He was definitely sure that he had said, "How can you be so cute, Rune?"
Rune was puzzled because he couldn't understand what was cute about the scroll he had made.
'There's no way I could have mistaken it for twice. So... does this mean that to a dragon, this level of ability is considered cute?'
Rune felt a bit disappointed, thinking it was a compliment on his abilities.
At least, according to the knowledge he had inherited from Christina, no hatchling had achieved this level of accomplishment.
However, upon looking again, the drawing seemed rather clumsy, perhaps because it was drawn in the form of a hatchling.
Rune thought that it must have looked quite immature to Christina, who was in her adult form.
'Well, I guess I should show Ferdikion too.'
Rune, swaying his tail slightly, walked over and handed a piece of parchment to Ferdikion, who was sipping lemon iced tea.
"Take it. This one is for you, brother."
Ferdikion looked as if he was about to spit out his iced tea.
Stunned, he took the parchment with a look of shock and stiffened his expression.
A small, round hatchling drawn with red and crimson paint.
From the way it was opening its mouth to breathe fire, it was clear that Rune had tried to highlight the characteristic of handling fire.
The fire elder, who had been silent for a while, finally spoke.
"Your drawing skills are quite impressive, Rune. I'll have to ask Berdin to make a nice frame for this. I'll keep it well."
Rune thought his expression didn't look very good, but the reaction was better than expected.
'This must be because he recognized its value. Just keeping it won't do any good, so I'll just have to explain how to use it properly.'
[There's no need to keep it. You can use it by tearing it or saying the activation phrase.]
"......Are you telling me to tear this up?"
Rune had explained the correct usage, but Ferdikion was getting angry.
'What's he supposed to do?'
Ferdikion, seeing Rune's expression, coughed.
"No, no. I'm very pleased to receive this from you, brother. Thank you, Rune."
Despite the sudden change from anger to praise, it was a bit awkward.
After all, Ferdikion was someone who could freely sing songs created by words.
In the end, the item itself was fine.
'But from Christina's perspective, it's just a cute ability.'
Rune cleanly acknowledged that he had overestimated his abilities.
'I guess I still need to improve a bit more.'
Sighing inwardly, he handed the scroll he had prepared to Kkumi.
In any case, there was no reason not to give it since he had prepared it.
"Wow. Wow! This is for Kkumi, right?"
[Yes. The magic contained is 'Mist Rain'.]
It was a type of magic that Kkumi, still young, could play with appropriately. Rune had put considerable thought into it.
If Kkumi, who couldn't use water-related magic, accidentally caused a fire with the fire elementals she controlled, this scroll would be useful.
'Mist Rain should be just right.'
For Christina, who loved tea time, he had prepared a scroll to purify the air, and for Ferdikion, a scroll with a one-time defensive spell.
While the others were examining the drawings again after hearing the explanations, Rune picked up a butter cookie from the plate and put it in his mouth.
"Ah, I see. I'm glad you drew this, but your scroll-making is quite refined."
'For a 10-year-old hatchling, it's pretty good, though.'
Rune thought, and Christina, as if reading his mind, met his eyes and smiled kindly.
"I'll keep this drawing well. It's a wonderful gift."
Rune nodded in response to her stroking his head.
Ferdikion, tucking the drawing into his chest, continued.
"I'm also deeply moved. I never expected to receive something like this from my brother."
[It's a relief that you like it. I hope it's useful, brother.]
"I'll never use it! How could I use something like this?"
'He acknowledges the performance but says he'll never use it. What's that supposed to mean?'
Rune, who had given the correct usage, was bewildered by Ferdikion's reaction.
'Perhaps he didn't like the one-time shield scroll. Thinking about it, he seemed to enjoy combat that focused more on offense than defense.'
It made a bit more sense if the problem was that he had given something that went against Ferdikion's combat style.
No matter how good it was, if it didn't suit the user, it wouldn't be used.
'It was my mistake. I shouldn't have made a shield scroll for someone who doesn't use shields.'
Moreover, Ferdikion, who had thought it would be helpful as an elder, was now thoroughly disappointed.
If he had known that Rune, as a dragon, had the power to handle such things, he might have said, "A one-time nullification charm would be nice."
'Can't really blame him. I wouldn't have been very excited about a one-time defensive barrier in my past life either.'
Meanwhile, Christina, who had been watching Rune, gathered the drawings and asked worriedly.
"Rune, are you really going to the <Cursed Dungeon> just with your group?"
Christina had wanted to join the <Cursed Dungeon> expedition, but that would have made things more difficult for Rune.
It was due to the characteristics of the dungeon as told by the water clan.
In the past, the <Wave Dungeon> rewarded the most contributing and strongest participant with the final prize.
Given that the <Cursed Dungeon> had transformed, the reward for clearing it would certainly be related to Rune's attributes.
In other words, it would be best for Rune to achieve the highest contribution and obtain the reward directly.
