“This is a double-edged axe made by Chesterton──”
“What’s that tower, mom?”
“Hmm…? Anyway, it’s really flashy.”
“This is an artifact forged by Miltia herself──”
“Are those weapons floating in the air? No… they’re stuck in some incredibly transparent glass. As expected of War’s Hammer. To make such a glass tower on the spot without any tools.”
“Even the weapons are all things we can’t replicate. By the way, why are the edges so bluntly finished? It clearly looks like the work of an amateur.”
“………This is the armor Charlie poured his heart and soul into…….”
“Is that just for display? Is that thing itself the artwork?”
“War’s Hammer said you can come and experience it yourself. It’s called a ‘board game.'”
“What’s that?”
“I don’t know. They said it’s some kind of game.”
“……Damn it.”
At the festival, various works made by dwarves were introduced and demonstrated.
But most of the dwarves gathered in the village square were staring at one particular spot.
Next to War’s Hammer, who was lazily sitting in a chair.
A glass tower filled with countless weapons, and the daggers piled on top of those weapons.
Just the visuals alone were enough to overwhelm the other works.
But what really drew attention was the unbalanced finish on the supposedly top-tier weapons made by War’s Hammer, which looked like they were done by an amateur.
In this situation, Charlie quietly cursed.
‘So this is why they sent War’s Hammer.’
Now he understood the human’s scheme. The humans didn’t insult War’s Hammer or order him to run errands.
Rather, it was to make it easier for the dwarves to approach the ‘artwork.’
‘If the humans had come themselves, they would have earned everyone’s contempt and anger. But if War’s Hammer hadn’t come, the artwork wouldn’t have been properly displayed either.’
That’s why they sent War’s Hammer.
A traitor to the race, but someone no dwarf could ignore.
‘It’s a human’s work, but with War’s Hammer next to it, the image fades.’
All the dwarves knew. That it was a work made by a human they should hate. But the human themselves is nowhere to be seen. Instead, with War’s Hammer sitting there, it just looks like his work.
Above all, except for a very few dwarves like Charlie who have climbed the watchtower, most dwarves have never seen or met a human in person.
They only vaguely learned about their hatred for humans and the Empire through words and writings in the dwarf village.
That’s why it was hard not to be curious about the ‘human’ they’d only heard about, and even more so about the work submitted to their festival.
But since the whole village tends to hate humans, no one could take the first step.
……If someone broke the ice, it was clear everyone would approach that work.
‘Then, if no one approaches it like this…’
The human’s work would eventually be dismantled, and the human would return to the surface.
Then the dwarf village could return to how it was. To its original state──
“Charlie.”
“……Brown Beard.”
“Whatever. So Charlie, aren’t you going to try this ‘board game’?”
“Of course. It’s a work made by a human we should hate.”
Charlie, who had been staying away from the square to guard against a potential human magician attack, suddenly turned his head at War’s Hammer’s words, who had somehow appeared next to him.
Something about it was irritating.
Even though they were both dwarves, War’s Hammer always seemed to side with the humans.
“………Idiot.”
“What?”
“That’s why I always treat you like a child.”
“Nonsense……!!”
Gritting his teeth, Charlie stood up abruptly. He couldn’t let that comment slide.
Charlie, who believed only he was a true dwarf, glared at the traitor of their race.
“So what, are you saying we should generously accept the humans’ work? The humans who buried us in this abyss, treated us like dogs or slaves, and the Empire!?”
“………….”
“I was born in this abyss. Not just me. Everyone in this village, every dwarf except you, was born in this damn sea and will die without ever seeing sunlight or the surface. That’s how it’s been for hundreds of years! That’s how we’ve lived and died. And that’s how it will be!”
“…………….”
“And yet, am I a child for ignoring the humans? You bowed your head to save our race hundreds of years ago. That’s not the only reason you’re called a traitor………Now…”
“What have you been doing? Why aren’t you helping us? If it were you, you could get us out of this underwater mess!”
“………Sigh.”
“Answer me, War’s Hammer…!!”
“You still don’t understand what I’m saying.”
“What…?”
“If you want to know, try it yourself, that board game… Weapon Tumbling.”
At War’s Hammer’s words pointing to the glass tower filled with weapons, Charlie, who had been glaring at him with bloodshot eyes, took a deep breath.
For a moment, he was furious, but War’s Hammer was, after all, a dwarf. The only dwarf who had witnessed the entire history of this underwater world.
Could such a dwarf really betray his kind or mock Charlie by saying such things? Thinking calmly, he realized it wasn’t the case.
So, swallowing curses several times in his mind, Charlie walked towards the human creation, ‘Weapon Tumbling.’
‘Will I understand something by doing this?’
He had heard that board games were a form of entertainment. Entertainment using dwarven weapons? It felt like bad taste in itself.
