episode_0109

When I took the cable car up to the observatory of Mont Blanc, my body felt limp and heavy, but my steps on the way down this unknown mountain were surprisingly light. The fact that I was able to meet Arjen again made me feel much more at ease.

“Wow, where am I again.”

I hadn’t traveled around this world that much, but it was truly a place I had never seen before. The good news was that there was a village at the bottom of the mountain.

And the unfortunate thing is that the village is not a human village. No matter how young the roots are, it would be strange for mundane people to live at the foot of the mountain where the World Tree is located.

“Who are you!”

As we approached the village, the gatekeeper aimed his spear at us. It was a place where people didn’t come and go often, even if it was just empty words, so I understood that they were threatening me like that instead of verifying my identity, but I didn’t feel very good about it.

“I am a traveler who is temporarily lost. If you don’t mind, can I visit the village?”

But what can you do if you’re not in a good mood? The only thing I have to prove my identity right now is my Korean passport. There was no way that would work in this world, so I had to quietly follow what they wanted.

Well, if it had been elves, the proof would have ended with showing the world tree’s bow…

“Are you asking us to let people with clean tops, who look like they haven’t suffered at all, into the village in such a barren mountainous area? Are you kidding?”

They have bushy beards that don’t match their short stature. If you’ve read fantasy, you’ll know their identities without even asking. I never thought I would see a dwarf here for the first time.

Still, the dwarves weren’t the worst. I don’t know why, but it’s because the continental common language, which was only used among humans, worked easily. The problem is that things don’t necessarily go well just because people can communicate.

“Hmm! I feel more confident because there are more than one or two suspicious things, right?”

This was what the dwarf who was aiming his spear and another dwarf who was on duty said this while stroking the stubble from his chin. Since one of the two is trusted, it can be said to be a good situation.

“How can faith freeze to death? Didn’t I tell you not to drink before work?”

“I didn’t drink it! I’m so sad about this that I can’t even joke.”

It was a joke. It ended up being good. Anyway, since I didn’t have anything to buy credit from the dwarves, I felt like I would have to give up on entering the village. If I had known this would happen, I would have worn a more ornate necklace or bracelet.

“Uh… Anyway, this means you can’t enter the village, right? Well sir. Okay then. ”

I tried to quietly retreat, but the spear aimed at me came one inch closer to me. It was a very valuable-looking spear blade that was not suitable for a gatekeeper.

“Hehe, where are you going?”

“…What kind of case is this?”

From the gatekeepers’ perspective, it was natural for them to block the Geodong Prize winner from entering. However, pointing a spear at someone who was quietly trying to leave after knowing that they were not allowed to enter was clearly crossing the line.

The tension grows. The assimilation rate with Sirocco was at its highest, to the point where it was hard to believe he was on Earth just a moment ago. Considering Sirocco’s toughness, which even the dragon recognized, tearing down the two dwarves in front of him was no problem.

In this imminent situation where it felt like something was going to happen at any moment, the sharp spear blade suddenly fell far away. The dwarf, who had withdrawn his spear, shook the tip and said.

“Passed. It’s okay to pass by.”

“…eh?”

When I asked back in a foolish voice, the two dwarves couldn’t hold back their laughter and suddenly burst out laughing.

“Khahahaha!! Aha, hahaha! After all, making fun of humans is the most fun!”

“Hehehe, look at that guy’s face.”

Only then did I realize that all my previous actions were just a show. No, the doorkeeper’s job is not selling Turkiye ice cream, there is something else to joke about…

One of the dwarves suddenly opened his mouth, as if they sensed something I was about to say.

“Actually, we are not gatekeepers! Is there such a thing as a gatekeeper for someone to come to a place like this?”

“? But he’s standing like that at the entrance to the village, holding a spear, so he’s not the gatekeeper?”

The dwarves chuckled again at my question.

“Ah~ This window? Things like this are so common that you can see them rolling on the ground when you go into a village. I had to go into the mountains for a moment, so I picked up something and came out.”

“What’s going on in the mountains…?”

