Episode 107
EPISODE.54
“Don’t hesitate, come this way. Shouldn’t we go inside the city first?”
A voice came from about 50 cm below. As I lowered my gaze, I saw two dwarves with sparse hair.
The name of the dwarf with brown hair is ‘Piggy’. The name of the dwarf with thick eyebrows like Songchungi is ‘Migi’.
Russell and Vermilion nodded their heads dumbfounded as they recalled the names each had introduced.
“Uh hmm. uh. yes.”
I thought it was fortunate that I didn’t have to be hostile, but I never thought they would welcome me this far.
Could it be some kind of trap?
Even that thought flashed through his head, and Russell opened his mouth with a bewildered expression as he followed them.
“It’s a little different from what I expected.”
“What do you mean? A little human friend?”
Apparently, the two dwarves decided to call Russell the ‘Little Man’ and Vermilion the ‘Big Man’.
If you think of it as a ‘little human’ in the normal category, he also belongs to the tall one, but-.
‘Compared to the death penalty, it’s a cute level.’
Even to himself, it would look huge, but if a dwarf saw it, wouldn’t it look like a titan from a legend?
With such a stupid thought in mind, Russell continued his question.
“The road to the Underworld wasn’t easy, so I thought they might be hostile… but on the contrary, they welcomed me.”
“I was thinking about something.”
‘Piggy’, a dwarf with brown fur, smiled. It was Miki next to him who explained.
“In normal cases, we should be vigilant, but this is the Underworld. An exception is made for humans who have come to the Underworld.”
I wondered why only humans who came to the Underworld were the exception, but my worries were short-lived.
It was because a single thought passed through my mind.
“Either you have a map or an artifact…”
“Otherwise, you are a contractor of the Spirit.”
Vermillion murmured, and Russell concluded.
“what? You know me well, right?”
“If you have a map or an artifact, you would have received it from our clan, so you are a friend of the clan.
Meegi glanced at Pepper, who was sitting on top of Russell’s head.
Gyareuk-.
“Moreover, a fire spirit. Fire is good.”
“Nothing. Fire is a good thing.”
Like a clan that handles metal, they say they like fire.
“Isn’t there a possibility that the artifact or map was stolen from the person who originally had it?”
At Vermillion’s question, the two dwarves chuckled.
“I don’t know what you’re worried about. big human. This is the Underworld. Underworld.”
“No matter how much I covet it, do you think there would be a crazy person who would enter the Underworld alone with such an irreverent purpose?”
Indeed, it made sense, so Russell and Vermilion shook their heads.
“A bigger human being.”
“My name is Vermilion. Vermillion Woolsen. And this is my priest, Russell Raymond.”
These names are so famous that few people on the ground know about them, but this is the underground Underworld.
The dwarves met each other’s eyes and chewed their names several times as if trying to remember them.
“Anyway, a big man. Bur… Million?”
“…?”
“It’s a pretty well-built muscle. That’s quite a muscle for a human.”
“Say that. Few humans understand these muscles.”
What followed immediately after was small talk that had no nutritional value.
Russell shook his head as he caught a glimpse of the back of a human and two dwarves who could communicate through their muscles.
If you go inside the Underworld, there will be dwarves who will form a bond of sympathy with their muscles.
‘Maybe this place is paradise on earth for the death penalty.’
After walking for a while with such nonsensical stories in one ear, the downhill road on a steep slope like a cliff ended.
“Oh, you are here.”
“That’s the entrance to the Underworld.”
The entrance to the Underworld revealed itself.
‘Was this steel?’
Surrounding the outer wall of the Underworld was iron that looked solid even at a glance.
Even if all of this iron was melted, it was so vast that it would be possible to fully arm about half of Endymion’s regular army.
“The door is also steel.”
thump-.
Vermillion knocked on the shutter-type door that blocked his way.
Meanwhile, the dwarves Piggy and Migi, who guided the two of them, talked with the dwarves above the outer wall.
Perhaps thanks to that, the gates opened without difficulty.
Guggugggug-.
“now. Come in.”
“Welcome to the underworld. Human friends!”
Piggy and Migi pulled their hands. Vermillion asked as he entered the Underworld.
“Rather than that, what will the priest do from now on?”
“yes?”
“I’m thinking of going to learn how to handle muscles, but didn’t the priest come for other research purposes?”
“…For now, yes.”
“Then I think it would be better for us to act separately from now on.”
“hmm-.”
When I heard it, it was not wrong. I didn’t want to be dragged around talking about muscles forever.
“It certainly seems like it would be better to do as the brother-in-law said.”
“good. Then we have to set up a place and time to meet again…”
He quickly added, calculating the number of days it would take to return.
“How about seeing you here again after lunch in the next three weeks?”
three weeks.
If it was long, it was long and if it was short, it was a short time.
