Chapter 188: The Adolescent Dark Dragon (1) Whoooosh.
In the biting wind, Charlotte's red hair whipped wildly.
Though it was already May, the weather in the Mardin Mountain Range remained frigid. Snow that had fallen in winter still lay thick across the peaks.
Only the area around the cave entrance she was staring at was different.
"I thought it would be another hundred years. Seems I arrived a bit early."
For the first time in centuries, Charlotte set foot on the highest peak of the Mardin Mountain Range. She knelt on one knee and brushed her fingertips across the ground, which was scorched pitch-black.
"Sigh… as expected, the seal's been broken. My bad premonitions are always right."
Frowning, she pressed a hand to her face and exhaled deeply.
"Waking me up might've been coincidence, but that child's seal was definitely undone intentionally. I don't know what method was used, but the persistence is impressive. Making it all the way here alone, too."
She blew the dirt from her fingertips, a bitter smile lingering.
"But what was the point? All he did was shorten his own lifespan."
From the lingering mana at the cave entrance—charred by dark flames—she discerned that only one life was extinguished.
Marquis Horus—the one who had awakened her from her deep slumber.
"And all he managed was to move up her release by a mere hundred years."
Charlotte crossed her arms and glared into the cave.
"I know you're awake. Stop hiding and come out!"
Her dragon's roar thundered into the cavern.
The ground trembled. Snow cascaded from nearby trees. Wild animals and even monsters fled in panic.
The once-quiet Mardin Mountain Range descended into chaos.
Yet the one she sought did not appear.
"Fine. You just woke up. Still groggy, I suppose. I'll wait."
She cleared snow from a rock near the entrance and sat cross-legged.
Nearly an hour passed. Empty chip bags and cola cans piled up at her feet.
"You should be coming out by now—ah. There you are."
As she tore open her tenth bag of chips, someone emerged slowly from the cave.
A woman in a black dress stepped forward, long black bangs covering her left eye.
"Do you recognize me?"
The woman stared blankly at Charlotte chewing chips, blinking her exposed right eye.
"Charlotte… Unnie."
"Don't call me that. We age the same. 'Unnie,' honestly. Anyway… it's been a while. I suppose I'm somewhat glad to see you, Evelyn."
Evelyn—the second dragon to awaken—gazed at her dully.
Her black eye, deep enough to swallow everything, held no emotion.
"But the lesser beings certainly won't be pleased by your return. Assuming you haven't changed."
Charlotte tossed the empty bag aside and recalled the past.
By dragon standards, Evelyn was little more than a girl—mentally unstable, incapable of controlling her emotions.
Wherever she went, she left chaos, destruction, and oblivion.
"Still, time's passed. Maybe you've learned some restraint? You're not a child anymore."
Unlike Evelyn, Charlotte had mingled peacefully with other races. Together, they had weakened and sealed Evelyn.
But the seal had never been perfect. It could hold her only for centuries—nothing against a dragon's lifespan.
Anticipating Evelyn's eventual awakening, Charlotte had inscribed a magical tattoo on her left arm to alert her when the seal broke.
"Evelyn. Did you sleep well?"
Evelyn nodded faintly.
"Cleared your head this time? Or planning to rampage again?"
Evelyn remained silent.
Though she appeared blank, the mana radiating from her told another story.
Overwhelming depression. Hatred toward everything.
"Right. If words could solve this, I wouldn't have come myself."
Flash.
Charlotte returned to her true form and looked down at Evelyn.
"Shall we start with breath?"
Fwoooosh.
A torrent of blazing breath engulfed Evelyn.
"One Tteok-Twi-Sun set with cheese, please! Will cheese Sundae be added soon?"
"Jinseo, three American-style hot dogs with dwarf-made sausages to go. Mustard only—no ketchup."
"I'll be heading out for deliveries soon—just three beef curries!"
"Jinseo, please deliver eight sandwich-and-iced-tea sets to the 8th hole. And the Elder asked for battery charging for his portable Tetris. May I hand them to you now?"
One week after Aston and Stella's wedding, the food truck was bustling as always.
Humans, dwarves, centaurs, and elves ordered side by side—no longer an unusual sight in Falstead Castle.
For residents of Falstead Castle, Dwarf Town, and Elven Forest, food truck cuisine had become daily life.
"The line's too long. Break time's coming. No chance we'll eat before then."
"Let's go to bunsik street today. We'll come earlier tomorrow."
With demand rising, it was harder to eat dishes personally made by Jinseo.
Yet the installation of bunsik street, delivery services, and distant branches made access easier overall.
"Break time! We'll reopen in one hour!"
Now, unlike before, customers no longer waited at tables during breaks.
"Whew, still busy. But breaks finally feel like breaks. Before, people would stare while we tried to eat leftovers."
"Hard to relax when someone's drilling holes into the back of your head."
"Seriously, those stares were creepy—oh! Hyung-nim Aston! Sister-in-law Stella! You're back!"
Jason welcomed the newly returned couple warmly. Jinseo prepared coffee mix and snacks for them.
"How was your honeymoon?"
"It was wonderful."
"To see the World Tree with our own eyes… it still feels like a dream."
After a week in the elven homeland, the Keinuar Continent, they still seemed elated.
They were even wearing Hawaiian shirts—the ones Jinseo had specially made after seeing a Korean drama.
"Ah, I almost forgot. Your wedding gifts."
He handed one box to Aston and two to Stella.
"Korean chef's knives… the very ones Kohel admired. I'm truly delighted."
Aston looked as if he wanted to rush into the kitchen immediately.
"Perfect timing! I needed new tools. Thank you!"
Stella beamed over her sewing kit.
"And this is a Korean cosmetics set. Fedora Artran translated the instructions."
Originally, Jinseo intended to gift hand cream for her rough hands. It escalated into a full set.
"And lastly—this is for the future."
"Oh my…"
"Baby clothes and shoes."
Their smiles widened.
Even more than their personal gifts, the tiny clothes delighted them.
"Anything special happen while we were gone?"
"The soccer finals were incredible."
"Ah, that was yesterday? A shame we missed it."
"Fierce match—but the result was expected."
"Dwarf Team 2 won again?"
Aston glanced toward the celebratory banner near Dwarf Town.
"Geshtain was devastated. Drank beer, Makgeolli, then demanded whiskey. Mixed everything. He'll wake tonight at best."
After losing 3–4, Geshtain wanted to trade for Allensia.
When told Allensia would form an all-elf team next season, he despaired again.
"Give me something strong enough to forget!"
After two kegs of beer and ten bottles of Makgeolli, Jinseo brought out a legendary bottle of CapXcu.
Geshtain forgot his sorrow for a day—only to suffer a brutal hangover.
"Jinseo, we're out of cola."
Charlotte approached quietly and sat at the counter.
"Ah… you're back?"
Unusually, she had appeared in human form from the start.
That wasn't the only difference.
"Lady Charlotte? Your face—"
A vivid red scar ran across her left cheek.
"Oh, you noticed? Got hurt."
"…Hurt? You?"
Jinseo's voice rose. Everyone rushed over.
"Why so shocked? I can get hurt too."
"But… what could injure a dragon?"
"…When you put it that way, good point."
"Then perhaps—"
"Yes. As you suspect. I fought one of my own kind."
Charlotte smirked and poured fish cake broth into a paper cup.
"By dragon standards… just a little."
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