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100
Outside the northern wall, following Kudran.
The first thing that came into view was a barricade built from wood and stone.
“This is the place!”
Kudran led the way ahead.
‘Shabby as ever, no matter when you see it.’
A village that could not conceivably be thought of as belonging to the dwarf race.
The reasons, if enumerated, were far too many.
Everything was lacking — materials, funds, craft, and will alike.
“Come on in!”
Creak—
Kudran opened the gate of the barricade.
The sound it made was unsettling enough to suggest it could not come from wood.
“What’s that over there?”
A few dwarves were inside the village.
The eyes looking their way were full of wariness and displeasure.
“And what has the high-and-mighty craftsman dragged in now.”
“Why’d you bring humans here? Are you out of your mind?”
“That fool…….”
Sharp words flew at Kudran.
The man himself was letting them go in one ear and out the other, seemingly well accustomed to it.
“Why is he being treated like this?”
“Wasn’t he something like the administrator? They’re openly ignoring him.”
The two people watching alongside him asked in small voices.
But it was a little different from what one would expect of an administrator.
“This is quite noisy. Just follow along.”
Kudran kept walking toward the center of the village.
There, a small house built roughly from wood stood.
Creak—
The interior they stepped into following him was sparse.
Not just sparse — it would be more accurate to say there was nothing there.
“…Kudran?”
A dwarf elder who greeted them from inside.
A name tag floated above his head.
[Dwarf Elder — Ballon]
Kudran, the village’s administrator, was a role put forward for external dealings only.
The one who exercised all authority from within was this Ballon.
In other words, the true power itself.
“Who have you brought?”
His gaze landed on the gold bracelet around Hanbit’s wrist.
Kudran called out in a bright voice.
“These people say they will bring His Highness the Prince back to us!”
“The prince?”
At that word, the elder’s brow furrowed sharply.
A reaction as though he had heard something unpleasant.
“I told you not to bring up that one’s name. What is there to bring back about a royal who abandoned his people!”
“His Highness did not abandon us!”
“If he didn’t abandon us, why are we living like this? No matter how much you refuse to believe it, the truth does not change. The prince, without question, abandoned us.”
“No! We were the ones who drove His Highness away!”
-They’re fighting among themselves;
-Is this WWE?
-So why did he abandon his people?
-They’re saying he didn’t.
-Then why did he abandon them?
-Get lost.
An argument that started from a single word — the prince.
Kudran, who had maintained a bright demeanor until now, was genuinely angry this time.
With no end in sight, Hanbit produced the mayor’s letter of introduction.
“Please look at this first.”
“Tch.”
The elder snatched the letter with clear displeasure.
Then, casting a sidelong glance at Hanbit, he began reading the written lines.
“…Ha.”
Content closer to an order than an introduction.
It irritated him, but a letter of introduction personally written by the mayor could not be ignored.
Getting on the wrong side of that person would make life harder.
In other words, it was best to hear out the honored guest with the gold bracelet as much as possible.
“For now, have a seat.”
Having reached his decision, the elder gestured to a worn rug on the floor.
Everyone dropped down onto the dust.
“So what brings you here?”
The elder asked with a guarded expression.
Hanbit’s answer was simple.
“I would like your help to protect Ifrit.”
“Pardon? Is there any need for that?”
“Because if things continue as they are, the danger will likely grow.”
“……?”
The elder wore a genuinely puzzled expression.
Just then, Avantgarde, who had been looking at the bare surroundings, slipped in a question.
“There don’t seem to be many people in the village — are the other residents at work?”
“Most are currently assigned to clearing the sewers. Some will be doing odd jobs somewhere or other.”
The dwarves living here needed to earn money.
Taxes far higher than those paid by Ifrit’s citizens.
Beyond that, all that remained was the cost of drinks to relieve stress.
“How many blacksmiths are there?”
This time Kim Jaeha asked.
Having spent time searching for dwarven metallurgy, he had come to this village more than once — but had never managed to get inside.
Naturally, what he was curious about was the dwarves’ internal situation.
Just what were the craftsmen actually doing?
But the elder gave back a hard-to-believe answer.
“There is no longer a craftsman worthy of being called a true blacksmith. All of it is the fault of the prince leaving this place.”
“What do you mean!”
At that, Kudran cut in and shot to his feet.
“Wasn’t it because Elder made us follow what Mayor Pirnen said and insisted we should be making artworks? His Highness always said we must keep honing our craft!”
“This insufferable wretch keeps——! I made that decision for our sake too! If we had followed the prince and focused only on metallurgy, we would have starved long ago!”
To summarize the exchange between the two, it went like this.
The elder believed they had to earn money by taking on expensive artwork commissions.
The prince believed they had to further hone the making of arms and armor — the dwarf race’s pride and everything.
The clash of those opposing views was what had led to Gorik leaving the village.
Hanbit cut into the two of them and spoke.
“Elder, why did you make that choice? Even with the mayor’s proposal, there must have been room for deliberation.”
“…In a safe city, there was not much demand for anything in the arms-making line. It was at that point that the mayor proposed artworks.”
In the early period after migrating to Ifrit, the dwarves had also put effort into crafting arms and armor.
It was the work they had always done, and the prince’s will had been firm.
But the city, which was far too peaceful, gave it no attention.
