Chapter 14 : The Second Girl (6)

The completed “dish” still looked rough.

“Yeah, it feels kind of weird without any tableware.”

Even with plating, it didn’t look cool—seemed like they needed a proper fork and plate.

But hey, it’s just appearances. Isn’t this basically a feast?

I divided the finished meal onto flat stones and pushed them in front of the two kids.

“Wow..! Dragon, thank you for the food!”

Sori sat down, expressing her gratitude for deer meat after such a long time.

She picked up a piece of the deer meat I had grilled first.

“Mmm!”

“Eek! You actually… ate it?”

Her eyes sparkled as she took a big bite and smiled with satisfaction.

The problem was Lisette.

When she saw the food I laid down—especially the root vegetables—her face went pale again.

Her shoulders trembled, and her gaze was shaky with unease.

‘Still hung up on the fork, huh…’

I clicked my tongue internally.

Of course, a noble girl would panic just because there’s no tableware.

Tsk tsk, if she wants to survive here, that weak mindset has to go.

But Sori was already munching away happily beside her, making yummy noises.

“If it’s meat, maybe it’ll be okay…”

Lisette kept glancing over at her, and then—maybe because she heard her stomach growl—she finally reached out very carefully.

She didn’t even look at the root vegetables.

She picked up the smallest and least-burnt-looking piece of deer meat.

Then, as if steeling herself, she shut her eyes tightly and brought the meat to her mouth.

I watched Lisette’s reaction like someone awaiting a review of their cooking.

Please, this time, I hope she enjoys it.

That kid needs to regain some energy… not just for afternoon training, but for her health.

Lisette began to chew the meat with her small mouth.

But something about her expression was strange.

Her tightly shut eyes flew open.

Her widened eyes were filled with confusion and astonishment, as if she couldn’t believe it.

‘…Is it bad?’

Panic surged inside me.

Did I mess up again? Or maybe she just doesn’t like the taste of deer meat?

But Lisette didn’t spit it out or frown.

On the contrary, she began to chew faster and faster.

Then she swallowed it with a gulp and spaced out for a moment.

Suddenly, she looked down at her own hands.

As if something felt off, she opened and closed her hand a few times.

There was even a faint blush of surprise on her face.

And finally, almost in a whisper, Lisette murmured,

“It’s… delicious…!”

‘There it is!’

I celebrated silently.

Told you, my cooking skills have improved!

Lisette herself admitted my grilled meat was good. A wave of pride washed over me.

I really am good at everything…

“…My mana is recovering!”

But Lisette’s next words instantly replaced my pride with a different emotion.

‘Mana?’

Mana… that’s the energy used for magic, right?

She must be talking about the energy she used up earlier while casting spells.

But now she’s recovering that just by eating the food I cooked? I took a closer look at Lisette’s face.

She definitely looked healthier than when she had collapsed earlier from exhaustion.

Even her eyes were lively again.

‘What the heck is going on?’

I glanced back and forth between the grilled meat and the root vegetables.

Could these foods really have some kind of special effect?

Was it a specific ingredient? That deer meat I like so much, and Sori eats so well? Or those noisy root vegetables?

Or… maybe it’s my flame breath? Does food grilled with dragon fire have some kind of hidden power?

Dozens of questions raced through my mind.

But the one thing I could say for sure was this:

‘Maybe just eating food is enough to recover.’

The fact that magical energy could be restored just by eating was shocking.

By now, Lisette seemed to have completely let her guard down, staring at Sori eating the root vegetables.

“Sori… is it okay?”

“It’s edible.”

As if reassured, Lisette picked up a root vegetable with her hand and began chewing on it with a crunch.

She still looked a little shocked and confused, but her desire to eat seemed even stronger.

“Mmm! This is good too..! Huh? Wait, I’m still alive.”

Letting out little exclamations of delight, Lisette devoured the food.

Sori was the same beside her.

She seemed a bit surprised by Lisette’s reaction at first, but soon focused on her own meal.

Watching both kids devour every last bite of the food I had grilled brought me immense satisfaction.

‘Yeah, you gotta eat well to train well.’

I watched over the two kids with a proud heart.

If my cooking helps them grow up healthy and strong through training, that’s all I need.

Then I can finally let them go.

‘Maybe I really do have a talent for dragon-cheffing.’

If I’ve already satisfied two guests, maybe I could live just cooking, once I get rid of this annoying sleepiness.

Can’t I just invite random humans and feed them?

After the meal, the two kids clearly looked much livelier.

Lisette’s fear of me hadn’t completely vanished, but at least she no longer looked utterly hopeless.

I tidied up the meal area, feeling content.

Looking at the two kids, I thought I should start putting more effort into hunting and cooking.

Maybe… I should try eating it myself sometime? The thought passed briefly through my mind.

The short post-lunch break came to an end.

Lisette, who had been completely drained by using magic earlier, now had sharpness back in her eyes.

Of course, she was still glancing at me nervously, but…

“All right. Afternoon training starts now…”

At my words, Sori stood up without a word and started warming up.

It was a sight that had now become quite familiar.

In contrast, Lisette looked tearful and hesitant, but perhaps because of the morning’s experience, or maybe because her mana had recovered and she had gained a bit of confidence, she didn’t resist like before and reluctantly started following Sori’s movements.

