Dwarves at the Forge and a Bandit Leader's Deal
A brightly opened Warp Gate spewed out more than a dozen human figures.
Dwarves with short legs and broad shoulders stepped out in a wave.
They were the dwarf tribe.
Jin Chen looked at them and asked.
“What now? Who are you?”
The dwarves’ eyes turned toward Jin Chen all at once.
Dudududu!
They dashed over, legs pumping fast.
Then they bowed deeply and shouted.
“We have come to express our gratitude to the Benefactor.”
“I didn’t do anything. You’re thanking Geunyuk-i.”
“I heard that the Fortress Master sent me.”
“That’s true.”
“We were waiting for you to come ourselves, but even my friend stopped answering suddenly, so I had no choice.”
Jin Chen slowly scanned the dwarves.
Their faces looked familiar, so it must be the whole tribe that came to build the fortress.
“Got it. Thanks for the greeting, now scram.”
“Huh?”
“You’re thanking me, so get lost.”
“A-ah, that’s….”
The dwarf chieftain Wolfgang showed a bewildered face.
“Why? You want revenge too?”
Jin Chen’s blunt words made Wolfgang stiffen.
He slowly lifted his bowed head and looked straight at Jin Chen.
“If you allow it, can you teach us?”
“I could… but there’s no reason to.”
“How should we do it?”
“I don’t really want anything in particular.”
Wolfgang knelt on one knee, as if he had made up his mind.
He bowed deeply and said.
“Please teach us. If you demand my life, I will give it.”
“That means you heard something. Who? Geunyuk-i? Or Jeombaki?”
“N-no, it’s not me!”
“I’m not either!”
Geunyuk-i and Jeombaki, hiding in the back, panicked and waved their hands.
“You two talk later. Tell me who you are.”
“Lord Sybel told me. If you are the Fortress Master, you can help us gain strength.”
“That Sybel keeps slacking off on me.”
Jin Chen’s words made Wolfgang shudder.
He was afraid Sybel would get angry.
“Lord Sybel just said it casually.”
“Sybel is scary. I’m not scared. Right?”
“N-no. We could never do anything to those who trouble the great beings.”
“So that’s why you bowed to me, a human who betrayed his own kind?”
He had heard the story from Geunyuk-i.
Why the dwarves were wiped out so easily.
Wolfgang clenched his fist hard.
“I don’t think that.”
“Why?”
“Because I serve my friend.”
“So you’ll cling to me no matter what?”
“Please consider us as people who have found a place to rely on.”
“You? Or the whole Red Anvil dwarf tribe?”
Jin Chen’s question made Wolfgang take a deep breath before speaking again.
“Just us. The tribe doesn’t matter.”
“What can you do with just a handful of you?”
“…In the human world we are expensive slaves traded for our skill. That’s why.”
He openly admitted his shameful past.
“If you help us take revenge, we will use our skill for you, Fortress Master, for the rest of our lives.”
The desperation was plain on everyone’s faces.
Not just Wolfgang’s.
Jin Chen stared at them quietly and shook his head.
“Too troublesome.”
“Fortress Master! If you have something else in mind….”
“You want a fight with me?”
“Yes, yes, that’s right.”
“The next best axe fighter after me is that guy.”
Jin Chen pointed at Geunyuk-i with his chin.
The dwarves’ eyes turned to Geunyuk-i.
Geunyuk-i smiled brightly and flexed his muscles.
“I can swing an axe really well. My muscles are bigger than Chaeju Hyung’s.”
“I-is that so?”
“Yeah!”
Geunyuk-i kept smiling and boasting about his muscles.
Wolfgang looked at Jin Chen again with a worried face.
“Teach me from that guy.”
“W-what? To my friend?”
“Yeah. That guy may look dumb, but he knows some martial arts. You’ll be fine.”
“That’s too much, but can you really teach me yourself, Fortress Master?”
Jin Chen drank some liquor and said.
“Let’s do it properly.”
“Huh?”
“I have people I need to pay back, and you have my friend Geunyuk-i.”
Wolfgang let out a sigh.
It seemed too different from what he expected.
“Let me warn you… if you show me that face one more time, even if your whole tribe is wiped out, I won’t send anyone. Got it?”
The anger in Jin Chen’s voice made Wolfgang lower his head, realizing his mistake.
“We have committed a great offense.”
“This one time only. Remember it well. There won’t be a next time.”
