The Scales that Announce Global Upheaval – Part 03

“I was observing if those seven elders were actually united,” he explained.

“Aren’t the elders all friends?” Paula asked.

“On the surface, yes. But when you have three people together, factions naturally form. With seven, I’d expect at least two or three factions. Their reactions to my rude comments were varied.”

“Wow.”

Paula was genuinely impressed, while Hikaru had been mentally prepared for a struggle since deciding to enter the Man Gnome village.

“What will you do next, Lord Hikaru?” Paula leaned forward eagerly.

“Our main goal is to find out why the spell for crossing worlds has stopped working. And if possible, gain the right to freely use the Black Wedge Gate.”

“Uh… that thing that makes you feel sick?”

“It’s nauseating, but a device that can instantly teleport you over long distances is incredibly useful, isn’t it?”

“Can it really teleport long distances?”

“They said this place is in the mountains far north, between the Quinbrand Empire and Forestia. But we can’t be sure if that’s true.”

Even if it wasn’t, this place certainly wasn’t near Ponsonia’s capital. A large cavern like this near the city would have been discovered long ago. This was definitely a remote location. The exact distance the device could teleport was uncertain, but it was undoubtedly a warp device.

And the number of those doors…

In the large room just outside the Black Wedge Gate, there were many doors. It was unlikely that only one door was connected to the gate while the rest were regular rooms. It was reasonable to think that the other doors also connected to other Black Wedge Gates.

In other words, a relay point for teleporting across the continent.

With this, one could earn a fortune in trade, safely transport sensitive information, or secretly move troops to enemy nations. The Man Gnomes must have used this device to quietly exert influence on the world, maintaining balance without drawing attention.

Some curious points, though.

Were there limitations on the use of the Black Wedge Gate? Could it be used only intermittently, or was there a limit on the number of people it could transport at once?

And how many of those activation items existed? The item Raiga had used looked like a piece of wood with an ore embedded in the center. Hikaru guessed it was an ore because his Mana Detection didn’t pick anything up and it wasn’t clear like a gemstone. The wood looked very old and worn.

“Oh, someone’s coming.”

His Mana Detection was still barely functioning, but he heard footsteps approaching, signaling someone’s arrival.

Hikaru put on his mask, and Paula did the same. There was a knock on the sliding door, followed by the sound of it unlocking. A young girl appeared, pushing a cart.

She had short, pink-blonde hair with long side locks gathered by a hairband. Her thick bangs were brushed to the left, revealing a wide forehead. Her large, pale pink eyes sparkled mischievously, and her cheeks were round. In short, she looked like an elementary school girl. She was boyish yet adorable.

Her outfit was childlike as well. She wore a short-sleeved jinbei over a black innerwear that covered her wrists and ankles. She also had leather shoes on, making her look like she had just come from a gym class.

“Wow, you’re really human!” she exclaimed in a high-pitched, childish voice. “Hello, nice to meet you. I’m Renka. What are your names?”

“What a cute girl! I’m Pau… Flower Face!” Paula said, catching herself just in time.

Did she almost say Paula?

Paula crouched down to meet Renka’s eye level.

“Flower Face? That’s a funny name! How old are you?”

“Me? I’m 17.”

“Really? You’re seven years younger than me, then.”

“Yes, that’s right, seven years younge… huh? Not older?”

“No, younger.”

“Then that means you’re 24.” Paula chuckled, thinking Renka had made a mistake in her calculation.

“That’s right! I turned 24 last month.”

“What?” Paula’s expression froze. She turned to look at Hikaru.

“Looking at me won’t change the fact. Man Gnomes live three times longer than humans, and their physical development is three times slower.”

“You know a lot, don’t you?” Renka said.

“Never mind that. Didn’t you bring something?”

“Oh, right! Dad told me to bring some tea.”

Renka pushed the cart to the table, and Paula, still in disbelief, followed.

“Who’s your dad?”

“Dad is Dad. My father. Here we go.”

Paula helped her lift the heavy pot from the cart.

“You’re strong for a 17-year-old.”

“Um, thank you?”

“Looking at me with that puzzled expression won’t change anything,” Hikaru said. “Anyway, I want to know your father’s name.”

“It’s Raiga.”

“Oh, that guy. He looks strong.”

“Yeah! He’s strong enough to go outside the village.”

“Only strong people go outside, huh? I saw some strong-looking people inside the village too, carrying weapons.”

“They’re not as strong as Dad.”

“I see.”

“Here’s your tea.”

“Thank you.”

