Rather, It's a Good Thing
As soon as he realized that, a serious problem came to mind.
The roses blooming from Rune's scales had begun to grow by absorbing the power of darkness.
That meant anything with dark-attribute power could become nourishment for the roses.
In other words, all the black magic stones in this place were in danger of being completely drained.
'Oh no...'
Maybe not just the magic stones, but all the relics and items inside as well.
"......"
A cold sweat broke out.
Rune paced in place, lost in thought.
'There has to be a way. Surely. There's still enough stock to last a few days.'
In his anxiety, he crossed his arms and tapped his own arm with his fingers, furrowing his brow.
'I just need to take some measures inside there somehow.'
He racked his brains over this stubborn puzzle that refused to solve.
Rune groaned, scratching his scale-covered head vigorously, then plopped down onto the spot.
Before his eyes, the roses that hadn't fully bloomed yet hung shyly in their buds, quiet and still.
That sight only deepened his frustration, as if even words wouldn't get through.
The deeper his worry grew, the slower his tail swayed.
At some point, he froze all movement.
'I've made up my mind.'
His red eyes, holding the black rose, gleamed sharply.
'This time, I have no choice but to admit there's nothing I can do with my own power.'
But that didn't mean he could lose all this treasure just because he couldn't manage a single seed.
Rune sprang to his feet.
Clenching his fists lightly, he cast a teleportation spell.
'Grab the bracelet first, then head to Christina.'
He glanced at the rose for a moment before vanishing from the spot.
The rose trembled mournfully, beginning to shed its still-fresh black petals one by one.
The number of falling petals was slowly increasing.
As if a tree dropping all its leaves to conserve nutrients before winter arrived.
"Christina!"
"Rune, what's wrong?"
Christina, who had come out to prepare a meal and for the lesson, tilted her head high in its ponytail as she asked back.
"I need a favor. Come with me to the Black Room."
"Now?"
Rune nodded immediately.
It was originally time to start the lesson soon.
But she took off her apron without hesitation.
"Let's go, then."
"Yeah."
Rune teleported them to the place where the rose buds had bloomed.
Seeing the roses, her face showed surprise mixed with puzzlement.
"This is a Demon Realm rose. How?"
'As expected, Christina knew about it.'
It was just as he thought.
He'd known he had to tell her eventually, but he wanted to put it off as long as possible.
This was the heart of a Gold Dragon's lair, a place that handled sun and light.
There was no way a Demon Realm seed would bud here.
Naturally, explaining this rose would lead to questions about how it sprouted.
And that would invite Christina's suspicions.
'But it's too wasteful to lose a servant that's finally become mine. And all these treasures inside.'
Sure enough, she instantly guessed Rune was the cause and looked at him.
She seemed a bit confused.
Even with attributes, a hatchling not even a year old.
His innate talent was excellent, but it couldn't happen through normal means.
Taking Christina's gaze as a question, Rune answered.
"It seemed like the seed was hungry. When I gave it my scale, it came back to life."
It was a childlike answer, but also the truth.
She looked at the rose before them and believed it wasn't a lie.
Though she suspected there was more to it.
'Is it his talent, after all?'
He had hatched from an egg she thought was long dead.
And after that?
A phoenix that shouldn't have awakened did, and even Perdikion's stubborn temperament changed like clothes soaked in a drizzle.
The Demon Realm rose before her eyes was the same.
'Once is coincidence. But twice is inevitability, they say.'
Her instincts, honed over long years, told her so.
She felt a fleeting vision of the dark clan's resurgence.
Meanwhile, Rune noticed the black leaves scattered around the rose buds and felt something off.
'When I left, they were all fresh—not a single leaf fallen.'
As if answering him, Christina examined the rose and spoke.
"This rose is starting to wilt. It's dying."
"Dying?"
"Look at the fallen leaves."
Rune followed the direction her finger pointed.
It hadn't been long since he'd left the spot.
Yet all five roses had shed two or three outer petals each.
Since they were still buds without full petals, not many remained.
And the roses' roots gripped Rune's scales and the magic stones much more weakly.
"At this rate, it can't properly absorb nutrients and will die..."
Christina immediately recognized the scale the root loosely held as Rune's.
"So you've become the master of this rose?"
"Yeah. A few days ago, I found a withered rose seed. I used some inherited knowledge, peeled off a scale, and it seems to have recognized me as its master."
Rune briefly explained how he'd found the rose and the germination process.
Of course, he skillfully omitted the part about the Word of Power: Resurrection.
Christina nodded along the way, eventually reaching the same conclusion as Rune.
