Revelation

No trouble occurred during the return to the capital.

By common sense, it was the consecutive outbreaks of incidents like before on a distance that barely took three days of hard riding that had been the weird part. I could guarantee that even random encounters in a game would get cursed at if they triggered at such intervals.

Anyway, upon safe return, the very first place I went was naturally the Ogatorf manor.

I explained the situation to Sir Ekaf, who had welcomed me warmly thinking I had just finished my business and come back, and as concisely as possible told him that I now had to head right back out to wipe out cultists, then watched for his reaction. A feigned fluster was what came back.

"I distinctly thought you would take a rest... you are quite ill-fated in that regard as well."

Fortunately, his reaction wasn't that I was spouting nonsense.

Perhaps because my track record of incidents committed while staying here was so spectacular, he not only accepted it far more compliantly than I'd imagined, but also showed consideration in letting me use the horse until the matter was settled.

Honestly, if a guy who just went out comes right back and says he's got a problem with demon worshippers and has to go back out to crack some heads, you'd normally start by suspecting the head of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠guy saying that first, but trust like this... Sir Ekaf was clearly a man of character.

"Now that I think of it, I was told there was a letter for you from the dwarf district. I had it placed in the room you use, so go check it."

"Thank you, Sir Ekaf. Then I shall take my leave first."

Finally! At long last! I knew it would be ready!

I left the drawing room while forcibly lowering the corners of my mouth that were rising, bolted straight to my room to check, and a letter in an extremely archaic script was waiting for me on the bed.

"Does dexterity even show in handwriting? That's really unexpected."

Sender Balkun. Recipient Eldmia Ega. I opened the envelope, which had only exactly that written on it, and checked the inside. The contents were an even more spectacular sight.

[It's ready. Come on by.]

A despair-inducing level of paper waste with exactly one line written. If something like a cell phone were invented and a messenger program created, dwarves would definitely be the race that used it most actively.

Well, it wasn't my money anyway, so it wasn't a particularly important issue. I just had to go get the item with a big grin on my face. I left the manor with a still-excited heart, and Sen and the others, who were still gawking at the manor from the garden with dazed faces, reacted first.

"Ah, Eldmia! Did the talk end well? Your expression looks good!"

"He understood without much fuss, so I think I just need to move. Big Sis? I think I need to visit the dwarf district for a bit. Could you take these guys and go to Ragnis first and ask for help?"

"The dwarf district?"

"Yeah. I ordered a new weapon last time, and a letter came just in time saying it was finished."

"You even custom-ordered from a dwarf? It must've been expensive?"

"I benefited in many ways thanks to building connections with the help of Mr. Gin whom I met last time."

Asilie must have taken it as me saying I had built solid connections, because she nodded contentedly, sending me a look of pride.

Leaving behind Asilie—who had formed that not-entirely-wrong assumption and was dragging Sen and the others away—I rode hard and arrived at the dwarf district, which was more crowded than ever.

"What, is only this part a goddamn flea market, why is it so packed?"

No joke, it was fucking packed. Balkun's workshop in particular was even more crowded than the rest. It hadn't been this bad last time, though. Was there some kind of event going on?

For now, I'd come to pick up a custom-ordered item, so I confidently chewed through the crowd and stepped inside. Several gazes began focusing on me. I lightly ignored the looks laden with many meanings—displeasure, puzzlement, annoyance—and approached the workshop side. Sure enough, an employee popped out and blocked my path.

"Excuse me! This area is... oh? You're back, customer?"

"Yes. I figured someone would come out if I did this, and it's you again."

The female employee, who had shown skilled business smiles and responses last time, gave a laugh as if amused at my reaction.

"Oh my. Looks like you made a reservation in advance this time?"

"A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠letter came saying the custom-ordered item was completed. May I go in?"

I said that and handed over the letter. The female employee glanced at just the envelope, nodded as if she understood, and stepped aside.

"You've come at a perfect time too. Balkun will be very pleased when you go in."

"It doesn't really seem like he'd be waiting for me that eagerly...?"

"Ahaha. That wasn't what I meant. A nuisance from a nearby library has come by and is causing a huge ruckus right now, and since he can't exactly refuse to deal with her, it's a pretty difficult situation."

"A nuisance?"

A nuisance from a library, she said. Judging just by the nuance, they were definitely a library official, but were they abusing their authority? I didn't think that kind of thing would work on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dwarves, and yet this was still a place where I witnessed one or two strange sights every time I came.

Maybe because she now had a good excuse to gossip a bit during a busy time, the female employee shook her head side to side and answered my query.

"The library director of Seneran Magic Library... she was quiet for a while, then suddenly showed up and is being a pest."

◈

The apprentices working in the smithy were nearly immune to ordinary noise and heat. Spend your whole life in a place filled with the sound of hammering iron from every direction and that came naturally. Lately, however, they had been forced to realize that this tolerance only extended to sounds they were used to.

Today was a day when that realization hit particularly hard.

"You sold it?!"

