156 Chapter 156
Kyon had an idea to let her get frisky so that she would regret it for days later and he would mock her viciously. However, to his complete disappointment, all she wanted from him was to beat him up and torture him just like the other robbers!
{Ugh! What a killjoy shitbag she is!}
Before Juno pounced on him, Kyon poured cold water on her.
«Little dirty pervert! Come to your senses!»
«Оh…» - Juno woke up. - «I-I I don't know what came over me!» - The recent events happened in a fog. She enjoyed hurting the jerks too much! And her assistant was a real jerk! If she had a chance to beat him up, she would be grateful to heaven.
«No excuses. Cut off Guiming's head, wrap it with something and put it in the spatial ring.» - He gave her a dagger.
Usually, a big reward was given for the heads of important criminals. Guiming's head was greatly disfigured, but with the help of Synergy, Kyon could bring it into shape. At least it would be recognizable even if not at once. The most important thing, Kyon had his identification ring!
Juno took the cold steel and, wincing, went to do the dirty job. Her world was like this. Kids grow up seeing blood, bleeding others. Flitz was Juno's teacher when a pack of robbers like this attacked them. He was a judge, and she was a reaper. It was then that the old man discovered her true nature.
Juno was covered in the dirty robbers' blood. She hurriedly walked away to wash thoroughly with soap and water that she created herself.
Then Juno asked Kyon with her most ingratiating smile to give her a few spheres as her share of the loot. He said no and she was very upset, but as soon as he cleared her ether key a little, all her disappointment vanished without a trace!
And the strange couple continued on their way to Boston.
…
On the way to Boston, Juno touched her wrist, and soon the guards found the lady they had lost. Always serious, unshakable men now looked as pale as death.
«Lady, why did you turn off the tracking? If something terrible happened to you, we would die of grief and regret!»
«You wanted to say at the hands of my grandfather?» - Juno realized quickly.
«Yeah… Lady, please… Don't do it again!»
«Who are you to tell me what to do and what not. It's not my problem that your horses couldn't keep up with mine. Alright, I will not say anything to my grandfather on one condition…» - and Juno said everything that Kyon had asked her to.
Soon, the five riders left the forest. They saw huge walls ten meters high. Around the walls, there was a moat filled with deep, predator infested water. Boston seemed impregnable. The city could be entered through several large, well-guarded entrances.
A road ran parallel to the walls where they saw lots of carts and some tamed beasts.
Kyon noticed with his modernized eyes a dome of the barrier around the city. Its main purpose was to block the penetration of the city through the air. It means it was impossible to get there with the help of flying beasts.
The riders entered the big entrance as a top priority. The nobles and a beautiful, chestnut-maned stallion! Everyone understood it was better to give way to the high-ranking party to get out of harm's way.
The entrance guards checked the formations on their wrists and respectfully let the guests inside.
Kyon was impressed by the scale of the first city he had seen in this world. The size of Boston was about 25 by 25 kilometers. It was humming with activity. Passers-by scurried along streets and alleys, carts that looked like buses delivered passengers along dull-gray roads (earth benders did a good job there). Various harnessed beasts dragged the cards.
Wherever he looked, he saw breathtaking, amazing things. In the center of the city rose a huge palace where the royals lived. Not far from it, there was a tall, large building with golden domes. The temple belonged to the cult of goddess Danna. It was hard to overlook the luxurious construction of the best trading guild in the world. A little further on, there was a gigantic arena where all the important tournaments in the kingdom were held. It was several times greater than the wonder of Lovr's world, the Colosseum.
The strongest families have their own territory in the city where only the family members or their guests can enter. The largest territory belongs to the Grandes (0), the next big in size area belongs to the Stones, then go the Browns...
On top of that, the city is full of different clans, guilds, markets, slave pavilions, arenas, shops, and blacksmith workshops.
Kyon saw a large dwarves' factory on the outskirts of the city surrounded by a high wall. This is where Kyon went first.
Juno ordered the guards to wait for them until they returned. As Kyon had requested, she expressed a desire to go on an excursion.
When they moved away from the guards at a sufficient distance, Juno asked coldly:
«Master, may I ask you something? Why are we going to the dwarves? I know that it's dangerous for your precious life to answer my questions is... And still, why?»
«Tell me better this. Will the dwarves let us in if they know who you are?»
«Most likely they will... But when they know the purpose of our visit, they will throw us out!»
«Why so?» - Kyon pretended he knew absolutely nothing.
Juno grinned. She truly believed that her helper who had grown up in the slums knew nothing about the dwarves. It was a good reason for her to laugh at the stupid guy...
«How can you be so slow-witted, Master? Dwarves are extremely arrogant and well-known for their contempt for humans. They care only about their engineering and metallurgical science! The little people have reduced their communication with the human race to the minimum and they don't want to have any but business relations. They will make fun of the curious fool who came on an excursion! Even my guards did not believe in this nonsense! You saw their looks, didn't you? Do you still want to go to the factory?» - Juno asked with a victorious smile.