What could one possibly learn from mere entertainment?
As Charlie stood before Weapon Tumbling, the murmurs of the dwarves grew louder.
“Look at that, Charlie…?”
“Why is that stubborn old man here?”
“Well, let’s see. So, what is that?”
Now, even the host explaining the dwarves’ creations was focusing on Charlie and Weapon Tumbling.
Feeling everyone’s eyes on him, Charlie, with a displeased expression, looked at War’s Hammer.
“So, how do we do this?”
“Since you can’t do it alone, you’ll have to do it with me. What kinds of weapons are stuck in that glass tower?”
“……Curved swords, greatswords, spears, and axes. Four types.”
“Now, we’ll take turns pulling out one weapon each. What do you think will happen?”
“Well, the daggers placed on top of the weapons will……”
“Fall, right? On your turn, if you pull out a weapon and a dagger falls, you take it. The game continues until all the daggers have fallen, and the one with fewer daggers wins.”
“………”
The rules… got it. They’re pretty simple.
But what meaning could such a simple game have?
Before Charlie could voice his doubts, War’s Hammer stepped forward first.
“I’ll go with the ‘spear.'”
Whoosh! Clang!
The spear stuck in the glass tower came out surprisingly easily. Only then did Charlie realize that the finish of all the weapons, including the spear, was intentional.
The holes were made large enough so that the spearhead or handle wouldn’t get caught, and pulling them out wasn’t a big issue either.
With dozens of weapons layered, pulling out one spear didn’t cause any daggers to fall.
War’s Hammer, having pulled out the spear, turned to look at Charlie.
“And you, you have to pull out the type of weapon I specify.”
“……What are you going to specify?”
“Greatsword. Any greatsword will do.”
“Hmph.”
Greatsword, huh.
Charlie was about to pull out the greatsword right in front of him.
‘Wait.’
He stopped his hand for a moment.
Because the greatsword was drastically different from the spear War’s Hammer had pulled out.
‘Unlike the spear, which is pole-shaped, the greatsword has a wide blade, and thus, many daggers are hanging from it.’
The daggers aren’t ordinary either. The blades are curved, and there are hooks at the end of the handles.
They’re almost impossible to use in real combat, but… they’re perfect for this ‘game.’
The shape of the blade and the hooks mean they often get tangled or barely hang onto the spear or greatsword’s blade.
After taking a deep breath, Charlie carefully pulled out the greatsword.
This time, too, no daggers fell, but.
‘There’s a reason the weapons are divided by type.’
The spear is the easiest to understand. Being a long pole, it’s clear what’s tangled with what.
The greatsword is tricky. As Charlie noticed, the blade is wide and large, creating many variables when pulling it out.
The curved sword is also difficult because the curved blade causes many things to move or get touched when pulled out.
As for the axe, there are the fewest, but the massive blade at the end makes it the hardest to predict.
‘And if the opponent gets to choose the type of weapon…’
It’s not just about pulling out the weapon well.
The fact that the opponent can choose the type of weapon means they can impose danger on you.
It’s highly strategic and requires understanding the current state of the daggers.
‘We’ve only pulled out two, but many daggers have already fallen from above.’
It didn’t completely fall to the ground, but the daggers that were stacked on top of the original weapon fell when that weapon was removed.
The key is to make the opponent drop those daggers.
And that, while tricky, wasn’t that difficult.
Because Charlie was a dwarf.
“The weapon I’ll designate is…….”
A race naturally gifted with talent and sense for creating and repairing things.
For dwarves, figuring out what will happen with something intricately tangled and which part to touch was almost instinctual.
“I’ll go with the curved sword.”
“Alright.”
They each chose their weapons and started pulling them out.
In the process, daggers inevitably began to fall to the ground.
The dwarves who were just watching had also been gradually getting closer for a while now.
“This time, the spear! Pull out the spear!”
“No, you idiot. The spear is caught on too many dagger hooks. The greatsword would be better.”
“Instead, designating the last remaining curved sword to War’s Hammer isn’t a bad idea. You can force it.”
“Wouldn’t the axe be better? Some daggers might fall, but you can force a more threatening situation on the opponent.”
They not only watched but also started giving advice. They were dwarves too, so it was natural they could see the flow of the game.
But opinions diverged. Different pieces of advice were exchanged due to differences in experience, skill, and sense.
Charlie was facing a dwarf who had reached the pinnacle in all those aspects.
‘I have a few more daggers on my side.’
Most of the daggers had fallen. Only a few remained now.
But those few would decide the match. Designating and pulling out weapons had to be done carefully.
And in the process, Charlie realized a few more things.
‘The finishing of the weapons is clearly amateurish, but each one bears traces of effort.’
The reason the dagger blades were dulled was to prevent hand injuries when taking them.
The weapons were also finished on the edges to prevent cutting the glass tower or damaging other weapons when pulling them out.
