127 — Clock (3)

“Urgh.”

He got up from the ground, grimacing from the pain where Rurin had kicked him.

“Why, why does the back of my neck hurt so much?”

“Hello.”

When I greeted him, the dwarf alternated looking between Rurin and me, finally realizing the presence of strangers, and flinched with a surprised expression.

“Humans! What are humans doing here? Get out immediately!”

The dwarf’s face turned red as he waved his arms. He had a look that suggested he didn’t want any contact at all.

Is this what the chief meant by saying he’d be difficult to deal with?

“We came with a request. We mean no harm, but we’d like to talk for a moment…”

“Get out immediately!”

The dwarf now picked up a jar of liquor from the ground, ready to throw it.

Then Rurin stepped in front of me and immobilized the dwarf in mid-air.

“How dare you flap that insignificant mouth of yours! You little runt! And besides, I am not a mere human!”

As she glared at him in that state, the dwarf’s face turned pale, sensing her fearsome aura.

I could have stopped her if I wanted to, but I let it be. Since talking wasn’t working, it was easier to let Rurin handle this.

At least now we could talk. A dwarf ignoring such a great being was out of the question.

---

Cough cough cough.

The dwarf began drinking the dried pollock soup, glancing at Rurin every ten seconds.

He started choking, so I had to pat his back. It was exhausting.

“I-I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Great One.”

“Hmph, as long as you understand. Now, listen to El carefully!”

Rurin finally returned to her observer mode, looking at us from a distance while resting her chin on her hand. The dwarf looked at me with trembling eyes.

“You, you’re human?”

“Yes, I’m human. But more importantly, how’s the soup? Does it make you feel better?”

When I changed the subject, the dwarf looked at the soup he was drinking.

“Now that you mention it, it does seem that way.”

“You can speak comfortably with me. I heard you’re over 200 years old. You don’t seem familiar with the human language, so speak however you like. Just show respect to that dragon over there.”

“Is that so?”

The dwarf drank all the soup again.

Slurp.

The sound echoed. It was like gulping down a bowl of rice wine.

“But do you hate humans? You told me to get lost.”

“Yes! I hate humans.”

This dwarf is also clumsy with human language.

As long as we can communicate, it doesn’t matter. Maybe the chief said he was difficult because he hates humans indiscriminately.

But I did ask him to introduce the most skilled person regardless of such matters.

“Can you tell me why you hate humans?”

“Because humans killed my son.”

“Is that true?”

“How could I like the species of my enemy?”

Killed his son.

“Can you tell me more about it?”

“No. That is… Ugh.”

As soon as he said no, Rurin’s fearsome aura could be felt. Her expressionless face itself signaled displeasure.

Rurin’s sensibility is that she can’t tolerate anyone being rude to me.

“Before the last war, my son went to a human village. But they used him as a shield and killed him! When I went to find him, only his corpse remained, and there wasn’t a single villager. Only my son was dead!”

“That happened to you?”

“My son, my son went to that village with good intentions to teach them skills, but they! They!”

“Calm down for a moment. So you’ve been drinking ever since?”

“Yes. I couldn’t do anything. Not even revenge. This old body couldn’t confront humans. Nothing.”

The dwarf looked around. He seemed to be searching for more liquor.

“What’s the name of that village?”

“Why do you ask?”

The dwarf asked as he went to the kitchen. But soon, perhaps because of Rurin, he readily uttered the name of the village.

---

“Rurin.”

“You! Are you done?”

After hearing the village name, I told the dwarf we’d go back for now. I didn’t want to force him into the job by using a dragon.

If the village incident is as the dwarf knows it, it’s something to give up on.

But if not, that’s different.

Rurin, resting her chin on her hand with a bored expression, approached me as soon as I called and stood in front of me.

Then she held her hand out.

It meant she wanted to hold hands and go if we were done.

But there’s something to investigate. We need to go back to the dwarf village. I need to ask the chief about various things.

And Rurin…

“Rurin, do you remember the magic tower in the capital’s Palace?”

“There?”

“Yes. Go there.”

“Go? Alone?”

“Yes.”

“And you?”

“I’ll go to the dwarf village. It’s better to split tasks for faster information gathering.”

“I absolutely don’t want that!”

Rurin shook her head. It’s a firm refusal, but it actually reassures me.

I really am a strange guy.

I guess I’m still shocked from when she ignored me and disappeared last time.

“Don’t want to?”

Nod nod.

Don’t give me that merciless look, Dragon.

“Go quickly, and tell Medlinne to find out which city the village called Roden is in. Threaten to eat her if she doesn’t.”

