A Father’s Death and the Dwarves Who Forsook Their Nation – Part 02

Hikaru didn’t know the boy belonged to the Orange Ox clan because the boy had said so.

“His name’s Dank, son of Dangun from the Orange Ox clan,” said Cornu, a girl from the Dark Dog clan.

“You’re still here?” Hikaru said.

Cornu gave a silent nod.

“Get lost.”

She shook her head.

“Now, listen here.”

“Your face looks scary right now. If you talk to a kid like that, they’ll cry even harder.”

“Hmph.”

Now that she mentioned it, Hikaru realized his face was indeed tense. When he touched it, he could feel how stiff it was.

“I know where the Orange Ox clan is.”

“Lead the way.”

Cornu gave another small nod.

Not sure why she was suddenly being so cooperative, Hikaru turned to the boy. The boy confirmed his name was Dank, and when Hikaru said he’d take him to the Orange Ox clan, he nodded through his tears.

His family wasn’t trapped in one of the collapsed houses. His parents had gone out to work early in the morning, and Dank had been home alone when the quake hit. From what he explained, the house collapsed, but luckily he survived by hiding behind a pillar. When he finally made his way outside, all the neighbors were gone.

Hikaru wiped the boy’s tear-streaked face with a cloth, took his hand, and started walking, following Cornu as she led the way.

Dank was sniffling but managed not to cry again. He was a tough kid. Eventually, they saw the large warehouse full of Dwarf soldiers. Hikaru approached the lookout and told him about Dank.

“It’s cold.”

Cornu was gone.

Hikaru, having had both his cloak and dagger erased by Brigid, was left without outerwear. But Dank, still in his nightclothes, looked even colder.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” said the lookout upon returning. “Dank, there’s a bonfire over that way. Go warm yourself up. Your old man’s not here, but your neighbors are.”

A Dwarf was waving in the distance. Hikaru couldn’t tell them apart—every Dwarf looked the same to him—but Dank seemed to recognize the man.

“Uncle!” Dank started running, then stopped a few steps in and turned around. “Thanks, mister human! When I grow up, I’ll forge you a sword. A sheath alone is not cool enough.” Then he dashed off again.

The kid had been sniffling, but he’d still taken notice of Hikaru’s gear. Even as a child, a Dwarf’s still a Dwarf, he thought with a smile.

“You… Hikaru, was it? The chief wants to see you. Come inside.”

“Why?”

“Just come,” the Dwarf grouched and walked off ahead. It didn’t seem like his presence was welcome here.

Inside the massive warehouse, Dwarves sat around campfires eating. Many were injured, and morale wasn’t exactly high.

Hikaru walked along under curious stares. Near the central, towering bonfire, three clan chiefs were gathered.

“You’re Hikaru? Who in the world are you?” one of them asked, likely from the Orange Ox clan, judging by his orange armor.

The two standing with him wore tiger pelts and dark, shaggy fur, so Hikaru was confident he wasn’t wrong.

“What do you mean by that exactly?”

“There’s no way a human just happens to wander into Dwarven affairs at a time like this. What are you after?”

“…”

“If you won’t talk, then you’ll stay here until you feel like it.”

Hikaru looked around. Their equipment was solid—just what he’d expect from Dwarves—but those wielding it didn’t seem well-trained. He checked the Soul Board of a Dwarf soldier nearby and saw 2 points on both Long Spear and Axe, located under Weapon Mastery and Tool Mastery, respectively.

It wasn’t just their skill that was lacking. Their morale was low too. Plenty were wounded, and many probably didn’t even understand why they were here. These chiefs were likely rattled themselves. They were unsure, and that uncertainty made them desperate for information.

“What about you?” Hikaru asked. “What were you planning to do if you had taken the Progenitor’s Gauntlets from the Green Rabbits?”

“So you know that much. Are you from the Green Rabbit or Blue Snake clan?”

“I’m clearly human,” Hikaru said tiredly.

His temper flared. Even now, this Dwarf was still worrying about which clan someone belonged to. At this rate, if the anvil rolled off the mountaintop, they’d argue over which clan should stop it.

“Hmm, which clan was it that took in a human?” wondered the Yellow Tiger chief.

“Wasn’t it the Red Rat clan?” replied the chief of the Black Goats. “The head’s on his deathbed, but the next heir had the national army chasing down that human adventurer. Said something about stealing the Progenitor’s Shield, though I wouldn’t put too much stock in that. If they really had it, they should’ve shown it already.”

Oh? Hikaru thought.

From what the Black Goat chief disclosed, Dodorono’s uncle had taken the shield from his nephew but still hadn’t presented it publicly.

I’ve got to get that shield back, too. But first, he had to deal with these three clans in front of him.

“I only brought back a lost child from the Orange Ox clan. If anything, I should be thanked, not accused, don’t you think?”

“That’s what I find suspicious. It wouldn’t be surprising if someone tried to take advantage of the chaos. And why would a human like you know the child belonged to my clan? Did the child tell you? Or did you take him from his parents yourself?”

There was a mix of panic and doubt swirling in the Orange Ox chieftain’s eyes. He was the very embodiment of someone trying to use the confusion for his own ends. That was why he assumed everyone else was doing the same.

“This is pointless.”

Hikaru turned to leave, but five Dwarf soldiers had already gathered, polearms at the ready.

“I told you. You’re staying here until you talk. Otherwise…”

“Otherwise what?”

When Hikaru turned back around, the three chieftains flinched.

They sensed pressure radiating from the black-haired boy, a boy with no cloak, no weapon, and yet… something about him froze them in place.

