Chapter 236
As soon as the walk ended and they returned to the castle, Amelia dropped her head.
"Ugh... th-that was way too hard."
She looked utterly spent as she swayed on her feet, half melted from exhaustion. Unlike Heungmi, who had been delighted every time they met a different dwarf along the way, Amelia really had been worn out.
Rune praised her in encouragement. "Still, you did well. You controlled your water mana nicely."
"R-really...?"
"Yeah. It would be even better if you could rein in the moments when a dragon's aura leaks out."
At that, Amelia sagged all over again.
But then she clenched her fist tight, drew in a mouthful of the warm air, and nodded.
"I-I'll do b-better...!"
Maybe because she had spent so long struggling just to survive alone, Amelia tended to find her strength at exactly the moments when she was upset and at her limit.
It was a wonderfully endearing sight.
Well, I did expect her greed to grow a little more, too.
Rune was feeling satisfied when Amelia added something he had never expected.
"I, I'm... mu-much, much older than Rune, so I'm his o-older sister!"
"......"
Older sister.
Rune's neck prickled at the unfamiliar word, one he had truly never heard before. But when he thought about it, it wasn't exactly wrong either.
He forgot it sometimes, but Amelia was far older than him in years.
Then Perdikion glared at Amelia with obvious irritation.
"Don't be ridiculous. You're the older sister? Rune is my sworn little brother. Worry about your own hatchling."
"I-I am! I-I take care of him v-very hard...!"
Rune thought with a distant look, That girl's picked up quite a bit of attitude after all those fights. She can even talk back now.
Still, letting things get too heated won't do any good. I should stop them before this gets worse.
But Amelia unexpectedly said with real resolve, "I-I do too! I want to b-be someone Rune can r-rely on... an o-older sister."
Rune looked at her with a fresh sense of surprise.
Has she ever said something like that before?
She had once said she would protect him when she proved herself worthy to accompany Perdikion on his trial. But to say she wanted to be his older sister—
that was different. It wasn't a qualification she needed to earn; it was something she herself wanted to become.
For the timid girl she had once been, she had grown tremendously.
It's all fine and good, but why does it have to be my older sister, of all things?
Then Heungmi raised her hand high.
"I was raised by Lord Rune! So when I grow up, I'll repay him by raising Lord Rune too!"
"Piiiiip!"
Hearing that, Rune's eye twitched violently.
How had the conversation veered in that direction?
She probably meant that she wanted to repay him for having raised her, but the choice of words had gone terribly wrong.
Just as Rune opened his mouth to correct her, Jed jumped in first.
"Oh my, Lady Heungmi, you can't say things like that about raising Lord Rune. That's absolutely inappropriate, it is!"
Rune looked at him with renewed suspicion.
That one actually sounds sensible for once.
Of course, as expected, Jed plowed right on with nonsense, puffed up with pride.
"Though if anyone were to do the raising, it should be me, Jed—"
WHACK!
Rune finally lost patience and slapped the back of Jed's head.
"Ow! A bump! I got a bump! Lord Rune's fist is terribly heavy! I was only joking about serving as your aide!"
"Shut up."
What aide? If he talked nonsense, he deserved a hit.
Jed, who was sturdily built, still seemed to find it quite painful, because he rolled around clutching the back of his head.
Did I maybe put a little too much of my own bias into that one?
Fortunately or not, Amelia and Perdikion paid no attention to Jed at all and were instead busy keeping a sharp eye on each other.
"R-Rune is... kind and g-gentle. A hatchling like that m-might end up learning only Perdikion's r-rough speech and violent b-behavior."
Perdikion shot back without yielding a step. "If you act needlessly sentimental, you won't make clear judgments and you won't even know your own place. Do you really think that's fine?"
Even though they were both in human form, Rune had the strange sensation that the silhouettes of a water dragon and a fire dragon loomed behind them.
It seemed that while he had been distracted by Jed and Heungmi's nonsense, the conversation had turned into a claws-out war of words.
...So where does my opinion fit into all this?
He had never once asked to be assigned a parent, so why those two were making such a fuss was beyond him.
Rune shook his head.
In any case, if they were fighting over who got to be the older brother and older sister, then the solution wasn't so difficult either.
He said firmly, "I don't like older brothers and sisters when dragonkind fights over who gets the title."
That made both of them stop at once.
Then Perdikion was the first to object, indignant. "What do you mean, fighting? I was only offering light advice about a mistaken idea!"
In other words, he was saying that Amelia was the one with the mistaken idea.
At that, Amelia's face darkened and she replied, "R-Right... Rune. He was just b-being a little stubborn, that's all... w-we weren't fighting."
Meaning: stubborn Perdikion. Rune understood perfectly well.
The red and blue hatchlings recognized the thorns hidden in each other's words and glared hard.
Crackle.
Watching them, Rune could only sigh.
These two are supposed to be the heirs to the elders?
The ones who would wield the greatest power for preserving the world's balance?
They were the ones who would stand against enemies that might threaten the world, just as the dragons of old had once done.
Rune suddenly recalled the bizarre sight he had seen in the Temple of Fire.
That brief but searing vision.
What are they going to do if they ever have to fight monsters like that?
Compared to that, the squabbling between two dragon hatchlings was almost laughably peaceful.
They'll need preparation.
The immense power that had once held the fire dragons in check.
When they were forced to face that power, there was no way these two could possibly oppose it as they were now.
Still, compared to being caught completely off guard, this is a much better situation.
For the sake of these two smiling, clueless children, who would one day need to become real strength for him, he would have to raise them properly.
Just then—
"Pii."
Peck.
Baekya, perched on Rune's head, tapped his scalp with her beak.
