Chapter 96 - You Can't Do It Empty-Handed (3)

Dwarves were fundamentally quite decent neighbors. They were clear about favors and grudges, and as long as no one harmed them first, they never stepped forward to invade the territories of others.

However, there were times when they would run wild like madmen without caring about the circumstances.

That was exactly when a problem arose with the Forge of Eternity.

At those times, the Dwarves were so fierce that even the brave Orcs would avoid them, and they were so reckless that even the wise giants could offer no other solution but to wait for them to calm down. Even the Elves, who were bitter enemies of the Dwarves, absolutely avoided conflicts with them during this period.

That was how important the Forge of Eternity was to the Dwarves.

And yet, the one who protected the root of their race—an entity so vital that the word 'important' was insufficient—had abandoned his duty and come out into the world.

That meant nothing other than the fact that a problem had arisen with the forge.

And that was by no means beneficial to me.

I needed the Dwarves. But what I needed were masterful artisans with meticulous skills, not lunatics running wild like berserkers.

"Tsk. We're out of alcohol."

The Dwarf Tur-ka smacked his lips while looking at the empty barrels.

I quietly observed Tur-ka.

But it was not an easy task to figure out his true intentions just by looking at his wrinkled face. So, I decided to ask directly what had happened to the forge.

"Nothing yet."

But it seemed I had judged too early.

"Though it seems something will happen soon."

Tur-ka, who casually wiped his wooden cup and shoved it into his backpack, looked at me and spoke.

"The lifespan of the forge is almost at its end."

* * *

"The party is over! You drunkards!"

Tur-ka kicked the butts of the Dwarves. The Dwarves, who had emptied the barrels and were pleasantly sprawled out sleeping, woke up while spitting out curses.

"The damn geezer could have just woken us up with words, why the hell is he kicking us?"

"Cough, ptui! You senile old man!"

Seeing the complete lack of respect for the Prima Meister, I could tell that they were also no ordinary Dwarves.

Because the only ones who could treat a master of masters so carelessly were fellow masters.

While they were making a fuss, we moved Arwen, who was completely dead drunk, into the carriage she had initially ridden in.

"Ugh."

I crumpled Gawain, who was groaning as if having a nightmare, into the carriage like a piece of luggage and spoke to Tur-ka.

"Let's meet again."

"I'll be waiting."

I drove the carriage and joined the rest of the party who had been waiting a short distance away.

Seeing Arwen and Gawain completely unconscious, the party's eyes went wide.

"Where is Yorden?"

When I asked them about Yorden's whereabouts, one Ranger pointed to the back.

There, Yorden, who I thought had run away to escape the harsh drinking session, was slumped over. A Ranger giggled and said that he had come looking for his bow, fell flat on his face, and had been in that state ever since.

Seeing Yorden sprawled out covered in vomit, I also giggled and laughed.

But that was only for a moment, and my expression quickly stiffened.

Just as the Prima Meister Tur-ka had said, the party was over.

Now was the time to move.

"Let's go back."

We returned to the fortress.

And I immediately met with the Legion Commander to hand over a letter I had received from Tur-ka.

"These are the conditions they proposed."

The Legion Commander, whose eyes widened at my words, hurriedly unfolded and read the letter.

"I will need to prepare a negotiation team."

After finishing the letter, the Legion Commander looked at me with a bewildered face.

It was an expression I had seen so much that I was not just used to it, but even sick of it.

"Thank you for your hard work."

I dismissively waved my hand at the Legion Commander's long-delayed greeting and stood up from my seat.

As soon as I arrived at my quarters, a deep sense of fatigue washed over me.

I had circulated my mana to drive out the drunkenness, but I couldn't completely overcome the fatigue lingering in my mind and body.

I spent a full day doing nothing but sleeping to recover my body.

And just when I felt the fatigue had somewhat faded, I left the fortress again.

Two Dwarves were standing at a crossroad some distance from the fortress.

"It's good to see you again."

It was the Prima Meister Tur-ka and another Meister.

"Where are the others?"

"Those guys had to stay behind and wrap things up with the kingdom's negotiation team."

