The Black Pearl's Tears and the Sweet Return
Rune nodded firmly, his voice warm with anticipation. “Shall we all go together? Christina will cook something delicious for us.”
Amelia shook her head gently in silence, her expression cautious as she offered her polite refusal. “Th-that’s fine…… My parents are still not feeling well, and I have to guard the Water Lair…… Instead, I mean, but……”
After a brief pause, Amelia spoke again, her voice still hesitant. “Y-yes, is it alright if…… you could ask for one more of those pearls you gave me at the end……?”
There was no need to ask where it would be used. It was obvious she wanted it to care for her still-ailing parents.
Rune nodded without hesitation. “Of course. Baekya.”
“Peep?”
“What’s wrong? Are you crying?”
Baekya blinked rapidly, then let out a soft “Ppiru…… Ppiruru……” and began to shed genuine tears.
“You did well.”
While the others prepared to leave, Rune took his time carefully coating the pearl with Baekya’s tears.
As a reward for the phoenix who had cried so much, Rune gave him the special dish “butter-and-honey roasted potato chips.”
After handing over a large quantity of pearls and the remaining mana-rich food, Amelia’s mouth fell open in utter surprise.
“I, I didn’t know…… you would give us this much.”
“You’re so overthinking it. It’s food infused with mana, so whether you eat it or have the Blue Dragons enjoy it, it will be of great help. I hope you both recover soon.”
“Rune……”
Amelia’s eyes were still slightly swollen and red-rimmed.
Yet her expression seemed satisfied.
Suddenly, Rune recalled the moment the fairy in the black pearl had urged him to claim the deep-sea lair in the name of the Dark Dragon clan.
‘If I had accepted that suggestion and taken the Water Lair, not only would the Water Clan have lost their trust in me, but I probably wouldn’t have obtained the Orb of Water either.’
Thinking the worst, the Water Clan territory itself might have vanished.
It had already reached the point where it could no longer endure the power of the Dark Dragon and had turned its own lair into a cursed dungeon.
Without a doubt, the Water power would have disappeared, leaving only a cursed land corrupted by darkness.
‘Well, the fairy probably assumed I only handled Dark Dragon power and offered that deal out of pure spite.’
Even on simple calculation, suggesting something to a being who mastered all attributes was far more of a loss than a gain.
Losing the Orb of Water and trust.
Gaining the Water Seal only to fail to wield its power properly.
Above all else, Rune had not felt like it at all.
‘It wasn’t something I could do to Amelia.’
That stubborn pride of hers would not have allowed such coercion.
Instead, Rune had chosen to help Amelia become the Water Clan’s Elder and repay the favor.
The innocent blue mermaid had played a decisive role as well.
‘She was truly a reliable one.’
Born in a harsh environment where she was abandoned alone in the deep sea, she had grown with a surprisingly strong will despite the darkness she had to endure.
Amelia denied it, but she was far more resilient than she let on.
‘By granting her the favor, I ensured the next Water Clan Elder would be on my side.’
Moreover, Rune already had a territory in Christina’s Golden Dragon Elder’s lair, the strongest Elder Dragon’s domain.
He already claimed the strongest protection and goodwill that no one could touch.
There was no need to create a lair in the deep sea that required constant management.
If the Water power was truly necessary, he could simply ask Amelia for help whenever required.
‘That way it would benefit both me and the Water Clan, and there would be no need to listen to the fairy’s words.’
Unaware of Rune’s true intentions, Amelia suddenly smiled with a gentle, good-natured expression while hugging a large amount of pearls and food to her chest.
“Y-yes…… We’ll meet again later, Rune.”
“Yep. You too, stay well.”
They exchanged a handshake.
‘Well then, it’s time to grant enlightenment to the sly fairy who tried to trick me.’
A small smirk appeared on Rune’s lips.
He was an expert when it came to dealing with those harboring grudges.
The method to enlighten the enemy had already been decided long ago.
***
As they passed through the passage created by the mana key, a swirling white and round light greeted the group from afar.
[(*´?*)]
Rai floated around, trailing a trail of light as he drew a picture with his tail.
He looked like he was waiting for them, uncertain when they would return.
Perdikion glanced at Rune walking beside him and muttered, “Master Christina must have been very worried.”
“Yeah…… that’s right.”
[?? ?(?ω?)? ??]
Even though they were only a few steps away, Rai seemed to have heard their voices.
Believing he had understood Rune’s true feelings, Rai drew another glowing image.
“Ehehe! Rai! Thank you for the welcome gesture!”
“Ppiyak!”
Baekya and Heungmi reacted instantly, but Rune narrowed his eyes and stared intently.
‘Is that picture supposed to be a greeting?’
Rune could not be certain whether Rai’s drawing counted as an official greeting.
Honestly, it was surprising that Heungmi had caught on immediately.
Listening closely, the image did resemble a dancing figure.
[? _?]
Once the entire group had exited the passage, Rai altered his expression and stared fixedly at Dullahan.
Precisely at the chest plate of the black armor that hid the black pearl.
[? _?+]
No words were needed. It was clear.
Rai felt the presence of the fairy and was clearly displeased.
Rune knew exactly what Rai was after and chose to play along, adding casually, “Have you noticed? Well, of course. Christina’s approval was required before allowing that creature in the lair. We’ll be staying here, so Rai, can you bring Christina back?”
[(￣(?)￣)?]
At Rai’s innocent request, the light spirit left behind a picture instead of replying and vanished.
Immediately afterward, a sharp, anxious voice belonging to a fairy echoed in the air.
[Leaving? Leaving? Me? No?]
