Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 81: Farewell
After walking through the labyrinth path for a long time, they emerged into an open cave. There, a building illuminated by sunlight stood.
“…A village.”
“We have a few bases like this set up so we can move anytime. Dwarves aren’t inherently good at fighting, but we can build things.”
Long Beard, carrying a reddish-black ore on his side, spoke as he approached.
Indeed, judging by the recent battle, they weren’t strong. Crane looked up while holding his hand to the sunlight.
―― There’s a forest above.
Surrounded by bare rock walls, it seemed like a hollow enclosed by the cliffs. Outside, green leaves seemed to encircle the edges of the rocks, indicating dense woods.
“That’s the forest humans call Silverwood.”
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“This is Silverwood…?”
Yesterday, a forest extended behind the old capital, Bulgia, seen from afar. They must be situated below that forest.
That was the tip of Silverwood. In other words, their current location was opposite to the Silverheart Village, where Lucius’s family lived, separated by the forest.
And…
―― It’s our family’s territory.
Though there was no sense of returning home, his current location was undoubtedly Silverwood, the Dragon family’s territory.
“Is there something bothering you? Um…”
Long Beard scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
It was clear what he intended by not vocalizing it. They hadn’t even introduced themselves yet. Not that they were asked, though.
“I’m Lucius.”
“…Lucius, Small Light, huh. Nothing to do with us who live in the burrows.”
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Fagra’s father extended his right hand.
“I’m Damur.”
Since Damur’s height was only up to Crane’s chest, he reached out his right hand slightly downward. Lucius shook his hand.
“Thank you very much. … It’s my family’s role to manage this Silverwood Forest, so I was a little surprised. I never expected that you all would be living in our territory.”
“For now, but… it’s an unexpected connection, so…”
Long Beard seemed to awkwardly begin saying something, but Lucius interrupted him.
“I’m sorry. It seems like I’ve dragged you into this.”
Lucius bowed his head.
“…No, rather, I didn’t expect humans to help. If it weren’t for Lucius, we would’ve lost more comrades… We owe you. As the Dwarf Chief, I should express my gratitude.”
Lucius looked at the other dwarves.
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“Hey, someone lend a hand! The golem’s broken!”
“This one’s done for! Move on to the next!”
“Fagra! Help me fix the iron golem!”
He watched as the dwarves coated the golem with soil and rocks, as if applying putty. Occasionally, they cut their long, rugged hair with small knives and mixed it in.
―― Hair?
And as they repeatedly stroked the material mixed with hair, the golem’s wounds began to disappear.
“The golem’s being repaired…”
“You… Lucius, is this your first time seeing Dwarf magic? No, it must be.”
Chief Damur seemed slightly awkward. There was something uncomfortable about him.
“What kind of contract do dwarves make?”
“Dwarves can’t make contracts with spells. Because we don’t have magic cores.”
“Huh? Can you use magic without magic cores or contracts?”
“Dwarves are born with magic power and spells. And we imbue spells in our hair. Well, some people treat us as monsters because of that.”
“You activate spells using your own hair?”
“My hair’s got a color like iron, right? Minerals taken in with meals accumulate in your hair. And occasionally, guys like me with crystal-like red hair, and extremely rarely, those with reddish-black hair like Fagra are born. Those guys usually have a lot of magic power.”
Activating spells at the expense of one’s own body. It didn’t seem very safe.
As Lucius looked puzzled, Dwarf Chief Damur continued with a laugh.
“I’ll tell you, it’s an honor. Those with high magic power who can create advanced things become chiefs. And we’re far more dexterous than humans, by the way.”
For dwarves, creating many tools seemed to be unparalleled.
Crane had said that minerals were indispensable for dwarves.
From what I’ve heard, dwarves might also need to ingest minerals. And among those, there might be minerals that can only be obtained in the labyrinth.
Just as the Dragon family coexists with the Silverwood, a forest of monsters, dwarves are a clan associated with the labyrinth.
“I’m not boasting, but my crystal golem is a masterpiece! Without considerable skill, you can’t create an advanced golem like this.”
Damur laughed heartily as he looked up at the crystal golem standing next to him.
“A crystal golem, huh? They’re definitely troublesome.”
Once, he had been hugged tightly by one with such intense heat that it melted the ground in the labyrinth.
“Lucius, have you ever faced a crystal golem!?”
“Ah, um… well…”
The golems seemed to be creations of the dwarves living in the labyrinth. Literally, made at the cost of their own bodies. It would be inappropriate to mention destroying them in front of their creators.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s a mutual relationship. Humans destroy the golems, but they also bring back fake cores at the same time.”
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Lucius had obtained a special-grade fake core, or rather a slime, in the past. It still resided just above his buttocks, near the end of his spine, generating magic power day and night.
“Do dwarves also make fake cores?”
“No, fake cores are emitted by labyrinth cores that have absorbed too much magic power and can’t process it. It’s like a duplicate of the labyrinth. Old labyrinths with too many accumulated fake cores end up breaking because the load becomes too heavy. It’s a relief for the labyrinth when humans periodically reduce them.”
Though he didn’t understand what labyrinth cores were, slime was synonymous with division and trade.
Lucius forcefully swallowed the image from his previous life.
