episode_0119
by fnovelpiaTaosul’s racial characteristics follow the roots.
Elves living in the forest have long ears and a beautiful appearance. They use bows and spirits, and are obsessed with the sense of superiority that looks down on other races.
Dwarves who live underground are short and wide. They like to drink and have a hearty personality and are born with the temperament of a craftsman.
Elves and dwarves are polar opposites.
The relationship is obviously bad.
In a group of dwarves, Karami’s remark, “If the elves saw this, they would laugh,” meant the same thing as, “Please beat me with a hammer and turn me into a pork cutlet.”
“What the heck, you little brat? What the hell are you doing?!”
The dwarves leap up and Hargran shouts with his eyes wide open.
“The skinny guy that Thorvar brought! I didn’t kick him out because I wanted to show the might of the dwarves, but this is not a place for someone like you to talk nonsense!”
The corners of his lips curl up in a bitter manner.
“The great Bargan, the progenitor of the dwarves who built the heart of Magmar and created the Iron Council, once said, ‘All participants in the Iron Council are equal.’”
“… … !”
“Although I am a human, I am also an observer in the meeting and have the right to speak. Would you interpret your silence as going against Bargan’s will?”
“You rotten little bastard! How dare a human like you bring up the great Bargan in front of me, Hargran! Oh, I needed some food anyway. I guess I’ll just crush the big one and roast it!”
As Hargran tried to stand up with his huge hammer, Ulbram stopped him.
“Sit down, Hargran.”
“But, Ulbram!”
“You want to see blood in the halls of sacred fire? Then I can’t just watch. And neither can all the dwarves here.”
“… … .”
Hargran is observing the mood of the chairman.
Those who had just joined in were acting as if nothing had happened.
Hargran, who sticks to tradition, had no choice but to take a step back.
“You rotten little bastard!”
I held it in by spitting out curses.
Ulbram, who had cooled down the atmosphere that was boiling like molten iron in a furnace, smiled heavily while making a chin rest with his hand.
“Yeah, you… .”
“I’m Karami. I’m a slave trader.”
“Yeah, Karami. Didn’t you just say we’re short-sighted?”
“That’s right. You can’t see the forest for the trees. Honestly, I’m dying of frustration.”
Even at Karami’s provocation, Ulbram smiled kindly.
“Comparing me to an elf in the dwarf sanctuary. I don’t think you’re in your right mind.”
“Since ancient times, merchants have had to live without missing at least one screw.”
“That’s true too.”
If you say one wrong thing, you’ll end up in the afterlife, so where does that boldness come from? He may lack bragging rights, but at least he’s as courageous as a dwarf.
Ulbram began to wonder about Karami.
“Good. Let me speak. But before you do, keep this in mind. Dwarves like to be confident, but they don’t like to be rude. If your words don’t move the hearts of the dwarves, you will be held accountable for your rudeness.”
“Confirmed.”
“Okay, then tell me.”
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
A chance to side with Thorvar and gain the support of the dwarves at once.
You can’t miss this.
“Why do you think of putting ore or people on the railroad? You can do that without the railroad.”
“Then what else is there?”
Time to kick.
Karami makes a brilliant move.
“Alcohol, right?”
“Alcohol… ?”
“If we install a railroad, wouldn’t we be able to transport alcohol in large quantities to the workshop?”
At those words, silence fell over the conference room. As if he had just faced a dragon, his huge eyes grew so large that they were clearly visible through his bushy beard.
There was a long silence that felt like an eternity, until a dwarf broke the silence by twitching his beard.
“Are you a fucking genius?”
“You can transport alcohol in large quantities…?”
“Yes.”
Karami began his story with a warm smile, like a salesman promoting a product to elderly people in the countryside.
“How hard is it to transport alcohol from the city to a distant workplace? Because it is heavy, you cannot take as much as you want, and since liquids move around on their own, you will also get swayed when you move around the rough underground.”
“That’s right.”
“Where, is that all? There is no race in the world that burns as passionately as dwarves. Dwarves, who radiate heat as hot as a furnace, by the time they reach their destination… Oh. The cold drink has become lukewarm. The drink that was brought with all that effort is now lukewarm. Isn’t that terrible?”
“Ugh… Just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes.”
“Since ancient times, alcohol has to be consumed cold… . It’s a shame.”
The dwarves, who have become immersed in Karami’s vivid speech, express vivid emotions. At this point, Karami, who seems to have laid the foundation, stands up and steps forward.
He starts to wander around the Hall of Fire. The dwarves’ eyes follow him.
“But what if we installed a railroad here? We could transport as much alcohol as we wanted. It wouldn’t touch the body temperature, and the transport speed would be fast, so we could keep the temperature as cool as possible.”
“Ohhh… !”