"I see."

"But are you empty-handed today?"

Tur-ka, who had been constantly scanning behind me even while we were talking, spoke up.

"Who was it that said the party was over?"

When I replied unenthusiastically, Tur-ka's expression crumpled.

"What an inflexible fellow."

"I shouldn't be the one in a hurry."

I wondered who exactly had been making such a fuss about the forge's lifespan almost coming to an end.

"Being a few days late isn't going to change anything."

I let out a scoff at the sheer shamelessness of Tur-ka, who kept sniffing the air for alcohol as if he still had lingering regrets.

"Let's just go for now."

Tur-ka raised an objection to my words.

"I don't have a horse, though?"

"I don't have one either?"

Tur-ka and the other Dwarf showed their dismay when they saw my party mounted on horses.

For my part, I had even borrowed horses from the fortress to hurry our journey, yet the very people who claimed to be in a rush had showed up empty-handed, leaving even their carriage behind.

They were truly a laid-back bunch.

I had no choice but to have them ride together with the relatively light-bodied Rangers on their horses.

At my instruction, the Dwarves looked at Arwen and Adelia with expressions of disappointment for a moment, but they only ended up getting severely cursed out by me.

"Tsk. You should be ashamed of yourselves at your age."

At my words, the other Meister, who introduced himself as Surka, flared up and shouted.

"That geezer might be, but I'm in my prime!"

Since the young Meister and the old Meister were equally pathetic, I cursed them out all the same.

"Huh. You were quite polite at first."

"This is me doing my absolute best."

I wasn't just saying that.

If my essence wasn't a sword, and if they weren't a clan of blacksmiths, I wouldn't have even treated them this well.

"And the ones in need are you, not me, right?"

Before meeting them, I had been worrying about how to sweet-talk the Dwarves into getting what I wanted. But actually meeting them made my worries seem pointless.

Just as I wanted something from them, they too wanted something from me.

Considering the desperation and the value of what was desired, the one holding the hilt of the sword was me, not them.

It would be one thing if I didn't know. But knowing that fact, there was no reason to needlessly bow more than necessary.

"I feel like I've been thoroughly caught."

Tur-ka shook his head side to side.

* * *

After driving the horses and riding for a few days, the Raintes River, which flowed along the border of the Central region and the North, revealed itself. Riding for another day brought a large bridge into view.

It was the very bridge we had barely managed to defend after fighting the Warlord just a few months ago.

We stayed there for a day to let the exhausted men and horses rest. Beyond that bridge was a land of bitter cold where a blizzard could whip up at any moment.

"Let's move out."

As soon as we crossed the river, the air changed.

"I guess I'm destined to be stuck living in the North. Seeing how I only feel at ease after seeing this damn snow."

Everyone nodded at Ranger Yorden's words.

I felt exactly the same.

I took a deep breath of the freezing air that pierced my lungs.

I must be crazy. What was so good about this bone-chilling cold that made my heart pound?

It felt as if I had returned home.

But not everyone shared such welcoming emotions.

"It is tremendously cold."

Karl's expression was frozen stiff, startled by the biting winds of the North. Gawain and the other men, who hadn't spent much time in the North, were also severely huddled up from the cold.

"You'd better get used to it quickly."

Because Winter Castle is far colder than here.

At my warning, Karl's face turned pale.

When I asked if he regretted his decision to volunteer for hardship instead of staying in the warm royal palace, Karl firmly shook his head.

However, such firmness was all too fleeting in the face of the raging blizzard.

"Why did I even come to this freezing place!"

I chuckled as I heard Karl's screams mixed in with the sound of the biting wind.

I can hear you, you bastard.

After walking through the blizzard for a long time while listening to the screams of the royal knights, the fierce wind began to die down.

A pure white snowfield revealed itself. And beyond that, sheer cliffs and a massive fortress connecting them came into view.

"Ohh!"

The royal knights, who had been cursing the northern cold with all sorts of profanities just a day ago, let out exclamations of awe.

They seemed overwhelmed by the majesty of the white fortress, the likes of which could not be found anywhere else in the kingdom.

