Dwarves – 1>

“Wow, there’s a castle here too!” Excited about the new sights before her, Mireina jumped up into the air with enough force to fly. Lee Chan-yu nodded and muttered to himself while watching her, specifically focused on her chest.

“Very good.”

“I haven’t been training you to make your eyes sharper.”

“Honestly, it’s been dull for just three men to hang out together…”

[Isn’t she providing the energy we lacked?]

“Be careful.” It was true, though, that Mireina’s bright and cheerful attitude was contagious. However, that relaxed personality of hers may prove an obstacle to her growth.

“I’ll have to train her extra hard.”

“Hey?!” Mireina, who had been running around excitedly, recoiled in fear. It seemed that the battle in the underground had sharpened her senses even further.

“Mireina, did you officially greet them?”

“Who? Big and small uncle?” Cain and Lee Chan-yu both stretched their shoulders in an identical motion as if to show off their good relationship. Mireina hurried over, wavering her hand vigorously.

“You guys are Fate’s servants too, right? My future has been promised with Fate as well…”

“They’re my subordinates just like you. I left you underground before, but I brought you here now so you can grow quicker.”

“That’s unfair!”

“I thought she had the skill to fight, but she’s skilled in other ways too.”

[It’s also unfair…]

The two of them were whispering in desperation; the friendship they formed seemed so shabby now. I returned my attention to the fort, starting with the construction of accommodations for Cain and expanding the walls. Compared to the extensive work I had already done underground, it was rather easy.

[It’s comfortable.]

“If an enemy crosses the wall, you will be our first line of defense. Be prepared.”

[Leave it to me.]

I made Cain’s lodging into an annex, almost larger than the actual castle. It was more practical, however, with hardly any decorations.

“It almost has an aesthetic to it.”“I wish I could study its architecture…”

“That’s useless right now!” I continued to expand the wall while having a pointless conversation with Lee Chan-yu. I created a new layer of outer walls, slightly larger than the inner ones, and the work took me about half the time it had before even though the scale was larger. It was no doubt because I had grown to the point where I was incomparable to my prior self.

“It’s done.” Lee Chan-yu looked over the walls with a proud look, but I smiled and shook my head at him.

“It’s only starting.”

“What next?” I started using Lunatic Trickster to reinforce it, my gaze forward.

“It’ll take me a while, so there’s no need to stand around and watch. You must be exhausted from the battle, so go ahead and rest.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to work together and finish it quickly? What can I do, captain?”

“There’s nothing you can do here. Go eat some popcorn.” He grunted and entered the castle, not forgetting to position his men before he went to rest.

[Won’t you get tired if you keep working this hard? How about you take a little break, captain?]

“I’m trying to finish it all in one go before I rest. Cain, focus on figuring yourself out for now. Mireina, stop running around and go inside.” Cain reluctantly nodded at me, but Mireina didn’t stop.

“I want to be here!”

“Go to the castle and clean up.”

“Ahhh, but I hate cleaning!”

After driving everyone back into the castle, I was greeted by a welcoming peace and quiet. I enjoyed the silence, having not had a chance to for quite some time. I kept working with Lunatic Trickster. It had originally been a skill I used to hold an opponent’s ankles in battle, but now I could create a semi-permanent trap that would strengthen itself by absorbing mana once it activated. I started with an alarm that would judge an enemy’s level and activate accordingly, followed by a trap that would detect movement and place magic in their path. With enough mana, time, and materials, I was only limited by my imagination. One after another was emerging.

I waved my hands as if leading an orchestra in this small castle up in the mountains, placing traps on the walls surrounding me. It didn’t end in an hour or two, but it was simple enough that it was practically a joke compared to the construction work in the underground. I let myself be absorbed into my own thoughts while I worked. Thoughts of Rain and his sincerity in explaining Andras’ lies. He was undoubtedly on my side, but I wasn’t sure that meant he was telling the truth. Had Andras been telling lies from start to finish? Was my past self really as good as Rain had explained? If so, what was my purpose here? Why did I fall into human society while remaining connected to a peasant named Fate?

