Summoning the Ghost
Rune stared at Jed, whose hair was now full and fluffy after being stir-fried.
“What’s wrong?”
Jed answered in a cheerful tone, as if it were nothing at all.
“Hehe, actually, I was just wondering what kind of life those guys lead in the Dragon Lair. So I taught them how to cook, chatted about various things… and then it happened.”
Cooking something and accidentally starting a fire isn’t likely.
Rune asked first about the part that seemed most plausible.
“You mean a cooking accident happened?”
‘I know someone who cooked with me. Jed’s cooking skills weren’t that bad, right?’
His flame control was even better than Perdikion’s.
Surprisingly, the answer came from Perdikion.
“Rune, that’s not it. The guy got like this because he was boasting to the Gaetong-pa dwarves.”
Rune’s eyes narrowed.
It was impossible for the situation to have come about from just talking, so there must be something he hadn’t said yet.
“What kind of weird thing did you do this time?”
Jed scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and opened his mouth with an embarrassed smile.
“That’s it, Master. I do know how to handle a bit of dark power, right?”
Jed laughed “hehe” and continued.
“When I saw a forge with dark power inside the furnace in the forge, my blacksmith blood started boiling and I just couldn’t hold back anymore.”
“…!”
Rune’s face turned incredulous.
Even Perdikion added, “The reformist dwarves said someone who was supposed to come to fix the roof was delayed by two days.”
Dwarves know how to handle fire well.
It makes sense that the first dwarf to control dark power would want to show it off.
But somehow using the dark-power forge with pride and ending up completely charred.
‘Thinking about it, that was the same guy who used Pararium as an ego weapon and did fireworks in the castle back then.’
Rune felt a headache coming on and confirmed the important parts first.
“Anyone hurt?”
“There isn’t any. Everyone has been through some pretty rough times. During those periods when the darkness went out of control.”
It was still a blessing.
No matter how much he was Perdikion’s sworn brother, having the power servant Jed wound dwarves inside the Red Dragon territory could have become an extremely embarrassing situation.
“Jed.”
“Yes?”
“Everyone’s healed up. Only one hit.”
“…Please be gentle.”
Whether he knew he had committed a sin or had just been warned, Jed bowed his head.
Rune shook his head.
Now that the subject was open, Rune decided to finish the story he had meant to tell at dinner time.
“I already had someone prepared who could make good dark-attribute defensive gear. I got him.”
Jed raised his head subtly and asked.
“Was there someone like that? Not another element, just dark? We didn’t have anyone with the ability to dye fabric, right?”
Jed’s confusion was natural.
It was a special talent to add mana to leather or cloth.
It was a once-in-a-blue-moon ability for dwarves without magic power.
Rune answered his confusion.
“Remember Gaild? The tailor?”
“Gaild…?”
Because he had been forgotten as an ego weapon without a body, Jed didn’t recall immediately.
A moment later, Jed hit his palm with a fist and shouted.
“I remember! The lady with the leg that was bothering her in that tavern!”
Rune nodded.
“Yeah.”
Jed nodded repeatedly and pulled out the memories from his head.
“That’s right. We tried to bring her to the continent by any means! I wanted to treat her with a mage or temple!”
Jed recalled the past with a troubled “ngh.”
“The strong lady and her burly men were blocking everything, so it was hard even to talk to them. Did it hurt her?”
When Jed went, he probably used a tab on the drink bill and hired the men, so he could easily guess.
Rune answered calmly.
“She managed to walk out on her own.”
It sounded a bit mysterious to hear.
But Jed raised his finger as if he had remembered the answer.
“Eh? Eh! Maybe?”
Heungmi added with a giggle after Jed’s mouth fell open.
“Master made it so Gaild-unnie’s legs got better! It was so cool!”
“Piyak.”
Baekya fluttered its wings and answered with a light chirp.
Jed clenched his fist and hit his forehead.
“Caha! It feels like I drank a refreshing glass of beer!”
To calm Jed’s boastful praise, Rune added explanation.
“…Just looking at the magic artifact I transferred to Heungmi’s clothes, I could tell you were someone who handles mana stones well.”
Excited, Jed clenched his fist.
“That’s right! I also thought about bringing her and getting support from the mages!”
Rune nodded at Jed’s words and continued.
“The preparations on your side are all ready. Just give my name and bring her.”
“This perfect person!”
With a “Kyah!” Jed let out another exclamation.
But the next words froze Rune’s expression.
“I really want to hug this Jed and kiss him all day!”
“Don’t.”
Rune, about to reveal Dragon Fear, warned himself, and already warned Perdikion flinched.
Before Jed’s excitement exploded, Rune quickly moved on to the next story.
“She hasn’t tried dark power yet, but if you train with the Gaetong-pa dwarves, she should get a handle on it. Take good care of her.”
“Leave it to me!”
Jed thumped his chest proudly.
‘Good. The preparations for Grace and controlling the path are complete.’
Next, Rune explained through Gaild what measures he had taken.
“Good! Right at the moment when Gaild’s legs heal and she sees at once! She’s directly sharing things from the continent and attracting interest!”
Perdikion, who had been watching the situation, spoke up.
