Chapter 10. Stubbornness and Arrogance (7)
Chapter 10. Stubbornness and Arrogance (7)
There were a few things that turned out better than expected.
The Dwarves, at least, had a reasonably developed civilization.
Proper ventilation equipment was installed all the way into the depths of the mine, supplying oxygen to the interior. Long tubes made from some kind of hide had fan-like devices attached at intervals, drawing air in properly from outside the mine.
And we didn't have to walk all the way to the far end of the mine, either.
Dwarves were said to expand caves left behind after exhausting an ore vein and turn them into living space. For them, mining a vein was effectively infrastructure construction and urban development rolled into one.
Since they couldn't just walk endlessly across such a vast city, the Dwarves operated Mana-powered trains to travel those long routes efficiently and transport goods. Honestly, it was less a passenger train for people and more for hauling loads of raw ore, so the inside was extremely filthy, and there was no roof, either.
"Ptooey!"
Dust swirled into my mouth the whole way, so I spat outside the train several times.
I wasn't the only one doing it—every Dwarf riding the train with me did the same.
Since the work involved doing the "infrastructure construction" all at once, fortunately the ceiling wasn't too low. So there was almost no risk of smashing my head on a rock and having my brains leak out along the way, but unfortunately, Dwarves apparently had no concept of "safety devices."
A helmet—no, at least I should have brought a mask.
Holy Power could heal cancer, so bad air wasn't going to kill me, but that didn't make it any less annoying.
There weren't even seat belts, so my body jolted and rattled around until Ria grabbed me tightly from beside me, and I could barely keep my balance.
"......."
By the time the jolting had numbed my backside enough that I was getting used to it, the train screeched loudly to a stop.
My body lurched sideways, and Ria braced me.
......But for some reason, when simply pushing with her hands would have sufficed, Ria braced me as if pulling my body into an embrace. Well, I mean, it did reduce the risk of injury, and Ria's body definitely supported mine, so it was safer, and it was efficient in several ways, but......
Still, I couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed, so I quickly pulled my body away from Ria's.
"Hey, you look like a mess."
"Huh?"
At that, I touched my face—then remembered, a little too late, that my hands were absolutely covered in ore dust.
Ria laughed as if dumbfounded.
When I glared at Ria, she pulled something out of her nun's habit as if it were nothing.
It was one of those disposable wet wipes you get for free at restaurants.
"Ah, I'll— mmph."
Ria brought the tissue toward my face. I reached for it, but she casually dodged my hand and wiped my face herself as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Who's a little kid!?"
But by the time I protested, Ria had already finished wiping my face.
"Well, you're all clean now, so it's fine."
Somehow, the farther we went, the more Ria's attitude toward me started to feel like she was dealing with a child.
If she'd just been openly a MILF-type heroine, I wouldn't have felt so wronged.
......She was the one who clung to me crying "Mommy, Mommy."
"......."
Well, still, I'm a rational, reasonable person with common sense, so I don't use a glimpse into someone's personal past as leverage.
Instead,
"Hmph."
I expressed my displeasure by making that sound and turning away.
For some reason, Ria laughed even more openly at that.
*
Let me establish one thing clearly before moving on.
Most of the Dwarves treated me well. I was an outsider they had no particular reason to dislike, from a race they had never seen before, and they had probably heard that I was someone fairly important on top of that.
Although I'd done various good deeds for the Gnomes, that apparently didn't resonate much with non-nobles.
Rather, since the war itself had been in a stalemate for quite a long time, almost no one had actually participated in combat, and unless they were among those directly confronting Gnomes nearby, it seemed hard for them to easily harbor hostility.
Gnome society had been the same, but Dwarf society had no medium capable of reliably spreading all those stories either. The common people here seemed to have little of the kind of shared national identity people on Earth took for granted.
"......."
"......What are you staring at?"
However, there was a Dwarf staring intently at Ria and me as we headed toward the Dwarven Sanctuary, so I asked that, a little tense.
He had a huge pickaxe slung over one shoulder, and his shoulders were broader than Ria and me standing side by side. His arms bulged with muscles of almost ridiculous size.
About half his face was covered by an unkempt, shaggy beard, so honestly he looked a bit like a bandit. Or a pirate.
