A Good Start
Rune mulled over the situation with a heavy heart.
‘Christina’s abilities are outstanding, but she can’t face the entire Dark clan alone. If I, the one capable of handling that power, can’t step forward… Amelia will lose her parents.’
Christina still didn’t know the true extent of Rune’s power.
Yet if he told her he could absorb all the darkness by himself, she might grow suspicious of his very existence.
‘Telling her the truth would cause problems for my future self, but not telling her means I lose the chance to resolve this myself.’
He had no way of knowing when Christina would decide Rune had reached the proper age to absorb curses and darkness.
Five hundred years?
A thousand?
He would have to wait an indefinite amount of time.
‘In the end, I need to find a way myself.’
He decided to keep the truth from her until it became his last resort.
For Amelia’s family, who suffered from the darkness, and for himself who wanted to grow stronger quickly, he had to solve this while he could still control the situation.
Frustrated, Rune thumped his tail against the floor.
That was when it happened.
The Mokoji Stone in his possession rang an alarm, and letters formed in the air using mana.
‘It’s Amelia.’
Rune looked at the short message the girl must have written after he left.
Rune. This is Amelia. Did the letters arrive properly? The cake was delicious. Thank you. If there’s ever anything I can do to repay you, just tell me anytime.
She stuttered a lot when speaking face to face, but the message Amelia sent through the Mokoji Stone showed no trace of that hesitation.
Rune sent a reply.
I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Christina’s mana-infused food brimmed with vitality.
It helped control the darkness for a short while and was effective enough to make one forget the pain entirely.
Suddenly, Rune felt as if he had grasped a clue.
‘……? A good idea just came to me.’
He carefully examined the knowledge he had inherited from Christina.
‘This… is risky, but worth trying.’
If it worked, it was a way to earn the trust of the Water clan while helping both his servant and Amelia grow.
Rune crossed his arms and organized his thoughts.
‘The results would be far better than if I did it alone. The problem is… it might become a trial for Amelia.’
The more time they wasted, the longer Amelia’s family would remain tainted by darkness and curses.
Rune opened his eyes, determination shining in them.
‘This is the process of saving her parents. The choice should be left to Amelia.’
He wrote on the Mokoji Stone.
I’d like to introduce you to my other servant soon. Is that okay?
After a long pause, blue letters appeared on the stone.
Yeah. It’s fine.
‘Good. Once she gets close to Heungmi, I’ll find the right time to clean up the Water region.’
And the opportunity came sooner than expected.
The next morning, he learned that Christina would be away for a few days.
Rune immediately sent Amelia a message through the Mokoji Stone about his visit with Heungmi.
“Whoa! What is this place?”
Heungmi, summoned by Rune, widened her sparkling pink-rose eyes and looked around the passage created by the duplicate Mana Key.
“……It’s a secret passage. Don’t tell anyone else.”
“Ah, yes! A secret just between you and me, Lord Rune!”
Heungmi pressed a finger to her lips with a loud “Shh!” and wagged her black tail excitedly.
While walking through the passage, Rune cast protective magic on Heungmi so she could endure the deep sea.
Heungmi accepted the spell without resistance and suddenly looked up at Baekya, who was flying ahead.
“Did Baekya know about this too?”
“Pii!”
Baekya answered by flapping its wings.
Lately, Baekya’s flight time had increased noticeably.
The little one that used to cling to Rune’s head, shoulder, or Heungmi like glue was now flying on its own more often.
‘It must have improved its flying skills while riding the ocean currents here and there.’
Baekya’s wings were small compared to its body, so its flight had always looked somewhat lacking for something that could truly be called “flying.”
It mostly just flapped to jump a little higher or glided down gently from high places.
But now it had learned the tricks and could ride the flow of air.
‘This guy has been working on something after all.’
Rune felt proud of Baekya.
It had originally been a young bird that preferred rubbing against people it knew rather than flying alone.
Yet at some point it started sneaking around in flight, and now it looked quite pleased with itself as it spread its wings and flew with confidence.
“Baekya is so cool! Your feathers look prettier too, and you fly really well!”
“Piyaaat!”
Whoosh!
Baekya spread its pure white wings even more dramatically and lifted its head high to show off its crest.
Dullahan, walking beside them, turned his head at the commotion before facing forward again.
‘……Should I call this growth?’
Since growth didn’t necessarily mean getting stronger, Rune acknowledged that Baekya had made an effort.
‘I’ll have to give it a potato chip award later.’
Clank. Clatter!
Right before the boundary of the water.
“Wow! There’s water stuck to the wall!”
Heungmi kept exclaiming in wonder as she examined the water boundary for the first time.
Rune cautioned the highly excited Heungmi.
“Beyond here lives a member of the Water clan—a Blue Dragon hatchling. Greet her properly, and never let your fire spirits out. They’ll have a hard time enduring it.”
“Yes!”
Heungmi raised one hand high as she answered.
Rune nodded and cast magic on the group so they wouldn’t be uncomfortable in the deep sea.
Then he removed his transformation artifact, returned to his hatchling form, and entered first.
Splash!
‘Has Amelia not arrived yet?’
Rune activated the snowball he had left at the entrance of the passage to let in a faint light.
Only then did Heungmi, Baekya, and Dullahan follow him inside.
Seeing Heungmi puff out her cheeks as she tried to hold her breath, Rune said,
“Kyuu.”