There was no guarantee that he would be able to find the traces of the dragon or the dragon within that time.
However, considering the research period, that was the best.
“I will know in three weeks.”
Russell nodded.
“Then let’s see each other that day.”
After hearing the answer, Vermillion approached Piggy, one of the dwarves who guided her.
Eventually, after asking something, he left with his guidance, and Migi, who saw the two of them, asked.
“Is there a place even a small human would like to visit?”
It seems like he wants to guide you, perhaps because he’s a human guest who hasn’t been in a while.
“Hmm…”
Russell asked, reading the expression.
“According to lore, I heard that the Underworld is blessed with two dragons. Is that right?”
“oh. It is our long history. I received the blessing of flame from the silver dragon, who controls iron and wind, and the blessing of steel, and the fire dragon, who controls fire. That is why the veins here produce good iron and there is an excellent fire to melt it.”
There was no discrepancy with the record.
“Then, are there any traces left of those two dragons?”
“trace? Well…”
Migi tilted her head and sighed, then added after a while.
“I don’t know if it’s a trace, but if it’s an altar, there is. It was built a long time ago when the two of them bestowed blessings, and they say that they often stayed there several thousand years ago.”
“…!”
At the word altar, Russell’s eyes lit up. If it wasn’t just an altar for offering sacrifices, if the dragon actually stayed there-.
‘Some traces might remain.’
Of course, it was more likely that nothing remained as it was a trace from thousands of years ago.
So, as if he had been waiting, he asked Migi.
“Is that altar a place where even outsiders can see it?”
Migi nodded as if in response to Russell’s expectations.
“What a difficult thing. Please follow me.”
* * *
“First, let’s go to the altar that enshrines the Fire Dragon.”
It would have been convenient if the two dragon altars were in one place, but unfortunately, the altars for the fire dragon and the silver dragon were located in different directions.
‘The polar opposites of the eastern and western Underworld.’
In order to reach the altar, I had to cross the Underworld.
As I was following Migi, I could clearly see the interior of the Underworld.
‘Is this…a market?’
Those who seemed to be dwarven merchants were doing business in a row with their respective products.
Among them, there were various weapons like a dwarf, but there were also quite a few other items such as daily necessities and foodstuffs.
Of course, it was the arms that caught my eye.
Swords and spears that looked sharp even at a glance, even though they were simply scrutinized.
Armor and shields that seemed hard enough to compare to them.
After looking at them for a while, Miki, who had been walking with them, quietly spoke to them.
“How is it? All spears and armor sold here are made by us.”
“It seems implausible. I heard it’s great, but I never thought it would be this much…”
Each one is comparable to the works of a yajangjang that has been worked on for more than decades. If they were spread out like this…
‘Those things that are treated as luxury goods among the dwarves must be really amazing.’
Did he like Russell’s praise? Migi burst into laughter.
“Uh ha ha ha. yes?”
He proudly tapped Russell’s thigh with his elbow.
“The weapon used by the famous Kuril beast king Muyaho was also made by our ancestors!”
The king of beasts, Muyaho.
It was a name I had heard at the time I was gathering information about the Kuril Islands.
The king of beastmen.
It is said that he is a strong man who boasts more power than most superhumans, and at the same time he is the ruler of the Kuril Islands.
‘His favorite soldiers were dwarves.’
It didn’t sound like particularly useful information, but there’s nothing wrong with remembering it.
Thinking so, Russell turned his gaze around once.
“But there are more non-dwarves than I thought.”
Rarely are humans.
“Most of them are fairies who live in the Amazon or forest. They trade with us, but if they need anything, they come and buy it directly.”
There was also a fairy tree in the shape of a small fairy, a tree in the shape of an old tree, and a feather family that can only be found in the Amazon or Great Forest.
‘That’s the Feather Tribe.’
The size is about the length of the wrist to the elbow, and the whole body is covered with hair.
They were fairies with a bird’s head and a human-like body.
Russell recorded them with image magic.
As they are hard to find in human society, I wanted to leave them as data at this opportunity.
It was then.
kyareuk-?
Pepper, who was sleeping on Russell’s head as a nest, suddenly lifted his head.
Gyareuk Gyareuk?
Pepper, who had been moving her head upright, fluttered as if she had found something and flew up.
Gyareuk Gyareuk.
Food Duck-!
It crossed the fairies in the market and flew towards someone.
Gyareuk-.
“you-!”
Before long, someone who recognized Pepper shrieked and turned his head.
Scarily holding the pepper flying at him in his arms, he looked around as if he were looking for someone.
When I saw Russell, I opened my eyes.
Unlike other elves with blonde hair, this elf has silver hair and silver eyes.
Io, a tribe of white ash trees, spotted Russell and waved.
“Benefactor-!?”
dragon-swallowed wizard
