Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: The Truth Comes to Light
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“……So what do you plan to do now?”
In the forge.
Demir set down his hammer and looked up at me.
“I made it just as you asked, with all my effort…….”
It wasn’t just made. It was practically a machine.
A production machine for crafting weapons.
“You’ve done great work, Demir.”
I was genuinely impressed.
I wasn’t the only one.
Dagunar stood there with a dazed expression, intoxicated by the skill of his ancestor.
“All right.”
I clapped my hands.
“Now that we’re somewhat prepared, it’s time to join forces with the elves, don’t you think?”
From my experiments so far, gifting weapons to these dwarves.
They’d believe anything I said—even if I told them beans could make soybean paste.
Preparation was complete.
Like having all the base ingredients ready before the real cooking begins.
“Sun.”
I called out to Sun, who was behind me.
“Yes, my lord.”
“Tomorrow, right?”
“That’s correct.”
Sun, who was holding his spear upright, bowed his head slightly in response.
“Tomorrow, Eldrin said she’ll assemble the entire elven army at the front lines.”
Sun served as the messenger pigeon.
The only way to communicate with Eldrin in this place without phones or email.
“Oh? Finally gathering, are they?”
Demir’s eyes lit up with anticipation.
He must have been frustrated all this time.
With the Giant Dragon’s seal about to break soon, and no countermeasures beyond hammering away.
“Yes, now it’s time to get started.”
I planned to bring all the races of this world together in one place.
But Demir still seemed puzzled.
“Hmm, even if your popularity pierces the heavens, they’re different races…… Will the Rock Clan really gather at your command?”
“……”
Truth be told, I didn’t know.
Even with high favorability.
Whether they’d unite their strength at my word.
I couldn’t guarantee it.
But it didn’t matter.
There were definitely other ways to make it happen.
“……An existence from beyond the world?”
Demir pressed for an answer.
“Are you sure it’ll be okay? Time is really running out now.”
“Hmm, well. Time’s fine. Win or lose, it’ll all be decided tomorrow anyway.”
I continued calmly.
“There’s nothing left for you to do, Demir. Unless it’s helping reveal the truth?”
“……The truth, you say?”
“It’s been 500 years of built-up hatred and conflict. An enormous span. Elves and dwarves alike must be filled to the bone with enmity toward the other race.”
“……That’s true enough. Even I find it infuriating.”
“If there’s a way to reconcile them…… Well, only one comes to mind for me.”
“Hmm, and that’s revealing the truth?”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“We have to make it crystal clear. Just look at Dagunar—things changed once he knew the truth.”
I turned to glance at Dagunar.
He nodded gravely.
“Indeed. The truth is the greatest rebuttal to misunderstandings and slanders. The problem is…….”
He stroked his chin.
“As our ancestor said, the elves aside, how do we gather all the dwarves?”
“Exactly what I’ve been wondering.”
The dwarves chimed in agreement with Dagunar’s doubt.
“Hmm.”
I smiled faintly.
“Demir.”
“Hm?”
“How about a little bet?”
“A bet?”
Demir tilted his head, hammer dangling.
“Yeah. Tomorrow, whether all the dwarves gather or not. Winner gets one wish granted.”
Sure, Demir would soon be my summon.
But whether he’d fully obey me as one was another matter.
Even if he did.
There could be friction with Sun or the other summons.
Better to set this condition.
“Hmm?”
Demir wiggled his fingers.
“No loss for me. I’d sell my soul to the devil if it meant slaying that dragon.”
“Great. Deal.”
I plopped down cross-legged.
Now all that was left.
Was to wait leisurely.
No need to rush.
The bait was already cast through Eldrin.
‘War’s breaking out—think they’ll just sit still?’
I breathed slowly, reciting the passages of the Taecheong Heart Technique the old man had taught me.
* * *
How much time had passed?
The peaceful dwarf city went into alert.
The bait had finally gotten a bite.
“Elves! The elves are assembling at the front lines!”
“How many?”
“An unbelievable number! Tens of thousands! Too many to count in such a short time!”
“Crazy? Is that real?”
“The Queen…… Has the High Elf Queen lost her mind?”
News of the elves’ sudden massive assembly made the dwarves anxious.
“This is bad! Their forces are on a whole other level from before!”
“We need to gather too! Unite!”
“Where’s the Chairman? Where’s the Chairman!”
No matter how odd their movements.
No dwarf was more reliable than the Chairman.
The strongest dwarf in the world.
But.
The Chairman wasn’t there.
“No response from the Chairman! The Chairman’s gone!”
“What? W-What do you mean!”
“What do we do!”
“What do you mean? We gather by city and fight! We can’t just sit and take it!”
The councilors from each city demanded assembly.
“Let’s fight! You think those elves can beat us?”
“Right, we’ve got weapons!”
“Weapons?”
“Yeah, weapons! The ones Joo Dong-hoon made!”
Was this the power of 100 favorability?
The momentum naturally flowed toward me.
“If they have a Queen, we have Joo Dong-hoon!”
“Right! With Joo Dong-hoon, what’s there to fear!”
“Joo Dong-hoon! Joo Dong-hoon!”
Crisis breeds fear.
Fear seeks new heroes. New leaders.
“Then…… How about we temporarily appoint Joo Dong-hoon as Chairman?”
In the emergency meeting without a Chairman, one councilor spoke up.
“Hmm, he’s not our race.”
“So what? Has anyone wielded this much influence for our race before?”
“True! We just follow him until the Chairman returns, right?”
Emergency meeting result.
Unanimous councilor vote.
Agreed!
“Gather! Assemble!”
“Move to Titan!”
The dwarves rose with their hammers.
Thud, thud.
Stamping the rock, all dwarves headed toward the city Titan.
