Chapter 345 – Blue Ghost (4)
Indeed, it was a stat worthy of a Dwarf general. Like beasts on the verge of a fight, we made eye contact and engaged in a search battle. Avori glanced at the two of us for a while before opening her mouth.
“Last month, a lot of dwarves died because of the monster that ran out of the manastone mine.”
We knew who the monster was. A.A slightly frowned at the expression “Death,” But didn’t interrupt Evori. Contrary to his impression of him, Evory had a very calm and soft tone.
“The former king came in front of the mine to negotiate directly with the monster, but the monster killed half of our army and the former king in one blow.”
I didn’t know what Evory was trying to say. Does that mean we have to pay for funeral aid? Evory took one look around and rose from her throne her. As soon as Evory woke up, the surrounding Dwarves flinched at us and flinched at us. Evory calmed the soldiers, who were like beasts tied tight to his leash.
“Calm down. Aren’t you in front of guests? We are not at war yet. Come in, two of you. You left the guest outside and talked for a long time.”
Evory entered the barracks first. We followed him cautiously into the barracks. There was no one inside, which was cleaner than expected. He seemed confident that we had no reason to attack him. Evory sat down leisurely and said.
“A few days before the magic stone mine was destroyed, as far as I remember, the warriors A.A. And Peta Lucius came to this dwarf kingdom. You guys talked about wanting to go into the magic stone mine, but the old king rejected the offer. And you all of a sudden disappeared.”
A.A swallowed a gulp. I turned my gaze and surveyed the inside of the barracks. There was no sign that anyone was eavesdropping. There didn’t even seem to be any strange devices. Evory continued her story of her.
“And when the manastone mine was destroyed by the monster, there were reports from several places that it seemed like there were two humans next to it. The person himself said he was in too much of a hurry to look closely, so the credibility is low, but if this is true, it should be assumed that someone released the monster underground in the magic stone mine.”
Avori looked around us. His eyes her were still burning fiercely. He asked.
“Are you guys?”
“No.”
We met eyes once. There was no reason to admit that we did it here. Although there was a heart attack, there was no physical evidence. Everyone who saw us inside the gemstone mines was dead, and there was no way they could tell who we were from that distance. Admitting it, it was like scratching it to a boil, so it was better to shamelessly take it off. Evory frowned slightly and said.
“Right. Understood.”
He nodded his head. Then, assuming we got in there, we started talking again.
“However, I am not talking about this to hold you accountable or to upset you. Rather, I see it as an opportunity to change this kingdom that is getting wet with inertia. It is very sad that the old king passed away. The country cannot develop because it depends on impure and irrational things like magic stones. Dwarves speak only with iron and hammer. It was destined to be like this one day.”
“Is the war also caused to change this country? Many people will die. Think again…”
A.A said urgently. Evory looked at A.A. And slightly stretched the corners of her mouth.
“As long as humans respond rationally, there will be no war. You don’t have to worry. I guarantee Humans can never wage war against us now. In a week, before we even deploy our tanks, the humans will offer us a deal.”
Evory seemed to be aiming for something. But she couldn’t just trust him and move on. I asked.
“What is the ‘monster’ that lived in the magic stone mine going to do?”
“If you haven’t seen any movement so far, that means don’t touch it. Don’t want to touch It’s not courage to charge at a monster that wipes out soldiers with a single gesture, it’s recklessness. All private houses around it were also evacuated.”
It didn’t seem like he was lying. The irrational anger felt in the declaration of war was not felt by him. I asked last.
“Where are the tower lords and wizards? I heard that you went to investigate the magic stone mine, but you don’t show any concern for them.”
We met eyes again. Evory’s eyes were staring at me. Evory opened her mouth.
“I do not know.”
“Okay. Understand.”
I chuckled. Evory nodded and stood up. I said.
“All right. I am very happy that we have a place where we can clear up misunderstandings.”
“Goodbye. I will not see you off. Where are you going?”
“There was a request from the Magic Tower, so I’m trying to find some keepsakes, but it doesn’t matter if I go to the Magic Stone Mine right now, right?”
“Does not matter.”
We left the barracks again. A.A was lost in thought until she got on the wagon and left the military camp. After thinking for a while, she asked me.
“Then, what are you going to do now? Priest? I should have met Theoter, but isn’t it too dangerous to train there?”
