“How long has it been, old man. Have you been well all this time?”
The Mercenary King, boarding the ship, waved toward the rector.
“No, I haven’t.”
“Why? After sitting for so long with that heavy rear in the Academy, you should’ve been all soft by now… Ah, right, those damn demons messed it all up in your final years, huh?”
“Your way of speaking always manages to get on my nerves.”
“You should be used to it by now, right? But you still look energetic, old man.”
“Those bastards managed to light the last spark in an old man who was only waiting for death.”
“Haha looks like the demons messed with the wrong guy.”
The rector and the Mercenary King spoke naturally, like old acquaintances.
Even though the Mercenary King’s tone was rough, the rector didn’t seem to mind.
“Looks like they already knew each other.”
“I heard they had some dealings about ten years ago.”
To Luina’s question, Fernan nodded.
The Mercenary King was like a walking network of contacts.
He traveled all over the continent taking on jobs, and due to his strength, he connected with many important figures.
Through them, naturally, he also formed links with other superhumans.
“We’re setting sail!”
At that moment, the ship left the port, and a fresh sea breeze surrounded them.
“So, where are we headed?”
“I didn’t tell you?”
“No.”
“North.”
The route was clear: head north, cross the Kaldis Strait, which separates the continents of Lutar and Pandrein, as well as the territories of Pellenberg, Schwaben, and the Dragon God Cult.
Then, dock in the county of Haser, beyond Schwaben, and from Lake Parma take another ship that would take them to the Kingdom of Linelt.
That was the itinerary of the journey.
“If we could use transport circles, it would be much easier, but the damn demons took care of that.”
Professor Dominique—or rather, Dantalion—had done two things before starting the disaster: he had put the professors to sleep and destroyed all the transport circles.
That’s why the Academy’s magic circles were unusable.
Otherwise, they could have traveled directly to Bercheff and from there taken the ship, saving a lot of time.
“A shame, but it can’t be helped.”
“Personally, I don’t mind traveling by ship.”
“If we were fewer, we could’ve even ridden Silver.”
“But you sent him back to Armian, didn’t you?”
Yes. Since they couldn’t bring him on such a secret mission, they hung a letter written by Aint around his neck and sent him flying back to Armian.
Fortunately, Silver flew obediently.
Before that, as promised, Fernan showed him to both the Mercenary King and Valoshi.
They even wanted to ride him, but Silver absolutely refused.
“Good thing Aria isn’t here. If she came, she’d be wishing for death the whole trip.”
Murmured Aint, who had listened to the explanation.
From his perspective, getting injured was almost a blessing.
Otherwise, Fernan would’ve brought her along, and for her, it would have been the longest boat ride of her life.
“Anyway, everything’s too quiet.”
Fernan tapped the ship’s railing absentmindedly with his fingers.
“Why do you say that?”
“I thought something would happen this time too, so I made plenty of preparations—but nothing.”
Even though they were moving with as much discretion as possible, it always happened—the cultists would show up to cause trouble.
That’s why Fernan had taken all sorts of precautions, but there were no signs of anything.
‘Either they didn’t find out because the Academy was completely shut down, or they know and are choosing not to interfere. One of the two.’
Either way, if they could save the trump cards they’d prepared, all the better.
After all, all that cost money.
***
While Fernan crossed the Kaldis Strait, someone had already left the Academy to return to his people.
“Here it is… Algott…”
It was Ahgrot, the second-year student transferred from the dwarves.
His heart pounded hard.
The county of Algott.
Now turned into dwarven territory.
“Wow…!”
Entering the capital of the territory, he couldn’t help but exclaim.
There weren’t just dwarves—there were also humans mixed in—but what impressed him most was seeing so many dwarves living under the sunlight.
“Ahgrot?”
“Ahgrot’s back!”
As soon as he entered the city, the dwarves going about recognized him instantly.
It was a city of tens of thousands of inhabitants, but so isolated that almost everyone knew each other.
“My friends…!”
“Ahgrot!”
The young dwarf hugged his old friends tightly.
“How have you been?”
“Just not being stuck in damp underground tunnels anymore already makes us happy.”
“Same here.”
Every living being must live under the sun.
The dwarves were finally enjoying a natural right that had always been denied to them.
“But the whole city seems under construction, doesn’t it?”
The city was bustling.
Sounds of hammers, the heat of forges, new buildings going up, and others being torn down everywhere.
“The mayor ordered a full reconstruction of the city.”
“The whole thing? Is that even possible?”
Although Pellenberg had ceded the territory to the dwarves, the main inhabitants were still humans.
The dwarves only numbered in the tens of thousands.
“They say for a single city, it’s no problem. It was Fernan Pellenberg who personally authorized it.”
More than that—he told them to develop the place however they wanted.
“And what happened to the humans who were against it?”
“They left. They were relocated to other places, with settlement subsidies.”
“So the ones left here…”
“They’re all the ones who have no prejudice against dwarves and supported the full reconstruction.”
Fernan’s order was simple—don’t hold back, don’t be afraid of Pellenberg’s or other humans’ opinions, and build a fully dwarven city.
