The questions that come with leaving the head leave behind a lot of sadness.
"therefore..."
We listened to the drunken dwarf's rant, listened to his lamentations, and heard the stories contained within.
"Until I was 19, I had a lot of hair... Even girls would ask me what I put on my hair."
"okay."
"But as soon as I became an adult... my hair started falling out..."
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but drinking too much is not good for your hair."
"I don't even have a head to fall off!"
I wiped away tears as I listened to the dwarf's story, a story I couldn't possibly hear without tears. In his eyes, as he spoke of past glories, I saw a longing for those rich days.
"What is a dwarf?"
"He's a dwarf."
"..."
"I've never met other races, so I don't know their strengths."
"Yes... that could be true. Dwarves, you know, are men among men, men of obsession, who wield hammers and create masterpieces."
"..."
"When I received the title of Master, I realized that a strong man is one who doesn't have a head."
"oh..."
"You know what I mean."
"Then why is the Qing king so wealthy? Last time I saw him, his hair was amazing."
"..."
The dwarf's eyes were filled with sadness.
"Ah... ahh..."
Because he also felt that the excuses that had protected his heart until now were disappearing.
"under..."
Anyway, the dwarf's personality was better than I expected. The lady and I were stripped to the bone, but he endured it all and greeted us with a kind smile.
"Hahaha... Still, I feel good seeing something good."
"I'm glad you're feeling better, but is this really that great?"
The dwarf, who was tightening the bolts on the young lady's Ferry Unit 1, nodded while taking a sip of the beer he had placed on the desk.
"It's amazing. I've never seen a carriage powered by magic stones before."
"That's certainly true, but it's something that can be achieved with just a little bit of thinking... I don't think it's that great of a thing."
"That little bit is a big deal."
"...hmm."
"And the technique of dispersing the power of the unstable magic stone into a constant pressure is also amazing."
"I thought dwarves were stupid, but they're smarter than I thought."
"..."
"That's a compliment."
The dwarf burst into laughter at the word "praise," his nostrils flaring as he stood up, avoiding the girl's hand that was trying to touch his hair.
"Eeeeek!"
"Don't touch it. It will wear out."
"I'll cut your hair for you when you grow up."
"The woman..."
"Don't call me a girl...!! You're so tiny!"
"ha..."
The dwarf asked with his eyes tightly shut.
"Are the imperial bastards originally this clueless?"
"yes."
"Ha... what a scary neighborhood."
Suddenly, the Empire became a racist nation. I smiled faintly and continued the story. Having unintentionally made friends in a foreign land, I felt I needed to gather information.
"So, have you gotten over your anger?"
"...If it were you, would you be able to let it go?"
"Didn't we show you something good? In our empire, we alone possess a 'magic weapon...'."
The dwarf chuckled and shook his head.
"It's true that I had a good view, but I couldn't follow it, so I just lost sight of it."
"Didn't you say you were a craftsman? You said you were a blacksmith in charge of the king's weapons, so I think you could make something exactly like it..."
"The formula is too complicated."
A satisfied smile formed on the dwarf's tongue-licking reaction. If he were to copy the technique, it would be problematic in many ways.
The dwarf, who couldn't take his eyes off the first Ferri machine as if he was disappointed, shook his hand and then looked at the young lady and me with a serious expression and asked.
"so."
"..."
"Why did you come to Qing, leading a carriage filled with the technological prowess of the empire?"
The hammer on the dwarf's waist was engraved with an oriental dragon, the symbol of the Qing Dynasty. His eyes were filled with loyalty, as if his claim that he held a high-ranking position in the Qing Dynasty was true.
"I am a blacksmith of the Qing Dynasty, and one of the five blacksmiths who were granted the title of 'Master' by the king.
"...?"
"If you're thinking of doing anything weird, you'd better stop."
for a moment.
"What did you say?"
"I told you to go back if you were up to anything suspicious."
"No. Before that."
"A 'master general' of which there are only five in the Qing Dynasty."
"No. Didn't you say your name earlier? What... was it?"
"tanning."
"...under."
Just as the question of how a person's name could be called "Mudujil" and why all dwarf names were so strange began to creep into my mind, the dwarf began to proudly state his status as if he liked his name.
I would have been embarrassed to say that.
"My father's name, who was a famous general, was 'Kkang-Kkang'."
"...Phew."
"My grandfather's name was 'Whetstone'."
"Then your great-grandfather's name was 'Damgeumjil'?"
"No. It's 'steel.'"
“How can someone’s name be….”
As I was about to lose my mind at the ferocious naming sense of the Qing Dynasty that went back so far, the dwarf nodded and let out a hearty laugh.
"That's the nickname given to me by the king. It's not my real name."
"Right? Well, how can someone's name be 'Tuning'? There are other cool names like Hephaestus."
"Hmm? My real name is 'Ttuktakki'?"
"under..."
It was a dwarf whose name was even stranger.
Anyway, hearing that name, more dwarven than any other race, I barely managed to suppress a laughter and began to blurt out the answer to the dwarf's question. He had welcomed us, but he still held onto his suspicions.
"We are envoys from the Empire."
"what...?"
"To be precise, they are an official envoy who came to spread the culture of the empire."
