You, What's Your Secret?
Rune eyed the group carefully, wondering if they might harbor any negative feelings toward Heungmi after being roughly handled. Thankfully, no such worries appeared to linger.
The warriors, who had eaten a sandwich and received medical treatment in the infirmary, began returning safely as the sun was setting.
Most of the dwarves wore satisfied smiles.
In their arms, they held precious bags of potato chips that carried a sweet and savory aroma.
All except one.
***
“Eh? Me?”
Jed pointed at himself with a finger and asked in astonishment.
Although he was a combat dwarf, he primarily gathered monster parts rather than stepping into the forefront, and he had never expected to be picked from among the energetic warriors.
“Indeed. Wait here in this room for a moment.”
Verdin left Jed in the waiting area and stepped outside.
In the empty waiting room, Jed blinked rapidly and thought.
“Surely I wasn’t caught? I usually don’t even set foot in the castle, but I intruded hoping to get some potato chips as a prize from the participating merchant.”
Nervous sweat broke out on him.
As a relatively young dwarf, he was one who felt interest in new things among the reformist dwarves.
When the idea of trying potato chips first came to him, this situation was completely unexpected.
‘I never imagined I’d be selected for the dungeon expedition team.’
Jed scratched the back of his head vigorously.
Unlike the other dwarves, he felt no great interest in the dungeon expedition team.
‘It was supposed to be a fairly casual fight before the market opened, and I naturally lost. Why did it turn out like this.’
When he heard he had been picked for the expedition team, Jed had almost given up immediately.
But there was a reason he couldn’t abandon the idea: the weapon that Perdikion had promised to lend to the expedition team.
“Oh no, you pretty one! Yeah, where would I go without you!”
*Swoosh!*
If it were up to him, he would have taken the weapon home right now.
The name of the weapon was **Paralium**.
It was a battle axe with a smooth handle and a wide blade attached to both sides of the head.
When swung, actual flames erupted from the flame patterns engraved on the blade; it was an S-grade dungeon relic.
The other small equipment was no less a precious treasure he didn’t want to lose.
‘Well, since it’s already like this, it’s a shame to give up. Somehow it’ll work out.’
Worrying was not something he enjoyed.
Jed looked at the weapon in his hand with a satisfied smile.
Then he leaped into the air and let out a large vertical slash.
*Clang!*
*Fwoosh!*
“Kyah! It’s hot!”
The sensation of it perfectly fitting his hand was delightful.
Jed swung or twirled Paralium in his hand, enjoying the splendid firework display.
But at some point.
“……You want your hand cut off?”
“Eek!”
Startled by the unfamiliar voice, he jumped in place.
When he turned, he saw a boy with black hair standing there, though he didn’t know when he had entered the room.
“If you’d been caught playing with fire at the palace, your wrist wouldn’t be safe.”
“Y-y-yes! Haha…”
‘Just when did he get in!?’
Jed swept his startled chest and sized up his opponent.
He was clearly smaller than himself.
Yet the gaze carried an overwhelming pressure that made his body stiffen.
‘Is this a dragon race?’
Jed tensed without realizing it and straightened his waist.
“I’m Rune.”
“I-I’m pleased to meet you, Master Rune. I am Jed Musket.”
Jed bowed and introduced himself.
‘So this is the sworn brother of Perdikion-nim who divides the fire with him… a hatchling of the Black clan?’
Unable to contain his curiosity, Jed glanced at Rune.
He knew the rumor that this mysterious hatchling often visited the blacksmith shop of Quatan, the representative of the reformist faction.
But as the one responsible for material procurement, Jed had to venture out often, so this was his first time facing him properly.
‘He seems even more peculiar than the rumors.’
Among the dwarves, Jed was one with a good sense.
Tilting his head at the vague peculiarity, he suddenly realized he was evaluating himself like a merchant appraising goods against the black dragon and coughed lightly.
Then he cautiously checked the atmosphere.
“By the way, is there something you need from me…?”
“There’s one thing I’m curious about. At the evaluation match, you avoided fighting Heungmi properly, didn’t you?”
‘Oh no, he noticed after all?’
Jed’s stiff neck was pierced by Rune’s question.
“Why did you deliberately fall down in the end?”
“Well, of course… because it was an opponent I couldn’t win.”
“How did you know?”
“Um, instinct. It’s hard to explain in detail, though.”
“I see.”
Surprisingly, Rune nodded readily and, a moment later, took out a banquet invitation from his pocket.
“I’m thinking of having a banquet for the entire dungeon expedition team. How about it?”
“Yes! Sounds good!”
In recent days among the dwarves, evening banquets in the castle had become a popular rumor.
Since he was already feeling a bit hungry, Jed was delighted with Rune’s suggestion.
“This room is the waiting area, so you can use it until you go to the dungeon tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yeah. Is there a problem?”
“Um… Ah, no.”
“……”
Receiving Rune’s persistent gaze, Jed rolled his eyes.
For some reason, it felt like a big mistake could occur if he lied to the child-like appearance.
“Then I’ll tidy up my belongings and go.”
“Alright.”
After completing his business, Rune left the room.
