Chapter 27
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: The Dwarven Princess
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Brillan hesitated.
Of course, he had to take down the naked human standing before him. The order he had received was absolute, and this human's appearance proved that the order had been correct.
‘But can I stop this guy?’ The human had dropped a mid-sized monster with just two sword strokes in the blink of an eye. Impossible.
The stench of aura pouring from that bare body was more intense than any monster he had ever faced.
[There is no rock that the pickaxe of Harac Bar cannot break.]
‘To think of a proverb like that right now...’ With no other choice, he chuckled and glanced to the side. Strandugl was laughing too.
‘Same thoughts, Strandugl.’ ‘Isn’t it time for us to step up, Brillan?’ Brillan and Strandugl’s gazes intertwined wordlessly. They had always been at the vanguard. The belief that they could do it together erased their doubts.
Tomahawks with twin blades spread wide open on both sides. A mace with sharp spikes radiating outward. The weapons of the pair who had felled countless monsters with pincer attacks now targeted Dane.
As the two stepped forward side by side, cheers from their comrades supported them from behind.
“Someone uttered Tuparak’s name—we have to cut him down now!”
“Don’t waver! There’s only one opponent!”
“He’s just naked!”
“Don’t give him any gaps—gang up on him!”
At the shouts, Brillan sprang forward first.
-Whooosh!
The razor-sharp tomahawk scattered brilliant light as it carved a wide arc toward the human’s waist. All his honed skill poured into that single blow.
-Shweek!
Strandugl kicked off Brillan’s shoulder and smashed his mace down toward the human’s head. The power surging through his body erupted downward.
The two moved as one. An assault unfolding simultaneously from impossible angles.
Right into it, the human propelled himself forward on his own two feet.
-Thud! Thud!
That was how Brillan and Strandugl lost consciousness.
* * *
‘Their pincer attack is high-level.’ As the slashing and smashing force came pouring in, Dane thought.
‘But they’re too short.’
He was the one who had desperately learned the importance of reach while facing Krekator.
No need to deploy his tongue. Before their weapons could touch him, he bashed them first with the flat of his cleaver.
“Ugh!”
“Kraaak!”
As the pair collapsed, eight more pincer attacks followed.
-Thud, thud, thud...
As requested, he didn’t kill them.
‘Right. This is a knife for eating, after all.’ The cleaver’s broad side was efficient for bashing. Already adapted to monster strength, every blow from Dane landed heavy.
In a flash, all ten were sprawled on the ground. Without even knowing what had hit them.
“?!”
“......”
In the silence, Dane approached the client once more. At his fearless stride, the dwarves flanking her raised their weapons warily.
Even after receiving his aid, they had no choice. Strength that far surpassed common sense was pure terror.
“Don’t come any closer, baldy!”
“Uralen-sama! Cover your eyes!”
Dane cocked his head at the dwarves’ cries.
‘Uralen? Wasn’t it Tuparak...’ Then what about those odd expressions when he’d said the name earlier? They hadn’t seemed clueless—and the masked ones were no different.
While Dane puzzled it out, the woman called Uralen gestured to hold back her comrades.
“We should be expressing our gratitude, not raising weapons. We can’t suspect someone who bares himself so openly. First, let’s bind them and interrogate.”
Grace marked her words and deeds. The dwarves obeyed her without protest. It felt overly swift an acceptance, but their manner hinted at her relationship and rank.
‘High status, at any rate.’ So thinking, he eyed Uralen. She didn’t seem aggressive as she stripped masks from the reviving foes and scolded them.
She must have known their identities already.
By the time the questioning ended and they returned to Dane’s side, Bankers’ voice boomed through the tunnel.
“Huh?! Dane, you already ran into dwarves?”
Bankers and the carriage were rounding the curve. Fresh astonishment filled the dwarves’ eyes.
“A beastkin pulling the carriage!”
“One that huge?”
“Is it a slave?”
“Isn’t that going too far?”
The dwarves made a huge fuss. And no wonder—unreal events kept piling up.
A naked human with absurd powers appearing out of place.
A beastkin hauling a massive carriage. An unexpectedly mouthwatering aroma.
As all eyes locked on, Bankers braced the carriage with supports and slipped the rope from his shoulder.
River emerged too, sensing something amiss. Her face drained white on the spot.
“Hey, you... why the hell are you like that!!!“
River stormed over in a rage, swathing Dane’s body in a cloak.
Too much had happened in too little time for explanations. Dane merely grinned sheepishly and drew the cloak closed.
An awkward standoff between the dwarf entourage and Lucas Hunting Party. Uralen shattered the quiet first.
“My thanks come late. You saved us from disaster.”
She bowed deeply, posture refined.
“I hope none of our members offended you with their free-spirited ways.”
River replied in Dane’s stead. She had swiftly taken stock of things. Her diplomacy flowed naturally.
“Members, so... a hunting party?”
“Yes. Lucas Hunting Party out of Foldtown. I’m Vice Captain River Lake, the baldy’s Dane, that’s Bankers. As you see, just the three of us.”
“From Foldtown... Ah, so the beastkin hauling that carriage is a comrade too.”
