episode_0192

I’m saying this now, but I don’t know much about the geography around the dwarven village.

When I came to the dwarven village, I didn’t have a clear starting point; I simply came from Mont Blanc on Earth through the power of Prinia.

Therefore, I periodically flew through the sky to check the village’s location.

“Okay, we’re almost there now.”

“Really? Whoaaaam….”

I woke up and messed up Orha’s disheveled hair even more.

“Ugh! Wow, why are you doing this all of a sudden!”

“I’m going to meet the dwarves soon, so I should quickly wash my face and straighten my hair. Are you going to say that I am a human saint by looking like this?”

“Hey, why do you break things even more when you tell me to clean them up?”

“Because I’m going to organize it anyway.”

After a bit of bickering with Orha, I corrected the direction to Wayne, who was leading the carriage.

“Go this way and you’re done. There are no more crossroads. I think I can arrive within today.”

“Really? I’ll finally be able to sleep in bed for the first time in a long time.”

To minimize the inconvenience as much as possible, we arranged for an expensive carriage, but it was still far from a proper room.

“Wouldn’t it be even better if the bed was made by dwarves?”

“Now that I think about it, I’ve never actually slept there either.”

“Huh? Why?”

“For some reason, Arjen said he was on the verge of destroying the world, so there was no time to rest, so I just received guidance and quickly left.”

When I think back to that time, I still feel dizzy.

The joy of coming back here from Earth was only fleeting, and my eyes were dark with worries about Arjen.

Of course, the joy I felt when I met Arjen again was incomparable to anything.

‘Oh, shit.’

It just occurred to me. I suddenly wanted to see Arjen.

I looked up at the sky before any more useless thoughts came to mind.

As I stared at it for a while, the color of the sky changed and I heard Wayne’s voice.

“I think we’re all there?”

“Oh, really?”

After hearing Wayne’s words, I looked straight ahead and saw two dwarves along with a magnificent barrier.

“I think it’s a guard, what should I do?”

I chuckled at Wayne’s question.

“Don’t worry. Those people are not gatekeepers.”

“No?”

“Yes. No.”

When I first came here, I was almost fooled by the plausible pictures.

At that time, they were not guards, but just dwarves who saw me and made fun of me while I was going to the forest.

This time, they must have come out because they became interested when they saw a rare carriage.

“Dwarves don’t stand guard. They say no one comes to a remote place like this anyway.”

“It’s very unique….”

“Well, it is such a rough place.”

It’s true. They used a carriage to get here, but the road was so rough that the horses had to rest frequently.

“Anyway, just pass by. If it’s really awkward, try saying hello…”

As soon as I finished speaking, two dwarves blocked the carriage.

“Wait a minute, where are you going to go?”

“Our eyes are wide open!”

The dwarves who blocked us by crossing their spears were not in a joking mood like before.

Wayne glances at me and asks me to look at it. I felt embarrassed and asked them.

“Huh? Are you really the gatekeeper?”

“Okay. Are your eyes very bad?”

“…No, they said there was no such thing even a few years ago…”

“Hmm? Looking at the Malbon bird, is it a human who has come to our village before?”

“Yes. I don’t know if there are people who remember because they only borrowed a map and left in a hurry.”

“It’s not common for humans to come here, so everyone will remember, right?”

“But I don’t remember. He probably came while I was out.”

“I don’t remember either.”

Coincidentally, both gatekeepers were not there when I came here.

In that case, you have to prove your identity to enter, which makes things a little more difficult.

A warrior, a saint, and a saint are all statuses that are popular among humans.

To dwarves, they are worse than passing ballplayers.

So, as I was wondering what to do, funny enough, I was given permission to pass.

“Ah, I don’t know. Other guys will know.”

“Okay. If no one says they don’t know, come back then.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

“Pugh!”

Wayne burst out laughing at the new concept of entrance screening.

“Keuhm, sorry.”

“Wow, the coachman smiles a lot.”

“It is good to laugh well, because you have to laugh to stay young and live long.”

We finally entered the village, leaving behind the dwarven gatekeepers who did not spare any good words until the end.

“Wow… this is a dwarven village…”

“It’s a city, not a village, right? No, it’s a slap in the face to most cities…”

Perhaps because this is a neighborhood where people who value manual dexterity and technology live, Wayne and Orha’s reactions were the same.

I felt the same way when I first came here, so it wasn’t my place to say anything.

“But why is the atmosphere so dreary?”

Contrary to the highly developed environment inside the village, the dwarves had an overall calm atmosphere.

