The neatly stacked food ingredients were completely different from what he had seen before.
Confident that he had not been in a short sleep, he had a good idea.
'Right. I should check the amount of ingredients left after sending them to Zed.'
Lun opened the subspace pocket and checked the remaining ingredients, blinking his eyes.
The ingredients that should have disappeared by two handfuls a year had noticeably decreased even at a glance.
'The ingredients are less than half... It must have been at least 50 years.'
He wagged his tail slightly and looked for something to eat in the refrigerator.
The consistent traces of cooking research were evident, with foods like pumpkin cake, orange pudding, and chocolate-coated madeleines inside.
There were also white salt bread, nutty almond and peanut cookies, and milk candies for him, who didn't usually eat sweets.
The remaining foods were all things that Lun and Heumi liked.
'Christina must have taken care of it.'
Surely, Christina had prepared these so that Lun, Baekya, and Heumi could have meals whenever they woke up.
Lun took out the bread and cookies from the refrigerator and put the salt bread and herb bread into the oven first.
In the quiet space, only the sound of the oven running by magic echoed.
Perhaps because he was used to eating together, it felt both comfortable and a bit awkward to be alone.
The small noise from the magic circuit that powered the oven sounded unusually loud.
When the oven stopped, Lun took out the salt bread, which had turned a golden brown, and placed it on a plate.
He then set the timer for the cookies and tore a piece of bread.
As the well-baked brown surface tore, the white inside was revealed, and a fragrant aroma of bread wafted out.
Taking a full bite of the salt bread, the buttery and savory taste filled his mouth.
The warm and fluffy texture completely filled his mouth.
the light spirit Rai appeared in the air, twinkling with a friendly light.
'Oh. How did this guy know to come here?'
Lun waved one of his front paws to greet him, and Rai blinked his light in response.
At that moment, the oven sounded, indicating the cookies were done.
The nutty aroma of the cookies was fragrant and inviting.
After transferring the sweet vanilla and butter cookies to a plate with tongs, Lun stared at the oven, which was still emitting heat.
Then he shook the tongs, realizing something.
'Aha. He must have sensed the oven running and came over.'
Since the oven operated with Christina's lair magic, it was certain that Rai had sensed the flow of magic.
Do you want to see something?
Lun asked Rai telepathically while putting the crispy cookies in his mouth.
Rai led the way confidently, indicating it was close enough to walk to.
'This direction leads to the aquarium, or rather, the fish farm.'
As they passed through a corridor that smelled of the sea, the sound of waves could be heard.
Following Rai, Lun's eyes widened at the scene before him.
'When did they do this construction?'
The fish farm, which was the size of a swimming pool, had expanded to the size of a lake.
In the water, the shadow of a kraken could be seen moving.
It looked twice as big as when Lun first caught it.
The enormous kraken, which was so large that it couldn't be fully seen even when it raised its head and tentacles, let out a roar.
Without hesitation, the giant knight in black armor launched himself at the kraken, making a heavy metallic sound.
The kraken, which was so large that it couldn't be injured even if it didn't dodge, let out a roar.
It seemed genuinely angry, raising its eight tentacles like pillars.
Then, it struck Dura-han's surroundings randomly with its tentacles.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Bang! Bang!
The sound of water and the floor colliding was harsh, and Dura-han moved like lightning to dodge.
Left, right, then turning his body diagonally.
Whenever a tentacle tried to make contact, he created a black barrier with his hands and palms.
During the time Lun was asleep, Dura-han had trained well enough to handle the darkness he received as a vassal.
'Dura-han, you've done well. The result of consistent effort, I suppose.'
Lun couldn't help but smile contentedly.
Dura-han, who had doded all the tentacles and disappeared from sight, reappeared in an empty space, bringing his curved sword in front of his chest and standing straight.
A heavy change in the air accompanied a different momentum from the previous melee.
Auric energy began to condense on the curved sword.
