"...It's delicious. But seeing the shrimp with its back split open reminds me of the morning training."
As he spoke, the sensation of his back splitting during the morning training session faintly came back to him.
The shrimp, with its back neatly cut for easy eating, seemed somewhat nostalgic.
"Hehe. Yes, I guess that could happen."
Seeing this, Christina smiled softly and turned her gaze to Heumi.
Because the dish reminded him of the depths, Rune tried to hide his tension as he listened to her response.
Heumi, who was already on her fourth shrimp, blinked her eyes.
"It's delicious! I like the nutty and savory taste!"
"Huh. I was worried it might be unfamiliar since you're from the sea. Is this the first time you're eating shrimp?"
Seeing the state of Heumi and Baekya, Rune inwardly felt relieved.
'Good thing I made them keep quiet beforehand.'
Without prior warning, the conversation about the shrimp dish might have led to talk about the deep sea and Amelia.
If that had happened, it would have been difficult to maintain his freedom.
Rune put a piece of seasoned grilled fish in his mouth and thought about the first item he had created for the three-day deep sea hunt.
<Intermediate Doll Making
Item: Intermediate Crafter's Bait Doll
- A doll that repeats actions input by the crafter.
- The similarity to the original increases with higher skill.
* Action List: Sleeping/Stretching/Eating>
It was a work that applied the cursed doll concept from the <Cursed Tool Making Set>.
Thanks to his innate talent for cursing, it wasn't a beginner-level item.
'At best, it can only sleep or eat. If it were a high-level result, it could even make its own food.'
Although slightly disappointed, he was still quite satisfied with the outcome.
'It doesn't matter. It's enough to achieve my goal as it is.'
It might fool Christina, but it would certainly deceive a lower spirit like Rai.
'The idea of a doll that looks like me is a bit unsettling... But I have no choice since I'll be away for a few days.'
He couldn't leave any of his subordinates behind, so this could serve as both an alarm and an excuse if Christina came.
'It's quite useful, now that I've made it.'
He even thought that this might be why Jed always made strange things.
Picking up a cherry that was served as dessert, Rune waited for the right moment.
As casual conversation flowed, the topic naturally turned to Christina's upcoming trip.
"Rune, as you know, I'll be away from the lair for three days due to some business. Rai will be here, so if you need anything, just let him know. I can return immediately."
"Got it. Are you leaving in the morning?"
"Yes. If you want to practice cooking, just leave my portion out."
'So she's leaving before breakfast.'
Rune naturally confirmed Christina's departure time.
"By the way, I can make you a lunchbox, right?"
"Oh, you were thinking of such a thoughtful thing?"
"Well... You've helped me a lot when I went out."
Actually, he had ulterior motives.
He gently smiled, trying to ease his slightly pricked conscience.
"I'm glad. If you say so, I'll take you up on that."
'Good. Things are going according to plan.'
The next day, as he handed over the lunchbox, Rune added a small request.
Although she found it a bit suspicious, Christina accepted, saying it wasn't a difficult task.
He checked his plan step by step, smiling contentedly.
The day after he sent the deep sea field materials to Jed through Heumi.
From early morning, a large number of characters filled Jed's mokoji stone.
-Rune-sama! That's really unfair! How could you go to such a precious dungeon without me? The deep sea! The Blue Dragon lair dungeon! Deep sea dungeon materials...
When he tried to read the parts that weren't visible at once, the rest of the message unfolded.
-...! How precious such materials are to a dwarf who can't see the sea! Ahhhh!
'What a troublesome guy.'
Ignoring the endless complaints, Rune sent his reply.
It had the opposite effect. The dwarf's wails, filled with resentment over being left out and the unknown materials, poured out like a bombardment of long messages.
Casually ignoring them, Rune was slightly impressed by the dwarf's craftsmanship and wrote a message.
-If you want more deep sea materials, improve your team's crafting skills. Make sure they can perform at their best.
For a moment, nothing appeared on the mokoji stone.
-Understood. I'll take care of it until you return!
The enthusiasm and determination were evident in the characters.
-I'll bring good news soon.
More messages came, but he turned off the alarm and put the mokoji stone in his pocket.
'This greedy guy will understand the message to improve his team's ability to obtain materials.'
The reformist dwarves, who would naturally create interesting items if left to their own devices, had a knack for making him look forward to their creations.
Rune checked his next task.
Going to the kitchen to secure food, he found that three days' worth of snacks were already prepared.
'Christina must have made them generously.'
He put all the desserts in his subspace pocket.
In addition, he prepared three days' worth of mana dishes with his own recipes and headed to the black room.
Nodding to the durahan who saluted with one hand on his chest, Rune went to find the demon rose, Heumi's main body.
'Since I'll be facing adult dragons, I might need to draw power from the main body instead.'
Rune piled his scales and black mana stones at the base of the rose.
