Your Village Is Screwed! -3
"I-I'm so sorry…!"
"It's fine. Something like this can be fixed in no time."
The dwarf village had met with disaster when the ceiling came crashing down. Fortunately there had been no loss of life, but nearly every facility in the place was wrecked. The responsibility for that rested squarely with us, yet the dwarves were strangely obedient about it. Completely different from the beginning, when they had been desperate to drive me out—now their attitude was humble to the point of excess.
"So this is what they mean by the taste of power."
"Don't get used to it. Kang Junhyuk turned into someone who stopped caring about anything once he became king."
"You don't have to worry about that. The power isn't mine…"
It belonged to the Wild Dragon, Breeze.
Even if I became Rene's husband, it wouldn't make me great. I would just be wearing the name tag of the Wild Dragon's son-in-law. The Wild Dragon's achievements would never become mine.
"Anyway, I'm glad things worked out smoothly."
"Does this look smooth to you, hyung?"
The village was a complete wreck. I felt bad about it, but what could I do? The ones who had built their village underground so other races wouldn't notice them were the dwarves themselves.
If they had planned for a collapse and prepared for it, this never would have happened.
[If they had reinforced the ground with mithril, they would have been prepared well enough. It's just that Rene is ridiculously heav—]
Before Frach could finish, Rene turned a murderous glare on me. Those sharp dragon pupils locked onto mine and my entire body locked up. I hadn't even done anything wrong. On top of that, only I should have been able to hear Frach. The fact that Rene had reacted anyway sent a chill down my spine.
"W-what is it?"
"It's nothing. I must have been imagining things."
"Right…"
Wiping the cold sweat from the back of my neck, I shot a mental scolding at Frach.
Watch what you say. Don't you know a woman's weight is a serious matter?
[My apologies. I never imagined Rene would react to my words.]
This was not the same gentle Rene as before. Ever since reuniting with Breeze, her attachment to me had grown strangely intense. If she had just landed the village slowly, nothing would have happened. Yet she had come down in a desperate rush, as if something were chasing her. Had something bad happened?
"Lord Bern."
While I was fretting over Rene's behavior, a dwarf with a prosthetic leg approached from behind me. From the pure white of his hair and beard, he was clearly one of the village elders.
"You called?"
"We dwarves committed the grave error of speaking harshly to you without knowing you were an acquaintance of the Wild Dragon. We are truly sorry."
"Ah, it's fine. To be blunt, we were the ones who caused the trouble first."
"Even so, we have betrayed the grace of the Wild Dragon, who has protected us dwarves for hundreds of years. We will accept any punishment gladly—just say the word."
"Punishment? The village is already smashed. If I started bullying you elders on top of that, heaven itself wouldn't leave me alone."
"Lord Bern is a man of great magnanimity. We are ashamed of how we shouted at you without knowing."
"I really am fine, so please raise your heads."
We were the ones who had wrecked their homes, yet here we were receiving their apologies. It felt less good than uncomfortably awkward.
"This is no time for apologies. Shouldn't you be restoring the village?"
"You are absolutely right. Still, damage of this level is manageable."
"Pardon? Why?"
There didn't look to be a single intact building left. For humans, restoring the village to its original state would take at least a month.
"If His Majesty the King lends a hand, it will be back to normal in four days."
"You can fix a completely ruined village in that short a time?"
"Yes. With His Majesty, it is entirely possible. His skill has already reached the realm of the gods."
"That's impressive…"
[Of course! For this body's father, fixing a village is nothing at all.]
The old saying about the bear doing the tricks while the man collects the money came to mind. The dwarf king would do the work, yet somehow Frach was the one soaking up the praise.
"By the way, where is the king right now?"
"Today His Majesty went down to the underground mine to personally direct the miners. He should be returning soon, but…"
I had heard this story somewhere before. Sure enough, not only my expression but Rewen's as well turned grim. An uneasy feeling rose that a disappearance might have already occurred.
"Does the king visit the underground mine often?"
"Hm? Well, yes, you could say that. He is so obsessed with ore that he prefers the mine to the palace."
"I see."
The dwarf king frequently went down to the underground mine. It was still too early to be certain he had gone missing.
"Still, His Majesty is quite late today."
"Must have found some rare mineral."
"True, he came back late for that reason last time. But you know…"
"What else?"
"His Majesty is one thing, but what about Alfred? That fellow was supposed to drink with me tonight. Why hasn't he come back?"
"Come to think of it, the miners who should have returned by now still haven't shown up either. Is His Majesty keeping them down there?"
Certainty settled in. The disappearance of the dwarf king and every last miner—today was the day it happened.
