Chapter 56

Amelia stood by the window, gazing at the distant mountains while deeply reflecting on yesterday's events.

Before the pain that pierced her chest could fully overwhelm her.

Hoo-.

Amelia naturally absorbed the water's energy into her body.

And with the breath she exhaled, she slowly pushed the darkness out of her mouth.

‘That’s enough.’

Rune, who had been quietly watching, seized the opportunity and naturally absorbed the darkness that Amelia expelled.

How much time had passed?

After expelling the small grains of darkness several times, Amelia looked up with a relaxed expression and her watery eyes.

[Amazing… a little… more comfortable, yeah.]

“Kyo!”

[That’s good. You did well.]

Rune also smiled at her.

However, he then spoke with a serious face.

[I’ll keep an eye on your posture and energy. Let’s start with this breathing technique every time we practice.]

[O, okay…]

Thinking that she could alleviate the pain that had been pressing down on her body, Amelia clasped her hands together in joy.

And she thought of those who had been enveloped in darkness.

‘Everyone, please wait just a little longer… I’ll wake you up soon.’

Amelia clenched her lips firmly, making a resolve in her heart.

***

Pherdikion’s lair was unusually busy today.

Especially in the room with the dwarf city teleportation magic circle, there were many people gathered for the first time in a long while.

“Are you leaving already?”

“Yeah. I’ve finished what I came for, and I need to return to Christina’s lair.”

Pherdikion looked quite reluctant.

“Come visit often. Brother.”

“Yeah. You’re always welcome, Pherdikion.”

Pherdikion smiled brightly at Rune’s answer.

It was hard to pinpoint, but his expression seemed much richer since the day he burst into laughter during the Artisan Competition.

“Alright. I’ll see you off to Christina’s lair.”

‘Pherdikion. The atmosphere around him has changed a bit these past few days. Has he become less rough?’

It felt like the bowstring that he always kept taut had loosened.

Recently, Pherdikion had been responding joyfully in conversations and naturally drawing people’s attention and focus.

In short, he had developed a charm that drew people in with his presence.

‘He’s a promising one.’

Rune thought that Pherdikion would become a good leader and turned to look behind him.

“Is everyone ready to go?”

“Y-Yes, Sir Rune!”

Jed answered first to Rune’s question, and the other few reformist dwarves also nodded with tense eyes.

Despite their determined responses, they looked very nervous.

The usually bold dwarves were now looking at each other with rare tension.

“From what I heard, you need to take off your shoes and jump into the teleportation magic circle at once as a sign of respect?”

“No, that’s not it. You should hold hands with the person next to you to wish for a safe arrival and to avoid being swept away by the magical currents.”

“Oh, it seems none of you have the right information! I heard from someone who knows a bit about magic engineering. He said that due to the pressure difference during teleportation, you should yawn once before stepping in.”

For the first time using the teleportation magic circle, they were sharing various tips they had heard from somewhere.

It was Jed, along with three reformist dwarves, who were about to leave Pherdikion’s lair with Rune.

The discussions related to this had already concluded.

The nominal reason was that they had made a Servant contract to follow Rune as their master.

However, their true purpose was to spread the culture of the dwarves in the human world.

“Alright! Reformist vanguard, let’s go!”

“Woo!”

The eyes of the reformist dwarves, burdened with a significant mission, were filled with enthusiasm.

“Blackberry is all ready!”

Blackberry, who had been dancing and singing and monopolizing the attention, received the dwarves’ reluctance to see her go.

Most of the dwarves gathered here were there to see Blackberry off.

“Blackberry is leaving. Sniff.”

“I’ll never forget the way you looked!”

“Kid! Let’s clear a dungeon together again! You have the qualifications of a warrior, so come visit anytime!”

Blackberry’s popularity didn’t wane even on the day of her departure.

‘Thanks to which, I got a lot of extras.’

All kinds of souvenirs, equipment, and clothes that perfectly matched Blackberry, as well as carefully crafted accessories, were now safely stored in Rune’s subspace pocket.

‘These seem to have been made with more effort than the final projects submitted during the Artisan Competition?’

Rune, wrapped in a strange suspicion, saw Blackberry smile innocently.

“Everyone, stay healthy until we meet again!”

Blackberry raised both hands and waved to the dwarves.

From all around, the sound of sniffles could be heard.

“Yeah! We’ll wait for you!”

“We’ll miss you!”

Amidst the waves of hands and cheerful laughter, Blackberry received many requests to come back.

And Byakuya naturally perched on Blackberry’s head.

Quite hospitable.

“See you all!”

“Pip, pip!”

With Blackberry’s cheerful farewell and Byakuya’s chirping, Pherdikion’s teleportation spell began.

The faint sparks and sulfur smell disappeared, and a clear, refreshing coolness was felt.

The soft sunlight and the subtle scent of herbs.

The abundant flow of gold and the healing aura that enveloped the entire lair.

Rune smiled at the familiar air.

‘It’s been a while.’

When the light of the teleportation spell faded, and he saw the familiar scenery, he felt a strange sense of stability.

At that moment, a clear blue gaze greeted them with a gentle smile.

“Welcome back. Everyone has worked hard.”

“I’m back. Christina.”

Christina welcomed Rune’s return.

‘She came to greet us.’

Rune chuckled.

The light’s nest, which he hadn’t visited in a while, felt even more welcoming and warm.

[OwO/]

“Rai, did you do well?”

The light blob blinked a few times in response.

