Chapter 118: Ironblood Council (1)

“Father!”

Perka shouted angrily at Thorvar’s sudden marriage proposal.

Needless to say, Perka had no intention of marrying. As a Meister’s daughter, she aspired to become a great blacksmith like Thorvar.

And now marriage? To the Slave Reaper, no less?

It was utter nonsense.

“No, I don’t want to.”

Karami felt the same way.

“Think it over carefully. If you become my son-in-law, you’ll be one of the dwarves. Even if you’re not a dwarf, it would give you the minimum legitimacy to approach Magmora.”

This man with no sense of morals or ethics?

He thinks I won’t realize he intends to push his work off to me.

Moreover, telling a master to marry his slave went against Karami’s principles.

“It’s not a particularly tempting offer, so I’ll have to decline. I actually have quite high standards.”

“Tch. I thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

“Haha. Miss Perka, I cleanly rejected the offer for you.”

“…”

What was this?

This indescribably unpleasant feeling.

Though she didn’t want it herself and Karami didn’t either, their interests aligned, yet Perka felt oddly annoyed. It was like being rejected by a random passerby.

These two men…

She didn’t like them.

“If you refuse, there’s no need for further negotiation. Take my daughter and get out.”

Thorvar crossed his arms and closed his eyes. He didn’t care anymore. Either way, Karami would have to take responsibility for Perka. Let him deal with it.

“Hmm…”

Karami hummed thoughtfully.

Even if he was a slave trader, Thorvar’s desperate desire to marry off his daughter somehow was clear.

He knew that if not now, Perka would live alone forever and become an old virgin ghost.

It was the feeling of a father with an unmarried daughter that couldn’t be implemented in a mere game.

Knock knock knock.

Just then, there was another knock at the door.

Thorvar opened it to find a dwarf standing there. It was Gurdan, Thorvar’s assistant.

“Gurdan?”

“I’ve come to escort you, sir.”

“Ah right, there was a meeting today. I completely forgot.”

Today was the council meeting to discuss Doomheim’s major issues. As one of the Meisters, Thorvar had to attend, but he had forgotten due to Perka’s arrival.

“So, did you find out what they think about laying down the railroad? Are they adamant about it?”

“With how firm their opinions are, it won’t be easy to convince otherwise.”

“Their thinking must have grown rigid after being away from the field for so long. …Go on ahead. I’ll handle this and be right there.”

“Understood.”

Gurdan bowed politely and left.

“Well, you all heard. I have to go, so you should leave too.”

Thorvar opened the door wide and gestured outside with his chin.

A meeting… Was it called the Ironblood Council?

The Ironblood Council.

It referred to Doomheim’s highest council, where all Meisters gathered.

Since he had failed to persuade Thorvar, Karami needed to try his luck there. If he could win over another Meister, it might be possible to borrow the flame.

“I’d like to attend this council meeting too, sir. From what I know, not only Meisters but ordinary citizens can observe if they wish.”

“Only dwarves. You, as a human, don’t qualify.”

“Couldn’t I attend as an outside guest if you vouch for me as the savior of your daughter’s life?”

“Why should I do that?”

Now we’re getting to the point.

Karami smirked his trademark merchant’s sly grin.

“From what I overheard earlier, it seems you’re having some trouble. I think I might be able to help you, sir.”

“How could you possibly help?”

Karami made a frivolous gesture, flapping his hands like a bird preening its beak.

“I’m a merchant, am I not? I make my living sweet-talking others. I have full confidence in my ability to provide meaningful assistance to you, sir.”

“…”

“Besides, don’t you feel uneasy sending Miss Perka away like this? Momentary emotional decisions can lead to irreversible consequences. Why not take some time and talk again later?”

Karami’s persuasive words entered his ears.

Thorvar exchanged a long look with him before finally heading out the door.

“You’d best not run your mouth. Unless you want to become minced meat.”

“Hmm, it may be nearly impossible, but I’ll at least pretend to try.”

The Hall of Fire.

It was the council chamber located above the Heart of Magmora, adorned with statues of ancient dwarf warriors and massive hammers. Molten iron from the furnace flowed through the floor, and a flame burned at the center of the hall.

Seven Meisters sat at the round table, with dwarf citizens seated in a circular gallery surrounding them.