It didn't really hurt. If anything, it was refreshing.
"Lord Rune?"
At Heungmi's call, Rune turned his head, only to find the little fox girl still holding his hand. She tightened her grip on his fingers even more.
"Your face is as stiff as a rock. Are you angry?"
Heungmi poked at her own face with her free hand, as if demonstrating what she meant by stiff, and Rune finally realized his expression had frozen over.
"I'm not angry."
At that, Perdikion and Amelia exchanged wary looks.
Perdikion was the first to speak. "Hmph. Were we frightening you because it looked like we were fighting?"
"Ah... s-sorry, Rune... I-I made you s-scared..."
Only then did Rune notice that both Perdikion and Amelia were letting dragon aura seep out around them in thin, dangerous streams.
It was fortunate they were inside Perdikion's castle. Even so, it wouldn't have been strange if the dwarves standing guard were chattering their teeth in fear.
Rune hurried to calm them down. "That's not it. Amelia doesn't need to apologize either."
Perdikion's denial came instantly. "That doesn't seem to be the case."
Amelia didn't say it aloud, but her eyes carried the same meaning.
It seemed he had badly misunderstood them.
No, wait. If I use this misunderstanding, maybe I can tell them what I really want: that they become stronger.
Rune chose his words carefully, loosening the stiffness from his face as much as he could before giving them a small smile.
"It's true. Why would I be angry?"
Only then did Perdikion and Amelia ask cautiously, "It... really isn't?"
"I-It... isn't, right? B-but Rune, y-your face earlier was so... s-stiff..."
Rune nodded and spoke with the gentlest expression he could manage.
"I was just thinking that I want both of you to become incredibly strong. Because..."
He smiled softly, his face seeming harmless enough.
Of course, it was not a purely innocent smile. There was something faintly bitter in it.
Looking at the water dragon girl and the red fire dragon boy, Rune continued, "I don't have an older brother or older sister right now. Not after those terribly fearsome, powerful bastards."
At that, Amelia and Perdikion both wore expressions of dawning realization.
It was because they had remembered what they had almost forgotten.
The Black Dragon heir whose clan had been wiped out by demons.
A hatchling who had survived alone, with no family left at all.
"Those rotten demon bastards."
"Ah..."
Perdikion muttered in a voice thick with anger, and Amelia let out a sympathetic little sigh.
Rune felt his conscience beginning to stir uncomfortably.
Honestly, I know this is a bit underhanded. But if I were to tell them what I really saw in that state, I don't think they'd believe me anyway.
If he simply left it at being a trial sent by the Temple of Fire, then talking about it would be pointless.
Who would take seriously the words of a little hatchling not even old enough to walk properly?
In the end, the path didn't matter so long as it led to the right destination.
And since he wasn't lying, Rune steeled himself and went on, "But if you two are willing to be my older sister and older brother, that makes me really happy. Still... if you're going to be my older sister and older brother anyway, then I thought it would be even better if you became strong enough that no one could ever beat you."
That way, even if I run into someone with that strange power I saw, you'll be able to stand against them.
Amelia covered her mouth with one hand, her blue brows trembling. "Th-That's... Rune..."
Perdikion also clenched his fist hard and bit his lip.
"Tch. If you go and say something like that..."
Watching their faces grow increasingly subdued, Rune felt a complicated knot of emotions.
My conscience is... pricking at me.
Saying he had seen some unknown monster in the Temple of Fire would have been too absurd. This way was far better if he wanted to achieve his purpose.
That much was certainly true, and yet there was that slight ache of guilt.
Even Heungmi clasped her two tiny hands together and looked up at Rune.
"Lord Rune! Heungmi will get stronger too! Baekya, you will too, right?"
"Pyaaaak!"
The white bird fluttered upward from Rune's head, spreading her wings and standing with her two feet braced apart in Heungmi's hair.
You two getting stronger would be good too, of course.
As long as enemies existed, it was better to build power.
Amelia squeezed her eyes shut as though she might cry, then snapped them open and blurted out, "I-I... will go on m-more walks!"
Rune asked, puzzled, "Walks? All of a sudden?"
"Y-Yes! In the fire r-realm, I want to g-get better at controlling w-water mana... I-I want to learn it better!"
That had been one of the reasons Rune had wanted to take Amelia out for walks in the first place.
The dwarf village and the fire-heavy land were both unfamiliar to Amelia. Practicing water mana in a place saturated with fire energy would help her learn finer control over her power.
And if she can also practice keeping her dragon aura under control while talking to the dwarves and dealing with emotional swings, even better.
Rune nodded and offered her encouragement. "That sounds like a great idea."
At those words, Perdikion's brows twitched.
"Rune. Once this trial is over, I will become an adult. I won't be comparable to the hatchling I am now. I can tell you a few ways to accomplish the trial right away."
"Big brother sounds cool too."
Rune smiled gently.
Then Heungmi looked up at the three hatchlings and asked, "I want to get stronger too. What should I do?"
"Pii-yap?"
Rune answered her. "Go on walks with Amelia and help her control the fire energy too. Practicing how to work together is important as well."
"Yee- got it!"
"Pyaak!"
Baekya seemed to understand as well and hopped over to Heungmi's head.
Looks like I've got one more goal to add.
Rune thought to himself.
Not only had he to safely complete the trial and transform into an adult, but he also had to help Amelia and the others he knew grow stronger.
And on the continent, he would have to search for the truth of this world's nature and find others who could become his strength.
Suddenly, a possibility flashed through Rune's mind like lightning.
Christina used to travel to the continent often. Unlike the other dragons.
No way.
No, that was ridiculous.
And yet he couldn't stop thinking about it.
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