#42: North Woods And Chestnuts (3) — The Archmage's Restaurant

Her mother.

Her mother, who passed on her lair to Rurin.

But even her mother’s lair was destroyed in the Dragon War. Rurin’s eyes welled up as she thought of her mother.

I kept Rurin by my side because I didn’t want her to remember the past.

The five orbs in my hand.

But what’s the use of getting stronger now? These are useless for a retired body.

“If you hate these things, let’s just destroy them.”

“I… don’t want that. I think these are necessary for you. Didn’t you say you wanted to be involved in dimensional travel? This will raise your mana to another level, and maybe something will change.”

Ah.

That was a point. Why is she so smart at times like this? Of course, dragons know more about mana and magic than anyone else.

So Rurin is definitely right. If I increase my mana with these orbs, I might be able to use god-like magic, like dimensional travel.

Besides, even if not for that, the range of summoning magic essential for the restaurant might expand. And of course, even if unnecessary, I would definitely be able to use stronger offensive magic than now.

For example, even if I can only summon one meteor, I could increase that number.

I looked at Rurin.

There wasn’t a hint of confusion in her eyes as she looked at me.

“But how do you use these? You don’t eat them like a dragon heart, do you?”

“Mother said you have to carry them and slowly absorb the mana within, just like humans gradually learn magic!”

“Really?”

Nod, nod.

Rurin nodded.

“But Rurin, you said you hated these because they felt like an enemy, right?”

“Yes.”

“That’s why I think you should use them even more. Dimensional travel aside, these are actually more necessary for you.”

“For me? But I hate them…”

“The real enemy isn’t these orbs, right? It’s the ones who plotted evil deeds because of them. If you don’t want to end up like your mother, you need these orbs. Moreover, if you want to lure and get revenge on your enemies, you’ll need these even more. For that, you need to become stronger. Didn’t you say you wanted to stay in human form before?”

Nod, nod.

This time, Rurin looked at me intensely.

It was impossible to find Rurin’s enemy. Her mother, treated as a disgrace to the Black Dragons due to a deep misunderstanding.

But these orbs might open the path to avenge her.

So it was only natural that Rurin’s gaze became intense at the mention of revenge.

“Then you need to be strong enough not to lose to a dragon even in polymorph state. To avenge your enemies, you also need to become stronger than now. Let’s each get stronger by half.”

“But…!”

“We’ll each use two, and save one to lure the enemies later. Rurin, once you’re strong enough to face the enemy dragons. Got it? If we lure them now, you might get hurt. I don’t want that. Otherwise, I’ll throw them all away.”

“Really, can we avenge them? Are you… are you helping me?”

“Of course I am.”

I patted Rurin’s head.

Then Rurin quietly leaned against me. Her eyes were very red, but she didn’t shed any tears.

“Then I will follow you. I have always followed you. You are my everything.”

Rurin still didn’t cry but hugged my waist tightly.

Naturally, I couldn’t push her away.

We stayed like that for a long time.

To be honest, dimensional travel isn’t that important now. Life here has become more important. Of course, I still want to see my parents once.

But the most important thing is the present. So if my mana increases and my summoning magic gets stronger, that’s enough for me.

If we both get stronger with these orbs, we might be able to remove the burden in Rurin’s heart that couldn’t be tracked.

Besides, I’ll die before Rurin. Even though I ate the Dragon Heart and will live longer than a normal human, there are limits.

I don’t want Rurin to be left alone and tormented by those damned dragons again.

Rurin needs to get stronger too.

Yes.

To be more honest, Rurin is more precious than dimensional travel.

After the unexpected discovery, Rurin and I returned to the restaurant after magically restoring the northern forest. The dragon’s treasure buried there isn’t mine.

It’s the property of the Greek family. It’s buried in their land.

The area was kept secret probably because one of the Greek ancestors knew the dragon’s secret. Otherwise, they would have already touched the treasure.

They might have been afraid of the consequences of touching the dragon’s belongings.

If the ancestors of the Greek family, who have been lords of Greek City for generations, knew about the dragon that died in the northern forest.

But there are no consequences. I understand the ancestor’s concern, but these are things the Greek boy can use.

As long as no descendants of the dragon that died in the northern forest appear.

But according to Rurin, the fact that it died alone without passing on its lair and didn’t return to the sanctuary until the end proves it was a very lonely dragon.