Compared to the old days when it was bustling with alcohol and labor, it was safe to say that it was a different village.

“What?”

In the end, the dwarves who felt my gaze looked at me as well, and of course they were surprised to see me, not a dwarf.

“No, how can humans do this?”

A dwarf came up to me carrying a gun holster and asked. I was silent for a moment, not knowing what the real meaning of that question was.

“…Are you asking about transportation? Or are you asking about the purpose of the visit? Or how did you pass the inspection?”

“All three!”

“Oh, as you can see, the means of transportation is a horse-drawn carriage, and the purpose of the visit is to entrust jewelry cutting to a dwarf friend…”

And there is no particular way to pass the inspection.

“The inspection was just that, they let me in because I had been here before.”

At my words, the dwarf hit his forehead hard.

“Oh my, I’m going crazy. Well then. What kind of gatekeepers are these dwarven bastards, damn the gatekeepers?”

You’re a dwarf too, but you’re too mean to fellow dwarves?

“But it is true that I have been here before. I also have a dwarf friend.”

It’s just a borrowed map, but I still know their names, so from a dwarf’s perspective, I don’t think they’re strangers at all.

“Acquaintance? Who are you talking about?”

“Well, it was definitely called Jukel.”

“Jukel? Oh, he was an acquaintance of yours.”

“Brother……”

I looked at the face of the dwarf who was talking in front of me. He is an old man with wrinkles and a beard.

And the Jukel in my memory was clearly an adult who had just recently had his coming-of-age ceremony.

So, how different is the real age of the dwarf in front of you from his face value?…

“Keuhm, well… If you are Jukel’s acquaintance, it’s not the gatekeeper’s fault. Do you know Brother Jukel’s house?”

“Yes. I’ve been there before.”

If it was an ordinary house, I wouldn’t have had the chance to remember it, but I was able to remember it because it was near a rather grand building called the Archives.

“Hey, why is the atmosphere in the village like this? When I came before, it was definitely brighter and noisier…”

“Ugh, what would happen if a dwarf acted like he was paralyzed?”

“Ah… did you get a portrait?”

“No. Even if the real village chief dies, it won’t be this gloomy.”

Then why did you bring up the portrait? If you look closely, dwarves had a knack for making people feel embarrassed.

“A damn dragon played a rare around here recently.”

“Dragon?”

Wayne and I reacted sensitively when a very familiar word came out.

“Yes. You know that dragons are crazy about treasure, right? The works we worked hard on are also included in that treasure…”

The dwarf smiled bitterly and sighed at the same time.

“Ha… Should we be happy or sad that our work is a treasure?……”

“You must be in great emotional pain.”

“Well, everyone is in a shitty situation. It’s like a robber has come into the house.”

“Can you tell me the name of that dragon?”

My heart rate started pounding at the thought that that name might pop up just by chance.

“Your name? I know. What was it? Ah… ah…”

“Ah…!?”

“Araj. The name was Araj.”

“Phew….”

As I openly breathed a sigh of relief, the dwarf tilted his head and asked.

“Why are you doing that?”

“It’s nothing. For a moment, I was worried that I might have crawled into the tiger’s mouth myself.”

“Kkeuk, that’s an interesting expression.”

Well, there was no way Akasha was here.

It’s not like a dragon that’s so leisurely that it’s just picking on dwarves.

“Has anyone been angry at the dragon?”

“Fortunately, not yet. It’s a dragon that won’t harm you as long as you give it what it wants…”

That was very fortunate. Just thinking about Arjen’s case, dwarves can be a delicious meal for dragons.

“I guess I should go to Mr. Zukel then. I have something to talk about about jewelry cutting…”

As I was about to leave, the dwarf spoke to me as if he still had doubts.

“Now that I think about it, you said it was jewelry crafting, right? Did you bring any jewelry?”

“No, I was planning to pay for the raw materials and the cost of the work all at once.”

“Oh my, didn’t you hear me just now?”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“A dragon named Araz took all our works as treasure?”

“Yes, so?”

“Wow, you’re a more stuffy guy than you look. You know that jewels are also a type of treasure, right?”

At the dwarf’s words, my complexion hardened and I asked with hope.

“Wait… Then maybe…?”

As if to drive a wedge into my anxiety, the dwarf answered with a bitter smile.

“Yes. At least there won’t be any gems left around here.”

“…There are no gems left in this vast mining area?”

“There may be a lot in the mine, but I can’t imagine how angry the dragon will be if you cut it out as you please.”

It seemed like there was a problem that needed to be resolved first before meeting Zukel.