Ch.215Chapter 215 – Rorona (1)

The next day, we gathered at Dodo’s house.

The reason was the seal that Perry was holding.

“This happened shortly after you all left.”

At that time, Asam had disappeared somewhere to smoke, and Perry was alone exploring the dwarves’ village.

Still, he thought he should do something for those returning.

“How should I put it… a dwarf who didn’t seem to be from this village suddenly approached me.”

“Not a villager?”

Perry nodded at my words.

“How did you know that?”

“The clothing. While the villagers wear practical clothes, that dwarf’s attire wasn’t exactly practical…”

Perry answered Chris’s question.

“He suddenly came up to me and asked if I was the outsider who came with the carriage.”

“If he mentioned the carriage, he must have seen Moo parked at the edge of the village.”

“That reminds me of how much trouble we had bringing it back before going to bed.”

After entering this village, we had brought Moo and the carriage into the village through a different route.

So referring to us as outsiders who came with a carriage was accurate.

“When I confirmed it, he gave me this seal and told me to keep it. With one condition.”

“And that condition was to gather here, right?”

Perry nodded in confirmation.

On the day we fought with Kara, just when we were having major problems entering Ferrarius, the issue was suddenly resolved, which seemed fortunate, but…

‘This is suspicious.’

Not only was the sudden handover of the seal strange, but the fact that he had seen the carriage was also suspicious.

Seeing Moo and the carriage meant there was a possibility he had been watching us since the moment we brought the carriage into the village.

However, if he asked us to come to the village chief Dodo’s house early in the morning, the dwarf in question was likely someone the chief couldn’t easily deal with.

As we waited for the dwarf in question, the door to Dodo’s house opened, and Dodo came out.

“Good morning.”

“Yes, good morning.”

Dodo returned the greeting with a kind smile.

Then he immediately got to the point, gesturing toward the house.

“Please, come in.”

“Yes.”

“Lala, you stay out here.”

…Lala, who had been naturally blending in with us until then, was singled out by Dodo.

“Hey, I don’t like being left out.”

“I was asked not to let village dwarves in for a while. That includes you, kid.”

Lala pouted at Dodo’s words.

They argued for a bit, but faced with Dodo’s firm attitude, Lala finally agreed to stay outside.

“Please don’t forget about me…”

“Ah, yes…”

Leaving behind the dramatic Lala—it wasn’t like we were parting forever—I placed my hand on the doorknob.

“……”

And my heart skipped a beat.

‘What is this?’

It wasn’t a feeling of pain.

Rather, it felt like something familiar was behind this door.

I could clearly sense that something with hidden power was waiting on the other side.

Unconsciously, I clutched my chest slightly, trying to reconsider what I had just felt.

“Kay?”

“Mr. Kay?”

Eve, Sera, and Chris approached me with slightly pale expressions.

They must have been startled when I suddenly stopped and grabbed my chest.

I immediately removed my hand and said:

“It’s nothing. Just felt a bit strange.”

“If you’re not feeling well, perhaps you should rest…”

Chris spoke with concerned eyes, but I raised my hand to decline and grabbed the doorknob again.

-Click

The door opened lightly, and I stepped inside.

Despite the growing sense of discomfort and familiarity that confused me, I gradually made my way in and entered the room where we had previously spoken with Dodo.

‘It’s here.’

Knowing that the source of my unease was inside, I entered calmly, pretending to be at ease.

Then, I saw “something” that looked like a female dwarf, sitting and drinking beer.

‘…Beer in the morning?’

It was a scene I couldn’t imagine, so I froze slightly.

And this “something” that had been looking at us with disinterest soon put down its glass with an expression of realization.

“Ah, is it time already?”

The red-haired woman, whose hair seemed to burn like fire, put down her glass while spinning her head.

“Sorry. Tea would be too bland, and it’s been a while since I visited the village, so I was having a drink.”

