Chapter 79

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Thor was the eldest of the dwarf brothers.

Thor and his brothers, seven in total, were known in the village as the Seven Dwarves.

Early this morning, Thor and his brothers had been working in the mine tunnel.

Suddenly, the tunnel began to shake.

“Everyone, get back!”

As Thor shouted, the tunnel collapsed.

Thor, along with the second and fourth brothers, managed to escape, but the third, fifth, sixth, and youngest brothers were trapped inside.

“Damn it!”

Thor, along with the second and fourth brothers, tried to clear the rocks to save their siblings, but it was futile.

There were too many rocks.

It would take days to clear them all.

“Should we ask the village for help?”

The second brother asked, but Thor’s expression darkened.

“That would take too long…”

The dwarf village was far away, requiring a winding journey through the mountains.

It would take half a day just to go there and back.

By then, it was uncertain whether their trapped brothers would survive.

“Uh, what do we do…?”

“Isn’t there any way?”

“They’re all going to die at this rate.”

Just then, they felt a presence nearby.

Thor turned his head.

“Ah, damn it!”

“You scared me!”

“What is that?”

A massive horse stood beside them.

Its body was nothing but bones.

Yet, it moved as if alive.

Its eyes glowed with a blue light, flickering like flames.

On the horse sat two girls.

One was a beastkin with long ears and purple hair, and the other was a human with white hair and red eyes.

The white-haired girl asked,

“Dwarves?”

“Yeah, you damn brat! Never seen a dwarf before?”

“What’s with this skeleton horse? Is it an undead?”

“Hey, kid riding in front. Are you a beastkin? Your ears are long.”

The white-haired girl dismounted and approached.

Her gaze lingered at the top of Thor’s head.

It felt like she was measuring his height.

The girl asked again,

“What are you doing here?”

“Mind your own business and go on your way. We’re in serious trouble here.”

“Yeah, our brothers are about to die.”

“The mine collapsed, and they’re all trapped inside.”

The girl turned her head to look at the mine entrance.

“If we move those rocks, it’ll be fine, right?”

“What?”

“How are you going to do that? You’re tiny.”

“Your arms are as thin as twigs.”

The girl ignored Thor and his brothers and casually spread her hand.

At that moment, something incredible happened.

A magic circle appeared on the ground, and skeletons began to rise.

Not just one, but dozens of them, filling the area.

Thor’s face turned pale.

The second and fourth brothers were the same.

“Wh-what is this…?”

“They’re undead…!”

“Wh-why are undead…?”

To dwarves, undead were terrifying beings.

They often encountered them deep in the mines.

The restless spirits of miners who had died in collapsed tunnels centuries ago.

They roamed the darkness, always searching for new victims, and countless dwarves had fallen to them.

“I-I’m scared…”

“Brother Thor…”

The second and fourth brothers clung to Thor’s clothes.

Thor, too, was terrified and wanted to run away immediately.

The only reason he didn’t was because his brothers were trapped inside the tunnel.

The girl gave a small nod to the skeletons.

At her signal, the skeletons moved toward the tunnel entrance.

In perfect order.

Like a well-trained army.

Clatter. Clatter.

The skeletons began clearing the rocks piled at the tunnel entrance.

From small pebbles to large boulders, they moved them one by one to the side.

Thor watched the scene, holding his breath.

“This is unbelievable…”

The fourth brother spoke in a trembling voice.

“Undead… working?”

“Yeah, they usually just attack. Brother Thor, what’s going on?”

Thor shook his head with a confused expression.

“I don’t know. But one thing is certain.”

Thor’s gaze turned to the girl.

The girl was smiling faintly as she watched the skeletons clear the rocks.

“That girl can control undead.”

It sounded plausible, but it was also an obvious statement.

After all, they had just seen the girl summon the undead.

She had even asked, “If we move those rocks, it’ll be fine, right?”

Still, the second and fourth brothers widened their eyes in shock.

“Th-then…”

“That girl…”

“Yeah. The undead are following her orders.”

“Good heavens…”

“How is this possible…?”

The pile of rocks at the entrance was quickly disappearing.

What would have taken the three dwarves days to clear, the skeletons accomplished in moments.

Soon, the entrance was clear, and Thor’s trapped brothers came running out.

“Brother Thor!!”

“You’re all safe!”

Thor hugged his brothers.

The brothers had only minor scratches and no serious injuries.

“Haha, what a relief!”

