Chapter 164: Thump-Thump
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 164: Thump-Thump
Preparations for the great war against Skadia began in Doomheim.
Weapon smiths crafted arms suitable for fighting a dragon, while armor smiths forged cold-resistant gear to withstand Skadia's chill.
Other artisans made enchanted accessories, and still others built and set traps.
It was a war preparation truly befitting the dwarves, a nation of blacksmiths.
Watching the dwarven blacksmiths work harder than usual, I felt a secret sense of relief.
‘Thank goodness it’s working out.’
[Persuade the dwarves to prepare for battle with Skadia]
It was a main mission that could not and should not be avoided.
Since coming to Doomheim, I had to steadily raise the dwarves' favor to gain their cooperation.
There were many ways to raise their favor, but the critical weakness was the absolute lack of time.
In the game, you could perform simultaneous actions on one screen. Meaning, it was possible to search for treasure in Lake Fortress while raising favor in Doomheim through a tycoon game.
But now, the flow of time was different from the game, and I only had one body. How could I possibly find the time to set up a shop and build favor?
‘Of course, I could have gone to Lake Fortress later and delayed fighting the Orc King.’
But that would have delayed progress with the final slave, so I ruled it out. It would have been even more troublesome if Darka died before then.
I needed an unconventional method, and what I chose was the fairy tale book.
I chose a strategy that thoroughly destroyed the children's innocence and targeted the dwarves' pride, and the result was a success.
Now, while the dwarves prepared for battle, I had to make my own preparations. For that, I sought out Thorvar.
“Elder.”
“What is it?”
“I was greatly disappointed during the last Ironblood Council. I was sure you would take our side, but you remained neutral. I felt so betrayed.”
Thorvar, who had maintained neutrality on Azyeth's exile, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Despite his attitude, he was someone who worried about the future of the dwarves more than anyone. It was admirable that he chose neutrality instead of agreement.
“Cut the crap. You’re the Reaper who’s driving the dwarves to their graves.”
“To their graves? I'm confident we will win.”
“Someone will die in the process.”
I answered with a smile.
“Did you come here just to spout nonsense?”
“I have something I'd like to ask you to make.”
I took a crimson jewel shimmering with a vermilion light from my coat and handed it to Thorvar. His eyes narrowed, taking on the look of a blacksmith.
“This is no ordinary item either. Where did you get this one?”
“It's a family heirloom I received as a reward for rescuing a kidnapped young lady. Her father, the master of the house, gave it to me with tears in his eyes, calling me their savior.”
The Crimson Jewel, obtained by fully liberating the sub-slave Narsha. As she was a sub-slave, it wasn't an essential item, but it was a great help for story progression.
I had some time to spare before the main story began, so I'd made sure to acquire it.
“What a load of bullshit. You probably blackmailed him for his daughter's return. So what? You want me to craft it into something?”
“A ring, please. With a black base.”
“…I won't ask what you'll use it for, but I'll be charging you for it.”
“Of course.”
After leaving the custom order with Thorvar, I went up to the second floor.
A dark room.
A snow globe on the side table emitted a soft glow. It was a gift from Santa.
It wasn't a dynamic item, but as I recalled, it had the effect of increasing the comfort of slaves and customers when installed in the shop.
And the mood light was on.
For once, Azyeth was awake.
It was practically a miracle.
While everyone was holed up in the forges, busy with war preparations, Azyeth sat quietly on her bed, gazing at the fairy tale book.
A fairy tale book isn't exactly stimulating content. It should be quite boring to read repeatedly, but she didn't seem to mind at all.
Then again, it was Azyeth's first form of entertainment.
Maybe she was finding it more fun than I thought.
‘Not bad.’
I had seen Azyeth smile recently, after all.
Anger and joy.
Emotions Azyeth rarely showed.
A smile was something you could barely see even at the ending, and I'd never even seen her get angry in the game…
‘Christmas really did the trick.’
The effort was worth it.
Tucking away my feeling of pride, I sat on the edge of the bed. Even though I was right next to her, Azyeth didn't take her eyes off the book.
“Is it that interesting?”
“……Yes.”
“What part?”
“Here….”
Her glass-like fingers pointed to a heartwarming picture of the pale Snow White surrounded by fairies and dwarves.
“It's a nice scene. That's my favorite part, too.”
Azyeth nodded as if in agreement.
Azyeth continued to read the book. Her reading pace was incredibly slow, as if she were engraving each and every scene into her memory. Eventually, she reached the final page.
Azyeth stared blankly at the picture of the sleeping Snow White.
“Snow White… what happens… to her?”
It seemed Azyeth was also curious about the ending.
