Book 2: Chapter 38 (1/2)

“So all this stuff is mine?” Vur tilted his head at the massive pile of gold and items in the cave ahead of him. He stood at the entrance with Stella on his head and a humanoid being made of earth beside him.

The earthen being, Diamant, cleared his throat. “N-no, first of all, this isn’t stuff. Second of all, these items belong to the clan.”

Vur frowned at Diamant who had taken the shape of a human instead of the round boulder with limbs. “But you’re the clan master, right?”

Diamant nodded.

Vur blinked. “And you’re my subordinate elemental?”

Diamant scratched his head and let out a hollow laugh. “When an elementalist creates a contract with an elemental, neither of them are above the other. We’re in a contract of equals, you see. As long as you supply me with mana, I’ll be able to use my spells.”

“…So you’re my subordinate elemental, right?” Vur asked again. “You can’t do anything without me.”

Diamant pursed his lips. “You could say that…”

“Right. A subordinate’s stuff is also his leader’s stuff. The clan’s stuff is your stuff because you’re the master, and your stuff is my stuff because I’m your leader. So the clan’s stuff is my stuff too.” Vur nodded.

“Please stop referring to our hard-earned treasury as stuff,” Diamant said with tears pouring from his diamond eyes. “I swear, there’s no one else in this world who’d treat a mountain elemental this badly. Do you know how rare mountain elementals are? We’re the strongest ones amongst the earth elementals.”

Vur shrugged. “But you’re still weaker than me,” he said. “That’s why I’m your boss.”

Stella patted Vur’s head. “You should be nicer to him.”

Diamant stared at Stella with conflicted feelings in his heart. If it weren’t for the fairy, maybe, Vur would never have noticed his existence. But she was being nice now. Was this the mythical carrot and stick used to train donkeys?

“Mountain elementals like to hoard things. He won’t show you his other treasures if you bully him now.”

Diamant winced. Apparently, it was just the stick. He sighed. “Some of this gold can be used for your personal use, but we need most of it for the prosperity of the clan. As long as the clan prospers, you’ll prosper as well since you’re sort of the clan master now.”

Vur stared at the mountain of treasures while rubbing his chin. “Clan master…”

Stella giggled. “I knew you were a natural born leader.”

“And a leader needs a good weapon.” Vur nodded before climbing on top of the pile of treasures within the cave. He rummaged around knocking over gold ingots and golden coins, picking up weapons and tossing them over his shoulder. “I don’t think she’d like this one either…”

Diamant’s earthen body turned pale like marble as he rushed forward. “P-please, our goods are delicate. Handle them with care! If anything’s broken, we won’t be able to offer them as tribute to the dwarves.”

Vur froze with a massive hammer in his hand. His brow furrowed as he turned his head towards Diamant. “What did you say?”

“H-handle the goods with care…?” Diamant asked as his body compressed and shrank.

“After that.”

“I-if anything’s broken, we won’t be able to offer them as tribute to the dwarves…?”

“What’s this about paying tribute to the dwarves?” Vur asked with a frown.

Diamant let out a hollow laugh as he scratched his head. “It’s a protection fee of sorts. The clans who pay tribute to the dwarves aren’t assaulted by…, well, the dwarves. Clans that don’t pay tribute get an unwanted visit from Benny.”