Chapter 35

Ted’s cooking skills were outstanding.

Rakia roasted the wild boar she caught to perfection, and with just the right amount of spices, a mouthwatering dish was quickly prepared.

Ariel, who had been munching on dessert while sitting on a rock, and Roo, who had been sipping fruit wine, both eyed the wild boar meat and slowly approached.

“Ah, Lady Ariel, please try it first.”

Rakia tore off a piece of the wild boar meat and handed it to Ariel.

The meat was steaming hot, but Rakia held it effortlessly with her bare hands.

After all, mere roasted wild boar couldn’t possibly burn a dragon.

Ariel opened her mouth and accepted the meat Rakia offered.

*Chew chew.*

“How is it?”

“It’s delicious.”

This time, Ariel tore off a piece of meat and fed it to Rakia.

“Wow, it’s delicious!”

Seeing the two of them like this, Ted smiled contentedly.

“Of course it’s delicious. I made it, after all.”

Ted then cooked the wild boar that Ghost had been eating raw in the same way, and thanks to him, Ariel’s group had a hearty breakfast.

“Ah, I’m so full~”

Roo patted her bulging belly and lay down on the grass.

The warm sunlight, the refreshing breeze, and even the sound of a nearby waterfall.

It was the perfect weather for a nap.

“Um, sis…”

Ted hesitantly spoke to Rakia.

“About that magic earlier…”

“Magic?”

“The one you used to kill the wild boar. Could you teach it to me?”

Rakia quietly looked at Ted.

A lowly human daring to ask a dragon to teach them magic.

In the past, she would have summoned a pillar of fire beneath Ted’s feet, but after her fight with Ariel, Rakia had learned to hold back.

“No.”

Instead, she coldly refused.

“Why?”

Ted didn’t give up easily.

“Please. If you teach me that magic, I’ll do anything you say. I can even roast wild boar for you every day.”

“No.”

“Why? What’s the reason?”

“Just no.”

Rakia stood up and walked toward the valley, clearly indicating she didn’t want to continue the conversation.

Ted looked at Ariel with a sullen face.

“Elf sis… are you a mage too?”

Ariel nodded.

“Eh, then can you use powerful magic like that sis did?”

This time, Ariel shook her head. The only spells she could use were Magic Missile and Shield.

Ted looked disappointed.

“I see… Well, magic isn’t easy. But I want to learn… I need to get stronger somehow…”

Ted seemed to have some kind of story.

“Only then can I take revenge on them… and protect our village… Right now, our village is… huh?”

Ted stopped talking and looked at Ariel.

“…Elf sis?”

Ariel, who he thought was listening, was dozing off.

*

Rakia sat near the valley, quietly watching the waterfall.

‘Daring to ask a dragon to teach them magic…’

If it were any other dragon, Ted would have been turned to ashes.

Who did this human think they were, asking a dragon to teach them magic?

But honestly, Rakia didn’t feel that strongly about it.

The wild boar Ted roasted was delicious, and if he could do that every day, she might have considered teaching him a simple spell.

The problem was.

‘How do I even teach it…?’

Dragons don’t learn magic. They are born with it, as naturally as breathing.

To teach that to someone else… How exactly?

That was why Rakia refused Ted’s request.

It wasn’t because the human was being presumptuous, or because she didn’t want to teach him. She just didn’t know how.

But admitting that would hurt her pride.

So Rakia sat here, avoiding Ted.

“Sis…”

Ted approached her.

“I’m sorry. I made an unreasonable request right after meeting you, didn’t I? You even saved my life, and here I am asking you to teach me magic. It’s only natural you’d be upset.”

Rakia didn’t respond. She wasn’t really upset, she just didn’t have anything to say.

“Don’t be mad. I’m not usually this shameless, but the situation is bad, so I guess I got impatient… By the way, where are you headed? If you’re not busy, would you like to stop by our village? I’ll make dinner. Well, we don’t have wild boar, so I can’t make it like before, but I can whip up a simple stew.”

“Stew?”

Rakia glanced at Ted.

“What’s stew?”

“You don’t know… stew?”

“I do!”

Rakia frowned and retorted.

