Chapter 65: Audience with the King of Dwarves

“Buhahahaha! So that’s why you’re in Rock Kingdom! Aye, you’ve been forced into a troublesome job!”

Dhal laughs while eating a roasted lizard.

After reuniting with Earth Fang, we decided to eat together for the time being. We went to a suitable restaurant but all the dishes on the table were so heaped that they could spill out of the bowl. It’s known to be the standard size but it’s quite plenty.

“So why is Earth Fang here anyway?”

“This is my hometown. It’s normal to go home to see the faces of my parents you know. Well, this time I came to get a new weapon.”

Dhal held the axe on his back in his hand. It looks like an iron axe but it’s different in size and design from what he had before.

“Is it a new axe?”

“No, this was handed over to me instead. The new one is in the process of being made after all.”

“I see, then what happened to your previous axe?”

“I used it as a material for my new axe. It would be a waste to put my hard-working companion to sleep in the warehouse so I decided for it to be remade and become my companion again.”

According to the details, since before, Dhal’s weapon has been made by a blacksmith in the Rock Kingdom. The blacksmith he knew in particular seemed to be good at it. His previous axe was also made by that blacksmith. As I’ve heard from the rumors, dwarves seem to be a race suitable for blacksmithing.

“By the way, Shinichi how are you going to meet the Dwarves’ King?”

“What do you mean?”

“The king of this kingdom hates the Royal family of your kingdom. He doesn’t even receive letters from them, let alone a meeting.”

“The Royals again huh…”

The Royal family of Rogas Kingdom seems to be hated by dwarves too. I feel like asking King Rogas what on earth did he do. However, I cannot just turn back after I came this far. It’s a hassle but there is no choice but to clear this problem.

“Don’t you know a good way?”

“Two gold coins.”

After saying that, Dhal extended his hands to me. There is a way but he is saying that it cannot be taught for free. He’s pretty cunning. I have no choice but to do so huh. I then handed two gold coins to Dhal.

“Alright, I’ll let you meet the Dwarves’ King! Leave it to me!”

Dhal stand up and we also followed suit. We went to the counter of the store like that and he started talking with the store owner.

“Ten sake barrels. I’m asking for the most delicious one.”

“Okey dokey”

Then with rolling sound, the shopkeeper rolls the barrels from the back of the store and brings them inside. In the meantime, we start loading the barrels on the wagon that Dhal brought from somewhere. Right after that, Roy and Nina get on the wagon and Dhal immediately sits in the coachman’s seat. We decided to ride our unicorn and follow from behind.

“That huge castle is the house of the Dwarves’ King. It looks amazing but it’s not really very comfortable to live in.”

I can see a palace built of gray stone in the direction Dhal pointed at. Its appearance is rustic, an unadorned building type or a fortress I should say. Once the wagon on which Dhal and his companions are riding stops at the entrance of the castle, they start moving immediately after having a little conversation with the gatekeeper. It’s almost like a face pass.

I felt doubtful when I saw such scene. When the wagon arrived at the entrance of the castle, we unloaded the liquor barrel from the wagon. Then he briskly goes inside the castle while holding the barrel.

“Oiii! I’m here!”

Dhal shouted as he opened the big door. From the door, I can see a man sitting on the throne and a few young women around him. Apparently we’ll be having an audience here.

“Ooooh! If it isn’t Dhal! It’s been a long time!”

“Yeah, more than anything, Dodol looks to be doing well. Let’s have a reunion greeting shall we?”

Then Dhal and the man walked up to each other and they suddenly began to beat each other. As the man’s heavy blow hits Dhal’s abdomen, Dhal likewise hits the man’s face. After violently exchanging blows for around five times, they then hugged each other.

“It looks like your power isn’t weakening!”

“Idiot! I’m still in my thirties! I’m still vigorous!”

Ah, this is what you call man’s friendship. I long for such relationship too.

“Men are so stupid… I don’t understand the meaning of hitting each other.”

Erna was dumbfounded. When I look closely, Roy and Nina were also smiling. Sigh, Erna still hasn’t understood the conversation between men. We talk with our fist. No words are needed.

“Oi, put the sake barrel here.”

At that instruction, Dhal placed the barrel he was holding in his hands in front of the man. When he opened the barrel, he smiled broadly at Dhal.

