Please Grant Me Permission!
But Rune wanted to show a dignified side in front of him, so Perdition restrained his impatience as much as possible.
"Normally, one uses telepathy when body-shifting. If you don't know it yet, I'll teach you."
"Ah, that's thanks to Christina."
Rune replied and removed the bracelet to return to his original form.
"Yue."
[It is indeed more comfortable.]
"Kya."
[You should have been honest sooner.]
"Yueu?"
[Did you want to meet me in body-shifted form all along, brother?]
"Kya. Kya."
[Of course.]
Perdition nodded vigorously in response to Rune's question as if it were only natural.
"Kyauk."
[It was simply because of various conveniences and situations that I interacted with you in human form. Perhaps this is truly our true appearance.]
True, even close friends could freely show themselves in pajamas.
Though sworn brothers, Rune thought it had been rather unrestrained between them and let out a light chuckle.
"Yueu."
[That's right. Actually, I use this form because it's convenient for me to speak. Telepathy can only be properly used with those who can handle it.]
"Kya, kya."
[I understand. I, who rule the rare residents the dwarfs, had to use human form despite the inconvenience.]
Moreover, transformation ability was essential for wandering the human world.
"Yueyue. Yuk."
[Actually, I rarely use this form even when Heungmi is around. Right after the first sleep period, Heungmi saw my body-shifted form and rushed over.]
"...Kyak?"
[He rushed... in?]
A servant attacking its master.
The red hatchling's gaze sharpened. Rune gently shook his forepaw to calm him.
"Yueuu."
[So that's what you meant.]
"Kya?"
[Then?]
"Yue."
[It seemed like pure affection and fondness for a creature that had just been born. No one taught it; it was an instinctive action.]
Perdition's brows furrowed, but the story could not continue.
It was because Baekya, perched on Heungmi's head, let out a short squeal and approached them with quick steps.
"Ah?"
"Ppyak?"
Then he perked up his fox ears, sparkled his pink eyes, and stared at the two with a long "Hooo..."
"Wow! Rune-ssi, Perdition-ssi. Both of you are so incredibly cute!"
"..."
"..."
Heungmi's tail swayed.
At any moment, Rune and Perdition exchanged glances with the intention of dashing over.
'Was it this?'
'Yeah.'
Especially Perdition, who had no immunity to the adorable gaze of Heungmi, felt even more flustered.
The overwhelmingly sparkling eyes of Heungmi.
Perdition, feeling burdened, could only glance sideways for somewhere to look.
"Kyak..."
[S-Sorry, brother.]
"Yue?"
Perdition eventually fled back to his polymorph form as a human.
"Yue...?"
'This guy...?'
Even as Rune glared, Perdition maintained his poker face as if he knew nothing.
Left alone as a hatchling, Rune directly met Heungmi's eyes.
"Ah... Perdition-ssi was so cute, now only Rune-ssi remains..."
The gaze looking at Rune was full of longing.
It was as if he was asking, 'Does Rune-ssi also change?'
As Rune subtly squeezed the golden bracelet in his forepaw, Heungmi's expression gradually filled with disappointment.
But Rune did not hesitate.
*Thud.*
After putting on the bracelet, he transformed into human form, and Heungmi's tail and ears drooped.
"Hiing!"
"...There's no need to be that disappointed."
"But..."
Heungmi, looking gloomy, held Baekya in both hands.
"I somehow feel that Rune-ssi’s true appearance is easier to approach. I want to see more of it."
"..."
Thinking about it, the first imprinted form was the hatchling form, so it was understandable.
Even so, ordinarily he would not have paid much attention to appearance.
If it were not for the memory of Baekmi from his past life.
*Perhaps if something happens to me later, please take good care of my little one.*
*Sigh.*
The conflicted Rune secretly removed the bracelet.
"Yueu."
[Done?]
"Waa!"
"Ppyit!"
Boom.
As if glad to see the original form he had not seen in a long time, Heungmi hugged Rune like a large dog and threw a tantrum.
Baekya also joined in the excitement, flying around and chirping.
"Keuk."
Rune's gaze became hazy, and Perdition now looked as if he finally understood everything.
Still, he did not give him body-shifted form together.
***
"Are you all well?"
The next day in the afternoon, Christina returned to the lair.
Her wet hair tied back gleamed especially brightly.
"Yueuu."
[Welcome, Christina. It seems to be raining outside.]
"Hehe. Welcome!"
[( ?'?'? )]
Rune and Heungmi greeted first, and Rai soon flew over and circled around Christina.
Perdition, who had come alone in human form, noticed the moisture on Christina's body.
"Did you deliberately get caught in the rain?"
"Yeah. Only a little in front of the lair. It was so refreshing."
Christina lightly shook off the moisture from her blonde hair.
"I started right after hearing Rune had woken up, but the distance was so far that we arrived later than expected. Thank you for taking care of the children, Pel."
"Since brother contacted me first, I only did what I should as the elder brother."
