Ch.207Chapter 207 – How to Get to the Land of Dwarves (2)

After driving the carriage for about half a day, we arrived at the village where we were supposed to meet Perry.

As I headed to the meeting place mentioned in the reply, I saw a familiar face.

“It’s been a while, Mr. Kay!”

“Eina!”

A black-haired woman waved at us.

It was Eina, my fellow test subject who had regained her senses at the magic tower after being captured by Beatrice.

She was wearing light armor over ordinary reddish cloth clothing.

I quietly asked after noticing the identification hanging around her neck.

“So you became an adventurer.”

“Yes, well, I need to work to make a living.”

Eina said with a smile.

“Must be tough.”

“Oh, it’s not that bad. I’m physically strong, after all.”

Eina replied with a smile to my comment.

“Besides, everyone has been helping me—Nina from the guild, Senior Haven’s party members, Asam who shares lodgings with me at the magic tower… I’ve been doing well thanks to them.”

“Sounds like you’ve been doing really well.”

I said with a smile at Eina’s words.

Compared to me, who had been living in the cheapest inn in the capital to save money, she definitely seemed to have started in a better environment, which made me a bit envious.

Of course, compared to my current situation, I probably didn’t need to be that envious.

“It’s all thanks to you, Mr. Kay.”

Eina said with a smile.

“Oh, and at the magic tower, I handle all the housework and breakfast preparation in exchange for sharing lodgings with Asam.”

“Wow, Asam. You’ve been living quite comfortably while I was gone, huh?”

Beatrice, who was standing next to me, expressed slight dissatisfaction.

By the way, the fact that she had become an adventurer and was at the place where Perry was supposed to be waiting meant one thing.

“So you were the escort.”

“Yes.”

Eina nodded with a smile.

Though gentle by nature, as a fellow test subject like me, Eina’s combat ability would be incomparable to that of ordinary adventurers.

Anyone who knew her identity or skills would naturally hire her as an escort.

Above all, her fee would certainly be cheap.

‘…Given the timing, her rank probably isn’t that high yet.’

In my case, I had advanced quite quickly, but calculating the time, her adventurer rank wouldn’t be very high, so her hiring fee would definitely not be expensive.

Cheap labor to exploit… I’d better not say that out loud for the sake of her pride.

“Let’s not stand here talking. We’ve secured an inn, so let’s head there first. You must be tired.”

Though I wasn’t particularly tired as I’d already gotten used to traveling by carriage, I decided to accept Eina’s kindness.

I had her sit in the driver’s seat, and following her directions, I drove the carriage and soon found an inn set up along the main road.

After quickly parking the carriage and Moo, we went inside and headed to the dining area where we met familiar faces.

“Hello.”

I saw Asam waving from a table.

Next to her was Perry, raising his hand somewhat awkwardly.

“It’s been a while, Mr. Perry.”

“It has indeed.”

Perry extended his hand, inviting us to sit.

As we took our seats one by one, Perry immediately asked:

“Have you eaten?”

“We were just debating whether to eat or not.”

We had already decided to either eat together with him if he hadn’t eaten yet, or eat by ourselves if he had.

Perry promptly began ordering food, and meanwhile, Beatrice spoke to Asam.

“So, Asam. Why are you here?”

“I got tired of staying at the magic tower.”

Asam said this but glanced at me during her response.

It seemed like she had something to say.

‘So she didn’t just come here for no reason.’

She probably came all this way for something related to me.

However, not wanting to discuss it right away, Asam continued casually.

“Besides, when I heard Eina was coming here as an escort, I tagged along. Her skills are definitely reliable.”

Eina looked slightly embarrassed at Asam’s words.

“Everyone has been so helpful.”

As everyone smiled slightly at her modesty, Perry leaned forward a bit.

“While we wait for the food, we should discuss our plans. It would be a bit awkward to have serious conversations while eating.”

“Agreed. Mind if I smoke?”

Beatrice naturally put a cigarette in her mouth.

Of course, that cigarette very naturally ended up in Chris’s hand.

“No, you can’t.”

Watching Beatrice fail in her attempt to smoke, Asam mockingly took out a cigarette and put it in her mouth.

“Look at that. Now you’ve got someone taking away your cigarettes for your health.”

“Asam, you should quit smoking too while you’re at it.”

As if she’d been waiting for this moment, Eina naturally took the cigarette from Asam’s hand.

Leaving the two witches staring blankly at their empty hands, Perry continued.

“First of all, you’ve heard that you need an imprint to enter Ferarius, right?”

“I’ve also heard they don’t readily give them out.”

Perry nodded at my words and continued.

