Chapter 32
He was the only dwarf among the male dwarves with bushy beards who had a neatly groomed beard.
The dwarf, who looked a bit tired, didn’t avert his gaze even after making eye contact with Ruan, as if he had indeed been looking at him.
Having thoroughly studied the documents about the delegation before their arrival, Ruan immediately recognized who he was.
‘It’s Ulrik, a first-class master of the Armory Guild.’
The youngest in the delegation but famous for his skills even among dwarves, he was also to come to Reinke later to take charge of weapon production, like Greta.
‘A VIP among VIPs.’
Ruan gestured for him to speak freely if he had anything to say, thinking he might be uncomfortable, but Ulrik just stared at Ruan a bit longer before turning his head away.
Ruan thought it was nothing, but… he had to feel Ulrik’s gaze on him several more times after that.
‘What’s going on? Is something wrong?’
Ruan’s question was answered shortly after he checked if there was something on his face, in case that wasn’t about discomfort.
As the meal was wrapping up and everyone was getting up to move,
“Um… Assistant?”
Ulrik approached Ruan.
Ruan, who had been bothered by Ulrik’s constant gaze, responded with a friendly face.
“Yes, Mr. Ulrik. Is there something you need?”
“Then!”
As soon as Ruan answered, Ulrik, who had been standing at a distance, suddenly came closer.
As Ruan was momentarily flustered by the overly close proximity, Ulrik exclaimed.
“Is this coat made from skinned monster hide?”
Coat?
While Ruan was briefly unable to respond to the unexpected question, Ulrik, who had approached as if about to bury his nose in Ruan’s coat, opened his mouth.
“I was wondering what kind of leather was used in other people’s clothes because it was unique… but looking at your clothes, I understand now. Judging by the color and surface texture, it looks like ogre. Is that right? Then are the other clothes also made from monster hide? Making clothes from monster hide. I never thought of that… The durability must be excellent. But it must not be easy to process. Is there a special method?”
Following Ulrik’s gaze, who was asking questions with gleaming eyes, Ruan also looked at the coat he was wearing.
As Ulrik said, Ruan’s coat was indeed made from ogre hide. The material was, of course, from the ogre carcass that the Grand Duke had brought.
While he had accepted it with gratitude, Ruan had been wondering how to deal with this huge and ominous gift when Magda and Joachim, who had been watching the troubled Ruan, suddenly hoisted the giant monster carcass and went somewhere, only to return shortly after with a large pile of luggage. The coat Ruan was wearing now was one of the items in that luggage.
‘Ogres usually don’t have soft parts suitable for making into clothes. Since ogre’s outer skin is all hard and blades don’t penetrate it, we usually target the areas where blades can enter to hunt them, right? So after hunting, these parts are usually all cut up. But this one, His Grace just cleanly ripped off the neck, so we could use all the skin!’
Honestly, at first, Ruan was a bit taken aback as the gruesome image of the ogre with its neck ripped off vividly came to mind.
But… Ruan simply couldn’t resist the proud and expectant gazes of the two siblings. And after seeing the Grand Duke, whose steps became oddly light upon seeing the clothes Ruan was wearing, there was no way not to wear it.
‘Well, and it really is warm…’
As Ruan later learned, monster byproducts were quite useful resources in Reinke. In Reinke, where everything was scarce, monsters were the only thing not in short supply, so it naturally became that way.
Monster byproducts come from processing monsters, and Reinke’s daily life involves processing monsters.
But…
‘It seems the use of monster byproducts isn’t common in other places?’
The thought that the common sense Ruan was learning in Reinke might not be common sense in this world briefly crossed his mind.
‘Well, how different could it be?’
Ruan quickly brushed aside the thoughts lingering in his mind and answered Ulrik’s question.
“Yes, my coat is indeed made from ogre hide. As for the processing method, it’s not something I know much about. If it’s alright with you, may I introduce you to someone who knows later?”