Councilors representing each city arrived at the forge, leading their forces.
Twelve councilors representing the Rock Clan.
All gathered before me.
Tens of thousands of troops were busily arraying outside the city.
“Hmm…….”
Demir muttered in astonishment.
“Impressive. I didn’t realize your influence was this great.”
“I expected it, but even I didn’t think it’d be to this extent.”
I grinned.
Bet won.
The wish ticket would come in handy sometime.
Clang!
The twelve councilors knelt on one knee before me.
The sight was incredibly majestic.
“Joo Dong-hoon!”
“Yes, speak.”
“As you know, our race is in crisis! We believe only you can lead us. Can you help, even temporarily?”
“Help…… What’s the reward?”
A true gentleman doesn’t help without gain.
No hypocrisy.
Grabbing what you can when you can is a virtue.
“Looks like you’ve got a keen interest in that mine! We’ll hand over all the ore piled up there! And it’s such a vast amount you couldn’t carry it alone, so our clan will help transport it!”
“Deal, sounds good.”
Those guys.
As expected of 100 favorability—they know me too well.
“From now on, I’m your temporary Chairman.”
“Woooaaah!”
The councilors roared.
Their roars echoed, and all the dwarves outside the city cheered.
“Joo Dong-hoon! Joo Dong-hoon’s joined us!”
“The mysterious race fights with us!”
The massive army shouting together was a spectacular sight.
And so.
I easily became the Rock Clan’s temporary Chairman.
* * *
Rumble!
The dwarf forces stretched out in a straight line, forming ranks.
Half the power of this world.
They advanced toward the forest like a tidal wave.
But.
Despite their immense momentum, they soon had to halt their advance.
“Elves!”
“Damn elves have formed ranks! Pull back!”
“We could get hit by stray arrows! Raise shields!”
Because countless elves were arrayed across the forest lines.
Elves specialized in ranged combat, so proper precautions were needed to fight them.
“Huh?”
“……?”
But they soon noticed something odd.
The elves, who should have been brimming with hostility, were silent.
And those elves.
Drip, drip.
Were all shedding tears.
Not tears of sorrow.
Tears of rage.
What?
Question marks floated over the faces of the tens of thousands of dwarves.
“Why are they doing that?”
“Hmm, some kind of ritual? The forest folk have always used rituals for sorcery.”
“Looks like they’re just crying, though?”
Yes, that was enough.
Doubt instead of blind rage.
They were ready to accept the truth.
“Indeed…… Eldrin. In that short time, she’s already told all the elves the truth?”
Demir marveled.
“Come on, Demir.”
“……You called?”
“Everything’s set now.”
“It’s real. In less than a week, you gathered them all.”
“Yeah, well. Didn’t really do much, but it worked out.”
I really hadn’t done anything.
Raised favorability to 100.
Instilled crisis through Eldrin. That’s it.
“Now, it’s time for you to go.”
“To reveal the truth?”
“Yes, now the Rock Clan needs to know too. The truth hidden for 500 years.”
Before the doubting dwarves.
Thud.
I stepped forward with Demir.
The end was truly in sight.
* * *
- Hello.
- Rock Clan, and forest folk.
- I am Joo Dong-hoon, your temporary Chairman.
Through Demir’s scroll, the ‘Amplification’ (A-rank) skill, my voice boomed across the field.
“J-Joo Dong-hoon?”
“It’s the Chairman! Temporary Chairman!”
“The temporary Chairman’s about to issue attack orders! Prepare!”
The dwarves cheered excitedly at my voice.
Geez, really. These guys.
Like me way too much……?
But from here on, it’d be shocking.
- Unfortunately, what I’m about to say isn’t an order to attack the elves.
- It’s the truth: 500 years of history riddled with lies, incitement, and fabrications.
- Your enemy was never the elves to begin with.
My voice flowed softly across the front lines.
Naturally, murmurs began in the dwarf ranks.
“What’s that supposed to mean, temporary Chairman?”
“The elves aren’t the enemy?”
“Is he crazy? Joo Dong-hoon’s lost it!”
“Let’s hear him out first! It’s Joo Dong-hoon speaking!”
This was the power of 100 favorability.
Telling them elves weren’t enemies was like saying beans make soybean paste.
I continued bombarding them with facts.
- Do you know the history of Eldrin and Demir?
- The true identities of Serphin, the former High Elf Queen, and Volcanus, the former Chairman?
From the story of the two forgotten heroes.
To the Giant Dragon’s 500-year scheme of sowing discord between the races under its seal.
I told them everything.
Naturally, the dwarves didn’t believe it.
Murmur, murmur.
To those raised from childhood believing elves were the archenemy, my words were dangerous in themselves.
“W-What……!”
“Even if it’s Joo Dong-hoon, we can’t slander our Chairman who fought alongside us for 500 years!”
“Too sudden to believe.”
“Maybe he’s an elf puppet!”
I nodded.
‘Knew it.’
Never expected easy persuasion.
“Demir.”
I called Demir.
“And Eldrin.”
Eldrin approached from the elven lines.
One way to show them the truth.
Seeing is believing.
Better than a hundred words.
“Can you summon the Giant Dragon here?”
If they don’t believe?
Show them proof.
The Chairman’s true form.
“Indeed, such a method……!”
Demir marveled.
“We could show the dragon and take it out in one go!”
Eldrin nodded too.
“Not hard. It’s a physical seal. Just move the arrow, and it’ll have no choice but to follow.”
Good.
Now all that remained.
Was to slay the dragon.
‘Slay that, and maybe I’ll get a Dragon Slayer achievement?’
I felt a thrill for no reason.
Even if it was a cheat.
No one else in the world would have faced a dragon.