Chapter 84
To be precise, it wasn't the dwarf village, but 'that place' near it.
"Are you talking about the dwarf village?"
I asked Katu.
"Yes, that's right. Master. If we want to make good quality equipment, we have to make it at our forge in the village. And we also have our Magic Stones in the village."
"I see."
I answered with a smile. I knew well that 'that place' was near the dwarf village. But I had never been to the dwarf village when I played the game of dominance. So I was very excited.
"Wow, I never thought we would go to the dwarf village...!"
"I'm looking forward to it."
It was a relief that Zain and Troy seemed happy too.
---It will be fun!
'Indeed.'
I had a brief conversation with Kyros, when Troy transformed into a black panther. He was now changing automatically, which made me grateful and sad.
"Our village is close to Bahano, so we'll arrive soon,"
Katu said as he climbed on Troy's back. When everyone was ready to leave, Troy moved.
The dwarf village was a place that appeared when you went east from the Black Moon Lake.
I felt a thrill as if I was going on a trip.
"Turn left, turn right, go around, and turn right again! The front is a gravel road, so slow down please."
"Can't you stop that? It makes me feel bad."
"What? What do you mean? I'm just telling you the way. Don't you not know the direction?"
"...Master, is it weird that I feel bad right now?"
"Uh... Just bear with it, Troy. It's true that we don't know the way."
The enthusiastic dwarf's guidance and Troy's fast speed combined to reveal the destination quickly.
After running for about ten minutes, the barren land ended and a meadow appeared. Beyond the vast meadow, there was a huge rocky mountain.
The dwarf village was right next to the rocky mountain.
"Wow, this is where the dwarves live."
"It's amazing."
I looked around as I heard Zain and Troy's admiration. The dwarf village was quite cute.
'I guess it's because the dwarves are short.'
The houses were smaller than the buildings I had seen in general. But they were big enough to enter if I bowed my head.
And the architectural style was more crude than Bahano, Aldone, or Herpheon Empire. But the weapons and equipment that the dwarves carried were excessively fancy.
'It's interesting.'
They built houses roughly, and only focused on item making.
The village's view was nothing but rocky mountains, so there was no natural scenery to speak of. At best, there was only a small forest.
"Hey, Katu! You're back. But... who are those humans behind you?"
"Oh my! That person is... the Leader of the Kyros Church that I saw in Bahano?"
"What?!"
As we entered the dwarf village, the eyes of the dwarves who were walking around the street were drawn to us.
"Oh my! The Leader is visiting us!"
There were dwarves who recognized me, which meant that there were Kyros Church believers here too.
'Katu was one of them, and it's close to Bahano, so it makes sense.'
---Naturally, there must have been believers who came and went from Bahano.
'That's right, right?'
---Of course! By the way, they are all so cute.
Kyros smiled like a child as he liked the dwarves.
"Katu, Lufu!"
As I greeted the dwarves with a business smile,
an old dwarf came from inside the village. Katu and Lufu ran to him as soon as they saw him.
"Father!"
"Oh, my children! Did you have a good trip?"
"I missed you!"
Katu and Lufu hugged their father like children. They were adorable.
"Father! Actually, this happened."
Katu and Lufu immediately explained to their father what had happened so far. The dwarves who were gathered also heard about what had happened at the Black Moon Lake.
"So that's what happened! You are our benefactor!"
"As expected, you are the Leader!"
"Zain, Troy. Thank you!"
The dwarves' unexpected assault of warm affection made Zain and Troy a little embarrassed, but they soon accepted it all. I also smiled and replied to them.
"I am Katu and Lufu's father and the chief of this village, Mos."
I had heard his name in the quest, so I roughly knew who he was.
I greeted Mos politely.
"I am the Leader of the Kyros Church, Leviathan."
"Thank you for saving Lufu. I really appreciate it. And thank you to both of you."
Mos hugged me tightly. I almost screamed without knowing it. Mos's strength was no joke. He was not a dwarf for nothing.
"The day is late, so stay the night and go."
Mos said with a smile. It was already dark when we left for the dwarf village, so I was going to do that anyway.
"And let's have a simple festival for the benefactors of Lufu!"
After Mos' declaration of the festival.
We were guided to the accommodation with the biggest bed in the village.
Thud!
"Ouch!"
"Be careful, Zain."
The buildings in the dwarf village were mostly low, so it was easy to hit your head. Zain was especially prone to hitting his head.
"Ugh, I'm trying to be careful, but this happens."
"Zain, you're stupid."
"You little-!"
Whether they fought or not, I sat on the bed. The bed that the dwarves used was really big compared to them.
---It must be uncomfortable.
As soon as I lay down, Kyros said.
'My legs fit perfectly, but it's soft, so it's okay.'
Unlike me, Zain and Troy's feet were sticking out of the bed. I didn't feel very good seeing that.
"Leader! Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"
Katu stuck his head through the open window.
"Yes, brother. I'm fine."
