A Puchi Date In The Dwarf City

The dwarf city of Mürnberg.

Liricia and I were walking through the city arm in arm to search for Rāna’s jewel.

We gathered information while also enjoying the city.

I had thought dwarves’ favorite thing was ale, but apparently they also liked bread stuffed with salted fish.

We bought one from a stall and ate it alternately, Liricia and I.

I brought my face close to the hard sandwich bread Liricia was holding and took a bite while struggling to bite through it.

“Hm? I thought it would be salty, but the sourness is strong too.”

“Ham—The salted fish is preserved food, so it seems to have fermented. It is delicious.”

Liricia was cute as she ate with her cheeks puffed out, munching away.

I brought my face close again, took a bite of the sandwich bread, and spoke.

“Come to think of it, there were sausages and hard bread too. There are a lot of foods that keep for a long time.”

“Potatoes and onions are the same. Since this is inside a mountain where fields cannot be made, they probably have no choice but to bring them in from far away—ham.”

“I see. Even in the same country, the food culture changes if the place is different. That’s interesting—ham.”

“It is fun being able to experience it with you, Master—ham.”

As we ate while bringing our faces close together, amusement gradually welled up inside me.

Liricia and I finished eating the sandwich bread while holding back laughter and grinning.

Suddenly, I thought of Teti, the elf girl who liked sandwich bread.

After that, we continued gathering information while heading toward the inn.

About the Dwarf Duke, the mines, and the injured people.

As we gathered information, our policy for this town began to take shape.

—Now all that’s left is where the earth jewel is.

In a back street of the city, we came across a bookstore I had seen before.

“Oh. It’s Mao Mao.”

“It is truly a worldwide chain.”

“Maybe they sell detailed maps of this city too?”

“Would that not be classified information?”

“Let’s take a look for now.”

We entered the shop, where bookshelves packed tightly with books lined the interior.

We passed through the magazine corner and headed deeper inside.

On the wall along the way, a large poster said, “First Mao Mao Novel Award, Now Accepting Submissions!”

—It has nothing to do with me, since I have no literary talent. Yeah.

There was a map corner at the back of the shop.

Single-sheet maps and booklet-type maps were lined up there.

As I looked over the spines, I found a map of Mürnberg.

“Whoa. They even have detailed maps of the mine tunnels. They even mark elevation differences with contour lines.”

“You are right… Is it really all right to sell these? I am a little worried.”

Liricia murmured with worriedly furrowed brows.

“Well, it helps us. A map of the city and a map of the mine tunnels—oh, they also have a detailed map of the Dwarf Kingdom. Let’s buy it just in case.”

“Yes, understood.”

We took the maps to the counter.

Then the dwarf clerk shook his head.

“Hold on, customer. If you want the mine tunnel map, you also have to buy The Dwarf Duke War Chronicle.”

“Why?”

“It’s been decided that we can’t sell it unless you learn the importance of the mineral veins in the Dwarf Duke Territory.”

“So do I have to come back after reading it?”

“We won’t make you go that far. Just buy them together.”

I thought for a moment.

—Well, if it’s a book, it can be a souvenir for Teti. Though if it’s only one book, she’ll probably finish it right away.

“Fine. Do you have any other books that are only sold in this shop?”

“Oh, you noticed the right thing. We have things like Complete Guide to Weapons and How to Identify Ores.”

“Hmm, I’d rather have something more like reading material. A novel or something.”

“In that case, how about The Two Dwarves? It’s a story about twin sisters doing their best, and it’s a fairy tale even dwarf children know.”

“Then I’ll take that too.”

“Thank you for your business!”

We bought the maps and novels, then left the Mao Mao Bookstore Chain.

Just in case, I contacted Kou using the sub-device.

“Kou, can you talk right now?”

“What is it, Master?”

“Is everything fine over there?”

“Sheryl-san came over, so Teti-san is practicing magic. The wolf guard squad’s security is perfect too.”

“Sounds good. I want you to make a passage from the inn room. Can it be anywhere?”

