After running a large tab, Rondo became dead drunk.
I had really underestimated how much he could drink.
If I wasn't a noble, then I really wouldn't be able to afford this tab.
After all, he had drunk enough to feed a commoner family for a month without problem. They would even be able to eat in luxury with this amount and have more than enough change to spare.
That was just how much a dwarf could drink if he was allowed to go all out.
Luckily, I did have the money to pay for it and even better, I had a concubine who was so rich that this was just a drop in the bucket.
Haley said with a smile on her face as she threw the gold coins on the table, "It's on me."
Once again, I couldn't help feeling lucky that I was able to meet someone like her.
At the same time, I couldn't help thinking how I was lucky enough to land someone like her.
After paying the bill and having someone take Rondo to an inn, we headed back to the manor to face my greatest challenge.
After all, waiting at my manor was Rose who I would have to explain to why I would be leaving again so soon.
I hadn't even been in town for a day and I was already preparing to leave.
If I was here, I would be angry too...
So I had to think of a way to appease her or else I wouldn't be able to go.
As I was agonizing over this, Haley just had a relaxed look on her face that almost irritated me. It was like she thought that this was someone else's problem and not hers.
So I broke this thought for her with just a few words.
"If I don't, you won't be going either, you know?"
As soon as she heard this, she couldn't help revealing a shocked look.
She looked at me with many different expressions before she slowly came to accept my words.
She realized that I was right.
It was only through my relationship with Rondo that we would be allowed into the Dwarven Kingdom in the first place. So if I didn't go, it wasn't as if she would be allowed in since Rondo wouldn't bring them if I wasn't going.
Haley opened and closed her mouth a few times before finally revealing a bitter smile.
She knew what kind of personality that Rose had and she really couldn't predict how she would act.
The only weakness that Rose seemed to have was...Zwein, their husband.
So the only one that had a chance of convincing her was him.
After all of this, Haley raised her hand to pat my shoulder before saying, "Good luck."
I revealed a bitter smile and shook my head, but I didn't say a thing.
When we arrived, I found that Rose was standing outside waiting for me.
Even though it was still autumn, that didn't mean that it wasn't cold at night.
I immediately came out of the carriage and took off my jacket to drape over her before saying, "What are you doing? It's cold outside and you're dressed so lightly. What if you catch a cold?"
Rose said with a smile, "I wanted to wait for you."
I didn't know what to say, so I just revealed a faint smile before walking in with her.
When we came into the hall of the manor, I found that there were also others waiting for me.
It was Cecilia, Moon, Veronica, and surprisingly Shaka and Scar.
It wasn't as strange seeing Cecilia and Moon, or even Veronica since I was sure that they lived here. Though I would have preferred that Moon and Veronica went somewhere else...
But Shaka and Scar...
Shaka normally lived with his men who lived outside of town.n(/0Velb1n
They could have lived in town, but they said that it's better for them to live outside for work.
Though when I visited, it seemed like they just wanted a secret hideout...
As for Scar, shouldn't he be with Shaka and his men?
After coming in, we all went to the living room and sat down.
Once we had settled and the maids had brought us some tea, Rose didn't hold back at all as she said, "It seems that you've had an interesting day."
I couldn't help jolting the moment that I heard this.
I looked at her and opened and closed my mouth a few times as if I was trying to explain myself. But then I just revealed a bitter smile and lowered my head to say, "I'm sorry."
Rose revealed a surprised look before saying, "Why are you apologizing?"
I couldn't help being surprised too when I heard this.
I slowly looked up and found that she had a genuinely surprised look on her face, so I couldn't help asking, "What do you mean by interesting?"
Rose revealed a smile as she said, "Well it isn't every day that one meets a dwarf, I would say that that's quite interesting. At the same time, you're even preparing to head to the Dwarf Kingdom, wouldn't that be..."
Before she could finish, I bowed my head again as I said, "I'm sorry!"
Rose once again revealed a confused and surprised look when she heard this as she asked, "Why are you apologizing?"
I decided to go all out by saying, "I decided to go with Rondo to the Dwarven Kingdom on my own without even consulting you. I know that I was wrong!"
As I said this, I fell to my knees and bowed my head.
This was the traditional apologizing stance of my previous world and I was putting it to full use here.
While Rose didn't understand what this stance was, she could feel the emotions that were behind it.
So she stood up and came over to help me up before saying, "What are you apologizing for? Didn't you do this for the good of our town? Mithril is a resource that everyone wants and if our town can make a connection to the dwarves to obtain this resource, it is a good thing."
I looked up at her smile and could tell that she wasn't angry at all. She was sincere with her words which warmed my heart even more.
I looked at her and slowly gave a nod before saying, "Thank you for understanding."
Rose just looked at me with the same warm smile.
But of course, this matter wasn't over yet.
While we were like this, I could feel three other gazes that were on me.
When the word 'mithril' had been raised, there were three people that had suddenly jolted in response to this.
They had only heard about the dwarf, they had never heard anything about mithril.
Mithril was of course a valuable resource for humans, so they were naturally interested.
Not just humans, mithril was also considered a valuable resource for elves, so even the one elf in the room was interested in this matter.
So even if I had surprisingly managed to easily convince Rose, there were still others that I had to talk to.