Dwarven Village (2)

Dragons are creatures full of pride and arrogance, but they don’t lie. There’s no need for them to. Of course, if they need to, they do, like Rurin.

Anyway, if what that dragon says is true, it’s troublesome. The lair needs to be built within a year to satisfy the Elder to ensure the restaurant’s peace.

Sending Rurin back is against my pride. But going to war with the entire Black Dragon clan is overboard.

Of course, it’s not impossible if we’re prepared to die.

But all we need to do is build the lair, so there’s no need to take unnecessary risks.

Therefore, the help of dwarves is essential and irreplaceable.

I looked at the Red Dragon with a perplexed face and asked a question.

“You didn’t wipe them out yourself?”

“No! Why would I lie? It’s really not me! Don’t look at me like that! I really didn’t do it! I hate that magic! I want to live out my life and die in my sleep! So, I hate you, human!”

Judging by the reaction, it doesn’t seem like a lie.

But could they have all really died?

There must be survivors, right?

Since we’ve come this far, we need to see the situation with our own eyes. First, we need to go directly to the Miliorrek Mountains.

“Is that so? Alright, then step aside, we’ll pass peacefully. Oh, and if you interfere, I won’t let it slide. Consider yourself warned.”

“Y-yeah. Am I crazy? I’d love to have you as a subordinate, but what can I do against an unbeatable opponent? So hurry up and leave, you extraordinary human! And take that stupid Black with you.”

The Red Dragon pointed at Rurin. Knowing her personality, there’s no way she’d take that provocation lying down, so a second round of argument ensues.

“What? You old Red, what nonsense are you spouting! Be grateful I’m sparing you!”

“What? I’m still in my prime. Look at you, a mere fledgling with barely any down feathers!”

Red and Black. Rurin and the Red Dragon exchanged sparks with their gazes. If left alone, they’ll fight all day.

Sigh.

“Red Dragon? Want to disappear or fight again?”

“I was leaving, but she started it! Ugh! So unfair! Two against one! Argh! I’m so angry!”

“So what?”

“Ughhhh!”

The Red Dragon, sensing my magic, whimpered and ran off toward her lair.

As they say, blood is thicker than water. If two dragons are fighting, Rurin comes first. Even if three dragons are fighting, Rurin comes first.

Even if there are a bunch of dragons, Rurin always comes first.

“Stupid Red. Hehehe.”

Feeling pleased, Rurin rubbed her cheek against my arm just below my shoulder.

“Can’t you hold back sometimes? Seriously.”

“I don’t know! Reds are the enemy!”

“You never know, do you? Never. Anyway, that’s not important. Let’s go down from here. Follow me.”

“Got it!”

We walked diligently, leaving the dragon’s territory and entering a regular forest. As we kept walking through the forest, it eventually disappeared, revealing an open area.

Below the mountain is a plain, and at the western end of that plain is our destination, the Miliorrek Mountains.

If we can see the mountain range, the hard part is over.

“Rurin, let’s teleport to the front peak of that visible mountain range.”

Rurin can teleport to places she has seen directly.

That’s Rurin’s teleportation, a characteristic of dragons’ teleportation.

“Over there?”

The place Rurin pointed to. I nodded, and she nodded back, indicating it was possible.

Then she spread her arms.

“Hehehe.”

She looked at me and laughed like a lecherous old man. I had no choice but to step into her open arms.

“Teleporting is tiring, but it has its perks! Hehe.”

With Rurin’s words, darkness immediately covered my vision. In the pitch-black, all I could feel was the softness of Rurin in my embrace.

When I came to my senses, we were standing on a rock. The surrounding peaks brought a sense of reality to the view.

“Let’s see, various documents mentioned that there is a dwarf mine near this peak.”

“Why are those shorties so hard to find!”

“Wouldn’t it be harder if they were wiped out? This is all for your lair. Lead the way.”

Crossing the ridge, a well-maintained mountain path stretched northward. In the distance, a basin appeared. The well-maintained path itself was clearly the work of dwarves. But as the Red Dragon said, there seemed to be no living dwarves.

At the end of the basin, a mine was visible, but its entrance was covered by a large pile of rocks.

It seemed the rocks were the remnants of the destroyed peaks scattered around. The peaks had been destroyed, and the rocks had fallen into the basin and mine, putting the dwarves at risk of extinction.

The destruction of the peaks seemed to be the aftermath of the Dragon War, as the Red Dragon mentioned.

“Sigh…”

Not just the mine, but the basin was also full of rocks. The village’s shape was there, but it was devastated by the rocks. It looked like it had been hit by dozens of meteors.

