Chapter 282

At the tavern, the dwarves of Tarkam were drinking and happily chatting.

Tarkam has numerous classes. From the artisans who make weapons, merchants, miners who labor in the mines, to warriors who hunt monsters. However, since this was the edge of the dwarven territories, the sight of other races was exceedingly rare.

Thus, the dwarves all looked curiously at those entering the tavern.

Thud!

“Yikes!”

Kal, who was leading the way into the tavern, bumped his head on the low door.

“Uh, are you alright?”

“Pathetic!”

Aina looked startled and approached Kal, while Driana burst out laughing at Kal’s misfortune.

Aina conjured some magic and placed her hand on Kal’s forehead.

Driana also pulled out some ointment from her pocket.

“Spread this on. The swelling will go down soon.”

“Tha, Thank you.”

Kal applied the ointment Driana gave him to his forehead.

Lunia and Ar murmured while observing the slightly low ceilings and small furnishings.

“It really feels like a dwarf city.”

“Not like Dweronia though, right?”

The buildings in Dweronia don’t really differ much from those of other races.

Upon seeing the two girls express their doubts, Driana laughed heartily.

“Dweronia is a city that many races visit, so many buildings are adjusted to meet the standards of other races, hence it’s not noticeable. It’s essentially a city that’s a collection of various cultures.”

“That has nothing to do with art.”

As Lunia made a snide comment, Driana ignored her.

“But Tarkam is a true dwarven city. Since other races rarely visit, everything is tailored to fit the dwarves.”

Saying this, Driana walked over to an empty seat and sat down.

The small table and chairs felt perfectly suited for her once she sat down.

Though, when the others sat down, they looked quite out of place.

“The spoons and forks are small too.”

Aina was intrigued.

“Only the goblets are large.”

Kal muttered while observing the dwarven drinking vessels.

Meanwhile, a server came over to take their order. They placed their food order and waited.

During this time, the dwarves in the tavern began staring at them curiously.

Dwarves are rarely seen in Tarkam.

And if those rare visitors are students from the famous Hero Academy, their attention could only grow.

The dwarves observed them with curious gazes, whispering amongst themselves.

“Is it my turn to step forward?”

The confident Kal stood up.

“I’ll go find out some rumors.”

He confidently approached a dwarf who seemed to be drinking alone.

“Excuse me?”

“Ah, human. The clothes show you’re a Lumeran student, right? Why has a human Hero Candidate student come here?”

A miner dwarf called out and Kal greeted him kindly.

“I am here due to a practical mission. We’ve heard a giant monster emerged recently in Tarkam.”

“It did appear! But that’s just a rumor! How could such a large monster exist?”

The dwarf chuckled, and Kal grinned in response.

“Still, there should be plenty of rumors. Could you tell me some? I’ll buy you a beer.”

“Ah! You’re polite! Alright!”

Apparently impressed by Kal’s approach, the dwarf happily shared the rumors.

Seeing this, Aina was impressed.

“As expected, Kal is amazing!”

“I could do that too.”

Lunia responded in a dismissive tone.

Looking at her expression, Driana spoke up.

“Areness like you from the elf nobility wouldn’t be good at something like that, right?”

“Hmph. Just watch me. I’ll do it properly.”

An irked Lunia stood up and approached some other dwarves.

“Excuse me. I’m a student sent from Seirun this time to investigate rumors of the giant monster. Could you tell me something about it? If you do, I’ll treat you to drinks today.”

“I’d have to say no. We aren’t desperate enough to take free drinks.”

Startled by the rejection, Lunia returned.

“What, why did I fail?”

“Judging by your manner, it was too authoritative. The dwarf got offended.”

Upon Driana’s critique, Lunia stuttered.

“What was authoritative about my manner? Elves are always treated kindly and told things when they do it this way.”

“That’s because you’re from Seirun. Moreover, the relationship between Dwarves and Elves isn’t good. Your Seirun card doesn’t work here.”

