Honest Truth, Rune
Amelia gasped, swallowing hard as her clear eyes widened in shock.
“Ah!”
The bear doll scattered teardrop-shaped stuffing into the air as it flew away.
And then the fluff.
Thud!
It rolled across the ground.
The trembling pink bear doll couldn't even glance back at Amelia, whom it had underestimated.
Rune already knew why a mere flick of her finger packed such devastating power.
‘She's a dragon, and the pressure in the deep sea is dozens of times greater than on land.’
Her true form being a dragon made it easier to endure, but even Rune had felt considerable pressure when he first visited the Water Lair.
Amelia had been born and raised there.
It was as good as having honed superhuman strength from the start.
Despite her delicate appearance, she'd swung her spear freely amid the crushing depths.
“Wh-what do I do...?”
Amelia fidgeted anxiously, her eyes welling up with tears.
“I'm sorry... Rune.”
“It's fine. You don't need to apologize to me.”
‘It was necessary for her to realize what it's like to use her strength on land.’
Fortunately, they were inside Christina's Lair, so she could use her normal strength without issue for now.
But to venture into the human world, Amelia would need to control her power more carefully than usual.
Seeing it as perfect timing, Rune spoke up.
“This isn't your Water Lair. The pressure here is far less, and there's no ocean to restrict your movements. We're tough enough to handle it, but humans probably...”
Rune's gaze shifted to the exploded bear doll.
“...end up like that. Even someone who's trained a bit would only be a tad tougher than that doll.”
“M-me... I'm really that strong?”
“Yeah.”
Amelia, inwardly stunned, asked again, and Rune nodded firmly.
“Ah... Y-yeah, got it...”
She stared down at her own hands, then glanced back at the pink bear doll.
The doll flinched!
Its eyes, as if about to sprout loose threads, quickly looked away upon meeting hers.
Visibly flustered, Amelia mumbled awkwardly.
“Ah... I didn't mean to go that far...”
As Amelia floundered, unsure where to look, Rune pondered inwardly.
‘It's made for combat training, mixed with tough deep-sea monster hide... but it burst so easily in her hands.’
The bear doll did have a soft texture, but this was too fragile.
After some thought, Rune resolved himself.
‘I need to make stronger dolls.’
Perdikion hadn't tested one yet, but the results were already clear.
The first doll had been too busy fleeing Heungmi's fire spirit.
The second had its stuffing blown out by Amelia's flick.
These dolls were meant to help build their abilities, but they were too weak.
‘To make tougher ones, I need stronger materials. That means using teeth from the Tooth Fairy's collection—the really powerful ones.’
‘Monster Bear Milk Teeth’ weren't hard to obtain.
But for something more robust, he'd need teeth from higher-level monsters.
The thought brought another issue to mind.
‘I need to tell Christina properly about the Tooth Fairy.’
He could craft dolls right away using the materials the Tooth Fairy had hoarded.
The problem was the core components: the monster teeth and corpses.
He couldn't hide the finished dolls, and Christina would surely question their origins if she saw them.
Better to explain in advance.
With his decision made, Rune said,
“I'm going to see Christina. Keep an eye on the kids, bro.”
“What's going on?”
To Perdikion's question, Rune gave a casual reply.
“I want to make the dolls tougher. Got some questions.”
To anyone hearing just that, it sounded like he was seeking advice on doll performance.
But Perdikion fixed Rune with a piercing stare, arms crossed.
“You got some scheme again, don't you? If it's something Lady Christina would approve, you'd just make it without asking.”
“...”
‘This guy's sharp.’
He hadn't grasped the full details, but the Red Dragon youth's words hit close to home.
Rune's real goal was permission for more dangerous materials.
Rune replied nonchalantly.
“I promised to make her some dolls too. Thought I'd discuss what kind she'd like while I'm at it.”
Perdikion eyed him like a suspicious character.
But soon, he turned his gaze forward again.
“Fine. Go ahead, I'll watch them.”
“Yeah. See you later.”
Rune briefly explained to Heungmi and Amelia, then left.
Outside, he pulled out the magic stone for contacting Christina and activated it.
Rune? What's the matter?
The image and voice were far clearer and crisper than any mage's crystal orb.
“Where are you? I have something to say.”
I'm in the new Herb Garden I made. Shall I summon you here?
‘Herb Garden?’
Rune felt puzzled.
He'd never heard of a Herb Garden before.
Sure, they grew special magical herbs like mandragora outside the lair.
But after a moment's thought, Rune realized why.
‘She must have gotten some good herb seeds or bulbs from the Elf Kingdom this time.’
The previous incident had clearly opened ties with the elven palace.
“Yeah. I'd love to see it.”