"I sold it! So I'm begging you, stop shouting! And stop disrupting other people's work!"

The one testing the vocal cords of Balkun, who rarely raised his voice if he could help it, was Seneran, the director of Seneran Magic Library, also called the Golden Mage. The reason no one stepped forward in a commotion that would've been more than enough to grab the scruff of anyone else's neck and throw them out was simple.

"Others?! Why am I an 'other'?! I invested! Anything related to the Magic-Armament Alloy research is my work too!"

It was because she was what you'd call a major backer and sponsor. But true to his dwarven nature, Balkun was the type who still said his piece.

"Are your actions right now only disrupting me?! Can't you see them working?! If you're going to talk, you could just lower your voice, so why do you keep yelling at the top of your lungs!"

"You're yelling too!"

"Because of you!!"

The noise echoed so much it was dizzying, so most of the apprentices had already let their hands drop, waiting for the two of them to fall into a deadlock. That insane mage must have done it deliberately, having cast soundproof magic over ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the entire smithy before starting. The question was, if she had that ability, why cast it over the smithy instead of just the space the two of them were talking in, but since mages as a race generally lacked common sense, it was irrelevant content by now anyway.

"Whoa. Oh fuck. It's a real mess the moment I walk in. Is it magic?"

Because everyone had been distracted by the two of them, the apprentices hadn't even noticed a customer entering and startled late at the voice with a flinch. Then the owner of the voice offered a sheepish smile and slightly bowed his head in greeting.

"Excuse me. I came to pick up an item from Balkun."

He was a truly tall young man. The moment the apprentices saw him, they immediately knew he was the owner of the item Balkun had been diligently making lately.

"Ah... he's over there. There is a prior visitor, but don't mind her. He'll actually be pleased."

The young man, having given thanks for the apprentices' answer, strode confidently into the storm of a fearsomely bloody verbal dispute.

While the apprentices were admiring that truly heroic sight, Balkun, who had been huffing and puffing, momentarily shifted his gaze, confirmed the visitor, and greeted him with an attitude completely different from just before.

"Ah! Eldmia, you're here! Hey! Customer's here, so go over there!"

"...Heek!"

Still, she wasn't entirely without a sense of propriety. At the word 'customer,' Seneran suppressed her resentment and stepped aside. Balkun looked at her with displeasure, then offered a handshake to the young man who approached.

"Seems some urgent business came up? I think I sent the letter about two days ago!"

"I was away for a bit visiting my hometown. You finished it faster than I'd expected."

"Just polishing up your idea a little was enough. Wait here. I'll go fetch it right away."

Laughing heartily in a way that made it hard to believe he'd been shouting moments ago, Balkun left his spot, returned soon after, and placed the item in his hands onto the table. Seneran looked at his behavior with displeasure, settled into a corner, and began expressing with her whole body that she was clearly sulking, but he didn't care in the slightest.

"One thick one. Nine thin ones. Check them out."

"They're far better than I thought. The size is just right, too."

As the young man looked over the items and showed a satisfied reaction, Balkun's laughter grew even louder.

"Even with my lousy throwing skill, they weren't bad at all! Feel free to try throwing one at that wooden wall over there!"

"Oh, really?"

"They'll get knocked around this way and that once you're carrying them into action anyway! I want to see how well my work flies in the hands of someone skilled!"

"...Then excuse me for a moment."

While their conversation continued, Seneran, who had been sitting in the corner with her arms crossed, staring elsewhere with a sulky expression as if demonstrating 'I am really pissed off,' stealthily shifted her gaze to the two of them. She was curious who the person was that Balkun treated so favorably, but also curious about the weapon he was making so confidently.

But that curiosity turned to rage the moment she saw the twisted needle-like weapon the man was holding. Seneran unconsciously drew up her Mana and shouted.

"Hey you senile old geezer! You, that's Magic-Armament Alloy...!"

-CRACK!

And then she just froze solid.

"...Huh?"

"Fucking hell, that startled me. Why'd you suddenly pull up Mana and throw a fit?"

She wasn't startled because a thick curse flew out of the mouth of the man who had been treating Balkun with a respectful attitude just moments ago. Nor was it because the needle he had clearly been examining this way and that in a normal grip suddenly flew at her as if shot from a bow. Even the fact that the needle flew faster than a crossbow bolt and grazed past the side of her head to embed in the wall wasn't the reason for her shock.

Only the fact that the man had just shot a needle made of Magic-Armament Alloy at her using Magic Power was making her freeze up in shock.

"Y-you! Ma, ma!"

An incident from a few days ago flashed through her mind as she nearly blurted out information that shouldn't be casually spoken aloud. The item the employee sold. The expressions used by the dazed employee when describing the buyer. And the young man before her eyes now.

"Ma what?"

"Music box!"

It was a situation where no one should normally be able to understand the conversation. But the man who had thrown the needle made an 'Ah' expression and understood her words.

"Its creator?"

And at that reaction, Seneran's dam of tears burst.