Stuck Together Like Glue
‘Of all things, to resurrect a ghost by bringing it back to life.’
For Rune, who had always upheld the order of life and death in his previous life, this was utterly unbelievable.
“Kyuuu.”
[Should I use my own authority to make this soul reach enlightenment here too?]
—What is “one” now?
Seeing Verdin, Rune shook his head.
[……It’s nothing.]
Rune knew two main ways to handle lingering spirits.
One was to understand the reason they hadn’t crossed to the afterlife and help them resolve it.
The other was to exorcise the soul and annihilate it.
‘I don’t want to use Extinction.’
Using such a harsh method was only for dealing with evil ghosts.
To apply it to this plump, elderly, kind-looking dwarf would never do.
Besides, since Rune had revived Verdin with his Resurrection Authority, the ghost’s very existence was questionable.
“Kyuu.”
[Can you hear me?]
—Yes, I hear you clearly, Lord Rune.
Because he was a spirit, Verdin understood dragon telepathy perfectly.
“Kyuu.”
[You were brought back to life by my power. I should not have summoned the dead this way, but I still want to ask—how do you wish to be now?]
—Hoo. As an old man, I find this difficult to answer. I will need some time to think.
After a somewhat awkward silence, Verdin glanced at the counter.
—Thinking about it, is that not onion and meat? Judging by the ingredients, I believe you intended to make seasoned meat.
“Kyuu.”
[Correct.]
With that said, Rune grabbed the neck of the bone goat that was about to bite into the potato.
Seeing the faint meat still clinging to the goat’s hide, Verdin looked at his own hand with longing.
—Eek!
By focusing subtle power on his fingertips, Verdin’s hand glowed ivory.
And just as if it had been waiting, the cooking tools he had once used in life shone with the same light.
—Hwaaaaah!
Having gained immense power through the Resurrection Authority, Verdin’s kitchen knife and cutting board floated through the air at his gestures.
This was a phenomenon Rune was already familiar with.
‘They always do this when ghosts are causing trouble.’
Fortunately, Verdin had not used his power to rampage.
He placed the cutting board side by side, lifted his kitchen knife, and started slicing the meat.
—The feeling is strange, but making food again after so long… I am truly grateful. Ah, could you bring me some water?
Verdin looked strangely happy.
Rune helped him for a while.
Before long the stew began to boil, and Verdin looked at Rune.
—Would you like to try a bite?
Rune stared at the stew.
‘Food made by a ghost.’
Although he had needed help because only tools from his past life could be affected by the power, the stew Verdin had made looked quite excellent.
Slurp.
Taking a spoonful and tasting it, Rune nodded.
“Kyuu kyuu.”
[It tastes good. I even remember the old days.]
—That is fortunate.
Satisfied, Verdin’s face was beaming.
Rune watched him for a moment.
“Kyuuu.”
[As long as your heart is settled, if cooking feels good, you may do it as you please.]
Seeing how much Rune’s suggestion pleased him, Verdin nodded.
—I am happy. After dying, I missed this kitchen so much.
With eyes full of regret, Verdin looked around the kitchen.
Rune handed him ingredients.
—I am happy. Thinking back to the day I served all the food made in this kitchen to everyone.
“Really?”
He felt like he should revive the soul again, but since it was a familiar face, he didn’t want to send him away harshly.
As he watched Verdin begin cooking, Rune thought.
‘Depending on the size of the power the soul can hold, the duration will vary.’
Perhaps the power naturally depleted as he cooked, or Rune would simply reclaim it if he wished to rest.
But.
A thought flashed through Rune’s mind.
‘If only I could bring this fellow along, I could serve him familiar foods from the continent too?’
A strange enthusiasm rose within him.
Rune muttered to himself without realizing it.
“Kyuuu.”
[The key is my Resurrection Authority’s growth.]
As he cooked, Verdin looked back at Rune.
The black hatchling shook its tail gently as it gazed at him.
“Kyuu.”
[Verdin, keep up your strength. I will train for a while.]
The expression on the hatchling holding the potato looked oddly joyful.
Without knowing the reason, Verdin answered energetically.
—You may rest. I, Verdin, will show you my skill with cooking!
The ghost chef Verdin spoke cheerfully.
While he cooked, Rune practiced his Resurrection Authority.
With the firm resolve to summon the ghost cook who would never die and eat him forever.
***
“This is… Rune, how did you make this taste?”
Perdikion’s face stiffened after tasting the stew.
Rune asked calmly.
“Why? Is there something wrong with the taste?”
“That is not it. No… perhaps in some sense it might be said to be.”
Perdikion stared blankly at the empty spoon and bowl of stew.
“It is exactly the same taste as the one Verdin made in life.”
‘Of course, because Verdin made it.’
Rune simply nodded calmly.
Heukmi and Jed also showed similar reactions.
“It is nothing like Lord Rune’s usual cooking! I remember the snacks the dwarf uncles gave me.”
“Indeed. What is this? A tear-jerking flavor that moves this dwarf man’s heart… a sensation I could not obtain even in a true feast. Khehe!”
Dabbing his eyes with a tablecloth while saying he had shed tears of shame, Jed wiped his eyes with the tablecloth.
“Piyak?”
Baekya tilted his head curiously as he ate the food.
Rune asked while looking around.
“Then, would the other dwarfs like this too?”
Perdikion answered.
“Of course. Everyone has missed this taste very much.”
Good.
Rune rejoiced inwardly.
‘Bringing the ghost cook Verdin to the continent would be helpful too.’