“Sake huh. That means you have a request.”

“Yeah, considering our friendship, I want you to hear this out. Oi, Shinichi.”

Called by Dhal, I come forward. He will introduce me now huh.

“This is my childhood friend Dodol. Well, as you can see from his appearance, he is the king of this kingdom.”

“Oh, I’m Dodol, the king of this kingdom. Nice to meet you.”

The King of the Dwarves shakes hands with me. It’s such a very friendly atmosphere, probably because I am introduced by Dhal. However, the problem will be what we’ll talk next. Hooh-, I’m a little nervous.

“This is Shinichi Tanaka. He’s an adventurer in Rogas Kingdom.”

“Adventurer huh. But I don’t really understand why you need to come to me.”

Dodol scratches his head as he stared at me. Dhal gazed at the women in the room. Dodol, who immediately noticed the situation, ordered the women,

“I have an important matter to talk about, get out of this room.”

The women bowed to him and quietly left the room. Even so, those dwarven women could be said to be as young as elementary school students. If there’s a lolicon here, he must be very pleased.

“So, what’s the matter?”

“Rather than me saying it, it would be quicker to hear it from Shinichi. I was just asked to let him have an audience with you.”

Dodol then faced to me. I quickly took the letter out of the bangle and give it to Dodol.

“Isn’t this… you’re a messenger from the Rogas’ Royal family?”

“I was also just ordered to do this. Rather than that, does Dodol know the movement of the empire?”

“Don’t think I’m an idiot. I’m still the king of dwarves. I know that the empire is preparing for war.”

“Then, have they already proceed to invade?”

“I only know it to the extent of rumors. The empire is making the kingdom submit, right?”

If he knows that much, it’s easy to persuade him then. Rock Kingdom wouldn’t want to lose to the empire either.

“Since you already know so much, why don’t you make a move? If the kingdom is taken, it’s just nearby, right? Are the dwarves willing to be dominated by the Dragoneuts? Isn’t it necessary to suppress the empire at this early stage?”

“Kuu… I know that much but I’m the one who would lose if I helped those Rogas folks. Shouldn’t you cry to your ally, Sanargia?”

“Of course we’re asking Sanargia for reinforcements as well. However, that alone wouldn’t be a match for the empire. They’ve been building up their forces all this time. Humans and elves alone will be having a hard time repelling them. Furthermore, when you desert the two kingdom, the Rock Kingdom will fall as well. The Rock Kingdom borders the Kingdom and the Great Forest Kingdom after all. It is very unlikely that this kingdom will be able to withstand being attacked from two directions.”

“…………”

Dodol sits silently on the throne. His face shows that he seemed to be worried about something.

“What are you worried about?”

“…I hate the Rogas’ Royal family. I even think that it’s okay to die than helping them.”

“Then help me. Sanargia also said that they would cooperate with me.”

“You? I’m sorry to say this, but I’m not confident that I can trust humans. If you can give evidence that you won’t betray us, then I can believe you.”

This time, I’m the one troubled. Even if I am told to give credible evidence, I don’t have it. If there is such a thing in the first place, I have already put it out.

“In that case, whether you can trust me or not, you have to give it a try.”

“Hoh-, interesting. Let’s get on with that matter then.”

Dodol tore the letter he held. Although I felt tense in my mind, I pretended to be calm and questioned him.

“Why did you tore it?”

“It’s not worth seeing a letter from King Rogas. Rather than that, I will consider our cooperation depending on whether I can trust you or not. If the result is pointless, consider that there’s no talk about this.”

“……Understood”

Dodol claps his hands then the door was opened and a soldier came in.

“Bring that thing from the warehouse.”

“As you wish”

After waiting for a while, two soldier carefully carried a wooden box inside. They quietly placed it in front of Dodol, then the soldiers left the room right after.

“This is the hammer of Dartan I, the first king of the Dartan Rock Kingdom.”

When I opened the lid of the wooden box, there was a hammer that was snapped from the base. Moreover, the surface became rusted, reminiscent of its years.

What should I do with this?

“Try fixing this hammer. If you can repair it, I’ll consider cooperating.”

“Would you like me to take it home?”