However, if Christina joined, even if Rune performed well, he wouldn't get the best reward.
'This is a formal mission for a Blue Dragon. He should receive the appropriate reward.'
Ferdikion and Amelia had also agreed to support Rune in this mission.
Since Kkumi and Durahan were Rune's subordinates, their performance would prove Rune's dominance and increase his contribution.
Moreover, with the power of words at his disposal, there was no problem for Rune to receive the reward, except for Christina.
'If I can get the remaining darkness and curses from the <Cursed Dungeon>, I can complete the <Seal of Darkness>.'
The seal was a necessary condition for a dark clan elder.
It was a very important task for Rune.
Therefore, no one, not just Christina, should block him from going just because he was young.
'You're young, so the adults will take care of it.'
He couldn't let other dragons or elders interfere with his mission by saying such things.
Even when tested through harsh lessons, Rune never said, "I want to quit."
Now, the best course of action was to trust him.
"Can't be helped. I'll support you, Rune."
[I'll do well, so don't worry too much.]
His appearance, though still a young hatchling, had a certain maturity that made it convincing.
Christina chuckled and replied playfully.
"Right. But, you haven't perfectly met the conditions yet, have you?"
Rune, who had subtly tried to get permission, was disappointed.
However, seeing Christina's face, it was clear that she was less worried than expected.
A few days later, Christina announced the end of the lessons and gave permission to proceed with the dungeon expedition.
Rune received a large barrel through Kkumi, who had visited Jedd.
"Jedd said he worked really hard on it, so please tell him that!"
The Mokojiseki was already filled with Jedd's messages.
Rune activated the Mokojiseki for the first time in a while and only checked the last message.
<Rune-sama! I really worked hard on this! Please let me know how it goes when you return! Any issues or complaints are welcome, okay!?>
The day Kkumi received the byproducts of marine monsters and pearl mana stones, Jedd had bombarded the Mokojiseki with messages all day.
Moreover, he had bombarded Kkumi with questions about the dungeon and sent messages filled with tears and pleas for a week because he couldn't join the expedition.
It felt like he was holding onto Kkumi's pants and wouldn't let go.
'No need to reply. I'll just pick out the important ones and send them when I return.'
Even today, Jedd was still excited about the dungeon, but Rune ignored all the messages and requests.
Holding the mana key in his hand, he looked around at his companions.
With their curiosity and a bit of tension, Rune used the <Mana Key> to head to the lair where the water clan lived.
As they passed through the portal that appeared in the air, Ferdikion couldn't hide his amazement.
Kkumi hopped along, carrying Byakuya on her head, and Durahan followed at the rear, guarding the group.
In the distance, the entrance to the deep sea, still shrouded in darkness but faintly glowing with a blue light, was visible.
A mermaid with sapphire eyes, wearing a pearl necklace with a golden gem, greeted them with a spear.
"Ah, ah, come in... Rune. And Kkumi too."
Amelia, in her mermaid form, greeted them properly with her own voice, not through telepathy.
Rune remembered that Amelia used to only speak telepathically in her mermaid form.
'She must have tried hard to see Ferdikion.'
Seeing Amelia straighten her back when she glanced at Ferdikion, it was clear she was aware of him.
"Wow, Amelia-nee! It's been a while!"
Amelia, who had been standing with her arms open, gently patted Kkumi's head and looked up at Ferdikion.
"Yes, I... I am... a water clan... elder. Please... call me... Amelia."
Though they had completely different personalities, this was a decent greeting.
'I was a bit worried, but it's better than expected.'
Amelia's tightly clenched spear hand looked nervous, but this was a significant improvement.
Ferdikion, with his arms crossed and a look that wasn't exactly friendly, was still responding reasonably, considering he had initially suspected the Amelia family of using Rune.
"Um, the... water lair... is, um, new, and... you might... not know... much. Um, if... you have any... questions..."
"Enough. I heard you've only recently reclaimed the water domain."
Ferdikion looked around and frowned.
"Of course... a hastily appointed elder wouldn't have done much. The state of the lair is proof enough."
"Ah... but... I tried... to help. I... put in... effort."
Ferdikion clicked his tongue and said,
"What kind of effort? Anyone can say they've put in effort. An elder must produce results. An irresponsible ruler is the most incompetent. I have to teach you this."
The mermaid's face turned pale. The red-haired boy in front of her crossed his arms and looked down with a disdainful expression.
"I'll start by giving my brother the water seal and then proceed with the dungeon expedition."
Amelia's eyebrows twitched, and she showed discomfort.
Rune felt like facepalming.
Ferdikion's words had clearly upset Amelia.
Finally, Amelia bit her lower lip and stiffened her shoulders.
"Your... words... are too... harsh... If something... doesn't... please you... could you... be a bit... more polite?"
Ferdikion's eyebrows furrowed deeply.
He held back from scolding her, but the atmosphere was tense enough for him to lose his temper.
"That's... not... right."