“We will remember.”
The chieftain of a tribe bowed without hesitation.
None of the dwarves felt ashamed or humiliated.
The same went for the elves watching from the side.
No pity or looks of contempt.
Instead, more envious eyes were there.
If they had come like this from the start, they could have received more teachings.
With that regret in mind.
Jin Chen lowered his cup and said.
“So it’s resolved now?”
“Yes, Fortress Master.”
“Good. Then let’s talk about business.”
“Huh? B-business? What kind of….”
“First, everyone sit down. Oh, I’m not the boss here.”
Jin Chen looked at Aria, who smiled and stood up.
“It’s been a while, Chieftain.”
“I see. I heard the story from my friend. What should I say….”
“You don’t need to say that. You said you’d come, right? For sure.”
Aria looked at Jin Chen as she said that.
Wolfgang’s face showed surprise.
But a moment later Aria spoke again.
“Everyone, sit down. There’s plenty of food.”
“Thank you.”
With Aria’s permission the dwarves rushed to the table.
They stared wide-eyed at the food on the table.
“T-the food is really a lot.”
“All of it was brought by those people over there.”
Wolfgang looked at the bandits around Jin Chen and his eyes shone.
It must have been brought because the Fortress Master is here.
At that moment a voice rang in his ears.
“Here, take this. I brought it secretly from Old Man Jang.”
He turned his head to see Geunyuk-i handing a sharp hand axe to a female elf.
No way… it can’t be.
When he thought that, another familiar voice spoke again.
“Ahem, take this. I stayed up several nights thinking of you. I enchanted six magic spells on it to protect your safety….”
It was Jeombaki handing a large magic-stone necklace to a female elf.
W-what?
The denial was turning to positive when a voice cut in.
“Eat this too.”
Wolfgang saw Aria handing food to Jin Chen and his eyes bulged.
This is not the time!
Wolfgang stood up abruptly.
But soon his shoulders slumped.
Among elves and dwarves, who do humans prefer aesthetically?
The answer had already been decided.
Obviously elves.
Even if the whole tribe went back and brought every beautiful woman, they would look like fireflies in front of elves.
Of course, by their own standards their women were much prettier than elves.
But because the standard was human, they had no choice but to accept the result.
Even a dragon wouldn’t help.
When Wolfgang smiled bitterly, Jin Chen spoke to him.
“Come on! Let’s talk about business?”
“Y-yes!”
“Bandits without customers can’t make steady income.”
Customers? Ah! The target for the plunder!
Wolfgang understood and wiped his bitter smile.
“Somehow I managed to bring one merchant from the guild. I even made a deal with Sybel.”
Wolfgang’s eyes started to shine brighter.
“Yes! Please speak!”
“I heard from Geunyuk-i that the people we traded with stabbed us in the back.”
“That’s right!”
“Then how will we trade from now on?”
“I’ll leave it entirely to the Fortress Master!”
“Whoa, that makes sense.”
“Thank you for explaining it so clearly, Fortress Master!”
The other dwarves looked at Wolfgang in surprise.
They didn’t know. I will save our tribe no matter what!
A human who makes even dragons back down.
Trading with such a human?
Everything would be solved.
Maintaining relations and the tribe itself.
And… revenge on the humans who betrayed us.
Wolfgang clenched his fist with cold eyes.
Jin Chen smiled strangely.
“What’s wrong?”
“What are you talking about?”
“As much as you heard… we do things our way.”
“…Fortress Master.”
“So remember this clearly. We always return what we receive. Ah! Exclude the customers.”
He never thought a day would come when bandits felt this solid.
Wolfgang lowered his head toward Jin Chen, thinking he had lived a long time today.
“I will do my best to pay back double.”
“You don’t have to accept too much stuff. Instead, get double or triple for the backstabbing.”
Jin Chen’s words shattered Wolfgang’s hardened heart in one blow.
“…Thank you very much.”
“Me too.”
A short sentence, but steadier than any other.
Wolfgang finally smiled brightly for the first time after the tragedy.
Jin Chen smiled gently and tried to pour him a drink.
Suddenly someone appeared in the central square.
Jin Chen, who had already sensed the mana flow, narrowed his brows.
“What kind of day is today?”
Before the words ended, Sybel appeared.
He looked at Jin Chen and said.
“I found them.”
When Jin Chen smiled, Sybel continued.
“Their location.”