The finishing skills were undeniably sloppy, but each intention was clear, filled with care and effort.
This must have been done by a human.
‘All this in one day……?’
Dozens of weapons and dozens of daggers. Combined, easily over a hundred.
Did one person finish all of this in just one day?
Considering the amateur skill level, it was even more unbelievable.
‘And above all──’
“Charlie, it’s your turn.”
“……I know.”
“I’ll designate the greatsword.”
“Tch.”
I knew it. Damn old man.
There were three greatswords left, but each was in a tricky position. No matter which one you pulled, daggers would definitely fall. It was a matter of how many fewer you could drop.
Charlie racked his brain, mobilizing all his dwarf senses and instincts.
……But at the same time, he was puzzled.
‘Why.’
Swoosh! Thud thud!!
He pulled out the greatsword. Daggers fell. The audience groaned or shouted.
Charlie designated the axe, and War’s Hammer pulled it out. More daggers fell to the ground.
But Charlie kept pondering something.
Before he knew it, the game was over.
“My victory, Charlie.”
“……Indeed.”
“You look like you want to ask something.”
“Did that human really make this?”
“Do you think I made it? Well, I did make the weapons.”
“Why?”
“………….”
“He couldn’t have done it properly, could he?”
Yes, that’s right.
This board game, Weapon Tumbling, can’t be fully played by anyone but a dwarf.
The giant glass tower is one thing. With their small stature but strong physical abilities, dwarves can easily jump to the top of the glass tower, but most humans can’t even do that. Pulling out weapons from the top would be difficult too. That incompetent human would be no different.
Also, the fact that dwarves can predict how the daggers will fall means that to non-dwarves, it just looks like a tangled mess.
Could an incompetent human predict what would happen next by looking at the tangled state of four types of weapons? Frankly, Charlie was skeptical.
And above all, these weapons are quite heavy.
Even a dwarf would find it a bit hard to lift them, so what about a human with no aura or magic?
“This… seems like a game not meant for humans.”
“Right.”
“Then, could it be…?”
Charlie.
With trembling eyes, he lifted his head.
“For us…? Humans, just for the dwarves?”
“Yeah, that’s what the board game was made for.”
“That… that can’t be. Humans wouldn’t do that…”
“Charlie.”
“……”
“Still don’t understand what I’m saying?”
…No, now I get it. I think I know what War’s Hammer was trying to say.
But because I think I understand, I find myself vaguely denying it.
Still.
Charlie slowly opened his mouth.
“That human… understands us. What kind of race we are, what we can do.”
“……”
“But I… don’t know anything.”
“Right, Charlie. The reason you’re still a child is because of your ‘ignorance.'”
“……”
Humans are evil and greedy.
Humans don’t keep their promises.
Humans always look down on dwarves.
Humans, humans, humans.
“Ignorance about the Empire, ignorance about humans. You hate humans, but you’ve seen less than 20 in your life. You hate the Empire, but you don’t even know what it’s really like.”
“……”
“What its territory is like, its national power, its political system, its strengths, its weaknesses, how big its army is, how its economy works.”
“……”
“Of course, it’s hard to know from down here, but you didn’t even try to learn. Do you think you can defeat an enemy you know nothing about?”
“……”
“On the other hand, Kyle Byron… tried to understand dwarves. A board game creator has to do that.”
“Board game… creator…”
“It’s not about understanding and forgiving humans or the Empire. I don’t even feel like doing that myself. But to do that, you have to shed your ignorance first.”
Even if.
“Even if you’re despised, ignored, and treated like a dog by that enemy. Even if your own kind calls you a traitor.”
“War’s Hammer.”
“You have to keep facing humans, the Empire, and learn about them. Then, surely, an opportunity will come.”
And finally.
“…You asked why I don’t help the village.”
“……”
“There’s always a watchful eye on me.”
“…!!”
“There’s not even an imperial inspector here. There’s no need. The dome that forms this underwater village… every ‘brick’ in that dome is his eye.”
“…That, that’s…”
“But don’t give up. Don’t let go of your hatred for humans, for the Empire. But don’t try to avoid them entirely either. You have to know, you have to know to make anything possible.”
“We, we…”
“Don’t worry. Even if we’ve rotted here underwater for hundreds of years…”
“We are dwarves.”
“And someday, we’ll return to the mainland.”
As he said this, War’s Hammer was looking up at the sky.
…At the artificial light source and the dome made of ‘bricks.’
*
[……Hmm.]
“Guardian of the Severus Imperial Family, what is it?”
[Lucius, the Emperor of this era. I wanted to meet Kyle Byron once.]
“You mentioned that. He’s the one who provided the spark to the dry firewood that was the third prince.”
[It seems… the opportunity has come.]
“…Oh?”
[An opportunity for a very… thorough conversation.]
