Berdin nodded and rubbed his beard.
After briefly inspecting the runes, Ferdikion casually said,
“Well. By the way, my brother looks tired.”
“I was shortsighted. Let’s go in and rest.”
Berdin naturally stepped aside and chuckled.
Rune had also been thinking that it would be better to rest comfortably in his room rather than stay in this place.
Then Berdin rubbed his chin and concluded,
“Well, I’ll talk to Zed about compensation.”
“I understand. If he causes any trouble, I’ll make sure to tell him that I’ll take it back.”
‘Zed, you’ll probably be taken back soon.’
That evening, a special meal was prepared, accompanied by the traditional food of the dwarves.
Christina had sent the ingredients, and Berdin, who had learned cooking from Rune, displayed his skills without reservation.
“Thanks to Lord Rune, who stored the good ingredients in the magic refrigerator, it was convenient to cook.”
‘Now that I think about it, I filled it up while practicing the resurrection incantation.’
Dried meat, bacon, and goat cheese were placed on top of whole roasted potatoes.
Berdin, with his thick hands, skillfully made baguettes.
Refreshing barley drinks and alcohol.
Their simple, rustic daily meals.
Rune was captivated by a strange feeling.
‘It’s been a while since someone else cooked for me. I’m reminded of Christina.’
Since coming to Ferdikion’s lair, he had always prepared feasts with the finest ingredients.
Thus, it had been a long time since he had eaten a meal cooked by someone else.
“How does it taste? I’m still not perfect, having learned by watching over your shoulder. Hehe.”
“It’s more than excellent. Well done, Berdin.”
Berdin smiled kindly at Rune’s praise.
Perhaps because he was a skilled craftsman, his ability to handle fire was outstanding.
‘Though he’s still a bit clumsy at gauging the seasoning.’
It was clear that Berdin, who had only recently learned to cook, had done his best to prepare the meal.
He must have wanted to comfort Ferdikion and his party, who had been tired and stressed.
It felt as if his heart, untouched even by the heat of the volcano, was being warmed.
“Grandpa Berdin! It’s the best!”
Jade, with his mouth full of meat, gave a thumbs-up.
“Huh? Ah, about breakfast?”
Jade, who had been drinking beer, was startled and asked.
“Yes. Now that you’re tired, we’ll sort out the dungeon information for the investigation team in the morning.”
Ferdikion’s response made a noticeable look of difficulty appear on Zed’s face.
“You’ll have a lot to do for a while. Stay in the castle tonight.”
“Er… Sir Ferdikion. It’s just that… I feel like I left my hearth unattended! I’ll be a bit uneasy tonight.”
Ferdikion cast a questioning glance.
Noticing his furrowed brow, Zed hurriedly made an excuse with a smile.
“After experiencing a brush with death, I really miss my home. I even wanted to see the funny patterns on my dining table that I thought I’d never see again.”
“…If you have your reasons, I can’t stop you. Then come back to the castle in the morning.”
Since there was no need to forcibly keep Zed in the castle, Ferdikion allowed him to return home.
Rune quietly observed the scene.
After instructing Heukmi and Baekya to wait in their room, Rune followed Zed alone.
Zed, who had left the castle normally, subtly looked around and entered a dark alley.
He continued down a more secluded and uninhabited alley.
Following a rough path that beasts might traverse.
At the end, he arrived at a dilapidated shack.
It was too old to be called a house and seemed haunted.
There was not even a hearth, let alone a table or any common furniture.
Zed muttered, having not noticed Rune hiding in the darkness.
The boy moved a stack of wooden boxes in one corner.
Then, with a groan, he pulled out a large backpack.
Zed took a key from his pocket, and the backpack made a metallic clinking sound as he put it on his back.
‘I can feel magic from the key. What’s he planning to do?’
Rune watched as Zed knelt and swept away the dirt on the floor.
Slowly, he began to insert the key somewhere.
A light scraping sound was followed by the revelation of a magic-filled underground space.
Zed looked around and pulled out the key.
As soon as the key was removed, the magic door began to fade.
After watching Zed cautiously enter, Rune quickly made up his mind.
Before the door completely disappeared, Rune jumped into the space Zed had entered.
The swirling magic enveloped his body and swiftly transported him somewhere.
Immediately afterward, the door vanished, leaving only the dilapidated shack.
Rune, who had thought there might only be a trap, was momentarily lost in thought as he saw the bright landscape.
