Chapter 40

Dwarves dislike elves.

When they try to mine some minerals, the elves suddenly appear and nag about not destroying nature.

“Would you like it if someone hit you with a pickaxe like that? Have you ever thought about how much pain nature, which can’t speak, feels?”

“……”

Of course, the dwarf had never thought about such things and didn’t care.

Dwarves don’t assign any special meaning to nature. Nature is just nature.

“Stop being so dramatic. Don’t interfere with my work and get lost.”

“What? Get lost? Are you asking for a fight now, you little dwarf trash can?”

“What? Dwarf trash can? Fine, let’s do it. I’ll cut off those pointy ears of yours.”

“Bring it on!”

And so, the war between dwarves and elves began.

It continued until the demon invasion.

While fending off the demon invasion, the two races had no choice but to call a truce, but that didn’t mean they became friends.

Even now, elves disliked dwarves for destroying nature, and dwarves disliked elves for being overly dramatic and emotional.

But not all dwarves disliked elves.

Here and now, Bagran, the dwarf who bumped into Ariel, was different.

Bagran really liked elves.

Elves are beautiful, right? So it’s okay if they nag a bit. Because they’re beautiful.

That was roughly his thought.

‘D-damn it. I messed up. I didn’t know it was an elf…’

Bagran was regretting it internally. Because he had just bumped into Ariel and spewed harsh words.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going, you stupid girl…!” He stopped mid-sentence, but it was already too late.

An elf who already disliked dwarves would surely despise Bagran after hearing such harsh words.

She might curse or even spit in his face. But Bagran was prepared to endure it.

He had said harsh words, so he had to accept the consequences. Of course, the elf’s spit would be like holy water to Bagran.

If it were any other dwarf, they would have loudly insulted Ariel.

This was the Dwarf Mountain Range. The surroundings were filled with dwarves, and there were no elves.

Since everyone disliked elves, they would surely take Bagran’s side.

Everyone would curse at the elf, and then the elf would either turn red and cry or shout, “I knew I shouldn’t have come to the Dwarf Mountain Range!” and run away.

Bagran didn’t want to make things like that. So he just lay there and quietly looked up at Ariel.

He resolved to endure whatever curses Ariel might throw at him.

But Ariel didn’t curse at Bagran. She didn’t glare at him with hatred or spit in his face.

Instead, she reached out her hand to Bagran with a worried expression.

“……?”

Bagran looked at the hand Ariel offered with a bewildered expression.

A small, white hand.

It was a delicate and beautiful hand, though a bit short due to her young age.

It was a stark contrast to the pot-lid-like hands of dwarves.

Bagran took Ariel’s hand.

Ariel helped Bagran up and even kindly picked up the fallen items.

“Th-thank you…”

As Bagran shyly thanked her, Ariel smiled slightly.

Then she gently patted Bagran’s head, as if petting a child.

“……?”

Bagran couldn’t help but be bewildered again.

Due to their racial traits, Bagran was about the same height as Ariel, but he was a full-grown adult with a thick beard.

On the other hand, Ariel had a youthful appearance and was small. She was probably at an age where she should still be growing.

Yet, she treated Bagran like a child and patted his head.

‘Well, it’s not entirely bad…’

Bagran found Ariel’s touch pleasant. It was warm and soft. If she did this while he slept, he could probably sleep very sweetly.

However, the surrounding gazes were bothering him.

Dwarves passing by glanced at Ariel, the elf, and looked at Bagran, who was being petted by her, with pitiful eyes.

*

Bagran invited Ariel’s group to his house.

When he asked Ariel, “If it’s okay, would you like to come to my house?” she readily nodded.

Bagran’s house wasn’t far. After walking for a few minutes from where they met Ariel, they arrived.

“W-wait a moment. I’ll clean up the house real quick.”

Bagran stood at the door and said that.

Since it was a house where a man lived alone and he rarely had guests, Bagran’s house was a mess.

He couldn’t show such a state to the elf he had invited.

At the very least, he had to put away his underwear and especially the obscene magazines scattered near the bed.

After frantically cleaning for about ten minutes, Bagran came back out.

