probably won’t really need any true work clothes until her next class…”

Roland trailed off as he noticed his wife assessing the situation. He immediately understood what she was about to do and placed a hand on her shoulder before she could act.

“We can have a tailor make something for her. You need to learn to leave some things to others.”

“Why are you, of all people, telling me this?”

Elodia rolled her eyes. She knew Roland was far too stubborn to delegate most tasks himself.

“Hey, even I rely on the dwarven union to share the load. You are running a whole school now, Headmistress. Try acting like one.”

He smiled as he teased her. She was still trying to handle things the way she had in the past, but those days were over. She was no longer just running an orphanage or patching up torn clothes. She was the wife of a Valerian knight and responsible for education in Albrook, a role that demanded far more of her time and effort.

“I suppose you’re right. Well, have fun with your new apprentice. I should probably get going.”

Elodia leaned in and placed a quick kiss on his cheek before stepping back.

“Try not to scare her off on the first day.”

“I do not scare people.”

He grumbled and frowned.

“You absolutely do.”

She gave a light wave to Millie, who had just passed through the second gate and was stepping into the inner section of the compound. Then, with a soft laugh, Elodia turned and made her way toward the side exit, where her private carriage and its guards waited outside.

Millie approached, her boots tapping against the clean stone path. Her gaze flicked from one thing to another, taking everything in at once. The reinforced walls, the faint runes etched across the surfaces, and the appearance of her new master, who was no longer wearing the mask she had seen before.

“Master! This place is amazing. What are those windmills for, and why is there smoke coming from that direction?”

She pointed toward the large wall and reinforced gate that led to Rastix’s laboratory.

“Ah, do not worry about that. Also, do not go near that area. It could be dangerous.”

As he finished speaking, he noticed her studying his face for a moment. She did not seem particularly interested, though, as her attention quickly shifted to the large flaming canine sitting nearby, Agni.

“This…”

The girl narrowed her eyes at once. Roland had not known her for long, but it was clear she had a fondness for animals and creatures like Agni. Her interest was obvious, though he was not sure whether she suspected anything.

“This wolf…”

“W… werf?”

Agni rose to attention, reacting to the suspicious look Millie was giving him. Roland remained silent, curious to see what she would do. To his surprise, she pulled something from her pocket, an item he had not seen her carry before.

“Worf?”

It was a low-grade mana crystal, the kind that could be dropped by weaker monsters or form naturally in areas rich with mana. Dungeons were one such place, where high concentrations of mana could crystallize into valuable resources. This one, however, held only a faint amount of energy.

‘Was she trying to use it to help her scribe scrolls?’

In theory, holding such a crystal allowed a person to absorb a small amount of mana. In Millie’s case, though, the conversion rate would be far too low to make any real difference, and she would likely exhaust herself regardless. Still, she had them, and that explained why he had seen her visiting Agni, or rather Amun, back in the stables right before the assassin moved.

‘She did ask about what he likes to eat… so she was probably feeding him these at that point.’

Millie was more crafty than he had anticipated. The moment the mana crystal appeared, Agni began to drool. He could adjust his tone and behavior a little, but he could not hide his love for shiny rocks.

Millie held the crystal between two fingers and tilted it so it caught the morning light. Agni’s eyes tracked the movement with intense focus, his tail starting to sway a little faster.

“You like these, don’t you?”

She asked with a smile on her face.

“Worf!”

Agni sniffed at the air, then seemed to remember Roland’s instructions. He turned his head away as if he were not interested. That did not stop the girl from waving the crystal in front of him. She stepped closer, her eyes narrowing as she studied his reaction.

“Really… you don’t want it?”

Agni kept his head turned, but his tail betrayed him, swishing once, then twice, before stopping abruptly as if he had realized his mistake. Roland closed his eyes for a moment.

‘This is going poorly. Should I stop this or just come clean?’

He could step in and pull her into the workshop, but he hesitated. Starting things with a lie might not be the best idea, yet he did not want to damage their relationship before it had even begun.

Millie moved closer and tried to stand at Agni’s level. The wolf was as large as a horse, so even sitting down, he was still taller than her. She kept the mana crystal raised and tilted her head in a way that mirrored Agni’s earlier gesture.

“I’ve seen a wolf like you before…”

Agni froze.

“…in a dungeon.”

Silence settled over the compound. Agni’s tail went still, yet his gaze remained fixed on the crystal. It was obvious he wanted nothing more than to bite into it.

“This makes sense… Master and Mister Siegfried know each other…”

Millie seemed to be piecing things together. Roland considered interrupting before she reached the wrong conclusion, but before he could speak, she said something he did not expect.

“You’re part of Amun’s litter, aren’t you? You’re his brother!”