Sensing something, the kraken quickly retracted its tentacles and retreated.
But Dura-han, seemingly unconcerned about the distance, slowly drew his sword.
A black aura enveloped Dura-han's curved sword.
The completed form was an intangible blade that emitted a dark, transparent light.
Then, Dura-han cut the giant kraken's body diagonally.
The movement looked very slow, yet it felt like an unstoppable moment.
The kraken's skin turned red and swollen.
Its massive body stirred, causing waves in the small fish farm.
The roughly overturned water rose and then fell like a heavy rain.
Lun, watching the scene that evoked a disaster, thought to himself.
'So, this is how he lived, engaging in such battles.'
What Dura-han created was an Aura Sword.
The technique of forming an aura into a sword.
After a long time of wielding a sword and mastering it, Dura-han had reached the level of turning even a curved sword into an Aura Sword.
Moreover, the kraken's combat sense was surprisingly good.
If it had taken one more step inward, its body would have been cut in half, but it retreated perfectly, allowing it to survive.
The kraken, which seemed unwilling to give up despite gaining some weight, stopped when Dura-han raised his hand to signal a halt.
The kraken shook its tentacles, seemingly wanting to continue the fight.
However, Dura-han walked over to Lun, ignoring it.
The fluorescent green light blinked quite actively.
Despite still being a formless armored knight, Dura-han looked much larger due to his upright posture and imposing presence.
'It must have been a good opportunity for him to sense magic in the form of fragrance.'
Then, the mokoji stone vibrated in silent mode.
<Lun! Are you awake now?>
Although the sparring between the kraken and Dura-han was thrilling, the flow of their movements was very fast.
Ferdikion's message came before he even had time to have a cup of tea.
<Yeah. How long did I sleep?>
<About 100 years. Are the others awake too?>
<Heumi and Baekya are still sleeping. Only Rai, Dura-han, and I are awake.>
<Got it. I have something to say, so I'll go to you soon.>
'So, he already knows Christina is gone.'
After all, even the busy Christina would have informed Ferdikion in advance.
Before long, Ferdikion found Lun.
"Did you sleep well, little brother? You don't seem to have grown much for 100 years of sleep?"
'So, I didn't grow much, huh?'
He wondered if it was normal for a 100-year-old to not grow much, but from Ferdikion's reaction, it seemed he hadn't grown much.
He was already smaller than the average hatchling when he was born, and although he was eager to grow, it wasn't something that could be rushed.
'Well... it's not something I can control.'
Even if each day seemed the same, one day he would look back and find himself grown.
Thinking this, Lun nodded to himself.
'Right. I might become stronger than Christina in the future.'
Anticipating a larger self in the future, Lun put on the golden bracelet on his front paw.
In his human form, Ferdikion asked him.
"What were you thinking about to have that look on your face?"
He thought about it for a moment but couldn't understand what he meant.
Although he was a bit disappointed with his small size, he hadn't done anything that would show on his face.
In the end, Lun blinked and gave Ferdikion a puzzled look.
"I don't know what look I had on my face."
"Ah, um. Never mind. I was just wondering."
His suspiciously evasive gaze.
Lun felt that Ferdikion had somehow sensed something.
Seeing him awkwardly changing the subject, a thought flashed through Lun's mind.
"Bro, what was the urgent matter you left in the mokoji stone?"
For some reason, it didn't feel good.
Lun looked at Ferdikion with a rather serious expression.
Since he was going to tell the story anyway, Ferdikion crossed his arms and began to speak.
"......I don't know how you'll take this, but try not to be too shocked."
Seemingly nervous about saying it, Ferdikion clenched his fists and furrowed his brow.
Then he delivered the news that far exceeded Lun's expectations.
"While you were in the sleep chamber, the great reformist blacksmith and your vassal, Zed Muskett, ... he, crossed the rainbow bridge."
"In other words, Zed has gone to a place where we can never see him again."