“Huff, huff, it’s done. You can come in now.”

Ariel led the way into Bagran’s house.

Following her, Rakia and Roo entered, and when Ghost came in, Bagran’s living room was packed.

“It smells weird here.”

“Yeah, a bit. They say dwarves don’t wash much.”

“Such a lowly race.”

Rakia and Roo muttered.

Bagran pretended not to hear, and Ariel was busy looking around Bagran’s house.

‘So this is where a dwarf lives…’

Ariel walked over to where the displayed weapons were on the wall.

Dwarves display the weapons they’ve made in their homes.

And humans come to the dwarves’ houses to look at the displayed weapons and decide whether to buy them.

In that sense, a dwarf’s house was like a personal armory.

“Haha, want me to show you around?”

Bagran walked over to Ariel and took out the round shield she was looking at.

“This is a shield my father made. It’s made of mithril alloy, so it’s very sturdy. It’s expensive, so it hasn’t been sold yet, but I can’t sell it for cheap. Besides, it’s a precious shield that holds memories of my father. Ah, is this kind of story boring?”

Bagran hung the shield on his arm and looked at Ariel.

“Want to try hitting it? You’ll be surprised at how sturdy it is. My father said it could even block a dragon’s magic.”

At Bagran’s words, Rakia made an interested expression.

“Then let me try…”

As Rakia rolled up her sleeves and stepped forward, Roo stopped her.

If Rakia used magic here, the house would surely be blown away.

“Here, go ahead. You can hit it with your hand, or even use a hammer. It won’t get a single scratch.”

“……”

Ariel quietly alternated her gaze between the shield and Bagran’s face.

If Ariel hit it with all her strength, not only the shield but Bagran himself wouldn’t be unharmed.

But Bagran’s expectant expression made it hard to do nothing.

Ariel, who already had a favorable impression of dwarves, didn’t want to disappoint Bagran, who had been so kind to her.

So she decided to hit the shield.

Very lightly.

Just enough to not leave a scratch, as Bagran had said.

Tap.

Ariel punched the shield. It was so light it could hardly be called a punch.

“What, hahaha, is that all? You can hit it harder. This shield is really sturdy. My father said…”

Ariel hit the shield again.

This time, a bit harder.

But still gently enough to not leave a scratch.

Tap.

“Haha, how cute, hit it with all your might. Are you worried about hurting your hand? If that’s the case, you can use the hammer over there…”

“I’ll stop now.”

As Ariel spoke, a look of disappointment appeared on Bagran’s face.

“O-oh…? Well, this kind of thing isn’t very fun…? Sorry, I just wanted to show you the shield’s durability…”

Bagran’s shoulders slumped.

Seeing this, Ariel decided to try one more time.

“Last one.”

“Alright, hit it properly this time!”

Bagran shouted with an excited expression.

Ariel hit it a bit harder this time, with enough force to leave a slight scratch on the shield.

Thud.

“Ugh.”

Bagran, who was holding the shield, was pushed back.

Ariel had hit it lightly, but it felt quite heavy.

“Hah, haha, yeah, that’s more like it. How is it? The shield is really sturdy, right?”

Bagran rubbed his aching arm and asked, and Ariel nodded.

“Sturdy.”

“Right! This is the craftsmanship of dwarves…”

At that moment.

Crack!

A crack appeared on the shield hanging from Bagran’s arm, and it crumbled to pieces.

“Wh-what…?”

Bagran looked at the shattered remains of the shield on the floor with a hollow expression.

The mithril alloy shield his father had left him was now in pieces.

All because of a punch from a young elf.

“Wh-why did this happen? This can’t be…”

Bagran glanced up at Ariel.

Ariel was wearing a very dark expression.

She was blaming herself for what she had done, but to Bagran, it looked like a disappointed expression.

“No, actually, this… it’s quite old. Yeah, over time, even shields age… You can’t ignore things like moisture…”

Bagran began to make excuses.

Right now, the fact that the mithril alloy shield his father had left, worth enough to buy a decent house, was shattered wasn’t important to Bagran.

What was much more important was easing Ariel’s heart.