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Chapter 300: Dwarf Cave Mantamia (2)
After the commotion barely settled, Ketal was led to the reception room by Parco.
Sitting across from Ketal, Parco still looked dazed.
Ketal, seated in the chair, muttered,
"Quite a commotion. What happened?"
"..."
Because of you.
That’s what Parco wanted to say, but he couldn’t.
He was too afraid of Ketal.
Ketal, seeing his expression, soon realized why.
"Was it because of me?"
Parco didn’t answer.
But that was an answer in itself.
Ketal scratched his cheek.
"Hmm."
He had torn through the barrier with sheer force.
Thinking back, there was no real need to do that.
He could’ve just waited or called Parco over.
But, excited at the idea of finding the sanctuary with his own power, he tore it open forcefully.
It was quite a barbaric thing to do—something one would only expect to see in the white snowfields.
‘Why did I do that?’
Upon quietly reflecting, Ketal soon understood.
‘Because I could.’
That was all.
It wasn’t a wrong judgment.
Even if he had torn through the barrier, threatened these people, made them submit, and forced them to serve him, nothing would have changed.
The elves wouldn’t have been able to resist him, and the outside humans would’ve backed down just to appease him.
No one could give him orders.
No one could control him.
He was the barbarian of the white snowfields.
Their king.
He could act however he wished.
‘...’
Ketal frowned.
But he wasn’t just a barbarian.
He had a modern person’s conscience.
Ketal was once a human from Earth.
He didn’t want to sacrifice others for his own pleasure or enjoyment.
If he had that kind of mindset, the world would’ve faced disaster the moment he appeared.
‘Have I been slowly losing myself without realizing it?’
As the power he once thought was his limit kept increasing, his sense of self was beginning to change.
That couldn’t continue.
Ketal suppressed his emotions.
"Sorry. I’ll be more careful."
"Oh, no. It’s okay..."
Seeing Ketal calm down, Parco cautiously asked,
"What exactly… did you do?"
Even though Ketal had always been strong and frightening, this felt different.
There was a qualitative change.
Ketal casually responded,
"I’ve become able to handle mystic arts. I mixed them in while expanding my senses."
The result was satisfying.
At the moment he expanded his senses, he had pinpointed the sanctuary's location.
"It was quite good."
"I see..."
Parco swallowed hard.
He honestly wanted to pass this responsibility to someone else and run away.
But he couldn’t.
He was the highest-ranking person in the sanctuary at the moment.
Ketal, puzzled, asked,
"But why are you the one here? Where are Karin and Arkamis?"
If Ketal had come, it would’ve made sense for those two to show up.
At the very least, Arkamis would’ve rushed over immediately.
Yet, even with all this commotion, neither of them appeared.
Parco answered,
"They’re currently not in the sanctuary. They’ve left to fend off the attacks of evil forces outside."
"Hmm? Shouldn’t they be guarding the sanctuary? The demons must be targeting this place as well."
"We’ve fortified our defenses thoroughly. If anything goes wrong, they’re prepared to return immediately."
Parco hadn’t moved earlier, frozen in awe at Ketal’s aura, but normally, he would have acted instantly to summon Karin to the sanctuary.
Parco cautiously added,
"If you wish, I can call them here."
"No, that’s fine. If they’re busy, there’s no helping it. I’ll see them later."
If those two weren’t here, Ketal figured he could get the information he needed from Parco.
He looked at Parco, who instinctively flinched and shrank his shoulders.
"I have a question for you."
"A-anything. Please ask."
"What’s the current situation in the south?"
"...Not great, but not terrible either."
Fairies, elves, dragons, and dwarves—every non-human race had joined forces to fend off the evil forces.
The dragons, in particular, were powerful.
Each dragon, capable of reaching the level of a hero, could overturn the battlefield.
Naturally, the demons were aware of this and had invested considerable forces into the southern front, including many hero-level demons.
Though there were some areas where they were being pushed back, there were also areas where they were holding their ground.