CLOP, CLOP.

In the distance, the gates of the fortress opened, and a group of black-armored men and horses charged out.

They were the knights of the Black Lancers whom I had sent back ahead with the Northern lords.

"Your Highness!"

And right next to the one-eyed cavalry commander was a familiar face.

It was Vincent, the new lord of Winter Castle and my maternal cousin.

"Whoa, whoa!"

Vincent, coming to a halt in front of me, leaped down from his horse. I also dismounted.

Vincent strode over and pulled me into a tight embrace.

"I'm glad you are safe, Your Highness."

"Anyone watching would think I'd just returned from a battlefield."

Even as I grumbled with my mouth, I also hugged Vincent's shoulders in return.

Over Vincent's shoulder, I could see the walls of Winter Castle. The Rangers and knights lined up on the walls waved at me.

"Welcome back."

Hearing that sincere greeting and seeing that familiar scenery, I could finally realize the fact that I had returned home.

But unfortunately, there was no time to rest even after returning home.

"Here is the report documenting what has happened in the meantime."

I wasn't even hoping for a welcome banquet. But still, wasn't it too much to shove paperwork at me the moment I returned?

"So this is why you welcomed me."

But Vincent didn't even pretend to listen to my protests.

"These are all the things Your Highness has set in motion."

I turned my head away as I looked at Vincent, who poured out complaints to me, saying his head hurt trying to cram the soon-to-arrive nobles' children into the formations.

I had no words of excuse.

Most of the projects and the raising of the army occurring in the North were things I had spearheaded. I couldn't pretend not to know now.

Without even taking off my snow-covered furs, I immediately checked the report.

"It's all done!"

I sprang up from my seat and was cheering in triumph when Vincent appeared like a ghost and dragged me around everywhere.

The first place we visited was the training ground for the newly trained knights of the Mana Heart.

"Your complexion has improved after your trip to The Capital."

While some people were rolling around to death with sweaty men in this freezing castle, Bernardo Eli grumbled.

With his lips jutting out prominently, he seemed to have suffered quite a bit playing the role of an instructor, which was not in his destiny.

I easily ignored such complaints and looked at the 500 or so knight candidates lined up behind him.

"About three hundred have entered the stage of a Sword User. We expect the remaining half to follow suit in three to six months."

Bernardo spoke boastfully.

Normally, I would have immediately scolded him, but for once, I couldn't.

Judging by the 400-year-old standards, a Sword User was at the level of an apprentice knight, so achieving this in such a short amount of time was nothing short of marvelous.

Of course, although most of those who reached the level of a Sword User had lost their mana and were once skilled enough to rival the Royal Knights, that didn't mean Bernardo's contributions were small.

"I like it."

More than anything else, I liked the fact that the men's eyes, which had once been like those of dead fish, were now rather sharply edged.

Of course, the emotions contained within them weren't exactly favorable towards me.

"Ahem."

I observed Bernardo, whose arrogance had reached its peak.

"Huh?"

But Bernardo's achievements were also beyond my expectations.

When he first came to Winter Castle, he had only been a beginner-level Sword Expert, but before I knew it, he had reached the advanced level of a Sword Expert.

"It's true what they say about learning while teaching."

Watching Bernardo proudly show off his self-made achievements made my stomach churn.

I had only been paying attention to Arwen and Adelia, but now I was about to be overtaken even by Bernardo.

Why did I have to get this kind of body of all things?

It was a moment where I newly realized just how cursed this body was.

"Starting today, pair them up with the patrollers and have them run laps around the mountain range."

"It's about time they experienced actual combat."

I added one more word to Bernardo, who was nodding his head.

"You're absolutely going with them."

"Doesn't that basically mean I'll be eating and sleeping in the mountains the whole time?"

"Since we can't have any casualties, you, the instructor, must accompany them."

"There are plenty of other knights in the castle..."

"Who is their instructor?"

"I am."

"Well, that's a relief."

Bernardo gaped at me like a fish. Seeing that dumbfounded face made my sour mood settle down a bit.