"Then hurry up and come out. Everything is ready. It's modest, but let's enjoy it together!"
Finally!
I got up from the bed and left the room. As soon as I went out, the smell of meat wafted over. I was hungry anyway, so I followed Katu in a hurry. Zain and Troy followed me closely.
"Here you are!"
In the center of the dwarf village, bonfires were burning brightly. Various monster meats were skewered on several bonfires.
'I've eaten it before, so I don't have any aversion to it now.'
I sat down proudly at the place Katu guided me to. Zain and Troy came to my side and Mos, Katu, and Lufu sat across from me.
"Drink as much as you want, and get drunk without any regrets!"
The party started at Mos' words.
I ate the monster meat comfortably and drank the dwarf's special beer.
'Wow, it's really delicious.'
---Me too, I want to eat it too.
'Please restrain yourself if you can.'
---I'll have to go to the temple and eat it!
'If you ask Jacob, he'll make it for you.'
---Come back soon!
I bid farewell to Kyros and focused on eating.
"Yawn."
I stretched and got up from the bed. I had enjoyed a lot of food and drink last night, but my body was light.
'It was fun.'
Last night was really fun. The dwarves' songs and dances were fun, and their homemade beer was very tasty.
"Ugh, Master, you're up already?"
Zain, who had just woken up, greeted me with a scowl. But he couldn't open his eyes.
Fortunately, last night, Zain didn't cry and complain about his life like before. The alcohol content of the beer was not that high, so that was why.
"Are you hungover?"
"Yes. I feel like I'm going to die."
Zain drank the whole bottle of water on the bedside table. The sound woke Troy up, who was sleeping on the floor.
"Ugh, water."
He also looked for water as soon as he woke up. Troy, who drank a whole bottle of water, couldn't straighten his face like Zain.
"Ugh, I'm dying."
"You should have drunk moderately."
As I said lightly while stretching, their eyes turned to me.
Why are you staring at me?
"You drank more than us, Master?"
"That's right. Master drank more than us. You should be grateful that you don't have a hangover."
Well, that's not my fault.
Maybe it was because of the 'Thousand-Year-Old Wine of Zine' effect that I didn't get drunk easily and didn't have a hangover.
Knock knock!
When I was about to go for some morning exercise, someone came. When I opened the door of the room, I saw Katu and Lufu.
The two dwarves handed me a tray with soup.
"Leader, good morning."
"Here's your breakfast. When you're comfortable, please come to the biggest forge in the village!"
"Ah, yes. Thank you."
As I took the tray, the two dwarves sang and walked away. They were cute.
"Zain, Troy. Come and eat."
"What? I'm not eating."
"Me neither."
Troy even refused breakfast. What can I do?
"You have to eat this all if you want me to make your equipment."
As I laid down the rule, the two finally jumped out. They should have done that sooner.
After finishing our meal, we headed to Katu and Lufu's forge. It was a large forge that could be seen at a glance without the explanation from the two.
It was the tallest in the village.
"Come this way."
Inside the forge, there were various weapons and armor made by the two dwarves. They were all of good quality, and they could sell them and make a lot of money.
"Master, can't you just give me a few?"
"...You sold your conscience, Zain. It's like you, but no."
"Tsk. How much money would it make if I sold it."
I ignored Zain, whose shoulders were drooping, and approached Katu and Lufu.
Katu placed a transparent blue stone on the anvil. A faint aura flickered on the blue stone that shone like a jewel.
"This is a Magic Stone. There are low, medium, high, and above that, the highest grade of Magic Stones."
"And this is the medium-grade Magic Stone we have."
Katu and Lufu explained about the Magic Stones to us.
All Magic Stones have inherent magic that manifests as a faint aura.
And the grades are distinguished by color, low-grade is yellow, medium-grade is blue, high-grade is red, and the highest grade is white.
"I would like to use the highest grade Magic Stone if I could, but we only have this medium-grade and low-grade Magic Stone."
I knew well that Magic Stones were rare in the original work. Magic Stones were essential for making artifacts that could use magic. But Magic Stones were very rarely found in mines, so they were very rare.
"Master, you may not know, but this medium-grade Magic Stone is worth a lot."
"Really?"
"Yes. That one alone would be enough for a middle-class family's living expenses for a year."
I didn't care much about money because Kyros Church had plenty of it, but I was a little shaken when I heard Zain's story.
'No. I have to make an artifact.'
As I shook myself, Katu cautiously opened his mouth.
"If you're okay with it, Leader, we'll start making it with the medium-grade Magic Stone."
"Is there no way to get a higher grade Magic Stone?"
I pretended not to know, even though I knew everything, and asked. Then Katu and Lufu scratched their necks as if they were in trouble and said,
"There is. But it's dangerous... Um, but I think you might be able to do it, Leader."
Then, Zain poked me in the ribs.
"Master, you have to do it. Whether it's high or the highest grade, you have to get it."
'I'll do it even if you tell me not to, you bastard.'
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