I slapped my forehead and rubbed my eyes with my palm.
"I-is something the matter?!"
"A problem…"
There were far too many problems. The collapsed village, the missing dwarf king, dwarves who had no idea their leader was in danger. One heavy situation after another was piling up, and my head was starting to ache. Still, what I had to do was clear.
"I just remembered something I had forgotten for a moment. Please don't mind it."
"Ah, I see."
"More importantly, if it isn't too much trouble, could you tell me where the underground mine is located?"
Rescue the dwarf king before his trail vanished completely. That was the best move I could make right now.
[That's the spirit! Hurry and save your father-in-law, Contractor!]
Who the hell is calling him my father-in-law?
"This is the pride and landmark of us dwarves—Valdur Mine."
Guided by a dwarf who knew the area well, we arrived at the entrance to the underground mine. Unlike the mines in Lookbrandon, this one had a tunnel-style entrance. According to what we were told, the interior was structured like a spiral; the farther you advanced, the deeper underground you went. In other words, you didn't need to wander around—just keep going and you would reach the deepest levels.
When I expressed curiosity about the unusual layout, I was told that the natural cave had been shaped this way from the beginning.
"We have simply continued mining while preserving the cave's original form."
"Fascinating."
"It's the mystery of nature."
After listening to the dwarf's explanation, I sent him back and asked that the villagers stay away from the mine for the time being. The dwarf looked puzzled but did not press for a reason and simply agreed. I would have liked to explain the situation, but even I had no idea what was waiting inside the mine. All I could do was act as if nothing were wrong.
"Shall we go, then?"
"W-wait a moment!"
"Hm? What's wrong?"
Just as I was about to step into the mine, Rene urgently grabbed my arm and stopped me. Her pupils darted left and right, unable to settle. I didn't know why, but her restless, fragile state looked dangerously unstable.
"D-do we really have to go in there?"
"Why not?"
"Well…"
Rene opened her lips, then pressed them shut again. Was it something hard to say? Ordinarily I would have pulled her aside and asked properly, but there was no time. If I dawdled and the dwarf king vanished completely, it would be a disaster. We had already drawn the dwarves' suspicion; if we also failed to rescue the king, they might decide we were the kidnappers. On the other hand, I had no solid proof to simply announce to the village that their king had been abducted. That was why I had chosen to go quietly and handle the rescue ourselves.
"We'll talk later."
"Ah…!"
When I turned my back, a soft sound of regret escaped Rene behind me. Forcing myself to ignore it, I entered the mine; Lin and Rene followed. Rene still wore a dissatisfied expression. Did she have bad memories of Valdur Mine?
"Rene, if it's too hard, you can go back to the village. Lin and I will check the inside of the mine."
"I-I'm fine! Really, I'm fine…"
Rene began muttering something under her breath again. Her behavior today was strangely off. It bothered me. Should I stop the search for a moment and seriously listen to whatever she had to say?
Just as the thought crossed my mind, Lin spoke in a low voice.
"Master, I sense dwarf mana within a five-hundred-meter radius."
We had not even been inside the mine for five minutes and already we were about to encounter a dwarf. Maybe the disappearance had been nothing but my overthinking.
But then I saw Lin rest her hand on her sword sheath and take a combat stance, and I changed my mind.
"You should be careful. There is an alien mana mixed in with the dwarf's."
"Alien mana?"
"Yes. Just sensing it is enough to make my skin crawl."
"Black magic?"
"No. Completely different from the mana used in black magic. Normally mana exists as a gas dissolved in the air, but this mana is liquid—a form I have never seen before."
I carefully drew my own sword as well. If even Lin, who had received the blessing of mana, could not identify it, this was no ordinary matter. I swallowed hard and kept my eyes fixed ahead.
Then, some distance away, the dwarf Lin had mentioned came into view.
"Pickaxe…!"
A dwarf with black liquid covering his face like a mask. The eye holes were open, yet his pupils had no focus. He was unconscious, yet his body was still walking around perfectly fine.
"Pickaxeee…!"
Whatever this thing that used to be a dwarf was, it had been muttering about a pickaxe for a while. Was it asking for a pickaxe?
While I was still deciding what to do, Lin's voice suddenly turned urgent, as if she had realized something.
"Master! I've found the source of the alien mana!"
"Where?"
"Right there!"
Lin's fingertip pointed straight at the spot where the dwarf was standing.
"Hmm…? So the culprit is under the ground?"
"No! Look a little higher!"
I raised my head. Only then did I notice something protruding between the dwarf's legs, swaying slightly. Frowning, I looked closer and finally confirmed what it was.
"Good heavens…"
Between the dwarf's legs hung a pickaxe.