It was a tight battle.
"I see."
After roughly grasping the southern situation, Ketal moved on to the main topic.
"What about the Dwarf Cave, Mantamia?"
"M-Mantamia? Why suddenly...?"
"I need something smelted."
Ketal pulled out a dragon bone from his dimensional pocket.
The powerful energy radiating from it made Parco gasp.
"Dr-Dragon bone!"
"I’ve heard only dwarves can smelt something like this. Can elves do it?"
"That’s impossible."
Parco quickly shook his head.
In this world, only dwarves could handle such materials.
Parco realized why Ketal intended to go to Mantamia and cautiously spoke.
"It might be difficult right now."
"Is there a problem?"
"Yes. Mantamia is currently occupied by demons."
"Ho."
Ketal’s eyes gleamed.
"Did the demons take it by force?"
"I don’t know the exact details, but I’ve heard the dwarves were driven out of Mantamia. They’ve been trying to reclaim it with outside help, but it hasn’t been going well."
"Did Karin or Arkamis go to help?"
"No. They’re in a different location. Honestly… dwarves and elves don’t get along very well."
"Oh."
Ketal’s interest was piqued.
Of course, elves and dwarves shouldn’t get along—that’s the way of fantasy, isn’t it?
Ketal found it amusing, while Parco was bewildered.
‘W-what’s this?’
Why was Ketal pleased at hearing about the enmity between dwarves and elves?
Parco was filled with fear at something he couldn’t understand.
"Thanks for the information. I’ll go help them."
"Ah, the location—"
"No need to tell me. I already know."
Ketal stood up, and Parco awkwardly followed to see him off.
Before leaving, Ketal asked,
"You said they were getting outside help to reclaim Mantamia."
If they were receiving help, it was likely from someone of hero-class.
"Do you know who it is?"
"I do."
Parco answered, and Ketal’s eyes widened.
"Ancient Dragon. Ignisia."
"...Ho, I see."
Ketal smiled.
He now had one more reason to head to Mantamia.
"Thanks. See you later."
"...Haha."
Parco forced out a dry laugh.
Not once did he manage to tell Ketal not to come back.
Unbothered, Ketal took off.
"...Whew."
It was only long after Ketal had left that Parco collapsed into his chair.
He prayed deeply from the bottom of his heart.
Please, please let me never see him again.
Unfortunately, that prayer wasn’t granted.
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* * *
‘Crossing the continent.’
Ketal thought as he leapt forward.
Starting from the west, moving north, then east, and now south.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he had circled the world.
"If it weren't for the demons, I could have taken my time and explored more."
He felt a bit of regret, as though he had enjoyed it too quickly.
Ketal clicked his tongue.
"Well, it's not all bad."
After all, it was only because of the demons that he had been able to travel like this.
Ketal brushed off his thoughts lightly and propelled himself forward.
[This is the place.]
At the Holy Sword's words, Ketal halted.
Before him stood a massive mountain range.
Even from a quick glance, it was clear that a path had been deliberately carved through the mountains.
It was so skillfully hidden that an ordinary person wouldn’t notice it.
At least, not a human.
Ketal approached with a grin.
He followed the path, and with the guidance of the Holy Sword, he soon reached his destination.
"There it is."
Midway up the mountain, there was a massive cave entrance.
It was so large that an entire castle could easily fit inside.
This was the sacred place of the dwarves.
The entrance to Mantamia.
And around the entrance, there seemed to be a temporary settlement.
Dozens of huts, all enclosed by a barrier, were visible.
The huts were extremely small, as if meant for children.
They were the huts of the dwarves.
"So they’ve been driven out and are camped right at the entrance."
[That seems to be the case. Normally, the entrance wouldn’t be so openly visible. Like the elves’ sacred place, there’s usually a special veil covering it.]
The veil had been completely broken, leaving the dwarves no place to hide.
Ketal smiled as if he was looking forward to something.
