‘The clan that governs the darkness, as the Black Dragon Hatchling.’
While the Imoogi was resting in the cradle with Baekya, Christina visited them.
“How are you feeling, sweetie?”
“I’m fine. Why?”
Christina scrutinized the Imoogi’s face and, upon confirming there were no issues, continued speaking.
“I thought something had happened. You seemed worried. I heard from Perdikyon that you parted ways after learning songs, but… I kept thinking it wasn’t something so simple.”
Christina, who had brought soft Castella cake and milk, put the tray down on the table.
“Can you tell me what’s going on?”
Episode 26 – Lune Eclipse
The Imoogi explained the rough situation to her, excluding any mentions of his previous life.
Christina, who had been listening calmly, was slightly surprised when she heard that Perdikyon had cried profusely.
“Perdikyon must have had a hard time too. Even though you’re both hatchlings, I didn’t expect someone to make him cry like that. You’re the first child I’ve seen like you.”
‘I didn’t mean to make him cry… It’s a good thing if I don’t go home and throw a pillow out of shame right away.’
The Imoogi shrugged, unable to voice his assumptions about Perdikyon’s actions to Christina.
“…I ended up learning word magic through Perdikyon’s songs. It felt vague, and it’ll take some time to learn it properly.”
He withheld the fact that he had already mastered one aspect of word magic.
It was just ‘Resurrection,’ but without a way to explain how he learned it, this was an unavoidable choice.
‘I don’t even know what kind of power it is since I haven’t used it properly yet.’
“My brother said he would propose teaching night classes since I’m a hatchling of the dark clan. He said it would suit me better, and he’ll come later to get permission.”
“Alright. I’ll talk to Perdikyon.”
“Chirp!”
Baekya, who felt left out as the Imoogi and Christina were talking to themselves, quietly made his presence known.
Scratching Baekya’s crown with his forefinger and middle finger, the Imoogi said.
“In a way, I think I’ve made progress. More than that, I’m thinking of naming myself soon.”
“I thought you planned to take your time, but it seems you need a name now.”
Seeing Christina speak comfortably while being inquisitive, the Imoogi nodded.
“Yes. Having a name will make things a lot more convenient. Moreover, if I plan to properly learn powers like word magic, it’s something that will be necessary.”
Until now, he had subconsciously delayed it because he intended to live as the Imoogi of the Black Dragon, but from now on, he needed to live as the hatchling of the Black Dragon.
“Alright. If that’s what you want, I agree. Do you have a name in mind?”
“Yes. My name is…”
The Imoogi slowly opened his mouth.
“Lune Eclipse.”
Christina smiled gently.
“Eclipse… means ‘to cover,’ right?”
Lune means moon, and Eclipse meant covering it.
“Then your main name will be ‘Lune,’ right?”
The Imoogi nodded.
“Yes. Eclipse as the middle name, fitting as a title for the clan. That’s the name I decided upon after much thought.”
He came up with the name to remind himself that even within the darkness lies light. The Imoogi decided to embrace the moon within the darkness.
Thinking of the scene where the dark sky swallows the moonlight, even though he didn’t know if the name would be any good, what mattered was that he liked it.
“It’s a good name. From now on, I’ll call you ‘Lune’ then.”
“Thank you. Please take care of me.”
Though feeling awkward, the Imoogi, now Lune, grinned.
‘This should do.’
The difference between having a name and not having one was stark.
At least now that he had a name, he had to confirm whether word magic worked correctly.
‘I need to practice alone first. It would be good to get used to word magic with practice.’
Perhaps, if he mastered the word magic he currently had, he might be able to easily learn other words embedded in the song Perdikyon taught him.
The problem was the method of training.
‘The power to revive… How do I experiment with this?’
The area outside the lair was teeming with animals and plants, both large and small, but due to the nature of his power, he had to find those that were already dead or lacked vitality.
Killing and reviving them deliberately didn’t sit well with him, as it meant witnessing the blood of innocent lives each day.
‘I don’t want to engage in needless killing. It’s not even a good way to practice secretly.’
Since the practice wouldn’t be a one or two-day thing, sneaking out of the lair each time would eventually get him caught.
He needed to lessen the frequency of training outside the lair.
“Sweetie, you’re still worrying about something.”
“It’s not exactly a worry… Just something to think about.”
Christina, breaking his train of thought, brought the tray over.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking about, but a light snack will help. You must be hungry, so try eating this first.”
Lune blankly stared at the Castella and milk Christina handed him.
Then he picked up a piece of Castella and took a big bite.
Feeling the soft texture and tasting the flavor of eggs, honey, and vanilla’s sweet aroma, he gulped it down and his eyes lit up.
Suddenly, a spark ignited in his mind.
‘This is it! Why didn’t I think of this sooner?’
He silently rejoiced and quickly chewed and swallowed the Castella in his mouth.
“Christina. I have a favor to ask.”
“What kind of favor?”
Facing her curious expression, Lune showed his expectant eyes.
“I want to learn to cook. Can you teach me?”
“Cooking?”
Though Christina had recently been exploring it as a hobby, dragons usually didn’t take an interest in cooking.
Except for temporarily experiencing it as part of a game, it was the first time a hatchling was eager to learn it properly.
“Yes. I think it will be helpful.”
‘If I use food ingredients as subjects for my experiments, I won’t need to go outside! And claiming to practice cooking on my own would grant me a personal space to work with.’