“Seize him!” the Orange Ox chieftain barked. “He’s an enemy!”

The nearby soldiers charged at Hikaru.

What the hell is wrong with these people?

Hikaru grew increasingly irritated. These Dwarves had started an uprising, only to imprison the unarmed smiths in the Progenitor’s Forge. They left the homes of their clansmen in ruin and used this crisis to try and climb over the other clans.

It was the same setup as Dodorono’s uncle trying to become the Red Rat chieftain.

“Don’t move!”
“He’s unarmed!”

Dwarf soldiers came at him from behind.

Hikaru was irritated, but grateful that the perfect outlet had presented itself.

Normally, he would have used his cloak for misdirection and slipped into Stealth, but Brigid had destroyed it earlier. So instead, he dashed forward, straight at the chieftains.

The Orange Ox chieftain braced himself. The Yellow Tiger chieftain bolted. The Black Goat chieftain froze on the spot, panicking.

But Hikaru’s target wasn’t them. It was the bonfire.

The blaze, stoked with thick logs, was hot enough to burn just by standing near it. Hikaru pushed through the heat, ran in, and with his boot, kicked it as hard as he could.

Gasps rippled through the warehouse. Burning logs flew upward, scattering sparks. One of the logs, kicked high, came falling down right toward the Yellow Tiger chieftain.

“Hngh!”

The old Dwarf batted it away with the chair he’d been sitting on.

“You little! Where’d he go?!”

But while they were distracted by the log, the black-haired boy had vanished.

“Ugh!”
“Gah!”
“Gwahh!”

Yelps rose by the wall. Three soldiers from the Black Goat clan were sent flying. But the attacker was nowhere to be seen.

“Guh.”
“Gyaah!”

Two more went down elsewhere.

Again and again, something unseen swept through the Dwarf soldiers.

“Wh-What the hell is going on?”

“A magic item? I can’t believe there’s something capable of concealing one’s presence this well.”

“Keep your eyes peeled! Don’t miss even a flicker of movement. There are no fatal wounds, so treat the injuries later. Take him down first!”

The Black Goat chieftain had noticed that none of the blows were lethal. Of course, Hikaru had no weapon to begin with.

“Guh!”
“Nrgh!”
“Aaagh!”

Even on alert, they still got hit. One by one, soldiers dropped. The other bonfires in the warehouse were kicked over and snuffed out. The place grew dimmer. As their numbers thinned, the Dwarves instinctively gathered around their chieftains.

“Protect the chiefs!”
“Right. Form a circle!”

Dwarf soldiers surrounded the three chiefs in a ring. Though there were gaps between the soldiers, all of them faced outward. That way, no one could sneak up from behind.

“Ugah!”
“Chief?!”

The chieftain of the Yellow Tiger clan went flying. Standing in the center of the circle was the black-haired boy. Hikaru was still empty-handed, just standing there.

“Y-Y-You bastard!”

“What are you doing?! Protect us! The enemy’s right here!”

The chief of the Orange Ox clan trembled, while the chief of the Black Goat clan backed away from Hikaru, issuing orders as he went. None of the soldiers had figured out how Hikaru slipped inside the ring, or if he’d been there all along.

“Haaah!”
“Take him down!”
“Lowly human!”

Weapons in hand, they charged at him.

Hikaru shot a cold glare at the soldiers, then dashed toward one of them while activating Stealth. To the soldier facing him, Hikaru’s figure likely appeared faint and hazy. But because he was staring straight ahead, he could just barely keep track of him.

“Take this!”

The soldier swung down his one-handed axe, only for Hikaru to vanish.

“What?!”

Hikaru had simply accelerated. Thanks to his training under Unken and the harsh environment he’d endured, along with his own continued workouts, his physical strength had greatly increased. The change in his movement speed made the soldier lose sight of him for just a moment. From there, Stealth took care of the rest.

“Gwah!”

The soldier pitched forward and tumbled.

“H-He got me.”
“Over there! He’s over there!”

Hikaru now stood at a distance.

“You guys are way too weak.”

“What did you say?! I won’t let that insult slide!” snapped the chief of the Orange Ox clan.

“Won’t let it slide? And you call yourself a clan chief?”

“Of course. Do you not see this gleaming orange armor?! A masterpiece crafted by the finest artisans of the Orange Ox clan!”

Hikaru let out a long sigh. “Real treasure isn’t flashy gear like that.”

How did it all go so wrong? Dwarves were supposed to only care about forging and creating wonderful things.

Hikaru could see why Brigid wanted to give up on this race, and it annoyed him. The fury that had been simmering since he arrived in this country was about to boil over.

“A child’s crying, and none of you lift a finger. You don’t even worry. And now you think you have the right to act high and mighty?”

Hikaru took a step forward.

“Uh…”

The Dwarf soldiers flinched and stepped back.

“Wh-What are you afraid of?!” the Black Goat clan chief shouted. “He’s alone! A human! He’s not even armed! Aren’t you supposed to be elite Dwarf sold—”

He never finished his sentence.

“Ugh.”

Hikaru had gotten behind him and slammed an elbow into his back. Though he wore a chestplate, his back was only covered in leather. The combination of Stealth and Assassination hit hard, and the chief collapsed, foaming at the mouth.

The warehouse fell silent.

“So, which of you was the elite again?” Hikaru asked.

The soldiers dropped their weapons and bolted.

Only the chief of the Orange Ox clan remained. No, he was frozen in place, unable to move his legs. He just stood there, trembling as he stared wide-eyed at Hikaru.