Then there wouldn’t be any descendants. It was a lonely dragon.

That’s what I’m worried about. I don’t want Rurin to meet such a lonely end.

But the Greek boy has the potential to be a good lord. So for him, such a huge treasure could be a poison.

After gaining a lot of experience and forming a firm belief as a lord, it would be better to inform him of the treasure’s existence and have him use it for the territory.

Until then, it would be better to leave the dragon’s treasure buried.

If the Greek boy grows into a proper man, it could become a great strength for him.

As for the dragon’s orbs, well, my mana didn’t increase overnight as expected.

When I meditate on the bed, I can feel the mana flowing from the orbs. I can feel it being absorbed little by little.

Since returning from the northern forest, Rurin and I have been repeating this every night.

“Hoo-ah!”

But Rurin couldn’t last an hour and rested her head on my thigh as I sat upright.

“It’s hard, you!”

“It must be hard. You’ve never had to train your mana like us humans since you were born as a 9th-class being.”

“Hehe, that’s right. So it’s hard. But you said you’d help me get revenge, so I’ll do it. But it’s still hard! And I think I’m absorbing faster than you! Hehe, because I’m a dragon.”

Rurin made a long-winded declaration that she had done enough for today and then rubbed her forehead against my thigh.

“Are you going to sleep?”

“I’ve had enough, so I’m going to sleep!”

Well, since she’s a dragon, she’s right. A dragon absorbing a dragon’s mana is completely different in speed compared to me. Rurin didn’t seem to think of leaving my thigh and pulled the blanket over herself.

“I’ll protect you while I sleep. Hehe.”

“Ugh, getting off would be more helpful, you know?”

Rurin didn’t answer. She just hugged my waist and started purring. Her black hair stuck out from the blanket.

I let her be and continued my training.

There was definitely a change.

The mana within the orbs reacted with my heart, which had turned into a dragon’s heart, creating a certain image.

An image that felt almost familiar, yet not quite.

Will I be able to use a stronger magic if I surpass this?

Because I don’t have the talent of a dragon.

Just like when I first entered this world, I continued to meditate persistently.

What I brought back from the forest wasn’t just the dragon’s orbs. The original purpose of going to the forest was chestnuts. So the kitchen is naturally filled with chestnuts.

Since we had roasted chestnuts, it’s time to make candied chestnuts. My favorite chestnut dish is obviously roasted chestnuts, and the second is candied chestnuts.

That sweet candied chestnut is honestly a great snack and food in this world, where modern sweets don’t exist.

Even in modern times with sweets, they are a very competitive snack. At least I like them very much.

Moreover, if you make candied chestnuts and store them in glass jars, you can eat them for a long time.

Since there’s a lot, I plan to give a jar to the restaurant’s regulars and the rest will be for Rurin and me.

So the kitchen began a large-scale operation to make a lot of candied chestnuts.

Of course, it’s a bit embarrassing to call it a large-scale operation since it’s not that difficult.

First, soak the freshly picked chestnuts in warm water for about half a day. This makes it easier to peel the chestnuts.

“Rurin, stop pretending to work with just a broom and come help?”

“I worked! It’s a misunderstanding! A conspiracy!”

“What did you do?”

“I held the broom.”

“You held the broom? And then?”

“Holding the broom is working, isn’t it?”

“Then since you watched me cook, you don’t need to eat?”

“Hing! That’s not it!”

Rurin declared surrender, threw the broom at the entrance, and walked into the kitchen. Then she sat next to me.

“What are you doing?”

“Look, you take a knife and peel the chestnut like this. Hold the chestnut firmly with your left hand, and with your right hand, put the knife in and peel it off like this.”

“Really?”

“Then a furry-like skin called yulpi will come out, but you don’t need to peel that.”

When you peel the yulpi, the yellow chestnut is revealed, but for candied chestnuts, it’s better to peel only the outer shell. No, you must do that.

Otherwise, it will become mushy and you can’t make candied chestnuts.

“What are you doing this for?”

“It’s a snack you’ll really like.”

“I don’t like it. Something covered in fur.”

“Really? I’m confident you’ll find it delicious. Want to bet?”

“A bet?”

At my suggestion, Rurin nodded confidently.

“Alright. If you lose, you have to hug me all day!”

“What?”