“But why?”
It was too much.
The Fernan Ahgrot knew from the Academy never did anything without a reason.
“He said something, that he wanted to use this as a city for… chests, or something. I don’t quite remember. Anyway, he told us to do whatever we wanted, and that’s more than enough.”
“Yes. We’ve never had this much freedom. At first, we hesitated, but following Fernan Pellenberg was the best decision.”
The dwarves laughed with satisfaction.
Their faces radiated true happiness.
“And what are you building now?”
“I’m assembling a huge underground workshop…”
“And I’m digging a tunnel under my house…”
“…After all that effort to get to the surface?”
“It’s what we do best…”
Maybe something was wrong—but oh well.
***
Since the dwarves arrived, the city was changing.
All the buildings were being torn down to transform it into a city of the dwarves, by the dwarves, and for the dwarves.
They didn’t completely erase the human traces, but anything even slightly inconvenient was removed.
Of course, they had the permission of Pellenberg, who could be considered their lord, and strong financial support, so nothing could stop them.
“…But why are more than half of the buildings being built underground? After all that effort to reach the surface…”
“…It’s our instinct as dwarves.”
The mayor smiled awkwardly.
It wasn’t by chance that dwarves had chosen the depths to hide in out of all places. Even though they longed for sunlight, in essence, they loved the earth.
“Well, who cares whether we build above or below ground. What matters is that now everyone does it joyfully and of their own free will.”
“That’s true.”
“And how’s the Academy?”
“I almost died.”
“I read about it in the papers. A disaster happened there.”
That a demon had been summoned in the Academy.
When the news spread with all its details, the mayor felt a chill.
If not for Fernan, that fate could have befallen the dwarves.
Worse—since they didn’t have a Fernan, what they would have faced would have been even more dreadful.
The mayor once again remembered how lucky they were to have met Fernan, received his help, and accepted his offer.
“Yes, that’s why my senior set out to seek revenge.”
“Revenge?”
“That’s all he said before leaving, so I don’t know more.”
“Seems like he found the trail of the corrupt ones who ruined the Academy.”
Just the thought of the cultists suffering at Fernan’s hands made the mayor let out a laugh.
“By the way, you’ve come at a good time. Will you run in the elections too?”
“Elections?”
“Yes. I’m the dwarves’ representative for now, but after all, I’m just the mayor.”
It was a lifetime position, but not eternal or hereditary.
However, the county of Algott and the noble title granted by Pellenberg were hereditary.
“We’ll elect a new leader. Anyone can run, anyone can vote, and anyone can be chosen.”
The difference was that this would be the last vote.
The winner would not only hold the position for life but the rank and territory would become hereditary, making them a true noble.
Fernan had encouraged the mayor to become the Count of Algott, but he had made a very dwarven decision.
“Ah, no. I’ll pass. I know well I’m not cut out to be a leader…”
That only caused him discomfort, and he lacked confidence in himself.
“That’s fine.”
The mayor didn’t push him more than once.
“Actually, I’ve come for something else.”
“Something else?”
“There’s also a dwarf in the Academy. He’s a professor now, and he plans to build something together with senior Fernan.”
“A dwarf? What’s his name?”
“Professor Harcon Pallas.”
“Doesn’t ring a bell.”
He was probably a dwarf from another village or city.
“He’s asked for our help. He suggests we work together on a project.”
“Together? On what?”
“On the creation of golems.”
“Golems?”
The mayor remembered one in particular—the golem that caused such a stir in the papers during the demon attack.
“…The one they said had its own will and could freely change size? Is that true?”
“Yes. I saw it with my own eyes.”
“And it was hidden in a necklace, right?”
“That’s right.”
“What a way to fool us so well…”
The mayor ground his teeth.
To have had such a marvel right in front of him and not recognize it made him want to tear his eyes out.
“And now they plan to build something like that? With Fernan’s support? Then we have to do it without hesitation!”
“No, that’s not it.”
The mayor’s excitement died instantly.
“Then?”
“It’s about something called an auto golem…”
When the concept of Auto Golems was explained to him, the mayor nodded distractedly.
“It’s a pretty innovative project. If they manage to produce them, it would be amazing.”
“They need to build a hundred of them.”
“I don’t know… with gold right in front of you, I don’t see the point of digging for bronze.”
The Auto Golems were impressive, yes—but everything was relative.
“An Ego Golem uses mithril and adamantite, and in large amounts. Building another one like it is almost impossible.”
“…Mithril and adamantite? They’re insane. But sure, with those materials, something extraordinary could be made.”
“Unless we have the help of senior and Pellenberg.”
“What do you mean?”
“Senior promised it.”
Ahgrot spoke slowly, emphasizing every word.
Fernan had told him exactly how to deliver the message.
“If we manufacture one hundred Auto Golems to a level that satisfies him, he’ll do everything in his power to help us build an Ego Golem.”
“I see…”
The mayor nodded.
“And this Harcon Pallas, where is he now?”
Ambition burned in his eyes.
____
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