Heim sat down at the table, pulled Banya to the seat next to her, and kept swallowing saliva.
Seeing Heim, who looked like she wanted to reach out her hand at any moment, Rune announced the start of the meal with a simple greeting.
"Everyone, thank you for your hard work with the Water Clan. Dig in."
"Hehe! Sir Rune, enjoy your meal too! I will eat well!"
Heim sliced the meat with a crispy exterior, blew on the hot inside, and stuffed her mouth full.
"Wow! The crust is so crispy and the inside is so moist!"
The young girl, with her black fox ears perked up, couldn't stop her eyes from shining with amazement.
Seeing the delighted Heim, Banya, who was sitting next to her, tilted her head and looked at Rye with a puzzled expression.
Heim dipped the meat into the parsley sauce she had made with lemon zest and continued to eat without stopping.
Rune added, "Your brother helped a lot. He especially took care of the potato birds and carrot foxes."
"Huh? Then this isn't just for Heim and Banya? Hehe. Thank you!"
Though his expression was indifferent, his tone was quite gentle.
Heim, with a happy smile, clearly appreciated the gratitude.
'Anyway... this has turned into quite a luxurious meal.'
It reminded him of a banquet at the royal castle.
There were crustacean dishes, seafood broth that tasted rich, a chocolate strawberry cake with edible flowers, and a dessert lemon mousse cake with milk cream and gold chips.
Ferdikion also cut the lemon mousse cake neatly and steadily put it in his mouth, while Banya, intrigued by the white edible flowers, pecked at them with her beak.
Especially when the strawberry chocolate parfait with swallow flower ice cubes was served, Heim couldn't help but admire it for a while before eating.
"Wow! I've never seen anything like this. It's so beautiful!"
Heim, overwhelmed with happiness, burst into joyful laughter.
'If this is enough, everyone should be satisfied.'
Rune put a soft panna cotta, fluffy like a cloud, in his mouth and felt satisfied.
He had prepared quite a lot of food, thinking of Ferdikion's share, but it was quickly finished.
The food that restored magic and physical strength, healed fatigue, and invigorated the body was completely absorbed by those who had fought the Water Clan.
"Hmm. I'm full and sleepy..."
Heim, with sleepy eyes, perked up her ears and started to nod off, hugging Banya.
"Go rest first. I'll clean up and then come over."
At this, Heim, whose eyes were half-closed, raised her hand as if she had been waiting for it.
"Sir Rune! Can I help you clean up the trash?"
Heim, nodding, held up her brooch.
From Heim's red brooch, red lizards in the form of 'salamanders' appeared.
Among them, the slightly larger or younger fire lizards had more robust red skin and a slightly larger size.
Their tails were raised elegantly, and they lined up like well-trained soldiers.
"Swallow all these food scraps!"
The fire lizards' tails flickered as flames rose.
The five fire lizards jumped onto the plates and started to swallow the greasy bones and small bread crumbs.
"Sir Rune, these guys are amazing."
Rune, understanding the situation, replied calmly.
"They are part of magic cooking, so they will serve as nutrients for the spirits."
Ferdikion, who had observed the fire lizards more closely, added.
"I think so too. It's surprising to see such rapid growth in spirits."
Rune asked, impressed by Ferdikion's words.
"Does that mean their growth rate is usually much slower?"
"Of course. I've heard that dragons and elves are sometimes born with strong affinity for spirits, but it's usually not possible to achieve such rapid growth."
Rune nodded lightly, and Ferdikion continued naturally.
"Apparently, Heim has the ability to guide the growth of spirits. She might even be loved by fire spirits without a contract."
'Like the dolphin I saw in the deep sea, she can raise them.'
Rune thought of the dolphin spirit and smiled slightly.
"Don't get your hopes up. Growth is about surpassing limits. It's not easy."
While they were talking, the fire spirits quickly burned and swallowed the food scraps, then climbed onto Heim's cheeks and shoulders, rubbing their heads affectionately.
"Tickles, guys! How about it, Sir Rune!"
