Chapter 354 – So Broke (1)
“Grand Duke! It’s a big deal!”
An urgent call for Emilia had been heard since morning. Emilia, who was sorting out her papers of her, had a carefree expression unlike the knight who seemed to have caught fire at her feet. On the second day since the Dwarves started working in the mine, the mines and other places were already full of raucous voices.
“What happened?”
Emilia asked while sorting through her papers her without even looking at her article her. The knight said, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
“The dwarves are protesting at the mine entrance. I came here to report this because I was concerned that it might soon turn into a riot.”
“Let’s go.”
Emilia left her paperwork and got up from her seat. Her knight stomped her feet her, waiting for Emilia to prepare. Said she, opening her door wide as soon as she put on her trademark fur coat on her.
“I will guide you quickly.”
****
At the entrance of the mine, 200 Dwarves were huddled together, arm in arm. The miners from the north giggled as if the dwarves’ protest was strange, and laughed or lit cigarettes while facing each other. It seemed ridiculous to them to see the Dwarves, whom they had never seen before, protest.
The soldiers were sticking out their spears with tense faces. The knights watched the situation, moistening their dry lips with water. They weren’t as good as the soldiers on the front line, but dealing with the dwarves made them sick.
“Why are we? I mean, I couldn’t get into town! I haven’t had a beer in two days already!”
“I’m out of liquor I brought with me! Give us a drink! What kind of treat is this to the distinguished guests who came to work for the North! Uh!”
“Wait for the Grand Duke to come!”
The knight shouted at the dwarves once again. The Dwarves looked like they would come out at any moment, but they calmly waited for news at the sound of the Grand Duke coming. However, they were only silent, and their faces were already stained red like a bomb about to explode.
For the past two days, the Dwarves had not been able to use the nearby miners’ quarters, let alone the village. The soldiers were strictly on guard and restricted the entry of the Dwarves, and at the end of a scuffle between the Dwarves trying to force their way in and the humans trying to stop them, two soldiers and one Dwarf were injured.
That incident became a fuse, and now the dwarves were occupying the mine. It was because the life of a miner they thought was not like this.
In the evening, I drink a glass of beer while taking out Oh Sun-do-soon minerals with my colleagues. After teasing each other with beer-foamed beards, they sang dwarf songs passionately with reddish faces. Then, when the night falls, they go to bed and sleep until morning, and in the late afternoon, they wake up scratching their stomachs and start digging for minerals again.
What the dwarves wanted was such a simple daily life. However, the North was restricting everything as if they would not allow such trivial pleasures to them. The Dwarves gritted their teeth. When the Grand Duke of the North came, she was waiting for everything to be done to her.
“The Grand Duke is coming!”
A soldier standing guard shouted in an urgent voice. The soldiers moved in perfect order to make it easier for the archduke to come. At the end of the one-line road, Emilia was moving her steps gracefully. Her coat fluttered in the wind that came down her mountain range and she shivered, her face frowning in the cold. Beside her, a small goat was babbling along.
“You have worked hard to come this far! Grand Duke Emilia!”
“You have worked very hard to stand guard in the village of Cheonta. Knight.”
Matching the knight’s greeting, Emilia cheered him up and patted her on the shoulder. Then he turned his attention to the dwarves. Dwarves were a race that was ready to speak at any time. They were glaring at Emilia with one eye on her with her arms crossed. They seemed to want Emilia to be frightened by their gaze of her. Emilia looked at them and smiled.
“All Dwarves. So what did you call me for? Hopefully, it will be a very important agenda.”
“Why can’t we go into town? Our households are being damaged by the cold winds of the north! Why don’t you open the road to the village for us! We are the Dwarves of the Dwarf Kingdom! I’m developing your mine… !”
“The Northern Mining Village is forbidden to enter except for merchants. You signed in front of me the other day that you are not a Northern Territory and that you are Dwarves of the Dwarf Realm. So you cannot enter the village.”
“Don’t bullshit! But does it make sense to not let them enter the village! Open the town gates right now! We want beer!”
“Didn’t I tell you? Outsiders cannot be admitted. For the unsophisticated inhabitants of the North must not be harmed by your violent temper. The fact that you are working in the mine now is only possible thanks to the treaty with the Dwarven Kingdom.
The treaty between the Dwarf kingdom and our kingdom ends with this one line.
