Chapter 235
**CHAPTER TITLE: A Swift Little Feast**
Rustle.
Rune pulled a wooden box from the spatial pocket and offered it to Scott.
“This is the snack made by the chef I brought along this time. Why don’t we have a simple welcoming party with it?”
Rune had already taken out the pastries filled with lemons and strawberry jam and the drinks he’d brought.
‘At gatherings like this, alcohol would be the natural choice… but I’ll have to make do with this instead.’
Grace’s appearance was almost that of a young girl.
If she became a weekly fairy, it would cause serious problems. It was also strange for a young hatchling to be offering alcohol.
Fortunately, the Gaetong-pa dwarves had no qualms about eating.
“What an interesting aroma. I’ll enjoy it.”
Rune nodded after Scott introduced himself as the representative.
“Then we’ll be off. Grace, please take care.”
“Hmph. No way!”
Grace stuck out her tongue and crossed her arms.
Rune let it slide with a wry smile and gave Amelia a glance.
“G-G-G… Grace… th-then I’ll see you later…”
Amelia gently waved her hand, and only then did Grace ask in a teasing tone.
“Are you really leaving?”
“Why, are you upset?”
“N-No, it’s nothing like that.”
The words may have been dismissive, but the way she looked said she was like a puppy watching its owner leave.
Weakened by the moment, Amelia spoke up.
“G-Gr-G… Grace. I-I’ll come visit often…”
At those words, the dwarves’ expressions turned stiff.
To them, Rune had long been an object of admiration—a hatchling.
But Amelia was unfamiliar, closer to a full-grown dragon, so it made sense.
To dwarves, dragons were terrifying beings.
Suddenly Amelia noticed the dwarves’ rigid atmosphere and blinked in confusion.
Rune stepped in to calm the situation.
“Be strong, Grace. Once the passage is complete, we’ll be able to see each other often.”
“Hmph. I’m leaving them behind anyway.”
Grace showed some regret, but she didn’t say more.
She simply muttered Rune’s words again, clearly taking them in.
‘Once it’s finished, I’ll travel the continent and see them often, or I can come whenever I want. So it’s not wrong.’
At that moment, a modest dwarf who had been on guard duty approached Rune.
“I’ll look after her well. Miss Grace.”
“Yeah, sure.”
The other dwarves, who had been watching suspiciously, began gathering around Grace one by one.
To them she was a complete stranger, yet she also represented the chance to leave a legacy they could never achieve as dwarves.
Grace felt the hopeful welcome too.
Noticing the atmosphere had improved, Rune spoke again.
“I’ll send Jed often. With Grace handling darkness, incidents like before won’t happen.”
‘He’ll get stronger controlling dark forces as a bonus.’
Scott answered.
“If you insist on that, why not have Rune and the water clan join us as well? It would be better to have you here, wouldn’t it?”
Scott was right.
Grace showed some disappointment, but it was better to give the dwarves time to greet her slowly and get to know her face.
But Rune shook his head.
“There’s an urgent matter. I’ll ask for your help.”
In truth, Amelia’s water mana was growing steadily stronger.
It could be because the ground had little water mana and was mostly fire territory, or perhaps she simply couldn’t gather it properly.
Either way, it was best not to stay long at this place.
‘The dwarves don’t seem to notice yet, so I won’t need to explain.’
Scott, who didn’t know the full reason, spoke with a hint of regret.
“If that’s your wish, there’s nothing to be done about it.”
“Yeah. I’ll tell Jed to come instead.”
With that, Rune gave Grace a final warning not to teach her how to drink and then left.
***
After leaving the Gaetong-pa’s hut, Rune and Amelia walked on.
As the workshop grew smaller, Amelia let out a long breath.
“Hah… s-so many dwarves… I-I’ve never seen so many at once… I must have been too nervous.”
As she spoke, the moist mana surrounding her slowly faded away.
Rune felt the dampness on his skin vanish and added,
“Yeah. Your water mana was leaking out.”
‘From the middle, the water mana turned cool.’
Since the land was dominated by strong fire power, it hadn’t been noticeable.
The dwarves probably only felt, “Is the air humid today?” but it was all due to Amelia.
Just as she had wanted to step into the sea she was familiar with.
Amazed, Amelia said,
“I-I didn’t even realize… I-I stopped…”
She lowered her head, ashamed that she couldn’t handle her power well.
“Did I… make you disappointed by being so u-unskilled?”
At those words, Rune shook his head.
“Don’t worry. This isn’t even the sea—it’s the territory of a red dragon with almost no water mana. You understand, right?”
Rune’s words seemed to ease her worry. Amelia smiled faintly.
“Y-You saying that… th-thanks…”
Rune looked at Amelia for a moment, then pretended not to notice and suggested,
“How about I show you a bit of the village my brother rules?”
“R-Really? B-But… is it allowed?”
Rune replied cheerfully when he saw her lift her head.
“Sure. It’s not like we get to explore other regions often.”
