Chapter 89

With Tommy’s guidance, I was able to meet one of the survivors of the Dwarven Warrior Squad.

His name was Gale.

He was a dwarf who served as the vice-captain of the Dwarven Warrior Squad.

However, with Trail now missing, Gale, who should have been leading the squad, had suffered a mental shock and physical injuries after being defeated by a vampire and losing half of their forces. As a result, he was unable to return to the front lines and was still recuperating at home.

Tommy guided me to Gale’s house and knocked on the door.

*Knock knock knock*

“Hey, Gale. Come out for a moment!”

After Tommy knocked, the door opened slightly, and a dwarf named Gale appeared, seemingly wary of something.

Whether it was due to the mental shock or his naturally cautious personality, Gale only opened the door enough to reveal his face. His pale complexion gave off the impression of someone still suffering from the aftermath of battle.

“Who… Ah, it’s you, Tommy.”

“That’s right. I came because there’s something I want to ask you.”

“Something you want to ask? What is it?”

“To explain that, I need to introduce someone to you first. Say hello.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kurt. I’m an adventurer.”

“…An adventurer?”

“Yes. I’m currently investigating traces of the vampire. So, could you tell me about what happened that day?”

At those words, the dwarf named Gale stared at me with lifeless eyes.

Then, in a cold tone, he spoke to Tommy with a voice that even carried a hint of hostility.

“Tommy, are you out of your mind?”

“…What do you mean?”

“Entrusting an outsider with an investigation during such a chaotic time? For all we know, the vampire’s minions could be hiding somewhere in this village right now.”

“Don’t worry about that. This guy is a trustworthy Lizardman. I vouch for him with my name.”

“Just because you trust him doesn’t mean the other dwarves have to agree. Besides, this is a matter for our Dwarven Village. Accepting help from an outsider? Do you have no pride as a dwarf?”

“Is this really the time to talk about pride? Half of the warrior squad, including Trail, has already gone missing!”

At Tommy’s words, Gale, who had been pale like a sick patient, couldn’t hold back and shouted.

“That’s exactly why!”

“…!”

“That’s exactly why we must finish this with our own hands. Revenge is both our right and our duty.”

As he spoke, Gale’s eyes, which had been dull and black just moments ago, now burned with the eyes of an avenger.

Having made his stance clear to Tommy, Gale turned his head to look at me.

“And you, Kurt, was it?”

“Yes, that’s my name.”

“Let me give you a piece of advice. If you’re investigating this out of goodwill, you should stop. The vampire we faced is not something a mere adventurer can trifle with. So, if you don’t want to see blood, it’s best to give up. And if you’re investigating this with some ulterior motive, it’s the same. If that’s the case, my axe will split your head before it splits the vampire’s.”

*Thud*

That was the end of it.

After delivering his warning, Gale closed the door as if he had no more business with me, and he never opened it again.

“This… this is unbelievable!”

Seeing this, Tommy looked at the closed door with a troubled expression, as if he hadn’t expected Gale to react this way.

“…I’m sorry. He wasn’t like this before. He used to be bright and cheerful, but losing to the vampire must have left a deep scar on his heart.”

“Don’t worry about it. Given what he’s been through, it’s understandable that he’s on edge. More importantly, I’d like to meet another dwarf.”

“Huh? Oh, of course! I was close with Trail, so I know most of his subordinates. Don’t worry.”

With that, Tommy guided me to the next dwarf’s house.

However, whether it was the next dwarf or the one after that, all the dwarves I met were holed up in their homes, recovering from their wounds. It seemed that, more than their physical injuries, they had suffered deep emotional scars, and they all regarded me, a stranger, with suspicion and refused to engage in conversation.

…

“Ugh… In the end, I couldn’t have a proper conversation with anyone.”

After being rejected by all the dwarves I had sought out, I returned to Tommy’s inn, frowning as I sat down.

“The rejection was worse than I expected.”

“This can’t be…”

Tommy, too, seemed unprepared for this outcome, sitting down weakly and muttering to himself.

Among the dwarves we visited, many didn’t show as much hostility as Gale had at first.

However, even the dwarves who didn’t seem wary of me would change their expressions the moment the topic of the vampire came up, refusing to continue the conversation and clamming up.