“To us, it just looks like some engravings on a metal plate, but according to my master, the imprint contains much more information than one might think. He said dwarven hands are incredibly precise.”

“Information? Do they engrave text on the imprint?”

“Something like that… More precisely, it’s something only dwarves understand.”

Perry affirmed and said.

“My master has made one before. However, he said that even if he made one, it would have no legal validity since he’s a half-dwarf, so it wouldn’t allow entry into Ferarius. I already explained this in my letter, right?”

“Yes.”

The only difference from his previous explanation was that while his creation wouldn’t have legal validity, he could actually make one.

“So, my master gave me some information for you all.”

Perry took out a map.

It was a simplified map of the surrounding geography, with a point marked on it.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a village where a dwarf clan lives outside of Ferarius.”

Perry said with a smile.

“The craftsmen there can make imprints that would allow entry, according to my master.”

“I see.”

“But there are two problems.”

Perry held up his fingers and said.

“One is that the village entrance is normally hidden.”

“Can’t we just find it and enter?”

“It’s a dwarven tunnel. Unless you know the exact location, it’s hard to spot with the naked eye. It will take quite some time to find.”

Perry added that while there’s a chance we could follow a dwarf going in and out and ask for permission, the likelihood is low.

“This is a problem, but there’s an even bigger one.”

Perry took a deep breath and said quietly.

“We don’t know if the craftsmen there will take a liking to you.”

Perry quietly added.

“My master did give me something to show them, but whether that alone will earn their recognition is something we’ll have to see when we get there.”

“Hmm…”

Even if we somehow find the village entrance, gaining their favor is a completely separate issue.

“So we need to negotiate somehow…”

Honestly, I wasn’t very confident in persuading others with words.

After pondering briefly, I looked at Eve.

“Can I leave the negotiation to you?”

“Of course I’ll handle it.”

Eve smiled readily and agreed.

However, her expression wasn’t entirely bright.

“If it’s too burdensome…”

“No, what kind of merchant would I be if I couldn’t even talk to people?”

Eve said quietly.

“It’s just that I haven’t had much direct interaction with dwarves. And while simple transactions are one thing, this time the other party might be somewhat reluctant, so I’m not sure yet how best to steer the conversation.”

“I see.”

So it is burdensome after all.

But Eve smiled reassuringly and said.

“Still, negotiation is my field as a merchant. Leave it to me. I’ll figure something out.”

Eve said with a smile.

As I smiled slightly at her, Sarah leaned forward and spoke.

“I’ll do my best to help too!”

“I’m counting on you.”

With Sarah assisting, we probably won’t cause major problems in the negotiation.

Looking at Sarah, Eve smiled slightly and said.

“I look forward to working with you.”

“I’ll do my best.”

The two conversed in a friendly manner.

Then, Sarah soon said with a smile.

“I’ll make sure to succeed and prove helpful to Mr. Kay.”

“…I can’t pretend I didn’t hear that, can I?”

A slight chill passed between the two women despite their smiling faces.

As I felt slightly intimidated, Chris, who was sitting next to me, leaned in and said.

“They’re scary, aren’t they?”

“Yeah…”

“Let’s sit a bit further away. Come over here, over here.”

Following Chris’s direction, I moved closer to her.

Even as I did so, I muttered while shrinking from the chill between Eve and Sarah.

“Will they be okay?”

I was a bit worried they might fight over something so trivial.

But Chris maintained a calm expression and continued.

“They’ll be fine. They simply want to compete over who can be more helpful to you, Master Kay. It’s a kind of rivalry, not genuine dislike.”

Chris added that it was a sort of rivalry.

“…Of course, I don’t know what conversations or agreements have passed between them normally, so I can’t be certain.”

“Hmm…”

If they start fighting seriously, I’ll have to physically intervene.

Fortunately, the two quickly lightened the mood and returned to normal.

And as if on cue, the servers began setting out the food one by one.

I could see Chris licking her lips at the sight of the large barbecue, which the inn claimed was their specialty.

“Let’s eat first and then talk.”

“Yes!”

Chris responded energetically to Perry’s suggestion.

And at that moment, a voice echoed in my head.

[Helmet, come out for a moment.]

Looking toward Beatrice, I saw her and Asam heading outside with cigarettes in hand.

“Um…”

“Go ahead.”

“It might be important.”

As I hesitated slightly, Eve and Sarah smiled at me.

“Don’t be too late, okay? The food will get cold.”

Nodding at Eve’s words, I got up and approached Beatrice.

“Delicious…!”

