After the serious command, an awkward silence lingered.
Surprisingly, nothing happened.
Instead, a leaf fell as if in defiance.
"Just giving an order doesn't make it work."
Lun's gaze fixed intently on Christina.
In this strange situation, she seemed to be enjoying herself and gave another hint.
"Actually, this rose is alive."
"Flowers have life, don't they?"
Despite Lun's somewhat disgruntled response, she only smiled gently.
"Hehe. I mean that this flower has a soul."
Christina, with a faint smile, swept her golden hair back with her hand.
"Yes. This rose has the soul of a demon. It has thoughts and self-awareness."
Even animals recognize their owners and react in various ways.
Only then did Lun understand Christina's words and ponder them.
"So, this rose should be seen as a living being. It can understand words."
"Is that all? Think about it. What did you think when you saw this rose?"
Hmm, Lun thought, recalling the earlier situation.
'I knew it absorbs the same type of magic power as me, and... and...'
The conclusion he reached was truly absurd.
'It's like a dog that thinks eating too much is bad.'
With his arms crossed and head lowered, Lun remained silent for a long time before finally lifting his head.
"I figured it out. Why it's doing this."
With the realization, Lun scratched his head.
He had inadvertently scolded it for eating too much.
'I thought it was just a plant. Plus, it's reacting like it's going to absorb less nutrients because of that one thought?'
Lun looked at the rose with a complex expression.
At that moment, the rose seemed to be about to drop another leaf, its bud trembling.
Despite feeling ridiculous, he knew it would die without any petals if this continued.
'Stop! It's fine. No, it's actually a good thing.'
Even without words, it was fine.
If they could communicate, it meant he could adjust it to absorb only the food he designated while in this place.
The petal that was about to fall stopped moving.
As if listening intently.
Lun approached the rose and gently brushed it.
Despite feeling a bit awkward, saving a dying thing was more important.
'Can you hear me? Do you recognize me?'
A young, black leaf trembled.
Seeing this movement, a strange sense of emotion welled up in him.
He felt a bit sorry for it.
Just yesterday, he had encouraged it to live a good life after it had come to life, but today he was worried about what it would eat and was troubled.
'I'm sorry. I didn't know you could hear me.'
Lun admitted it straightforwardly.
He felt embarrassed to make excuses, especially since he had criticized it for eating too much, which was his fault for giving it life.
'It's okay to eat a lot. I'll take good care of you.'
The rose remained still, and he felt it was watching him carefully.
'Can you accept my apology?'
Lun removed the golden bracelet and returned to his hatchling form.
He then detached another scale from his short arm and placed it at the base of the rose's roots.
After a moment of silence, the rose gently touched the scale and clutched it as if it were precious.
A transparent, dew-like light formed on the slightly opened bud, restoring its vitality.
Lun sighed in relief at the rose's immediate response.
'No more leaves are falling, and the color is even more vivid. This should be fine now.'
Seeing Lun's silent smile, Christina praised him.
"It seems to have worked. Taming a creature from the Demon Realm... it's quite remarkable."
"I almost got into trouble. It would have been better if you had told me about the soul sooner."
"Well, you've been keeping it a secret until now, haven't you?"
Christina pinched his cheek playfully as she responded to his grumbling.
"But it was good that you asked for help."
Without her help, he would have had to let go of the rose he had subjugated.
Lun was genuinely grateful to her.
"Let's go. Banya is waiting. It's time for dinner, so think about the rest after eating."
Lun went to the pile of black magic stones, took a few more, and placed them around the roots.
"Eat a lot. If you're hungry, you can eat more of the magic stones over there. But don't touch anything else. If you wait well, I'll come back in the afternoon."
The revitalized petals glowed gently.
It was like a puppy wagging its tail, promising to wait well.
A smile spread across his face.
Waving his hand, he moved to his room with Christina.
Banya, flapping its wings urgently, flew around Lun's face and perched on his head.
"You must have been lonely since I woke up a while ago."
"...But you just woke up, right?"
'You were sleeping soundly when I came to get the bracelet earlier.'
Lun had tried to wake the bird a few times before leaving, but it had remained motionless.
However, seeing it rub its face against his head, he couldn't help but feel a bit soft-hearted.
Gently stroking the white fluffy ball, the bird seemed to relax.
The bird flew over to inspect Lun's face and then checked his body thoroughly.
"You must have been worried."
Recently, Banya seemed to be getting smarter, responding well to questions and even asserting itself.
After all, even seeds express their will in this world.
'Still, it feels like it's getting more clingy.'
It was cute, but he was worried it might never leave him.
Anyway, they had to do their tasks, so they moved to the kitchen to prepare a late breakfast.
Fresh salad, salt bread, and salmon.
The menu for the day included foods imbued with magic to cleanse the blood and veins.
"Considering the recipient, it's good to think about the effects of the magic in the food. For a patient's stew, it's best to use mainly restorative water."
"It's not just about cooking, but also about the combination of ingredients and dishes based on the purpose."
Satisfied with the grilled salmon steak, Lun took a bite and chewed.
The lemon dill butter added a rich flavor.
'Practicing the resurrection incantation on the salmon was a good decision.'
Nodding, he was very pleased with his choice.
With the recent battles, the phoenix Banya, and lessons with Ferdikion, he had been busy.
Especially today, he had been busy reviving the Demon Realm rose.
Feeling tired from all these activities, he wanted a meal that would enhance his recovery.
He felt sleepy even though he hadn't done much.
If he hadn't spent 999 years in training in his previous life, he would have fallen into a deep sleep immediately.
'Time is too precious to waste. I need to grow the rose more before going to Ferdikion's lair.'
Swallowing the remaining food, he rubbed his eyes.
'This is strange. Shouldn't I have this much energy?'
Lun felt something was off.
The accumulated sleepiness and fatigue from each day made his body feel heavy.
He even started to feel a fever.
He realized it wasn't just tiredness.
However, this lethargy was different from the twisted energy flow of a cultivation mishap.
He checked the flow of mana in his body, recalling his experience in cultivating inner energy.
He also checked the dantians where he had been building his inner energy.
There were no major issues, but he felt dizzy.
'The closest sensation would be a cold.'
If Imugi had a cold, it would be a laughing matter.
Even humans rarely get colds when healthy, let alone a dragon.
This would disrupt his plans.
As he tried to shake his head, dizziness overcame him, and he grabbed his head.
Lun put on the bracelet and, in human form, spoke to Rai.
"I need to see Christina. Can you watch Banya for a bit?"
'That means "I'll take care of it."'
Lun was now used to Rai's strange symbols. Nodding, he continued.
"Do you know where Christina is?"
The light formed into a teacup.
'She's in the garden having tea.'
Lun left Banya with the spirit and immediately used a teleportation spell.
As soon as he arrived, Lun found Christina and rubbed his stomach, feeling nauseous.
Sensing something was wrong, Christina put down her tea with a serious expression.
"What's wrong? Are you sick?"
Unlike her usual calm demeanor, she looked genuinely worried.
"I don't know. I suddenly felt like this just now."
She calmly placed her hand on Lun's forehead and checked his neck.
"This is... a kind of fever."
Lun knew that a dragon's body was quite robust.
Even as a hatchling, he was strong enough to run all day in the snow without catching a cold.
But Christina shook her head.