I thought about A’s actions. He refused to see me in the castle after it was built. Was it due to some feelings he had for L or me? Would I regret leaving him like he was now when a bigger enemy attacked? And there was L, as well. Her feelings. I had plenty of feelings for her myself, but were they right to express? Or perhaps were they just a lie caused by her Fascination ability? But even if they were a lie, was that really different from true love? I could tell the way she looked at me, but I wasn’t sure if it was right to accept her feelings. Did she love me now, or the me from the past? Was there a difference?

In the middle of this, I decided to stop thinking. It all felt beyond me right now. My hand didn’t slow at all, however, as I was busy controlling my mana to install traps in the wall.

“Whoo.” When I finally lifted my head, it was already night. It was daytime when I left, so I had been working all day. Lee Chan-yu came out with Mireina following from afar in an apron.

“Captain, outside…”

“I know, I felt it.”

“…You and your mini-map function… Captain, a guy I sent scouting at the bottom of the mountain picked it up.”

“What sort of animal is it? I haven’t smelled this before.” Mireina sniffed the air, her senses exceptionally keen. Lee Chan-yu looked at her with a bit of surprise.“You look like an elf for the first time.”

“What do you mean for the first time?!”

“You look cool now. Try to show off that image more from now on.”

“To whom?”

“To our customers who will be arriving. They’re humans.”

“Humans! I’m very curious!” Mireina cheered with anticipation. It was hard to hate her, no matter how much the Elakatra disgusted me. Seeing her attitude, however, it was easy to see her make a mistake. I tried to push her back inside, but she refused. Eventually, I readied myself to greet the guests after ordering them to stay quiet.

“Ah, hello.”

“Cute!” The guest was a young woman, and, as Mireina concluded, a very pretty one at that. I quieted Mireina and greeted her.

“Originally, Si-yeon- eh, the guild master was going to come, but a problem occurred, and I was sent instead.” She seemed to be a young high-school student. Her expression was one of embarrassment as she caught the mistake she had made by referring to the guild master by name.

“We’re in an alliance, so don’t worry. Tell me what’s happening.”

“Yes, well…there’s a dwarf.” I tilted my head.

“What about the dwarves?” The word rattled around my head for a while. I had been so occupied with matters of elves and demons, but a dwarf…a dwarf…that was one of the races that were partnered with humans.

“The dwarf appeared in Incheon and there was an outrage. Not only in Korea, but also in China and the United States…it is difficult to contact the dwarves, unless you’re a large guild or strong.” Her words were panicked, but I knew roughly what she was trying to tell me.

“You need a strong representative to meet them, but Seongbuk-gu has become too weak. Is that correct?”

“Yes…yes! Not just that, as soon as they appeared here in Incheon, dungeons started springing up, and the guild master went there…” Why was it that as soon as I solved one thing, several more popped up as if they had been lying in wait. I let out a sigh and nodded.

“How can I help? Should I go to Incheon with you?” Dwarves were partnered with humans like the elves. I needed to know if they had the soul of a human and the body of a dwarf, or if this was a dwarf who didn’t really know about them. More and more, it seemed that I needed to dig into the roots of the Great Fusion. She nodded at me.

“We need to figure out whether it has anything to do with the mass outbreak in the dungeons that is happening and be on the lookout for elves.”

“Alright, let’s head out.” Without hesitation, I nodded, and the woman let out a sigh of relief.

“Then please…but before we depart.” She braked suddenly and turned to me with serious eyes.

“Have you ever entered the Black Palace?”

“Why do you ask?”

“In the Black Palace…there was a fallen- a goblin. But the guild hasn’t been able to find him, we were wondering if you would know about it.” I had been the only goblin fallen there, but of course, I couldn’t say so.

“A goblin fallen in the Black Palace…” I trailed off, recognizing her. She wasn’t trembling, but rather had a serious expression now. I felt now as if my actions before hadn’t been meaningless. I had created such a possibility without knowing. I smiled at her.

“I don’t know. Let’s get started.”