The dwarves turned around and showed the colanders they carried on their backs.

“To find fruits and herbs to use in making alcohol.”

“Giggles… I was planning on going to smoke a cigarette before climbing the mountain, but I saw a person coming down from afar.”

“Who told you to be so cautious and hesitant? I almost died because I wanted to make fun of you.”

Are you blaming me for this?

“Anyway, be careful in the village. There are a lot of guys who are more mischievous and eccentric than us.”

I already hated going into the village. However, I needed to get information about where exactly this was and what to do to get to Eletrobe.

“Ugh.”

I sighed deeply and entered the dwarven village.

“Oh…?”

I saw it from the entrance of the village, but the dwarf village had a more beautiful scenery than the human village. The style and technology applied to the architecture was so outstanding that it could not be called a typical village, even better than the large city of Eletrov.

It was quite different from the lifestyle of the dwarves I knew, who were usually described as living in places like caves. Of course, Elf also shattered my childishness with his unimaginable selfishness and discriminatory mind, so this is a very positive departure.

“Hahahahaha!”

Kang! Kang! Kang! Kang!

“Khehehehe!”

Of course, drinking like that in broad daylight and the refreshing sound of a hammer hitting metal were exactly the characteristics I had imagined of dwarves.

“Huh? what? You’re human, right?”

“Can you see it too? Wasn’t it because I was drunk that I saw something wrong?”

“Wow, this is my first time seeing a human.”

I looked for places like bookstores and libraries where I could get a map or something with information on the nearby area, but of course the priority was that the dwarves showed interest in me, a human.

“Uh… Hello.”

“What is it? Where do humans come in here? What does the gatekeeper do?”

“You asshole, where is our gatekeeper? I think that guy is drunk?”

“Look at the talking tail. Even though I haven’t suffered any harm from humans, I put my hatred behind me.”

Considering that they were so busy talking amongst themselves, the public opinion about me was not that bad. In fact, if there was as much emotional conflict between dwarves and humans as there was between elves, the two who were cosplaying as gatekeepers would not have been willing to let them into the village in the first place.

“Hello, seniors.”

“Khaha! Hey, Jukel. They say you are an old man. To the guy who had his coming-of-age ceremony just the day before yesterday! Clue!”

“I told you, right? I heard that bastard has presbyopia.”

“No, don’t make fun of me! There’s a human there! Aren’t you saying too much at first meeting!?”

Oh my, I guess I was fooled by its appearance. He had a bushy beard and quite a few wrinkles, so it was my prejudice to think he was an old man.

“Sorry, sorry. It’s my first time meeting dwarves in person, so my choice of words wasn’t smooth.”

Although he said this, honestly, anyone could see that he looked like an old man. Even with the beard, the wrinkles are so sad, and they have just become adults. Is it because the lifestyle of dwarves involves banging iron in front of a hot fire every day and drinking alcohol like water? They have weathered the ravages of time more than most military officers. It looked like a direct hit.

“Just be careful from next time. Anyway, what brings humans here? This is the eastern end of the continent, so it’s not easy to see people……”

“The eastern edge…?”

I was a little embarrassed. As far as I know, Eletrobe is located near the southwest of the continent.

“Can I get a map?”

“It turned out well. There is an archive near my house. You can probably see a map of the continent there.”

Oh, the grandiose name popped out: neither a bookstore nor a library, but an archive. I nodded when the dwarf Jukel asked me to wait a moment until his drink was empty as he would guide me.

If you count the number of drinking glasses on the table, it felt like you should have been given support rather than guidance, but it appears that the name Dwarf was not just a lie, as he was an excellent speaker.

“Hehehe, here we go.”

As its name suggests, the archives contained maps of extremely detailed quality. There was a red dot somewhere in the mountain range located on the eastern side of the continent, as if indicating the current location.

“Let’s see….”

I roughly estimated the location of Eletrobe based on the scale bar on the map.

“Oh!”

It was exactly 5,200 km. It was about half the distance from Japan to the United States.

“What the fuck.”

The swear words came out without going through my brain, so I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.