'Those are the vegetables I practiced my verbal command on this morning.'
Even when he looked again, the fresh vegetables made him want to slice them with a knife and eat them right away.
He felt embarrassed that he had used his verbal command magic, which was classified as a higher ability than ordinary elemental magic, on such vegetables.
"Really, they are so fresh. I want to cook them right away."
'I need to try to destroy the evidence by eating them.'
Seeing the enthusiastic response from Rune, Christina felt pleased as if she were watching a diligent student.
After making an omelet, sandwiches, milk, and black tea, they brought Baiye, who had been sleeping soundly in the room, and enjoyed a peaceful breakfast together.
In the afternoon, they each spent their time.
Christina tidied up the disorganized lair, and Rune checked on the demonic roses whenever he had a break from his personal training. Even Baiye, who had not groomed himself for a while, took the time to tidy his fur, making it a rare, leisurely day.
And as the sun began to set.
Ferdigion, who had arrived late for the evening class, sat comfortably in the living room chair and picked up his knife and fork.
Even though he had never been particularly interested in cooking, he seemed to notice the extraordinary quality of the steak as soon as he caught its aroma, and his eyes sparkled.
"Yeah. I seasoned and grilled it. Try it, bro."
"Quite excellent. Enjoy your meal."
Ferdigion's appearance, cutting and eating the steak with a knife, looked quite noble. Watching him, memories of the past naturally came to mind.
'That kid has changed a lot.'
The Ferdigion he had first met would have scoffed and mocked the food or been subtly wary of it, but now he was quite gentle and accepted the idea of eating together naturally.
'Eating together is also an important experience in many ways.'
Ferdigion's eyes widened as he tasted the steak cut into a suitable size.
The food was rich with fresh magic.
It was so delicious that it made his eyes blur for a moment.
A bell seemed to ring in his head, and he, who had never experienced such a taste, unknowingly inhaled two or three pieces in quick succession.
"This is really delicious!"
Halfway through, he regretfully watched the remaining pieces disappear, his eyes slightly trembling. Even Christina, upon tasting the steak, raised her eyebrows and cupped her cheeks.
"My, it's beyond what I imagined. How could it taste like this?"
'I wonder how he would react if I told him that this dish was made with ingredients enhanced by the power of verbal command.'
Putting aside the bitter truth, the steak was undoubtedly a heavenly taste.
Rune, who had cut and tasted the steak, had even doubted, 'Did I really make this?'
Baiye, who was pecking at the soft potato salad, stood up with a black feather on his head, his eyes sparkling.
The bird, wagging its tail feathers happily, finished the potato salad and quickly devoured the steak pieces.
"The roasted vegetables on the side are also delicious. I feel like I've never had such a wonderful meal before."
"Good to hear. It turned out better than I expected."
"Really impressive. When you said you wanted to try it yourself, I was curious how you would do it. I didn't expect it to be such a pleasant experience."
Hearing Christina's words, Ferdigion ate the rest of the steak with a conflicted expression.
He finished the accompanying drink and, with a determined look, placed the glass on the table with a thud.
"Did you really make this?"
It wasn't unreasonable to doubt, so he answered calmly. Rune had no reason to lie, and it was understandable that he was asking out of genuine surprise.
Since Ferdigion's gaze was still on him, Rune asked curiously.
Nodding, Ferdigion spoke without hesitation.
"Can you recreate this taste in my lair?"
It was unusual for a hatchling, who had been born not long ago, to venture outside their own lair.
Ferdigion, aware of this, looked back and forth between Christina and Rune.
"Yes. If Lady Christina is okay with it, I would like to formally invite you to my lair. I want to let the residents of my lair taste this."
Christina let out a small exclamation.
It was surprising enough that Ferdigion, a candidate for the elder of the Red Dragons, had formally invited them to his lair, but to ask for help from a young Black Dragon hatchling was even more surprising.
However, Rune, the actual party involved, felt a bit troubled.
'Being invited to the lair of the Fire Clan is a good thing, but...'
This steak dish was the result of using the best ingredients, enhanced by Rune's verbal command, to their optimal state.
'While I can get the ingredients with Christina's help, I can't reveal my ability, so it's impossible to provide it in large quantities to the lair residents.'
It was a pity he couldn't go to the lair of the Fire Clan, but he decided to decline. Since he was already close to Ferdigion, there would be other opportunities for an invitation.
However, as he made up his mind, Ferdigion hesitated for a moment and then his expression turned serious.
"Rune, you said that protecting their hearts is as important as protecting their lives."
But Ferdigion's eyes were serious, and it wasn't the right atmosphere to refuse outright.
Ferdigion put down his utensils, lowered his gaze slightly, and calmly folded his hands.
"I tried to understand their hearts as you suggested. It wasn't easy. In fact, it felt even harder than before."
'Of course. A guy who has never sung in his life would find it hard to suddenly sing in front of others. He probably lacked the experience to try other methods.'
He had only just started to express his own emotions.
For such a Ferdigion, it would be difficult to naturally respond to and appropriately react to others' emotions.
Seeing his troubled expression, Ferdigion, thinking Rune felt burdened, quickly continued.
"I'm not asking for anything grand. I don't need much, just the closest aides I see most often. I'll also ask Lady Christina for the ingredients, and I'll do my best to procure them."
"How many of your aides are there?"
"Probably no more than twenty. If it's too many to prepare at once, we can have meals in groups of four or five."
Upon hearing this, it didn't seem like an overly burdensome number of people.
Moreover, for a hatchling who was not even a year old, the opportunity to visit another dragon's lair was rare.
After some thought, Rune realized something and inwardly marveled.
'Come to think of it, this is a natural opportunity to practice my verbal command magic.'
He had been reaching the limits of secretly practicing while avoiding Christina's gaze.
Furthermore, the lair of the Fire Clan was a place where skilled artisans gathered to create excellent weapons using fire.
If he could get a good weapon, it would be a win-win situation.
Chapter 29: Can you do it?
"If you help, I will definitely repay you."
When Rune looked at Christina, she smiled and nodded.
With her silent approval, Rune spoke.
Ferdigion, who had jumped up from his seat in excitement, cleared his throat and composed himself, realizing he was too excited.
Although he had calmed down, his lips were still twitching with joy.
"No problem. But I'm still in training, so give me some time."
"Your skills are good enough to come right away."
Seeing his firm response, it seemed he was quite impressed, but Rune didn't back down.
Since he was going anyway, he might as well get what he could.
"I want to go quickly too... but if you really want me to, you have something to give me."
Rune smiled and spoke clearly.
Dragons have special innate abilities to bestow blessings of each attribute, known as seals.
'Christina's inherited knowledge is quite useful.'
The knowledge about seals was listed one by one.
- Keyword: <Seal of Fire>
- Symbol of the Red Dragon
* Immunity to fire damage.
* Ability to withstand intense heat.
* Greatly increased affinity with fire.
* Penalty if the holder of the Seal of Fire kills another.
'Although the penalty part is annoying, there's a way around it.'
Beings fear more than just death.
Knowing this from his time as a dragon, he could easily avoid the penalty.
Moreover, it was advantageous that he wouldn't be harmed by other members of the Fire Clan.
"Are you asking for the 'Seal of Fire'? Do you even know what it means?"
Ferdigion, unable to answer immediately, asked with a stiff face.
For a member of the Dark Clan to want to become a member of the Fire Clan was not something a typical dragon would ask for.
Of course, he had a prepared answer.
"Yeah. It means becoming the most trusted person to you, right?"
An innocent answer a child might think of.
However, the words that followed made Ferdigion's expression even stiffer.
"I'm not awkward around you because we