Chapter 25

Chapter 25 - The Fugitives (3)

 

After the Mithril Mine, George had thought that he would no longer be surprised by most things, but this case truly surpassed imagination.

“Is this truly real?”

He clicked his tongue as he examined the dwarves’ castle spread out before his eyes.

It was the same for Roder as well, who followed from the rear and did not let down his guard.

“To think there was such a place in the Lands of the Barbarians…….”

It had already been hundreds of years since the dwarves had disappeared.

Strangely enough, they seemed to have created a new home in the remote northern regions, where human presence was scarce and the environment was harsh.

Among them, the ancient castle where they now stood was not crude at all despite being built from stone and the like. Rather, it harmonized with the desolate land and evoked the image of a work of art.

More than anything, what drew their gazes were the crystallizations of technique created by the hands of master craftsmen.

“…….”

“Ooh! How can it be this splendid!”

From fields that required delicate tanning, such as cloaks, to iron armor whose scales seemed almost alive.

The overwhelming quality was so impressive that it felt a shame to treat them as mere decorations.

In particular, that sword hanging over there could truly be regarded as the pinnacle of the metallurgical techniques they had built up.

He had felt it since the hammer that had flown toward him, but…… perhaps this was only natural for dwarves. It felt as though they existed on an entirely different level from Esteban’s old techniques.

George rolled his eyes and converted its value.

“……I could probably overcharge someone for about five million gold.”

Tsk.

Since that was around fifty times the promised annual salary, George felt unreasonably annoyed.

Before long, George’s gaze turned in the direction where the 1st Prince had calmly disappeared.

‘What in the world does that man not know?’

It had been twenty minutes since they had entered the dwarves’ village.

-What is your reason for coming here? Depending on your answer, we will not send you away unharmed!

To the dwarves, who were exuding a sharp momentum as if driving them into a corner, the 1st Prince suddenly spoke incomprehensible words.

-Lords of the Stone Castle. Was it not your custom to grant a traveler who has come to the Promised Land an opportunity to broaden his knowledge?

-Huh?! How! To think there remains a human who knows our clan’s true name and generosity…….

The dwarves exchanged startled glances and looked at the 1st Prince’s face.

Before long, the one who seemed to be the leader of the dwarves walked out and snorted.

-Ahem! Judging by the type of armor, it seems you come from a force different from those who do not even understand the importance of arms. Moreover, that presence is the scent of a ruler.

CRUNCH!

The leader of the dwarves, who pulled out with one hand the hammer that had not even budged when George touched it out of curiosity, slung the hammer over his shoulder and looked at the 1st Prince.

-A human who knows courtesy. Follow me. As is customary, I will invite you into our castle.

It was a confident voice that made it hard to believe it had come from such a small body.

The beard braided down to his chest could be said to symbolize a certain authority.

THUD-

George dropped onto a guest sofa that was subtly too small.

Since it had been made for dwarves, it felt a little uncomfortable, but it was better than continuing to stand.

If none of it was going to become his anyway, looking around any further would only worsen his mood.

Of course, there was also someone who did not think that way at all.

“Ooh! Such a vivid statue! I truly wish the Royal Palace of Esteban had one as well…….”

“…….”

He always thought this, but he could only envy people who lived with such ease of mind.

However, it was also true that, thanks to that, he discovered something interesting.

‘They do not fear us.’

George’s eyes narrowed sharply.

The eyes that had watched their group from the moment they entered the dwarves’ village.

And those gazes did not carry vigilance toward uninvited guests who had come to their home, but emotions closer to relief and welcome.

George’s finger busily tapped his forehead as he continued thinking.

‘Why?’

The Age of Chaos.

The age when humanity was blinded by a brutal great war had completely overturned the structure of the continent.

It was truly an age when all races suffered and were treated with hostility.

An age stained with darkness, when reason vanished and every race went mad.

And during that period, dwarves were often enslaved because of their excellent craftsmanship and aesthetic sense.

It was not that other races had avoided such a fate, but because wars broke out actively, dwarves had been especially useful.

That was how they vanished. That was why they vanished.

In the end, the reason they had turned their backs on the world had been because of humans.

Yet even though they had fled to avoid humans, their current behavior of welcoming them instead of rejecting them was clearly contradictory.

Furthermore, since the traces found outside the canyon suggested that they lived “hidden” within illusion magic, that goodwill felt even more contradictory to George.

“……Is that true name so important?”

“Hmm? What did you just say?”

