Ch.206Chapter 206 – How to Get to the Land of Dwarves (1)

Several days had passed since we went through the warp gate that Lumen opened for us.

After safely passing through the gate without any particular incidents, we traveled for about a day before arriving at a small city where we decided to stay.

The reason was relatively simple—it was for gathering information.

“Things might have changed while we were traveling.”

Sera’s suggestion that we should collect information before entering was accepted, so we began gathering intelligence about the dwarven nation from the surrounding city.

Of course, due to my lifespan issue, we set a short deadline.

And today, we were gathered together organizing the information.

“First, let’s talk about Ferarius.”

Ferarius.

That was the name of the dwarven nation.

“As expected, dwarves from that country can freely come and go. While entry is restricted for others, I heard it’s not difficult to travel there if you receive a guarantee from a dwarf.”

Eve shared the information she had gathered while doing business during our stay.

“What kind of guarantee? Is it some sort of certificate?”

“It’s a metal plate with a special engraving, I heard.”

“Special engraving?”

Eve nodded at my question.

“Yes, an engraving. The material of the metal plate doesn’t matter, but it needs to have an engraving that only dwarves can create and recognize. Without it, you cannot enter the country.”

As Eve finished speaking, Beatrice added supplementary information.

“If someone with that plate causes trouble, the entire clan of the dwarf who provided it gets exiled. That’s why they rarely give out such guarantees.”

“If that person causes problems, their entire clan suffers the consequences. Naturally, they wouldn’t give it to anyone unless they’re absolutely certain about them.”

When Eve finished speaking, Chris quietly raised her hand.

“What happens to someone who enters the country without one?”

“Immediate execution. No matter how they try to escape, there are cases where almost all dwarves pursue them until they confirm the body.”

At Beatrice’s words, we all fell into thought for a moment.

It meant that if we were caught trying to enter forcibly without the engraving, we would become enemies of almost all dwarves.

‘That’s really brutal.’

I had been considering sneaking in as a worst-case scenario, but it seemed better to obtain proper qualifications, especially for future dealings.

Then Chris quietly raised her hand and asked a question.

“But why do they restrict entry so strictly?”

“I heard from an informant that they had a national treasure stolen a long time ago.”

Beatrice paused briefly and took out a cigarette from her pocket to smoke.

“Cut down on smoking.”

“No, this is my first one today!”

When Chris immediately tried to confiscate the cigarette, Beatrice defended it with a face that looked like she might cry.

Not wanting things to get noisy, I calmed Chris down, and Beatrice nodded slightly in gratitude before lighting her cigarette.

“Ah, that’s good… Anyway, after that item was stolen, the ruler of the dwarves became extremely angry, and that’s why they started strictly controlling entry and exit.”

“Ruler?”

Beatrice nodded at my words.

“Yes, ruler. Well, that’s just another way of saying the king of the dwarves.”

Beatrice added that it was a nation with a king, just like human kingdoms.

“The information I heard isn’t officially announced.”

“Then how is it circulating outside?”

“It’s compiled from what dwarves who’ve left their country mutter when they’re drunk.”

“Is that reliable?”

Beatrice nodded at my question and said:

“Truth comes out in wine. Since many dwarves say similar things, I consider it reliable.”

Judging by Beatrice’s confidence, this seemed to be information that informants considered solid.

‘Can’t ignore it, then.’

I shouldn’t underestimate the tenacity of informants who carefully listened to and collected what might have been dismissed as drunken ramblings to create a coherent piece of intelligence.

‘But something bothers me.’

The term “ruler” that Beatrice used was sticking in my mind.

If a king exists, why not just call him a king? Why use the term “ruler”?

While I was briefly pondering this, Beatrice continued speaking.

“Apparently, the king of Ferarius is still trying to find it. Though it seems without success.”

Beatrice finished speaking.

Now I could roughly understand why entry was so strictly controlled.

“Getting that engraving seems important.”

“Right. Unfortunately, none of us know any dwarves living in this area.”

Beatrice said, shrugging her shoulders.

Looking at her, I asked:

“Did you get a reply from the Kingdom of Mikea?”

“Of course.”

Beatrice took out a round crystal orb from something like a bag.

When she manipulated it, something like a screen appeared on the crystal orb.

“I sent the message a lo-ong time ago.”

“It’s good that we got a reply.”

Long ago, after learning we would be going to Ferarius, we had sent a message to the magic tower.

As Beatrice manipulated the orb to find the reply to that message, a long letter appeared above the orb.

“The reply finally came yesterday.”

Beatrice cleared her throat and began reading the letter.

“Let’s see, ‘Have a hard time, Bea…’ I’ll boldly skip that part and continue reading.”

Judging by those opening words to Beatrice, the person who wrote the letter was undoubtedly Asam.

Beatrice soon smiled and said:

“Our guess was half right.”

“Half?”

Beatrice nodded at my words and said:

“Togu, remember that old man from the weapon shop you asked me to look into?”

After pausing briefly, Beatrice said:

“He’s a half-dwarf.”

The reason we had sent a letter to the Kingdom of Mikea was because of that dwarf blacksmith who had been dragged away by Rudger. His exceptionally abundant beard and something Grandpa Rudger had said to him had raised suspicions.

“But Togu, why did you ask me to find out what race that old man was?”

“Because I once saw that old man and Grandpa Rudger having an ugly drinking contest.”

It was when Rudger forcibly dragged me to the blacksmith shop, saying he would make me his apprentice.

Recalling that time, I quietly said:

“I remembered Grandpa Rudger saying that the dwarf was at least twice his age.”

Given that Grandpa Rudger was by no means young—he had a grown daughter about to be married—this was significant.

If Rudger wasn’t joking, then the blacksmith couldn’t have a normal lifespan, which is why I had sent the inquiry.