[The human kingdom allows dwarves to work in the mines in the north. Dwarves have the right to buy and sell the iron ore they can.]
I am not obliged to house you or pay you. You also have no right to ask us for that. It is because you are not citizens of the northern territory or the kingdom, but dwarves responsible for the dwarf kingdom.”
“You mean to treat us like slaves? Do you think we look stupid?”
The Dwarves began to pick up pickaxes and shovels. Soldiers surrounded Emilia, revealing tension. Emilia spoke in the midst of an imminent situation.
“Calm down. Everyone. Because of the unfortunate treaty, a wall has been built between you and us, but we can break it down. In fact, I am also very hurt by this issue. I have to hire high-quality workers like you for free without paying a penny, and I can’t even bring them into the village. If you just sign the contract I’m presenting you, I’ll let you into the village and I’ll give you a salary.”
“Salary? You mean to pamper us!”
Emilia thought it was very strange that these dwarves were angry. She could be sure that if she said she wouldn’t pay the dwarves here, she’d be angry. These dwarfs, full-bodied from birth, were narrow-minded and lived for anger. She laughed and explained.
“They say it is a salary, but in reality it is not a salary. It’s a better concept than that. 200 of you are doing business with me as a sole proprietor. Because you have more ability than any other miner.”
“What kind of contract, specifically?”
“I want to buy the right to buy and sell iron ore from you guys.”
Dwarf miners had the right to trade the iron ore they could find. Emilia wanted to buy the trading rights. But one of the dwarves shook his head and said.
“Hate! We will only sell to dwarves! We got these ores! Of course I have to go to the top of the dwarves!”
Emilia nodded her head and said.
“Yes. I will only sell it to the top of the dwarves. I would like to purchase the right to trade on the condition that you sell canned ore only to the Dwarf Merchant.”
The dwarves faced each other face to face. According to Emilia, it was because they had nothing to lose. As originally planned, they could only sell iron ore to the upper ranks of the Dwarves, and on top of that, they were able to earn money as well. It would have been better if it was better, nothing bad. There were already dwarves who were dying at the thought of drinking beer with the money they earned. The number of grinning Dwarves increased. The Dwarf representative cleared his throat and said.
“Hmm! Hmm! How can you believe that you only sell to the top of the dwarves? Couldn’t it be sold somewhere else without our knowledge?”
“We will keep the iron ore you canned elsewhere. We will make sure that you can check it at any time. Wouldn’t it be easier to believe what you see with your own eyes than the numbers written in the ledger?”
“…Good night! I will sign! How much are you going to give me for selling the trading rights?”
“I will give you 20 gold per person.”
At the amount of 20 gold, both the Dwarves and the soldiers swallowed their breath. A typical guard or soldier’s salary was 10 silver. 1 gold was enough for a family of 4 to last for a year, and 20 gold was enough for 20 years. A division was also taking place among the Dwarves who were skeptical of the signing. A dwarf who had been watching the situation with a disapproving expression quietly raised her hand and looked for a pen.
One by one, the dwarves took up pens and started signing. Emilia smiled as she looked at the dwarves lying at her feet.
She finished signing all the dwarves. Emilia smiled again as she went through the contracts written by the dwarves one by one. She reaffirmed that all 200 people had signed, Emilia told her soldiers.
“Please open the entrance to the village. Also, for two weeks from tomorrow, we will be carrying out repair work to expand the mine, so I hope you Dwarves can take a break. Here’s the contract down payment of 10 gold. 10 gold will be paid in two weeks.”
The Dwarves received the gold in an orderly manner under the control of the soldiers.
And when he was told to take a break for two weeks in the village, all the dwarves laughed out loud. It was because there were so many things I wanted to do in two weeks. I wanted to get drunk and have a party. As soon as the soldiers and the Grand Duke withdrew, the Dwarves screamed and ran to the village like hungry hounds.
As soon as they arrived, there were people who sat down and drank at the tavern, and there were people who looked around the town and admired the scenery. There were also dwarves who were timidly sitting down and drinking. And the villagers smiled sinisterly at the dwarves.
The first start was a dwarf drinking quietly in a corner. Two men with tattoos sat next to the dwarves and asked.
“You. Have you ever played a game of dice?”
“A dice game?”
The dwarf showed his reluctance towards the humans who pretended to be close to him. But people didn’t care about the dwarves paying attention.
“This is a very good thing. Does the money just grow?”
The dwarf’s eyes shook.
