Chapter 97
Chapter 97
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: The Dwarf's Visit
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"It's not a workshop, but I do run a personal shop."
"A personal shop... For a mage, a shop is basically a research lab and workshop. In a way, you could call it a workshop."
Tio nodded.
"By any chance, what kind of magic does a human like you research?"
Tio's face lit up with curiosity as she looked at me.
"I'm a mage of the Illusion Magic School."
"Illusion magic?"
"Is there a problem?"
"No, that's not it... I just realized rumors really can't be trusted."
What was that supposed to mean?
"From what I've heard from humans, that's a place where only third-rate mages end up. But you don't look like a third-rate mage at all."
"Ah."
There wasn't a single good rumor about illusion mages.
They were people who resorted to illusion magic because they couldn't achieve anything in reality.
It was magic used by dark mages or shady types.
Gloomy, dirty, and so on.
It seemed she'd heard one of those.
'People eat it up.'
Since the rumors spread poorly among humans, it was only natural they'd spread badly to other races too.
'There are only two real illusion mages on the entire continent.'
Among illusion mages, only Meiko—my master—and I had completed the full training of the Illusion School.
The rest were half-baked dilettantes who'd self-taught the general education illusion magic shared across all magic schools.
Or they'd bought cheap spellbooks sold off due to financial troubles and scraped by with those.
In other words, the bad rumors about illusion mages were all caused by mages from other schools, dark mages, or adventurers who weren't real illusion mages.
It was true that illusion magic lacked physical force, but it still felt unfair.
"Could you maybe invite me to your workshop sometime?"
"Invite you?"
"Yes! I want to take a look! I want to see what illusion magic is like! And how you manage such precise mana control. To be honest, dwarves can't use magic, but mana control is something we absolutely need too! I personally want to learn it that badly!"
Her eyes burned with curiosity and scholarly zeal.
Learn it, huh.
That was definitely thinking like a craftsman's race.
A proud elf would have dismissed it as worthless tech from an inferior species.
"I'll be heading to the imperial capital, and you won't be able to show up at the factory for a few days. Is that okay?"
"Of course! Dwarves with personal workshops can take a few days off for personal research."
"That's allowed?"
Their welfare was better than I'd thought.
"For dwarves, what matters is money and skill. With enough money and skill, you get recognized in the industry. Of course, even then, if you don't grow a beard, discrimination is just part of daily life..."
She clenched her fist.
Money and skill, huh.
I recalled the gold card Tio had given me.
I could sort of see why the other dwarves looked so shocked when I pulled it out.
Their greed for money and gold made sense—money was rank and power to them.
"Even if it's not for research, slip them a few gold as compensation, and they'll look the other way for a few days off."
I could really feel the dwarf society's gold-worship.
"Got it. It's not a big deal anyway."
Thanks to the mana core Tio made, the magic circles could now operate even in emergencies.
Given her development skills, I'd probably need her help often in the future, so building a good relationship now wouldn't hurt.
"Then let's go right now! I'm already ready!"
When Tio came back from her room, she was carrying a bag bigger than herself on her back.
"What's all that?"
"You never know what might come up, right? So I packed all my tools. Gotta have everything to create the perfect work environment anywhere!"
"Isn't that too much?"
It was wobbling so much on her back that I got anxious just looking at it.
"Nah, it's not that much! A miniaturized workbench, multi-tool hammer, drill and driver, top-grade grinder that goes up to diamond, high-concentration flame projector for welding, fixture stand, precision machine for delicate mana work..."
"Stop, stop, no need to list it all."
"Anyway, this is just the basic set. And don't worry about the weight. It's a backpack enchanted with human space expansion and lightweight magic."
A space expansion backpack, and she'd stuffed it that full?
I couldn't even imagine what was inside.
It reminded me of a blue cat robot that loved red bean buns.
"Then let's go! I can't wait to see it!"
Tio ran off, her short legs pattering away.
Getting back to the empire wasn't hard.
We just took the train connecting the Steam Factory to the imperial capital.
There were just some minor procedures for a dwarf leaving the country.
"You're really going for work purposes?"
The exit official glared at Tio.
"That's what I've been saying!"
"Why's a beardless one like you heading to the empire? Most of your work's inside the factory anyway."
"I'm a proper worker too! Can't you see the overalls?"
"No beard and wearing overalls... Tsk, what a degenerate age."
There was a bit of back-and-forth.
"This is why I think I should just stick on fake whiskers. They always treat me like a crazy dwarf for not having a beard..."
"Why are they so wary?"
"Simple. It's that old-fashioned idea that beardless women and kids are in danger outside the Steam Factory."
Tio let out a deep sigh.
Beardless kid, huh.
"So how old are you, Tio?"
"Huh? W-why do you ask?"
"You're a boy whose beard hasn't grown in yet, right? You seem taller than other boys, so I figured you must be almost an adult."
"Th-that's rude!"
Tio turned her head away, dodging the question.
