It Was Amazing
Perdikion wore a rarely troubled expression.
Rune waited quietly for him to speak.
Perdikion opened his mouth.
“When you were sleeping, after Father grew distant, I told Jed to settle the dwarves. Everything is on me.”
“Mhm.”
It was quite a remarkable and grateful thing.
But the expression of the dragon boy remained subtle.
“At first he liked it a lot. He even tried to hug me right there.”
“That’s quite the joy. I would have been surprised too.”
“Exactly. I accidentally swung my fist without realizing.”
“Sorry about that.”
“No need to worry. You’d probably react the same if it were you.”
Jed, who had been swinging his fire with his weapon Pararium, would have charged in without thinking.
Perdikion continued.
“After that, Jed brought the dwarves from his human-world workshop in the dwarf village.”
His words grew calmer as he fell into reminiscence.
“At first the reformist dwarves. As time passed, even the conservative traditionalists started coming over.”
Rune nodded.
‘It seems fine so far.’
There was more.
Just listening made it sound innovative and excellent.
Since the guy never feared anything, his quick action this time shone brightly.
Rune added lightly.
“Thanks to you, Jed must have been happy. He’s always been quick to act.”
Probably very fast results.
Perdikion seemed satisfied too, watching the rangers develop.
Perdikion agreed.
“It was fine up to here. The problem was after that.”
Perdikion frowned and his expression turned heated inside.
“One day, he started bringing female dwarves.”
‘Oh? This is where it starts.’
Rune nodded slightly and watched Perdikion attentively.
Perdikion added with a heated look.
“At first I didn’t think much of it. I didn’t know their circumstances well, but I figured their interest in continent work and blacksmithing had grown.”
The boy frowned.
“To be honest, I still hadn’t healed from the wounds from my talk with Father. I wasn’t in a position to worry about them.”
Rune’s expression grew serious.
“……You must have been hurt badly. I never knew you were like that with how well you looked.”
Perdikion shook his head.
“No. I didn’t want to worry you about it. I asked Christina to keep it quiet on purpose.”
Rune recalled the proud nature.
‘He hesitated to say it because he didn’t want to talk about it?’
Feeling cautious, Rune asked.
“How badly were you injured?”
“……”
“Brother?”
“……Not long.”
Rune’s gaze sharpened.
Perdikion avoided his eyes, clearly stung.
‘The Red Dragon boy must have been in pain, unable to move easily. I get it.’
By now, asking would get no more answers.
But he couldn’t point a finger.
It seemed he had been running with the mindset that as long as he didn’t die, it was fine.
He sighed at the sight of the suffering boy.
Yet the fact that he had fought so hard was impressive.
‘By the way, the dwarves and Jed’s side are doing well too. I benefited as well.’
As he thought, he noticed the unusually furrowed brows of Perdikion.
‘It’s bothering me.’
A young boy suffering violence.
Since Perdikion didn’t want to hear more, he dropped it.
“So what happened?”
Perdikion continued without hesitation.
“Well…… Around the time the wounds healed. Blackya woke up in the middle.”
“Blackya?”
‘I had no idea.’
Perdikion answered Rune’s question.
“You were sleeping deeply. You absorbed both the Seal of Darkness and the Seal of Water at once, so it makes sense.”
Rune felt a touch of embarrassment in his heart.
“I see. I didn’t know you were sleeping that deeply when Blackya woke.”
“But Christina took care of Blackya.”
Rune hadn’t known because he didn’t ask Blackya directly.
Thinking about it, dragons needed long sleep periods for growth.
Even though connected mentally with Rune, Blackya didn’t need one.
‘Dullahan was the same.’
Because he was so stubborn and silent, Rune hadn’t asked, but Dullahan must have guarded him while sleeping.
‘That’s something to remember.’
As Rune placed the thought aside, he asked.
“Did you meet Blackya around that time?”
“Yes. My body was moving better and Blackya wanted to see the dwarves, so I invited her to the fire lair.”
The memory of parting with the dwarves was unforgettable.
‘They gave me a send-off I never received from ordinary servants or bards in my hometown.’
