The Candy House
Amelia had received permission from Christina to stay with the water tribe.
“N-no, can I sleep here…?”
“Waaaah! Unnie, you’re coming to sleep with me too!”
“Pyow!”
The one who was the most excited was Heungmi.
And Baekya was not far behind her in enthusiasm.
Perdikion remained unshaken by their excitement and delivered a single sharp warning.
“You won’t be slacking on your training just to play, right?”
Then, as if seeking agreement, he looked at Rune.
Rune considered for a moment.
‘There’s no need to side with either of them. In a situation like this…’
With that thought in mind, Rune proposed.
“We can study and play. Everyone can come to my room.”
“Ah, Rune’s… room? You have a separate one?”
“Yeah.”
Rune answered.
“Before that, there’s a place I want you to see. I’ve been working on it… but it’ll help with your studies too.”
“A place like that existed?”
Rune nodded slightly.
This time, Perdikion was quite eager.
“Show us the way.”
And following Rune’s lead, the group moved in a big group.
“It’s so amazing… even Rune’s room… you can go there… of course, the place we’re going now is…”
She was marveling while gasping.
‘Right, since I’ve never been to a place where other hatchlings live.’
Rune, understanding her situation, explained in more detail.
“It’s similar to a regular room. But the relics of the black dragons are a bit dangerous, so don’t touch them too closely.”
At that, Heungmi poked her head out.
“Heungmi did too! We planted tons of roses there!”
“Ah… Heungmi’s going there with us too?”
Amelia asked.
Rune answered.
“My familiars are all there. Jed just got his own forge recently.”
“I see…”
Amelia nodded.
Seeing her look eager to ask more, Perdikion spoke up.
“It’ll be easy to plan how to build the lair in the future. You’re doing great, Rune.”
At those words, Rune agreed.
“That’s right. I’ll have my own lair too, like Amelia or brother.”
It was still early, but after a couple of sleep periods, the time for thinking about an independent lair would come.
Of course, from Rune’s perspective, there was no rush.
‘Since it’s Christina’s grand lair, no one can touch it. It’s the safest place and perfect for growing stronger.’
However, he would still have to visit the lair originally owned by the dark tribe.
That would be possible only after he grew.
‘Come to think of it, my lair in my previous life was quite barren.’
Rune recalled the island he had lived on in his previous life.
An island where the sound of crashing waves was like a lullaby. It was impossible to find even a single blade of grass.
A place where not even a passing seagull was hard to spot.
The nine-tailed fox spirit, Baekmi, who often visited him, used to scold him like a nagging mother.
“It’s too barren! Way too barren! How is this comfortable? The magpie taking your teeth can’t even come here!”
In frustration, the white Baekmi would shake her nine fluffy tails vigorously.
And one day, she brought something and told him to sell it as a gift.
‘How long had I lived? Those ornaments wouldn’t last long anyway.’
So…
After that, he often brought long-lasting treasures.
At first, he thought they were just momentary whims.
But soon she kept bringing them, saying they were new pieces, and Rune was amazed by her persistence.
‘Usually so fidgety and never still, but once something caught her attention, she was impossible to stop.’
Finally, when he said to decorate the cave he lived in, she helped him awkwardly.
And when Baekmi stopped coming because she was busy building a family with a human, Rune gathered those ornaments.
‘And… I buried them together with Baekmi’s grave.’
Thinking of that brought a lump in his throat.
Right now, everyone around him was young and bright. Was that why?
Rune felt a momentary, faint sense of not belonging.
“Rune.”
Tap.
At that moment, Perdikion lightly poked his side with his elbow.
“Why?”
Rune snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the red dragon boy.
Then, without a word, Perdikion frowned and stared at him.
A vague mutter came from the boy’s mouth.
“It feels like he’s about to leave…”
Then he quickly turned his head and continued.
“No. It’s probably just my mood.”
“?”
Before he could ask more, the voices of Heungmi and Amelia talking grew louder.
“Heungmi wants to plant lots of roses everywhere!”
Heungmi was telling Amelia how she lived in the black realm.
‘Come to think of it, roses have been growing a lot lately.’
It was already a rose field, and now it was turning into a rose garden.
Until now, the appearance hadn’t mattered, but after recalling the previous life, showing a field blooming with roses felt oddly bittersweet.
Perhaps because of remembering Baekmi.
Since she loved roses so much, Rune thought a garden that Heungmi could enjoy would be nice.
‘… I’ll have to keep that in mind.’
Of course, when that day would come was something he would have to wait for.
“Pyow!”
As if announcing arrival, Baekya chirped lightly.
When he opened the sealed door, the sweet, dense fragrance trapped inside burst out all at once.
“Here it is.”
Heungmi and Amelia exclaimed.
“Waaah…! I’ve never seen anything like this before…”
“Wow! It’s amazing!”
Fresh cream donuts topped with strawberry jam swirls.