Oops.
She already had a complex about not growing a beard, and now I'd asked her age.
If she was an adult and still no beard, it'd mean delayed puberty—a half-baked dwarf.
"Sorry. Hard to gauge a dwarf's exact age."
"No, I overreacted. Let's hurry to the train! I'm so excited! Wonder how cool your workshop is!"
Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.
And so, I returned to the imperial capital with Tio.
"Hmm~, haa. The air's so fresh! Feels like I'm in the countryside..."
Unlike the Steam Factory, there were no mana particles in the air here.
Tio's face brightened as she took deep breaths in and out.
"The factory's great and all, but the mana particles are suffocating. Humans' land really is easier to breathe in without factories. Oh, of course, the dwarf republic has places with air this clean too. Fishing villages without mines or cities... Ah, I'm talking too much. Haha."
Tio scratched the back of her head sheepishly.
"No malice there."
Mana particles were as natural as air to technologically advanced dwarves, so this reaction might be normal.
"But this place is countryside air-wise, but it's way more developed in every other way. Is this the power of magic..."
She followed me, looking around.
"I've seen a few human castles before! Rode in a car back then, touring some outer fortresses. But the imperial capital is on another level."
People's gazes turned to us at the sight of the curious dwarf boy.
"Isn't that overalls? Not dwarf clothes?"
"A dwarf without a beard or muscles..."
"Is that really a dwarf?"
"Maybe a female dwarf?"
"No way an underage dwarf would come to the empire."
Everyone stared at Tio in wonder.
Well, a beardless boy dwarf wasn't common.
Hard to spot unless you're at the Steam Factory.
Shaking off the stares, Tio and I headed to the shop.
"Here we are."
"Wow... It's got character."
Tio asked after seeing the shop's exterior.
"But why no windows at all?"
"You'll see once you're inside."
I opened the shop door.
The shop, empty for three days, had a faint chill.
Snap!
Sparks flew, and the fireplace lit up.
"Whoa."
The shop's interior came into view.
Tio cheered at the main room filled with magic circles.
"Wait... You didn't just draw magic circles on the walls—you connected walls, ceiling, and floor into one? Not 2D magic circles, but 3D stereoscopic ones...?"
Tio gaped at me.
"You did all this by yourself?"
Saintess Eirin finished her prayers today as well.
"Haa, haa."
Her breaths came rough during the prayer.
Thump, thump.
As she prayed to the goddess, she looked at the followers praying along with her.
They all followed the saintess's words, begging the goddess for salvation.
"We shall all live in gratitude to the Goddess."
Eirin couldn't stop her lips from curling up as she heard the followers desperately crying out to the goddess.
'Ah, no... Don't think about it.'
The fantasy of being ravished by the demon in the prayer room kept flashing in her mind.
Eirin bit her lip at the blasphemous thrill of having lewd thoughts in a sacred prayer room.
When Eirin stopped reciting the prayer for a while, the crowd murmured.
"The saintess is weeping in sorrow."
"She must be crying for our salvation."
"Ahh, Saintess."
Eirin's body trembled at the voices praising her.
I'm sorry.
I'm not crying for you.
She was just...
-You slut. Selling your body to a demon?
Reliving the day Max, disguised as a demon in her fantasy, had her.
She rubbed her thighs together, desperately fantasizing about that day.
The tattoo on her lower abdomen had faded to almost invisible now.
The lewd seal Max had imprinted.
This blue tattoo marking her as demon-ravished—she lived in daily fear of someone spotting it.
She even bathed at times when no one else would.
Heart pounding, terrified someone might barge in while washing.
For the first time, she realized how thrilling it was to live in constant vigilance.
'If it gets found out...'
Eirin murmured, stroking her lower belly where Max's tattoo lingered.
Her breath quickened imagining followers wailing in outrage.
-This slut sold her body to a demon!
-A saintess sworn to purity, seduced by a demon!
-Send that wench to the inquisitors!
-You're no saintess!
-Lewd bitch!
The arrows of condemnation from her imagined followers stabbed into her chest.
Every time she saw her tattooed body in the bathroom mirror, the blasphemy made her climax over and over.
When it had faded too much from its original state, she'd secretly gone to Max's shop hoping for a retrace.
-Closed for a few days due to personal reasons.
"It's closed...?"
Max's shop was shuttered.
And now.
Eirin, driven to her limit by unfulfilled urges, was having lewd fantasies even in the prayer room.
"Receive the grace of the divine."
She watched the followers leave, blessed by her, and lewdly imagined one spotting the faint tattoo trace on her lower belly—what reaction they'd have.
Ahh, what should I do?
The fantasies won't stop.
Is this what it means to be ensnared by a demon?
After prayers, as weary-legged Eirin staggered to a chair in the prayer room...
"Eirin, doing well?"
A familiar voice rang out.
A voice full of firm will, more hopeful and resilient than any other.
It was Hero Niki, who had subjugated the Demon King alongside her.