"Good job. How did you train them so well?"
In response to Rune's question, Heim seemed to think for a moment before answering.
"Um, when Heim likes something, I really want to do it! When I feel sad, eating something delicious or seeing pretty flowers makes me happy. So I looked to see if they had something like that!"
Rune didn't immediately understand what she meant by training them with things that made them happy.
'He doesn't have... that.'
"They liked the cookies and snacks you gave me! Samshik was so happy he even jumped!"
Having listened patiently, he understood the process to some extent.
'So, while walking with the fire lizards, I started sharing the Christina's special cookies with them, and we became closer.'
The lizards that ate the cookies burned particularly well and seemed very happy. After that, Heim shared her snacks with the five spirits and trained them.
'Even though it wasn't intentional, she used the carrot and stick method effectively.'
Heim's transparent pink eyes looked at Rune expectantly.
"Did I do a good job, Heim?"
"Yep. You did great. Excellent."
Heim, grinning, hugged Banya, who was eating crackers next to her, and cheered.
Meanwhile, Rune, looking at the spirits, was lost in thought.
'Magic food leads to the growth of spirits, right?'
Rune thought of his subordinate, Dura, who was also a 'Spirit Knight.'
The problem was that he couldn't use the same method as Heim.
'If Dura could eat magic food, he might get the same effect.'
While Dura wasn't weak, it was a pity that he couldn't quickly recover and grow.
Just the fire spirits Heim was raising could evolve with continuous food intake. If Dura could evolve, how strong would he become?
The problem was one thing.
'He doesn't have... a mouth. Even if I make food, I can't feed him.'
It was a shame no matter how he thought about it.
Seeing Rune lost in thought, Ferdikion asked.
"What are you thinking so deeply about?"
"You know my knight, Dura? I was thinking it would be nice if I could give him food too."
"I see. I understand your concern for your subordinate, but..."
Ferdikion frowned, unable to finish his sentence.
Judging from his expression, he was undoubtedly thinking of Dura's appearance.
'Well, there's no easy solution for him.'
The gloomy green eyes behind the armor and helmet, and a body that didn't feel sensations well.
Moreover, Dura's personality was described as 'gloomy.'
It would be a waste to give up on such advantages.
Rune, who was still thinking, saw Heim pick up a piece of cake with a fork, looking disappointed.
"Ah. It would be nice if Lahan could taste this strawberry cake too."
Hearing Heim's mutter with the fork in her mouth, Rune blinked.
'Right. As long as he can <taste> it, that's all that matters.'
Ferdikion, sensing something, nudged Rune's waist with his elbow.
"Did you come up with an idea?"
A smile crept onto Rune's lips.
"......! Impressive. What kind of method is it?"
Despite the mix of urgency and curiosity, Rune held back.
"I'll tell you after I try it."
Ferdikion, unable to contain his frustration, frowned.
"But, call me when you try it. Is that possible?"
Seeing his strong insistence, Rune hesitated.
'I wonder if it will work for Ferdikion too.'
Rune nodded, showing his agreement.
Only then did Ferdikion's frown relax.
"Great! Can we go right after the meal?"
Rune shook his head at the hasty question.
"It's late now, and I plan to try it tomorrow."
"......I see. Now that I think about it, you must be tired too. I didn't consider that."
Adequate rest was sometimes necessary.
While Rune also wanted to try the idea immediately, he needed to prepare.
'If I push too hard, the sleep cycle might come sooner.'
The sleep cycle was a characteristic of the dragon race.
Their innate abilities were strong, but the body needed to grow in proportion to their power.
The more tired they were, the sooner the sleep cycle would come, so it was a time for appropriate adjustment.
'Looking back, the sleep cycle came suddenly ten years ago.'
Shortly after being born, he accepted Christina's legacy magic and gained vast knowledge, and through Ferdikion's song, he mastered verbal magic.
He absorbed the power of the forest's master and Mandragora, and cultivated the Demon Rose, gaining the ability to enslave.
Gaining and using too much power in a short period of time prevented the body from adapting properly.