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98
“Oh come on, are we really going this way?”
“The smell is absolutely horrid.”
Outside the eastern wall of Ifrit.
Kim Jaeha and Avantgarde, walking along the road, were suffering from the stench.
“Is it that bad?”
Hanbit responded with indifference to a smell far too familiar to him.
It was certainly an unpleasant odor, but the kind that would make you writhe — this was nowhere near that level.
It would need to be bad enough to be grateful for passing out before it reached that threshold.
Squelch—
After walking a little further,
an open lot piled high with monster carcasses came into view.
In one area, hides, organs, and materials were piled in a messy heap.
“For crying out loud, this is unbelievable.”
Just then, an irritated voice came from a wooden workbench in the center.
Moving a little closer, several figures became visible.
In front of them, a dwarf was down on both knees.
“I’m sorry!”
“Sorry makes the work done? A so-called manager who can’t even handle these half-wits.”
“I… I’m sorry!”
-Here comes the piece of work.
-Chronic rudeness, top tier.
-Unlikable GOAT.
At the very front stood a tall young man.
Even under his one-sided abuse, the dwarf offered apologies with composure.
“Why does this make me angry?”
Kim Jaeha, watching from beside Hanbit, furrowed his brow.
The section chief’s face was overlapping with the image before him.
“Let’s stay out of sight for now.”
The three hid themselves behind the workbench and the pile of carcasses.
Meanwhile, the exchange grew increasingly hostile.
“This is why you don’t associate with trash that has no roots. Even your so-called prince ran away, didn’t he?”
“Sir, there were also rumors he ran off with all the technology.”
“I heard there’s a hidden one somewhere.”
“Probably got paid by another country.”
The men around him added one rumor each.
At that, the dwarf shot to his feet and raised his voice.
“His Highness the Prince did not run away!”
“Yeah right. The burden got too much and he bolted.”
After the fall of the Kingdom of Hedrik, a group of dwarves had migrated to Ifrit.
The one who had led them was Prince Gorik.
But not even a few years had passed before he vanished without a trace.
It had been a time when the beautiful artworks they were beginning to produce had drawn attention, so there was no shortage of bewilderment at the time.
“You liked it when they called you craftsmen, didn’t you? Threw a lot of tantrums before crashing down.”
“Others may have, but I did not throw tantrums!”
“…….”
The man was left speechless by the brazenly confident reply.
The dwarf before him, who did not waver no matter how much verbal and physical abuse was heaped upon him.
He scowled and looked around.
“Why is the work in this state? Don’t you want to get paid?”
Hides torn out unevenly, damaged materials.
Many had not even been started.
All of it was work that had been entrusted to the dwarves.
“There is too much work! Honestly, if you could reduce it a little——”
Smack—!
In an instant, a foot flew into the face of the dwarf in mid-sentence.
But his body did not move in the slightest.
“Oh? Standing firm?”
A solid sensation like kicking a wall.
The man raised an eyebrow and said with a smirk:
“Let’s make a bet. Stay standing for ten minutes without going down and I’ll grant you one request.”
“Oh, really?”
“Of course. But we’ll all be hitting you.”
-Look at those filthy tactics.
-Shockingly, this is routine.
-Planning on this until the server shuts down.
-I, I think a city like this deserves to fall.
Five subordinates standing behind the man.
Even at that absurd proposal, not a trace of fear showed on the dwarf’s face.
“Understood!”
“You’re saying you’ll do it?”
The resolute answer made the man react with amusement.
And just as the full-scale beating was about to begin—
Crack—!
The sound of something shattering came from the direction of the wall.
“What was that?”
The man, fist clenched, turned his head.
Where his gaze landed, on the lower portion of the wall, was a vivid crack.
“What kind of lunatic——”
His expression contorted at the out-of-nowhere development.
But around the wall, there was no one who appeared to be responsible.
‘…That’s a first.’
Hanbit spotted Gorik, hiding in the gap between the wall and the monster carcasses.
There was one reason he had led Gorik here as he tailed them.
To show him how his own people were being treated.
The purpose was to bring about a change of heart over time — and yet a reaction like this had never happened even once before.
“Hey, sweep the surrounding area.”
The man moved to give instructions to the subordinates behind him.
If Gorik were to be caught by them now, the situation would become complicated.
“You there, wait a moment.”
Hanbit rose immediately and stepped out in front of the crowd.
“……?”
Everyone’s eyes snapped to the voice that came out of nowhere.
The man, who had been about to give orders, opened his mouth with a scowl.
“Was it you who did that?”
A question delivered with no interest in who the person even was.
To him, all that mattered was whether this was the culprit or not.
“No.”
“Then why are you coming out from there?”
“Hmm.”
The atmosphere promptly settled as though the culprit had been identified.
Hanbit shrugged and walked toward the section of wall where the crack had appeared.
Then he bent down and picked something up.
“There was something like this here.”
In Hanbit’s hand, a fist-sized stone.
The man watching from a distance let out a derisive snort.
“Someone threw a rock? What a pathetic excuse — clearly your doing.”