“I-I wouldn’t eat something like that! It tastes bad!”

“Threaten, just threaten. It’d be a big deal if you actually ate her. Then come straight back to the dwarf village. This way, we can quickly find and move to Roden village. How efficient is that?”

Of course, sending her alone is a bit worrisome, but Medlinne knows Rurin’s identity, so she should handle it well. There shouldn’t be any problems.

I hugged Rurin, who refused to go alone, and pulled her closer.

“Please, Rurin. If you go, I’ll give you a kiss.”

Gently stroking her hair, I placed my finger on her lips. Her lips felt warm and soft against my finger. Rurin didn’t do anything, just enjoyed the feeling, then nodded.

“In that case! I’ll be back soon!”

And then she disappeared.

I also headed towards the dwarf village.

---

And the next day.

I went back to the house of Randol, the dwarf, who was still drinking. This dwarf, in his late 200s, was still drowning in liquor.

I had gathered all the information the day before and yesterday. I returned here because I found out through my investigation that Randol’s hatred for humans was significantly misplaced.

“Hello.”

“You, you came back again! No matter what, I stopped working a long time ago. Just kill me.”

“No, it’s not about that. Could you come with me for a moment?”

“What are you talking about?”

“For your son’s honor, please come with me.”

“My son’s honor?”

While the dwarf was puzzled, I hugged Rurin and grabbed the dwarf too.

And the world turned dark.

We arrived at Roden village by teleport. The dwarf immediately recognized it and his face wrinkled with anger.

But soon, the villagers came out in a rush. It wasn’t so long ago that everyone in the village still remembered.

Except for those who were children at the time.

“Benefactor, are you the father of our benefactor!”

The white-haired village chief knelt before Randol. Randol, who had been glaring at the villagers as if they were his enemies, now looked at me in confusion due to their actions.

“What is this…?”

“Chief, please explain.”

“It’s okay if you think of us as enemies. But, but…! Your son, Ranvi, did not die disgracefully, betrayed and brutally killed by us. Never…”

The chief, while speaking, almost started to cry.

“What do you mean? You… you all ran away and just left Ranvi behind…!”

“No!”

The chief cried out loudly.

“He was very fond of our villagers. We made crafts with his skills and sold them in the city. Ranvi settled in this village all because of a girl named Serinbi.”

“Serinbi…?”

“After the war started, Ranvi began creating an underground hiding place in case of emergencies. When monsters attacked the village, he led Serinbi and the villagers into the shelter and went out to lure the monsters away.”

“And you expect me to believe that now!”

“It’s true, sir, the father of our benefactor.”

The chief bowed his head again, and all the villagers bowed too.

“They say your son went out alone to save the villagers because he was the only one who could fight. Of course, three men from the village who helped Ranvi also died. In a desperate situation, his sacrifice was his only choice…

Your son did not die betrayed but as a hero to protect those he considered precious.
After that, to prevent another war from revenge, the chief held you back, and you lived your years drenched in liquor… It shouldn’t have ended up like this.“

“No. No, I can’t believe such words… but…”

A death as a hero.

A life lost while protecting others.

Compared to being betrayed and meeting a tragic end, this is a world of difference.

Of course, from a parent’s perspective, it’s still the same death. But the target of his resentment was mistaken.

“Chief.”

I called the village chief again. He nodded.

“Serinbi!”

“Chief… and Father!”

Serinbi knelt before Randol. With the passing years, her face was wrinkled. Beside her, she made a boy kneel.

A half-human, half-dwarf boy.

Serinbi, being short herself, made the boy look just like a dwarf.

“C-could it be?”

Seeing his son’s face in the boy’s, Randol was left with a dazed expression.

---

Decades of misunderstanding.

And the truth.

A dwarf who showed self-sacrifice for the child in the womb at that time. It was, in fact, a natural paternal love. That was the hidden truth. Paternal love resonated more with Randol than heroic deeds.

“Thank you. I never planned to visit that village again. I feared I might want to kill everyone. If such a mad dwarf appeared, it would tarnish all dwarves’ honor. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t. So I’m relieved.”

Back at home, Randol bowed his head before me.

“They told me not to live alone and to come to the village. They asked me to teach my skills to my grandson. Yes, I will. I will teach him everything I know. Everything.”

Randol said this, gritting his teeth. His voice carried self-reproach and resentment for the years lost in liquor.

“But before that, I will repay your kindness. We dwarves never forget a debt of gratitude.”

Randol raised his head and said.

“Thank you.”

“So, what is it that you want to request?”

I snapped my fingers. The portal of summoning opened. And I presented the grandfather clock to the dwarf.