Fortunately, the dwarves were long-lived.
Perdikion said the dwarves who had seen young Blackya when she was young had grown into mature adults and greeted her.
“Blackya must have been thrilled.”
“Yes. Those crying because they remembered their youth were annoying, but still.”
Perdikion looked confused, but Rune smiled inwardly.
‘Those memories from their youth never fade, yet it was moving.’
Having lived long, Rune had experienced similar things.
He hadn’t cried, but.
Perdikion shook his head.
“Blackya’s visit was pure madness. It sparked a Blackya fever. Dwarves gathered at night in groups to create words in runes.”
“It was amazing.”
“Amazing? I’ve never seen anything so bizarre in my life.”
Suddenly, Perdikion pressed his forehead.
“The sturdy dwarves with fox ears formed into lines in front of the arena and created those…… words.”
What kind of words?
Rune tried to ask, but Perdikion’s face hardened.
“Love. That word isn’t in there. I’ll stop explaining.”
“……”
Rune became reluctant.
Perdikion glanced at Rune’s face briefly before continuing.
“Anyway…… Blackya was safe. She received many welcomes and gifts.”
Seeing Rune’s face, which didn’t look curious, Perdikion relaxed slightly.
“But when Jed saw it, he started chatting with Blackya and unusually began caring for female dwarves.”
Perdikion’s face grew even stricter.
“Precisely, he started gathering young female dwarves. After that I started watching Jed.”
“It’s oddly suspicious that he only gathered young female dwarves.”
Perdikion nodded firmly.
“That’s right. They could work fine, but there was definitely something there.”
Perdikion’s instinct must have caught it.
‘He saw male dwarves going crazy over Blackya and started gathering young female dwarves?’
Just from the story, Rune struggled to guess Jed’s thinking.
“Did you ask him?”
“Of course. He said they were his subordinates and helpers, wonderful workers, and brought the female dwarves to the human world.”
It sounded suspicious.
Blacksmithing was a male dwarf profession, far more common.
Even among female dwarves, there were excellent blacksmiths, but male dwarves dominated.
Yet it was not mixed, but only young female dwarves.
Perdikion’s next words were even stranger.
“It turns out they had outstanding singing, cooking, crafting, sewing, and even massaging muscles or healing sprains.”
“?”
They had skills.
Singing, cooking, sewing?
Massaging muscles or healing sprains made sense, as fatigue built from rough work and injuries happened in labor.
Rune thought for a moment.
‘If that’s the case, it’s understandable. After all, Jed created a graveyard for the dwarves in the human world.’
Before he could speak, Perdikion avoided his gaze strangely.
‘Why is his expression like that. What is he thinking?’
If Rune’s guess was right, he wouldn’t have such an expression.
Perhaps he had overheard something from Jed that Rune missed?
Perdikion had mentioned a problem with Jed.
Curious, Rune tilted his head.
“Brother, did you ask Jed? What are you doing with the female dwarves?”
The red hair shook side to side.
“I asked, but he just smiled mysteriously and said it was a secret.”
Rune felt a connection.
‘Now that I think about it, that was how it was when I succeeded as an ego weapon.’
Rune recalled seeing Jed’s will.
He had stuffed it with wind and declared it would show the result, only for him to be dead. How absurd and shocking.
“Still…… The fact that they are female dwarves is quite unique. Couldn’t you ask later?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t ask?”
Perdikion spoke fiercely.
“It was many times. He brought female dwarves secretly to do something. So once I was determined to ask.”
“To ask?”
“Before I could, he died.”
“……”
Perdikion’s eyes were exactly that.
How to question the dead.
Now Rune understood Perdikion’s situation.
He had revived as an ego weapon, but for a body that had died and only its soul remained, words were hard.
‘And quite some time had passed.’
Since then, Jed had lost his body, become absent-minded, and sometimes spoken of forgetting.
Fortunately, thanks to the expedition to the elf kingdom, his body was found, but it was recent.
“I understand your situation. Then, shouldn’t we go ask him now?”
“Good idea.”
Since Amelia, Baekya, and Blackya were absent, this was the perfect time for two who knew the details to go.