"Let’s go."
[Ugh... Fine.]
Ketal approached the entrance.
As he got closer, the dwarves standing guard spotted him.
Their small eyes widened, and they hurried inside.
Then, a bell rang.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
It was the bell of warning.
With the sound of murmuring, dwarves appeared in droves.
"What is this?"
"It’s a human! A human! How did a human get here?"
"And it’s a barbarian!"
Ketal leisurely watched the dwarves scramble in a hurry.
‘Wow.’
Dwarves.
Real dwarves.
They were as small as children, but with long, flowing beards that seemed out of place on their muscular bodies.
They perfectly matched the image of dwarves that Ketal had always imagined.
His eyes sparkled like a child’s.
The dwarves quickly lined up.
They held axes and muskets, glaring at Ketal.
One dwarf stepped forward and shouted.
"Who are you?"
Suspicion filled the dwarves’ eyes.
It was a natural reaction.
Dwarves, with their superior craftsmanship, were highly coveted by humans.
Like the elves, many dwarves had been enslaved by humans.
And in the current situation, with the forces of evil invading, a barbarian appearing at their sacred place was cause for great concern.
"Wait a minute!"
A dwarf who had been closely observing Ketal widened his eyes.
"That guy reeks of elf! And not just a little, it’s strong!"
"Hmm?"
Ketal tilted his head at the remark but quickly understood its meaning.
The high elf queen, Karin, had recognized Ketal.
From now on, he would forever be considered a friend of the elves.
Apparently, the dwarves could sense this as well.
Their suspicion intensified, and the final nail was driven.
"Hold on!"
One dwarf gasped.
"That guy! He’s got the Holy Sword on his waist!"
"You noticed right away."
[They serve the god who made me, after all. They can probably sense my presence.]
"The Holy Sword is broken!"
The dwarves were shocked.
The sacred tool given to the world by the god was shattered.
But that wasn’t all.
"I can’t feel any power from the sword! What’s going on?"
"The Holy Sword is broken! It can’t fulfill its role anymore! That damn barbarian stole the sword!"
[…It’s true, but it feels strange hearing them shout about it like that. I’m following you of my own free will, you know.]
The Holy Sword muttered, feeling awkward.
Unfortunately, the dwarves couldn’t hear it.
"He’s the enemy!"
"An enemy!"
The suspicion in the dwarves’ eyes turned into outright hostility.
They gripped their weapons tighter.
"It seems talking isn’t going to work."
Ketal narrowed his eyes.
Just like when he encountered the elves, it seemed he would have to show them something—whether it be strength, spirit, or something else—to make them submit.
He was about to release his restrained power when he paused.
"...Hmm."
Ketal suppressed his emotions and held back his actions.
Subduing the dwarves through force would be a violent approach.
A modern man wouldn’t do such a thing.
And there was no need to.
Ketal had been traveling through this fantasy world.
He hadn’t gone around wreaking havoc or tearing things apart.
He restrained himself and considered others.
He acted to help communities and become a part of the world.
Some might scoff at this, but at least he himself tried his best to hold back.
And when he did, the world, in turn, responded accordingly.
A presence was felt above the dwarves’ heads.
"...Huh?"
"What?"
Something from the heavens was watching them.
There was a divine aura in the air.
[Wait! This presence!]
The Holy Sword was alarmed.
This was no aura that could be perceived by earthly beings.
It belonged to something much greater—a celestial entity.
It was the god the dwarves worshipped.
The blacksmith god.
He was now watching over the earth, and Ketal.
Ketal’s gaze met the god’s.
There were many emotions in that gaze.
But at the very least, there was no hostility.
Enter.
A voice echoed.
Everyone present heard it.
A dwarf muttered in awe.
"God?"
Creak!
Without anyone touching it, the barrier’s gate swung wide open.
It was as if the god was welcoming Ketal’s visit.
"Thanks for the warm welcome."
In the silence, Ketal responded to the god.
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