“It’s strange that nobody ever asked about that old man’s identity.”

Honestly, at the time I saw the blacksmith, I didn’t even know that dwarves existed in this world, but I was curious why the original inhabitants of this world didn’t know either.

To my curiosity, Beatrice casually replied:

“They weren’t particularly interested.”

Beatrice, gazing wistfully at her finished cigarette, said:

“Honestly, people don’t usually show deep interest in shop owners. As long as they make good products, that’s enough.”

“That’s not wrong.”

Even with shops one frequents regularly, some people don’t care much about who the owner is or what kind of life they’ve led.

“And honestly, I found it a bit difficult to approach that old man. He seemed somewhat eccentric.”

Eve nodded slightly at Beatrice’s words.

But the blacksmith’s identity wasn’t important now.

“So, is it possible?”

This was a question about the engraving mentioned earlier.

If we could get it from him, we would only need to wait for the magic tower to send it to us to enter the country.

However, Beatrice shook her head and said:

“That old man can’t provide a guarantee.”

Beatrice took a moment to catch her breath before continuing.

“Since he’s a half-dwarf, he can enter himself but isn’t in a position to guarantee anyone else.”

“So he’s not actually from that country?”

“No, he is from Ferarius.”

Beatrice took a slight breath before continuing.

“Anyway, according to him, engravings made by half-dwarves have no effect. That’s how strictly they control entry and exit.”

However, Beatrice added:

“It says he’ll send a solution through Perry.”

Beatrice quietly continued:

“He wrote that he knows some dwarf craftsmen living in this area, so he’ll send Perry with a letter to them first. Apparently, Perry was also planning to send someone to Ferarius for study.”

“That’s lucky… or rather, considerate of him.”

I wasn’t particularly close with the blacksmith.

Perhaps he was showing kindness because of Grandpa Rudger, I thought briefly.

“But wouldn’t it take a long time to get here?”

“The letter says they’ll come by warp. It mentioned that he came with Perry.”

“Asam too?”

Beatrice nodded.

“Asam wrote in the letter that they’ll wait for us at that location… and not to worry because they have escorts.”

“How long will it take us to get there?”

If we received such news, it seemed best to move quickly.

Beatrice calculated the distance in her head for a moment.

She soon finished her calculation and spoke:

“A little over half a day. If the roads are good.”

It was closer than I expected.

Beatrice added that this was assuming we had come near Ferarius via a warp gate.

“It’ll be nice to see Perry after so long.”

“Asam too.”

Beatrice smiled slightly, perhaps happy at the news of meeting friends.

She soon nodded and said:

“Considering Togu’s lifespan, I think we should move right away. What do you think?”

“I completely agree.”

Eve said this while looking at me, Sera, and Chris.

As everyone nodded, we began preparing to depart immediately.

+

Our departure happened in an instant.

This was natural since we were always prepared to leave at any time.

Since it would only take half a day to arrive, I said I wanted to get some fresh air and headed to the driver’s seat where Beatrice was holding the reins.

Soon after, the carriage started moving, and as it began to sway, I fell into thought.

‘It was dangerous last time.’

I recalled the time we fought against demons while protecting the World Tree.

I remembered the particularly dangerous being from that battle.

‘The Demon King.’

I recalled the formidable enemy who had forced his way through the collapsing gate through sheer determination.

‘If even one thing had gone wrong, we would have lost.’

If the Demon King hadn’t been severely injured internally and unable to fight properly.

If the shadow dog hadn’t helped us.

If Lumen and Abies hadn’t helped at the end.

We would have failed to repel him.

‘…I wonder if I could have done better then.’

As I was recalling the battle with the Demon King and thinking about how I could fight better, Beatrice, seemingly noticing what I was thinking, quietly said:

“Are you thinking about the Demon King?”

“Yes.”

She couldn’t have properly seen me fighting the Demon King, but Beatrice quietly asked:

“Was he strong?”

“Yes.”

He was superior to me in every aspect.

He could freely manipulate magical power, and above all…

“The realm… that’s what he called it.”

That statement suggesting he was in some realm I hadn’t reached.

‘This isn’t good enough.’

I quietly closed my eyes and steeled my resolve.

‘I need to become stronger.’

As Lumen said, I needed to become stronger.

If the Demon King recovered and came after us, I couldn’t guarantee our survival.

I also couldn’t assert that we wouldn’t encounter enemies of similar caliber to the Demon King, or at least stronger than me, in the future.

If I met such beings in my current state, it would put my companions in danger.

So I needed to become stronger.

I needed to recall, review, and train on all the battles I had experienced so far, making them my own.

To do that, I first needed to internalize everything about the enemies I had fought so far.

‘Only then can I protect everyone.’

When I reached that thought, I suddenly remembered something.

I had forgotten that there was someone I could consult about this immediately.

“What is it, Togu?”

Though she hadn’t looked at me once, Beatrice immediately asked, apparently sensing something.

“I need some advice.”

My words were slightly muffled by the rattling of the carriage.

However, Beatrice clearly understood what I was saying and nodded.

“About becoming stronger, right?”

“Do you have any good methods?”

At my question, Beatrice fell into thought for a moment.

Then she smiled fiercely and said:

“I do have one good method.”

“Then…”

Just as I was about to ask her to help me, the corners of Beatrice’s eyes lifted slightly.

“My, are you asking me to do it for free?”

“…Is that not okay?”

Our eyes met briefly.

After looking at my face for a moment, Beatrice soon smiled and said:

“I’m joking, Togu.”

Adjusting her grip on the reins slightly, Beatrice said:

“You asked for my help, after all.”

For some reason, Beatrice smiled with a somewhat brighter face.

“I’ll help you as much as you need.”

A confident voice filled the driver’s seat.