“No, that’s fine…”

As long as she could talk properly, I had no intention of criticizing her for drinking.

She didn’t even appear drunk.

For someone who wasn’t like me—the type who passes out after just one drink—drinking that much didn’t seem to be a problem.

In any case, it was clear that this person was the one who had summoned us.

“So, why did you call for us?”

“Well, I wanted to see your faces. Shouldn’t I at least see who I gave the seal to?”

The “something” disguised as a dwarf spoke casually.

Despite her words, she gave everyone an indifferent look, then glanced at me and smiled slightly.

“So, you’re the one called Kay.”

“Do you know me?”

“Of course I do.”

She said with a smile.

“How…”

“Oh, that… I heard it from Dodo outside. Isn’t that obvious?”

‘She’s lying.’

While her words sounded plausible, they weren’t true.

This being had probably sensed me the moment I came near this place.

“…Anyway, I just wanted to see who I was giving this to, so I asked to meet.”

“I understand. Your name is…?”

No matter what, I couldn’t just call her “Ms. Unknown.”

I needed to know at least a name to call her by.

Soon, as if realizing this, she smiled and said:

“Oh, I forgot because I’ve heard so much about you… let’s see.”

After pondering for a moment, she smiled and said:

“Hmm, you can call me Lorona.”

Lorona said this and stood up.

Then she examined me carefully before speaking again.

“Your impression seems good enough.”

“I’m glad.”

I was tempted to ask how she could tell my impression when I was wearing a helmet, but I didn’t bother.

The helmet was probably meaningless to her.

Soon she examined our companions with an indifferent face and slowly opened her mouth.

“Everyone seems generally good… though there seems to be one person to watch out for, but that should be fine. Seems like someone didn’t keep them in check in the past, so they’re a bit damaged.”

At the end of Lorona’s gaze was Beatrice.

The person in question was pretending not to notice.

Soon Lorona looked at me again and said:

“Well, I called you here because I have a proposal to make.”

“A proposal?”

“Yes, a proposal.”

After saying that, Lorona soon smiled and said:

“First, it would be better to talk after arriving in Ferrarius. It’s honestly too cramped here.”

As she said this, Lorona took out a scroll from her bosom and showed it.

“What’s that?”

“A warp scroll.”

Lorona said with a smile.

“You should bring your carriage.”

“Do I have a choice?”

“…Well, let’s say it’s up to you.”

Seeing Lorona’s eyes change slightly for a moment, I quietly nodded.

Because I realized there was no choice.

+

The move was instantaneous.

Since we were already prepared to head to Ferrarius right after visiting the chief’s house, everything was ready.

In other words, if we were going to use the warp, all we had to do was get on the carriage and tear the scroll.

‘Honestly, I’m a bit uneasy.’

Lorona didn’t seem hostile, and there was another issue she mentioned.

“The Emiris Order members are out there searching with burning eyes?”

I didn’t bother asking how she knew that.

Anyway, she said that if we wanted to avoid them, it would be better to move with the scroll.

In this case, Beatrice and Asam, who had spent the night casting magic on the carriage to throw off pursuers, would be disappointed, but those two could handle a bit of frustration, so it didn’t matter.

So, after a brief farewell with Dodo, Lorona tore the scroll, and our party all boarded the carriage and entered the portal.

After passing through the opened warp gate.

We arrived at a corner of the capital of Ferrarius.

“This city is always suffocating, no matter when you visit.”

Lorona, who was sitting with me on the driver’s seat, said with a smile.

The reason I had her on the driver’s seat was that she was the only one who could guide us.

“I should guide you. Shall we move now, Mr. Kay?”

Lorona spoke to me respectfully, and I started the carriage according to her words.

Judging by her respectful attitude toward me, her role seemed to be that of an errand runner or messenger.

‘…Though she seems a bit too imposing for an errand runner.’

Considering the presence I felt from her since our encounter in the village, Lorona was no ordinary being.

