Chapter 67

"Thank you. The scent is nice. It’s not overly strong."

"It’s a relief to hear that, Master. Not all dwarves love strong liquor, so I actually came here to talk about something else."

"Something else?"

Ah, could it be that he’s going to confront me about eating the mithril anvil?

I’m at a loss for how to explain myself.

I even had the ridiculous thought of handing over one of the twin swords as collateral.

Ugh!!

Of course, I had to clutch my head as the two of them, who hadn’t even awakened their consciousness, immediately resonated in protest.

"Actually…"

"Ah, I’m sorry about the anvil. I’ll make it up to you later…"

"Hmm? What do you mean by that?"

When he looked at me in confusion, I quickly clamped my mouth shut.

"It’s nothing. What did you come here for?"

"Ahem! Even though I’m old, my hearing is still sharp. I heard that besides completing the Thousand Night Tales, you also wanted to use our dwarven strength to improve the facilities in your territory."

"Well, yes."

I had planned to bring it up later, but it made things easier that he brought it up first.

"Our dwarves never forget a favor. Although our skills are far inferior to yours, we will help with anything you ask."

"Is that really okay? It might take a long time?"

"Our dwarven clan has received too much from you. To prevent our descendants from being remembered as incompetent ancestors, and to regain the pride and the technology our ancestors researched, we are willing to help."

Hearing his words, I remained silent, realizing that the significance of the favor was greater to them than I had thought.

"Thank you for correcting us, who have disgraced the name of the dwarves with our foolish stubbornness. We can’t even properly express our gratitude."

He smiled wistfully, like a grandfather looking at his grandson. It was a genuine, warm smile.

"Even though our skills are poor, the Yellow Rock Clan will follow you. We swear to the God of Iron that we will stand by you whenever you are in trouble. Even if other dwarf clans and villages oppose you, the Yellow Rock Clan will remain loyal."

"Thank you."

"Those words should be ours to say."

His face, which broke into a hearty laugh, showed no trace of hesitation.

"In that case, please become my vassals."

"Vassals?"

"I plan to make Haines, the territory I manage, a bit unique."

The current continent is home to many races, but none of them live together in perfect harmony.

"Does that mean you’re suggesting we consider moving away from here?"

"Not immediately. And to be precise, I’m not asking the dwarves of the Yellow Rock Clan to move."

He tilted his head in confusion at my words.

"Then what?"

"I’ll explain the details later. For now, your willingness to cooperate is enough."

He looked at me with a puzzled expression, as if trying to understand my intentions, but then seemed to dismiss it.

He opened his mouth as if to say something more.

At that moment,

"Elder! Elder Golgoda!"

Someone was running here from a distance, urgently calling for Elder Golgoda.

"What is it?"

Elder Golgoda, who had been maintaining a stern expression, looked at the person.

It was a combat dwarf who served as the village’s sentry.

"It’s a serious matter! An intruder seems to have sneaked into the village!"

"Intruder?"

His words made Elder Golgoda’s expression darken.

Swoosh!!

Clang!!

As if waiting for the right moment, a sharp, red object flew towards the two dwarves. I swung my arm from the hammock, and with a heavy thud, the red projectile, which was a peculiar throwing weapon made of coagulated blood, was deflected by my hand.

* * *

"Aaaaaah!!!"

It was almost a scream of madness.

"Damn you, Dave!!!"

The nearby maids turned pale at the boy’s near-hysterical outburst, but he paid no attention, continuing to scream.

He was so enraged that he was almost losing his mind.

"Dave! Dave!!!"

Continuously shouting Dave’s name, he kicked and threw anything within reach, destroying everything in sight. His condition was clearly very bad.

First, despite being a young boy, his head was completely bald, as if the top of his scalp had been peeled off and then sewn back on.

In other words, he had a massive circular bald spot!

What made it even more infuriating was that it wasn’t a clean, smooth baldness; only a patch about the size of a palm on the top of his head was completely gone.

His curses didn’t stop there.

"Prince Kalus, Your Highness, please, please calm down…"

"What?! Cackle!!"

The mysterious crying sound that followed his words!