"Huhu. Yes, it looks nice. Rune, how is your condition?"
"Yue."
[It's fine. By the way, I went to the workshop and tomb of brother Perdition and Jed.]
With a gentle smile, Christina looked at Rune with a kind yet slightly sad expression.
"Yeah... the death of your first servant must be troubling. Are you feeling okay?"
Concern was evident on Christina's face, which had been smiling brightly just moments ago.
Only until Rune blinked and answered.
[Well, actually, Jed died, but he wasn't gone.]
"?"
To Christina's puzzled look, Rune explained the whole story.
When he said that Jed had become an ego weapon on his own, Christina let out a cry of "Oh my...!"
"Then, where is your servant, the ego weapon?"
"Yueu."
[I entrusted it to Dullahan. If I hold it, I might worry Christina.]
Upon hearing this, Christina stroked Rune's slightly wet hair.
"Impressive. Well done, Rune."
"Yue."
[If I casually brought a weapon without thinking, I might not even be able to see Jed.]
Rune recalled how Christina had handled the pearl with a previous spirit.
It was something that, given Jed's personality, he might have been excited about, saying, 'The famous Empress of Light, the Gold Dragon Elder's seal! That's... that might actually be good! Of course, if I really get it, it would be a bit troublesome, but still!'
Christina smiled faintly and turned her body exactly in the direction where Dullahan was.
"Let's see."
"Yue."
Following Rune, who nodded, Heungmi and the others walked in line.
Dullahan stood holding the ego weapon Paralium to avoid interfering with the greeting for Christina.
- A long time since we met, Lady Christina! You are still so beautiful!
"Thank you, Jed. In the end, you did it."
"Yes. Thanks to your concern and advice about the mark! There were many worries, but this Jed is amazing! The vanguard dwarf of the reformers!"
Chuckling, Christina tilted her head slightly.
"I didn't think of that. I thought you might give up if I explained about the mark. But truly, every time I see races exceeding their potential, I can't help but admire."
"Since you understand, I'm happy. But, Christina. In this situation, I have one request..."
The calm tone made Christina's voice calm as well.
"What is the request?"
- I am originally your servant, Rune-ssi, right? But as a hatchling whose performance has become too good, you must have feared it was dangerous. However, I am quite faithful to Rune-ssi, right? I can assure you I won't use it rashly or show my abilities freely! So...
The narrative was long. And because of that, the final words made everyone's eyes wide.
- Please grant me permission to be with Rune-ssi!
"Oh my."
Rune, listening from behind, had a dumbfounded look.
'What kind of pre-nuptial talk is this.'
Perdition, with the same skeptical look, also had an incredulous face.
Soon, he frowned and shook his head as if saying 'crazy guy.'
But Heungmi looked amused by Jed's seriousness and whispered to Baekya.
"Grant permission to Rune-ssi to Heungmi!"
"Ppyak!"
"Ah! Grant permission to Baekya to Heungmi too!"
"Ppyak!"
'Don't do this, you guys.'
Rune's gaze became dim and he looked cold.
"Rune, what do you think?"
While Rune was distracted for a moment, Christina's question came.
'Unexpected. I thought he would say no for sure.'
Not only Rune thought this.
"You are entrusting the ego weapon to Rune? Still, my brother is too young."
"Of course, he is a young hatchling. Actually, I would be more worried if it were up to me. But at the same time, it is the only heir of the Darkness Clan and the affairs of his servant. I must ask Rune's opinion."
"Hoo."
She, who had only treated him as a young hatchling, was saying she would treat Rune as the heir of the Darkness Clan.
After thinking for a moment, Rune shook his head in refusal.
"Oh no! How merciless you are!"
Even though Jed complained, there was nothing he could do.
Christina brightened and asked Perdition.
"Are you really refusing? I thought you might want to use the weapon."
"Yue."
[The owner of the lair, Christina, dislikes it, so there's no need to worry. Instead, I will freely use it when I can.]
And there was a private reason he did not say.
[Even with the Mokoji Stone, I only saw it occasionally, so how do I endure the non-stop chatter right next to me.]
There was no lack of desire to freely handle a high-performance ego weapon.
But he was not in a situation where he had to use a high-performance weapon immediately, and it seemed better to entrust it to Dullahan, who would not be affected by Jed's chatter more than Rune.
Dullahan was also a silent guy who was thrilled to chat alone.
For Rune, it would only be more, never less.
'Anyway, I didn't want to burden Christina with unnecessary worries.'
Rune crossed his arms as if he had no intention of reversing, with his tail swaying slightly.
Perdition conveyed Rune's words to the others.
When they said it was out of respect for the lair's owner, Jed stopped whining.
- What a shame. But if that's the reason, there's nothing we can do. It was interesting to watch them match hands with Dullahan, so please take care! Dullahan, my friend.
Clank! Clank.
Dullahan nodded his head.
'It worked out well.'
Christina used a cleansing magic to dry the moisture on her body and checked if the children had eaten.
It was a peaceful end.