The tea was the same as the cheap brand Hikaru usually drank, the kind that could be found in any town on this continent. There were no tea fields in this village, so they must have gotten it from outside, probably Raiga or someone similar.

The people who go outside using the Black Wedge Gate must be highly skilled. They wouldn’t want the Man Gnomes’ secret going out.

Renka brought out a mountain of small, biscuit-like baked goods.

“Hehe. I think I will partake of this simple feast,” Renka said, using big words despite her youthful appearance. She sat down and picked up a treat. “Mm, sweets are always delicious.” She cupped her cheeks, looking genuinely happy.

“Interesting,” Hikaru said, intrigued by her reaction. He tried one of the treats. It had a crunchy texture with a simple sweetness and a nutty aroma, probably from nuts mixed into the dough.

It was tasty, but it didn’t make him feel as blissful as Renka.

“I knew it.” Renka suddenly looked dejected. “There’s lots of delicious food outside the village, isn’t there? To me, these cookies are super tasty, but you eat them like they’re nothing special.”

“Uh, well, these are really good.”

“See! That pitying look! It’s just like Dad’s. Dad must be eating all sorts of delicious food outside. I’m sure of it.”

“Well, there’s a lot of good food out there, but there’s also a lot of awful ones. There are people who live such meager lives that they can’t even enjoy simple tea like this.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“I thought outside the village there was lots of delicious food, exciting experiences, fun, noise, and lots of delicious food!”

She said delicious food twice.

“Well, there’s that side too, but also the opposite.”

“Tell me about the outside! Dad goes out all the time but never tells me anything. He just says, ‘You’ll know if you need to.'”

The younger generation of Man Gnomes seemed eager to leave their secluded village. However, most of the older Man Gnomes, who had lived here quietly for countless years, were content to stay. This might have been due to habit, resignation, or deeply ingrained cultural values.

“Luckily, I’m not a Man Gnome, so I can tell you all about the outside world,” Hikaru said.

“Really? Yay! I was just randomly assigned to serve tea, but I’m so glad I took the job!”

Renka raised her hands in a joyful cheer, displaying a lot of childlike exuberance, even though she was actually 24 years old.

Hikaru wondered if the Man Gnomes’ more childish behavior compared to humans was due to their slower physical development affecting their mannerisms.

“Can you tell me about the village in return? We just got here,” Hikaru said.

“Sure! Though I don’t know everything either.”

“I guess there aren’t many visitors like us from the outside?”

“Yeah! We haven’t had any for years. The last guests were… let me think.”

Renka began to share various details about the village.

There were about a thousand Man Gnomes living here. Those who operated outside the village, like Raiga, had high combat abilities. Known as the Distant Girdle, they numbered around a hundred.

Renka didn’t know much about Raiga’s work, but she believed he was having a lot of fun outside.

It was likely that these individuals were responsible for bringing in external goods. Hikaru guessed their main tasks were procurement, transportation, information transmission, and espionage.

The Man Gnomes who worked with the elders, acting like civil servants, were called the Attending Awl. There were about fifty of them, always grappling with incomprehensible documents, indicating they were likely bureaucrats.

Other roles included Wright Nook who repaired various things and carved statues on the walls, Whorl Kindle who manufactured daily necessities like clothes, furniture, and dishes, Ultimate Mirk who handled research roles, and Dung Stars who were involved in agriculture.

Adding them all up, there were about 900 Man Gnomes, and the rest were children like Renka, physically immature Man Gnomes.

“We Bees run errands for the adults. Today, thanks to that, I got some sweets and heard your stories!”

“Bees?” Hikaru was intrigued by the term.

He understood that job titles changed based on roles and found the unique names interesting. There seemed to be some pattern, though it was not immediately clear. These names used archaic words of this continent’s lingua franca, or phrases not used in everyday conversation.

“Bees are just Bees. There used to be a word before Bees long ago, but it’s gone now. No one cares.”

“I see.”

Must’ve been “something, something” Bee. Honeybee. No, that can’t be right.

Including the Bees, there were seven types of titles, covering almost everyone in the village. The rest were the seven elders, including the Grand Elder.

Seven types of roles and seven elders. Does the number seven have some significance?

Well, even if it did, it didn’t matter to Hikaru.

“Hey, Silver Face! Tell me about the outside world.”

“Sure. What do you want to know?”

Since Renka had shared so much, it was now Hikaru’s turn to reciprocate.

“Do people outside always wear masks like that? Isn’t it hard to see?”

“…”

That’s a tough question right off the bat.