episode_0069

“Old-timers! The banished brat is back! If you don’t show yourselves right now, I’ll wreck and halt these precious creations!”

The workshop still exuded a lingering heat as if work had just been interrupted.

Arriving with the decimated golem head in hand, Stroheim grabbed any nearby hammer and began to rampage around.

Bang! Bang! Clang!

As if commanding attention, the young dwarf struck the anvil several times with the hammer, and after a short while, dwarves hidden in hiding emerged in a flurry from their sanctuary.

“You crazy fool! That’s not acceptable!!! Can’t you stop this right away?!”

“After breathing some fresh air outside, seems like your mind has gone even more haywire! Hey, folks! Let’s subdue that one first!”

“But, will it be okay? If they can easily breach our defense systems, we might not stand a chance, right?”

“…”

Initially bursting out in anger, the dwarves quickly turned polite upon realizing the situation.

Shuffling over, they asked me the reason for their visit.

“Geez… I mean, how did beings pursuing the end of magic end up here? If you were coming, couldn’t you have given us a heads-up beforehand, haha…”

“I’ve come to commission some work. You guys are supposed to be skilled with your hands, right?”

“Skilled? Just because we know how to handle metal doesn’t mean much. There are many other tribes with better craftsmanship than us; maybe you should try them.”

“That was actually my plan. The golems I saw on the way here were all so shoddy. That’s why I thought of coming to ask the sturdy Hammer Clan for help.”

While I had hoped for at least some skill from the young dwarf, truth be told, it fell far below expectations.

A golem that can’t even use magic, getting its head knocked off by a witch… Can this be of any use to the Great Dragon?

No, even without looking, it’s evident.

Probably, with a powerful swing of Ferodori’s thick tail, it would crumple like an empty can and soar into the sky?

If this is the quality being produced, perhaps it was indeed wise to heed the old-timers’ advice and seek another tribe.

Moreover, isn’t their attitude uncooperative? If that’s the case, it’s better to give up long ago.

“Inspiration? Let’s go back. Seems like we’ve made a mistake. I don’t want to entrust work to these so-called craftsmen who aren’t worthy.”

“Hmm, you’re right. Anyway, old-timers, they always miss out on good opportunities.”

As the pride of the distorted Flame Dwarf clan was scratched by Dondalbo Inspiration and me, unable to bear it, one furious dwarf turned to his companions to voice his protest.

“You cowards! Turning down work that comes your way? And getting compared to the sturdy Hammer Clan? If we grow old, we must enter the furnace? That saying wasn’t a lie!”

“Have you said enough?”

“Why! It’s not like I’m speaking falsely! Are we inferior to the Hammer Clan? No! And what if it’s a crappy request? We’ve already made plenty of crap!”

“W-Well…”

“Do you think we insulted Stroheim? We no longer have the right to criticize him! Look!”

As the incensed inspirations fell silent, a young dwarf, who had been venting, fumbled around in a basket and pulled something out.

However… there was something very odd about the item he retrieved.

Vroom!

An item that exuded overwhelming presence just by appearing, capable of diverting everyone’s attention the moment it was activated.

Starting with “Deal” and ending with “Tool”… Yes, what the dwarf held in his hand was none other than a weapon.

“My, that’s unfortunate.”

Why on earth was he confidently holding such a thing?

Turning my gaze elsewhere and blushing, the young dwarf pointed at the older dwarves with the tool in hand and shouted.

“Why did you drive out that apprentice? Wasn’t it because they didn’t align with our distorted Flame Clan’s ideology? I ask you, elders. Is creating such a tragedy part of the Flame Clan’s beliefs?”

“…However.”

“Dispose of these strange excuses. What? It was too great a reward to refuse? Since when have we been so fixated on rewards?”

The young dwarf set down the basket of tools, hoisted it in his hands, and stood in front of the furnace.

“All of this is the problem. If we hadn’t been entangled with rewards from the start, we wouldn’t have fallen like this. Let’s put everything down and start anew, as they say, ‘Put new wine into new wineskins,’ isn’t that right?”

Although the young dwarf was about to drop the basket into the furnace, he soon halted his actions upon someone’s earnest plea.

“Wait a moment…!”

…Alain? Why is he stepping forward?

No, could it be that he’s trying to mediate like a saintly candidate?

