Ready for the Big Day?
The dragons gathered around the table were already deep into their small wine party.
They were munching on the roasted vegetables and newly added canapés that Ganyush had prepared, chatting away.
Naturally, the children who found it difficult to join the adult table had gravitated together.
By age, Perdikion and Amelia could have sipped wine, but neither wanted to intrude on the adults’ conversation.
Amelia approached Heungmi carefully and greeted her.
“H-Heungmi. You’ve been doing well… right?”
“Hehe. How’ve you been, Amelia unni?”
Amelia’s face relaxed slightly when Heungmi smiled sweetly at her, as if enjoying the playful tone.
“Uh, y-yes. Heungmi’s been great. Your… tail’s grown one more, hasn’t it?”
“That’s right! And I’ll introduce my evolved fire spirits to you too!”
Amelia had quietly moved her seat closer and was already chatting with Heungmi.
Heungmi showed her the upgraded fire spirits she had summoned.
To Amelia, whose aura was heavy with water, the fire spirits looked a bit stiff.
“Y-You’re amazing, Heungmi…! Evolving five spirits into intermediate rank?!”
Amelia praised her with wide eyes, and Heungmi beamed happily.
Rune watched the group and thought to himself.
‘It’s going well. The menu I prepared is being enjoyed, and the wine has put everyone at ease.’
Overall, he had earned the adults’ trust as intended.
Feeling the success, the lingering regret from the wine theft earlier faded away considerably.
At that moment, Heungmi’s sharp ears twitched.
“The young master is being praised for how much he knows about other races’ cultures.”
Heungmi whispered to Rune and Amelia, then added, “And also about Amelia unni’s lessons.”
Rune quietly urged her on.
“Tell us more.”
Despite the different interests, the topic intrigued everyone present.
The three of them leaned in close to Heungmi.
“Eee~ Amelia unni probably comes here five times a week for training!”
“I-I… like it.”
Amelia’s white eyes drifted to Baekya’s fluffy wings for a moment as she answered.
“That’s wonderful. Dragons who are as skilled at human-world education as Christina-nim are rare indeed.”
Perdikion nodded in agreement.
“That’s right.”
Even Rune thought Christina seemed to genuinely like humans.
‘Fair and benevolent dragons toward humans are rarer than one might think.’
With her proven abilities, it wasn’t surprising that even fierce Pasiyas had entrusted his swordsmanship to her.
“I’m… a bit worried… but I also hope it works out. Learning from someone other than Rune… is my first time.”
Rune noticed Amelia’s smile as he asked the question that had been on his mind.
“Speaking of which, you’ve looked like a mermaid since the first time we met. Did you know about the mermaids?”
It was unlikely she had been a mermaid from birth.
That would have meant she had no prior knowledge of the race.
Furthermore, Amelia had received almost no formal teaching, yet she communicated so smoothly.
Amelia lowered her gaze to her plate and answered.
“Um… when I was in the egg… my parents passed down their transmission knowledge to me… I only learned it recently.”
‘Oh? Transmission magic works even inside the egg.’
But it must have been extremely dangerous.
Rune had experienced it himself and knew the pain and shock it caused.
‘It’s someone else’s family matter, but she took quite a risk.’
Rune looked at the dragon parents of the parents who were conversing with Christina.
Amelia hurriedly added, as if realizing she had been seen.
“It’s fine! I was too young to remember clearly… but thanks to that, I somehow learned to speak, read, and even a little magic.”
‘…’
Rune understood the situation had been rough.
Yet the image of a child raised without ever feeling pain or grief, sleeping in a state where even the desire to wake up might never come, haunted him.
‘There’s still so much she needs to learn.’
Just then, the dessert course—salad and fruit—arrived.
Rune calmly picked up a glossy strawberry and placed it in his mouth.
He turned to the visibly tense Amelia.
“I didn’t mean to ask what you wanted to drink. I was just curious. Why choose the mermaids?”
“Uh… well…”
Amelia suddenly looked embarrassed and glanced sideways.
“I… was the very first one to think of it… and hope that passing mermaids wouldn’t discover us… To blend in, matching their appearance would be much better, right?”
She had turned into a mermaid form as a structural signal.
Saying it with a laugh as if she had come up with the idea herself felt strangely sad.
Heungmi, who had been peeling an orange, changed her expression upon hearing it.
“Hehe! Sister, that sounds a bit sad.”
“R-Really? I… think it was a good thing… so don’t cry, Heungmi…”
Even Perdikion, listening, took a long sip of his apple juice with a loud gulp.
Perdikion set his cup down and said,
“When that happens, you must steel yourself even more. If you break weakly, you’ll simply vanish without fulfilling your purpose.”
“That was praise, in his own way.”
Rune explained the young dragon’s words in a small voice.
