Chapter 42.2

Impressed by all this, Glenn spoke.

“You had already planned this far.”

“It’s killing two birds with one stone.”

Nadia needed the dwarves’ technique in order to achieve her goals, their advanced skills that were not yet known to the human world. But she didn’t want to oppress and exploit them like Count Altair did. Dwarves did have a very strong sense of pride. Being high-handed with them would not bring out their true skill. While under Count Altair’s command, they did not let him know of those never before seen techniques.

Nadia rose from her seat as she spoke.

“Now that we are on the topic, how does meeting the dwarves tomorrow morning sound?”

_________________________________

Count Altair had been expelled but the dwarves were not completely relaxed. Why? It was because they were still under the protection of the Marquis of Winterfell.

It was called ‘protection’, but from their perspective, it was surveillance.

‘He is helping us now, but we don’t know when his attitude will change and we will be enslaved again.’

Weren’t all lords the same when it came to coveting the dwarves’ skill? That was why the eldest among the dwarves, Miar, decided to show the most humble attitude[1].

“We are truly grateful that you saved our lives. The lives we lived during that time were so deplorable that we were filled with rage. We are deeply sorry to have impinged on you even more, which is why…”

Miar carefully continued, as he examined the madam of the house that had personally come to where the dwarves were staying.

“We think it is best if we leave the castle once we fully recover. I am sorry that at the moment, we have nothing to repay the lord’s help with. As you can see, we have nothing…”

“You do not have to worry about repaying anything.”

“Of course, you did not rescue us hoping to be repaid, but we dwarves always repay favors. If we arrive safely at our village, we will send all our treasures to you the moment we arrive.”

The reason why humans kidnapped dwarves was crystal clear.

‘They want the things we make.’

So it was much better to offer up those things that they wanted. If they let her have the precious dwarf weapons, she would definitely agree to let them go. But instead —

“Haha ”

Nadia burst into laughter for a short while, upon hearing the promise Miar had tacked on in anxiety.

“……!”

“Ma, madam?”

The dwarves’ faces began to pale, having misunderstood what her laughter meant. Was she laughing at them for thinking a few treasures would satisfy her?

Seeing the dwarves fret, Nadia spoke.

“You do not have to be so nervous. Even if you return to your village and mention no word of it, we will not blame you.”

“We, we have no intention of doing so!”

“More than that, I want to make you a slightly different proposal.”

Another proposal? Miar’s throat moved up and down, as he swallowed fretfully.

“Please speak, Madam.”

Miar thought that the madam of the castle must be here to organize the details of the compensation for saving them. But what came out of her mouth was something they had never imagined in their lives.

“How about working in our estate and a fair wage for it?”

“Huh?”

“Did you leave your village in order to see the wider world?”

“Ye, yes we did.”

“If that is so, just returning to your village like this will be such a let down. But you must also be worried that you will be kidnapped again if you remain in the human world.”

At this point, they could guess what she was trying to say. And just as they guessed, Nadia made them an offer.

“Work for Winterfell. We will of course guarantee your safety, and also give you holidays. You can go visit your village anytime you want.”

“……..”

Despite her soft tone of voice, tension began to spread among the dwarves. The way they saw it, it hadn’t been long since they were kidnapped and exploited. Asking them to become employees of Winterfell meant that they also wanted the dwarves’ techniques. She was smiling so sweetly now, but they had no way of knowing when she would change and enslave them again if some disagreement arose.

Knowing what they were worried about, Nadia added.

“We will send whoever wants to return back to your hometown. If you feel like those who remain are being ill-treated, you can report to the royal family. The north does not have a good relationship with those in the central government. You all know that it is illegal to subhumans as slaves, right? The instant we are charged with enslaving dwarves, the royal family will believe the charges and come running. They will have a good reason to attack us.”

“We are thankful that you have considered so much for us, but…”

There was still something that the dwarves were worried about. Mair carefully yet honestly laid it out.

“Madam, is it okay if I ask one question?”

“Go ahead.”

“Why in the world… are you showing us such kindness?”

To put it bluntly, were they in any position to refuse if she locked them up and forced them to work like Count Altair did? Every favor came at a price. That was the first lesson Miar learned when he came to the human world.

“The first reason is that it is against the law to exploit subhumans as slaves. You could also say that it is out of a sense of morality. However, those are not the only reasons why I am offering you these good terms.

“……..”

“If we force you to work for us, we know you won’t show us all of your skills. That’s what you did under Count Altair.”

“How, how did you know that?!”

The dwarves’ shoulders trembled with fear.

There was no way they would want to show the entirety of the skills to people who had threatened and oppressed them. Mindful of what their surveillance had wanted, they made passable quality weapons instead.

Did the Madam know how to identify subtle differences in quality? She would definitely not be pleased if her subordinates tried to pull the wool over her eyes.

But what Nadia meant to point out was something else.

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“After we captured this castle, I took a look at the smithy. The bellows there are not the same as the new bellows used in the dwarf village.”

Notes:

[1] Miar: pronounced mee-arh, 미아르.