“Well, since this isn’t my lair, I can’t say what will happen.”
Rune shrugged with a perfectly natural excuse and raised both hands in surrender.
Although he had answered vaguely, the outcome was already decided anyway.
‘Christina would never accept that creature so easily.’
This was worse than the universal truth that one cannot pull out one’s own nose.
The fairy, who had sensed the ill intentions of this wicked Black Dragon hatchling, erupted in agitation and shouted.
[No, no, you’re lying! Lying! Hatchling is bad! Curse……!]
“Stop spreading low-grade mana in my lair, will you?”
The trembling fairy tried to hurl another insult at Rune but suddenly fell silent.
Christina was exiting the warp portal alongside Rai.
Her expression was gentle, yet there was an underlying feeling that touching her incorrectly could bring disaster.
[He, heeek.]
While Rune remained calm, waving one hand in greeting, the fairy trembled in pure fear.
“Welcome back, Christina.”
“Welcome back, Miss Christina.”
“Please come in. Rune, Perdikion. You’ve all worked hard.”
The golden dragon’s eyes, carrying the warmth of spring and summer sunlight, looked at each of them one by one.
Christina gently stroked Rune’s head and pulled him into a warm hug.
After confirming there were no injuries, she slowly stood up and fixed a cold gaze on Dullahan.
“Then…… Dullahan. Please retrieve that evil thing for me.”
Her voice was soft, yet the meaning behind it left no room for softness.
As if sensing his impending doom, the fairy shouted in panic, [Do not send it! Do not touch it!]
Dullahan lifted the black pearl, examined it briefly, and then handed it over to Christina.
The moment the light mana touched it, the black pearl began to wail and shriek in agony.
[Aaaah! Aaaack! I hate this! Save me! Save me!]
“How noisy…… Children, stop being frightened.”
Rune felt a chill run down his spine at the sound of Christina’s voice.
Although her tone remained gentle, a razor-sharp undercurrent of danger lay beneath it, enough to make even Rune, who possessed keen instincts, tense slightly.
Clank!
In the next instant, Dullahan reached out to stop Christina from crushing the orb, but instead he gently held her wrist.
A heavy silence fell.
No one spoke while their eyes locked in a tense exchange.
“Hohoho, there is no need to be so afraid. Any homeowner would install safety measures, wouldn’t they?”
Her calm and kind words were laced with an unmistakable chill, as if she were ready to draw a blade at any moment.
Christina naturally accepted the orb, then created a thin thread of light mana with her other hand.
She pierced the orb with that needle of pure warmth.
Pfft!
A soft sound followed, then silence.
Only then did Christina smile brightly and hand the orb back to Rune.
“Here, you may keep this orb. Aren’t all of you hungry? I’ve been waiting to prepare something tasty for your return.”
Christina returned the black pearl to Rune exactly as usual, her expression kind and motherly.
Heungmi was the first to raise her hand.
“Yes! Heungmi is starving!”
“Thank you, Christina. I’ve been feeling a bit peckish too.”
It was the perfect moment to lighten the atmosphere, so Rune chimed in as well. “Blackmi is right. Let’s eat.”
Christina turned and cast a movement spell. “Then, please all sort your belongings and head to the reception room.”
[(*´?*)]
Rai swirled around, brushing against Christina’s hair, and vanished together with her movement spell.
Perdikion, who had been frozen in place, finally spoke. “……As expected, she’s terrifying.”
“Yeah……”
Even Rune, who had not seen her expression directly, felt a chill on the back of his neck. He could only imagine how intimidating she must have been.
‘Thank goodness she’s on our side.’
Rune held the orb in his hand and shook it lightly.
No sound emerged. Not even the faintest breath.
‘Dead……?’
Rune’s original plan had been for Christina, who possessed the opposing light attribute to the antagonistic fairy, to enlighten the creature with light power.
Yet now he had no idea whether the pearl was truly dead or still alive.
Just to test, Rune placed the black pearl inside his spatial pocket.
It disappeared smoothly.
Since it was not a living being, it must have been either a remnant state or truly deceased, just like when he had used Leviathan.
‘This is a blessing I did not know I possessed.’
From now on, he decided never to mention it again.
“Rune-nim, let’s eat quickly.”
“Ppiit.”
Fortunately, there was nothing unusual to notice at a glance, so Heungmi chose to let the matter slide lightly.
Moreover, after setting aside all the other complications, Rune had also just completed a grueling mission and was now quite hungry.
“Then, let’s go.”
Perdikion’s silent agreement was obvious.
Dullahan remained behind with the jar containing the Kraken, while the others moved to the reception room.
The moment they stepped inside, the overwhelming scent of spices, barbecue, freshly made jelly, candy, butter cookies, and lemon Earl Grey cookies greeted them, causing them to freeze in amazement.
Especially the sweet aroma wafting from the three-tier chocolate fountain at the center of the table felt like a feast of celebration.
“I’m so excited! Christina-nim is the best!”
“Ppiak!”
Amidst the commotion, Baekya looked at the new cake that resembled him and alternated between checking his own body and the cake.
Heungmi, who had been eyeing the sugar wings decorated with custard cream, suddenly brightened her eyes.
“Please eat as much as you like.”
“Please enjoy. We will eat everything.”
“We’ll eat our fill.”
Rune had already selected the dishes he wanted to taste and placed them on plates for Dullahan.
He then picked up a single custard-filled bun and stared at the face drawn on Heungmi’s side.
“This……”
“Can you tell?”
Christina smiled happily.
**Chapter Title: The Black Pearl's Tears and the Sweet Return**