“I’m glad I’m not hated any further. I had a close call when I had to fight against a magic steel golem.”
“Well, the magic steel golem… weren’t they created by the dwarves with red-black hair!? It’s a pinnacle achievement.”
Damur glanced at the ore he was carrying.
Come to think of it, the color of the magic steel golem Lucius fought before was similar to this.
And so was Fagra’s hair color.
Damur and the dwarves around, who were listening in, grimaced as if to say, “That’s enough.”
“Even if you have the power to destroy, it’s meaningless! The gate’s been breached!”
While repairing the iron golem, Fagra raised her voice.
Instantly, Damur and the dwarves’ expressions darkened, and they looked down.
They must have all been trying not to think about it now.
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Crane reprimanded the irritated Fagra.
“Fagra, you don’t have to say it like that.”
“It’s the truth!”
Leaving only those words behind, she walked away to help fix the other golems.
“Forgive her. My wife, the mother of that one, was killed by humans.”
“By humans…?”
“In this area, there are countless mineral veins. People come here to mine them. Among them are those who believe that it was the dwarves who destroyed the old capital, Bulgia. My wife was killed by such people. Her intestines… were all pulled out, and she was crucified on the wall. She was a child, covered in blood, clinging to her mother.”
Damur clenched his teeth in frustration.
“To think people can be killed based on mere rumors…”
“…I do know that there are people who think that way. That young man was one of them.”
Damur glanced at Crane.
“But at the same time, I know that they are in the minority. Humans fight among their own kind as well. For most humans, dwarves are no different from monsters.”
With these words, Damur’s eyes looked profoundly lonely.
“Now, what should we do…”
Damur, at a loss, was surrounded by busy dwarves trying to repair the broken golems.
“Damur-san, what was that gate?”
“That… was to seal the demon dragon—”
Suddenly, a vast, chilling surge of magic power swept through.
Instinctively, everyone’s spine froze.
“What… is this magic…”
Crane stood there, looking as if in despair.
“…We didn’t make it in time…”
The surrounding dwarves also became restless.
Damur let out a sigh close to resignation.
“As expected…”
“W-What is it!?”
“That’s the mastermind of the undead. It has been sealed deep in the labyrinth core beyond the gate for a long time. I thought this would happen when the undead breached the barrier.”
“Are the undead trying to break the seal of that monster!?”
Perhaps they had done something irreparable.
“The undead are created by the demon dragon. They are its puppets.”
Reflexively, Lucius leaned to run back the way they came, but Damur stopped him with his hand.
“Stop. You’ll only die if you rush into the horde of undead. There’s no end even if you defeat them.”
“But we can still do something now!”
“Originally, the labyrinth core was reaching its limit. Recently, collapses have been occurring frequently in the labyrinth. Even if you hadn’t come, it might have lasted only five more years. The magic power of the Silverwood has also been increasing. You’ve noticed a few abnormalities, haven’t you?”
Of course, there were.
—The evil dragon.
It probably evolved using leaked magic power.
In other words, if the labyrinth were to collapse, monsters like the evil dragon would overflow.
If that happened, it would also affect the village on the other side of the forest.
No, it would be fine if it only affected them. It might turn into the place called the Eroded Sea that I heard about earlier.
They couldn’t overlook such a thing.
Lucius suddenly looked at Crane.
“Crane-san! Can’t you do something about the undead!? Even if we can’t defeat them, can’t you immobilize them somehow? If we leave it like this, something bad is sure to happen to Silverwood!”
“…There’s… nothing I can do.”
The gaze of Lucius and the dwarves all turned to Crane at once.
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“In that case!”
“But… I can’t do it alone. I need the data on the teleportation formula.”
“It doesn’t matter what it is! If we don’t do something now, Silverwood, no, Silverheart will be in danger!”
Crane looked back at Lucius with a gaze full of despair.
“Lucius-san, you’re strong. To still not give up… truly…”
“I can’t afford to think about that right now—”
“But I… I’m weak! I… I can’t do something like that alone. I’m half-hearted in everything, my family, my father, Fagra, everything… It’s all… it’s all half-baked.”
Fagra averted her eyes.
To such a Crane, Lucius spoke.
“I’m… not strong at all.”
“…That’s a lie.”
“No, I’m weak. I can’t even live on my own. But that’s why… I don’t want to turn away from the words of the people I care about.”
“You can say that because you have a title, and you’re strong in magic and formulas…!”
Lucius recalled the dream he had seen at Lord Strauss’s mansion before.
In the dream, he was questioned.
Perhaps his deep-seated psychology had surfaced.
But now, he understood clearly.
“Whether I’m a noble or not doesn’t matter. I just want to earnestly respond to the trust placed in me by my family and my subjects. It has nothing to do with strength.”
“That’s…!”
Crane didn’t turn around, swallowing his words.
“…I’ll return to the base in Orleans.”
Saying so, Crane started walking weakly.
Damur called out to him from behind.
“Do you know the way?”
“I’ve been here before with Fagra.”
Damur frowned and placed his hand on his forehead.
He probably hadn’t expected his daughter to guide them all the way to the dwarves’ settlement.
As Crane began to walk away alone, someone approached him.
It was Fagra.
“Hey, Crane. I’ll be waiting.”
“……….”
Crane disappeared without saying anything in response.