Chapter 518 – 518. The Thousand and One Nights (1)
“I-I will guide you this way.”
The boy dwarf, who had a rather bewildered expression on his face, guided Eunhyeon and Lily to a certain place.
The dwarf, a young boy who doesn’t even have a beard yet, is experiencing the first time he sees himself as a human being.
He continued to turn his head with a curious expression, glance up and observe the two of them over and over again.
“Huh?”
Soon after, she met eyes with Lily, who felt the gaze of the boy dwarf looking up from below, and when Lily responded with a smile and tilted her head slightly, the boy dwarf hurriedly looked ahead again.
Lily laughed because the boy, who was avoiding his gaze with his ears reddened, was similar to children at the height of their interest in the opposite sex.
It was because he immediately thought of the children at the nursery school he was taking care of.
“Whoops.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Just… It reminded me of the children in the orphanage.”
“I see.”
Eunhyun looked at Lily with her warm smile and she smiled as well.
Then Lily, conscious of the gazes around her, whispered to Eunhyeon in a small voice.
“The one the master had… Are you really okay? There are too many eyes looking at us.”
“… Well.”
Eunhyun also smiled bitterly and showed a sad expression.
“I also knew for the first time that this was the ‘Mark of the Thousand and One Nights’.”
Just as she had told Lily about a race of dwarves and Oran, who taught her metallurgy, while driving, Eunhyeon did not know the identity of this metal she had received from Oran when she left.
She just said that when she returned, she would show this mark to the dwarves.
Considering that the expressions of the dwarves who saw this metal showed surprise, surprise, and even anger in some, Eun-hyeon guessed that Oh-ran had handed something absurd to herself.
“Why… What did you think, what did you give…”
Eunhyeon, whose head was complicated at the thought of taking on something strange, let out a small sigh.
“What does ‘Thousand and One Nights’ mean?”
“I’ve heard that it’s a title given to the most outstanding blacksmith in this Dwarven village.”
‘Cheonilyajang (天一冶匠)’ means the only blacksmith who has reached the sky, and it is an honorable title for the most outstanding blacksmith in the village.
“Oran was a dwarf with the best metallurgy among the many tribes in this village.”
So there was an incident in which other dwarves protested against the idea that a dwarf with the title of a thousand and one night master would teach metallurgy to a human who had accidentally entered the village.
Despite his objections, Oran persisted in his decision and taught Eun-hyeon.
Even Eun-hyeon was not taught the reason, and it is an eternal question that remains unanswered even now.
“With such a title, this mark has been passed on to future generations.”
At that time, Eunhyeon, who had no interest in the culture and society of the dwarves, did not recognize the meaning of the metal engraved with the hammer pattern that Oran handed her.
Why on earth did Oran from 300 years ago pass this mark on himself?
“He… Could it be that he was expecting something from his master?”
“To me? Oran? Haha, it can’t be.”
Eunhyun laughed as if it was nonsense.
He immediately denied Lily’s words.
“Compared to the dwarves, my metallurgy was not even close to tiptoe.”
He was completely unfamiliar with handling metals, and he could not even fathom how long it would take for him to become a blacksmith who could serve only one person.
Unable to know how much time has passed or how the date or season has changed, in this basement where there is no sunlight, he just pounded his hammer countless times.
“There’s no way Oran would have expected anything from me like that.”
It’s an absurd story.
While living in this dwarf village, Eun-hyeon never revealed any particular secret that she was the apostle of her goddess.
There was a singularity that her body aged more slowly than other humans due to the power of her goddess, but the dwarves, who had little interaction with the original human, did not notice that Eunhyun was different from ordinary humans.
She was just an ordinary human being, and she lived her life by letting her body go with the flow in order to build up her blacksmith skills.
“… Master.”
Lily pulled Eunhyun’s ear as she didn’t understand.
“… Lily?”
“If it were me, I wouldn’t try to teach or pass on something to someone with no future in sight.”
Otherwise, Oran’s act of teaching Eun-hyeon about metallurgy despite the opposition of his own people would be meaningless.
“Master sometimes goes to strange places and thinks too much.”
“… That’s right.”
Eunhyun smiled bitterly and sweetly accepted Lily’s words.
Now that I think about it, the actions and words of Oran, who taught me metallurgy, are full of things I don’t understand.
He must have had a reason for entrusting himself with the ‘Mark of the Thousand and One Nights’.
“And again, don’t belittle yourself like that, master. If Lady Verdandy or Lady Illyana were here, they would have been scolded again.”
It is said that Eun-hyeon’s mental state, which has very low self-esteem, is improving little by little, but sometimes, when past relationships and events are intertwined, Eun-hyeon has a little bit of this stupidity.
As Lily said, if Verdandi or Illyana had seen Eunhyun now, she would have said it again.
“Thank you for scolding me.”
Eunhyeon smiled as she realized again the existence of Belldandi and his wives who supported her spirit.
It’s very reassuring to have someone by his side to support him.
After Sylvia died and he realized his mission as he left the village of elves, and at the same time, in order to shake off all the old emotions accumulated in his heart, Eun-hyeon thought nothing of it and pounded the iron with a hammer to use his body. Won
Kaaang!
Guided by a young dwarf, Eunhyeon and Lily arrive at a huge building in the very center of the town.
“Hey, this is it. Then I’m just… !”
As if he was still less relaxed, the young dwarf boy bowed his head as soon as he finished guiding him and left in a hurry.
With a small smile at the dwarf boy’s disappearance before he had time to say thank you, Eun-hyeon opened the door by holding the doorknob and entered the building.
“There was no building like this before, but was it built after I left?”
“… The ceiling is a bit low.”
As soon as she entered, Lily was startled by the height of the ceiling, where her head would reach if she jumped even slightly.
