82 This Hero Delivers The Package!

I stepped through the doorway while flexing every muscle I could. I was prepared for the torrent of dwarves that would attempt to sweep me off my feet. Tael and Erana were holding on to me to ensure they wouldn't get swept away while Kany was latched once more on to my shoulders. As my feet hit the solid stone flooring of the exterior of the inn, I could feel the hard ground as I shifted my weight onto it.

…

Nothing's happening.

Where are the dwarves? Nobody's here!

I turned to look to my left and my right. The street was entirely clear of anyone. It was as if this place had been abandoned suddenly. From the noises the rest of my party was making, I could tell that they were also uncertain.

"W-What's going on? Did they all disappear or something?" Kany whispered to me.

"I don't know…" I turned towards the interior of the inn and saw the dwarf at the counter fiddling with his fingernails. He hadn't disappeared and it doesn't seem like he's concerned at all.

"Maybe they all left?" Erana suggested.

"Well… but why? Surely they wouldn't just go poof, right? Like… They had to go somewhere?" Tael quickly brought up.

I mulled it over for a moment before I turned and walked back to the dwarf at the counter. As a local he probably knows what's going on better than any of us.

"Ah, is there something you need?" He put his synthetic smile on once more as he asked this.

"Where did everyone go?"

"What do you mean?"

"EVERYONE'S GONE! There was a river of dwarves earlier and now there isn't!" Tael suddenly shouted out.

"Oh… It's just time for work for most dwarves. What you saw earlier was the work rush." The dwarf resumed picking at his fingernails as he said this.

"Work rush, huh?" I could hear myself saying aloud. I suppose this is similar to riding the trains in Japan. I hated getting stuffed into those cabins which were already at maximum capacity.

Well, no matter what it was, the removal of the dwarves in our path will make the delivery far easier.

I turned back towards the door after Kany had shuffled off of me and headed outside.

"Okay…" I said out loud while looking over the hastily drawn map. "So according to this, we just need to head straight down the street for a bit until we come across a gate. Past the gate we'll find where we're going in no time."

"Is it really gonna be that simple?" Tael quietly murmured.

Ignoring Tael, I began to head down the street as the rest of the party followed closely behind.

As I walked, I saw that the architecture of this city was very closely tied to the mountains interior itself, as if the buildings hadn't been built, but instead carved out of the rock that had once been here.

"Yo Onii-san, we're here."

"Huh?"

As it turns out, I had spaced out completely on the walk. We have already arrived at a large iron gate. From the design of it, I can tell that it's incredibly old, but despite its age, there isn't even a single spec of rust on it.

The portcullis appears to be one of the few things that was actually built instead of being carved out of the rock as it was set up with stone brick. At the top, I could see dwarven guards that were watching us with weary gazes. Before we could proceed further, a dwarf in full plate armor that shined exquisitely as if it had been polished mere moments ago approached us with a hand raised.

"Stop. What business do ya have in the ancient district?" He asked. His voice, while gruff, gave me an odd feeling, as if he himself wasn't sure of what he was doing.

"Just…" I presented the package. "Delivering this. It says to deliver it to 1354?"

"I see. If that's the case, head straight through and take your first left. Pass 3 blocks and you'll be there." He stepped aside and guided us through the portcullis.

As we stepped through, I could immediately tell that this area deserves the name "ancient" as every building here was obviously built a long time ago. Unlike the previous buildings, these are all made of stone brick. There are no windows in any of the buildings, but some of the doors are made of wood.

"Remember, straight through and first left." The dwarf in full plate declared as he began to walk away.

"Ah, wait! What's your name?" I asked. Someone wearing armor like that may know where I could get some good equipment too. It's best to get associated with people as soon as possible.

The dwarf stopped in place for a moment before he finally spoke.

"Hjurg." He quietly declared before he began to walk away once more.

With that, we began to move through the ancient district. The more we walked through the more I could understand the distinction between the dwarven areas. Unlike the prior section, each of these buildings look like they're unique instead of the cookie cutter design of the prior area.

Following the instructions of Hjurg, we took the first left we could and began to head down the blocks. It was here that I realized that this district seems to work on a grid system. Each house may be unique, but their plot sizes are all identical. It didn't take long for us to find a building that was simply labeled with a 1354.

The numbers appeared faded, as if they had been painted a long time ago. The rocks all appeared to be smoothed on the sides. The front door was made of wood and I could feel heat pouring out of the entrance. A strange noise kept emanating from the interior which sounded similar to a beast, but more synthetic.

We all silently played rock paper scissors to see who would knock on the door, and since my luck has always been terrible, I lost.

I walked up to the wooden door and knocked. Kany, Erana, and Tael all stood a small distance away in order to stay away from anything that might burst out.

The noise stopped. I heard a loud clatter as if something was carelessly dropped, and then the door in front of me opened.

A wave of fiery heat poured out, as if I had just opened an oven door. A short dwarf, even shorter than average, poked his head out. His face was covered by a welders mask and his beard poked out of the bottom.

We looked at each other for a moment in pure silence. It was hard to breath in this heat, let alone speak.

"What?" He finally asked.

"O-Oh… Um…" I quietly stammered as I fiddled with the package.

"Oh? Z'at for me?" He asked as he quickly grabbed the parcel out of my hands with a speed that was unbecoming of his stature.

"Oh! The core!" He loudly declared to himself as he turned around and ran back into the building.

I stood in silence, dumbfounded by what had just happened.

"So… are we gonna get money or…?" I could hear Kany ask.

"WHAZZAT? YOU GOTTA BE LOUDER, I'M WORKING ON SOMETHING!" The dwarf shouted out. I could hear the sound of metal hitting metal begin. The noise repeated at such a high speed that I wasn't sure if he was hammering something or if he had 100 other people working in the back.

"S-SHE ASKED IF WE'RE GETTING PAID!" I shouted out.

With that, the noise ceased once more as the short dwarf emerged from the interior and approached me.

"This is something I already paid for. I don't owe you nothing." He looked me over as he said this.

"O-Okay well um…"

"Wait." The dwarf grabbed my leg with surprising strength.

"Y-Yes?"

"Dagger. Lemme see it." He held out his hand and made a beckoning motion.

"You're not gonna break it, are you?"

"Feh. Break a dagger of adamantite? Whodya think I am, the demon king? I just wanna see it boy, give it here!" He began to shake me.

"O-Okay! Here!" I pulled out my adamantite dagger and presented it towards the scary short dwarf. As I held it out, I could hear many ooh's and aah's come from him.

"Yep. Tell me, where did you get this?"

"From a woman named Ania. Why?"

"Did she tell you who made this?"

"No… I assume it was just crafted by a regular smith."

At that, the dwarf raised the visor of his welding mask and spat in my face.

"IT'S NOT JUST ANYONE THAT MADE THAT DAGGER YOU DRUMP FUNDER LUMPTY! THAT WAS MADE BY MY APPRENTICE, GUDO!"

"Huh?"