“No. Repair it here. I won’t allow you to melt it to remake it. You have to restore it back in front of me. If you can’t, this talk is over.”

It seems that he really doesn’t want to send reinforcements. Perhaps he is thinking of making me give up by giving such difficult task. But of course, this is an easy feat for me.

I then activated the restoration space, at the same time, I placed the hammer inside and wait for a while. Then, the tattered hammer begins to regain the luster of a new one, the broken part is also glued as if it were regenerated in reverse. The hammer was then restored in about five minutes.

“O-Oii… this is a lie, right?”

“I think it’s fixed, but do check it as you please.”

Dodol was at loss for words. When I look closely, everyone, except Erna, were frozen with their mouth open. Dodol cautiously grabbed the hammer.

“There’s no mistake… it’s completely fixed. This is amazing!”

“That thing just now is my magic. I can restore anything.”

“Seriously!? Then, please fix the throne too! I was distressed because I broke this front backrest!”

I restored the throne as he ordered, Dodol then brought in broken objects one after another and had them repaired. Some of them seem to be the queen’s tiara, and I’m wondering how it split into two like this.

“Iya~! Shinichi is amazing! I am impressed!”

“That’s good, then can you trust me now?”

“Of course! You can’t doubt the guy who restored the national treasure! Dartan Rock Kingdom decides to send reinforcements to the kingdom for friendship with Shinichi Tanaka! This is my decision!”

Dodol sits down on the floor and then he held the barrel and began to drink vigorously. Perhaps he is in a good mood, he tries to give me a wooden bowl and urged me to drink sake. Because it can’t be helped, I took a drink then I felt hot around my stomach when I swallowed it. It’s been a long time, it seemed that my internal organs were also pleased with the sake.

By the way, I’m already an adult in this world so drinking is not a problem. Well, there seems to be no law in this world to crack down on underage drinking in the first place. Suddenly, it came to my mind when I look at Erna.

“By the way, Sanargia will also participate in the war, is that all right?”

“I’ll put up with it. Seeing the face of those elves is repulsive but it’s not that we would want to kill each other. It doesn’t matter as long as we fight separately.”

I’m not sure why, but the dwarves and elves seem to hate each other.

Erna, who’s listening quietly, desperately tries to hide her face and ears with her hat. She looks cute like this but it may be better to leave the castle as soon as possible.

“Alright then, we have to go to the next kingdom, so do excuse me.”

“Oh, my best regards to the Beast King then.”

“Alright, see you again.”

As soon as we left the room, I questioned Dhal,

“What Beast King?”

“He is the King of Naji Republic. I’ve heard that dwarves are on good terms with beastmen and Dodol is also a drinking buddy of the Beast King.”

“Then, the next place is to go to the beastman’s kingdom huh…”

Upon leaving the castle, I thank the Earth Fang again.

“It’s thanks to the Dhal that the negotiation was successful. Thank you.”

“That’s okay. Unlike us, adventurers who does it out of hobby, you’re taking on an important job. It’s just a little help from me.”

Dhal laughs loudly. If that’s the case, I would really like to say that he should return the gold coins, but I’ll let it go as this time it was tough without Dhal’s mediation. After all, I should be grateful here.

“Ah that’s right! I have to tell Erna that.”

Dhal called Erna and pointed to the mountain seen from the city.

“There is a place in the mountain over there where Moore used to train. It may be too early for a fledgling mage like you, but since you’ve come this far, you might as well go see it.”

“There is Moore’s training ground over there… Thank you Dhal!”

“O-Okay. No need to say thanks.”

Dhal approaches me and speaks in a whisper like tone.

“What’s wrong with that clumsy mage? She’s become quite obedient, hasn’t she?”

“Various things happened in her hometown. It means that she has grown up.”

“Well, that failure has become a full-fledged person… Not good! I’m likely to sweat from my eyes. Alright then, we’ll be heading back. See you in the kingdom.”

Dhal held his face with his left hand and then he left with Roy and Nina. I think the growth of Erna, who is like a daughter to him, is quite gratifying. Even I myself was also about to cry. As I get older, my tears become brittle, aye, I am in trouble.

“Then let’s go to the training ground!”

“Alright.”

We decided to head to Moore’s training ground.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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