18 Conte's Heir

Chapter 18 Conte's Heir Conte's heir?" said Peanut. "What do you mean?" "Ever since we first met in that cosy old bunker," said Mrs M, "and you showed me Pencil Number One, Little Tail as you call it, I've wondered how it came to be in your father's possession. The world's first pencil, hand-crafted by the great Nicolas-Jacques Conté himself. An almost mythological object. And you found it at the bottom of a box full of Post-it notes. Just incredible." "It really is," agreed her husband. "Children, you do realise that this pencil is legendary in Chroma, don't you? And, as such, there have always been lots of stories associated with it. Fairy tales, I suppose you'd call them." "My parents would tell me them at bedtime," said Mrs M,

第十八章 孔特的继承人 “孔特的继承人？”小花生说道。 “你这话是什么意思？” “自从我们第一次在那间舒适的旧地堡见面，”M太太说，“你给我看了那支一号铅笔，就是你叫它‘小尾巴’的那支，我就一直好奇它怎么会落到你爸爸手里。 这可是世界上第一支铅笔，由伟大的尼古拉斯-雅克·孔特亲手打造。 几乎可以说是一件神物。 结果你在装满便利贴的盒子底找到了它。 太不可思议了。” “确实太不可思议了。”她的丈夫赞同道。 “孩子们，你们应该知道这支铅笔在克罗玛是传奇，对不对？ 也正因为如此，一直有很多和它相关的故事。 说起来，你们大概会把这些故事叫做童话。” “我小时候睡觉前，我爸妈就会给我讲这些故事。”M太太说道，

her cheeks reddening. "One night, the pencil might turn into a sword used to fight dragons. The next, a powerful oar to row across vast oceans. Then, it would be a magic wand to battle wizards A pencil is a wand," said Peanut. Any pencil. I've always thought that. Every single one has magic inside it." "But this one, as you know, has actual magic inside it. And a very special kind of magic too," said Mrs M. "Nobody was ever really sure what form that magic took, hence all the wildly varying stories, but now we know." She was smiling and shaking her head in disbelief. "Now we actually know. "It was also said," added Mr M, "that when Conté himself wielded the pencil, it became even more powerful. It unleashed a creative force so potent that it could paint the heavens with rainbows and fill the oceans with colour. One of my favourite stories tells how Conté painted the entire Spire just by pointing Pencil Number One at it. Ribbons and ribbons of beautiful kaleidoscopic colour just poured from the tip, apparently. "Oh, how I wish you children could have seen the tower before it was whitewashed by You Know Who," said Mrs M. "It was the most beautiful sight." "Legend has it," said Mr M, "that as the pencil was handed down from generation to generation, Conté's heirs inherited his power. And that when they came of age and used Little Tail, incredible things would also happen.

她的脸颊微微泛红。 “有天晚上，这支铅笔会变成斩龙的宝剑。 转天，它又变成能划过大洋的结实船桨。 再之后，它会变成对抗巫师的魔杖。铅笔本来就是魔杖呀。”小花生说道。 任何一支铅笔都是。 我一直都是这么想的。 每一支铅笔里都藏着魔法。” “但这支呢，你们也知道，它里面可是真的有魔法。 而且还是一种非常特别的魔法。”M太太说道。 从前没人说得准这魔法到底是什么样子，所以才会有那么多五花八门的故事，不过现在我们知道了。” 她微笑着，难以置信地摇着头。 “现在我们真的知道了。 “还有人说，”M先生补充道，“当孔特亲自拿起这支铅笔的时候，它的力量会变得更强大。 它能释放出超强的创造力，强到可以在天空画出彩虹，给整片海洋染上颜色。 我最喜欢的一个故事说，孔特只需要用一号铅笔一指，就能给整座尖塔涂上颜色。 据说，一束束万花筒般美丽的色彩，会从笔尖源源不断地涌出来。 “哦，我多希望你们这些孩子能亲眼看看那座塔，在它被那个你知道 是谁刷白之前啊。”M太太说道。 “那曾经是全世界最美的景色。” “传说啊，”M先生说道，“这支铅笔一代代传下去，孔特的继承人会继承他的力量。 等到继承人成年后拿起‘小尾巴’，同样会发生不可思议的事情。