I gazed at Alain with eyes mixed with anticipation.

“Isn’t it a bit wasteful to discard them? They are items that have reached the ranks of luxury goods, after all?”

Returning only a deep sense of disappointment.

I withdrew my gaze from the priestess consumed by greed and touched my forehead.

Our priestess.

You needed a new nocturnal companion.

—–

A brief lightening of the atmosphere in the workshop due to Alain’s cute intervention.

Seizing the opportunity while the dwarves were engrossed in conversation, the cheeky lad was experimenting with the premium dwarf-made tools.

Hummm –

“Oh…!”

Huumm –

“Ohhh…!!!”

Karl kept marveling continuously at the operation of the tools, which seemed remarkably fascinating.

However, the sight brought discomfort to everyone present, and I ultimately had to smack Karl, who was orchestrating this disgusting scene, on the back of his head.

“You crazy bastard!!!”

Whack – !

“Keung… Beatrice…? Is there a problem?”

“You’re asking now? Why are you admiring that?!”

“Well, isn’t it amazing? When else would I get to handle premium dwarf-made tools? Isn’t that right?”

…”

I was left speechless by the lad’s overly confident attitude.

Wait, is it normal to operate a tool like that in front of a woman? Is this guy really insane?!

Oh, he’s definitely insane. After all, if he wasn’t, would this guy be next to me right now?

I shook my head. Well, he must be insane. Otherwise, would he be here next to me?

I confiscated the tool Karl was holding, watching him admire the vibrating dildo. Want me to see that spectacle again? Don’t be ridiculous. Even if I have to endure misunderstandings, it’s much better for me to hold onto it than to let him have it.

You might wonder if I took it to use it myself. Let me clarify that was not the case at all. Enjoying happy time with something this small would feel lacking, right?

After experiencing something big like that, how could I be satisfied with something like this? It should be at least twice as big…

“I must be out of my mind, what was I thinking just now…”

Rubbing my cheeks, I looked ahead again, only to see an elder-looking dwarf approaching me unsteadily.

“The discussion is over, sorry for keeping you waiting.”

“No need to apologize, so what did you decide? Did you reject as before?”

“No, unless it’s considerably inhumane, we agreed to consider it first. I heard you brought the blueprint, could I take a look at it briefly?”

“Of course.”

Carefully handing over the neatly folded paper, the dwarf engineer began to inspect the blueprint calmly.

“Hmm…”

A dwarf with a thick beard, furrowing his brows seriously as he looked down at the paper.

Though his stern demeanor made me slightly anxious, moments later, words of praise burst from the dwarf’s mouth, allowing me to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Look at this! This is a must-capture item! Now is not the time to be making self-pleasuring devices!”

“What on earth is all the fuss about? Let me take a look too!”

“…Blueprint for a giant golem? Intended for exterminating the Glaurung and Ferodori? This sounds exciting!”

“Sigh… Romanticism injected in lethal doses. A battle between a giant golem and a colossal creature, my frozen heart is reigniting!”

Burning with passion to create it no matter what, the most crucial aspect remained feasibility.

I asked the engineer I had brought the blueprint to how long it would take to construct the giant robot.

To which he replied,

“It will probably take at least 10 years. Given its size, just crafting the body will take several years, and engraving the magical circuits for movement will take over 5 years. If we consider unforeseen circumstances…”

“Can’t we speed it up by increasing the workforce? Is half a year impossible?”

“Well… if we throw in countless workers, who knows, but currently, it’s not feasible. In half a year, we’d only end up with a crude scrap heap. I can guarantee that.”

“That’s quite a predicament.”

The deadline was set at half a year at most.

Although it was decided based on the original content where Ferodori appeared six months later, has there ever been an instance where things progressed according to the original content?

No, undoubtedly the deadline would be moved up this time as well. The difficulty would skyrocket like in other regions.

“Romanticism doesn’t compromise, but…”

Regrettable as it was, there was no way around it.

After all, creating such a colossal robot in half a year was simply unfeasible.

Should I start looking for alternative solutions?

“Hmm…”

As I let out a long sigh, did I retrieve the blueprint I had handed over?

The dwarf engineers, deep in thought for a while, stopped me from leaving and spoke up.

“…There might be a way after all, are you willing to listen?”