“As we stubbornly kept making equipment, we gradually grew poorer. Ifrit was simply too safe to absorb all the new equipment we were producing.”
“And that’s when the mayor came to you? Suggesting you make luxury goods that would bring in money?”
“That’s right. Artworks genuinely brought in large sums, and most dwarves threw themselves into that. There was no need to make arms anymore.”
“…That is truly unbelievable.”
Kim Jaeha exclaimed in dismay with an expression of disbelief.
Having chased dwarven metallurgy day and night, his reaction was only natural.
Hanbit asked again.
“When did the prince leave?”
“Around the time artworks began being produced in earnest. Once life became stable, they surely would have turned their eyes to arms-making in due course…….”
Prince Gorik, who had kept steadily honing his craft even amid difficult circumstances.
There were dwarves who had followed him, but they ultimately abandoned their patience and sided with the elder’s wishes.
At that point, what remained was Kudran alone.
The prince, who had been furious at that unexpected development, quietly left the village shortly after.
“What’s the situation now? It doesn’t seem like you’re making artworks anymore.”
“The power of the blessing that the prince withdrew had a significant impact on artworks as well. There was no way Mayor Pirnen would be satisfied with craftsmen who had lost their distinctiveness.”
“Still, they must be more skilled than ordinary craftsmen.”
“The accumulated experience does not disappear, but that was far from sufficient. The mayor, having lost interest, abandoned us just like that.”
-That blasted mayor;
-Mayors across the board are all problems.
-Artworks still bring in money though.
-For real, decoration items are ridiculously expensive.
-That’s the endgame content in RPGs.
The dwarves who had begun producing outstanding artworks in quantity.
The mayor, eyes spinning with excitement, expanded her business at a reckless pace.
And right after the largest contract was signed, the dwarves lost the blessing.
Naturally, supplying the products became impossible, and the mayor suffered humiliation and flew into a towering rage.
The dwarves’ treatment plummeting to the gutter happened two days after that.
“I could not agree with it. We could have endured on our own craft alone! But every last one of them sided with you and we ended up completely broken!”
“What do you know, you ignorant fool! Do you think reality changes just because you keep your head in the clouds? This place is all about money!”
Both sides’ feelings were entirely understandable.
It was not something you could blame anyone for, so he had no desire to take either side.
In the end, even Prince Gorik had been so absorbed in his craft that he had failed to look after his people’s lives.
“I understand the situation now. So let’s get moving right away.”
Hanbit picked up the mayor’s letter of introduction from the floor.
What mattered was returning this difficult situation to as close to normal as possible.
“As I said, my purpose is one. To protect Ifrit with all of your help.”
“…It is true that the walls have become unstable, but the city’s combat strength is sound. A future where it falls easily does not present itself to me.”
Ballon, whose nation had been destroyed by monsters.
Even he could not accept the danger Ifrit was in.
Part of the reason was that the mayor and the guild master were themselves free from any sense of danger — but realizing it only after the fall would be too late.
“Do you truly believe it will be safe?”
“The proliferating monsters will be dealt with through subjugation early on. In the end, there will be no great losses.”
A view that did not change no matter how the conversation continued.
Hanbit’s plan required the genuine and wholehearted effort of the dwarves.
Of course, it did not have to be effort for the city’s sake in particular.
Thud thud thud—!
Just then, a rumbling from outside.
“Aaaargh!”
“Uggh!”
What followed were the screams of dwarves.
-??
-What is that.
-Emergency, emergency.
“……!”
Kudran shot to his feet, eyes wide.
Without a moment’s hesitation he dashed outside.
“What in the world…….”
The elder too rose with a flustered expression.
“What’s going on? What happened?”
“Is it an attack?”
Kim Jaeha and Avantgarde were also startled by the sudden development.
“Let’s go out too.”
Hanbit rose and stepped outside, taking the lead.
Boom boom boom—!
Crash—!
Eyes turned toward the unceasing rumble.
The problem was at the village entrance.
The ramshackle barricade had been completely demolished.
Crrrk—!
A large lizard standing atop the wreckage.
Two dwarves were bound to its outstretched tongue.
[Tongue Lizard (Lv.35)]
-??
-A tongue-whip has appeared.
-Why are they here already?
-The wave isn’t supposed to be now.
Smack—!
Thud—!
Dozens of lizards scattered throughout the area were knocking dwarves down helplessly.
“Damn it…….”
The elder, who had followed them out, wore an expression of anguish.
The past experience of fighting monsters on the battlefield revived as a trauma.
Because it had been a tragedy that ended in defeat and ruin.
“Hup!”
Kudran had rushed out with a hammer in hand and was fighting desperately against the monsters.
Even with several charging at him at once, not a trace of fear showed in him.
Thump—!
Hanbit drew his sword and kicked off the ground.
Closing in on the lizard that had seized the dwarves was a matter of an instant.
Slash—!
A horizontal sweep of the sword cut the tongue cleanly in two.
Shriek—!
The lizard, unable to react, thrashed as it sprayed blood.
Thud—!
The captured dwarves fell to the ground, and the eyes of the other lizards snapped toward Hanbit.
Wind was gathering around the sword in his hand.
He turned and looked at the people standing frozen in place.
“Shall we take care of the monsters first?”