“No, don’t you know what this is?”
“What?”
At the question that sounded genuinely sincere, the man’s reaction shifted slightly.
Hanbit closed the distance to a few steps away and held out his hand.
“…….”
The man examined the stone resting on the palm.
Then he spoke as though something had clicked.
“Is this by any chance a Crash Bird?”
“So you do know.”
The correct answer came immediately, and Hanbit gave a nod.
The Crash Bird, possessing characteristics true to its name.
A small bird with a hardened head that throws itself into an attack and dies instantly upon impact.
That the carcass of such a monster happened to be at the foot of this wall was a coincidence known only to Hanbit.
“Then that makes even less sense. There’s no way a Crash Bird would be here.”
“You of all people know best that the area around Ifrit has been acting strange. It wouldn’t be unusual for creatures like this to suddenly start ramming their heads into walls.”
“…Slippery as always.”
-Con activated.
-Mouth-based shadow technique.
-Was it a con?
-Info) It really is a Crash Bird.
The man furrowed his brow, clearly displeased.
He wanted to call it a lie, but physical evidence was sitting right in front of him.
The fact that it was Gorik who had thrown the monster’s carcass at the wall and had already disappeared from the scene — that, he did not know.
“That settles it, doesn’t it? There’s no one to hold responsible.”
“Who are you, some outsider, to act like you know things? And I haven’t said you’re innocent either.”
“If you need an investigation, feel free to call for one. But can I take that person with me?”
“What?”
Where Hanbit’s finger pointed, the dwarf stood frozen in place.
From the kick earlier, blood was trickling slightly from his nose.
“I’ve been hearing this madman— Do you know who this person is?”
The continued informal speech and absurd demands set the subordinates off first.
Naturally, Hanbit had no need to ask who the man was.
[Ifrit Guild Master — Jinuk Artua]
The memory was clearer than the name floating above his head.
Because this man was one of the chief culprits who had put this city in danger.
“Half-brother to the mayor and guild master, aren’t you.”
“If you know, then get lost. Know your place before butting in.”
“Jinuk-nim, should we just get rid of him?”
Even as the subordinates raised a ruckus, Jinuk moved only his eyes.
Specifically, he had noticed the bracelet that Hanbit had deliberately put on display.
“Gold… haven’t seen one of those in a while.”
He turned his body and took a few steps toward Hanbit.
“What would someone of your caliber want here?”
“I said. I have business with that dwarf.”
“Right, that’s what I find curious. A dwarf — who is also technically my employee?”
Jinuk’s words were genuine.
A gold bracelet meant a person of skill or power recognized by the mayor.
Someone like that coming to see a mere dwarf made no sense.
“If you’re curious, ask your sister. And check this.”
“My sister?”
Hanbit handed over the letter of introduction received from the mayor.
Jinuk accepted the paper with a puzzled expression and immediately read through the contents.
“…What are you thinking?”
The few lines of text were read quickly.
Lips pushed out, he handed the letter back to Hanbit.
“I’ll let it go for my sister’s sake. You — watch yourself from now on.”
Jinuk, having vented at the dwarf, spat on the ground and disappeared along with his group.
Hanbit approached the dwarf, who wore a dazed expression.
“Are you alright?”
“Huh……. I’m fine!”
He answered belatedly, still in a stupor.
His gaze had landed on Hanbit’s wrist.
Probably suspecting some kind of high-ranking official.
“The bracelet color aside, I’m just an adventurer. Have a look at this first.”
Hanbit showed the mayor’s letter of introduction he had been holding.
The dwarf hesitated for a moment, then carefully read through the contents.
Then his eyes went wide.
“Oh, you’re saying you need us?”
“I need a way to protect the city.”
“Pardon?”
The dwarf asked back with a puzzled look.
Looking at the letter again, he raised his head and spoke.
“Are you in need of our skills, by any chance?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“In that case, I’m afraid we won’t be able to help!”
The dwarf raised his voice with a forthright expression.
“Why? Because you have no reason to protect the city?”
“No — because there are no able-bodied dwarves left! And honestly, I have no desire to protect Ifrit either!”
-?
-Brutally honest. Lol.
-But you’re a dwarf too;
-???: Everyone except me is trash.
The criticism directed at his own kind was cutting.
And the declaration that he had no desire to protect the city was entirely understandable.
Dwarves looked down upon in Ifrit.
Those who had even been pushed out of the city walls to live in a settlement outside — there was no way any affection for the city remained in them.
They were barely scraping by because they had nowhere else to go.
If anything, if the city fell, new paths might open up.
“Does that mean you’d help if you had the ability?”
“As things stand it’s impossible, so I honestly don’t know!”
“Fair enough. The loss of dwarven metallurgy has been a significant blow.”
“……!”
At that statement, the dwarf’s eyes went wide.
The dim look in those eyes filled with a clear light.
“How do you know about that?”
A question in which curiosity came through more strongly than wariness or suspicion.
Hanbit reached for a single piece of memory he carried within him.
“I once had the opportunity to meet the King of Hedrik.”