Ulrik, who had been clinging to Ruan’s coat, nodded enthusiastically.
“I’d be grateful if you could. With this texture… I might be able to replicate it… By the way, it’s amazing that there could be parts soft enough to use for clothes from ogre hide.”
Recalling Joachim’s explanation that they were able to make clothes thanks to the Grand Duke cleanly ripping off just the neck, Ruan reflexively answered Ulrik’s comment.
“Ah, this was made from an ogre that His Grace the Grand Duke caught for us.”
“That’s right. I gave it to you.”
Before Ruan, startled by the sudden voice, could turn around to confirm who it was,
“Whoa!”
Ruan was suddenly lifted by his waist and separated from Ulrik. A large body with no scent or presence enveloped Ruan from behind.
It was the Grand Duke.
The Grand Duke, in a posture as if hugging Ruan from behind, lowered his nose over Ruan’s shoulder and started sniffing. It was something the Grand Duke had been doing often lately. So much so that both Ruan and the people of Reinke had become accustomed to it.
But there was someone here seeing this for the first time. Ruan felt a sense of déjà vu as he saw Ulrik’s eyes trembling as they looked at him.
Lately, the Grand Duke always tried to erase any unfamiliar scent on Ruan, and Ruan had just been in close contact with an unfamiliar dwarf, and while humans might not notice, there was no way a cat’s nose wouldn’t pick up on that, and Ruan knew from experience what the Grand Duke would do next.
‘No.’
Ruan quickly opened his mouth to stop the Grand Duke, but…
The Grand Duke was not a cat that would listen when a human tried to stop him.
As it was, the Grand Duke’s firm cheek came over Ruan’s shoulder and started rubbing against Ruan’s cheek.
Very thoroughly.
Silence fell over the banquet hall.
Unable to bear the heavy silence, Ruan closed his eyes.
‘Why does this… always happen…’
And then.
“Gasp, insane, amazing!”
After a frivolous exclamation that wasn’t serious at all,
The dwarves shouted in unison as if in chorus.
“It’s love! It’s love!”
* * *
Being an entirely different race, dwarves differ from humans in many aspects. Among these numerous differences, perhaps the most famous is about dwarves’ love.
Unlike humans, where some individuals never love anyone and others love multiple people in a short time, all dwarves fall into a fateful love once in their lifetime.
A being that shakes their soul. Someone who overturns everything they’ve known so far. For dwarves, who are all born with talent as craftsmen, this once-in-a-lifetime love becomes a source of lightning-like inspiration and an absolute muse.
That’s why a dwarf in love mobilizes all the skills they’ve honed throughout their life to create a masterpiece. They embody how meaningful you are to them, how you shook them, and their lived life through their craft. When such a work that fully expresses their love is completed, dwarves present it to court their loved one.
That’s what dwarves’ love is.
To dwarves, love is something so special and extraordinary. That’s why all dwarves are… beings obsessed with romance.
“A romance between the cold ruler of the North and his devoted assistant. This can’t be anything but good.”
“Look at those eyes and that pose. The obsession is already, you know?”
“A ruler with raven-black hair and a partner with sunset-red hair… The color combination alone is insane! It’s going to be a spectacularly awesome work.”
“Hah… This could be milked for at least 5 years. I can already think of twenty composition ideas.”
“Look at the difference in body size. Kya. This is what’s good about human couples, right?”
A race that delves deep into fields that resonate with their hearts. A race that makes creating masterpieces the goal of their lives. These beings who live fueled by passion for their work…
Ruan had forgotten.
That in society, such people are… agreed to be called otaku.
‘I thought I was used to gossip, but now otaku have appeared…’
* * *
While the assistant was flustered by the otaku’s sudden outburst,
What caught the Grand Duke’s attention wasn’t the excited otaku who looked like they could power a supercomputer if given a self-generating bicycle. What made the Grand Duke serious was a single sentence uttered by an overly immersed otaku.
‘This guy’s hair is… red?’
