Chapter 87-88

Chapter 87 – I knew it!!!

Mappa was standing at the entrance with his feet planted wide apart and his hands on his hips.

The sluggish, gray slimes were clearly rattled at the sight of Mappa.

Their bodies shook, and they gestured to each other as if in communication… Some looked so scared that they tried to hide.

"…Mappa."

Perhaps these bones once belonged to one of these slimes.

Ever since I dug them up, the slime who held the pickaxe had just stood there in shock.

They had not expected to find bones.

But judging by their shape, these bones belonged to the dwarves from legend.

As for Mappa, who now stood in front of us, we also believed him to be a dwarf.

In that case, these slimes may have once been dwarves…and possibly even Mappa's friends.

Mappa took in the scene before him.

The gray slimes shivered as they watched.

Out of all the bones near the cave's entrance, the only ones that looked dwarven were Mappa's.

…Before it was swallowed up by the sea, that cave would have been at the top of a mountain.

And yet he was there alone… What if Mappa… What if he was remarkable even among the dwarves?

Then the slime with the pickaxe turned to Shiel and started gesturing to her.

And then Shiel began to use the substances of her own body to write letters on the ground.

"These is…Barleon letters."

Shiel had been learning from Baris. And recently, she was able to write letters like this in order to express her will.

And so I read the letters that she wrote.

They read:

'…Who the hell is this child? And why is he naked!? What happened to the lofty pride of we dwarves? Stop this shamefulness! While he is still young, what were his parents thinking! …That's what they said.'

Apparently, the slimes were mortified by Mappa's appearance.

I had assumed that their reaction was because they thought he was crazy or dangerous. But apparently, it was from overwhelming embarrassment.

Fule then said to me,

"I knew it! There is something strange about Mappa!"

Taran raised a hand in agreement.

Now the gray slimes were hopping around as if they were scolding Mappa.

Mappa was now scratching his head and looked a little flustered.

"…Oh, so dwarves don't actually prefer to walk around without clothes…"

While I was a little relieved, there was something that bothered me as well.

"…Child? Did they say that Mappa is a child?"

Upon hearing these words, Shiel started gesturing to the gray slime.

The gray slime hopped a few times in reply. Shiel began to write on the ground again.

It was a number…seven.

"He's…seven? It's been seven years since he was born?"

Shiel nodded.

"Are you sure? Are the years as long as ours…and he's lived for seven of them?"

Shiel nodded eagerly. Then Mappa put his hands on his hips boastfully.

I looked at Fule and Taran.

Then I looked at Mappa and we shouted.

"…Seven!?"

"…Seven!?"

This revelation was about as shocking as when I learned that Leviathans really existed in this world.

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Chapter 88 – Dwarves will be Dwarves!!

"I see. So that's why they're a different color from Shiel and the others."

Rienna muttered as she saw the gray slimes come out to the surface.

There were about 200 in all.

But in spite of them coming outside for the first time in years, they did not react much.

Eating so many rocks had made their bodies hard, but they also looked a little depressed.

Rienna noticed this immediately, and her face darkened.

"…Their original bodies are gone. It must be such a shock…"

According to Shiel, they were one of the dwarven races of the Veluar Empire, which had fallen when the meteors fell.

Like Shiel and the others, their souls were transferred to slimes, and their bodies preserved…

But it seemed like the place their bodies had been stored was destroyed by the meteors as well. When we dug around the area, we found them. Mountains of bones.

And they all had large skulls…it was clear that they belonged to dwarves.

That was the reason that these ash-colored slimes looked so sad.

While we had only discovered dwarven bones, this was not a good sign. Who knew what had happened to the places where the other bodies were kept?

The other slimes looked a little worried.

In any case, we wouldn't know until we found the control device…

The gray slimes stopped and waited right near the entrance to the cave.

Shiel was twisting her body and trying to tell them something. But there was no reaction.

That's how big their shock was.

Shiel looked frantic and troubled.

As all the other slimes were helping with transporting, she had asked these slimes as well. But it did not seem likely that they would help…

Of course, it was not easy to accept that your body had died.

"I think we should just leave them alone for a while… Huh?"

Mappa suddenly came walking towards the group of slimes.

Behind him, he was dragging a bag that was the same size as him.

"What is that?"

The slimes had previously recoiled in horror at the sight of Mappa, but they showed no signs of seeing him now.

The half-naked old man…only he was really seven. But they didn't care about him now.

Mappa was seven… It was a great shock to us, to be honest.

He was broad, muscular and had a big beard. To humans, Mappa just looked like an old man.

However, now that I thought about it, his skin had always been oddly void of wrinkles.

Even Ashton had said that his butt wasn't that of an old man…but enough about that.

Besides, he always seemed restless, and would put random things in his mouth. If he was a child, then it would explain some of his behaviour.

But the main reason that he seemed like an old man to me…

He had a bold personality and was always reliable.

Mappa stood in front of them and emptied the bag. A mountain of hammers fell heavily to the ground.

It was so sudden. And the slimes just glared at Mappa.

"Mappa…what are you doing?"

Mappa didn't say anything. He just turned his back to them and returned to the smithy.

Immediately, we could hear the echo of his hammer hitting metal.

Rienna muttered.

"According to the legends, dwarves are supposed to be skilled blacksmiths… Surely Mappa means…"

"It's not about appearances…I think that's what he's saying."

Even if they couldn't return to their original forms, they were still dwarves.

He was telling them that they could still be blacksmiths.

The gray slimes stood frozen in front of the hammers.

…They would surely need more time to be convinced.

All the while, Mappa and his monster apprentices were making armor and weapons.

Mappa made a golden axe with unfamiliar runes on it. Then he stood up and raised it towards the sky.

And then, lightning fell…

While it was just for a split-second, Mappa had been struck by lightning.

It had flashed so quickly that not only could I not protect him with magic, I couldn't even cry out.

"Mappa…hey, Mappa!"

The sound of thunder boomed a moment later as I shouted.

Mappa still had his right arm raised. He was like a statue.

His usually messy hair was now standing on its ends. And it was golden.

The area around his body was glowing, as if he himself was lightning.

He must surely be dead…that's what we all thought.

However, the gray slimes were now moving towards Mappa.

And Mappa's glowing eyes were directed towards them.

Then the slimes bent their bodies at Mappa, as if in reverence.

"Ma-Mappa?"

As I wondered what was happening, Shiel began to question the gray slimes.

After a moment, Shiel picked up a piece of limestone and began to write on the ground.

"There is no doubt about it. It is the axe that only those of the royal family can make… The axe of the High King who can store thunder… They are very surprised."

Rienna read it out loud.

"So then, Mappa really is…"

We were right. He was special even among dwarves.

The gray slime that had been wielding a pickaxe was now jumping up wildly.

He then took one of the hammers and headed to the smithy.

The other gray slimes saw this, and they too began to pick up the hammers and head to the smithy.

Immediately, they began to help the other monsters.

And in spite of no instructions being given, they were quick and efficient.

It was hard to believe they had been so sluggish a moment ago.

"It looks like they will help us…"

I said, and Rienna nodded.

"Yes. Still, Mister Mappa…he really was important then… Oh…"

Mappa had suddenly collapsed.

I was able to heal him with magic, but Mappa later explained to us that he didn't have enough materials to make the axe. And this meant that he had trouble controlling the thunder.

In any case, we now had new friends on the island.