Deep Within The Mine

As Lord Glutton’s verbal abuse left the Dwarves demoralized, Gazeff—their leader—silently lamented his own powerlessness.

He was a seasoned warrior who had once sealed away the monsters slumbering within this mine alongside the former lord, Flugel, and now acted as the Dwarves’ de facto leader.

To him, Prim and the others were like family. Dwarves lived longer than humans, and after being entrusted with Flugel’s children and territory, Gazeff had raised Edward like a son and cherished Prim like a granddaughter.

Thanks to his efforts, even though Edward and Prim were nobles in Britannia—a land riddled with prejudice—they’d grown into upstanding people who treated the demi-human Dwarves without bias.

That was why, when Edward bowed his head and asked, “Please save my daughter,” Gazeff had accepted the unreasonable task of mining the Orichalcum buried deep within the mine.

Everyone had endured so much already. How could he ask them to push themselves even further…?

By nature, Dwarves were a free-spirited and hedonistic race who preferred to create what they wanted, sell it to those they deemed worthy, and use the profits to enjoy good food and drink.

Which is why they despised being forced into anything—like now. As these thoughts weighed on him, Gazeff felt someone’s gaze. Richard, was it? The young noble with powerful healing magic.

“What is it, kid? You expecting us to work ourselves to death in this situation?”

“No, I just heard Dwarves were scary when angry, but I guess that’s not true. If you were really mad, I figured you’d already be off killing Lord Glutton. But here you are sulking instead—honestly surprised me. You’re tamer than I expected, which is kind of a relief.”

““Wha…!?””

Gazeff and the others gasped in shock. What the hell is this guy saying…? Killing a noble was a grave crime. Surely no one would ever actually do that… would they?

But we are Dwarves. A race that values freedom and impulse. Why should we act like humans?

“Heh… heh heh heh…”

Gazeff suddenly burst into laughter, startling the Dwarf beside him. But that didn’t matter anymore.

Ah, I’d forgotten… That’s right. We’re Dwarves. We’re not human. Flugel never once told us to act like humans, did he?

“Well said, kid!! You’re right!! Why the hell should we hand everything we make over to that noble bastard!? It’s nonsense!! Let’s go kill him!!”

At Gazeff’s words, the surrounding Dwarves tensed for a moment—then grinned.

“Idiot! If we did that, Lord Edward and Lady Prim would be in trouble!!”

“Then what do you suggest!? Just let Lord Glutton keep screwing us over!?”

“No way!! That guy’s money has to run out sometime, right? Then let’s hurry up and get the Orichalcum, sell off all the ore, and bankrupt the bastard!! Hey kid, we owe you—start healing the tired ones!! We’re digging up everything!!”

“That’s it!! Let’s do this!!”

““““YEEAAAHHH!!””””

Revived by Arthur’s words, the Dwarves roared into action with unprecedented energy.

These Dwarves, who had become corporate drones, had been reminded of who they truly were. They weren’t here to follow human rules—they were here to surpass them.

“Thanks, kid… no, Richard. You reminded us what it means to be Dwarves. Somewhere along the way, we lost our fire. But we’re going to show you our strength now! Keep the healing coming!!”

“A-ah… okay…”

Without even waiting for Arthur’s full reply, Gazeff grabbed his tools and began digging.

Yeah, I know. No human noble would ever say “Why aren’t you out killing nobles?”—even as a joke. Anyone who actually meant it would just be an idiot.

He was just trying to light a fire under us.

Come to think of it, back when we fought the monsters in this mine, Flugel had taunted us too—“What, are Dwarves that cowardly?”—and it had pissed us off so much we decked him. Later we found out it was to fire us up, and it was honestly kind of embarrassing.

So this time, I’ll take the bait willingly.

Seeing a bit of his old friend in Arthur, Gazeff gave him a wry grin. Of course, Arthur was completely unaware of the trust behind that smile.

Driven by renewed passion, the Dwarves dug deeper and deeper into the mine. Whenever they tired, Arthur would immediately heal them, and the cycle of work resumed, accelerating their progress. Eventually, with a loud crash, the wall gave way, revealing an old tunnel from decades past.

A Dwarf holding the map shouted:

“Ohh! We’re close! According to the map, around here is where the monster cloaked in Orichalcum should be. We strip the Orichalcum from it. But listen—this tunnel’s old and unstable, so be careful!!”

“Right!!”

With Gazeff’s warning, the other Dwarves responded with a hearty cheer. Meanwhile, Arthur had a lingering question.

“You can get Orichalcum from a monster?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. There’s this creature covered head-to-toe in shining rainbow-colored Orichalcum. It’s gentle, has no combat ability—so don’t worry, it’s not dangerous.”

“Huh… I see.”

“…The real dangerous one should still be asleep, though.”

Arthur didn’t catch Gazeff’s quiet mutter. Now reassured of his safety, he wandered curiously through the narrow tunnels, studying the surrounding ore. One piece was pitch black—it reminded him of Kei’s hair.

If I made jewelry with this and gave it to her… would she be happy? He reached out, touching it.

“Arthur-sama!?”

“Huh? GGYAAAAAAHHHH!!”

Gawain, in a panic, instinctively shouted his real name—but it was already too late. The brittle ground, destabilized by Arthur’s touch, gave way, collapsing beneath him.