Though Doomheim was governed primarily by the seven Meisters, citizens could observe important discussions at the Ironblood Council.

Among all of the dwarves packed into the chamber, one man stood out. The presence of Karami, a human, was glaringly obvious.

One of the seven Meisters seated at the round table, Wolfram the Monarch of the Battlefield, stared closely at Karami.

“Who are you?”

“He’s my guest. I invited him to observe since he brought back my missing daughter.”

“Thorvar, are you finally going to see a grandchild?”

“It’s nothing like that. Let’s just start the meeting.”

They went over various topics, from issues regarding mineral trade with other countries, which forge to entrust with a large arms order, to dispatching troops to exterminate monsters appearing in mines.

The meeting of the boisterous dwarves was incredibly noisy, but dwarves don’t know how to scheme and simply speak their minds.

Contrary to the clamor, the meeting where true feelings clashed progressed smoothly. With nothing hidden, there was no need to spend time guessing others’ intentions.

Thanks to this, the meeting quickly reached its finale. Ulgdar the Iron Law, acting as host, presented the final agenda item.

“Now for the final issue. It’s a proposal to lay railroad tracks in the mines, suggested by Thorvar Drach, the Flame Harmonizer.”

Thorvar stood up.

All eyes turned to him.

“There’s no special reason for proposing the railroad. It’s simply faster than walking, allows easier travel to destinations, and lets us bring back more ore.”

It was an extremely logical statement.

Installing a railroad would greatly improve the quality of labor. Invest once and reap steady benefits. There should be no reason to oppose such a proposal. At least from the perspective of Karami, a human merchant.

But dwarven thinking was different.

One of the seven Meisters, Roxar the Shield of Earth, immediately stood up in opposition.

“Don’t talk nonsense, Thorvar. Pursuing excessive convenience only leads to laziness.”

“It’s not about becoming lazy. If we conserve energy during travel, we can accomplish more work.”

“That’s what weaklings say. A true dwarf should know how to work beyond their capacity without such aids.”

“With the railroad, we can go beyond capacity, and even further.”

The two Meisters’ opinions clashed sharply.

Ulgdar stepped in, siding with Roxar.

“I agree with Roxar. I understand Thorvar’s point about increasing efficiency, but dwarves should walk on their own feet and feel the earth. That’s how young dwarves learn to find ore veins.”

“Then even if we just use it to transport children—”

Bang!

At that moment, Halgran the Berserker’s Hammer, who had been chugging alcohol throughout the meeting, slammed his barrel on the table.

His face was already flushed red with intoxication.

“Hey, Thorvar. The whole process of wandering underground and transporting harvested ore is practically a ritual for dwarves. And you want to put in a railroad? Are you trying to destroy the traditions passed down from our ancestors?”

“Don’t spout sophistry, Halgran. I simply want to prevent as many accidents as possible when traveling underground. You know full well that accidents frequently occur when workers return exhausted after a long day of work.”

“That too is part of the ritual process, a trial dwarves must overcome. What does everyone else think?”

Halgran shouted.

The dwarves observing the meeting sided with him.

“Halgran’s right! What damned railroad for dwarves?!”

“Back in my day~ when we went out to work, we didn’t come back the same way, we’d make a whole circle to get home~ But these days, young’uns… A shame, tsk.”

The majority of dwarves threw their full support behind Halgran. As the momentum swung in his favor with the dwarves backing him, Thorvar could only stay silent.

The consensus was clearly shifting towards rejecting the proposal.

Thump thump.

“Please be quiet.”

Ulgdar struck the table with his hammer.

“Judging from the atmosphere, it seems the majority view this negatively. Therefore, Thorvar’s proposal to install a railroad shall be rejected by majority vote—”

“Excuse me~”

Compared to the deep, booming voices of the dwarves, it was an incredibly light tone. For that very reason, it stood out even more in this place filled with dwarves.

As Karami raised his hand with a grin, all eyes turned to him at once. Thorvar in particular let out a deep sigh and pressed his hand to his forehead.

“What is it?”

“I simply couldn’t hold myself back anymore after listening to all of this. I believe you are all being a bit short-sighted.”

With all attention on him at this moment, Karami didn’t miss the opportunity that had landed in his lap.

“If the elves saw this, they would laugh and say, ‘As expected, dwarves can only see the tree, not the forest.’”