But no matter who you're talking to, you can't just spoil the story.
“It's just as it says. She eats the witch's poisoned apple and falls asleep.”
“Forever…?”
“Well, for now, yes.”
At my answer, Azyeth's gaze returned to the book. She stroked the picture with a lonely gesture, a look of disappointment on her face.
Her sorrowful appearance made me feel strangely self-conscious. Coming from the emotionally reserved Azyeth, it made her seem all the more pitiful.
“Are you curious? About the ending?”
I had no choice but to concede this one.
Azyeth nodded.
Faster than usual.
“Alright. I'll tell you. But this is a secret just between the two of us.”
Azyeth nodded once more, and I began the rest of Snow White's story.
*
After eating the poisoned apple, Snow White fell into an eternal sleep. No matter how they shook or called to her, she would not wake.
Realizing they would never see the princess's smile again, the dwarves regretted their past actions. They blamed themselves for their weakness and raged at their powerlessness.
The dwarves rose up.
They found the queen who had harmed the princess and took their revenge.
But even with the queen gone, Snow White did not wake.
The dwarves, with their outstanding craftsmanship, built a coffin for Snow White and laid her to rest. Their wails mourning her eternal sleep echoed throughout the forest.
The forest, too, mourned Snow White's death. The leaves fell, the flowers withered, and the streams froze. A winter that would never end descended upon the once-peaceful forest.
One day, after a long time had passed…
A prince from a neighboring kingdom, who happened to be passing through the forest, heard the cries of the fairies and dwarves and came to investigate.
“A… prince?”
“Yes, a prince. A handsome, well-respected prince.”
The dwarves and fairies told the prince what had happened. Hearing the story, the prince was heartbroken. The truth was, he had fallen in love with Snow White at first sight when they were children.
Saddened by the sight of the dead princess, the prince kissed his beloved goodbye.
And then, something amazing happened. Snow White opened her eyes. As it turned out, she had been under a spell that could only be broken by the kiss of her true love.
When Snow White awoke, the fairies sang and the dwarves danced. Flowers bloomed, and fresh green leaves sprouted.
Winter passed, and spring came to the forest.
Snow White returned to the castle with the prince, and with the blessings of the fairies and dwarves, they lived happily ever after.
Thak.
Karami closed the book.
“The end of Snow White.”
I was realizing it anew, but while I thought it was just a nice story as a child, looking at it as an adult, there was no fairy tale more bizarre than this one.
The dwarves did all the hard work, but then a prince appears out of nowhere, kisses a corpse without permission, takes her to his castle, and marries her. From the dwarves' perspective, it was no different from being cuckolded.
That's why I'm not going to have the prince appear at all in the sequel to Snow White I'll write later. I’m not trying to get myself stabbed by the dwarves.
Fortunately, despite the strange ending, Azyeth didn't react the way Karami had feared. Her expression was lighter than before, as if she were just relieved that it had a happy ending.
“Rami….”
“Yes? Is there something you're curious about?”
“The prince… where is he?”
Karami wondered which prince she was talking about.
The prince in the fairy tale? Or a prince in reality?
He wanted to tell her if there was one, but once Skadia was defeated, that was the end of it; there was no prince in the story. Still, he couldn't just say there wasn't one.
“Hmm? I'm not sure where the prince is either. But I'm sure he'll come running if you're ever in trouble, Miss Azyeth.”
Karami lied to protect Azyeth's childlike innocence.
“Really…?”
“Of course.”
Azyeth glanced back and forth between Karami and the fairy tale book, then opened it to the first page and held it out to him.
“Read it….”
“Again? You've been reading all day. It's time to sleep…”
“Read it.”
A rare, firm attitude from Azyeth.
After a brief staring contest with her, Karami let out a reluctant sigh.
“Just one more time. After I read this, you have to sleep.”
Azyeth slowly nodded.
Karami cleared his throat and began to read the fairy tale in a calm voice.
“Once upon a time, in a kingdom far away, there lived a beautiful princess…”
As she looked at the book, Azyeth furtively shifted her gaze to the side. She stole a glance at Karami without him noticing.
It was strange.
Before, Azyeth would never have cared about being noticed, but for some reason, she now felt like she shouldn't get caught.
Looking at Karami, she was reminded of the prince he had spoken of.
The prince who had kissed the sleeping Snow White.
As she was thinking about that….
“…?”
Suddenly feeling an unfamiliar sensation, Azyeth placed a hand on her chest. Her heart, which usually beat so slowly, was now pounding—thump-thump.
And for some reason, she felt her cheeks growing warm.
The cause… was unknown.
But she desperately wanted to know what this feeling was.