“I guess you’ve figured it out, but before you… Wait, what did you just say?”

To Roland’s surprise, she had gotten it completely wrong. Instead of realizing that Agni and Amun were the same wolf, she assumed they were siblings. In a way, it was a more logical conclusion. Monsters born together often behaved similarly, though in this case Agni had hatched from a dungeon egg and had not come from a natural birth.

“Hah! I knew it, you’re so similar to Amun!”

Millie beamed, clearly pleased with her own deduction. She held the crystal a little closer, her confidence growing by the second.

“I mean, you even react the same way. And your fur, well… it’s different, but there’s something familiar about it too.”

Agni glanced at Roland. Roland stared back. For a long moment, neither moved.

“Woof?”

“…”

Roland didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at his new disciple’s assessment. She wasn’t entirely wrong, but it was clear she had made a mistake in her reasoning. For a moment, he considered going along with it, but there was another problem. Agni’s second form was something she would eventually see if she stayed. It was better to reveal it now.

“Agni, show Millie your other form.”

“Woof?”

“You can eat the crystal after you do it.”

“Woof!?”

Millie looked confused at first, but her eyes soon lit up as Agni began to change. The flaming coat of embers started to fade, and some of the fur was replaced by red gems as his form shifted.

“Oh wow… he… he looks exactly like Amun now… just red. All red!”

Her voice softened as she leaned in and handed Agni the treat, which he instantly devoured in one bite. He stood there in his ruby form, light reflecting off his body. Heat still radiated from him, though not as intensely as before.

“But how can he change like this?”

“Agni is a rare monster. He has two forms that he can switch between freely. His main form is the Sunlight Wolf. The previous one was his divine form, and this is his ruby form.”

“Ohhh…”

Millie listened intently, but just as Roland was about to explain that Agni had actually been Amun all along, she spoke first. It was immediately clear she had reached the wrong conclusion.

“So Agni and Amun were both ruby wolf cubs, right? One became this Sunlight Wolf, and the other became an Alpha Mystical Dire Ruby Wolf, just like Mister Siegfried said. It all makes sense now!”

“Uh…”

Roland’s plan to come clean had been paused. He looked at Agni, and the two exchanged a glance, both unsure how to respond. Millie had already constructed a convincing explanation in her mind, and he found himself reluctant to unravel it.

“Y-yeah, that’s right, let’s go with that... You figured it out all by yourself. Great work, my apprentice.”

Millie smiled and stood up straighter, clearly proud of her deduction. Roland, however, was not in the mood to explain everything and waste more time. He would tell her eventually. Or perhaps this was for the best. There were spells and concoctions that could reveal the truth, after all. For now, it seemed wiser to keep his new apprentice in the dark, at least until he was certain she could be trusted with all his secrets.

“Enough about Agni. We are not here to study wolves. Let me give you a tour of this facility. You will be learning a lot here.”

“Worf?”

Agni did not seem pleased at being dismissed by Roland, but the moment Millie reached down to pat his head again, his mood improved instantly. His tail began wagging once more, slower this time, as if he were trying to appear more dignified in front of the new arrival.

“Come along.”

Roland turned and gestured toward the building that had once been a simple shack outside his home. Inside, Bernir was already at work, and when he saw them approaching, he gave a wave.

“G’morning, boss and lassy.”

“This is Master Bernir’s private workshop. If you feel lost, you can ask him to guide you, but try not to interrupt him.”

“Of course, Master!”

“Boss… can you stop with that? It’s giving me goosebumps.”

“No can do, Master Bernir.”

Roland smiled faintly as he teased his assistant. The boy named Jorg was there as well, helping his current master manage the materials. Since Bernir’s new class relied on specific materials to gain the proper soul buffs, they were carefully organizing everything before beginning their experiments.

“You can reach my workshop through here, but we will be using the elevator instead. Follow me.”

“An… elli…vator?”

Roland smiled at the mispronunciation but did not correct her. He simply motioned for her to follow. Millie’s eyes darted around Bernir’s smithy, taking in every detail, until Roland had to call out to her again.

“Millie?”

“Ah… sorry, Master, I’m coming!”

She hurried after him, nearly tripping over her own feet as she tore her gaze away from the neatly stacked ingots and labeled crates.

“So this is it?”

“Yes. Let’s go in.”

She jumped slightly when the door slid open and only stepped inside after Roland did. The subtle movement of the elevator made her feet unsteady. After a brief silence, the doors opened again, and Millie’s eyes widened with wonder.

“This is…”

“This will be your private workstation, so get used to it, Millie.”

What lay before her was something Roland had not had much time to prepare. It had once been nothing more than a storage space for unused items. Now it had been transformed into what would likely become Millie’s own workplace, where she would learn her new skills and begin her journey into runic craftsmanship.