Not just me, but Moo, who was pulling the carriage, seemed to sense it with animal instinct, occasionally looking anxiously between me and Lorona.

Lorona smiled, seemingly unconcerned, and Moo continued to move forward, albeit heavily.

‘I should give him a special treat later.’

Being an animal, he couldn’t speak, but he must be under a lot of stress.

I should definitely tell Eve to feed him well.

As I drove the carriage while being wary of Lorona, Lala’s voice, who was riding with her, spread out.

“It’s my first time in the capital…!”

With Lorona’s indifferent expression showing no interest, Lala looked around brightly and shouted.

The chief Dodo knew what kind of being Lorona was, or at least that she was someone important, but judging from Lala’s attitude, not all dwarves seemed to know about the entity behind Lorona.

“But why is she here…”

Beatrice, who was sitting with me on the driver’s seat in case of emergency, looked at Lala with slightly cold eyes and said.

“She threw a fit about wanting to go when she heard we were heading to the capital.”

“Still though.”

Beatrice lamented, asking if dwarves had no sense of tact.

Fortunately, Lorona didn’t mind, and even welcomed it, so Dodo eventually let her come.

Of course, I was also a bit annoyed that the driver’s seat had become very cramped with Lala sitting there too.

“…People might think I’m a father with two daughters.”

Since Lala, being a dwarf, and Lorona, disguised as a dwarf, were about the same size as children, it might look like a family sitting on the driver’s seat—just a thought I blurted out.

And hearing that, Beatrice said with a bit of disbelief:

“Helmet, by that logic, wouldn’t I be a mother who’s had two children?”

“Can’t I just say something? Besides, you’ll get married someday too.”

At my answer, Beatrice smiled slightly and said:

“As if that would happen.”

And a moment later, turning her head, she said:

“…I don’t deserve that anyway.”

It was a very small and bitter voice.

Thinking I had only darkened the mood with unnecessary words, I quickly decided to urge Lorona.

“So, where’s our destination?”

“That big building over there.”

Lorona answered with a smile.

Soon I looked in the direction she pointed…

And immediately Lala shouted loudly:

“No way, that’s!”

“Do you know what that place is?”

At my question, Lala nodded immediately.

“That’s the royal palace! Where the dwarf royalty lives!”

“Ah, that’s what it was called. Right.”

Lorona said with a smile.

Beatrice and I looked at her with incredulous expressions.

‘You didn’t even know exactly what our destination was?’

More precisely, she probably didn’t care.

I continued driving the carriage.

Soon we arrived at the main gate of the palace, and when we showed the seal Lorona had given us, we were immediately allowed inside.

Then a dwarf soldier approached us.

“We’ll park the carriage for you.”

“Thank you.”

The soldier spoke with a very cautious attitude.

Of course, there was no reason to refuse, so after informing those inside, I handed over the carriage to the soldier.

“Well then, shall we go?”

Lorona walked ahead energetically, and soon a dwarf knight who appeared to be of high rank began to guide her.

Lala walked a little distance from her, and we followed in a group behind them.

“…How does she seem to you?”

When I quietly asked my companions, Sera thought for a moment before answering.

“She’s strange… or rather, she feels a bit scary.”

“At least, I get the feeling we shouldn’t mess with her unnecessarily.”

Eve followed up on Sera’s words, and everyone generally seemed to agree.

“I feel a bit… scared, or maybe a slight sense of kinship…”

“So you feel it too.”

I nodded slightly at Eina’s answer.

It seemed it wasn’t just my imagination.

And seeing my attitude, Beatrice immediately asked:

“Hey, Helmet. Do you think you know who that woman is?”

“Yes.”

I was now certain.

I looked at Beatrice and quietly said:

“That woman.”

The sense of unease I had been feeling.

And the conclusion I had gradually reached while driving the carriage.

“She’s a dragon.”

My companions’ eyes widened.