Reincarnation, indeed.
Talents like this should be brought to the continent and put to use.
Verdin, the ghost, felt a strange chill despite himself while preparing ingredients in the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Rune ate the food happily, lost in pleasant thoughts.
When his stomach was somewhat full, Rune asked Jed.
“How was it, Jed?”
Wiping the stew sauce from his mouth, Jed replied.
“Everything turned out well thanks to Lord Rune handling the groundwork… no, the preliminary work!”
Having rushed to the place Rune had visited with Heukmi and then gone back to check it, Jed had gained a positive reaction from all the continent dwarfs regarding the move.
“Besides Gaild, you also looked deeply into the hardships of the other dwarfs. Thanks to you, everyone responded very well!”
This was different from when Jed had visited with Heukmi fifty years ago.
“I only listened to their stories, though.”
With that said, Rune recalled the people he and Heukmi had met.
For dwarfs who wanted to help their families, the fact that there was healing and mysterious herbs from the continent.
For women who wished to become the wife of an honorable blacksmith, how many honorable blacksmiths currently existed.
With light chatter about the stories of women dwarfs who held grudges, he offered them topics to think about.
‘If they think about it and some come to the continent dwarfs, that would be success.’
For dwarfs who feared the continent, he had not urged them to move there.
Instead, he had only asked Gaild to come if she appeared and to talk comfortably.
—Um! If it were that much, I would have made the effort too.
After hearing Rune’s method, Jed said.
“You had a different goal. You aimed to marry a reformist dwarf. You must have failed because the plan was exposed.”
—Eek? Me?
Looking at Jed, Rune added.
“Yes. Just in case, when I went to the continent and looked at the dwarfs, um… I am sorry, but they did not seem satisfied with the reports I brought back.”
—Ugh. That…
Jed looked dejected.
“If only I could just enter the continent, what a wonderful world it would be. A new continent. Amazing reformist fellows. I thought they would all fall for them if I just showed them.”
“I understand the feeling, but men and women cannot just be attached to each other.”
After a moment of thought, Jed nodded.
—Indeed. In those days I was full of enthusiasm and did not see much else.
Despite his young age, he had seen that point well, and Jed’s eyes shone with pure loyalty and trust.
After the conversation settled, Perdikion said.
“Following Lord Rune’s request, I have contacted Christina. Grace said she can arrive in a week.”
“In a week, huh.”
Rune’s cooking time was about two to three hours.
During that time, Perdikion, who had checked the tasks Rune had entrusted him with, brought up another topic.
—Then, I have started thinking about what comes after.
What came after was obvious.
Perdikion would prepare the strength for the Adulthood Trial through the dwarfs.
Then he would enter the Fire Trial.
“There is no time limit for the trial, so I plan to receive it soon.”
“You mean going to the Temple of Fire.”
—Correct.
In a week.
It was tight, but not impossible.
Perdikion opened his mouth.
“All of us gathered here have received the blessing of Fire. Come together.”
That was exactly what Rune had requested.
Rune gave a smile that was barely visible.
“Of course.”
Heukmi, holding a sausage on a fork, raised one hand and shouted.
—Heukmi too!
“Piyak!”
Even Baekya, flapping his wings, joined in.
With arms crossed, Jed smiled ambitiously.
—Kaha! Visiting the Temple of Fire to help Lord Perdikion with his Adulthood Trial! This Jed is so overwhelmed I cannot stand it!
For a moment Rune looked at Jed with distant eyes.
‘From what I know, only the pure can enter there.’
The Temple of Fire was a place where flames that atoned for evil deeds lurked.
Luckily, Rune was an existence who had accumulated merit, though he had a previous life.
Baekya and Heukmi were out of the question.
But Jed…
‘Should I leave him here?’
Jed was clearly the farthest from pure in many ways, so such a thought naturally arose.
Unlike Rune, Perdikion said with a powerful tone.
“I believe in all of you. We depart immediately tomorrow.”
—I am looking forward to it! Baekya too, right?
“Ppeok!”
Heukmi happily began chatting with Baekya, full of energy.
It was best to break the ice quickly, but Rune, still harboring doubts about Jed, wondered if this was truly the right thing to do.
—Well, if it really would not work, Perdikion would have stopped me first.
The next day.
Rune and the others followed Perdikion’s guidance to the portal leading to the Temple of Fire.
“The only portal that can be operated is by the Fire Dragon clan. However.”
Perdikion standing before the portal muttered.
“…I never thought it would be this small. In my childhood I thought it was quite large.”
The portal Perdikion had guided them to was barely large enough for two people to stand side by side.
No, more accurately, it was perhaps the size of one hatchling.
But the group following was four in total.
Rune said calmly.
“We have to stick together as much as possible. What else can we do.”
We could not even enter in our false form.
Rune took off the gold bracelet and changed into his hatchling form.
Baekya perched on Rune’s head, Heukmi carried Jed.
Then, clinging tightly, Perdikion and the black hatchling Rune, Baekya, and Jed walked together.
The hatchling Perdikion, with a body of mixed red and burgundy, sharpened his ruby-red eyes.
“Kyaak.”
[Let’s go.]
To Perdikion’s words, each one replied.
“Kyuu.”
[Ready.]
“Hi-hi. Let’s go!”
“Piyyak!”
—Oh my, this Jed’s heart is about to burst from excitement!
Surrounded by Heukmi and the black hatchling Rune, Baekya and Jed, Perdikion looked somewhat uneasy.
With expectations in their hearts, the red flames from the portal blazed brightly.