Additionally, it would be a bonus to be able to create high-level magical dishes with various magical effects.
Though Christina found it somewhat odd, since the request wasn’t difficult, she agreed.
Thus, a new ‘cooking lesson’ was added before mealtime.
The next day.
Lune stretched comfortably, feeling refreshed after a good sleep.
Though it was still dawn, he felt no drowsiness and his mind was clear.
Next to him, Baekya suddenly snored with his beak slightly open.
‘Should I bring him along?’
He debated between the hassle of taking Baekya and the unease of leaving him behind.
After contemplating with a grunt, Lune lightly tapped Baekya.
“Chirp…?”
Baekya, after opening and closing his beak a few times, groggily woke up and blinked.
Lune clicked his tongue lightly to himself.
‘I was planning to wake him twice and leave him if he didn’t wake up.’
He put on his artifact bracelet and transformed into a human form, which was easier to move around than a hatchling.
“I’m going out for cooking lessons. You coming? It’s alright if you want to keep sleeping.”
“Chirp!”
At that, Baekya suddenly sprang up and, after stretching his stiff wings a few times, hurriedly flew over to perch on Lune’s head.
“Let’s go then.”
Lune activated the teleportation spell to Christina’s laboratory.
Once the scenery changed before his eyes, the clean kitchen unfolded.
‘Good thing I hurried.’
Arriving a bit earlier than the appointment with Christina, he looked around the kitchen and checked a room where experimental tools were arranged.
“Chirp…!”
Baekya, curious, looked around and occasionally let out exclamatory chirps.
Then, the Imoogi, holding a notebook on the desk, skimmed through its contents.
“A cooking recipe?”
It listed the dishes he had eaten so far and the ones he planned to experiment with in the future, including some without a title yet, and spices.
After scanning it thoroughly, Lune stored the contents in his memory and returned to the kitchen.
He then opened a refrigerator enchanted to maintain a constant cold temperature and searched for suitable experiment subjects.
A bundle of whole dried fish caught his eye.
‘This one looks good.’
He took the bundle of fish.
‘If it’s a revival spell… Can it really make this come back to life as a fresh fish?’
It was hard to believe such a power existed, even though he imagined it himself.
What concerned him was the clause stating the effect scales with or against the target’s ‘status.’
He gained the power of revival when his status was formed at 999 years old.
Currently, as a 0-year-old hatchling, even with his natural status, it couldn’t compare to his previous life.
‘There’s only one way to find out.’
Remembering the desperation he felt when he died, Lune invoked the words.
“Revive.”
Zzzooong.
The word spell for revival activated on the dried fish.
‘Oh. So, this is how it feels.’
Even without using any magic power, watching it work of its own accord felt like he was really commanding the world.
‘I wonder what will happen.’
He watched with anticipation in his eyes.
Flash!
With a strong burst of life energy, a single flash of light was emitted.
As the light faded.
“This is…!”
The once dried fish now had plump flesh, shimmering scales, and a moist and fresh appearance.
“…It’s just a fresh fish?”
Indeed, though it looked deliciously fresh, it was still dead.
Confronted with an unexpected result, Lune ended up with a perplexed expression.
“Huh?”
Thinking it was worth a try, he grabbed all the dried fish he could find and cast the word spell again.
The results were the same.
While feeling dejected and dropping his shoulders, Christina warped into the kitchen.
“You’re here already? Oh my.”
Seeing the pile of fresh fish in front of the Imoogi, she opened her eyes wide in surprise before nodding as if making a decision.
“Let’s make grilled fish for today’s dish.”
“…”
“Chirp!”
Excitedly, Baekya wagged his tail, thrilled.
Thanks to grilling countless fish for a while, even Perdikyon was invited to the meal that day.
“Where did all these fish come from?”
The main menu for the day was grilled fish.
Custom-sliced by Christina, the high-quality magical fish that rejuvenates was seasoned with purifying salt and grilled to perfection.
However, other dishes included fried fish, fish stew, steamed fish, and more.
It was a table full of fish.
While awkwardly seating himself at the giant reception room table that could seat 20 people comfortably, Perdikyon glanced around at the food-laden table.
“When I checked the pantry today, there were fresh fish that were too precious to just store. And with Lune’s new first lesson, I decided to make a lot.”
“Lune?”
With disbelief, Perdikyon stared at Lune, who was feeding Baekya a piece of fish.
“Yes. I’ve named myself. Call me Lune.”
He slid a plate with deliciously steamed fish toward Perdikyon.
“Enjoy, brother. I made this one.”
Episode 27 – Revive
Fortunately, Lune’s cooking skills were quite good.
His skills, partly honed during his previous life as an Imoogi, watching humans sacrificed as offerings cook, were now paying off.
“Why so many fish dishes?”
Christina kindly answered as Perdikyon muttered to himself.
“It’s a cooking lesson. This child showed interest, so we decided to cook together from today!”
“…Pardon?”
Perdikyon glanced back and forth between Christina and Lune, thinking to himself, ‘A hatchling destined to be a clan leader cooking… Well, I guess it could happen…’ and began eating.
The taste was excellent.
Moreover, with both Baekya and Lune having good appetites, they managed to finish all the prepared dishes.
Though somewhat daunted by the amount of fish he had to eat at once, Perdikyon, given that the food had magical properties, which increased power, and the thought that it was his younger brother’s first attempt at cooking, cleaned all the plates in front of him.