Bankers flashed a toothy grin as Uralen’s gaze landed on him.
“Hahaha, yep. Stuck looking like this out of necessity.”
The four dwarves laughed along for some reason. Murmurs of relief that he wasn’t a slave drifted over.
“Pleased to meet you. I am Uralen, Princess of Harac Bar. These are my escorts, the quadruplet brothers: Rubal, Prubal, Dubal, and Nedbal.”
“?!!”
He had guessed at high status, but a princess. Far too lofty for a fringe hunting party like theirs. Bankers gaped in awe, and the quadruplets shrugged with chuckles.
“Meeting Her Highness in a place like this feels so surreal.”
River wasted no time adopting the proper address, cocking her head.
It was strange enough that a princess traveled with so few guards. Attacked by fellow dwarves? Even stranger.
Uralen looked vexed, then turned to Dane.
“Complicated circumstances aside... First, may I ask why you addressed me by the king’s name earlier?”
“King? Ah, so Tuparak is the king’s name?”
Dane’s question left River and Bankers baffled. He pointed to Uralen’s waist.
The rabbit’s foot dangling from her sword hilt swayed faintly.
“I figured it had to do with that.”
“You saw this?”
Uralen scowled and shot back.
* * *
Lucas Hunting Party and Uralen’s group entered the carriage.
Uralen had proposed it, saying the tale would run long. Nobly reared, she voiced her thoughts plainly.
The bound dwarves sat lined up before the carriage. Monster or dwarf attack—they would spot it first, and Dane wouldn’t miss their reaction.
Lucas Hunting Party settled awkwardly, feeling like guests in their own home.
“Impressive. It’s just like a house.”
Uralen gazed about in admiration.
Her poise seemed impossible, mere minutes after monster and dwarf assaults.
Her guards matched her nerve.
“Good smell.”
“Yeah. Stomach was growling—perfect timing.”
“What food’s on hand?”
“Uralen-sama first, Dubal.”
Hadn’t they come to discuss the situation? They hunted for eats like it was prearranged.
Their naturalness cracked Dane and Bankers up.
“Hahaha! Right, grub first. Can’t talk well on empty stomachs, eh?”
River rolled her eyes but began prepping the meal.
Stew of Dane’s haphazardly tossed meats simmered with paprika and onions. Sandwiches stuffed with thinly sliced monster tongues grilled bacon-style. Mobile-friendly fare set on the table.
Uralen gasped delight at her first stew spoonful, beamed at her sandwich bite—before any monster-meat disclaimer.
She beckoned the quadruplets to dig in. They shoveled it down ravenously, heaping praise that at least pleased River.
“Heh heh, whatever the tale, hearty eaters are winners.”
Bankers poured rounds of his treasured Foldtown distillate, beaming.
They hadn’t heard a word yet on the rabbit’s foot or circumstances, but Lucas Hunting Party shelved their qualms and joined the feast.
Hot stew warmed the belly. Salty, chewy, tangy, nutty sandwich. The grilled tongue’s texture crunching inside was fun.
“Tasty.”
“Damn good.”
Dunking sandwich in stew? A treat unto itself.
“Let’s take some out to those guys too.”
Dane chimed in. River heaved sighs, passing sandwiches outside.
Uralen and the quadruplets were profoundly touched by their mercy even to the fallen foes.
Thus vanished the long-prepped meal in seconds.
“First time for food this good.”
“Meat’s especially prime.”
“Where’d you score meat like this?”
“Brought from the continent?”
Questions flew only after the table gleamed empty.
River answered straight. The dwarves blinked in belated shock.
“Eating monsters. Savage.”
“But delicious.”
“Continent’s fringe is perilous.”
“Shouldn’t we reconsider, Uralen-sama?”
Uralen stayed unshaken. She gently reproved the quadruplets.
“Mind your manners. We’re the helped, the requesters. Embrace the continent’s food culture with open minds.”
The dwarves nodded vigorously. Quick to pivot, those lot.
“Now, bellies full—spill your story. The situation, the reward you promised me, and that rabbit’s foot.”
Dane tossed out the topic he’d awaited. If it’d drag, best hear it all.
Uralen eyed her sword hilt with an odd look. Then, resolute, she met Dane’s gaze.
“We slipped from the kingdom in secret, bound for Leighton Village.”
She began calmly.
“To warn Leighton Village of the kingdom’s crisis and hash out countermeasures.”
“Warn?”
“Yes. But the minister’s faction caught on and pursued to stop us. Without you... the thought chills me.”
Uralen shook her head. The quadruplets chimed in to console her somber face.
“Proof fate favors us.”
“It’ll work out, Uralen-sama.”
“Even the monster meat was tasty.”
“Then let’s get moving, Uralen-sama!”
The quadruplets bolted up the instant they finished. Stood or sat, same squat height.
Dane flailed his hands quick, reseating the dwarves. The story hadn’t even begun.
“No, hold up—what’s this half-assed? What crisis are you warning Leighton Village about?”
Uralen’s face grew graver still. An unexpected word slipped her lips.
“War.”