“I did not say anything.”

George gave a curt answer to Roder’s question and rose from his seat.

“Where are you going? His Highness the 1st Prince will return soon.”

“I am going to the restroom.”

Then he left without waiting for an answer.

However, once he actually came out of the reception room, regret surged within him.

“But where is the restroom?”

He was not bad with directions, but his senses were not so outstanding that he could find a restroom in a place he had seen for the first time.

Nor could he guess its location, for even the architectural style was too different from that of humans.

In such a situation, George chose to wander aimlessly.

“It feels unpleasant to return through all those decorations anyway…….”

It was at that very moment, as he was about to move his feet.

-I wonder whether the chief is doing well.

At the faint sound coming from far away, he instinctively pressed himself close to the wall.

Then he listened calmly.

It was the sound of dwarves conversing.

-Anyway, the ones who will…… us are probably those fellows, right? Since that is the case…… would be better, would it not?

-Shh!…… What will you do if they hear?

-But this…… is for us…….

Oh-ho.

Since the information he had caught was fragmentary, it was difficult to infer the situation, but he could grasp its basic outline.

Because there was something he had already been guessing.

-We need to…… quickly…….

George calmly left the spot.

***

“If you are a human who knows our clan’s true name, then you must know our manner of speech well.”

“Mm.”

“I will ask directly. What is your reason for coming here?”

After I was guided into the room by the dwarf chief, the main point began without even a common cup of tea being served.

I liked that.

After all, I had no hobby of speaking in circles either.

“My nation, Esteban, and I need the dwarves.”

The Mithril buried beneath the Galderd Plains.

And in order to handle the ore known as Mithril more efficiently, the hands of master craftsmen were necessary.

The dwarf chief revealed an uncomfortable expression.

“Ahem! Are you saying that while knowing the history of us dwarves?”

At the voice that scraped roughly as though threatening me, I answered in the affirmative without even the slightest hesitation.

“I know it better than anyone.”

“Then what is this? Are you saying that the reason you came here, even breaking our clan’s barrier to do so, was merely to coax us into serving as slaves?”

“I am not saying I will make you slaves. Slavery disappeared from the current continent long ago.”

Rather, it was closer to saying I would employ them by paying compensation.

However, the dwarf chief still expressed his objection with a face full of repulsion.

“If you came to us for such a reason, then you are gravely mistaken.”

“It will not be only a bad story. There is more than enough room for negotiation.”

Even so, the dwarf chief’s face showed no sign of easing.

“To think you would offer empty words……! Do humans not think that other races can be treated however they please as long as it benefits them? Humans were always like that!”

“…….”

“I settled here for the safety of my clan. I do not fail to understand your intention, but we cannot follow you.”

He said that, crossed his arms, and snorted forcefully.

He looked so stubborn that he would not turn back no matter what happened.

However.

“Truly?”

In that instant, my counterquestion cut in, and his words caught in his throat.

I waited until enough time had passed, then continued.

“Do you truly think that helps the safety of the dwarf race?”

The dwarf chief showed no emotion, as though he were listening to someone else’s story.

However, my eyes clearly saw the muscles of the hand holding the hammer twitch.

“Are you saying that following a human would help my clan?”

“You should know that well. You must have been feeling a sense of crisis from the pressure of the barbarians closing in on you.”

“H-How do you know that……?”

The dwarf chief began to waver at the word barbarians.

I paid him no mind and continued speaking.

“There is no more food in this land. Because of the war with the Empire, the need for minerals has risen as well. How long will it truly take those wretches to discover this land?”

“Ahem! It seems you have guessed something about our internal circumstances. But that is merely meddling.”

“If telling you the truth you have been ignoring can make you think calmly, then so be it.”

This was a land ruled by the barbarians.

They had hidden themselves through a barrier and artificially concealed their traces, but in the end, they were bound to be discovered one day.

Even if they had endured for hundreds of years, if urgent situations like the present overlapped, it was surely a future they could no longer avoid.

‘And that would not be a favorable development for me either.’

Being discovered by those wretches implied many things.

However, to me, who knew all the information, only the fixed future was visible.

At the point they were discovered by those wretches, most of the dwarven forces had been “captured” by the barbarians.

‘Many died, and those who survived became livestock according to their rules.’

And this incident became a single fuse that greatly influenced the political situation.

In the future, when they began properly providing weapons and helping construct walls, the power of the barbarians grew so excessive that it became burdensome.

In order to stop them, troops were deployed several times in attempts to break their momentum.