“If possible, the edge of town would be good. The room should be on the first floor.”

“Understood.”

I ended the call.

Beside me, Liricia was looking at the map.

“The inn at the edge is this one.”

Guided by Liricia, we headed to the inn.

Once we entered the inn, we immediately took a room.

Because it was on the first floor, it cost a little more. Eleven thousand gort for two people.

In exchange, it had two connected rooms, and the courtyard could be seen from the window. Beautiful flowers and plants bloomed wildly in the garden.

I wondered how that was possible inside a mountain where sunlight did not reach, but they were all artificial. They were more beautiful than real ones.

Once we had put down our luggage, I spoke to Liricia.

“Then, sorry, but please check where the jewel is right away.”

“Yes, leave it to me.”

Liricia placed a hand on her chest and leaned slightly forward.

Then white wings spread wide from her back with a flutter. The tips of the feathers almost touched the ceiling.

She spread her long legs as she was and held out her right hand.

“—Dark Magic Detection.”

Her white feathers drew circles, and four rings flew out and spread horizontally, vertically, diagonally upward, and diagonally downward.

After a while, she opened the eyes she had closed. She looked at me with her violet eyes.

“It is lower down, Master.”

“A mine tunnel, or a place that hasn’t been dug out yet… Next, can you check with the map?”

“Understood… It is probably not the upper first or second tunnels, but much lower down.”

Liricia spread the map on the floor. The sixth to eighth tunnels were shown on it.

When she took the flail hanging from her waist in hand, she let the chain dangle and chanted a spell.

“—Dark Magic Detection.”

As she moved the chain over the map, the weight at the end of the chain began drawing circles at one point.

Liricia crouched down and spoke while marking it with a pen.

“It seems it is still buried underground.”

“The closest one is a branch tunnel of the sixth tunnel… Hmm.”

I thought for a little while.

Naturally, the mine tunnels were off-limits to anyone other than related personnel.

The rights to the mine tunnels belonged to the duke.

If we could get on the duke’s good side and have him let us dig the tunnel, that would solve it.

—Though that would be extremely difficult for me now that I’m not a hero.

If I were a hero, just showing the Hero Medal would have given me a free pass anywhere.

Perhaps Liricia understood that as well, because her beautiful face clouded sadly.

“What shall we do?”

“The Adventurer Guild. From what I heard earlier, the guild master is apparently the duke’s child. We’ll get friendly with them and have them introduce us to their father.”

“That sounds like it will take time… It seems we have no choice but to use this room as a base and visit many times.”

“We have Puchi Elixirs. If we bring the matter up properly, it shouldn’t take much time.”

When I calmly explained my idea, Liricia opened her violet eyes wide.

“I see! You intend to use the current situation with so many injured people—As expected of you, Master!”

“That’s how it is. Then let’s go to the guild.”

“Yes—The Adventurer Guild is in the upper layer of the city.”

“Understood. Guide me there.”

We put away the maps we had spread out, connected to the dungeon entrance, and received a large quantity of Puchi Elixirs.

We put them into the magic bag and left the inn.

Our destination was the Adventurer Guild.

However, we could not find any stairs leading to the upper layer where the Adventurer Guild was.

Even looking at the map, I could not understand it well.

Since there was no helping it, we went out to the outer town once and decided to climb along the outside of the city.

Outside, the slightly tilted sun was illuminating the mountain range.

We climbed the stairs vertically upward through the city that clung to the sheer valley.

We crossed the zigzagging main avenue again and again, going even farther upward.

The Adventurer Guild, government office, and similar facilities were in the upper inner town.

Because the stairs were steep, I ran out of breath.

However, the dwarves, who were shorter than humans, climbed them easily.

They did seem to have more strength than humans after all.

Step by step, we climbed slowly and finally reached the upper layer.

The wind blowing from the valley disheveled my hair.

Liricia held down her long silver hair with a supple hand.

“What an incredible view…”

“You can really tell that we are in a high place.”

A blue sky where white clouds drifted.