It wasn’t much of a hindrance to walking, but compared to the buildings I used to use, the low ceiling was very strange.
“Because it’s a building built to the standards of the dwarves.”
It was only natural that the width and height of the facilities inside would all be built according to the standards of the Dwarves.
When Eunhyeon first came to this village, it was quite unfamiliar to adapt to this part.
“… It is human.”
“Are you really human?”
“Is it true that that person brought the ‘Mark of the Thousand and One Nights’?”
“So the rumors from 300 years ago were true?”
“Kuhm.”
Hearing rumors and the whispering voices of the dwarves who came to see Eun-hyeon, Eun-hyeon and Lily moved on.
He did not know where to go, but the path paved by the dwarves observing him pointed to a room inside, so there was no hesitation in his steps toward that place.
Eun-hyeon, who finally reached the front of the room and stopped, could feel the presence of the three people in the room.
She opened the door, guessing that it was the dwarves who had gathered due to the appearance of the ‘Mark of the Thousand and One Nights’ she had brought.
“””…”””
The three dwarves, each occupying a seat at the large ‘c’-shaped table placed in the center, made different expressions as they watched Eunhyun enter the room.
Someone showed a surprised expression with their eyes wide open at the fact that they were really human, someone made a frown as if they didn’t like something, and the last one looked at Eun-hyun and Lily calmly, observing Eun-hyeon and Lily.
Among the three dwarves, the one Eunhyeon was watching was the dwarf in the middle, looking at her with a calm expression.
‘They look alike.’
Because his black beard and facial features reminded him of Oran from 300 years ago, Eunhyeon could immediately recognize that he was Oran’s grandson.
“Really… Humans!”
“Kuhm!”
The dwarf on the left, who was talking in a mix of wonder and admiration, must have been very uncomfortable.
Meanwhile, the black beard dwarf in the center opened his mouth.
“I heard that they were humans who visited our village through the introduction of elves.”
“That’s right.”
“I am Doran, chieftain of the ‘Black Anvil Tribe,’ one of the three tribes leading the village.”
Starting with Doran briefly introducing himself, the two dwarves on either side continued to speak.
“I am the chieftain of the ‘Golden Hammer Tribe’! It’s called Gomon!”
“… My name is Zor, the chief of the ‘Red Furnace Tribe’.”
In line with the greetings of the three dwarves who introduced themselves in various ways, Eunhyeon and Lily also started introducing themselves.
“My name is Eunhyun.”
“My name is Lily, who is serving the master.”
“… Hmm.”
Doran nodded and opened his mouth again.
“What is the purpose of finding our village and our tribe?”
“That…”
Eun-hyeon explained the purpose of his coming.
From the case where one human kingdom was destroyed by a minor force including a necromancer and former heroes, starting with him, many people died and turned into the undead, gradually increasing the damage and scale, and the current situation of the entire continent. Even the story of wanting to borrow the power of the dwarves to overcome this situation.
“The elves have made up their minds to lend us their strength. And coming here after receiving a letter of introduction from the queen is the process so far.”
“Hmm… The long ears of the forest made such a decision…”
Gomon put on an interesting look when he heard that he had chosen to appear and cooperate with humans, abandoning his tendency to be as closed as the dwarves.
It was because to the elves, it also meant that this human in front of them, called a benefactor, was a trustworthy person.
No matter how bad the overall situation of the continent is, it is very unusual for the tribe of the forest, who are not so picky about nature, to show their willingness to cooperate.
However, not all the other dwarves showed an interesting reaction like Gomon, the chieftain of the ‘Golden Hammer Tribe’.
“I am against it. You cannot trust humans.”
“Look. Jor. It is not a matter of trusting or not of humans now. The situation on the ground is not good enough for the elves to hold hands with humans…”
“Joy! As long as the Dwarves had the technical skills of the monsters and the undead, it didn’t matter! Or are you ‘Golden Hammer Clan’ not confident in your skills!?”
Gomon’s eyebrows twitched at Zor’s voice, which suddenly started a fight.
“This guy speaks really nicely again! There is no one who is not confident! You’ll have to break my head with my hammer to say you’re sorry!”
“Stop!”
The moment Gomon was about to jump over the table and run towards Zor, Doran, who was lost in thought, stopped the two dwarves with a sigh.
As the sound of her voice filled her room, Lily, who seemed to be deaf, frowned and covered her ears with her hands.
“The meeting is not over yet. If you want to fight, decide your superiority after the meeting.”
“… Grunt.”
“… Big!”
As the two dwarves sat back down as if they couldn’t help it, Doran looked at Eunhyeon again and asked.
“I heard that he brought the sign of the Cheonil Night Market. Is it true?”
“It is true.”
Eunhyeon held up the silver plate with the hammer pattern in his hand and showed it to the three dwarves.
The two dwarves, who had growled at each other until now, also showed different reactions when they checked the mark.
“Really…”
“Why… Why did the thousand and one night chief send that mark to humans… !”
The indignant red-bearded dwarf, Zor, reacts very violently.
It seems that he is feeling intense jealousy and anger at this situation, as if Eun-hyeon, a human being who is not himself, was chosen.
Doran, who was in the center, closed his eyes and thought.
“Silver hair and red eyes… That’s really good advice. Are you the one with the name Eunhyeon?”
“… You’re right.”
Eunhyeon hardened his face and affirmed Doran’s question.
Knowing his own appearance means that Oran, who passed his mark, explained his appearance to his descendants and expected that he would come back here with his mark.
“If you do the favor of our ‘Black Anvil Tribe,’ I will accept your request.”
“… What is your request?”
Eun-hyeon intuition felt that this was perhaps the will of Do-ran’s grandfather, Oran, who had taught him metallurgy.
