Chapter 52
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Oops! My Hand Slipped and I Cracked His Skull?(5)
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It didn't take long to reach the outskirts we'd visited before.
But getting to the capital of the Dwarf Principality took a full two months. Still, Ambassador Virral's carriage was so comfortable that it wasn't really an issue. I swallowed dryly.
This was where the real fight began. Bluntly put, this place was no different from enemy territory. Even if they weren't demons, the dwarves in the principality were likely to view us in a bad light.
We'd pulled that stunt with Ambassador Virral before. And we'd traded barbs during these negotiations. Had two months really passed already? The seasons had shifted from spring into early summer.
The moment we arrived at the principality, we were greeted by the clamor of hammers on metal and the scorching heat from the furnaces. And it wasn't an exaggeration—every building around us was a smithy.
Unlike other city walls, these were pitch-black, welcoming us in. Even the ground was black. I wondered if they'd built the whole fortress out of steel, but apparently not.
"This is the Iron Furnace, capital of our Dwarf Principality."
"Iron Furnace... Yeah, it definitely lives up to the name."
"This heat is intense... Not easy to endure."
"It wasn't this bad last time we were here."
Helia, apparently overwhelmed by the blast of heat from the furnaces, pressed right up against my side. Cluna, on the other hand, seemed fascinated, taking in the full vista of the iron forge sprawl.
"The war with the demons spurred massive technological leaps. War always drives innovation, after all."
"The problem is that it's holding them back now?"
"...Yes. Abnormally rapid progress always comes with side effects."
"Welcome back safely, Ambassador Virral!"
She wore chainmail topped with a steel breastplate engraved with a gorilla motif. She was a girl with blue hair and blue eyes.
"I remember seeing you before. So, your name was...?"
"Rain Emerald. I serve as adjutant to the Star of Jewels, guardians of the Dwarf Principality's leadership."
"Star of Jewels?"
"Think of them like an elite guard. Let's head inside and talk."
Before entering, I gathered the Royal Knights in one spot. Fortunately, they'd all arrived intact—except for Bayard, who'd suffered from motion sickness.
"He passed out on the way back to the fortress last time."
"Bayard's always had bad motion sickness."
"That's why he usually travels in bear form."
"...Not safe to do that now."
I was 99% certain at this point. There were demons in the Dwarf Principality. The setting docs explicitly stated it fell to demons. I clicked my tongue.
Which meant the principality's current mess was probably some demon scheme too—one that had been brewing for a long time. What a pain.
If they were the type to charge head-on, that'd be one thing. But they seemed more like the Complicacci schemers, pulling strings from the shadows. Fine. Just let me get my hands on that divine sword. One strike, and they're done.
"Speaking of, where's that famous divine sword?"
I wasn't the only one interested—Captain Yuren brought it up first. I mentally cheered him on. I'd held back from asking myself.
Go, Captain Yuren! Scratching that itch perfectly! Ambassador Virral glanced at me, then pointed to the center of the plaza.
"The sword embedded in that plaza is the divine sword."
"That's the blade said to cut through anything?"
"Oh~ It's been a while."
"A while?"
"Lady Cluna might know. That sword belonged to the first Hero."
The first Hero's sword, no less?! I barely held back from drooling. It was the ultimate weapon! With that, I'd be unstoppable!
But not yet. Stealing it with time stop would be trivial, but I didn't want to act like the Time Stop Breeding Uncle. Still, that divine sword...
After twists and turns, we finally reached the reception room. Unlike what I'd expected from dwarves, it was decked out with jewels and ornate furniture. I'd thought they'd only care about practicality.
"Surprising. I figured there'd be zero decorations."
"We treated every craft equally—gemworking, furniture-making, you name it. That was the Dwarf Principality... until the war changed everything."
"Virral nodded gravely. Now, the principality only valued powerful weapons. A far cry from the old days. Not a good sign.
War wasn't just about arms. It took diverse tech and people working together. Obsessing over weapons alone?
Pieces were falling into place in my head. Those absurd mobile fortresses from the original story—had the demons been aiming for this from the start, priming the principality...?
They hadn't planned to wipe out the Royal Knights in one go, but they'd definitely been siphoning dwarven tech long before.
"At first, we thought it was temporary. But after a secret investigation, we found..."
"Demons."
"...How did you know?"
"Huh?"
The word slipped out before I could stop it. When I snapped to, everyone was staring at me. Virral and Rain looked especially shocked.
The knights eyed me curiously too. Right—we hadn't heard the story yet. They had no reason to suspect demons.
Damn. My head was so full of demon theories I'd missed the room's vibe. I scrambled to cover.
"I know of another nation that fell in a similar way."
"I recall hearing there used to be multiple human kingdoms."
"Yeah. The demons forced them all to unite."
That's why they're called the Human Kingdom, Dwarf Principality, and so on. Only beastkin and dragons kept their own names, really.
Oh yeah, the Barrekan Holy Kingdom too.
But Barrekan was more symbolic. It had defended over half the continent, after all. Though its power was fading now.
"Humans have their own history. Sir Hans, you've been through more than I thought."
"That's why you phrased it that way..."
"Mom, you suspecting something?"
"You said to use names outside, right? Lady Clara?"
"..."
Thankfully, Virral and Cluna covered for me. I kept my mouth shut. Better to stay quiet than ramble more.
Thanks to them, I dodged the bullet and got the full story from Virral. Sensing something off, she'd investigated secretly with Rain Emerald.
They'd uncovered proof of demon involvement—but couldn't act on it. Demon influence ran deeper than expected in the principality.
"One wrong move, and I'd have been eliminated. So I pretended to go along and slipped out."
"Ruby's father was heading to the Royal Knights' castle, so you joined him?"
"Yes."
"Doesn't make sense. Why drag a distant kid into the furnaces to feel satisfied?"
"...That's..."
"I'll explain that part myself."
Ruby, who'd been silent, spoke up. What now? Hidden clan power? I swallowed the snark and replied.
"Sure, go ahead."
"Some dwarves are born with special powers."
"Special powers?"
"We call them raw gems. Like turning iron to gold, or manipulating self-forged metal at will."
Superpowers, basically. Come to think of it, original-story Beril Sapphire had something similar—a skill consuming a gem for buffs.
"So that man was after Ruby's raw gem?"
"Yes."
"What's so special about it?"
"...It's the one she inherited from her mother."
"Her mother?"
Oh no, bad feeling about this...
"Our bloodline can refine metals to supreme quality—or beyond—depending on concentration."
Why was my gut always right?