Jed, who had been monitoring the presence, let out a sigh of relief after a long while.
“Haa! My spine feels all stiff and I’m thoroughly scolded!”
Those bright red jewel-like eyes seemed to see through everything.
Even the expression didn’t change much, making it hard to read his mood.
“Ugh, why does it give me goosebumps?”
Jed rubbed the area around his arm with a bewildered face.
Meanwhile, Rune continued to mull over the strange points even after leaving the room.
‘I heard there are no magic users among the dwarf race, but what is this Jed guy?’
Because he was sensitive to mana from birth, Rune could tell.
The trace of mana touching his hand.
Actually, to confirm the certainty, he had deliberately approached Heungmi to investigate.
And he reached the absurd conclusion that **Jed Musket** was a dwarf familiar with magic.
‘What an odd fellow. Perdikion-nim said he’s never heard of a wizard among the dwarves.’
It was strange that only he had noticed the fact.
Moreover, he was a dwarf who mainly did material procurement as an apprentice blacksmith.
Anyone would find him suspicious.
“Interesting. You, what’s your secret?”
Muttering, Rune smiled with cool eyes.
***
“Waaah!”
The next day, Jed woke up with an unusually haggard face.
He rubbed his face with his hands and groaned.
“For Rune-nim to appear in my dreams…”
Ever since he had first met him, he had doubted if the child-like figure was really a ten-year-old hatchling.
The intimidating gaze of a dragon aged a thousand years.
And the goosebumps from yesterday.
‘What’s wrong? Even brushing shoulders in the corridor during the banquet or strategy meeting, I kept getting eye contact…’
“Ugh…”
A somewhat contrived deep sigh poured over the blanket.
Jed had never relaxed his tension even for a moment while under Rune’s gaze.
The eyes that stared at him persistently sometimes made him feel as if they saw through his very soul.
Moreover, when alone, he felt like a predator was watching him.
The fear that left him feeling the raw emotion was even stronger than Perdikion’s.
‘To use fear on a mere dwarf. Are you trying to kill me off?’
If Rune had been an adult dragon, he would have fallen from fear long ago.
Perhaps he would have died right there with his breath stopped.
The eyes of the dragon race held such power.
‘Oh dear. I really got the wrong one!’
Yet his hands accurately packed the equipment.
Iron shoulder pads and simple armor.
Lastly, he gripped the battle axe Paralium tightly, which would become his partner for a while. Then he hurried toward the gathering place with his short legs.
Meanwhile, Rune was already waiting in the room with the teleportation magic circle, taking Baekya and Heungmi with him.
After letting Baekya and Heungmi play together, Rune delivered his opinion on Jed to Perdikion.
“So that’s why you were staring at Jed like that?”
“Because he seemed like an odd fellow.”
Rune shrugged his shoulders.
“If it were Hyung, you could have noticed. Remember when we studied together? You taught me mana weaving, right?”
“Of course.”
“When I removed the mana weave, the trace of mana continued to remain on my fingers. Like this.”
Rune raised one hand and tapped the tips of his fingers a few times.
“I saw a similar trace at Jed’s right fingertips.”
It was clear.
The faint trace that had touched the mana line remained at Jed’s fingertips.
“You know too, right? Such traces don’t remain on simple artifacts.”
Perdikion frowned.
“If that’s true, it means a dwarf used magic. But I’ve never heard of such a thing until now.”
Even after saying it, Perdikion shook his head, thinking this couldn’t be right.
“If he could use magic, it would be amazing. I was only curious why he hid it. It might be a misunderstanding, as you said.”
Rune continued casually.
“I’ll look into the guy. Just stay informed, Hyung.”
“Understood. I’ll keep it in mind.”
As the conversation was winding down, the door opened and Jed entered.
“Jed Musket has arrived!”
“You’re the last one!”
“Ppi!”
Heungmi, who had been fidgeting under Baekya’s soft wing feathers, jumped up from her seat.
Receiving everyone’s gazes, Jed awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
“Hehe… I’m a bit late?”
“No. You’re exactly on time. Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
At Perdikion’s command, Jed quickly stepped onto the magic circle.
Perdikion began chanting the spell.
From the magic circle glowing with red energy, hot flames erupted and swallowed the group.
When their eyes opened, the group was instantly at the entrance to the **Abandoned Mine Dungeon**.
As agreed in advance, Rune and Perdikion took the **Weakening Curse Potion** before entering the dungeon.
“Ugh.”
“Uwk.”
Both, regardless of who, covered their mouths at the same time and had the same thought.
‘Why use so much?’
The effect was certain.
It was a dragon-level ultimate medicine in taste alone.
But…
“Why couldn’t we have flavored it with wine or fruit juice…”
Rune quietly opened his pocket and took out the cookies he had brought to eat in the dungeon.
“Ah, chocolate cookies! Heungmi too!”
“Ppi!”
“Oh, what is this? It smells pretty good.”
“I’ll line up for you too, Master Jed?”
“……”
Because his mouth was stuffed full of medicine, he couldn’t open it.
Rune silently shared the cookies with the others.
‘I’m cutting my mental strength to make the effect work. Damn, I wonder if I’ll never eat this medicine again.’