As I was leaving, I heard Chris shouting about how delicious the food was, reverting to her old habits, so I quickly left without looking back, pretending not to be associated with her.

+

After following the two out of the inn and going slightly behind the building, Beatrice and Asam each took out cigarettes and began smoking.

“What did you call me for?”

At my question, Asam glanced slightly at Beatrice and then quietly stepped forward and spoke.

“First, it’s about the research you commissioned at the magic tower.”

“I heard it’s not going well.”

Asam nodded at my words and said.

“Well, there have certainly been many failures. But I think we might find a clue if we keep at it.”

However, Asam added.

“But as we continued experimenting, one problem has started to emerge.”

Asam looked at me a bit nervously before speaking again.

“Let me get straight to the point. I honestly can’t guarantee that we can send you back during your lifetime.”

I don’t know if Asam is aware that my lifespan isn’t that long to begin with.

She’s probably talking assuming I’ll live for about 70 or 80 years.

“You’ll explain, right?”

“Of course.”

Asam answered Beatrice’s question.

“Simply put, dimensions are too vast and complex.”

After saying this, Asam exhaled a puff of smoke.

“Let me explain with an illustration, shall I?”

Asam snapped her fingers as she spoke.

Soon, an image of an egg in a water tank appeared floating beside her.

“It’s like this. The egg is our dimension, and the water is… like a vast mass of energy containing that dimension.”

Asam pointed at the egg and continued.

“Like this, each dimension has a protective barrier, like an eggshell. This shell prevents the water from entering. That’s why our dimension can normally maintain its peace without being invaded by that water.”

Asam paused briefly before speaking.

“This shell is called the boundary of a dimension. It’s like a protective barrier separating our dimension from what’s outside. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

Lumen had explained about boundaries before.

He had described it as a defensive barrier protecting this world.

‘He said even one life form crossing causes a significant shock to the boundary.’

And he mentioned that dragons would be working to repair that boundary.

Since the topic came up, I decided to ask one question.

“What if a hole is punctured in it?”

“Just as water would enter through a crack in the shell and eventually destroy the egg, or even faster, our dimension would be instantly annihilated.”

It was an obvious outcome, if you think about it.

No wonder dragons are so sensitive about the boundary.

They even sent Pia in the past and recently Yuto to investigate the cause.

Ironically, both are now dead, with only their wills remaining in my mental space.

Asam looked at me briefly before speaking again.

“This is just a model to help you understand. And there’s a problem that stems from this.”

Asam snapped her fingers again, and multiple eggs appeared in the water tank.

“Let’s say I left a small mark on one of these eggs. Do you think you could find that exact egg without seeing or touching any of them?”

I quietly shook my head at Asam’s question.

“Unless I’m incredibly lucky, it would be nearly impossible.”

“Exactly. Finding a marked egg without any of your senses is virtually impossible.”

I was beginning to understand what Asam was trying to point out and what problem she was highlighting.

“So you’re saying you can’t find the exact dimension I need to go to.”

“Right. There’s no way to find it precisely. We’d have to observe and examine each one individually.”

Asam sighed and said.

“Of course, there might be similar dimensions. Places where only one or two historical events differ. But strictly speaking, those places wouldn’t be the home you want to return to, right?”

I quietly nodded at Asam’s words.

Even for me, if I had failed to escape in the past, various things would have changed accordingly, and on a world scale, how significant would those changes be?

I could easily imagine that even if just one historical event changed, it would be vastly different from the place I lived.

“So that’s the problem. In an area so vast that this water tank model is an understatement, among dimensions far more numerous than the eggs in this tank, find exactly the dimension you lived in.”

It was no different from finding a needle in a beach without any tools.

I quietly nodded and said.

“So that’s why it’s at an impasse.”

“Yes. Honestly, I wonder how they managed to accurately select and summon people like you and Eina from their dimensions. There must have been tremendous trial and error, and the research period must have been incredibly long.”

Asam said she couldn’t even imagine how much time had been invested.

“Anyway, given this situation, even if we complete the magic, I can’t guarantee we can find the exact coordinates before you die. Frankly, I think you’ll die of old age much sooner.”

Even if a method to return was created, currently there was no way to know the location.

‘…Is there no way?’

I briefly had that thought, but soon shook my head.

‘No, there must be some way.’

If there truly was no way, she would have subtly urged me to give up along with this explanation.

Yet there was no such indication.

Besides, Asam’s words were based on starting from zero.

Then the solution would be to not start from zero.

‘Just as Beatrice said.’

It was the situation she had warned me about beforehand.

The method to overcome this situation.

“So we need to take down the Emiris Order.”

Asam nodded at my words.