[You can just breathe normally. I cast the spell earlier.]
“Haaah!”
Realizing she could breathe, Heungmi exhaled quickly and looked around with fascination.
“Whoa. Is everything here water?”
“Kyuu kyuu.”
[That’s right.]
Heungmi stirred the deep sea water with her hands, listened to the sound of the currents, and even let her body drift along with them. Baekya approached and took care of her.
“Pii.”
The white bird led her to a spot with a strong current, as if teaching her how to play, and naturally rode the flow.
“Ohh. Like this?”
Watching Baekya ride the current, Heungmi tried to imitate it.
Thanks to her excellent motor skills, she quickly got the hang of the current’s movement and began to enjoy it.
Fortunately, she didn’t seem afraid of the darkness of the deep sea she was experiencing for the first time.
‘Well, she was the one who fell asleep as soon as my darkness spread in the Abandoned Mine Dungeon.’
Rune instructed Dullahan to watch over the two and went to the spot where Amelia often appeared to wait.
Suddenly, Rune stared down at his own black foreleg.
‘It feels like I don’t need to stay in this form anymore.’
He had taken his true form to prove he was of the Black clan and, in the beginning, to show a reassuring appearance so Amelia wouldn’t run away.
But now Amelia no longer feared him.
After a brief moment of thought, he decided to keep his familiar hatchling appearance today since he was introducing new companions.
‘One is timid, the other is cheerful.’
He needed to see how two completely different personalities would interact.
At the very least, the method Rune had in mind could only be suggested if the two got along well.
‘It would be nice if their personalities complemented each other…….’
He had already given the water-colored girl some information about Heungmi through the Mokoji Stone.
Still, seeing her in person would feel different.
‘Given Heungmi’s personality, there’s a much higher chance she’ll pull the other person into her own pace. A combination of timid Amelia and energetic Heungmi.’
In his prediction, Heungmi’s friendliness and proactiveness would likely be a great help to the cautious and careful Amelia.
If things went well, they would show more than expected in battles together.
‘Besides, Amelia has been handling difficult training well so far. As long as there’s no personality clash, it should be fine.’
Just as Rune reaffirmed his thoughts, a voice reached him.
[S-sorry I’m late……!]
Amelia came swimming from afar, waving her tail urgently.
Heungmi, who had been riding the current, turned toward Amelia and her eyes sparkled brightly.
“Whoa, such a pretty mermaid big sister!”
Heungmi approached Amelia, who had arrived in the blink of an eye.
The slightly nervous Amelia greeted the approaching Heungmi carefully.
[H-hello.]
“Hehe. Hello! I’m Heungmi!”
Heungmi raised her hand high, twitched her fox ears, and smiled brightly.
Her black tail wagged excitedly as she welcomed her.
[Umm. I-I’m…… Amelia.]
“Hmm. Then can I call you Big Sister Amelia?”
[B-big sister?]
Amelia’s water-colored eyes widened into perfect circles before she blinked.
[Umm……. O-okay, you can.]
“Yes! Please call me Heungmi too, Big Sister!”
Amelia moved her lips a few times before speaking in a clear voice.
[Heung……mi?]
“That’s right!”
The appearance of the mermaid she was seeing for the first time looked incredibly fascinating and beautiful to Heungmi.
Heungmi’s eyes sparkled as she gazed at Amelia’s scales and flowing fins.
“Whoa. That fluttering, transparent thing looks like a beautiful water-colored fabric!”
[…….]
Rune, who had been watching the two, thought the flow was good.
‘The first impression with Dullahan was much harder to overcome.’
Compared to that, Heungmi was practically on the cute side.
Heungmi seemed to really like Amelia’s mermaid form; she circled around her, chattering nonstop.
Amelia was so embarrassed she didn’t know what to do with herself, but even while glancing behind rocks, she didn’t run away.
Rune judged it was about time to step in.
‘I should ease them apart around here.’
[Alright. That should be enough for greetings, right? You’ll see each other often from now on. Take your time getting to know one another.]
If he let the energetic Heungmi approach the passive Amelia too strongly from the start, she might end up pushing her away.
‘The first meeting shouldn’t feel burdensome.’
“Ooh. Understood!”
Heungmi answered energetically, and Amelia gave a small nod with a look of relief.
‘A good start.’
Once the atmosphere had settled somewhat, Rune brought up the main topic.
[Today we’ll be hunting ocean monsters. In other words, this will be a practical combat lesson.]
At the word ‘hunting,’ Dullahan’s eyes flashed intensely.
It was only natural; though usually taciturn, he was the one who burned brighter than anyone on the battlefield.
‘But the protagonist of this stage isn’t you. You know that, right?’
Receiving Rune’s gaze, Dullahan calmly reined in his fighting spirit.
Seeing the properly controlled enthusiasm, Rune gave a light shake of his head.
‘It’s a relief he knows how to read the situation. He’s fine, then.’
Heungmi’s jewel-like eyes sparkled while Amelia gently lowered her lashes.
Rune gave the two his instructions.
[Dullahan will take the lead and scout. Baekya and I will stay at the very back. The ones who will actually fight are you two—Heungmi and Amelia.]
Amelia shrank her shoulders in sudden fear, her eyes full of tension.
[J-just…… the two of us?]
At that moment, Heungmi firmly took Amelia’s hand.