“A-Ah, th-that’s… yeah. I-I need permission…”
“I’ll handle that.”
After confirming Amelia’s slight nod, Rune activated the Mokoji Stone.
‘Good. She looks a bit gloomy, so I’d like a few lively ones to join.’
Even seeing a place other than the water region would be a good experience.
It wasn’t always good to sit and study only. It would help Amelia’s growth too.
“Before entering the city, I’ll take Amelia to see the village. Can you come?”
In fact, candidates had already been decided in Rune’s head.
He had asked everyone together only to get Perdikion’s approval as well.
‘The approval would be easy, and Heungmi would come. Jed might be sleeping after complaining about fatigue, or if he wakes up, he might just want to rest.’
Besides, Perdikion had been busy preparing for his adulthood trial.
So only Heungmi and Baekya would remain, which was enough.
And as Rune had predicted, the red text from Perdikion appeared.
“Just the two of us, Amelia?”
To Rune’s surprise, the message returned with another question.
Rune glanced at Amelia. Her eyes looked tense again.
‘Is Perdikion still difficult? I thought our relationship had improved.’
Rune answered casually.
“No one else is coming.”
Immediately, pink text from Heungmi and yellow text from Jed appeared together.
“Me! I want to walk with Rune-nim and Amelia-unni!”
“What? You’re not taking me, Jed? Rune-nim, I haven’t seen you in a while. That hurts.”
He was hurt, but what exactly?
Jed, who had collapsed complaining of fatigue, had nothing to say.
‘Has Jed already recovered?’
When he had asked Rand to help with the brown dragon, he had instructed him to pay attention to her physical performance.
He never imagined it would be this much.
“Then… will both of you come?”
At those words, Perdikion’s red text rose again.
“I’ll go too.”
‘He’s coming with a crowd?’
He hadn’t expected this many people.
But he couldn’t just exclude anyone.
Rune reluctantly told him his location through the Mokoji Stone.
A short while later, a pink-eyed Heungmi came running from the distance.
“Rune-nim! Amelia-unni!”
“Piyak!”
Heungmi and Baekya, the fox beastkin and white phoenix, hopped forward with lively steps.
“Oh my! You’re both very fast! You’ve come from far away, haven’t you?”
Jed trotted over with exaggerated fuss and quick little steps.
“……”
Even Perdikion approached with a face that looked angry.
Rune felt uneasy looking at them all.
‘That’s why they’re all too conspicuous.’
Even Rune and Amelia waiting would have made the dwarves glance at them sideways.
But with Perdikion, Heungmi, Baekya, and the dwarf doll Jed added, the dwarves’ eyes widened in surprise.
“You’ve come too many. Your brother had things to do.”
Perdikion replied to Rune.
“I can’t just watch you two, who are still immature, wander around.”
The word “immature” made Amelia frown slightly, uncomfortable.
But Perdikion declared firmly.
“This is my territory. Those under my responsibility should be checked by me directly. Especially you, Rune.”
“……”
His tone was strict.
But there was no point arguing with the owner’s decision.
‘It’s not wrong.’
In the end, Rune nodded.
Instead, he checked Amelia’s complexion.
She must have felt bad being called immature.
But Amelia looked lost in thought.
“……For my own realm… to check it myself… that’s only natural…”
Amelia sighed softly while nodding at him.
Rune looked at her with a troubled gaze.
‘No, it’s probably because all of us are gathered here at once.’
Especially since Rune was now only a normal hatchling, barely able to walk.
Among them, the oldest who managed her own territory was acting herself, which was strange.
‘I can’t say anything.’
There was also the will to look after his sworn brother.
Perdikion usually watched the dwarves well, but if Rune woke up or something happened, he would contact him.
‘It could be favoritism… Maybe it’s better not to say anything.’
For now, Rune stayed silent.
He didn’t want to make Amelia feel left out.
At that moment, Heungmi grabbed Rune’s hand tightly.
“Why?”
Looking down, Heungmi grinned and said, “Hii!”
“Because I like walking with Rune-nim too!”
Hearing that, Rune realized there was no time to rest here.
‘Heungmi loves running and playing so much.’
It would be very enjoyable to walk together with such an active Heungmi.
Satisfied, Rune nodded.
“Piyut.”
Baekya sat lightly on Rune’s head with a bounce and chirped softly.
‘For a moment… it’s nice to enjoy this light atmosphere.’
When they returned, there would be work to do.
Thinking about it, Rune always prioritized work, but for the young ones, resting and enjoying life healthily was also important.
‘Now that I think about it, all the ones I gathered were either those who love to enjoy or those related to rest. I haven’t been thinking about that myself.’
It was ironic.
Even just looking at the dwarves Rune had gathered.
Music, cooking, clothing.
They were things humans enjoyed across most of the continent—features that fit well into daily life.
It was a bit funny that he had gathered people who could participate in what they wanted to enjoy, but hadn’t considered their value.
It would be better than becoming an adult who didn’t know how to rest.
Rune nodded, thinking that way.