“Then I guess I’ll help select the dwarves who’ll go to the continent with me.”
“Exactly. Please, brother.”
After each deciding their tasks, Rune declined Perdikion’s offer to prepare the meal.
‘I should practice Resurrection Authority since it’s been a while.’
Lately, Rune had been cooking with Christina so much that he hadn’t practiced the authority properly.
‘Sorry, Christina, but since the Resurrection Authority must stay secret, this is better.’
With no servants, Rune headed down to the castle’s kitchen.
***
The restaurant Rune had visited before was still clean but showed signs of heavy use.
Rune’s gaze was fixed on a photo of Verdin, the head chef.
‘Right, it was a hundred years ago.’
Verdin, who had assisted Rune in cooking and later presented meals clumsily but with respect.
He had been old, and served as the royal chef before passing away.
In his later years, he lived in the kitchen.
Traces of Verdin remained in every corner of the kitchen.
Although Rune had expected it, feeling the absence of someone wasn’t easy.
“The knife is the same.”
In the glass case on the wall hung the cooking tools Verdin had made for Rune.
The cutting board and knife set were neatly arranged.
At the bottom of the case was a small metal plate with writing.
— Remembering Master Rune, who worked hard for us —
Looking at the words, Rune sighed.
“…Verdin. I wish we could have met one more time.”
A mix of warmth and bitterness swept across one side of Rune’s chest.
‘Even in the past, it was a blessing to have time to miss someone.’
Slowly leaving the nostalgic thoughts, Rune brought the glass case with magic.
Still staring, Rune took out all the tools from the case.
Then he collected the bones of the cliff mountain goats that were skinned and de-fleshed.
‘Since I managed Resurrection Authority back then.’
He pulled out the “decoy doll” he had pre-made with the Curse Tool Crafting Kit.
Finally, Rune cast a camouflage spell and grabbed the golden bracelet.
“Let’s try.”
Removing the bracelet, Rune returned to his hatchling form.
With a thud, the plump tail slammed to the floor, and Rune looked at the materials with high spirits.
“Kyuwoo.”
‘Through the sleep period, he should have become stronger.’
The pre-made “decoy doll” shape was that of a cute goat.
“Kyu.”
‘Ready.’
Rune slowly gathered his breath.
This was the crucial moment.
‘Can I really summon the soul without Baekya’s feathers and settle it in a new body?’
Focusing on breath, feeling, and mana flow, Rune opened his eyes.
“Kyuuyu!”
[Revive!]
Flash!
The lively cliff mountain goat bones began to rattle, responding to the call of resurrection.
Then the bones connected on their own and formed the shape of when the goat was alive.
Up to this point, it was the same as a hundred years ago.
‘Next is moving the soul with the dwelling to the doll.’
It was definitely possible.
With Rune’s current ability.
Filled with certainty, Rune shouted.
“Kyu!”
[Revive!]
Flash!
After adding the language a second time, the faint aura dwelling in the goat bones began to gather above the goat’s head.
‘Good. Now if I move this to the decoy doll…’
It should work.
So, the goal was for the soul of the cliff mountain goat to resurrect inside the “decoy doll.”
But the Resurrection spell brought an unintended result.
Drizzle, drizzle, drizzle, drizzle!
“?”
A faint mana skin began to form on the already attached bones.
Not only that.
“Kyu… oo?”
The entire kitchen filled with the power of the dragon language.
Something was wrong.
Shuaaak!
The aura that had spread through the entire kitchen gathered in the air and took the form of a dwarf.
— Hehe. Who is this?
Rune looked up blankly, following the sound to see where it was coming from.
“Kyu?”
[Verdin?]
No matter how he looked, it was him.
Rune stared blankly at where Verdin’s photo had been attached.
The dwarf had a face slightly older but exactly like the photo.
Verdin’s upper body was faintly floating.
So… like a ghost.
Verdin, looking at Rune’s body with silver-gray eyes, asked.
— How did I end up here? I’m sure I remember closing my eyes…
Watching Verdin’s ghost look around oddly, Rune rolled his head to figure out why the situation had gone this way.
“…Kyu.”
He used the enhanced Resurrection.
The power had been applied to the entire kitchen, not just the cliff mountain goat and the doll.
And what appeared was Verdin, who had cooked in this kitchen in his lifetime.
Judging the sequence of events, Rune grabbed his bald head as if he wanted to tear it out.
‘I completely summoned the dead man’s soul.’
Insane.
Without understanding Rune’s confusion, Verdin floated in the air.
— Oh, the things I used to use in my lifetime are still here from long ago. Nostalgic items… Being able to see the kitchen I loved so much that I hated leaving it behind…
If anyone saw him, they might think he was on a nostalgic travel.
Watching Rune with the mood of a tourist, he opened his mouth first.
“Kyuwoo?”
[You’re Verdin, right?]
With a soft smile, Verdin answered.
— Yes. Now that I think about it, Master is still small. Or perhaps time didn’t flow as much as I thought?
That wasn’t possible.
Rune hadn’t dramatically grown in body, but time had passed steadily.
“Kyu, kyuhooowuu.”
Rune looked at the “decoy doll” he had prepared and the lively goat stomping carrots and covered his face with one front paw.