The dwarf stealthily revealed himself behind a large tree near the grave.
A rough face with a button nose and coarse skin. It was hard to believe that he had neglected himself so much; the reddish-brown beard covering half of his face was excessive for a dwarf’s appearance.
The wrinkled skin and scars on his face clearly indicated how rugged a life the dwarf had lived. I lowered my gaze beneath his face.
‘…That’s…’
The dwarf uniform that soldier dwarves wore during the Great War. The ochre military uniform, covering half of his upper body with very thin metal plates, made me recall the dwarf soldiers from that time.
In his short, thick hand, he held an old dwarven standard rifle that had likely only been used at the beginning of the Great War. The muzzle was directed precisely at us.
It was a chilling muzzle. I stared directly at it and swallowed hard. I was grateful that the students were behind me.
– Srrk.
A very faint sound of fabric brushing came to my ears. When I glanced back, Chloe and Laura were pulling their magic wands out from their robes.
Vivian was slowly moving her hand to the longsword hanging at her waist, and Daniel was reaching for the talisman pouch with similar intent.
And the dwarf, not being a fool, could hardly miss our movements as he aimed his gun at us. He flared his beard and spoke in a rough voice.
“Don’t get any foolish ideas. I can take one of you as a traveling companion.”
– Click.
The firearm in the dwarf’s hand rattled. His thick fingers changed the weapon’s settings.
I quietly addressed the students who were reaching for their weapons.
“…Everyone, put your weapons away.”
“Professor…!”
“B-but….”
“Put your weapons away and slowly raise your hands.”
As I spoke, I demonstrated by opening my arms wide towards the dwarf and slowly raising them.
Seeing me take the initiative, the students and Sofia Sub-priest reluctantly raised their hands as well. Laura muttered with a dissatisfied expression.
“Professor, couldn’t we just solve this with magic? Is it really necessary to go this far?”
“It’s too dangerous. Besides, he hasn’t fired yet.”
“Then, shouldn’t we attack first before he takes a shot?”
“If he wanted to shoot someone, he could have done so from hiding.”
Laura shut her mouth. It was true what I said.
“If he wanted to kill us, he wouldn’t need to reveal himself. He could simply shoot from the shadows.”
“…….”
“But the fact that he chooses to reveal himself and hasn’t shot yet means….”
At the very least, it suggests there is still room for dialogue. The snare traps he set up were also less lethal than the ones I had seen before. It meant he could subdue us but did not intend to kill us.
If that were the case, then ultimately, we needed to talk.
Although the thought of conversing with the dwarf filled me with considerable aversion, there was nothing I could do with the students standing behind me. If I had been alone, I might have fought.
I bore in mind the students behind me, held back my retching, and spoke.
“We have no intention of attacking. You should lower your gun as well.”
“……”
The dwarf didn’t answer. He just stood there, firmly planted with his iron-like legs, silently aiming his gun at us.
The wind blowing through the forest brushed against us. In that fleeting moment, I noticed the muzzle in his hand slightly tremble.
‘…Why?’
Was there any reason to tremble, even in a clearly advantageous situation? Given that he showed hostility towards us, why was he still aiming but not shooting?
Those questions began to fill my mind little by little.
“…This place is not one where you should come.”
The dwarf spoke up. His bushy beard quivered.
“It’s a place you shouldn’t venture into carelessly. Damn… what the hell are you doing crawling into this place?”
“…This is my dad’s territory.”
Vivian murmured quietly. It seemed the dwarf heard those words, as his face flushed, and he shouted furiously.
“Yeah! I don’t know what kind of brat you are, but this is human land, alright! I know that! That’s why I can’t fucking move around stuck in this godforsaken mountain! Damn!”
The dwarf appeared angry. He was thumping the dirt with his short legs, breathing heavily.
I didn’t know why that dwarf was here.
Countless years had passed since the end of the Great War, but witnessing dwarves or elves in an empire where the borders were still closed was nearly impossible.
And Vallon Mountain was the territory of the House of Vallerge. In other words, it was certainly an imperial territory. The dwarf seemed to be aware of that fact.
It wasn’t plausible to assume that the dwarf crossed the border after the peace negotiations concluded. I concluded that he had become stranded here for some reason during the height of the Great War.
“I’ve sent SOS signals countless times, and when I tried to sneak over the slope, those human bastards were wandering around with guns!”
“…That’s probably our territorial guards.”
“Shut your mouth!”
The dwarf adjusted his aim. The muzzle of the rifle firmly braced against his shoulder was still pointed at us.
“Anyway! This is a place you shouldn’t enter! Don’t even linger nearby, and stay holed up in that cabin where you take your leisure!”
