Chapter 19: Dwargon

"It's going to take around three days to arrive in Dwargon if we run at full speed," Chronoa said after we left Blumund.

I registered as an adventurer two days ago and spent a whole day just going around and exploring the city.

While a tiny Kingdom, there were still a lot of things I found interesting. Mostly the magical items, so I'm even more excited about going to Dwargon.

The Warrior Nation of Dwargon, or the Dwarf Kingdom, is located inside the huge mountains in the north of the connecting, and they are known for their manufacturing and handicrafts.

I want to see if I could get my hands on some books about craftsmanship while I'm there.

Money isn't a problem for me, Mom was generous in giving me a lot when I asked, and I haven't had anything to spend it on over the past few months, and you can't have too many books.

I should maybe start buying books and make my own personal library...

"You're drolling..." I heard Chronoa say, and I snapped out of my fantasy about having a library the size of Blumund.

I quickly wiped the drool and avoided eye contact.

"Let me guess, you were thinking about books?" She asked.

"No..." I replied, still avoiding eye contact, "How did you guess?" I asked quietly.

"There are only two things it could have been, but as of right now, it can only be that one." She answered with a chuckle.

"And what is the other one?" I asked, curious about what it could be.

"Not telling you." She said and chuckled more.

"Oh, come on, tell me..." I grumbled as we walked.

"Nope." She chuckled.

---

Three days passed in the blink of an eye as we arrived in the Capital of Dwargon.

Dwargon is a nation that utilizes free trade and is the center of trade between all kinds of races. Therefore, the nation keeps a policy of absolute neutrality, and violence is prohibited. Even the Eastern Empire avoids open aggression towards them.

As we walked through the city's busy streets, I could imagine my eyes sparkling as I looked at all the trinkets, weapons, and armor on display.

At moments like this, I truly acted like a kid.

Oh, what is that? I wondered, seeing a glove with six stones.

I stopped to marvel at the glove. It was made out of what looked like black silk and was embroidered with golden thread. The six stones were all in different colors; the first was blue, the second red, the third purple, the fourth yellow, the fifth green, and the sixth was orange.

On closer inspection, all the stones had what looked like runes engraved into them, each being different from the others.

Wanting to know what the glove did, I looked at the name tag to be disappointed. It was a normal fingerless glove without any special effects.

I sighed, "It could have at least some magic element to it..." I sighed and continued looking around the city.

I looked through different swords, and I must say that the weapons found in Dwargon are on a whole completely different level, but I already got attached to my sword, and I won't cheat on it with these.

But now then, to the real reason I'm here alone... I need to find the Butterflies of the Night... I'm maybe barely eleven years old, but I want to see some Elves.

"Where do you think you are going?" Came a voice behind me.

I slowly turned around, my movements almost mechanical, only to see Chronoa looking at me with what I could guess was disappointment behind the mask.

"I-I-I was looking at different armors... Yeah, I wanted to buy armor for myself." I stuttered out.

"Oh, really?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"Yup... The possibility of elves being involved is the same as Mom stopping drinking wine... So if you excuse me, I will..."

"You aren't going anywhere." She said in a strict tone, grabbing me by the shirt collar and dragging me back to the inn.

Mission Failed... It's not the time to cry. I will have the chance to try tomorrow...

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Mai POV:

Why do I suddenly feel the urge to punch Cale? Ehh... Probably just my imagination.

I should go to sleep now, I don't want Actually Satan to yell at me tomorrow.

---

Cale Valentine POV:

We spent a week in Dwargon, and sadly I didn't get the chance to see any elves.

Somehow Chronoa knew every time I would try and sneak out to the Butterflies of the Night and stop me. I mean, come on! How does she even know I would try to go there?

I sighed while sulking as we walked towards our next stop, the Kingdom of Falmuth.

The kingdom mainly relies on trade and tourism for income, and due to neighboring Dwargon and not having any local specialties or mineral resources available for mining, they earn a profit by selling imported goods at extortionate prices.

If I remember correctly, this was the reason they would attack Tempest in the future.

As we walked through a small forest, I sensed around 30 small magical signatures.

I stopped and looked toward the direction where I felt it and looked at Chronoa, "Should we check what the signatures are?" I asked.

She nodded, "Stay alert, just in case."

We walked into the forest, and we were met by a simple wooden house. My grip around my sword tightened as this brought back some memories.

I focused more on the magical signature. Around ten were inside the house, but the rest were together underground.

"There are twenty magical signatures together in the basement," I said, looking at Chronoa, "Do you think they are..."

"Yes." She answered

"Let me do it," I told her, "I hate people like that."

She seemed against it for a while, "Fine, I will be ready to step in if something happens."

I quickly made my way toward the house, and with my enhanced hearing, I could hear people talking inside.

"That little blonde will fetch a good price." One said.

"Maybe I should take her for myself." The other laughed.

"Blondes sell for more, so take the brunette instead," A third person said.

I didn't need to hear more. I knew they deserved to die.

Drawing my blade, I kicked in the door with full strength.

I saw ten adults get quickly on guard as the door flew straight into the table they were sitting around.

They drew their weapons, sword, daggers, and battle axes before their eyes focused on me.

"A kid?" Asked the one with daggers.

"Hey, brat, what do you think you are doing? Do you want to die so badly?" Asked a redhead with a sword that reminded me of the slave trader I killed about a year ago.

"No, we could also sell him. Some noblewoman would pay a good price for him," The other said with a greedy smile ignoring the fact that the kid he was talking about had causally kicked down the door.

"I should be asking you that question," I answered, holding myself from killing them instantly, "Sadly for you. I hate your kind, so I will do the world a favor by removing you."

I started slowly walking toward them while using Though Acceleration on each of them. Their body couldn't keep up with their mind, so for them, it felt like being paralyzed for hours.

I drew my sword and slashed the head off one of them.

"Arise," I ordered, and the body turned into shadows before kneeling before me.

"Kill them. Take your time." I ordered the shadow and went toward where the kids were held.

I found stairs going down leading towards a locked door; I forcefully opened it and saw twenty kids around the age of eight all the way to fourteen hiding in the corner of the room.

They looked like Mai, me, and Aiden used to look like when we were captured.

"Don't be scared. I'm here to get you out," I said to the kids, who looked at me in fear, "The people who locked you here are gone and won't do anything to you."

"Really." Said a blonde girl in a low voice.

"Yeah, now everyone, follow me and close your eyes when we go upstairs."

They did as I said, by the looks of it, out of fear instead, and when I walked upstairs, I saw my shadow kneeling while surrounded by multiple human parts.

I guided the kids around them, "Arise," I said as I walked towards the exit and ordered the shadows to enter my shadow.

When I left the house with the kids, Chronoa was already waiting.

"You can open your eyes now," I told them and turned to Chronoa, "What are we going to do now?"

"We are going to take them to an orphanage." She answered and looked at the kids.

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Author's Note:

Thank you for reading this chapter.

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