"Hang on! Why has it passed into legend?" said Rockwell. "Surely there is some evidence of this stuff happening?" "Not really. In fact there is no official record of the pencil's existence at all. Also, back in Conté's day, family records tended to be much sketchier than they are now, and the truth is that over the centuries we have lost track of his descendants." "Which is why we're so curious to know how it came to be in your dad's possession," said Mrs M. "It could very well be that he is distantly related to Conté. Which could potentially make him..." "Conté's heir," said Peanut. "We think White might have realised that, once he saw you with the pencil," said Mrs M. And one thing's for sure. He will not want your dad getting hold of it. Just in case our suspicions are correct. "Too right!" said Mr M. "If your dad is Conté's heir, and the legends are to be believed, his wielding of Pencil Number One could undo all of White's efforts to destroy Chroma in one fell swoop!" GMRS MARKMAKER! MR MARKMAKER!" A heavily muscled man, with long blond hair, wearing a Viking helmet and a huge spiky shoulder guard, suddenly burst into the Map Room. "THE PRIMARY IS ON THE MOVE!"

“等一下！ 为什么这件事会变成传说呢？”罗克韦尔说道。 “总该会有这些事发生过的证据吧？” “其实没有。 事实上，根本没有任何官方记录证明这支铅笔存在过。 而且，在孔特生活的年代，家族记录本来就比现在零散得多，实际上几个世纪过去，我们早就找不到他后代的踪迹了。” “这就是为什么我们这么好奇，它怎么会落到你爸爸手里。”M太太说道。 “他很有可能是孔特的远亲。 那这么说来，他很有可能就是……” “孔特的继承人。”小花生说道。 “我们觉得怀特看到你拿着这支铅笔，肯定也想到了这一点。”M太太说道。 而且有一件事可以肯定。 他绝对不想让你爸爸拿到这支铅笔。 就怕我们的猜测是对的。 “没错！”M先生说道。 “要是你爸爸真的是孔特的继承人，传说也都是真的，那他拿起一号铅笔，一下子就能毁掉怀特摧毁克罗玛的全部计划！” 马克梅克探员！ “马克梅克先生！” 一个肌肉结实、留着金色长发，戴着维京头盔、披着带尖刺宽肩甲的男人，突然闯进了地图室。 “元首开始行动了！”

"Oh! Right!" said Mr M. "Er. thank you, Agent Odin the Stormbreaker. This is it! Quick! Let's go, Millicent. Peanut, Rockwell, Little-Bit, sit tight. We will be back as soon as we can. Whatever you do, don't leave the Bunker! We need to keep you safe. Doodle?" He looked at the dog still sitting on Little-Bit's lap. "You're in charge, OK?" Doodle woofed his acknowledgement and whacked his tail. "See you soon, dears," said Mrs M, standing up and following her husband as he hurried out of the room. "So sorry about this. Urgent Resistance business!" Once the sound of footsteps running up the stairs had died down, Peanut spoke to the others. Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?" "That depends," said Rockwell. Are you thinking of staying exactly where we are, having another cup of tea and maybe playing a nice game of I-Spy?" "No," said Peanut as she hid her sports bag under the table. "I'm thinking that we follow Mr and Mrs M. I want to see what's going on. The Resistance might need our help." "In that case, I'm not thinking what you're thinking," said Rockwell. "You heard what they said, it's not safe for us out there." "Rocky, don't be such a baby," said a gleeful Little-Bit. "Where's your sense of adventure?"

“哦！对了！”M先生说，“呃，谢谢你，雷霆终结者奥丁探员。 就看这一回了！ 快！ 我们走，米莉森特。 小花生、罗克韦尔、小点点，你们乖乖待着。 我们会尽快回来的。 无论发生什么，都别离开地堡！ 我们得保证你们的安全。 杜豆？ 他看向那只还趴在小点点腿上的狗狗。 “这里交给你负责，好吗？” 杜豆汪了一声回应，还使劲甩了甩尾巴。 “一会儿见，亲爱的们。”M太太一边说，一边站起来跟着丈夫匆匆走出了房间。 “真不好意思， 抵抗组织有紧急事务！” 等到跑上楼梯的脚步声渐渐消失，小花生对其他人开口了。 你们是不是和我想的一样？ “那要看你想的是什么。”罗克韦尔说道。 你想的是我们乖乖待在这里，再喝杯茶，说不定玩一局猜物游戏对不对？” “不对。”小花生一边说，一边把运动包藏到桌子底下。 “我想的是我们跟着M先生和M太太出去，我想看看到底出了什么事。 抵抗组织说不定需要我们帮忙。” “这样的话，我想的就和你不一样。”罗克韦尔说道。 “你也听到他们说了，外面对我们来说不安全。” “罗基，别这么胆小啦。”兴高采烈的小点点说道。 你的冒险精神哪去啦？”