Chapter 98

Originally, one should be careful even when drinking cold water in front of a child.

It’s fine to let off some steam in front of those who pick and choose their words like Rune or Ferdikion.

However, it was right to be more cautious with words when speaking to a child like Kuroh, who takes everything at face value and learns from it.

Rune squeezed the entrance to the subspace pocket he had received from Christina.

The subspace pocket, which wouldn’t corrode or decay, was perfect for storing things without damage.

[Christina, I have a favor to ask.]

“Sure. You only need to send two handfuls a year, right?”

Two handfuls a year.

It was such a trivial amount that Jedd’s expectations had crumbled.

'I wish I could just not give it at all. But since I’ve already said I would, I’ll give it.'

It wasn’t as if he was deliberately sending low-quality byproducts, and he had already sent the pearl mana stones, so he didn’t have to worry about the cost for black market transactions.

This way, he could consider the verbal contract fulfilled.

Although, it was uncertain whether it would be a few decades or even a century before he woke up.

‘While I’m asleep, I hope he doesn’t neglect to train his useful abilities.’

The uncertainty of when he would wake up made his heart a little uneasy.

In any case, he had chosen Jedd for his abilities.

Jedd was the type who would produce results proportional to the support he received.

If support was cut off for too long, the expectations for his performance might also decline.

‘I can’t just throw away the good parts because there’s a rotten section in the wood.’

After a brief moment of contemplation, Rune decided to give him a little chance.

“Christina. If he shows repentance and works hard, you can take a bit more care of him at your discretion.”

“Puhu. Got it.”

Christina seemed to think that the cute hatchling was genuinely concerned about his subordinate.

Rune didn’t bother to contradict her.

After all, the uncertainty of how long he would be asleep had softened his heart a bit.

‘Phew. How do I deal with this habit of making rash promises?’

At that moment, Jedd felt an inexplicable chill and looked around.

Despite the constant heat from the laboratory and forge, he felt a sudden cold.

Sensing an impending disaster, Jedd offered a prayer of mercy to a god he didn’t even believe in.

***

A few days passed.

Rune, in the form of a hatchling, was in the black room with Dullahan.

Each day was a struggle against fatigue and drowsiness.

“Kyooham.”

‘Now, if I just do this one thing… it should be roughly sorted out.’

Yawning and rubbing his eyes, Rune and Dullahan took out the giant jar containing the kraken.

Thud!

Rune flapped his wings and flew up to open the jar’s lid.

The kraken, which was now almost motionless, occasionally twitched its tentacles inside the jar.

Thanks to the repeated use of the <Revival> incantation while exposing it to the ‘Fragrance Box,’ it was still quite fresh despite the few days that had passed.

‘Good.’

“Kyo, nye.”

[Alright. Let’s move it.]

Following the instruction, Dullahan picked up the jar and stood up.

The kraken that Rune had shown Christina as a gift was too large to fit in the current kitchen or aquarium.

In the end, Christina said she would remodel the kitchen and aquarium and asked them to wait a few days.

‘How did she remodel it?’

The two used Rune’s teleportation magic to move to Christina’s kitchen.

Flash!

Since they had already sought permission to move the kraken, Christina, who had been waiting, called them over.

“This way.”

They headed towards the path leading to the aquarium where the giant clams were kept.

The kitchen was only slightly larger, but the path to the aquarium definitely looked bigger.

‘Just an expansion? Well, the jar was almost touching the ceiling anyway.’

With the sound of armor clanking, Dullahan followed behind Christina and Rune.

After walking for a while, a refreshing chill brushed against their skin.

Rune sniffed. He could smell the familiar briny scent.

‘It’s getting cooler, and the smell of seawater is getting stronger.’

At the end of the path, the ceiling suddenly rose much higher.

Instead of the aquarium’s glass, a small reservoir dug deep underground was visible.

It was no longer a large aquarium but more like a large swimming pool.

“Kyo?”

[Did you build this in a day?]

“Huhu. There are still a few things to fine-tune, but even a kraken with strong vitality can’t survive in a jar forever, so I hurried. It’s been a long time since I did such a large-scale renovation.”

‘Wow.’

Christina’s abilities were even more impressive than he had imagined.

‘This must be possible because her lair is made of gold dragon scales… truly remarkable.’

Christina’s lair, which was always filled with mana due to the sun, was overflowing with magical energy.

Enough to maintain a large-scale, permanently open warp hole.

Rune glanced around the excellent breeding facility Christina had created.

“Kyo. Nye?”

[By the way, can I have a breeding facility like this too?]

“Sure. Is it because of the giant clam monsters?”

Rune nodded gently at Christina with innocent eyes.

He couldn’t hide the subtle glint of greed, but it looked like the hopeful gaze of a child.

“Kyo.”

[Yeah. Can I ask you for it?]

The giant clam monsters, which produced precious pearl mana stones, needed to be limited in number when raised in the old aquarium.

However, with Christina’s help, he could raise many more.

‘Besides, I don’t have to breed just those. There are quite a few materials for alchemy in the deep sea.’

Materials that were usually only obtainable by catching monsters that traveled between the deep sea and the surface were now freely available to Rune.

It was a delightful thought.

Christina chuckled and stroked the young hatchling’s head.

“Of course. In return, can I ask you for one thing?”

[One thing?]

Looking at Christina with a puzzled expression, she smiled softly.

“I want to study the giant clams for culinary purposes. Is that okay?”