“Eek!”

Just as Lunia’s shoulders slumped, Ar chuckled and crossed her arms.

“Of course, the talented Elf miss can’t handle such tasks! Watch me!”

As the proud Ar walked by, Lunia frowned.

Ar confidently strutted toward three dwarven mercenaries.

“Hello! Cool uncles! I have a question!”

“What?! Uncles?!”

“We’re women!”

“d*mn cats!”

“Urk?!”

The drunken dwarf mercenaries became irritated upon hearing Ar’s words and jumped to attack her.

Startled, Ar desperately apologized and returned with a sorrowful expression.

“Anybody can tell those are women. What a fool.”

“A real fool!”

“Don’t call me a fool! AAAH!”

Ar screamed in response to Lunia and Driana’s comments, her face turning red.

“I, I’ll give it a try this time.”

“Elan? What’s this, you’re suddenly taking the initiative?”

When Lunia questioned her with surprise, Elan responded with a nervous voice.

“I… Actually, I’ve always wanted to try something like this!”

With shining eyes, Elan approached an elderly dwarf.

“I’m getting anxious.”

Lunia muttered.

But Elan returned happily after chatting animatedly with the older dwarf.

“Elan! Well done! So, did you hear some stories?”

“Yes! I heard a lot of new stories about Lord Dwenno!”

Seeing Elan as pleased as a child who had lost her goal and returned from listening to her grandpa’s stories, Lunia sighed deeply.

“You’re Driana, right? You should try too.”

“Why should I waste my energy when the ‘King of Despair’ is doing a great job?”

Driana shrugged her shoulders.

That was an extremely reasonable point.

Just then, Leo returned to the tavern, sat down and said,

“Having fun?”

“It’s not playing around! We’re gathering information.”

Lunia gave Leo a glare.

Meanwhile, Kal approached with a cheerful smile,

“I’m back! Didn’t know you were here, Leo.”

“Looking at your face, you seem to have had satisfying results.”

“Hmph, naturally.”

“Wow! Amazing, Kal. All of us failed!”

Elan exclaimed in admiration.

At that moment, Kal made a somewhat sullen face.

“Not really, if you can just ask properly, why should you fail….”

“Hey! Hey! So what kind of story did you hear?”

“Come on, tell us quickly!”

Lunia and Ar urgently changed the subject.

Seeing that, Kal cleared his throat and said,

“First of all, it wasn’t only the guards on duty who saw the monster.”

“What?”

“Apparently, many people in the city saw the monster, most of them drunkards it seems.”

At Kal’s words, Elan seemed a bit scared as she shrank her neck.

“If so many people saw it, isn’t it really a monster? It might be the Legion Commander, Giant King from Tartarus.”

“No, it’s not the Giant King.”

Lunia shook her head.

“While we don’t know how enormous the Giant King’s body is, the fact that he’s called the Giant King means he must be incredibly big. If such a monstrous thing performed a space teleportation, it would definitely leave magical fluctuations. But it was said the creature vanished in the blink of an eye.”

Lunia crossed her arms.

“Maybe they all saw an illusion?”

Lunia’s suggestion got a nod from Driana.

“That makes sense.”

“What happened to those drunkards who claimed they saw it?”

“They sobered up but then dismissed it as a mistake they made when drunk.”

“How about the guards who saw it from the castle walls?”

At Leo’s question, Kal crossed his arms.

“They all had mental disturbances and are in the hospital.”

“Mental disturbances, just like the symptoms when one sees a high-level Demon.”

“Is it possible to find out which hospital?”

“Right now, it’s tough. I’ll investigate by tomorrow morning.”

“Thanks.”

Leo nodded.

“The priority now is to confirm if the Giant King really came to Mt. Erdien or not. If they went into mental disturbance from seeing the Giant King, faint traces of his dark magic might still be left. If he really moved…”

Leo’s eyes narrowed.

“It must mean an event that could overturn the current balance.”