Unrest in the Land of the Dwarves – Part 03

“I’d like to gather some information, but personally, I want to get to my father as soon as possible,” Dodorono said.

“So you could deliver the item to him?” Hikaru asked.

“Yeah. He’ll handle it better than we will.”

Dodorono’s father was the clan leader. If they were going to return the Progenitor’s Shield, a national treasure, it was best to let a clan leader deal with it to avoid any complications.

Hikaru moved the carriage forward. Ironforge was nestled in a steep mountainous region, with only one road leading in, guarded by a checkpoint.

It looked like a simple trailhead, but there were iron barricades gleaming darkly, with about thirty fully armored Dwarf soldiers stationed nearby. Only Dwarves were allowed to pass through this checkpoint, and in addition to their guild or soul cards, something resembling a bracelet had to be presented.

“You there. Stop.”

Hikaru stopped the carriage, and a Dwarf guard approached. Unlike the relaxed atmosphere in the camp, the soldiers here exuded a palpable tension.

“You’re human, yes?”

“I am.”

“Ah, if it isn’t Grudy.” Dodonno pushed Hikaru aside and showed himself. “Long time no see.”

“D-Dodonno?! What are you doing here?” Grudy sounded more shocked than surprised.

More soldiers arrived.

“What’s that?”
“Dodonno?”
“Why now?”

“What’s that supposed to men?” Dodonno grunted. “I don’t see the problem in me returning to my home country.”

“Well, I suppose that’s true,” the soldier mumbled hesitantly.

Dodonno let out a sigh. “I’m taking these three humans with me using the Red Rat Clan pass.”

“I-I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not? I’m just going back to my family’s house.”

“What?! You’re going home?”

The soldiers stirred.

What exactly did this guy do? Hikaru thought, narrowing his eyes skeptically.

Dodonno waved his hands frantically. “I-It’s not what you think. I just haven’t been home since I left. I never returned, but I kept in touch by exchanging letters. When someone from my clan came to Agiapole, I even showed them around the holy city.”

“…”

“I-I’m telling the truth,” Dodonno pleaded desperately.

The soldiers seemed taken aback by the idea that the long-absent, rebellious son was finally returning home. As long as Dodonno hadn’t stirred up too much trouble in Ironforge before fleeing, Hikaru didn’t see the issue.

“Anyway, this is the Red Rat Clan pass. We’re going through!”

“O-Okay.”

The soldiers stepped aside, allowing the carriage to pass.

“Hey, is that Dodonno?!” a voice came from the front. Three Dwarves were standing there.

“A dresser?” Hikaru wondered.

For some reason, they were all carrying a huge dresser together.

Great. More oddballs.

Hikaru didn’t know them, but these three were from the Golden Boar Clan. They’d been ordered by the clan leader, an elderly Dwarf, to bring furniture.

“What the hell are you doing here now?!”
“Hah, I get it. He’s trying to make a comeback in the Red Rat Clan.”
“Ugh.”

The third Dwarf was struggling to contribute much, still recovering from the numbness in his legs. The dresser was mostly being carried by the other two.

Dodonno stared at the trio, then said, “All right, Hikaru. Let’s hurry ahead.”

“Hey, wait!”
“You can’t just ignore us!”
“Ugh!”

Furious, the trio stepped forward, blocking the way. The dresser was so large it completely blocked the path.

“Guards. There are idiots blocking the road.”

“We see that. But the Golden Boar Clan’s head is at the camp, keeping an eye on things here.”

“Huh?” Dodonno furrowed his brows. “What do you mean? No clan leader would leave the country unless they had a very compelling reason.”

“Yeah, well, it’s definitely giving us a headache.”

“Still, ignoring these idiots is a completely different matter.”

“That’s true. But given the situation, the national army doesn’t want to stir up trouble with the clans.”

“You mean the civil war? So, the national army is staying neutral, not siding with any clan.”

“Yes.”

“Still, you can’t just let these idiots keep blocking the road.”