‘Ah, I asked her not to use my clams as cooking ingredients before.’

The number of clams in the aquarium wasn’t enough to be used for food.

But if Christina created a breeding facility, the population would grow enough to be used for food.

“Kyo.”

[Yeah, go ahead.]

“Thank you, Rune.”

Christina expressed her gratitude with a happy face.

Following her instructions, Dullahan tilted the jar and released the kraken into the dedicated breeding facility.

Splash!

Swish!

Rune instructed the kraken, which had developed loyalty due to the ‘Fragrance Box Stained with Darkness,’ to follow Christina’s orders.

Christina, who had been watching curiously, smiled sympathetically at the sleepy-eyed Rune.

“Well, I’ll be waiting for you to wake up. Let’s go to sleep now.”

“Kyooh.”

[Yeah. See you when I wake up.]

Rune raised his front paw in a wave and yawned widely.

‘There’s nothing else to do now. Ferdikion might come today, so I’ll just leave a message with the mokoji stone.’

Ferdikion had visited him every day until yesterday, eating together and even offering to sing lullabies if he couldn’t sleep.

Of course, it would be a lullaby with the ‘incantation’ magic, so the effect was guaranteed.

‘He’s the kind who doesn’t like singing… or rather, he’s too embarrassed to even mention it.’

Although he was grateful for the consideration, he had declined, and Ferdikion seemed a bit disappointed.

It was a part Rune found hard to understand.

‘After all, it’s not normal to use a lullaby nanny for someone who is destined to become an elder of the fire clan. He’s already quite busy with the upcoming coming-of-age ceremony and the changing atmosphere in the lair.’

When he declined again, saying he would only accept the intention to help, Ferdikion’s eyes had narrowed sharply in a glare.

It seemed he should at least send a message to make him feel less disappointed.

***

Much later than he had originally planned to go to sleep.

Rune entered his ‘black room’ with the fluffy pillow and subspace pocket clutched in his front paws.

“Kyooh.”

‘I didn’t expect Amelia and Ferdikion to be so talkative.’

It was a mistake to create a group chat to say goodbye to them separately.

Both Amelia and Ferdikion kept talking to him as if they were in a competition, making it hard to find a moment to cut off the conversation.

Even after they realized he was starting to fall asleep, the conversation was forcibly ended.

‘Finally, it’s time to try this.’

He took out the ‘Fragrance Box Stained with Darkness.’

There are two major factors that affect a dragon’s hibernation period.

One is growing the body enough to absorb the new power.

The other is recovering from fatigue.

‘The power I obtained is quite burdensome for a 10-year-old dragon’s body.’

His mental strength had been honed through nearly a thousand years of practice in his previous life.

Therefore, he pondered about auxiliary devices to help with the growth of his body and the absorption of power.

‘I’ll use this fragrance box to emit scents that aid in deep sleep, growth, and fatigue recovery.’

Of course, the fragrance box couldn’t emit scents infinitely.

Nor did he want someone to frequently enter the room where he would sleep.

He discussed with Christina and decided to send Jedd a handful of materials once a year.

She would personally replenish the fragrance box with oils extracted from flowers and candy-like substances.

‘That should increase his recovery ability without being too burdensome.’

The prospect of waking up refreshed after minimal sleep made him feel content.

With his tail dragging behind him, he wobbled over and placed the flowers and sweet honey jellies he had brought in the box.

Confirming that the fragrance was spreading gently, he blinked and lay down on the ‘blessing of light’ blanket that Christina had personally procured for him.

The blanket, made from fur that had absorbed light mana, was soft and warm.

It was incredibly comfortable.

‘It’s really good…’

Rune savored the feeling behind his back.

The soft blanket, a gift from Christina, was prepared to help his sleep as a young dragon.

It was an artifact that kept him warm at night and enhanced his deep sleep during the day.

“Kyo.”

‘I’m sleepy. I’ve reached my limit.’

He puffed up the blanket to the most comfortable thickness.

Lying down, a quite soothing aura enveloped him.

“Ah! Lord Rune! Are you going to sleep now?”

“Kyo!”

Kuroh, who had suddenly appeared with a pillow, and Byakuya, approached Rune.

“Kyooh.”

[Not yet.]

Rune gave up a bit of his space with almost closed eyes.

But even the telepathic communication was affected by his drowsiness.

“Hehe.”

Kuroh’s two tails swayed gently.

Byakuya also settled beside Kuroh, trying to minimize the rustling of his scales.

“Lord Rune. I hope Kuroh grows up quickly.”

‘Suddenly?’

He wondered why the usually playful Kuroh was saying this.

“Kyo.”

[Why do you want to grow up quickly?]

Without much thought, he asked, and Kuroh answered.

“Um. Well, everyone wants to grow up. Even Big Sister Amelia. So, I thought good things happen when you grow up.”

Indeed, Ferdikion, Amelia, and Rune often talked about growth.

Naturally, from Kuroh’s perspective, who knew little about the world, such thoughts could arise.

[In my opinion… it’s not necessarily good to just grow up.]

“Then why do everyone want to grow up?”

There was no right answer to this question. Rune pondered for a moment and gave his response.

[People want to grow up… because they’re not satisfied with their current selves.]

Kuroh blinked, lost in thought.

“Well… Kuroh is very happy with the present. So, can I not grow anymore?”

It was an innocent question, but the answer was not as simple as the question.