Lucky Moon Slices
“Yeah. The order is probably the Elf King first. Lepanon is a demon whose specialty is interfering with the mind, after all. He likely used the Elf King’s body and the power of the **Seal of the Forest** to meddle with the World Tree.”
Belianus’s face, jaw clenched, turned ashen pale as if he’d seen a grim reaper.
“You damned bastard!”
The usually calm Belianus finally let out his fury.
It was no wonder.
A man who had fought demons with his very life for his entire existence had almost lost his countrymen and children.
On top of that, his lord had already fallen.
To him, demons were no worse than the worst enemies imaginable.
‘Of course his blood should be boiling.’
Jeffrey and Elin calmed the fuming Belianus.
“Oh my! Please calm down, Lord Belianus!”
Rune handed the task of soothing him over to Jeffrey and Elin and fell into thought.
‘Even in the Five Elements, wood originally meant growth.’
Rune recalled the memories of the **Wood** attribute.
The World Tree had grown enormous and sent out strong pulses of power to withstand demonic energy.
Unfortunately, it had probably been used by the demons this time.
‘If Christina knew about this, she’d be furious.’
‘It might even summon a demon.’
That alone was enough danger.
As a dragon, she would naturally have taken Rune with her.
Perdikion seemed to think the same, for he looked at Rune.
“Rune, can you handle it? If Christina-sama knew about this situation, she’d immediately order you to return.”
Rune nodded and replied.
“I think we can still observe the situation a little longer. I don’t believe the demon’s true form has been summoned.”
“Understood. But remember that it’s very likely the Elf King has accepted the demon’s contract. In that case, move immediately to the location connected to the Water Lair.”
If the demon’s true form had been summoned, the signs should have already appeared across the land.
Rune, with his excellent ability to read mana, would not have missed any of them.
Perdikion had only mentioned returning once and hadn’t claimed they had to leave right away.
‘If it’s to the level of summoning the true form, things will become big.’
Demons defeated could not appear on the continent without a contract.
To emerge from the Demon Realm after being driven out, they needed ‘permission and a price.’
The permission of those living on the continent.
The price they would pay instead of manifesting on the continent.
And few possessed the **Contractor** talent required to make such a contract and summon demons.
The ones who couldn’t step foot carelessly on the continent had no choice but to go through the tedious process to finally show themselves.
There was one thing that still nagged at Rune.
That was the demon’s arm.
‘If that’s a remnant of Lepanon’s true form left behind from the war……’
He had to be cautious. Rune lightly covered his mouth with his hand.
Perdikion, seeing that, frowned and spoke up.
“Are you not thinking something reckless…?”
“Reckless?”
Rune took his hand from his lips and asked back.
Perdikion’s eyes of the Fire Dragon clan collided strongly with his.
“Like seeking revenge against those who harmed your clan.”
Rune was not tied directly to any demon, so becoming an avatar of revenge was not possible.
Rune shook his head.
“I don’t have that kind of heart.”
“Is that true?”
“Yeah. I’m not foolish enough to do anything reckless.”
Perdikion looked doubtful. Rune just shrugged his shoulders.
At that moment, Belianus muttered wearily.
“Even the future successor who would have known it was a foolish act… I wonder why His Majesty left this situation as it was.”
A dry hand brushed his face.
Rune reminded Belianus of the thing that had always bothered him.
“Belianus, I know you don’t want to deny the feelings that brought you here as king. But think about the recent events and what we saw with our own eyes. Is that the scene the Elf King created?”
“!”
Belianus could not refute it.
His father, agonizing over whether to kill his son honorably.
His daughter nearly dying before reaching the age of blooming.
His fellow countrymen rotting, filled with distrust and unease.
His countrymen suffering under the demonic whispers.
He suddenly felt drained and sat down heavily on his chair.
“Your Majesty……”
Belianus grabbed his gray-brown hair with the hand that had covered his face. The sight of a man who had lost the king he had served looked as fragile as a withered leaf.
‘He must be having a complicated time.’
It seemed he needed time to accept it.
But if he stayed bound to the past, he could not respond to the changing future.
Rune told him something he already knew.
“The former Elf King might have been great. But, Belianus, can you entrust the future of the elves to a king who is willing to abandon their lives?”
“……”
The elves who would live in the future.
Among them were Belianus’s own son and daughter.
Rune stepped closer and patted Belianus’s shoulder twice.
“That is right.”
After exhaling a long breath, Belianus nodded in agreement.
He seemed to need a moment to organize his thoughts.
Rune noticed that Belianus had already made his decision.
The face of a lord who cherished and devoted himself to the elves was there.
“If you want to organize your thoughts, there’s some time. I have something to do anyway.”
“It seems you’ve come up with something else again.”
Instead of answering, Rune gave a faint smile.
He left Belianus behind and called Heungmi and Perdikion.
Jeffrey and Elin, standing helplessly, were included as well.
As they were summoned, Jeffrey still looked uncertain.
