That Was...
A middle-aged elf's voice sounded somewhat weary yet surprisingly relaxed.
Rune and Perdikion followed Belianus inside.
Aquir lay on the bed, occasionally shifting his body as if lost in nightmares, muttering something.
"Have a seat here."
Belianus led them to a small table and set out a small chair.
Amid his son's groans, Belianus remained silent for a moment.
"First, thank you. You kept your promise."
It was a mature greeting.
The words that followed were quite sharp.
"You are hatchlings, are you not?"
"..."
Since neither Rune nor Perdikion answered, the dry, old Belianus slowly nodded.
"It seems I was right. If you were full-grown dragons, I would have expected a different reaction. I thought you were mere playful dragons in child form. Truly a rare sight."
"If I reveal it..."
"I won't."
Before Perdikion could finish, Belianus shook his head in refusal.
"Whether it is to save my son or because they are my blood—please, do not harm them. Sincerely."
Belianus's gaze turned to Rune.
Though he had said "you," Rune suspected the influence of the chest was at play.
"Shall we sit, have some tea, and talk? A messenger is coming from the palace tomorrow, but due to lingering effects, I will delay it further."
"Sure."
As Belianus left the room to issue an order, Perdikion glared at Rune.
"What were you thinking, doing something so dangerous? You could have carried him first and then retrieved the chest."
"In terms of sequence, that seemed right to me. Once I lost the strength to resist and absorbed the mana to remove the danger, then moved the body—it was safer."
"..."
If he had only thought it through calmly, he would have realized.
If, as Perdikion said, he had moved while exhausted and collapsed, and someone attacked, things would have gone much worse.
Perdikion's small dragon-kin face, deeply furrowed, brushed his hair back as if the situation displeased him.
"Annoying."
It was likely directed at himself or the situation that had gone against his will.
In the end, since he could not deny Rune's words, Perdikion waited for his anger to subside.
"This time I had no choice, but next time use a safer method. As I've said many times, you try to solve everything alone. I will cooperate to the best of my ability, and the others will surely help you too."
"Yeah, I know."
Ron's eyes sparkled subtly.
In truth, there was already one better way even if Perdikion had not stepped in.
Knowing that, Rune suppressed the laughter that was about to burst forth and spoke up.
"Speaking of which... there is indeed a good method. My brother will need to help a bit."
"What? If there's a method, why didn't you say so sooner? What is it?"
Seeing Perdikion brighten, Rune looked at him through a hazy gaze, as if watching a fish caught in a net.
"That was... "
At that exact moment, a knock sounded and the door opened once more. Belianus entered carrying a tray.
"I've kept you waiting."
The moment he stepped in, a sweet chocolate scent filled the air.
He set the tray on the small table. Dense hot chocolate, warm and sweet fruit tea, and fluffy hot milk appeared.
"If you'd prefer other tea, I will bring it. As I was also in a hurry, I assumed children would naturally like such things."
It was a bittersweet smile.
Rune figured it must be the drinks the children—Bella and Aquir—liked.
"What will you drink, brother?"
"I'll have this. Lemon tea."
"Then I'll have hot chocolate."
The fluffy hot milk was taken by Belianus.
The tense atmosphere of the day melted softly into the teatime.
"I should have spent time with the children like this more often. I only realized it too late, but thanks to you, we were not too late. I am truly grateful."
Perdikion looked as if he wanted to get straight to the point right away.
However, after sipping his tea and finding some calm, he drank the lemon tea quietly without disturbing Belianus's mood.
"Of course, if something unholy had happened... who knows? It's difficult to imagine now. In the end, it probably did not end well."
A dark shadow fell over his eyes. For an instant, his silver gaze shone cold and metallic.
In the red dragon-kin boy's eyes that met that gaze, there was no trembling.
"Both cases are the same."
"Heh heh..."
If one compared the two cases, the son of an elf chancellor being harmed was less dangerous than the only successor of the Black Dragons being harmed.
'So, it can't possibly happen.'
Rune was already frustrated after experiencing the chest's effects several times on Perdikion.
Actually, Perdikion, who had received the chest's effect, had almost no memory of it.
He had simply smelled a good scent, felt at ease, and felt good. That was all he remembered. The rest—the detailed explanations about the auer—had completely vanished.
'To think that a person who would draw a sword over something more precious than his own life is so easy to deal with.'
As an elf of the noble forest clan, it is not to say he is merciless.
At least, to Rune, Belianus seemed to have genuine family affection.
'Perhaps it is a personal change of heart after his children fell ill.'
Rune mulled over the fact that he had never had time with his children during the tea break.