“For now, we should only shine our faces, and then quickly return to the mansion. For now, Evory seems to be convinced that there will be no war, but we don’t know what will happen in the world. First of all, I should simply write a report as if I had “Spyed out” The atmosphere inside. What will the warrior do? I guess I’ll have to train after seeing how the atmosphere is going, would you like to go back to Ashildern?”
“Of course in the mansion…”
I said ‘of course’. I grinned. A.A was startled when he saw my smile her and said,
“… I want to go back.”
“Really?”
“I don’t know.”
The carriage we rode in was headed for Theoter. There was no tailing. Our wagon dug into the woods and was going deep in search of Theoter. My mind was complicated. This is because it was not possible to predict how this situation that occurred when Shioter jumped out would turn out. All we had to do was show Theo Terre her face her, give her a hug, and then go back.
****
The palace was in a state of confusion. It was not easy to be so noisy in the middle of a cabinet meeting. All the leaders who lead the country were gathering and chatting wildly, expressing different opinions. In the midst of the commotion, the old knight in armor stood up and said.
“The Dwarves are declaring war with outrageous demands. We must be strong against this!”
It was Knight Commander Lionel Albus. Many servants nodded their heads at his cry his. But there were clearly those who opposed it. Instead of the treasurer, Marquis Rosaline Barba shook her head and said,
“It’s not that easy. Leader Lionel Albers. I have a lot of complaints about the dwarves’ declaration of war this time, but right now we’re not in a position to fight. Since it has not been long since the Eastern Love Church Front ended, war is a very unreasonable decision for the current situation.”
“It is said that more than half of the elite troops of the Dwarves were annihilated by the ‘monster’. Those guys are bluffing.”
“What do you get by winning?”
At Rosalind Marquis Barba’s question, Lionel Albus fell silent. Marquis Barba’s question had bones. True to his word, he had nothing to gain from fighting the dwarves right now. Rather, fighting itself was a loss. Marquis Barba said.
“Listen. Leader. Those guys are going very calculated. If I really wanted to fight, I would have taken over the Mage Towers, the core forces of the kingdom. But it didn’t. He said he had prepared the tanks and sent only a letter with his requirements. It implicitly hinted that there was still a willingness to negotiate.”
There were three major requirements. First, full support for the recovery of facilities in the Dwarf Kingdom. Second, some dwarves were moved to the northern part of the kingdom and allowed to develop northern mines. Third, allowing Dwarf-only guilds in the kingdom that will facilitate trade between Dwarves.
“You can’t allow that, can you?”
“You don’t know that, but it’s only natural to make unreasonable demands before negotiating.”
“The North does not want to share the interests of mine development with the Dwarves. Even now, the northern part has not fully recovered from the wounds inflicted by the subhumans, and the dwarves have never added anything to the northern part’s livelihood.”
Amelia, Grand Duke of the North, intervened in the matter. Marquis Barba shut his mouth. Another nobleman who supported the Marquis’s words opened his mouth.
“There are a lot of mines, but how do you add them by giving up a few? The position of the Grand Duke of the North doesn’t fit you well…”
“The Grand Duke of the North was a position I never took because I wanted it, but after the North was normalized, everyone is accusing me of saying that I was given a position for free. Marquis Espa. You were also nominated for the successor, but you said you turned it down? You will have a stomach ache. If I had known that it was a land like Altoran that even a single woman could easily recover, I would have eaten it myself. Because you couldn’t.”
The Marquis of Espa cleared his throat and looked away. Marquis Barba looked at the Grand Duke and opened his mouth.
“But without negotiations, there is only war. I don’t think it’s right to already discuss issues that can be adjusted in negotiations.”
“I am presenting my opinion in advance. The North will not be visited by dwarves in any way except in the form of dwarves working as dispatch labor for direct pay from me. I would appreciate it if you could clarify this point at the negotiating table.”
Marquis Barba clicked his tongue. It was because both sides were pecking at themselves. If there was a war with the dwarves here, the humans had no choice but to win in the end. But after winning, there was nothing to gain. The supply source of the human kingdom’s main steel products would be cut off, the southern region, which had been a granary, would be devastated by the war, and more soldiers would die and public sentiment would hit the bottom.
Without the owner of the Mage Tower, he couldn’t rally the wizards and fight together like last time. In addition, because of the mysterious door that was created in the capital, there were always troops stationed in the capital. If you fight, you win. But even if it won, it wasn’t a win.
In a way, this was more like a declaration of hostage rather than a declaration of war.