"If this rose absorbs all the Black Dragon's treasures in this room, it'll be a huge problem."
"Exactly. I couldn't think of a good solution. And now it's suddenly shedding petals..."
Rune crossed his arms, narrowing his brow.
"Isn't there any way?"
"It started dropping petals after you left?"
Rune nodded at Christina's question.
She pondered briefly before continuing.
"It's just like the relationship between a Demon King and demons."
"Demons..."
Destruction and slaughter. Reapers carrying the scent of death.
The ones closest to annihilation in this world—twisted and wicked.
They held banquets in Hell and took pleasure in defiling the divine order.
Even considering dragons' history as enemies of demons, there was no benefit in getting close.
"I don't know the exact details. But demons under a Demon King's rule become Servants."
Flutter.
Another thick-scented petal drifted down.
"That's right. This rose has begun turning into a Servant."
"From low-grade demonic beasts to high-ranking demons, they exist under the Demon King's influence in various ways. They move as the Demon King decrees and receive power from them."
"Is that so?"
A clue to the solution appeared.
If the rose was influenced by him as he thought.
"Does that mean it follows my will?"
"Want to give it a try?"
Christina didn't discourage him.
Rune stared intently at the rose, focusing.
'I did this sometimes during Perdikion's song lessons.'
He recalled how, immersed in song, he'd sing happy lyrics with a joyful face and sad ones with a sorrowful expression.
'Yeah. Is it embarrassment? When I'm about to lose everything here.'
With resolve, Rune clenched his fist tightly.
"Stop dropping your leaves."
An awkward silence followed the serious command.
Surprisingly, nothing happened.
On the contrary, as if in defiance, another leaf fluttered down.
"It didn't work."
"It's not just about commanding it."
Rune's gaze turned thoughtfully to Christina.
She seemed to find the situation amusing in a subtle way, then gave another hint.
"This rose is actually alive."
"Flowers have life by nature."
Even to Rune's grumpy retort, she just smiled softly.
"Hehe. What I mean is, this flower has a soul dwelling within it."
"A soul?"
Christina lightly swept back her golden hair like rippling waves.
"Yes. This rose has a demon's soul. It has thoughts and self-awareness."
"Ah."
Even mere animals recognize their masters and react in various ways.
Finally understanding, Rune mulled over her words.
"So, we should treat this rose as a living being. It understands speech."
"Is that all? Think about it. What did you think when you saw this rose?"
Rune pondered with a hum, recalling the earlier situation.
'I realized it belongs to me and feeds on mana of the same dark attribute. And...'
The conclusion at the end of his thoughts was truly absurd.
'It's like scolding a dog for eating too much.'
Arms crossed, head bowed in long silence, Rune finally lifted his head heavily.
"I figured it out. Why this is happening."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
With realization, Rune scratched his head.
It had turned into nagging it for eating too much, unintentionally.
'I thought it was just a plant. Plus, is it really holding back nutrients just because of that one thought?'
Rune looked at the rose with complicated eyes.
At that moment, the bud shook as if about to drop another leaf.
Regardless of the ridiculous feeling, at this rate, it'd die without a single petal left.
'Stop! You don't have to. No—actually, this is a good thing.'
Words weren't even necessary.
If communication was possible, he could adjust it to absorb only the food he designated, even in this place.
The petal about to fall halted its movement.
As if listening attentively.
'This works.'
Rune approached the rose and gently stroked the flower.
There was a bit of cringe, but saving a dying one made that irrelevant.
'Can you hear me? Do you recognize me?'
Rustle.
A young black leaf swayed.
Seeing that motion brought a strange surge of emotion.
It must have felt quite hurt.
Just yesterday, he'd cheered it on after it came alive, telling it to live well—yet today, he fretted because it might devour everything.
'Sorry. I didn't know you were listening.'
Rune admitted it cleanly.
No lengthy excuses; it felt undignified to justify nagging a life born from his own power over eating too much.
'It's okay to eat a lot. I'll raise you well.'
The rose stayed perfectly still. Perhaps due to mood, it seemed to be watching him cautiously.
'Can you accept my apology?'
Rune removed the golden bracelet and reverted to his hatchling form.
Then, from his short arm, he peeled off another scale and placed it beneath the rose's roots.
The rose hesitated silently, then gently touched the scale and gripped it preciously.
Sparkle.
A transparent dew-like light beaded on the slightly opened bud, restoring its vitality.
'Phew.'
Rune let out a sigh of relief at the rose's immediate response.
'No more leaves falling, and the color's even more vivid now. This should be fine.'