"You... are an envoy?"
"yes."
"A thug who touched someone's head without permission...?"
"yes."
"It looks like the empire is about to fall."
"It's running fine."
"..."
When the dwarf's question was directed at the young lady, who had been fiddling with the food on the table, simply said, "What are you looking at?" and returned to her meal. She had no intention of working, preferring to leave the difficult matters to me anyway.
"and..."
To help me understand, I held out a small folded piece of paper on the table and smiled.
[Arena VIP Seating Tickets]
[Signature: Cheongyun]
"I was even invited by the King of Qing."
"Hoo.."
The dwarf's eyebrows began to twitch slightly with curiosity.
"Do you want to become a king?"
I shook my head and answered in the negative, blurting out that I had no intention of becoming king.
"no."
"Hmm... So should I throw away the invitation? If I'm going to throw it away, I was going to give it to my friend."
"I won't throw it away. I just thought I'd look around if I had nothing else to do."
"caliber...?"
I felt awkward and opened my lips, letting out a languid sigh.
"There are many martial artists in Qing, so I'm thinking of going there to see if I can learn something."
"I guess you're also unmanned."
"I know a little bit about using a sword."
"her."
The dwarf, with his sleeves rolled up, looked at me, then extended his hand and spoke kindly.
"Since you showed me some good stuff, I'll give you a special look at the sword."
"Hey, we saw some nice hair too."
"This kid is going to tease adults until the end."
I hesitated, looking at the dwarf's outstretched hand.
To be honest, I felt awkward showing it.
It would be nice if a master looked at the sword, but the sword Caliburn itself was a demonic sword and an object imbued with ego, so I couldn't show it to him carelessly.
"The sword hanging from his waist. It seems like a pretty good sword..."
"..."
"Why are you worrying? Opportunities like this don't come often."
The dwarf glanced at me as I hesitated, then said with a faint smile.
"Why? Is it because it's a magic sword?"
"...How did you know?"
"Hahaha! I've broken and eaten so many swords, and you don't even know that."
"..."
"Don't worry, just give it to me. It has the blacksmith's protection, so it can avoid the influence of the magic sword."
"No matter what..."
"I told you it's okay."
With wavering eyes, the dwarf carefully took Caliburn into his hands. At the same time, Caliburn's voice echoed in his ears.
"It's okay, Master. If I suppress my power, that little creature won't die."
The dwarf's eyes widen with a sigh of relief.
"This sword..."
The dwarf's hand, holding Caliburn, begins to tremble as if it were the gaze of a blacksmith who has recognized a famous sword.
"Heh heh..."
His eyes were repeatedly scanning the blade of Caliburn.
"It's trash."
He shattered my expectations by blurting out unexpected words. Similarly, Caliburn, who had been so arrogant, was losing his temper.
-Master.
'...'
-I will kill you. A blacksmith who cannot recognize my true worth is nothing more than a small creature.
As Caliburn's murderous intent spread further, the dwarf nodded and began to continue his story.
"It's a famous sword, but the way it's used is completely wrong."
"...yes?"
"The center of gravity is completely forward."
"..."
"Then, rather than stabbing this black thing, I should use it to cut."
"I know. Don't pretend to know."
"and."
The dwarf, who was holding Caliburn awkwardly, looked straight into my eyes and snorted.
"The magic sword shouldn't be used like this."
“You talk as if you played with the magic sword in your old days.”
"Are you crazy?"
"That's what I'm saying."
“That son of a bitch….”
The dwarf, who had been glaring at me as if he was going to hit me on the head with a hammer, took a deep breath and held the blade up to the light once more.
"I don't know what material it's made of, but this sword is supposed to use black magic."
"It's not even a staff, it's a sword that requires magic. This is the first time I've heard of it."
"That's what I'm saying. Ahem... Hmm. Yes, you have to imbue the sword with attributes to use it effectively. That's what I'm saying. You can't just swing it around recklessly."
"I can use magic too."
"Then do as I say."
"...then wouldn't that be cool?"
The dwarf looked at me with a bewildered expression as I answered seriously, then shook his head and handed me the sword.
"Yeah, you're good."
"I know."
The dweeb, who had finally begun to truly dislike humans after a long time, sighed.
“Come to think of it, I received a request to make a magic sword a while ago….”
"Is it a magic sword?"
"He said he'd give me as much money and materials as I wanted, so just make it for me."
"...yes?"
"Of course I kicked him out to stop talking nonsense... but the look in his eyes was really strange."
Something is strange.
"I could do it, but it's creepy. Even if I'm a pervert who makes weapons, that's a bit... scary."
I asked in a trembling voice.
"What did you want it made of?"
The dwarf spoke as if he remembered vividly.
"person."
"..."
"He asked me to make him human."
*
-Pfft.
He wiped the blood flowing from his forehead with the sound of skin being torn, and the corners of his mouth turned up in a bitter manner as he looked down at the fallen prosecutor.
"How about this one?"
A black shadow begins to appear over the head of the fallen prosecutor, accompanied by a cold question.
"Very good."
The dragon symbolizing the Qing Dynasty.
A hammer that only a 'master' could lift was coming down below the head of the fallen prosecutor.
-Thud...!