“This is troublesome. What should we do?”
“Yeah. We elves who have only cooked all our lives—would we even be useful?”
“What nonsense? Right now, the task is an enormous help.”
At Rune’s words, Jeffrey and Elin rolled their eyes in embarrassment.
Rune assigned them tasks.
“I’ll bring the items from the storage that still have the power of the World Tree. And watch how I demonstrate and make them. And Heungmi.”
“Yes!”
“Through the instant noodles I attached to the soldiers we met earlier, have them come down here.”
“Yes, sir!”
Heungmi, answering energetically, clenched the ruby pendant in one hand and began communicating with the fire spirits and instant noodles.
When Heungmi brought the soldiers using the fire spirits.
The rest of the party was creating something strange using the ingredients Rune had chosen.
“Add one white pearl to this medicine. Insert this sandalwood board in the middle. Spread the herbs and layer the mixed dough, then simmer it thoroughly like this?”
Elin moved her hands skillfully and closed the pot lid.
As she checked with Rune, he poured the medicine into the dough and confirmed the texture.
“Yeah. Then we’ll get a chewy snack with that texture.”
“Oh my, how amazing. There are so many kinds of food. Is it a food trend spreading in the human world these days?”
Since drinking wine was difficult for many, Rune made snacks with ingredients that gave off the power of the World Tree.
It was a steamed dish using diluted medicine with Baekya’s tears.
‘This way, the demonic energy will be removed and the healing effect of the medicine will be felt as well. Killing two birds with one stone.’
Once the steam vanished, a glossy crescent shape emerged.
Jeffrey from the side picked up the finished one.
“It’s delicious. It seems sweet because I added honey.”
Jeffrey naturally stuffed it into his mouth and nodded in satisfaction while making **chomp chomp** sounds.
“Take it and lay it on the tray! If we eat it quickly, how will we share it?!”
While Elin scolded Jeffrey, Heungmi looked at Rune in wonder.
“Lord Rune, what is this called?”
For the innocent Heungmi, Rune wondered what to answer.
In appearance, it resembled dumplings or tangyuan.
But the ingredients inside were mostly familiar to elves, such as cheese, fruit, or nuts.
‘He probably doesn’t know the concept of **tteok**.
While pondering, Rune simply said what he saw.
“I’ll call it **Lucky Moon Slice**.”
“Now that you mention it, it looks similar to the crescent-shaped lanterns the dwarves made.”
Heungmi smiled brightly.
Elin and Jeffrey, hearing the name, also chuckled.
“Right. So these can help those weirdos we used to see snap out of it?”
Elin spoke cheerfully, and Jeffrey crossed his arms and continued energetically.
“Good, good. I wondered why you had hollow eyes even when feeding you. You can help them recover.”
“Yes. I thought you’d have to slap them with a frying pan again this time. Unfortunately, everyone was already infected.”
“Exactly. It’s fortunate we’re wine lovers.”
“Hehe! I never imagined I’d feel it was good that I met you as a drinking buddy and married.”
“Even without alcohol, I’m originally attractive!”
“Yes, yes~ Poor Jeffrey.”
It looked like they were teasing each other, yet they were a couple whose rhythm matched perfectly.
Watching their appearance, Belianus’s eyes regained their light.
The sight of an ordinary cooking couple was exactly the scene he wanted to protect.
No, he wanted the peaceful daily lives of all elves.
Belianus rose from his seat and said to Rune.
“Now it’s fine. Sorry for keeping you waiting.”
Rune shook his head, saying there was no need to apologize.
If what you believed in suddenly changed, everyone needed a little time.
The important thing was simply how quickly they adapted to the situation and handled it.
‘It was amazing that he had time to calm himself while I explained the snack recipe.’
Rune looked at Belianus.
“Have you decided?”
Belianus nodded with a serious expression.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Rune put the finished crescent snacks into his spatial pocket.
He then gave instructions to the remaining elves who began making the next batch.
“The wine from the warehouse has extra healing effects with the treasure I possess. Distribute that as the base, but for those who can’t drink alcohol at all, share the **Lucky Moon Slice** snacks.”
In addition to the precautions, Rune shared information about each floor.
The soldiers and the cooking couple opened their mouths in surprise at the story that elves had been turned into demons and imprisoned underground.
“We’ll understand. Trust us, you clever little one. Only believe us!”
Elin clenched her fist energetically and thumped her chest.
Next, Jeffrey lightly clenched his fist and put it to his mouth, clearing his throat.
“Hem! We can’t just back down. If they get affected, there’s no way we’ll survive either. Right?”
“That’s right! I think it’s time we fulfilled our duty as security guards!”
They encouraged each other.
From now on, the task was an important role: healing the elves who had been consumed by the demons.
‘It’s the moment when people who aren’t great heroes save their own kind.’
Spirit dancers or druids. Elves in ordinary jobs who weren’t mages moved to save their fellow elves right before their eyes.
Rune guessed that this moment would become legendary in the future of the elves.