"Scrawny as you are, could you even shovel properly?"
"I heard humans live without doing any shoveling?"
"Really? Then what do they do to earn a living?"
"They probably just write stuff, like scribes!"
"If everyone just writes, who's going to pick the mushrooms? Ore is one thing, but without mushrooms we can't feed ourselves or raise livestock."
"......."
The conversation had exactly the sort of middle-aged-man vibe I'd expected, which put me a little more at ease.
"More importantly, where did your beard go?"
"I'm not a man."
"Well, I know that. Our women's bodies look like that too. Though they're more voluptuous than yours."
Looking at the princess, that did seem to be the case—
"......Wait a moment."
I pressed my fingers to my forehead and spoke.
"Women grow beards too? Like you old men?"
"Of course! Though they grow a bit slower."
"That's not what I heard. The growth rate is the same as ours."
"What? So you're saying they groom their beards every day?"
"......You're not married yet, so you wouldn't know. If your beard length changes by even a finger joint, the missus asks how much it changed today."
"Heh heh...... So do young ladies trim their beards too?"
"......Then what about the princess? Does she have a special constitution?"
"Hm? Well, all the high-ranking folks groom themselves that way."
At my question, the old man spoke as if slightly offended.
"Honestly, people who don't leave tradition as tradition and chase after fashion or whatever."
"It probably means they don't want to live the same as lowly folk like us. As if keeping a smooth face like a Gnome is something good. Tch."
"......."
Hm.
I felt like I'd heard something I didn't need to hear. That was information I really didn't want to know......
Seeing as there wasn't even a trace of beard growth, did she cover it with makeup or manage it with Magic?
I looked at Ria, but she just shrugged. She apparently had little interest in that sort of thing.
So I decided to just erase those words from my memory.
Though I'd probably remember every time I saw the princess, but for now.
*
"......."
Ordinary Dwarves had that oddly friendly atmosphere, but the priests were different.
Dwarf society hadn't been depicted in detail in the original work, but well, since it was called a "kingdom," there would naturally be royalty, nobility, and a priestly class.
The priests all had the same orange hair color—the shade somewhere between blond and red that comes to mind when you picture natural red hair.
It was a relief that it wasn't as red as Ria's.
.......
Uh, I don't know why that was a relief, but anyway.
"Saintess Candidate."
"Please call me Anna."
"......Sister Anna."
The Dwarf priest who seemed highest-ranking among them didn't have the same low, booming voice as the other Dwarves, but the voice still suited him.
Unlike the laborers I'd seen earlier, he had a soft, heavyset build, which made him a little less intimidating. To be honest, the long braided beard didn't suit him at all.
"I heard that Her Highness the Princess sent you to us."
"Yes, I made a promise with the princess, and I've come to keep one of those promises."
"Was that promise to persuade us priests?"
"......You could say it's similar."
I spoke while studying the priest's face.
"I've come to help the slums here."
To prove my power.
The statement itself was somewhat ambiguous. In the first place, I believed my power wasn't my own, and the princess understood that much. We'd had a bit of conversation while drinking yesterday.
So whether the princess's words meant to prove the existence of the Being Above, or to prove that I could reliably prepare against threats approaching her side, I couldn't know exactly.
In that case, wouldn't it be best to consider both and prove them at once?
That was why I chose this place to prove my power.
At my answer, the priests looked at each other and murmured a little.
Then they spoke to me.
"Sister, do you perhaps not know what a slum is?"
"I know."
I answered.
"But you don't need to worry. I have no intention of going deep inside, either. Besides—"
I looked at Ria.
We couldn't bring too many people this far inside. The trains were constantly being used to haul ore, and the conservative Dwarves said we could ride only in whatever space remained after the workers and cargo were aboard.
A few knights, and Ria.
Most importantly—
"Wouldn't it be troublesome for you priests if you didn't protect me?"
At my question, the priests furrowed their brows.
Yes, that's right.
This place was a "kingdom."
And that meant the king held that power.
The only Dwarves who would dare defy the princess's words were probably those planning rebellion or betrayal.
Especially if a priest did it, they'd be the first one the authorities would have to remove.
Watching the priests grumble in dissatisfaction, I smiled inwardly.