The door made of chocolate slabs.
The main structure made of lollipops and rainbow-colored cakes.
The Candy House, something only possible in Christina’s lair made of Gold Dragon scales.
‘It’s flashy, but… in short, it’s a snack storage.’
Rune recalled when this place was created.
***
Rune’s cooking and dessert-making skills had improved dramatically.
Christina, who had developed various recipes, had also grown.
When the two worked together, every kind of cake, candy, pudding, and magical food poured out.
“Rune, we really need a separate place to collect snacks.”
Rune nodded in agreement.
“Kyueuk.”
[That’s right. It seems there’s a limit to how much we can store.]
There were already five spatial pockets full.
So the two gathered to seriously plan a place.
Christina’s ability as the owner meant space was not a problem.
But they could not think of a good way to gather all the magical foods at once.
‘How to divide them was the issue.’
Rune spoke first.
“Kyuuuuaa.”
[Like this? Make a big slab and put them in separate slots?]
With his short front paws spread as wide as possible, Rune asked.
Christina tilted her head and smiled.
“Good idea. But since snacks are made, you’ll have to change the slabs again. We could make them very large from the start, though.”
Suddenly, Rune looked at the recent candy craft works he had made.
Sugar vases, flowers, and fruit baskets.
Inside were fruit-flavored candies shaped like apples, oranges, and small milk bottles.
Even this work had begun with Jed’s help, thanks to which a chocolate slab mural, a shiny golden lion, and a beautiful sparkling gem beach like pebbles had been created.
It was still unfinished, but since the continent map was being made, it would be enough for a snack storage room even if it served an entire village.
‘I didn’t think about it when making it, but now that it’s done, disposal is a pain.’
Rune’s mind raced.
‘Gifts? No, those have limits too. Using a storage is one way, but piling up infinitely feels wasteful.’
The items were varied, but since they were all food, there was no place to put them anywhere.
As Rune pondered, he answered Christina.
“Kyu kyu. Kya.”
[Even if we divide the slabs large, there are fountains and statue pieces made of sugar and candy craft. It might be good to divide them one by one.]
With a troubled face, Christina touched her chin with her fingers.
“That’s true. I haven’t thought much about tidying up while living…”
Rune nodded at those words.
It was only once, but he had visited Christina’s treasure vault.
It was full of enormous treasures and relics, yet it was in no way organized.
‘She was careful about cleanliness, but in reality it was basically abandoned.’
Since even one item was precious, with so many things it was like a golden sea.
Without even minimal organization, just piled or stacked haphazardly, it was clear she was not a person who liked to tidy.
Giving space was good, but maintaining and managing it had to match Christina’s personality to some extent.
“Kyu u.”
[Then, see…]
Christina turned to Rune.
Rune felt her gaze and continued.
“Kyu kyu kyu. Kyuu.”
[Since the appearance will be based on the props, how about collecting things that match the theme as if displaying them to someone?]
‘Like an exhibition.’
In an instant, Rune mulled over the idea he had come up with.
At just the right moment, Christina also agreed with Rune’s thought.
“Yes. Even if things from the same storage, if they are put in a way that matches the theme, it will be easy to see what is there.”
“!”
Pop.
Rune’s eyes widened with realization.
“Kyu u.”
[Christina. What about this?]
“Is that a good idea?”
Smiling, she asked.
Rune nodded.
“Kyu u, kyu kyu!”
[Don’t divide or separate, make a single themed space with candy as the subject and put it like decoration. For the ‘night’ room, put moon and star decorations, or make it like a village or dungeon.]
A candy village or dungeon.
Christina blinked and gave a light smile.
“Oh my, Rune, you’re clever.”
Then, Christina gently stroked Rune’s head.
“Children’s imagination is truly wonderful. How impressive.”
The praise was grateful, but the words “childlike imagination” slightly pricked his heart.
‘I was just thinking of the most efficient way. And it turned out like this.’
Thanks to candy craft decorations and test items made for parties, there was a chocolate fountain.
A chocolate fondue decoration with flowing chocolate rivers.
Buildings made of cheese pieces and moon shapes.
Although they were made haphazardly day by day, looking at them now was enough to use as objects to create a single landscape.
And on that day, the space was made immediately and construction began.
***
After the memory, Rune looked at Heungmi and Amelia, who were gazing up at the waterfall of honey falling below the stone wall.
“There are candy fish inside!”
“T-that’s true… how did you make something like this?”
Amelia continued, then looked around more.
Rune felt a satisfied feeling.
‘It’s still unfinished, but it seems pretty fun.’
However, Perdikion did not look pleased at all and frowned.
“Is this really helping, Rune?”
“Of course it is. Look.”
Rune’s hand pointed to the entire landscape.
“For those who have never seen such a landscape, it makes them think about how vast and diverse the world is.”
Perdikion’s eyes flickered subtly.