Heumi, who had crossed the space through a teleportation spell, was carrying an unusually large load on her back.
"These are clothes! I brought them because Amelia looked cold!"
Her backpack was bulging.
Actually, as a water dragon, Amelia wouldn't feel the cold.
However, the clothes Heumi brought were quite special, as they were handmade by dwarf craftsmen in Ferdikion's lair.
Most of them had various magical effects and were even artifacts that boosted stats when worn.
'They even adjust to the wearer's size.'
Heumi smiled sheepishly at Rune, who was lost in thought.
'The pure-hearted gift to the shy Amelia... It would be good to boost her confidence.'
Rune, having reached this conclusion, patted Heumi's head in praise.
"Yes. You did very well. You're so thoughtful."
Heumi's ears perked up happily, and she rubbed her head against his hand. Then, she proudly showed him Baekya, who was in her arms.
"I picked these for Baekya too! Praise me!"
Seeing the bird with its yellow eyes blinking, Rune gently stroked Baekya's three tufts of hair.
Rewards and punishments should be given without discrimination.
Baekya spread her white wings and chirped a few more times.
The durahan watched them silently, his eyes filled with a melancholic light.
With the preparations complete, Rune's <Mana Key> opened a passage without delay.
Eager to give the clothes as gifts, Heumi led the way with Baekya.
On the other side of the water boundary, Amelia was already waiting.
Thanks to the purification, the darkness of the deep sea had receded, and the silhouette of the mermaid was visible from a distance.
Heumi ran up and waved to Amelia.
The water girl turned back with a delighted expression.
Heumi immediately took out the clothes from her backpack, and Amelia's eyes widened as she looked at them.
"I thought they would suit you well!"
[Wow... Is, is this... What, what is all this?]
"These are frilly dresses, and this bolero is cute. And these are a blazer and a wrap dress!"
Clothes were pulled out one after another from Heumi's bag.
'As expected, the dwarves were particularly sincere about Heumi's items and clothes.'
Especially the works of female dwarves were exquisitely detailed.
Perhaps thinking of Amelia's tail, the outfits Heumi chose were mostly skirt-type lower garments suitable for a mermaid.
[O, okay... I'll, I'll put them on right away.]
"Come with me, big sister!"
Amelia went inside the deep sea with Heumi and changed into the clothes.
[... This... This is my first time. H, how do I look? I, I feel a bit... strange.]
Although she seemed awkward because it was her first time receiving clothes as a gift, Rune gave a positive assessment.
'Good choice of options.'
The white dress Amelia chose not only increased mana but also had options for increased defense and attack.
'And the cleaning magic as a sub-option shows a lot of sincerity.'
The dwarves' determination to keep the masterpiece free from dirt was evident.
"You look great. It suits you well."
Encouraged by Rune's positive feedback, Amelia's expression brightened, and she whispered a small 'thank you' to Heumi.
Rune searched his subspace pocket and distributed mana candies and jellies to the group.
"These are snacks that temporarily boost the abilities you need. Eat them when I give the signal."
Following Rune's instructions, the group moved directly to the deep valley of the deep sea.
Thanks to yesterday's chaotic field purification, they quickly descended to where the Blue Dragon's mana was strongly active.
Amelia, who was guiding the way with the durahan, quickly broke through the sea trench.
The deep sound rising through the pressure.
The massive bodies with hard, armor-like scales.
The sticky curse and pitch-black darkness inside the valley, denser than the sea.
Seeing the two Blue Dragons lying close to each other, tears welled up in Amelia's eyes.
But she soon narrowed her eyes and gripped her spear 'Mel' tightly.
Rune, noticing this, also observed the sleeping Blue Dragons.
According to Christina's inherited knowledge, they were originally supposed to shine with their blue bodies and exert a self-purifying ability.
However, they were now buried in sticky curses and darkness, as if covered in oil.
'Did they embrace the fatal darkness and curses and enter a hibernation period?'
Rune recalled one of the hypotheses that had crossed his mind.
They had tried to transfer all the power of the dark clan to the egg that was Amelia.
But contrary to their expectations, the power didn't store properly and began to leak out gradually.
When they realized their hatchling couldn't bear all the darkness, they chose the last resort.
Entering a hibernation period when their ability to control power was maximized.
The adult Blue Dragons, Amelia's parents, had gone to sleep with most of the most lethal power, 'curses,' in their embrace.
Thanks to this, the power didn't spread outside the lair.
'Sure enough. They were buying time until Amelia reached adulthood.'
It was a sacrifice to protect Amelia and fulfill their duties as Blue Dragons.
'Thanks to them, the darkness and curses didn't spread further, and Amelia could grow up safely.'
Rune himself had once naturally increased his strength and stamina over ten years by going through a hibernation period.
At that time, the newly hatched Heumi had absorbed enough darkness to serve as nourishment.