Chapter 164 (2/2)

I can't stand the taste of iron in my mouth anymore.

Ugh.

The valley was deep, and if you looked up, you could see the blue sky between the valley's red walls.

I often saw the bones of small animals on the dimly lit path.

I called out to the leader ahead.

”Is this area some kind of ruin?”

”Hm? We don't know the details. We only live here because it's a good place to hide, but it may have just been a small warehouse.”

”A warehouse?”

”These Russian stone pillars when melted, produce high purity iron. It's possible it was processed and stored like this to prevent corrosion. It has saved us a lot of trouble.”

So the iron can be extracted?

That's interesting.

There are a lot of hard minerals in the world, but in the end people rely on iron, which is easy to process and available in large quantities.

”This is our town.”

”Oh.”

As we stepped out into the open space, our voices filtered out in surprise.

Huge mushrooms were growing everywhere, covering the sky.

Beneath them, many dwarves lived their lives.

The sound of iron hammering, the smell of baking bread, the laughter of children.

There is so much peace here.

”This way.”

The leader led the way to a hole dug in the red wall.

The door to the hole was simply covered with a cloth, and if you stepped into it, you could see at a glance that it was crudely made by ripping out a rock.

However, the desks, chairs, and rugs that had been put in were surprisingly nice and of high quality.

Even an amateur like me could note their value at a glance.

In the room was a man sitting in a chair.

'”Your Majesty, I've brought the Manyu Brigade with me.”

''Mm.''

The man they called ''Your Majesty'' squinted hard in the firelight.

They were dressed differently from the four people we had met before.

They wore clothes that looked like royalty, if a bit dirty, and they watched us intently with sharp hawk eyes.

”I am the King of Big Gear. Let's ask again, are you guys really the Manyu Brigade?”

”I don't know how you guys know about us, but yes, we are the Manyu Brigade... You're not going to ask me to prove it or anything like that, are you?”

”Honestly, I'd love for you to prove it, but if Hansel has brought you here, it's because he's corroborated it. He's someone you can trust.”

The dwarf named Hansel bowed to the king.

His bearing was strange, but his manners were as refined as those of a knight.

I had assumed he was a barbarian, but I wondered if he was really a man of rank.

”I'll be brief, I want to hire you.”

”...Hire us?”

”We need your help to get our land back.

Before I could respond, the king continued speaking.

”We have lost our country, and we have no forces or army left. This will be the only request I ask of you, please help us.”

”Who has taken your country from you?”

”Rudra did.”

”And the enemy is...”

”Rudra, the Demon King himself.”

In other words, it's a request to defeat Rudra.

”It's not an easy thing to answer. I'd like to give it some thought.”

”I'll allow you to stay for a while. I expect a positive response.”

I bowed to His Majesty and went out.

I am somewhat surprised.

I never thought he would ask me to do something like this. 　 It's like asking me to leave the place where I was born and raised.

”What shall we do now, Master? We also have the unfinished business of Soara-San and Pionne-San.”

”I don't know, I can't ignore a situation like this. Even though I want to find Soara and Pione, I feel the desire to do something about it.”

”I've been thinking. The two of them are accompanied by a person named Isabella. And even if we don't rush to find them, they should be safe to some extent, right?”

From what I've heard, Isabella is quite strong in the Beast tribe.

If that person has knowledge of this area, it's very likely that she's still safe.

And Soara is someone cunning and ambitious. She is able to get out of any predicament quickly.

”In any case, we don't know where to look from this point. We need time and clues.”

”I'm sure they're fine. I have a good feeling.”

”I hope so.”

”And knowing Soara-San, she must be making a lot of money and laughing her head off.”

”I hope so....”

For some reason, Soara's laughter popped into my head.