Chapter 60

It was important to have a plan.

Dwarves mostly enjoyed gambling and indulging in alcohol. Not all dwarves were like this, but because most dwarves were surprisingly good at self-control, they do enjoy gambling in moderation. In fact, those that were stressed and frustrated from work usually relieved their stress by drinking and gambling, since even the most extraordinary craftsman experienced stress.

Davey stepped into the tavern and the Eighth Elder Goulda recognized him immediately. The old dwarf asked, “Hm? What are you doing here?”

‘I thought he was too busy to do business, but he’s drinking here?’

It seemed like the old dwarf had been drinking here for a while, since the number of glasses in front of him were enough to leave any human speechless.

As Davey sat in front of Goulda with a laid-back attitude, Davey scoffed and said, “I thought you were quite busy, but it seems that you have some time to relax. Let’s have a drink together.”

“Hmph! Even the most important matters need to be slept on. To rush into dealing with the matter is, in fact, worse than doing nothing at all. And right now, Big Brother Goulda has kicked us all out, so... But you said you want to have a drink?”

“I heard the dwarf-made spirit is quite strong.”

It was not the Eighth Elder Goulda who responded, but Gerrit, the captain of the dwarf guards, who was nearby. “What? Spirit?”

‘I thought he’d be watching the door, but he’s here drinking, too. Alright.’

“Hey Malcolm! This human here wants to drink the dwarf-made spirit!” Gerrit shouted.

“Huh?”

Everyone suddenly perked up. The dwarves, who were too drunk to even realize that Davey had entered the tavern, looked at him in fascination. It was as if they were looking at a mystical animal.

“Phahahaha!”

“You want to drink the spirit? You’re out of your mind! And the person you’re drinking with is Elder Goulda?”

People began chattering from all over, as if they had understood what Davey had meant.

“Hey, human. You said your name was Davey?”

“That’s right.”

“I’m warning you, but the alcohol content in dwarf-made spirit is no joke. It’s too strong for a human to drink.”

“Well, this is nothing.” Davey grinned and chugged down a glass of spirit that was right in front of Goulda. He felt a strong yet clean scent of alcohol punch his nose.

“Hup!”

“Hm...”

At the same time, the dwarves, who were chattering and laughing nearby, looked surprised.

“Whew! This is what alcohol should be like.” Davey chuckled and clicked his tongue.

-I don’t understand why people drink alcohol...

‘To be honest, it’s just super strong and doesn’t taste good at all.’

“It feels a little weak, but it doesn’t matter. So, Eighth Elder. Would you care for a battle?” Davey asked.

Goulda squinted at Davey. He still looked a little bothered when he gradually widened his eyes in surprise. “Hey, are you really okay? You chugged that down in one shot. Can you tell how many fingers I am holding up?”

“It’s not bad,” Davey replied.

‘A few seconds ago, he couldn’t even hold himself up properly from being so drunk. Now, he has good judgment.’

“Hey, you human! Amazing!”

“My, how did you drink all that?”

“I can’t believe the drunkard of our tribe passed out like that!”

‘The best?’ Davey chuckled and stared at Goulda, but the old dwarf had already passed out from all the alcohol.

-You’re going to have to wait a day.

‘I think so, too.’

Watching Goulda be carried out by other dwarves, Davey turned his glance over to the remaining dwarves and smiled. “Who wants to be my next competitor?”

‘I’ve ignited their competitive spirit, so I should at least make a campfire with it.’

* * *

“Well, a bet is a bet. Okay, what are you so curious about?” Goulda asked.

“Did you say the Primordial Inferno has been causing the village to be so disorderly?” Davey threw a question back.

After hearing Davey’s question, Goulda suddenly went stiff from going all limp from the alcohol. Then, with a chuckle, he slumped onto the table. “Well, what can be done? The problem is the old sword that had been protecting our Yellowstone Tribe has broken.”

“It broke?”

“Yeah. It’s strange.” Goulda seemed dissatisfied by something and let out a sigh.

“Then, can’t you just give up on it?” Davey asked.

Goulda stared at Davey as if he was trying to figure out the intentions behind Davey’s honest question. “Even though it’s old and not made for attacking, it’s kind of like our spiritual anchor, in a way.”

“Is that so? I apologize.”

“Usually, the tribes take turns taking care of the sword. The tribe that receives the sword must take care of the sword for a certain amount of time; that is the promise and the rule. It’s been under the care of my father... But my brother and I are in charge of it now, because my father returned to the earth much earlier than we had expected.”

After hearing Goulda’s explanation, Davey managed to figure out the current situation. It was the Yellowstone Tribe’s turn to take care of the dwarves’ sacred weapon, but after Goulda’s father, who had been the only one fit to manage the sword, had passed so early, Goulda and his brother were hurried into taking over the role. Then, now that the sword itself had broken apart... Davey could sort of understand the situation.

As Davey nodded his head slowly, Goulda stared at him silently. Goulda asked Davey, “Okay, since I like you, I will ask this question: is that all you wish to know?”

Davey smiled. Dwarves had a strong sense of pride, but they were kind to species they found friendly and likable. All he did was have a drink with Goulda, but of course, he didn’t try to maintain a good impression for nothing. He said, “Actually, I am a little skilled in blacksmithing, so... Would I be able to watch you do your work as a late learner?”

Goulda flinched as he heard Davey’s question.

* * *

As soon as the sun came up, Goulda quickly headed to the Central Workshop, the best workshop of the Yellowstone Tribe, as if he was never drunk. Davey quietly followed along.

Although magic existed in this world, scientific technology was less developed than Earth because magic was much more advanced. In fact, when the people on Earth used technology to raise the temperature of a blast furnace, most kingdoms and empires required the help of magic or alchemy. All that the furnaces of a smithy in a territory or city could do were tasks like melting iron and such, but...

The Great Furnace of the dwarves was different. This enormous furnace, the pinnacle of the dwarves’ skills and crafts, was their pride. Hundreds of spinning wheels spun to automatically operate bellows, and it withstood extremely high temperatures because it was made out of a special material. As such, the temperature the Great Furnace could go up to was about 3000 degrees celsius. Of course, even this Great Furnace would start to crumble if the temperature was raised higher than that.

-I can’t believe that all this was made without any magic or alchemy and just by their craft.

Intrigued by Davey’s explanation, Perserque flew beside Davey while nodding. Even though she had lived for a long time, she still couldn’t have seen something like this. This was unsurprising since she had mostly lived in spirit form.

“Oh, Gol... Hey, who did you bring in here?”