Chapter 128 128: The Dwarf Village [Pt2]



Keith twisted and turned in his bed as he tried to sleep. But no matter how hard he tried to shut his eyes; they would just end up opening again. He was tired and agitated but he also pulled his body up.

If he would not be able to sleep today, then he had no choice but to tire himself out so that he could sleep. 

So, in the middle of the night when everyone else was asleep, Keith dragged himself out of the bed and went outside. The cool breeze of the night was making Keith's head feel empty and cool. 

His head was empty of any thoughts so he was easily able to make his way across the town. Before he knew it, he had walked toward the place where he had seen the temple before. And the realization startled even himself.

'Why did I walk all the way here? Did my body unconsciously follow this route?'

Keith was not sure what happened but he knew he needed to leave right now. The power that was guiding him was a weird one and Keith had a feeling he should not tangle himself with that power.

He was about to turn back when he heard a bushed being pushed apart. He watched as the dwarf from before exited the shadows with a startled expression. But the dwarf relaxed as soon as it noticed Keith.

"Oh, so it is you. I did not expect you to come here chasing after but gods. But I guess it is impossible to hide your fascination with this place, huh?"

The dwarf asked as it noticed the forgotten ruins of a temple behind Keith. It was a tragic fate that had fallen the poor place.

"This temple-"

"Used to belong to our fallen god. Believe it or not, this was once a vibrant place full of life. And then our god was framed and killed by the people and we were driven out of our homes. As a result, here we are now."

The dwarf spoke in a melancholic voice. If Keith had to guess, he would say that the dwarf was remembering something from the far past.

But before Keith could ask the dwarf what was wrong, he was ushered back to his home.

"You should not be here, little human. The gods are vengeful, even the fallen ones. And they do not like their things to be tampered with."

Keith unconsciously found himself grasping his earring. He had borrowed it (stolen it) from a god's domain as well. So, did this mean he was cursed now? Was he going to die soon?

The dwarf likely noticed his actions and decided to put Keith's demons to rest for now.

"You should not worry too much about your current artifact. It might be godly but it has no attachment to its previous owner. The sword your companion is wielding thought…that is a different story."

The dwarf warned and Keith found himself relaxing.

Master Shinzou was a tough guy who could take anything thrown at him while Keith was a fragile person at heart. Too much excitement and stress were bad for his heart.

"By the way, you lead Fushi toward the sword knowing it was cursed, right? Why would you do something like that?"

Keith needed to ask the dwarf. He did not want to keep on second-guessing himself about wanting to trust the dwarf or not. He did not have enough mental power for such a thing.

"Hmm, why did I lead that female human to the sword you ask? Because she looked serious about fighting the Fenrir beast. A familiar of a god, even a fallen one, is not something humans should get tangled with."

The dwarf warned Keith without missing a step. But Keith felt his insides twist and turn in anxiety about that warning.

"I see. So, the way to fight divine power is with divine power?"

Keith asked and the dwarf nodded.

"Precisely. Well, unless you want to make a contract with the devil, using diving powers is the only way for one to combat a god. But as tempting as it may sound, never make a contract with the devil. Even the gods were not safe from that temptation and fell to disgrace."

Keith had nothing to say about it. Things about gods and devils were not something in his domain of expertise. 

All he wanted to do was to rest and forget about this encounter. He just wanted to go back to where he had come from.

ραпdαn૦νel "We are here. I hope you have a nice sleep."

Keith opened the door but the dwarf was not done yet.

"I know I said things to you the first time I met you child but I can no longer remember them. It is my divine power that forced me to say all those words and I hope you would consider them in the future."

Keith gripped the handle on the door tightly.

He remembered what the dwarf had told him - to never forget what he wanted and to always seek a way home.

"Do not worry. I have no intention of forgetting my true purpose. That is what my life depends on."

Keith left the dwarf behind without waiting for an answer from the dwarf. He had a feeling that he would regret it if he heard anything more.

"Grandmaster, what are you doing up? Do you need my help with anything?"

Master Fushi asked him with a worried expression. This was an expression Keith saw on her face for the first time but he was not in the mood to be entertained.

"Do not worry about me. I will be going to sleep now."

Naturally, since a lot had happened, sleep was difficult for Keith to achieve. He was tired and stressed when he woke up the next day.

The sun was shining brightly in the sky but that was nothing new. In this place, the sun never set so you could not use it as an indicator of how much time had passed already. 

So naturally, when Keith went down, he did not know how long he had slept. The only one up was Clair and she looked freshened up.

"Wow, you are up early. You only went to bed four hours ago."

Clair commented as she sipped on her coffee. It was comical to see a child drink from a cup half her size. And the coffee finished in a single gulp.

"I was not able to sleep well last night. But I do not want to talk anymore about it."

Clair shrugged as she noticed Keith's sour mood. She did not want to ask him any questions regarding his mood and Keith did not want to answer them either. 

They were both tip-toeing around the main topic.

And of course, the others decided to wake up at the given time as well. They all looked freshened up and ready to go out.

"So, what are we doing today? Are we going to look around for the bastards behind this whole thing? Man, I sure am ready to take care of the problem here."

Shimi looked pumped up. Her face was layered in makeup and other accessories and she was also dressed to impress.

Frankly, Keith had no idea where Shimi managed to find such fancy clothes and make-up but he was too tired to ask her these questions.

Master Shinzou and Master Fushi arrived on time as well.

Now that everyone was here, it was time to go out and take care of the problem. But as soon as they opened the door, the dwarfs stopped them from moving.

There were a lot of them and they looked at Keith and his group with wide eyes.

"Are you going to drive the awful humans away from our home? Are you going to help us out?"

"Are you messengers of our god? Did he send you down here to help us out?"

"Wow, you all sure are tall and huge. How can I get like that as well."

Dwarfs looked at them like they were celebrities and Keith could see Shimi and Clair enjoying the attention. Master Shinzou was looking around for any promising student while even Master Fushi had a soft expression on her face.

The only one who did not find the situation amusing was Keith.

"We shall see what we can do."

The dwarfs widened their eyes at Keith's words and he was taken aback by their sudden enthusiasm. Their sparkly and hope-filled eyes were too much for Keith to take.

"I think you will need someone to guide you through the forest. Please allow my kids to be your guide."

The village leader stepped forward and Keith noticed that he was the same dwarf who had led them to their village.

Behind him were two younger-looking dwarfs. From his words, Keith could guess that they were his kids.

"These two will guide your group around since it is easy to get lost on the way out. I hope your journey bears fruits in the future."