“Brother Thor, it was so scary!”

“I thought I was going to die!”

“Don’t worry. Everything’s fine now!”

Thor turned to look at the girl.

She had already dismissed the skeletons and was now looking at them.

“Th-thank you so much.”

Thor approached the girl and bowed his head.

“If it weren’t for you, my brothers wouldn’t have made it. How can I ever thank you…?”

“It’s fine. I needed to pass through that tunnel anyway.”

The girl casually brushed her hair behind her ear as she spoke.

At that moment, Thor’s heart was deeply shaken.

‘Ah, she’s beautiful…!’

He had been too flustered earlier to notice, but now he saw how stunning the girl was.

To be precise, she was more on the cute side, but it didn’t matter.

Her soft hair cascading over her shoulders.

Her bright, glowing red eyes.

Her snow-white skin.

Her small, rosy lips.

Everything about her was lovely.

Even her scent was strangely fragrant.

She was about the same height as Thor, a dwarf, with a delicate frame and slender limbs.

Thor had seen countless gems in his life, but he had never encountered such beauty before.

Her ability to control undead was also incredible.

And on top of that, she had a kind heart that helped others.

‘I must propose to her!’

Thor’s eyes grew determined.

He couldn’t let her slip away.

He mustn’t.

Thor had already been thinking about finding a bride.

Taking care of his six younger brothers alone was a bit overwhelming.

His dream was to welcome a beautiful bride and live happily together while caring for his brothers.

And now, standing before him was his destined partner.

The perfect ideal.

“By any chance…!”

Thor quickly approached the girl.

“I’d like to treat you to a meal…!”

“A meal?”

The girl stared intently at Thor.

Just her gaze alone made Thor’s entire body tingle.

His face grew hot, and his breathing became ragged.

“Y-yes. You saved my brothers, so I’d like to treat you to a meal…”

“Hmm.”

The girl made a thoughtful expression.

Even that expression was unbearably adorable.

She was like a princess straight out of a fairy tale.

“Alright, then.”

The girl murmured softly.

“There’s no rush anyway.”

Thor’s face lit up.

“Th-then let’s go to my house right away! I’ll prepare the best meal for you!”

“Wait a moment.”

The girl turned her gaze to the beastkin girl still sitting on the horse.

“What do you think, Sophie? Want to visit the dwarves’ house?”

“Yeah!”

The beastkin girl’s eyes sparkled.

“I really want to go!”

“Alright, then. Let’s go.”

“Haha, great idea!”

Thor subtly took the girl’s hand.

Her hand was slightly cool but soft.

The sensation was so delightful it made his heart swell.

Struggling to hide his trembling emotions, Thor continued.

“Oh, by the way, there’s a festival starting in our village today. It’s called the Mining Festival, and it only happens once a year. After the meal, I’ll show you around the festival.”

“Sounds good.”

“And, if you want, you can touch my beard.”

Thor’s beard was famous for its lushness.

It was the part of his appearance he was most proud of.

But the girl shook her head.

“No, thanks.”

◈

After unexpectedly saving the dwarves, Lucy ended up heading to their house.

By the way, these dwarves were all brothers.

There were seven of them, and the one with the bushy beard was the eldest, named Thor.

Lucy had heard the names of the other brothers but didn’t remember them.

There were too many.

To match the dwarves’ pace, Lucy dismissed the Death Mount and walked alongside them.

Sophie walked beside her, and Hon trailed behind.

Finn was still fast asleep inside Lucy’s clothes.

“…I’m so excited.”

Sophie said softly.

“This is my first time leaving Harmonia. I’m curious about what a dwarven village looks like. Have you ever been to a dwarven village, Lucy?”

Lucy shook her head.

“This is my first time too.”

As they wound their way through the mountain path, a bridge appeared.

On the other side of the bridge was a mountain range.

The entire mountain range was the dwarven village.

The dwarves mined and reshaped the mountains to create their living space.

Like ants digging tunnels.

“We’re here!”

Thor shouted.

In truth, returning to the village after mining was a daily occurrence, so it wasn’t particularly special, but Thor was unusually excited because Lucy was with them.

Since earlier, Thor had been stealing glances at Lucy, his face red, and grinning from ear to ear.

Lucy was too busy playing with Sophie’s ears and tail to notice, but Thor had already told his brothers,

“That girl is going to be your sister-in-law.”

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
My brother in christ, probably should ask her how old is she…