Chapter 302

Chapter 302 - Gold Rush (1)

The eastern part of the Dwarf Mountains. The Moving Castle descended upon a black wasteland filled with basalt. It was a barren land where not even a single bug could be found, but it was an optimal place for stable parking.

"If we ask the King for cooperation, we could park the castle even closer to the mountains. It's not like anyone will enter through here anyway."

Rampage advised. His face looking at his hometown was nothing but joyful. Especially if they brought a big transaction like now.

Those who engage in the mercenary business on a clan basis hold a concept similar to a 'black tax'. A mine development project is a much greater return than giving money pouches or plundered goods.

"Where we park the castle will dictate whAAether a few sacks of gold coins come and go."

"The King will add transport fees per section even if we are 100m away. In transactions, there are no friends or family; he's a strict person."

Was it because it was the second visit and their fame had spread widely? Unlike the last visit, there were no Dwarves dozing with their feet on tables or playing cards.

"We welcome the visit of His Excellency the Count! The Elysium Mountains are always open to the friend of Dwarves!"

A diplomat urgently dispatched from Khazador welcomed them with a warm smile. Rolling his eyes unnoticeably to scan the guest, he confirmed the seat next to Eugene was empty.

"And the Princess?"

"She is in Britannia. There are many things going on, so it's difficult for both of us to leave the house."

The diplomat was disappointed that the other honored guest wasn't there, but it couldn't be helped.

It was a time with many refugees fleeing war and devastation. Among them were serfs and technicians, so there were even times when lords of upper regions sent pursuit teams.

To mediate such situations and prevent conflicts, one of the Count couple had to stay behind.

-I will scan the corn farms of the South as a whole.

-Are you worried if the farmers are handling it well?

-Yes. It consumes a lot of soil nutrients and it's an unfamiliar crop.

How did the land where corn was cultivated change? Even an excellent farmer couldn't gauge it with just one harvest.

However, the Magician of the Forest is different. If Valda walked barefoot on the farmland just once, she could feel the nutrients imbued in every single grain of soil.

-Please also inspect the planned bridge construction site. If the first button is buttoned incorrectly, the plans will go awry in a row. For things like this, it's only safe when the owner directly supervises.

-Leave it to me. I will also tour the newly reclaimed arable lands and look into the difficulties of the serfs.

-...Shouldn't you leave that to the subordinates?

-Knights or clerks don't know how to distinguish between good soil and bad soil. Leaving the place one used to live and settling in an unfamiliar land requires great courage. As the owner, I have a rightful duty to repay them.

Valda was much more enthusiastic than Eugene's expectation. Seeing as she was the Magician of the Forest, she seemed to prefer running in the field. Or she was thoroughly committed to noblesse oblige.

-Parting with you is always sad.

-I feel the same.

-It can't be helped. Being with family always is a right not permitted to noble ones.

Suppressing desire with duty. That was what Valda had been educated and trained in her whole life. Even in sadness, she saw her husband off with a smiling face.

* * *

The Dwarf King welcomed him with protocol far exceeding Eugene's expectation.

"Your Excellency the Count. We will escort you to Khazador. Please get on."

"..."

Eugene was at a loss for words in front of a large palanquin carried by 10 Dwarves.

Grrr-!

"Stay still. Refusing the host's goodwill as a guest is not proper etiquette."

Eugene soothed the dissatisfied Might and got on the palanquin. The inside was spacious and had plush cushions, making it truly comfortable.

"Thank you, everyone. It's my first time riding a palanquin in my life."

"It's an honor! The roads east of the Elysium Mountains aren't paved, so carriages cannot run. His Majesty ordered development to escort Your Excellency, who would visit again someday."

"Just for me? I definitely need to convey my gratitude when we meet."

Eugene's subordinates swelled with pride at the lavish treatment their master received.

In diplomacy, there are over ten types of protocols depending on the guest's level. For the King to directly order the production of a palanquin meant it needed no explanation.

As it started moving, Eugene marveled at the ride quality that defied comparison with a carriage. Carried by Dwarves with low centers of gravity, there was practically no shaking.

"This is bad. I've discovered a comfort forbidden to a knight."

"Please tell His Majesty exactly that. He will be happier than with any gift."

During the harmonious conversation between Eugene and the diplomat, Rampage subtly pouted his lips unnoticeably.

"Your Excellency. When we return to Haven, we will also make one. We, toughened by battlefield formations, can carry it much better."

"Since it's flat land there, I think riding a carriage would be enough?"

"Ahem."

"Well, it might be fine to make one for Lady Valda. An Elven noble lady getting on and off a flower palanquin. Don't you think it would suit her very well?"

"That's exactly it!"

The diplomat who was listening from slightly away approached.