And it silently flew over, circling around Byakuya and Blackberry once.

“Kyaa! Rai!”

Blackberry, laughing, greeted the light, while Byakuya poked it with her beak.

Meanwhile, Pherdikion was also exchanging greetings with Christina.

“Have you been well?”

“Yes. Thank you for taking good care of Rune.”

Rune knew that Pherdikion had occasionally sent greetings to Christina, which was natural as the owner of the fire lair who had taken care of the hatchling.

‘I also contacted her from time to time, but she must have been particularly attentive.’

Christina finished her greeting with gratitude.

Then she gathered everyone’s attention.

“Now, let’s not stand around here. Let’s go have a meal.”

“Alright.”

As Rune answered, Byakuya and Blackberry naturally followed, and the dwarves, who were unprepared to meet the owner of the light lair, the Gold Dragon Elder, were led by Pherdikion.

They eventually bowed their heads in a fluster, apologizing for their tardy greeting, but Christina nodded without concern.

A dwarf facing a Gold Dragon Elder?

It was a situation where they couldn’t help but be stiff.

She gracefully accepted the dwarves’ belated greetings and immediately cast the teleportation spell.

The dwarves, who were not familiar with magic, couldn’t regain their composure as the scene before their eyes suddenly changed.

Before they could calm their startled hearts, they saw a sumptuous feast laid out on the long dining table.

Everyone’s eyes widened and their mouths opened.

Every dish was infused with a subtle magical aura.

Croissants baked with generous amounts of butter, whole smoked pork barbecue.

A giant pot of meat stew.

Containers of spices to enhance the flavors were placed at each seat.

Fried potatoes and vegetables were also piled high on large plates.

‘Considering Christina’s usual dining arrangements… this is quite generous.’

It was undoubtedly tailored for the dwarves, who were accustomed to rough textures.

Rye bread and baguettes, bottles of fresh milk.

Although there was no beer, there was also well-aged grape wine to quench their thirst.

Gulp.

One of the dwarves swallowed a large lump of saliva.

Rune, seeing the abundant feast laid out for the first time in a while, thought to himself.

‘Indeed, the abundance of the meal is exceptional.’

Moreover, a bottle filled with fruit was also placed in front of him.

‘Could it be…?’

Rune picked up the bottle and gently shook it.

The scent that faintly reached his nose reminded him of fruit wine.

‘Really…?’

Perhaps the dwarves’ culture had made her more lenient about alcohol!

Rune’s expectations quietly rose.

“Everyone has worked hard. I’ve prepared this feast to welcome you, so please enjoy it.”

“Thank you!”

“It’s delicious!”

“Pip!”

At Christina’s words, greetings and busy movements began all around.

Rune, savoring the grape wine-colored drink in front of him, poured it into a cup.

‘…!’

The refreshing sensation as it went down his throat, and the burst of flavor!

The sweetness of the fruit was intense.

The stimulating sweetness and the refreshing aftertaste kept making his mouth water.

Thud.

A moment later, Rune looked at the empty glass he had set down with a wistful gaze.

‘This is just fruit juice!’

A fruit sangria without a single drop of alcohol.

A drinker foolishly repeats the same expectations.

Rune, who had hoped against hope, was not surprised.

Indeed, alcohol was still a distant story for him.

Apart from this minor disappointment, the meal was excellent.

The dwarves ate until their bellies were about to burst, but their greed for the once-in-a-lifetime feast pushed them to eat even more.

In reality, this would be the first and last time they would experience such a meal in Christina’s lair.

“Hehe. Who would have thought I’d be helping dwarves settle in the human world during my lifetime.”

Christina elegantly tilted her wine glass, looking intrigued.

The reformist dwarves who followed Jed had decided to settle in the human world.

It had been a while since Christina had offered to assist, given her knowledge of the human world and the means to help them.

Thanks to her, the settlement of the reformist dwarves was proceeding smoothly.

Suddenly, Rune had a good idea.

“Christina, I want to go to the human world with you.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Christina’s counter-question was reasonable.

A 10-year-old hatchling was far too young to visit the human world for leisure.

Rune knew it would be difficult to get permission, but he thought it was worth a try.

‘The human world is a place of all kinds of information, dungeons, and races. Various individuals live there, using their strengths and weaknesses. I need to observe this diverse and vast ecosystem.’

It would be even better if he could experience other dungeons.

“I’m sending my subjects to the human world for the first time. I can’t just watch from behind.”

Christina smiled softly at his enthusiastic answer.

“You’re commendable. Your mindset is no less than any other dragon’s.”

It was a kind compliment, but Rune sensed the firmness in her tone and clicked his tongue.

‘This is a no-go.’

Sure enough, Christina’s expression hardened as she firmly refused.

“Still, I can’t allow that. You’re smart enough to understand the reasons without me saying them, right?”

She was generous, but when it came to things she couldn’t compromise on, she was a dragon who wouldn’t budge.

Considering how much she had allowed him to see of Pherdikion’s lair.

‘Tsk. What a pity.’

Rune had been with Christina for more than a day or two.

He had expected her refusal from the moment she started with a compliment, and it turned out as he thought.

However, his words had an unexpected impact.

“Sir Rune! Sniff, don’t worry. I’ll do my best to ensure that you can leave with peace of mind whenever you come.”

“?”

When Rune turned to look at Jed, his eyes were sparkling with emotion.

‘…? Why you?’

It wasn’t just Jed.

The other reformist dwarves who had come with him also looked at Rune with eyes full of admiration.