«I do, indeed. I need to talk with the leader of the dwarves and offer him something interesting and amusing.» - Kyon answered calmly.
Juno laughed loudly. Her voice echoed through the crowded street, attracting the attention of passers-by.
«Offer something to the dwarves? Seriously? They are engineering geniuses! Who do you think you are? No one can impress them! Any weapon or mechanism made by humans will only cause their contemptuous laugh! Do you really believe you're exceptional?» - Juno could hardly hold back laughter. She gave him a mocking smile.
Kyon grunted. - «What if you are mistaken?»
«You can't be serious, master. There is no way I am mistaken! Your monstrous talents do not belong to the mastery of the dwarves' craft. But if you are so stupid and naive, and your time is worthless, then go ahead. Do what you want! And then I'll say I told you so!»
«Challenge accepted.» - Kyon headed to the main entrance to the factory.
{Does he have sawdust in his head?} - Juno thought and followed him.
Kyon knew that the dwarf race was rather weak and small in number. People took them under their wing because of their great talent in metallurgy and blacksmithing. Everyone knows that offense to the dwarves means offense to their patrons (that is, the government). The offender would be in for major trouble. Historically, the dwarves fulfilled the orders of the authorities, and in exchange, they sponsored the dwarves, helped them with their connections, protected them, never interfered in any way.
Kyon was glad that dwarves lived so isolated. If these racists learned any new technology, he could sure of its safety.
Kyon and Juno walked to the factory entrance.
Two dwarves with obvious contempt in their eyes went out to meet uninvited guests.
«Who are you? We didn't invite you!» - One of them said in a surprisingly rough voice. They had no meetings with business partners today. They could afford to be rude.
«My name is Juno Stone. I'm the patriarch's granddaughter.» - The girl held out her hand to show the formation, but the dwarf looked her over with disdain and didn't take it. He only grimaced. Juno continued awkwardly. – «And this is my friend. He wants to visit your great factory. He also has a few business offers for you.» - The dwarves scrutinised Kyon and snorted.
«So, you don't have an appointment? Are you taking chances with our leniency? Do you really think we will let any happy-go-lucky enter our magnificent factory?! Do you know who you're dealing with?!»
«Gentlemen, let me remind you. I'm the patriarch Stone's granddaughter…»
«I don't give a damn who you are! You decided to arrange a tour of our factory? Ha ha ha ha! You make me laugh! Get out of here, girl!»
«I…» - There was anger in Juno's voice. – «I've brought to you the best engineer in my family! I have no time for excursions!» - She said through her clenched teeth, hiding her teeth.
The two dwarves burst into laughter.
«Did you hear that?! The best engineer Stone has come to us! Ha ha ha ha!»
«The best?! Among people?! Ha ha ha ha! Do they have engineers?! They have a problem tying their shoelaces!»
Juno blushed like a ripe peach. The dwarves told the truth! She was speechless with anger.
«Tell you what! Remember that accident we had today. Everyone looks like thunder after that. Let this outstanding clown amuse the audience! Ha ha ha!»
«Dandy, you're right! The lion's share of laughter will not harm our friendly working team, the great descendants of god Thor!»
Kyon looked approvingly at Juno and nodded. She got her own, the road was open to him.
Juno turned away, disgruntled. She wished she had been silent! Now everyone would think she was an idiot and would laugh at her! Her solid words would be turned into a silly joke! How stupid of her to call her assistant the best engineer in her family… What a shame! She didn't want to go inside.
The dwarves couldn't stop laughing when they checked the identities of their uninvited guests. They didn't forget to look for any objects that could hide the level of development. Then the dwarves escorted Juno and Kyon inside.
They entered through a small side door that looked like a thick plate of metal. The interior of the factory impressed with its bizarre arrangement. It had four floors and many sectors separated by thick walls. Each sector had a corresponding activity. They were combined with the others through rails and cable tracks that transported tanks filled with some stuff. There were plenty of different pipes and drains. Water, as well as molten metals, flowed through then.
Everything was perfectly automated. The trolleys ran due to the traction created by a certain mechanism attached to the wheels. They drove to the basement or the upper floors, dumped the ore into the nozzles that led to the furnace.
There were special elevators with no fences for safety. Nevertheless, the dwarves didn't mind and constantly used them.
The working environment bustled with activity. The dwarves worked quickly and efficiently. They gave an impression that if the dwarves stopped working, it would jeopardize the lives of their families. Anyone would envy their high performance, and their mechanical mindset would outshine any human genius.
All in all, the factory resembled the creation of a talented science fiction writer with a good imagination, who could give a very sophisticated description of the dwarves' world.