It wasn’t something that happened every time, but it would suddenly pop up at crucial moments, as if waiting for the right time, regardless of his will.

Anyone who saw it would think he was playing a prank.

It was so absurd that even his birth mother, Queen Liness, had a look of confusion, wondering why he was acting this way.

Since it wasn’t a common illness, the court physician, Lambda, couldn’t provide a diagnosis.

The only ones who could sense something were the priests, but the curse on him was created by black mages who had been endlessly oppressed and persecuted.

In other words, it was difficult for low-ranking priests to easily find the traces of the curse.

Black magic, while savage and destructive, had also evolved in secrecy.

Thus, his symptoms, which were almost like madness, were difficult to trace.

However, Kalus was acutely aware that his strange changes began after meeting Dave, the first prince of the country, whom he had always considered to be beneath him.

"Raaaah!!!"

"Please, Your Highness, calm down!"

Of course, to others, it looked like his obsession with Dave had driven him to madness.

"Kaaah!! Cackle!!"

Kalus’s face was contorted with extreme confusion and anger.

He was trying to hide it, but rumors about his hair were already spreading throughout the palace.

Moreover, the strange crying sound that accompanied his words made the rumors even more bizarre.

For Kalus, who had never experienced anything going against his will in his life, this was a maddening situation.

"Hmph!"

At that moment,

One of the maids, who had been anxiously watching the situation, couldn’t hold back a laugh at Kalus’s strange voice.

She instinctively clamped her mouth shut, but the short laugh had already reached his ears.

"Your Highness!"

"So, you’re also mocking me. You insolent creatures, you dare to!!!"

Kalus, who had lost half his mind, was in a state of blind rage.

The maid, trembling in fear, collapsed in terror at his intense killing intent, but he walked over and mercilessly strangled her neck.

"How dare you mock me?! Die!! Die now!!!"

"Gurk!! Gack!"

The maid, thrashing and struggling, couldn’t match Kalus’s strength, who had been practicing swordsmanship.

As she finally went limp, her body trembling and wetting herself, the faces of the other maids turned pale.

It was a clear sign of madness.

But no one could say anything to him.

There was no one in the room who could stop him.

"Are you… are you also mocking me?!"

"N-no, Your Highness!"

"S-spare me!"

As the sparks of his madness spread to others, the maids, one by one, trembled and prostrated themselves, begging for mercy. They feared they would meet the same fate as the dead maid if they didn’t.

"No… no! You’re also mocking me, right? Hahaha… cackle cackle!"

His eerie laughter and the sinister gleam in his eyes made it clear that he was ready to kill all the maids.

The maids, terrified, could only tremble and remain silent, unable to calm him down.

At that moment,

"Hmm, this is quite an entertaining spectacle."

A calm and composed voice.

Kalus, who had been approaching the maids, widened his eyes and turned his head towards the source of the voice.

He froze.

This was because, just a moment ago, the window, which had been empty, was now open, and someone was slowly entering.

Was he startled by the intruder?

That was part of it, but the more important issue was not the intrusion itself.

"Kyaah!"

"Kyaa!"

In his hand was a human head, dripping with blood, as if he had just torn it off.

The gruesome sight made the maids foam at the mouth and faint, but Kalus, who had lost half his mind, growled menacingly at the intruder.

"Who are you? How dare you come here!"

"Ah, I apologize for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Face."

The man, with his strikingly white hair and eerie red eyes, had a handsome but sinister appearance.

However, his skin was so pale that it made one doubt if he was even human.

Face, who had calmly introduced himself, smiled sinisterly.

"In fact, I heard that we disappointed you quite a bit recently."

"You… you people?"

At Kalus’s words, he laughed coldly and snapped his fingers.

Whoosh…

At the same time, a space beside him opened, and someone was dragged out, hanging from a large cross.

A woman, covered in wounds, in a state that made one doubt if she was even alive.

But it was a woman he had seen before.

"You… you’re Mother’s…"

It was Shari, the quiet maid who accompanied Queen Liness.

She had disappeared some time ago.

"You… who are you? Grrr…"