A vast desert stretched before him.
Large palm trees grew here and there, and the sky was clear and cloudless.
With each breath, he could feel the hot, dry sand wind.
‘This must be a teleportation spell. There must be a magic circle installed underground.’
Otherwise, such a landscape would not exist in the basement of a dilapidated shack.
Given the overflowing magic, it was either a long-distance teleportation or a separated dimension.
Whichever it was, it was important that it was impossible with ordinary magic skills.
‘I thought he was just hiding some treasure or meeting someone in secret.’
Rune let out a light, bitter laugh.
Looking back, the passage he had entered was nowhere to be seen.
‘Now that I think about it, Christina said, “This world is much wider than what you can see.”’
Rune, recalling her words, searched for Zed, who must have entered first.
The footprints in the sand were gradually fading but continued straight ahead.
Although the situation was absurd, it was important not to lose Zed.
Rune, feeling the sand seep into his shoes with each step, immediately cast a flying spell and flew toward Zed.
Zed, who had just climbed over a sand dune, was startled and his eyes widened at the sight of Rune.
Zed, with his mouth agape, jumped as if he had seen a ghost.
“Goodness. How did you know to come here?!”
“Didn’t you think your actions were suspicious?”
“Well… I thought I was being completely natural, you know.”
Rune gave him a disdainful look instead of an answer.
Though he had tried to act natural, Zed’s conscience pricked him, and he scratched the back of his head.
“What am I going to do with this?”
Rune didn’t care about Zed’s predicament.
“Since you’re not leaving immediately, you must have somewhere to go.”
Zed, who had strangely lost his enthusiasm, was pointed at by Rune’s chin.
Though he glanced sideways, Zed moved his short legs briskly.
He was in such a hurry that he didn’t slow down even while adjusting his large backpack.
Along the way, they saw desert lizards, baby scorpions peeking out of holes, and cactus monsters swaying.
“There it is. The place I was heading to.”
The distant structure was a pyramid.
First, a low stone wall was set up.
Inside the wall was the pyramid.
Outside, people in exotic clothing were leading camels around.
And temporary tents and makeshift buildings were scattered here and there.
“Sure enough, many have already claimed their spots. Let’s hurry a bit.”
“Tell me what you’re going to do. I might be able to help, you know?”
Zed turned to Rune and pondered for a moment.
But he soon seemed to make up his mind, nodded, and spoke.
“This is the black market of the desert. Simply put, it’s a place where special items are bought and sold in secret. But today happens to be the last market day.”
Rune was also intrigued by the idea of a place where special items were bought and sold.
He used the flying spell to lift both himself and Zed.
“Why didn’t you say so earlier? Let’s go.”
Zed felt his cheeks pressed against the air barrier and arrived at the black market in an instant.
“Ah! Lord Rune, please put me down quickly!”
“? Why are you so scared?”
“I-I’m not used to floating in the air like this!”
Rune, finding Zed’s flailing in the air pitiful, immediately landed.
As soon as his feet touched the ground, Zed, who seemed to be indignant about something, glared at Rune.
But as soon as Rune gave him a light, intimidating stare, Zed’s eyes widened.
“You said you had something to do. Let’s go quickly.”
In silence, they entered the tent district.
By this point, Rune was slightly excited.
It was due to the magical aura he had felt even before entering the market.
“Apple granny! Long time no see. Do you have any items left?”
“They’re all sold out, except for ten rubies. Fine, fine, young dwarf.”
“What a surprise. Why do you have apples left?”
“I just raised the price a bit because the harvest was low. Now, I get one low-grade mana stone for each ruby.”
“Twice the price from last year? Surely you’re not planning to sell them to me at that price?”
Rune, leaving their haggling behind, peered into the elegant box.
Inside, red gems were attached to green leaves.
‘There’s something inside them.’
After the haggling, Zed bought all ten apples.
Rune, watching carefully as the apples were placed in Zed’s backpack, momentarily doubted his eyes.
He tapped Zed’s arm and asked,
“These are elemental sealing stones containing fire elementals. The granny is a famous elemental hunter. When you remove the leaf, the seal is broken, and the <Fire Elemental Salamander> comes out.”
At the mention of an elemental hunter, Rune’s expression stiffened slightly, thinking of Christina and Rai.
“You don’t need to make that face.”
“The face that shows you’re not happy about it.”
Though there was no change in his expression, Zed accurately read Rune’s feelings.