“Well, we’d appreciate it if you could handle the situation yourself.”

“You can’t reason with idiots, you know.”

“There’s that saying: If you flatter an idiot, they’ll jump into the furnace.”

“Hm, I suppose I can give it a try.”

“We can hear everything you’re saying!” barked a Dwarf holding the dresser.

Dodonno exchanged glances with the soldiers before clearing his throat.

“How about a little chat? Nothing too complicated. Just a simple matter, something even a young Dwarf just starting school could understand.”

“That’s enough! Stop treating us like idiots!”
“We’re not idiots!”
“Ugh!”

The three Dwarves, clearly offended, balled their hands into fists, the same hands that were holding the dresser.

“Ah.”

The furniture crashed down onto the three Dwarves’ toes.

“Aaaaaahhh!”

Their screams echoed through the air.

---

“I can’t believe it.”

Hikaru stared up at the ceiling. A low ceiling.

“Sorry. I didn’t think they’d be that dumb,” Dodonno muttered.

“Your assumption was not unwarranted, brother,” Dodorono said. “Those guys have always been idiots, but now they’re even worse.”

Hikaru, Dodonno, and Dodorono were sitting on crude wooden chairs. Around them were stone walls, barred windows, and shabby beds. They were in jail.

There was no waiting room, so they were brought straight into the cell. Though they had brought it upon themselves, the three idiots did get injured, breaking their toes, so they were taken in for questioning. Hikaru would have preferred to have Paula heal them and be done with it, but there was no way those three would settle for that.

Unable to leave the carriage behind, Hikaru asked Lavia and Paula to look after it and followed Dodorono and Dodonno. Someone had to guard the Progenitor’s Shield.

Hikaru’s Mana Detection picked up someone approaching. “Someone’s coming.”

“Well, it’s about time. We’re in a rush here.”

“I don’t think they’re here to question us. It’s not a guard.”

“Huh?”

Footsteps sounded, but they weren’t the clanking steps of metal armor.

The arrival was not who they expected. It was a female Dwarf, dressed in simple, moveable clothes with an apron. Her steps were brisk and restless.

“Ah.” She stopped.

“What?!” Dodorono froze in place.

“D-Dodorono?!”

“Gilma?!”

The female Dwarf—Gilma—gripped the bars of the cell with both hands.

“What are you doing here?! You didn’t say you were coming back. You never even wrote me!”

Hikaru figured she was an acquaintance of Dodorono.

“She’s my brother’s childhood friend,” Dodonno murmured.

“You can’t put that on me. Yer from the Bright Rooster Clan, and I’m from the Red Rat Clan. I rarely even contacted my family, so if I reached out to you personally… it would’ve only caused some nasty rumors.”

“Who cares about rumors?! This is exactly why I hate Dwarven men!”

“Y-You think I wanted to come here? I’ve got serious business to take care of!”

“What serious business? Getting thrown in jail? Are you stupid?!”

“How dare you call me stupid!”

“I don’t see anything wrong with calling a stupid person stupid.”

“Excuse me.” Hikaru, who had been watching the two argue, cut in, standing next to Gilma.

“How about you come in for now? They had no other places available, so they asked us to wait here.”

“What?” Gilma shot Dodorono a confused look. “Wait, you didn’t get arrested?”

“Ha! Do you really think I’d do something that would get me arrested?”

“Ah, I-I guess you’re right. An obsessed fashionista like you would never cause trouble for others.”

“You didn’t think I got locked up for committing a crime, did you?”

“O-O-Of course not! N-No way. I just heard that you brothers were back, and you got thrown in jail, so I came here in a hurry.”

“Aha! You did think I was some kind of criminal!”

“N-No, I didn’t. I know you don’t have the guts to commit a crime. The worst you could is pushing your fashion sense onto others in a creepy way.”

“That’s even worse!”

“Um… can we stop the married couple comedy routine for now?”

“We’re not married!”

“We’re not married!”

After the misunderstanding was cleared up, they continued talking with Gilma.