A shadow fell on the eastern side of the deep gorge.

Far below, I could see a green forest, and beyond it, grasslands.

In the white-hazed distance, I could see another mountain range.

“There are a lot of mountains.”

“Yes, beyond those lies the Dwarf Kingdom. This whole region is full of plateaus and mountain ranges.”

“Wasn’t there some war, and that’s why this place came under Fortis?”

“Yes. From what I skimmed earlier in the book, the Dwarf Duke, who had been treated unfairly by the Dwarf Kingdom, apparently sought protection from the Fortis Kingdom.”

“Hm, sounds like there’s a lot behind it. Well, it doesn’t matter to us right now.”

“Yes, that is true.”

I turned back toward the mountain side.

In addition to the wall-like cityscape, there was a large tunnel leading into the mountain. The ceiling was high, and it was wide enough for several carriages to pass each other.

“Then let’s go in.”

“Yes, Master.”

I took Liricia and entered the tunnel.

The inside was cool and pleasant against my sweaty skin.

The rock surface was smooth as if polished.

When we passed through the tunnel, it suddenly became bright.

Bright magical light shone on the cityscape from the ceiling, which was about as high as a three-story building.

Each building was larger than those in the middle-layer city.

Offices, government buildings, and conference facilities seemed to line the area.

Liricia walked while looking at the map.

“The Adventurer Guild seems to be on the outskirts of town.”

After a while, we found the Adventurer Guild and entered. It was an imposing building with decorations on the walls and pillars.

The first floor had counters and bulletin boards, and farther in, there was a waiting room that also served as a tavern. I thought every guild had a similar layout.

Liricia tried to go to the reception desk, but I took her hand and headed to the bulletin board.

“Let’s look at the requests first. If we’re adventurers, we might be able to enter the mine tunnels.”

“Ah, that is true. As expected of you, Master.”

The two of us looked over the request sheets posted on the bulletin board while holding hands.

“Hm. There are requests that involve entering the mines after all.”

“There are also requests for exterminating ghosts and monsters that have settled in abandoned mines, as well as ore collection.”

“Or rather, mine tunnel reinforcement work and soil removal work? At this point, aren’t these miners, not adventurers?”

Liricia stared intently at the requests with a wrinkle between her brows.

“It seems the tunnel one enters differs depending on the request. I do not know which one is the sixth tunnel, but… what shall we do? Shall we try accepting a request once?”

“Yeah… Taking one blindly wouldn’t be ideal, so let’s ask at the reception desk.”

“Yes, that is true. As expected of you, Master. Let us do th—”

Boom!

Suddenly, the ground shook along with a thunderous roar.

Small vibrations followed, rattling everything.

I immediately pulled Liricia close while quickly looking around.

“What was that!?”

“I do not know! It sounded like it came from below!”

The inside of the guild also grew noisy and unsettled.

There were many dwarves.

Then the door behind the counter burst open, and a figure rushed out.

He was holding a long-handled shovel in one hand. At first glance, he looked like a well-built human man.

However, his shoulders were broad, and his chest was thick. His neatly trimmed beard gave him a fearless impression.

He was tall, but he seemed to be a dwarf. He looked about forty years old.

The large dwarf man nimbly jumped over the reception counter with a speed that did not match his physique. His short hair flowed smoothly.

Then, when he reached the first-floor entrance, he put a hand on his waist and shouted arrogantly.

“It’s a cave-in! Everyone with free hands, come! Guild order!”

Apparently, the man was the guild master. He certainly had force and dignity.

Stocky dwarves came running from the lounge area with chairs and tables.

“I knew it!”

“That was pretty big!”

“Where is it!?”

The large dwarf man shouted in a voice that seemed like it would shake the building.

“A branch of Tunnel Eight! We’re going to the site now!”

Though taken aback, I asked him.

“Is there anything we can help with?”

“Humans? Is that one a healer? Good, come with us!”

Anxiety seeped into the man’s voice. It conveyed that this was an emergency.

Together with the gathered dwarves, we left the guild and broke into a run.