Despite knowing they had been heard, Perdikion pretended not to notice and grabbed another coffee-flavored peanut.
“Uh… yes.”
Amelia, who had smiled faintly, also picked up a peanut and nibbled on it.
Her expression showed she was quite enjoying the lively yet cozy atmosphere.
‘It’s probably only possible because we’re kids.’
After sufficiently resting, Amelia had come to the Water Lair, cleaned it up a little, and found her place.
Perdikion, who had rarely praised anyone, continued with rare approval.
“Don’t get complacent. You’ve only just reached the same level as others. You still have to keep working toward further growth.”
The relaxed mood made even Jed, who had been silent, quietly join in.
“Perdikion-nim, in situations like this, one should say ‘well done’ instead of always telling us to work hard. It’s exhausting to always push oneself, you know?”
Perdikion snorted.
“Rune, when that arrogant brat grows a body, send him to me. I’ll turn him into a well-behaved kid.”
“Eek! Too scary! Please don’t abandon me again, Master Rune!”
Perdikion’s gaze grew sharp at Jed’s whining.
Rune shook his head inwardly.
‘If I really do send him, what then.’
Even as an ego weapon, his guts had clearly exploded out.
“No. Not giving it. Both of you calm down.”
Rune intervened between the bickering of Jed and Perdikion.
Amelia let out a small giggle.
“Kuhuhu.”
“Piyap?”
The bird, pecking at its fruit, let out a tiny cry as it looked at Amelia.
Rune placed a plate in front of her, the one he had just brought out.
“Stop that and eat this instead.”
Perdikion noticed the snack on the next plate and nodded in approval.
“That’s it. Butter and honey potato chips.”
“Yes. I made them separately so we could eat them together.”
Baked potato slices.
At first glance, they looked like any other dish, but they were perfect for the kids to share.
At that moment, Jed exclaimed happily.
“Wow! These potato chips are the best! I once nearly popped my eyes out eating them because they tasted so good. They became a craze among us dwarves.”
Judging by the sounds of enjoyment coming from Jed, the taste was extraordinary.
“People stared at us enviously while I stuffed my mouth and chewed noisily! I really shone back then!”
With Rune’s help, Jed had joined their group and received these potato chips.
Back then he had eaten them with particular enthusiasm, which explained the stunt he pulled.
‘I could forgive the potato regeneration training, but I never imagined he’d use them like that.’
That kid who had been enjoying life so much now lacked a body—it was tough.
Rune thought he needed to start crafting Jed’s new body immediately.
‘All the materials are ready, so it’s just a matter of building it.’
Hmm… He mentally sketched the design.
It could be done as early as that evening.
‘Still, the kid will probably feel a lot of pain. This… there’s no choice.’
Rune looked at the battle axe Pararium, which was still sulking at the dragons, with pity in his eyes.
‘I’ll let you enjoy it for now.’
He had to enjoy and laugh plenty right now, for the time to come would be like torture.
Rune quietly placed a potato chip in his mouth.
After the meal, Amelia and her family left with the aroma of wine still lingering.
Perdikion decided to supervise Heungmi training the fire spirits.
Baekya followed Heungmi, and Dullahan returned to the Black Room to wait.
Rune told Christina about the plan he had decided on.
“Christina. I’m thinking of creating Jed’s new body today. Can you help?”
“Of course. But are you really sure? Handling the power of the Shadow Clan as a young dragon must be worrying.”
If it were simply swinging darkness around, there would be no issue.
But this task required extremely delicate senses.
Her concern was understandable.
Rune answered calmly.
“It’s just about attaching a will to move as I desire. It’ll be fine.”
With Christina’s blessing spell placed, and a trial version worn for testing, the process would proceed.
‘It won’t be easy, but not impossible.’
That evening, Rune slowly infused mana into the magic circle Christina had prepared.
A platform made of mana stones stood beside him, arranged neatly with phoenix feathers, mana, and required reagents.
Heungmi’s feathers had been plucked, but luckily she had grown them back more easily than expected.
Perdikion and Heungmi, who had come to watch from afar, waited nearby just in case.
Clack! Clack!
Rune gave the signal, and Dullahan carried the battle axe Pararium toward the platform.
Clink! Clink!
Along with the heavy footsteps, Dullahan stared at the horizontally held battle axe.
Jed reassured Dullahan in an excited tone.
“Don’t worry, friend! It’ll be okay! My instincts are pretty good, you know!”
Dullahan’s green eyes glowed at the words.
Having heard something divine, the black-armored knight gripped the weapon handle tightly once more.
Then, with great respect, he lowered the axe onto the platform and stared at Rune.
It looked almost holy.
As if the knight was entrusting his lifelong sword to his young master.
“Qwew.”
[Jed. Ready?]
Rune, reverted to his hatchling form, said.
“Yup! I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long!”
If Jed had eyes, they would have sparkled.