"If you need it, we will give you the palanquin blueprint. When the Princess becomes pregnant, it will be better than a carriage. Vibrations are minimized, so it doesn't strain the fetus. I heard she dislikes luxury, but if you persuade her with this, it will work."

The diplomat's reception was masterful. To choose isolationism in the mountains and survive, paradoxically, one had to get along well with the outside.

"Friend! Hearing of your great achievements in Roman, I was looking forward to the day we see each other again!"

The Dwarf King was waiting out front at the entrance of Khazador. A gold-leafed carpet was laid out in front of Eugene as he got off the palanquin.

"I wanted to welcome you with a purple carpet, but I couldn't get one even if I paid."

"I don't have something like that either. There aren't any in Roman, and you'd probably have to go to the Eastern Empire to find one."

Eugene grasped the hand the Dwarf King offered.

This handshake method, holding it so the back of each other's hands is visible, symbolizes the highest intimacy. It was a culture born because hugging between different races looked weird due to the height difference.

"As expected of the Count. To match hands right away."

"It's been 5 years since I started living under the same roof as Dwarves. I have confidence I could do well taking on the role of MC for most ceremonial occasions."

The Dwarf King laughed heartily and patted Eugene's back. The royal guards holding halberds maintained a rigid posture on both sides of them as they entered the underground kingdom togAAether.

Ahead of the summit, a brief moment of free time was given in a private room. The one managing Eugene's attire and hair condition was Homi, as always.

"You look cool, as always."

"You always fix the ending and only change the modifier in front."

"Fufufu."

Homi twitched her sharp nose. If humans value non-verbal expressions like facial expressions or gestures in relationships, Homi analyzes the smell emitted by the other person.

"You received such excellent reception, but why does your heart feel uncomfortable?"

Even if one fakes an expression, it's impossible to hide the scent the body emits. Homi's sharp senses caught people's emotions surprisingly well.

While she and all the subordinates exuded the breath of a sense of victory, only Eugene emitted the pheromones of vigilance with his whole body.

"I wasn't like this even when charging at huge monsters, Death Knights, or an army of thousands."

Homi, perhaps not wanting to miss the rare experience, brought her nose close to Eugene's neck. A local dragon would have to appear for her to smell this scent again.

"There is nothing free in the world. Such unprecedented treatment means there is something they want that much."

"If you say what they want?"

"It's probably about the New Continent. Rumors must have already spread through the families of the Brotherhood of the Hammer."

In the Old Continent, even a small patch of field has an owner, and fights constantly broke out over that ownership. However, the New Continent was endlessly full of possibilities.

It didn't necessarily have to be mines. Better than a land flowing with milk and honey was land not on the map.

* * *

When the meeting time arrived, the two leaders sat facing each other across an obsidian table. The Dwarf King praised Eugene's achievements of ending the civil war and even executing an Outer God.

'He's more well-informed than most Roman nobles?'

The Dwarf King pointed out the progress of the civil war stage by stage and discussed the effects brought about by the Meyer family's intervention. It was fascinating to see him mention influences even Eugene himself wasn't aware of.

Saying he spent a lot of money on adventurers every year seemed to be true.

"Please accept it. It is gold coins embroidered stitch by stitch containing the gratitude of the kingdom's people."

A chest containing 2000 commemorative coins for the Shambler subjugation was placed before Eugene. Eugene also handed over 2000 Khazador gold coins and an exchange certificate.

In a good atmosphere, Eugene was the first to bring up the main topic.

"There won't be a place possessing as many outstanding mason artisans as here."

"Of course! Is there perhaps anything you need? Just say the word. How about a stone statue of the Count riding a warhorse, looking down imposingly?"

"The existing portrait is sufficient. What I want is this."

When Eugene handed over the bridge blueprint, the Dwarf King flinched.

"This is definitely from the 1st Era?"

"Yes. I would like to request the stones to be used here. My technicians will stay behind and explain detailed contents like numbers and the shape of the river."

"...So there is this method of utilizing the castle."

The Dwarf King immediately understood the unprecedented transport plan.

"It's not a request that can be made to just anyone. Because this is the only place that will make it strictly according to the set specifications and as requested."

"Jewels, gold, and silver are better the more you have, but not stones. Since the completion of Khazador, they've just been neglected, but to think a customer to buy this would come."

The Dwarf King's eyes were sparkling with greed for gold coins.

"Can I consider it a deal?"

"I will pull the eastern guard posts much further in and issue an entry ban. You will be able to see the draft of the contract before tomorrow's luncheon."

He wasn't King for nothing. He scratched what the other party wanted on his own. After drinking mushroom tea and discussing business for a while, the Dwarf King brought up his main topic.

"I heard there is a lot of spare space in the Count's Moving Castle. Very, very much."

"Of course. During the civil war in Roman, we carried tens of thousands of Allied fOrces at a time."

