I returned from the dungeon to the warrior corps’ outpost together with my companions. By the time we arrived, the sun had begun to dip toward the horizon.
—Three weeks remained until Ymir and his forces would attack.
Part of that time had already passed, but there was no point in rushing.
A bridge was built across the moat. Seeing us, the bridge was lowered and the gate opened. As our carriage entered the courtyard, five other unfamiliar carriages were already parked there.
“…What’s going on?”
They were the kind of carriages used for long journeys—“box carriages,” sturdy and spacious. If people had come in these, it would mean a sizable entourage.
Mia-san and Felix-san both spoke at once as they stepped down from their own horses.
“Hm. This type is commonly used by the warrior squads…”
“So, reinforcements, huh?”
Indeed, adventurers, knights, and soldiers were gathering in the royal capital. Since Ymir had already collected monsters from dungeon across the world, he would no longer be rampaging alone.
It would be a clash of numbers—monsters against humans—a full-scale battle.
Pauline-san had been gathering soldiers, knights, and adventurers across the surrounding plains to protect this outpost where Lu is stationed. Soon, tents might be pitched around the walls, forming a temporary “market outside the castle” like we had seen once before.
The gold coin vibrated, and Solana’s voice cut through.
『…This presence…』
Heimdall responded with a question.
『What is it, Sun God?』
Solana said it with a hint of amusement.
『I see… Heimdall does not know. Fufu… you will be quite surprised.』
『What’s that supposed to mean? You sound awfully pleased with yourself… oh—』
I walked over to check the box carriages.
I had a feeling the “visitor” the warrior corp mentioned was inside these carriages.
As I approached, the five carriages suddenly rattled violently. Before we could react, the door of the first carriage burst open.
“Woah!”
Mia-san jerked back in surprise.
Small shadows leapt out of the carriages one after another. They bounced lightly as they surrounded us.
“M-monsters…?”
The area was soon filled with tiny human-shaped figures. All of them kept their faces lowered, so their true identities were a mystery.
Then, as one, they stood up.
“—”
Against us, frozen in shock, they all dropped to one knee simultaneously.
“““Long time no see!”””
We froze.
Around forty shadows encircled us, each barely the height of a five- or six-year-old. From a distance, it would have looked as if we were surrounded by children.
But their faces told a different story. Most had the features of adults. Even those with youthful faces carried a calmness far beyond their apparent age. I shifted my gaze to their backs. Proudly, some had wings that pushed against their cloaks as they stood.
Not all of them had wings, roughly half did.
“D-dwarves!?”
They were beings from the mythic era, hidden away in the far northern mining towns.
The black dwarves, Dvergr, and the winged white dwarves, Aarlv. The dwarves relaxed their faces in response. A small one with delicate wings stood directly in front of me and bowed deeply once more.
“That is correct, Hero,”
The white dwarf looked up at me and smiled quietly. Though he appeared like a young boy, he was surely far older than me. With a graceful gesture, he placed a hand over his chest.
“I am Bari, one of the Ten Smiths of Alfheim.”
The Ten Smiths—an honor granted in the dwarf kingdom of Alfheim, which we had once saved, to the most exceptional blacksmiths.
“By the command of the King of the Dwarves, I have come to lend you aid. Hero, please allow us dwarves of Alfheim to join your battle.”
His lofty words made my cheeks burn.
“You defeated the Flamebone Surtr and saved Alfheim. Now, it is our turn to protect you.”
This time, my chest felt warm with gratitude. I had to thank him.
“Thank you very much.”
Mia-san glanced at the carriages still standing in the courtyard.
“You arrived awfully fast. Even for adventurers, it normally takes six days from Alfheim to the royal capital.”
“We were made to hurry.”
Bari answered.
As he spoke, light began to spill from my pocket. With the glow, Solana leapt out. The sudden appearance of the goddess sent the gathered dwarves into an uproar. In that moment, they really did seem like children.
“Goddess!”
“Goddess!”
The calls made Solana nod with a faintly proud air. Her shimmering golden hair swayed happily with her movements.
The goddess cleared her throat deliberately.
“Ahem. It seems everyone is resisting the seal fairly well.”
Dwarves were even more vulnerable to the seal than monsters—or even gods. They did not carry magic stones like monsters, and their power was far weaker than a god’s. Normally, even with an awakening like this, they would soon fall back under the seal. Their bodies would be petrified, turned into stone statues.
But Solana’s blessing protected them.