The afternoon training followed the same routine as the morning.

Push-ups, squats, running.

Lisette still struggled with every movement, but unlike in the morning, she didn’t collapse as soon as it began.

She screamed here and there or teared up a little, but still tried her best to follow the exercises.

I wondered if her so-called mana recovery didn’t just restore her energy but actually affected her physical capabilities as well.

‘Told you, my cooking’s the best.’

Thinking that, I supervised the training of the two kids.

Sori now looked nearly perfect, and Lisette… well, she still had a long way to go, but the potential was there.

‘Along with exercise, diet is important too.’

With my Spartan-style training and cooking, even that noble girl would eventually become as strong as Sori.

Time passed, and before I knew it, the sun was starting to set.

It was about time to prepare dinner.

I wrapped up the training and told the kids to rest for a bit.

‘For dinner… there’s still venison left, so I’ll use that.’

I pondered briefly on how to cook the remaining meat, when I suddenly recalled something from lunch.

Lisette trembling in horror at the ingredients I brought.

And the conclusion I’d come to.

‘Ah, right, forks.’

No matter what, I couldn’t let the kids eat with their bare hands at every meal.

It wasn’t sanitary, and Lisette clearly hated it… Yeah, let’s get them some forks.

It would be better for their mental health, too.

If I let them go outside later, they might keep eating with their hands.

‘Where do I find them? Maybe in a village?’

If it was a human village, they’d obviously have utensils like forks.

If I could find some bowls too, even better.

The nearest village from here was… hmm, not sure how long it would take on foot, but if I flew, I could make it there and back quickly.

Alright, let’s make a quick trip before dinner.

‘But before that, that magic just now.’

The faint light Lisette had shown.

A phenomenon created by using up mana.

If that’s the case, could I also use that strange energy called mana, just like Lisette?

I mean, I’m a dragon—there’s no way I don’t have it, right?

If I did, maybe I could use magic too.

If Lisette only managed to produce that much light, couldn’t I do something much more powerful?

A sudden urge surged within me.

I wanted to test it.

I moved to the large open space inside the cave.

Just in case, I told the two kids to stay far, far away.

“Step back…”

Sori and Lisette looked at me curiously but obediently moved back.

I took a deep breath and focused my mind.

I tried to feel the power within me.

Huge, hot, and overwhelming energy.

Could this be mana? I gathered a portion of that power and focused on creating ‘light,’ just like Lisette had done.

A very small, controllable light.

But the power writhing inside me started to rampage uncontrollably, ignoring my intentions.

“Sori, close your eyes!”

“Huh?”

It was like trying to open a dam just a little, only for the entire dam to collapse—a massive surge of energy swirled within me.

‘W-Wait!’

Panicked, I tried to control the power, but it was too late.

BOOOOOM!

A blinding white flash exploded around my body! It wasn’t just light.

It was a pure burst of energy accompanied by intense heat and pressure.

The cave walls trembled, and the air was filled with the scent of burning ozone.

The flash lasted only a moment, but the aftermath was massive.

My vision turned white for a second, then was filled with spots, and my ears were ringing with a high-pitched buzz.

‘…Ugh, that’s not it.’

I staggered, muttering to myself.

Every scale on my body tingled.

What the heck was that?

I was just trying to make a little light, and I almost blew up the cave.

I guess magic isn’t something just anyone can use.

Or maybe I’m just too powerful for my own good—either way, this isn’t a power I can use right now.

Trying to act like nothing happened, I pulled myself together and looked at the kids.

Sori was lying on the ground, with Lisette covering her eyes.

They must have been really startled by the sudden flash and explosion.

Luckily, they didn’t seem hurt—they twitched and looked at me.

Their eyes sparkled as if they had just witnessed something incredible.

I cleared my throat and said,

“I’ll be right back…”

“Wha.. my protection stone is broken?!”

Lisette said something, but without hesitation, I headed toward the cave entrance.

As planned, I’ll just grab some forks—this definitely isn’t because I’m embarrassed that I failed at a spell even Lisette succeeded at.

Once outside, I thought briefly about spreading my wings, but decided not to attract attention.

People out there already think I’m some evil dragon—if I flew through the sky, they might attack me.

So I made my way quickly through the forest, where the darkness had started to fall.

My destination: the nearest human village, the one that glowed like a lighthouse at night—easy to spot.

But today, the village looked unusually dark.

I focused on finding forks for the kids and moved forward.

Not sure how long I ran.

Eventually, I came out of the forest and arrived at the familiar hill overlooking the village.

But something felt wrong.

The village was too quiet.

The sun had nearly set, and this should be the time when every household lit their fires for dinner, with smoke rising and people chatting, kids laughing.

But the village was deathly silent, as if abandoned.

Every window was tightly shut.

No lights, no sounds.

Looking closer, the light-emitting devices that should’ve been on every street corner were all smashed.

‘…What is this?’

I hid my massive body atop the hill and looked down at the eerily quiet village.

It felt like the entire village was either completely empty or all the villagers were hiding silently.

A cold chill ran down my spine.

I just came to get some forks, but it felt like I’d stumbled into something seriously wrong.