"I heard you also exhibited the bones of the hydra you defeated in Sicily? When you enter the lobby, taxidermies of champions and demons are exhibited."

"Even if I exhibited one of every creature in the world, there would be room to spare."

"Very cool."

The Dwarf King clapped his hands and asked in passing.

"Then wouldn't it be fine if about 4000 short friends rode along?"

"..."

"..."

Silence fell in the meeting room.

"The technicians to be called from Britannia and Gorde are enough for the construction."

"I'm not talking about the bridge. I heard the New Continent is full of all sorts of dangerous monsters. I thought you might need the help of our army."

"My army is not that weak."

"Of course! Still, one hand cannot beat ten hands, right?"

The Dwarf King thumped his chest with his fist.

"If 4000 Dwarves join in, we can lay roads everywhere on the New Continent. We will build a fortress for the Count in that land of barbarism. This will be a help impossible for anyone but us."

"I have no intention of expanding recklessly. I just need to develop the necessary amount at a time."

The Dwarf King and Eugene looked at each other.

'You noticed what I wanted to say, yet you pretend not to know.'

'Don't be needlessly greedy and just do the subcontracting well.'

For a while, only the sound of chewing snacks and teacups clinking against saucers rang out.

"In that vast land, if there are only the Count's subordinates, it will seem too desolate."

"Walking around the Moving Castle, everywhere your gaze lands, you see women with big bellies. Unlike the Elves of the Great Forest, my residents are always passionate. When husband and wife face each other, it feels like the temperature there rises. No matter how vast the land is, we can fill it quickly, so don't worry."

Eugene had absolutely no intention of making transactions other than stones with the Dwarf King.

"Leaving home is familiar to Dwarves. The world is getting narrower, and finding a better land is our destiny. It's fine if the reunion is several generations later. Khazador will welcome with open arms the descendants who will arrive riding the largest sailing ship in the world."

"Let's think about it slowly. Slowly."

"In diplomacy, saying you'll think about it slowly means you won't do it..."

"Could I have another cup of tea? It tastes good."

The meeting didn't progress beyond the stone contract.

"Try hugging it once. You have to tame it from when it's a baby for it to listen well. When His Majesty rides it after it becomes an adult, everyone will praise that dignity."

The Dwarf King's second main topic was Vertigo. He had to be satisfied with half the result of receiving one baby.

"Focus on raising this one first. I'd love to give you a pair of male and female, but they are such fierce guys."

"Doesn't the Count already operate multiple stone cavalry?"

"It's thanks to Homi, the beast tamer, and the magical fodder grown in the Moving Castle. Both have the effect of calming wildness and instilling obedience. Even with the strength of Dwarves, we can't control them either."

This was the reason the Moving Castle's hay was essential for the stone cavalry during external operations.

"You may make a copy of the bridge blueprint. I brought a few more 1st Era blueprints as gifts, would you like to see them?"

"Gladly."

The Dwarf King nodded, suppressing his greed. He had to take the chicken instead of the pheasant. And Eugene had brought a sufficient number of chickens.

* * *

"Living away from home will be tough, but I'm counting on you."

"The Dwarf King is very considerate, so it's fine."

"We will dedicate our full strength to carving and presenting the best stones."

Eugene shook hands with the Britannia technicians he had brought one by one and massaged their shoulders.

A little further away, Dwarves of various ages were on standby. They were pioneers who decided to follow Eugene after discussions and recruitment since the last visit.

"The number is larger than expected? Did other clans come over too?"

It wasn't just blood relatives of the Brotherhood of the Hammer that gathered. To an ordinary person, they would look the same, but Eugene could distinguish them. Because Dwarves have different ways of trimming or tying their beards depending on their clan.

"There are quite a few guys feeling stifled by life in the mountains. Besides, not all clans established themselves in good sites. There are also clans tired of living in barren areas."

As Rampage said, some Dwarves looked shabby and their nutritional status didn't look good.

It had been a long time since the Dwarves settled in the Elysium Mountains. Since the productive capacity of the mountains had a limit, as the population grew, such declining groups inevitably appeared. It was a long-standing headache for the Dwarf royal family.

"Everyone has sworn to follow Your Excellency's laws. You don't have to worry about control."

"It looks that way."

At the front of the Dwarves grouped by clan were those holding the flag of the Meyer family. It was a token they had produced with their own materials and methods, waiting for today.

"Brave ones heading towards an unfamiliar world. Welcome to becoming one family. And I thank you for the sincerity of holding my flag."

Nothing is impossible with words. However, the voice of Eugene speaking lowly contained a power that resonated in the mountains. Eugene approached much more reliably than the Dwarf King who had reigned for a long time.

A moment later, a second storm raged in the black wasteland. And this contained a special meaning distinct from previous transmissions.

It was the flapping of wings of a massive bird called the Federation taking off.