“Your body is exhausted from hard work, and your body feels uncomfortable because of the sweat pouring down like rain. But when you pour some frosty ale down your throat, the cool air spreads through your whole body… !”
Karami, who creates and tilts an intangible cup.
Gulp gulp gulp.
The scene is recreated so vividly that it feels like you’re actually drinking alcohol, with your throat rumbling. The acting is so realistic that the dwarves gulp.
As soon as Karami lifted the glass, it was tilted so that the bottom was pointing towards the ceiling.
“Ugh~”
“Kyaa~”
The dwarves all let out a cheer at the same time. They wiped their mouths with their sleeves as if they had actually drunk alcohol.
“What do you think? Isn’t it the best just by imagining it?”
“Ah, this is total sex.”
“What do you need to drink this cold drink?”
““By rail!””
“Correct answer!”
The dwarves sympathize with Karami.
Karami doesn’t hide her smile.
Because everything went according to his plan.
Anyone who is recognized as a dwarf can attend the Ironblood Conference, but most of the Ironblood Conference attendees that Karami analyzed were middle-aged and older.
Young dwarves work and have fun, but middle-aged dwarves don’t. They don’t have the energy they used to, so they just kill time by attending meetings like this.
This is the same in modern times.
Even if you just look at the voter turnout, the voter turnout among middle-aged and older people is higher than that of younger people.
That’s why politics is run by the elderly. The opinions of a few young dwarves are easily ignored by the majority of old dwarves. That’s how majority rule works.
Even if the younger generation tries to be a little more comfortable, they frown upon it, talk about tradition, and believe that unprovable experiences are the truth.
Even if that were true, we don’t know that it would be useless in a changing era.
If that’s the case, then you just have to twist your perception.
The drink that old men and dwarves love so much. It’s served on a card.
There was no way I could refuse.
Because the greed of the vested interests is no less than that of merchants.
It was clear that they would bite hard if it was good for them.
Karami’s role ended there. The dwarves began to beat drums and janggu among themselves.
“Why on earth didn’t I think about moving the alcohol? I only thought about moving people or ore.”
“This is embarrassing. I can’t even think of being a human being because I’m a dwarf. It’s true that you can’t see the forest for the trees.”
“Ugh, what a shame for a dwarf. This time, the stupidity was definitely on par with or worse than an elf.”
While they berate themselves for their ignorance, they never forget their habitual hatred of elves.
The balance of the scale, which had tilted to one side and collapsed completely, was reversed. The dwarves who had been against the railroad construction suddenly changed to the side in favor.
“Hey, let’s install some railroad tracks!”
“Yeah! You’re saying that drinking lukewarm alcohol after work is a no-no? That’s torture for a dwarf!”
Karami tilted his eyes towards Hargran. He too seemed to be absorbed in Karami’s acting, and gulped, but flinched when their eyes met.
“If you only move alcohol and not people or ore, it won’t harm consciousness.”
“That, that’s… .”
“Moreover, dwarves and alcohol have been inseparable since ancient times. Dwarves consider quenching their thirst with a cool ale after a hard day’s work to be the greatest pleasure in their lives. They even drink alcohol at the Iron Blood Conference, so it says it all.”
Karami winks at the wine bottle that Hargran has emptied.
That’s right.
Dwarves and alcohol are inseparable.
Violence and blocking the right to speak are both taboo at the Iron Blood Council, but drinking alcohol is not. Not only the master Hargran, but also the common dwarves drink alcohol.
Dwarves love alcohol so much that they carry it in their water flasks instead of water.
“As the master who rules Doomheim, shouldn’t you give a proper reward to the dwarf who completed the ritual?”
Although the only thing we’re transporting now is alcohol.
But will it really only move alcohol?
Comfort is like the devil’s temptation, even if you resist it at first. As the tracks are laid and the liquor is transported, people will want to ride.
Ulbram shook his head, laughing hysterically.
“This is a big hit.”
“Ulbram, this is absolutely not right!”
“Give up, Hargran. The Iron Blood Council is not a gathering of a few leaders, but of the opinions of the many dwarves. Can’t you see what they all want?”
“But…!”
“If you don’t like it, you can convince them. The young man you ignored as a scrawny guy did it, so why can’t you do it too?”
Hargran kept his mouth shut.
The expression on his face was that of someone who had chewed shit.
I drank a tonic to calm my anger, but not even a drop of water fell. I threw a tantrum and dropped the tonic.
Ulbram smiles softly and nods to Urgdar. Urgdar nods.
“The proposal by Torvar to install a railroad will be adopted due to the majority opinion.”
Thump thump.
I hit the hammer.
A sound that resonates clearly throughout the conference room.
Torvar looked at Karami in disbelief. Karami shrugged and muttered.
‘Are you still not going to lend me a spark?’
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