Of course, every one of those attempts naturally resulted only in sacrifices among the troops at the hands of the fully prepared barbarians.

Naturally, some dwarves did flee from the barbarians’ claws.

Unfortunately, the problem was that the direction they fled in was not good.

‘The southeast…… the land bordering the Federal Empire.’

If the barbarians treated them like livestock, the Federal Empire aimed for another position entirely.

They cut off their legs while they were still alive, fixed them to chairs, and forced them to make things for the rest of their lives.

In a place where they could not escape…… where they did not even have the freedom to take a single step, their role was nothing more than that of tools in a factory.

That was why I had hurried north, even going so far as to stir up schemes.

‘Because if I do not stop this now, Esteban will be the one placed in difficulty.’

However, the fellow who had remained silent for quite some time shook his head as if he would refuse to acknowledge it even if it killed him.

“Indeed, just as you said…… we are currently under pressure from those wretches! But that does not become a reason for our clan to cooperate with humans!”

Then he began rummaging through his pocket.

“Moreover, those wretches do not even understand the importance of arms! As long as we have this, it does not matter how many of them come!”

“Oh?”

What the dwarf chief took out was a round Artifact.

I slightly lifted my chin as though telling him to continue. The fellow began explaining with a triumphant expression.

“This Artifact was made for us a thousand years ago by the fairy race, the elves. Unlike the crude barrier installed at the village entrance, it is an item infused with the essence of magic.”

“I see.”

“Kuh! Since I have come this far, I will tell you about its effects as well! When the Artifact is activated, in every direction……”

“Enough.”

“……Hup!”

At my low voice, the fellow flinched for reasons he did not understand and closed his mouth.

I uncrossed my arms and lightly tapped the table with my index finger.

“So?”

“Wh-What do you mean, so……?”

“Is that your roundabout way of telling me to present fair contract terms appropriate to your worth?”

“Hah……! Ahem…….”

That must have been the fellow’s goal from the beginning, so I did not particularly see it in a bad light.

It was merely laughable that he kept speaking in circles.

That was why I began calmly reciting the contents of the contract I had been considering since before I came here.

A truth without a single lie, though I hid a little information.

“At the kingdom’s border, there is a natural mountain range no one can climb. And beneath it, a mine that no one has developed lies sleeping.”

“Hmm? What do you suddenly mean by that……”

“I will transfer five percent of the share of the ‘minerals’ to be produced there.”

“Huff!”

The dwarf chief’s heart began pounding as if it would burst.

As proof, he rushed at me with eyes wider than when we had first discussed a contract.

“I-Is that true?! We also know of that natural mountain range! If there truly is a mine in such a place, its scale cannot possibly be small……!”

“Unfortunately, even the estimated reserves of the minerals have not yet been revealed.”

“Th-That……!”

“Of course, the situation would change if the dwarves, the experts in this field, came.”

At that moment.

The expression of the dwarf chief, who had collapsed as though the world had fallen apart, awkwardly flashed.

He had thought of something.

“Ahem! A mere five percent…… That is too little to mortgage the future of my clan.”

“Oh?”

“We know nothing about whether you are a human who can protect our clan’s freedom, and about the mine’s reserves or the types of ore…… N-No…… about whether that land is suitable enough for my clan to live quietly. Is that not so?”

……Ah, is that so?

I pressed down the corners of my mouth, which were gradually rising, and opened it.

“Then how large a share do you want?”

“Add another five percent. Considering the pride of us dwarves, that is only natural!”

“I see.”

“……Now that I think about it, is even that not too little? We want one-fifth of the total ore. Unless it is at least that much, we would rather die here than cooperate with humans!”

I liked the desperate resolve he had for his clan.

And the way he forced unreasonable demands with misguided greed despite having no room to spare.

What was certain was that I had confirmed once again that these people had lived only among themselves in a closed world for a very long time.

“Very well.”

I nodded without the slightest hesitation.

Then the dwarf chief’s face, which had been watching my reaction, brightened.

“In that case……”

“I will kill you as you wish.”

“Ooh, to think a share of the mine will come into my hands! With only that…… Hm?”

Leaving the dwarf chief, who stopped dead after sensing something strange, I slowly rose from my seat and loosened my stiff body.

Let me see……

“It cannot be helped, can it?”

If they would become an obstacle to Esteban according to the set course of fate.

If they dared to look down on me and try to manipulate me.

……Would it not be simpler to kill them all?