Ted was sure Rakia didn’t know what stew was.

“Well, stew is a dish where you boil meat or vegetables… It’s like a soup. Right now, our village is short on meat, so I’ll have to use just vegetables, but it’ll still be tasty. I mean, I’m the one making it. I used to dream of being a chef, you know.”

“Soup…?”

Rakia licked her lips.

“I want to try it.”

“Right? Then shall we go to our village?”

“Okay.”

Rakia nodded with a smile.

But soon, she made an “oops” face and looked away.

“But I have to ask Lady Ariel first.”

“Lady Ariel? You mean that silver-haired elf sis?”

“Yes. I’m her subordinate.”

“……”

Ted’s expression became complicated.

To Ted, Rakia seemed like a high-ranking noble.

Her dress was luxurious, her hair and eyes shone gold, and her skin was pale and her face beautiful.

She looked like someone who would attend a banquet in a carriage led by a knight.

And most importantly, the magic she used earlier.

Magic was a difficult discipline for commoners to learn.

Before even considering talent, you needed money to hire a mage to teach you.

In that sense, Rakia seemed like a wealthy noble, but to be an elf’s subordinate…

Of course, Ted was just a boy from a rural village, so he didn’t know much about the world.

But no matter how he thought about it, something seemed off.

*

In the end, it was decided they would go to Ted’s village.

Since Ariel was asleep, Rakia made the decision, but it didn’t really matter.

Ted’s village was close by, and it wasn’t in the opposite direction of the western Dwarf Mountain Range.

Rakia climbed onto Ghost’s back with the sleeping Ariel.

She sat Ariel in front and held her from behind to keep her from falling as they moved.

“Our village used to be a great place to live. There were hardly any monsters around, and since we weren’t part of any territory, we didn’t have to pay taxes.”

Ted spoke as they walked.

“At first, it was just a wandering hunter who built a cabin and lived here, but people started gathering, and a village formed. That hunter became the village chief, and that was my grandfather.”

Of course, no one was listening.

Rakia was busy sneaking glances at Ariel’s sleeping face, and Roo, drunk on fruit wine, was sprawled on Rakia’s lap, mumbling.

Still, Ted continued talking.

“After my grandfather passed, my father became the chief. Honestly, being the chief doesn’t really come with any power. It’s just about making important decisions for the village. I always planned to leave the village and become a chef. I wanted to experience a bigger world than just living in the countryside. Besides, my older brother would be the next chief anyway…”

Soon, Ted’s village came into view.

Compared to Harrington Village, where Ariel and Roo had visited before, the defenses were weak.

There was a palisade, but it wasn’t very high, and the person guarding the entrance was just an old man.

As they approached the entrance, Ted greeted the old man.

“Grandpa, hello.”

“Oh… Ben…”

“I’m Ted, not Ben. Ben’s my older brother.”

“Right, Ben… Where did that dog come from…?”

The old man pointed at Ghost and asked.

“Such a big, impressive dog… Someone might mistake it for a wolf… Haha…”

“It is a wolf. Anyway, take care, grandpa.”

“Alright…”

After passing through the palisade, Ted led them to his house.

It was the largest house in the village, located at the very end.

Though large, it wasn’t particularly luxurious.

“The wolf can stay in the stable. It’s empty now since they took all our livestock…”

Ted’s voice choked up, but again, no one was listening.

“So this is your house?”

At Rakia’s question, Ted nodded.

“My grandfather built it himself. It started as a cabin, but after some expansions, it ended up this big.”

Ted’s face showed a hint of pride, as it was the largest house in the village.

“It’s shabby.”

Rakia muttered softly.

She didn’t mean to deflate Ted’s pride. It’s just that, by dragon standards, the house felt small and shabby.

“Uh, well… Come on in.”

Ted awkwardly opened the door.

“Anyway, no one’s home right now. My brother won’t be back until late.”

“Okay.”

Rakia got off Ghost and stuffed Roo into her dress pocket.

Then, carefully holding Ariel, she followed Ted inside.

“…Ted.”

But someone was in Ted’s house.

“Who’s that girl?”

It was Ted’s older brother, Ben.