In reality, his prediction was correct—before this incident, Belianus, like an elf, had prioritized other values over family.
'Somehow, it feels as if he is comparing me and Perdikion to his own children.'
The thought that surfaced felt strangely out of place. Rune pushed it aside, thinking it might be due to his feelings.
Belianus, who had been silently watching Rune, took a sip of milk.
A soft clink, and the cup was placed on the table.
"The words I said about helping you obtain water at mealtime have not changed?"
"Yeah."
The elf nodded a couple of times and exhaled a soft breath mixed with the milk.
"You have treated my children and given the most necessary water to the other elves. Though you are young hatchlings, I do not think you would do those things out of mere goodwill. Nor can you."
It was righteous.
Belianus's silver gaze turned to the side where Perdikion sat.
"Seeing the successor of the dragon-kin act as you did, I know you understood and accepted the risk of treating my son's injury. Before handing me the chest, you even warned me there would be a price."
A serious tone and gaze. Years of experience were evident.
Unlike the desperate, wide-eyed struggle in the basement where he had grabbed Perdikion's ankle, it was firm yet gentle without a single crack.
"The Dark Successor has the right to demand such a price. If there is anything you desire, speak freely. I will help to the best of my ability."
Rune took a sip of hot chocolate.
The rich, sweet taste warmed his throat.
"What I want is the 'Seal of the Forest' that the Elf King received from Rand. And finally, I intend to use that seal to revive the elves' sacred tree—the World Tree."
This was something Perdikion also knew.
He probably did not know what came next.
"And, though I would not have wanted it, I want to help Rand live the life he truly desires."
"...?"
"...?"
Anyone listening would have thought it was a dream from his young age.
It was none of the ordinary things one would say.
"I may have misheard. Your ears deceive you."
Perdikion then looked at Rune with the expression of "well, well, that explains it."
"I can't figure out what's going on in your head, little brother."
"It's nothing special. Just that there was once a guy who owed me in the Green clan."
Thanks to Christina, Perdikion already knew about Rune's childhood struggles after eating the mandragora.
His blunt face looked as if he had plenty to say, but he did not seem inclined to bring it up.
In the end, Perdikion sighed once, crossed his arms, and leaned back in his chair.
Belianus, who recognized that as a sign he no longer wanted to be interrupted, briefly looked into the distance.
"The Elf King—hmm. Honestly, he is greatly respected by all our elves. The reason is simple: he acts solely for the elves. Therefore, you may clash with him."
"Why?"
"It is a somewhat sensitive matter. The reason the elves have been able to survive and endure this long is because the Elf King is using the authority of the 'Seal of the Forest' for the elves. Do not misunderstand this. It was Rand, the dragon, who gave it away himself. You are dragons, so is Rand not also a dragon?"
"...I know."
Aware of the displeased tone in Perdikion's affirmation, Belianus added his explanation.
"As an elf, I cannot fully understand the minds of dragons. However, from what I can guess... For the sake of the princess he married, he made that oath. He must have thought that even that vow was necessary to protect something inside him."
The tea was slowly cooling.
His voice, neither fast nor slow, continued calmly with the cooling tea.
"I can only guess that Rand, as a dragon, cherished his pride greatly."
"Pride? What pride? The guy is already dead."
In the end, Perdikion spoke outright and sighed, then downed the remaining tea in one gulp.
After listening to the entire story, Rune nodded.
"I will remember that. But even with the Elf King using the 'Seal of the Forest,' it is not just maintaining—it's worsening, isn't it?"
"Yes. If it continues like this, we can only endure a little longer with the Seal of the Forest. In the end, the other elves will also face the same... end as my son."
The elf's voice trembled as he spoke of the elves' extinction.
It was not simply extinction.
It was a miserable end where all elves would turn into demons.
"If there is a way to stop it?"
"How can there be? I, too, earnestly wish for the survival of the elf race, but it is impossible for the outlook to be this dark."
A faint moonlight shone in Belianus's murky silver eyes.
It looked particularly sharp and ominous.
In contrast, a subtle smile appeared in the boy's bright, clear ruby eyes.
"Belianus. Before the messenger arrives at the palace tomorrow, take me to a place with water. I will remove the mana and provide clean drinking water. That will serve as proof that we have the power to solve the elves' problems."
Belianus, having listened, fell into thought and remained silent for a moment.
Rune waited while he organized his thoughts.
'The water of the Elf Kingdom mostly comes from the non-wilting World Tree. That water influences the plants, trees, food, clothing, and living quarters. Therefore, simply changing the water will give me a basis to oppose the mana.'
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