“That’s a bit….”
“Do we have to go wandering around the forest again?”
Vivian and Daniel said something completely unrealistic. With the muzzle pointed right at us, it was quite something for them to say those words. I observed the gun in the dwarf’s hand more closely.
It was scratched, chipped, and even slightly rusted in places, but it seemed he had done his best to maintain it despite lacking proper cleaning supplies. Still, it was undeniably an old rifle.
Suddenly, a hypothesis came to mind.
The old rifle in the dwarf’s hand. The reason he hadn’t fired it at us might be….
“Are you even listening?!”
The dwarf shouted again. Dwarves are all quick-tempered by nature. I silently nodded my head.
“Yes, I’m listening.”
“Good. I’ll give you one last warning. If you come near this place again, it’ll truly be no fun next time.”
“Understood. But what’s your name?”
It seemed that my question displeased the dwarf, as his brow furrowed.
The students behind me shared a similar sentiment, looking at me with curious glances.
However, if the small doubt sprouted in my mind was to transform into certainty, this was a question I had to ask.
The dwarf hesitated to answer but eventually spoke gruffly.
“Why should I tell you?”
“Isn’t it reasonable to know your name? If the guards come across you, they might not know your identity and could engage in a firefight. We could relay your name to them.”
“…….”
The dwarf kept his mouth tightly shut. After staring at us silently for a while, he finally spoke.
“…Roarock. My name is Roarock Ironhammer.”
“Roarock Ironhammer…. I understand.”
With that, I willingly turned away from Roarock. I was confident he wouldn’t shoot me.
“Everyone, we should return to the lodge.”
“Uh, e…?”
“Are we really just leaving like this?”
I nodded silently. When I unfolded the map and began to walk ahead, the students had no choice but to follow behind me.
As I frequently glanced back at them, they were following me with anxious expressions. I reassured them as I continued walking.
“It’s alright. He won’t shoot.”
“But… how can you be so sure?”
Laura kept glancing back as she asked. The answer to her question was simple.
“He most likely has an unloaded gun.”
“…What?”
Roarock had mentioned “SOS signals” and seemed frustrated, and although he speculated that this land belonged to humans, he didn’t seem to know precisely who the actual owner was.
From the state of the gun and his attire, it appeared he had been holed up in these mountains for quite a few years. Most importantly, Roarock had numerous chances to shoot us. He could have done so without revealing his position.
Yet, what was the reason he hadn’t shot at us, despite his hostility? Was it simply because he wanted to talk?
That could count as a reason, but when you put it all together….
‘Perhaps he had been stranded for too long, and his ammunition had run out.’
And he didn’t want to acknowledge the fact that he had become stranded.
Roarock had aimed his gun at us as soon as he saw us. While it’s not unusual for dwarves not to harbor animosity toward humans since the Great War ended, it was not the kind of reaction where he would immediately point his gun.
Seeing that made me entertain the hypothesis.
Could it be that Roarock didn’t know the war was over?
Having been holed up in these deep mountains, he didn’t think to engage with the armed territorial guards wandering around, possibly unaware of the end of the Great War?
And perhaps that was why he willingly revealed his name when he heard that we had come to tell him about his stranding?
I called it a hypothesis, but it was already taking root in my mind with near certainty.
Roarock might just be searching for a spark among the remnants of the past.
‘…Damn.’
I was merely irritated at myself for feeling a faint sense of kinship with that sight.
*
“……”
Roarock Ironhammer stared intently between the trees where the humans had vanished for a while. It was not easy to hold the rifle aimed for long, but Roarock was the type to do what needed to be done.
And being wary of humans was something he had to do. Even if they were dressed in garments akin to unarmed civilians, as long as they remained an opposing force, it was an unavoidable necessity.
As the darkness began to thicken and the dusk settled in, Roarock sensed that all signs of life had vanished entirely and lowered the heavy rifle. The silhouette of tall trees followed the red-hued sunset.
Roarock gazed blankly at that sight. Managing this graveyard had been a daily task, but conversing with a living person again had been quite a while.
“…Tch. What a hassle.”
He muttered bitterly, yet he acknowledged a fluttering sensation in his chest. The wrinkles etched into his stubby nose deepened.
Roarock gripped the old strap to swing the rifle behind his back. His rough hands moved toward a gravestone.
The jagged, hard contact of the stone. As Roarock swept it with the calloused hand, he muttered.
“Don’t worry, Earling. They probably won’t come back again.”
The dead had no words.
Waiting for that unanswered response to come back to him, Roarock eventually turned his steps into the darkness of the forest, which had completely fallen into obscurity.
Today, to survive, he needed to find something to eat.
