A short bubble of air escaped from the mermaid's mouth.
Judging by her expression, it was a light exclamation and a muttered "Bakuya."
Seeing this, Rune suddenly recalled what Jed had said.
"Women also like sweet and cute food!"
While looking at Bakuya, Rune shook his head inwardly and stopped his train of thought.
Meanwhile, the mermaid was staring intently at Bakuya without blinking.
"You can come closer and take a look."
However, the mermaid instead hid herself behind the rock again.
Fortunately, the mermaid didn't run away far and showed her face again.
Rune tried to remain calm and said nonchalantly,
"My name is Rune. What's yours?"
As he had guessed, Amelia, the blue dragon hatchling, was flapping her wings and hiding her face behind the rock again at the sight of crying Bakuya.
"This little one is also saying hello."
Fortunately, Bakuya responded to Rune's explanation.
Amelia, who couldn't take her eyes off the phoenix feather, hesitated for a moment before timidly waving her hand with the webbed fingers.
Seeing Amelia's slight nod, Rune tried to hide his smile.
'Putting a feather in her hand, that was a good move.'
He engraved a glowing magic rune on the feather, which was said to contain the magic power of an undying flame from a phoenix.
'The ability to engrave runes with magic power is really useful.'
The white feather, imbued with Rune's magic power, began to emit a soft glow.
He cast a waterproof spell on the feather to prevent it from getting wet and placed it next to the snowball.
Amelia's gaze was fixed on the phoenix feather and the snowball.
'Come to think of it, Jed's advice was quite useful.'
Although he had been annoying recently, his advice was quite helpful.
Amelia, who couldn't take her eyes off the feather, seemed to be a good sign.
Considering her remaining caution, it meant that her trust had increased significantly.
"Is that so? Then it's okay if I come back next time?"
Amelia gave a barely perceptible nod.
Rune tried hard to hide his rising smile.
"Alright, then I should be going."
Amelia looked somewhat reluctant.
But it was really time to leave, so the conversation had to end here.
'At least there was some progress.'
Rune saw it as a positive sign that Amelia was starting to express her feelings, even if only non-verbally.
Considering her remaining caution, it meant that her trust had increased significantly.
"See you next time, Amelia."
Bakuya, spreading her wings wide, stretched her body upward and flapped her wings.
Amelia, hesitating, slowly raised one hand and waved it slowly.
Rune turned away without any hesitation.
He shouldn't be so reckless as to immediately ask for the power.
'I should bring something better next time.'
Since she seemed to like cute things, he thought he should focus on that.
'But... when will I get the power back?'
It seemed like a long road ahead.
But if successful, the reward would be great.
'Yeah, the greater the power, the more cautious I need to be.'
Rune smiled, imagining himself after gaining the power.
Meanwhile, Amelia cautiously approached the place where the white feather was, long after Rune had left.
The mermaid, reciting the names of the visitors to make sure she wouldn't forget them, reached out her webbed hand and held the glowing white feather.
The warmth and softness of the dry feather, which she had never felt in the cold deep sea, were now in her cold hand.
The mermaid gently placed the feather against her white cheek.
The warmth she had never felt in the cold deep sea made her aching body a little more comfortable.
Finally, the day of the grandmaster competition's final round arrived.
Rune's turn was the last.
To ensure the fairness of the competition, he had been isolated from the dwarves since the day before, with no information about the works revealed to him.
'Thanks to that, I had a peaceful time.'
Rune stretched and waited in his room.
After a while, a knock came, and a dwarf outside announced it was Rune's turn.
"Lord Rune, it's time to prepare."
Kurohime, wearing a cute skirt made by the reformist dwarves, entered the room.
It was a soft, comfortable skirt, the kind children might wear for a school performance.
'They said they prepared a congratulatory performance with the salamanders on the spot.'
Kurohime's ending performance was added to the competition at the last minute yesterday.
Although he didn't know how the idea of dancing with salamanders came up, Kurohime looked very excited, so it was all good.
Kurohime, who had been rehearsing all day without getting tired, had her cheeks flushed and was glowing with excitement.
"Lord Rune! This dress is beautiful, right?"
Rune nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. It suits you. I could tell you were practicing hard. The performance is at the end of the competition, right?"
Kurohime touched her cheeks and giggled.
"That's right! I asked them to put Kurohime's turn right after Lord Rune decides the winner!"
'A dance with salamanders, that sounds interesting.'
The dwarves had even given it a name, "Dance of the Spirits," and were promoting it.
Rune stood up, checked his collar lightly, and headed to the final stage.
Despite the village's strong isolation, the training ground, where almost all the dwarves had gathered, was packed.
Moreover, the final round started without any formalities, with the works being displayed immediately.
"Please welcome Lord Rune!"
As Rune stepped onto the stage, applause and expectant gazes from everyone focused on him.
"Here we go! The grand final! The final winner will be decided by Lord Rune's choice!"
Berdin, the judge and host, captivated the audience with his resonant voice.
"To ensure a fair evaluation, Lord Rune has no information about the works! Now, let's reveal the first work!"
As the thick cloth was lifted, the dwarves gasped in awe.
On a platform covered with red silk, a simple yet eye-catching and luxurious golden-patterned spear and shield were revealed.
"Using Lord Rune's scales to optimize for the user! The work is titled <The Spear That Pierces Anything and The Shield That Blocks Anything>!"
Occasional jeers and cries of disbelief could be heard.
But among the highly skilled dwarves, there were those specialized in explanations.
"The skills of the 'Great Blacksmith' from the first round are still intact."
"Look at the refinement of the magic stones. Each pattern is engraved with melted magic stones! This allows the magic power to circulate throughout the entire weapon."
All of them praised the work and explained the reasons.
Of course, there were also mocking comments.
"A spear that pierces anything and a shield that blocks anything? Is that a joke or a fart?"
"You must have lost your touch after living so long."
The dwarf who heard this glared and started a verbal spat.
"Where are you from, you punks?"
"Your words are really dirty."
"What! You want to try it out?"
Fists were already flying in the back.
Fortunately, it seemed like a familiar scene, and Gorban and Wood rushed out at Berdin's signal.
They gently patted the heads of the fighting dwarves, knocking them out.
"Next, let's reveal the second work!"
"It's just a rock? A sculpture?"
"Weren't they supposed to make weapons?"
While everyone was puzzled, the blacksmiths of the reformist faction wore triumphant smiles.
"Similarly, this work uses Lord Rune's scales and focuses on functionality for the advancement of the dwarf race! It is titled <For True Prosperity, Not War!>."
"The era of conquering through brute force is long gone!"
"Yeah, now it's the age of respecting one's own thoughts and ideas."