In the end, after spending the entire day visiting various dwarves’ homes, I had failed to have a single proper conversation.

“What on earth happened that day that they all clam up the moment the vampire is mentioned…? I’m sorry. I couldn’t get any information for you.”

Tommy spoke to me with a somber expression.

He seemed even more disheartened by the fact that he couldn’t help me and that the state of the dwarven warriors was worse than he had anticipated.

But there was no problem.

“…No. I’ve gathered all the information I need.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Silence sometimes speaks louder than words.

Information isn’t only obtained through conversation.

In fact, there are certain convictions that can only be gained by not speaking.

“I have a rough idea of what happened the day the vampire clashed with the Dwarven Warrior Squad.”

“W-what!? How…! No, that’s not the important part! What on earth happened that day!?”

Tommy looked at me with desperate eyes and asked, and I shared my thoughts with him.

…

A small village located at the southern edge of the continent, mostly populated by dwarves.

To the south, dragons, defeated in endless territorial disputes, constantly invade the dwarven village to claim it as their new territory. Nearby is the village of the fairies, and further away are human cities and the Village of the World Tree. It’s an ordinary village.

The village’s main income comes from hunting the invading dragons for their meat, bones, and hides.

And from selling tools made using the dwarves’ natural craftsmanship.

Though not as bustling as a city, the village has a peaceful and warm atmosphere, both monotonous and nostalgic.

Nail was born in that dwarven village.

His father was the captain of the village’s warriors.

He seemed to want Nail to follow in his footsteps and train as a warrior, but Nail preferred staying indoors, basking in the warmth of the forge, and crafting intricate swords and armor over the rough life of hunting fierce monsters beyond the walls.

Trail often clashed with Nail over his introverted hobbies, but despite that, their relationship was far from bad.

Aside from discussions about his future, they would share drinks and talk, and whenever Nail secretly polished Trail’s axe, Trail would outwardly act displeased but couldn’t hide his cheerful smile all day.

It was the picture of an ordinary family, yet also a father-son relationship stronger than most.

So, when Nail heard the news of Trail’s disappearance, he was deeply shocked and retreated into his home, unable to do anything.

His mind was consumed by regret.

Regret that if he had followed his father’s wishes and become a warrior, perhaps something would have been different when the warrior squad clashed with the vampire.

Of course, the probability of anything changing just because Nail had joined was infinitesimally small.

In fact, it was overwhelmingly more likely that the squad’s casualties would have simply increased by one young dwarf.

But Nail couldn’t help but feel that his father’s disappearance was his fault for not listening to him and choosing to become a blacksmith instead.

So, pathetically, he did nothing but stay holed up in his room, consumed by regret.

That’s why Nail was so shocked when he saw Kurt.

Even he, Trail’s own son, was too shocked to think of searching for his father, yet here was Kurt, an outsider to the village, risking being attacked by the vampire to search for his father, whom he had only known for a few days.

It was completely different from himself, who had been too heartbroken to do anything but stay holed up at home.

Kurt’s actions seemed so dazzling that Nail couldn’t help but wonder if there was some ulterior motive…

When he asked Kurt with such ugly thoughts, Kurt simply replied that he was doing what he had to do.

The way Kurt spoke was so dazzling.

And compared to him, Nail felt so ashamed.

So, Nail got up and left the room.

…

“That’s what happened. That’s my theory.”

After sharing my thoughts with Tommy, he sat down weakly in his chair, his face filled with shock.

“That’s… That’s unbelievable…”

“It’s hard to accept, but it’s the most plausible hypothesis.”

When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

“That’s right! We need to tell everyone about this right now…!”

“No, revealing this now would only cause more chaos. There’s another problem…”

“What problem is that?”

“First, I’d like to gather all the Dwarven Warrior Squad members for a discussion…”

The problem was how to bring them together, given that they were already wary of me due to the bad first impression.

Even Tommy, a native of the dwarven village, was seen with me, so they wouldn’t come easily even if he called them.

Tommy, too, seemed to have no solution to this, groaning and unable to come up with a proper plan.

“If we send Mari and her group… No, Mari is also an outsider…”

As we were pondering this…

*Slam*

“I’ll take on that role!”

The inn’s door opened, and Nail appeared.