I thought you might. I'll summon you, so end the call and wait.
As he shut off the stone, Rune marveled anew at her abilities.
‘Even inside her lair, casting such advanced magic on the spot like it's nothing.’
Teleporting with companions was high-level magic, but summoning a living being was an even higher tier.
Soon, Christina's warm light mana enveloped Rune's body.
‘How many mages could teleport so stably?’
Feeling at ease in what should be the riskiest, trickiest spell was oddly reassuring.
Before he could open his eyes, warm sunlight bathed his head.
A bittersweet herbal scent and earthy aroma tickled his nose.
The air brushing his skin carried the fresh scent of grass.
“Rune, over here.”
Turning, he saw Christina—her golden hair braided, wearing a leather apron and glove—waving one hand.
She almost looked like a flower shop girl at a glance.
Rune approached, stepping on the soft, moist soil.
His eyes took in fields, pots, and drainage boxes planted with seedlings.
“What do you think, Rune? It's small, but I've got a decent variety, don't you agree?”
Small.
From a dragon's true body perspective, maybe.
‘Who'd call this small?’
Huge chunks of earth floated at various heights, watering themselves and drifting to optimal sunlight spots.
Anyone seeing this Herb Garden would think dragon mana could achieve anything.
Rune gave a brief impression.
“It looks just like a hanging garden.”
“It does, doesn't it? Want to see up top?”
Rune nodded, and Christina pointed to the highest floating plot.
“Those are herbs that need high altitudes. I've separated them by mid-level and low-level zones too.”
As she gestured with her hand, Rune nodded along.
“Amazing. I want to learn how someday.”
Christina smiled faintly.
“If you want, I'll teach you anytime. With the knowledge I gave you, designing something like this wouldn't be hard.”
“Then definitely teach me later.”
Rune replied with an innocent expression.
He could ask now since he was here, but he had something more pressing first.
After a breath, Rune opened his mouth.
“Actually, I came because I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me.”
“Have you heard of the Tooth Fairy?”
“Of course. Rune, is it already time for your teeth to loosen?”
Rune shook his head at her question.
“Not yet. But it said it wanted to mark me in advance.”
Christina tilted her head slightly, lost in thought.
“That's odd. The Tooth Fairy visited me as a child too, but nothing like that happened.”
She reminisced softly.
“It never showed itself until the tooth was loose, then took it naturally once it fell. Tooth Fairies don't reveal themselves lightly.”
Hearing that, Rune knew his suspicions were spot on.
‘That was the normal case.’
A Tooth Fairy dealing with demons.
It had been suspicious from the start.
Rune nodded and continued.
“See? Weird, right? And when I checked, it admitted it was sent by that demon, Lepanon, the one we saw before.”
Christina's face twisted in fury.
“Did that filthy scum do something to you?”
The peaceful air froze solid in an instant.
Rune thought to himself.
‘She's holding back. Afraid I might get scared.’
Right now, she was suppressing her instinctive killing intent.
A millennium-old enemy.
And the fact that it had targeted her protected hatchling.
Either alone would ignite her wrath; both tied to Rune made it inevitable.
Even if she spat blood from rage, it would make sense.
To her, poised to storm the Demon Realm at a wrong word, Rune calmly explained.
“Nothing happened to me. Just some odd stuff.”
He recounted most of what had transpired.
From the Tooth Fairy's appearance before them, to its greedy deal with the demon and its aim for Rune's tooth.
“It said if I fell for it and handed over my tooth obediently, it'd be disappointed because I wouldn't match expectations.”
‘Even said it'd kill me out of disappointment.’
He hadn't finished, but Christina's blue eyes blazed with sharp menace.
“So, you're saying that fairy, instigated by demons, infiltrated my lair?”
Crunch!
Despite her beauty, a chilling grind echoed from her teeth.
Declaring harm to a hatchling was a threat to the entire dragon race.
If the topic shifted there, Rune wouldn't get to say what he wanted.
He quickly continued.
“Yeah, but it wasn't a big deal.”
“'Not a big deal'? That's horrifying.”
At her words, Rune pulled the black pearl trapping the Tooth Fairy from his subspace pouch.
“Well, it ended up like this anyway.”
Christina lifted the orb lightly, examining it.
“This is the orb you used to trap that rude fairy before.”
“Right. It fell for its own trick and ended up inside.”
As Rune explained, Christina's grave expression softened.
“Promises shouldn't be made lightly, but you handled it cleverly. Even gained the Fairy's Path out of it.”
Her gaze warmed, her face gentle once more.
“Rune, tell me honestly. How did you learn about these abilities?”
The question she'd long wanted to ask.
Rune thought, Here it comes.