“This is really troublesome.”

“Where are the dwarves!”

Rurin also looked distressed.

“Maybe they’re hiding in the mine? Should I melt all the rocks in front of the mine? One blast of my breath should do it. Although I’m too hungry to muster the strength right now…”

No matter how much dwarves are a race of the earth, they wouldn’t hide in a mine with a blocked entrance. They’d starve to death. Food supply is impossible. So, are they really extinct?

That’s troubling.

“It’s true that we’re hungry, so let’s have a snack first. Come here.”

We sat down on a nearby rock. I patted the spot next to me, but Rurin came in front of me, turned around, and sat between my legs, leaning her back against my chest.

It felt like I was giving Rurin a back hug.

“I told you to sit next to me, why this strange position, Dragon?”

“Hehe, you’re my backrest! Stay still.”

“Is that so?”

Sitting in a position perfect for attacking her temples, I immediately went for it.

“Ouch! It hurts!”

Rurin immediately made a distressed face and started squirming around. Yet, she didn’t leave my embrace.

“Say it again, who’s a backrest?”

“Not a backrest. I just like being close! That’s why. You’re mean…”

Rurin turned to look up at me, pouting. Annoyed, I poked her puffy cheek with the jerky I brought for moments like this.

“What’s this? It smells like meat!”

“Yes, it’s meat, your favorite. Meat.”

I put it in her open mouth, and she started chewing reflexively. Beef jerky is perfect for emergency rations. I gave one to Rurin, ate one myself, and the cycle began.

“Oh, dried meat, it’s delicious. I wish we had some beer too!”

“A dragon who knows the taste of beer is quite something.”

She chewed the jerky happily and kept extending her palm for more. Automatically, I placed one in her hand, which she immediately brought to her mouth and chewed. After a while, she suddenly asked seriously about the importance of her lair.

“But what if there are no dwarves?”

“Don’t worry. Even if there are no dwarves, I’ll make the lair somehow.”

“I’m not worried. You’ve fulfilled all my wishes.”

Holding the half-chewed jerky, Rurin muttered and turned her head forward again, leaning her head back against my chest.

“Right.”

I answered quietly and stroked her black hair. This black hair is very precious, like a soothing reminder of my hometown.

“Aaaah!”

As we were enjoying the peace, Rurin’s eyebrows twitched at the sound of a scream.

“S-save me!”

A dwarf appeared before us. Short legs and a broad body. The dwarf we had been searching for.

But the dwarf that appeared was pale and had chains on both hands.

How should I put it, he looked like a runaway. A fugitive.

To make matters worse, an army of orcs appeared around the dwarf. As if he was a real fugitive.

“Dwarf?”

“Human? Why is a human here?”

When I spoke to the dwarf, he opened his mouth with a suspicious look. A very urgent expression.

“Weren’t the Miliorrek dwarves wiped out?”

Thanks to that conversation, the orc army began to surround not only the dwarf but us as well.

But actually, that was a death sentence for the orcs.

The dwarves and orcs appearing from the upper basin had interrupted Rurin’s meal.

“Yes. A great crisis came upon us dwarves. But some of us survived.”

“Is that true?”

“Yes. We dwarves survived. But all the survivors were captured. We were outnumbered and lost to the orcs. Anyway, run away, human!”

The destruction of the mountain range due to the Dragon War. The catastrophic fissures in the peaks. So, in addition to the village being destroyed and their kin dying, the surviving dwarves were captured by orcs who fled the human-monster war, unrelated to the Dragon War.

But why would orcs capture dwarves instead of killing them?

Orcs are generally a stupid race, but they have the knack for forming armies and fighting. Sometimes, intelligent orcs lead the group.

Now that I think about it, the orcs’ armor and weapons were quite sophisticated. No way they were made by orcs.

If the remaining dwarves are being forced to make weapons somewhere in this mountain range, it means there are enough left to help build the lair, which is good news for me.

That Red Dragon, to whom those dwarves are supposed to pay tribute, just took a quick glance and declared them extinct because the village was devastated!

I don’t understand why dragons are so lazy. Is it because they live for so long?

Anyway, the orcs formed a perfect encirclement and howled.

The dwarf tried his best to escape but, finding no way out, sat down on the ground in despair.

“Hissss!”

“What did they say, Rurin?”

“Running means death. Something like that?”

“I see.”

“Yes. Pathetic.”

Rurin, annoyed by the orcs’ appearance, raised her eyebrows as she answered, chewing her jerky.