"I'm absolutely not saying this to make you suffer on purpose. It's strictly for the future."

"What future..."

"Because once they become full-fledged knights, you'll be the one leading them."

Bernardo, who had been staring at me resentfully, widened his eyes, and a massive grin split across his face.

"Leave it to me! I will ensure not a single candidate is harmed."

"Right. Start immediately tomorrow."

I patted Bernardo's shoulder as he bravely beat his chest and told me to leave it to him, but when I turned around, Vincent was staring at me intently.

SHAKE, SHAKE.

Vincent shook his head and guided me to the next location.

Though they were still far short of their regular capacity, the Black Lancers were steadily recovering their pre-war combat power, and I met the newly recruited candidates and encouraged them.

Among them was Gallahan, the descendant of the 『Knight of the Advance』, one of the Seven Blood Lions.

Checking his achievements, I widened my eyes.

"This guy is at the advanced level too?"

Boris, the descendant of the Blood Lion 『Divine Bow』, had also reached the advanced stage.

"Haa..."

A sigh escaped me on its own.

This guy and that guy were all advanced Sword Experts.

I had barely reached the highest level after gulping down a mana-enhancing elixir, rolling through battlefields, and suffering to near death, so the feeling of injustice kept making me sigh.

"Are you speaking seriously?"

At my grumbling, Vincent asked with a dumbfounded expression.

"Your Highness is only sixteen years old, and it has barely been a year and a half since you began learning the sword, so who exactly is feeling a sense of deprivation over whom right now..."

"No, my case is a bit different."

The years I've spent living as a sword are immense.

But I couldn't exactly say that I was a sword hundreds of years old.

"I will pretend I didn't hear that."

So I had to listen to his scolding for quite a while.

"Never say such things anywhere else."

At Vincent's cold words, I slumped my shoulders and headed to my room.

As soon as I opened the door, an uncomfortable sound could be heard.

RATTLE, RATTLE.

There was the High Lich, rattling her skeletal frame, busy working on blueprints.

"Ophel..."

SWISH.

Before I could even offer a greeting for our reunion, she lifted a finger and pointed at the door. Without even looking in my direction.

It meant 'get out.'

* * *

I was walking along the fortress wall with nowhere to go when a sharp voice called out to me.

"It's an amazing place."

I turned my head and saw Tur-ka sitting with a barrel of alcohol he had acquired from who knows where.

I plopped down next to Tur-ka.

"What is so amazing?"

"The fact that such a place exists in a kingdom I heard had been declining for hundreds of years to the point its spirit was broken."

His wrinkled gaze swept across every corner of the fortress. I subconsciously ended up nodding as I followed his gaze to the Rangers and knight candidates at the end of it.

"This place is like a dragon's nest."

I didn't know if the term 'dragon's nest' was appropriate for a kingdom founded by slaughtering dragons, but Tur-ka smirked.

I shrugged my shoulders.

The treasured swords that broke while being strictly and carefully selected and tempered by the royal family were being newly forged here, and the men born with the North's resilient spirit were being reborn as proper soldiers.

Other than that, I had heard that talented individuals whose blood boiled after hearing rumors of the recent war were flocking to the North.

But in spite of that, I felt it was lacking.

Because it was still nowhere near enough. Not to face that massive empire.

"I'll say it again, it's a truly wonderful place."

He added one more word, saying he even liked the bitter cold that remained year-round.

"There wouldn't be a better place to build a new forge than here."

At his confident voice, I sneered.

"I thought you had completely forgotten because you were just drinking alcohol."

Tur-ka smirked, asking how that could be possible.

And then he pointed to the southwest with a short, thick finger.

"According to the records, the breath of fire flows underground somewhere in that direction. I plan to build the new forge there. A true Forge of Eternity, one that burns far more intensely and for far longer than the previous forge."

At those words, I interjected.

"I haven't said I'll allow it yet."

"I'm not asking empty-handed."

Tur-ka took a refreshing gulp of alcohol and spoke boldly.

"Not just some 7-story underground Magic Tower. If you want, I'll even build you a dungeon."