The Light of the Sun’s Awakening kept the seal’s hold on them broken permanently. The sunlight pouring down granted them the magical power to resist the seal, sustaining them in freedom.
“Goddess!”
“Goddess!”
“You’re the best!”
“You shine so brightly!”
“Mm, mm… though, I must admit, it’s a little… embarrassing,”
…Could it be that Solana actually liked being praised?
The goddess seemed to squirm slightly, pleased yet bashful.
As I reflected on a god’s pride, Heimdall let out a wry chuckle from the horn.
『So, dwarves, huh. To have dwarves, gods, and humans all working together… haha, that certainly didn’t exist a thousand years ago.』
Felix-san stroked his chin. His narrow eyes made it hard to read, but he was surely surprised.
“This is a truly remarkable reinforcement.”
“Yeah—”
According to Bari, the white dwarf, they had brought weapons crafted by the dwarves themselves, along with Golem Cores capable of producing golems.
Felix-san whistled in astonishment.
“This might equal the strength of a hundred soldiers.”
The dwarves puffed out their chests proudly.
“If our tools can help resist the end times…”
Their pride was contagious, swelling something warm in my own chest.
A voice rang down from the second floor of the tower.
“Ah! You all!?”
It was Safi , her high-pitched voice cutting through the courtyard.
A flash of green hair appeared over the building’s edge before she bounded down the stairs, eyes wide as saucers, running straight toward us.
“Safi!”
“Long time… no see!”
The dwarves shared in the joy of reunion. Surely, they all cared deeply for their companions—perhaps because they were fellow blacksmiths. I remembered how happy Safi and her friends had been when Alfheim had awakened, and it made my heart feel warm.
Solana floated gently over to my side.
“That’s good, isn’t it?”
“Yeah!”
“…Because you were a kind and strong boy, so many reinforcements came when trouble struck.”
The goddess’s golden eyes sparkled. Her straight, earnest smile made my chest flutter for some reason.
“A kind strongest… is surely stronger than a strongest who is not kind.”
As the end approached, our allies gathered one by one.
Indeed—after everything we had been through, it finally felt like our adventures had borne fruit.
I sensed someone behind me and turned around.
“Hey.”
A tall adventurer stood there, a man with a scarred face, carrying a stone hammer on his back.
“Lloyd-san…?”
A veteran adventurer I had fought alongside in Flocia. For a moment, I was confused.
Why was he here?
Lloyd-san’s scarred face broke into a broad smile.
“We’ll be joining you too.”
His face, as I look up, is a little dazzling with the sun behind him. Behind him were other familiar adventurers. All of them were people I had fought alongside in the Flocia dungeon with the Raven Warrior Corps.
Lloyd-san raised two fingers in a casual wave.
“Even the Flocia Adventurers’ Guild managed to gather reinforcements for the royal capital. Everyone here volunteered, and we rushed to join you.”
It seemed they had hurried their carriages all the way from Flocia just to reach the capital.
I realized something.
“…Ah, I see.”
Originally, I had probably been called back from training to meet Lloyd-san and the others. Adventurers allowed into this temple were carefully selected. Allowing someone I knew inside was likely a way of confirming my presence first.
Lloyd-san shrugged.
“They stopped us at the gate, but the warrior corps—and, well… the gods—remembered us. That’s how we were allowed in.”
“I see…”
Lloyd-san glanced around the courtyard. His gaze lingered on the dwarves, and he let out a wry laugh before speaking again.
“…You really were hiding some extraordinary secrets, weren’t you.”
I felt a rush of nervousness.
Indeed, we had left Flocia without revealing any of the secrets of the myths. By now, though, these people must know the truth. Surely the temples across the lands had begun spreading the knowledge of the real myths.
“Ah… at that time—”
My words faltered, but a large hand gently stopped me.
“Don’t worry about it. Back in the mythic era, the gods weren’t winning against the monsters. They were on the verge of defeat—I probably wouldn’t have believed it either if I hadn’t seen it in Flocia myself.”
Lloyd-san’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Solana and the dwarves.
“The strength of your allies—that’s the strength of an adventurer. You’re a good one.”
Perhaps because he knew about my father as well, his words carried weight I could feel deep in my chest.
“From Flocia, there are twenty of us, myself included… Let’s win this, boy.”
“…Yes!”
Within the temple, the power to protect Lu was gathering.
Their thoughtfulness and kindness ignited a warmth in my heart, bolstering my resolve.There was no way we could afford to lose.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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