“(How did you come by something this precious…?)”
Interest sparked. Yujin was astonished by what the dwarf had brought. At first glance, they appeared to be nothing more than small pendants, but anyone who knew their true worth could easily price them higher than three imperial gold coins.
“(Isn’t this Living Armor?)”
Living Armor, known as the legendary armor among the dwarves’ masterpieces, was one of their most revered defensive gear. Its crafting method remained a mysterious technology that humanity had yet to analyze.
“(You’ve got an eye for this.)”
The dwarf smiled slyly at that remark. No one knew why he had as many as seven pieces of Living Armor, but possessing such rare armor would dramatically increase their chances of survival.
“(I gratefully accept them.)”
Receiving the pendants with both hands, he first placed one around his own neck. Then, he handed out the rest to the other children.
“One for each of you. Wear them around your necks.”
One by one, the children put the pendants on.
“What is this?”
“Looks just like a necklace…”
“It’s pretty, but what does it do?”
They all voiced their questions as they took the pendants. Living Armor was a high-end item even difficult to come by within the empire, so rare that Lian, a member of the royal family, had never even seen one.
“This is how you use it.”
To demonstrate, he pressed down firmly on the pendant with two fingers.
Clack!
The seal on the pendant was broken, and its contents spilled forth in all directions. Inside the pendant were fine powders that reflected a silver sheen. Instead of falling to the ground, the powder hovered, enveloping the entire body.
Whirrr…
Soon, the silver dust gathered together, sculpting into a defined form. From shoulder to foot, the dust shaped itself from top to bottom, and a silver armor fitting the wearer’s body emerged, covering below the shoulders.
“Wow…!”
“That was armor?”
“What’s the principle here? It’s like the armor recognizes the user…”
“Let’s all try it!”
After seeing the demonstration, the children pressed their pendants in turn. The seal on each pendant was released, repeating the same process as before. However, the armor shaped by the silver dust differed for each child.
“Huh? Why am I missing my hips?”
“Really? Mine’s full plate.”
“I’m only protected at the shoulders and waist…”
“I got gauntlets instead.”
The children were bewildered by the differing forms of armor they each received. Since they all had the same pendant, they had expected identical armor to form. But Living Armor didn’t work on such a simple principle.
“The Living Armor reads the wearer’s personality and creates the most suitable form of protection accordingly.”
For Budica, who had to swing her axe wide, the waist area was left free for mobility, while for Lian, who needed to block enemies at the front, full plate armor enveloped the entire body. For healers or mages providing support from behind, the armor was relatively lighter.
“That’s amazing…”
“This really is Living Armor. It judges and adapts itself to the user.”
“I didn’t even know something like this existed.”
The children became even more fascinated after the explanation. Living Armor had to possess a consciousness to judge for itself to build armor fitting the user’s personality.
‘That’s why it’s called Living Armor.’
The dwarves called it by another name, Eisen Freund — the Steel Friend. Because it was a companion they could bond with on the battlefield, sharing life and death. Of course, being Living Armor, it didn’t stay fixed in the initial form upon first wearing.
“If you want to strengthen defense, just think about the part to protect.”
For example, if you want to protect your head, swish… a part of the armor shifts and reshapes into a helmet. Though defense at other parts inevitably decreases, Living Armor’s durability surpassed that of most armors, so it wasn’t a problem.
“Ohh…”
The dwarf was amazed to see this. To freely change the form of Living Armor, one had to have bonded with it for a long time.
“(So this isn’t your first time using Living Armor?)”
“(Well, yes.)”
The armor used by the hero of a hundred years ago was Living Armor. Vulcan, a dwarf who joined the hero, brought Living Armor with him, and thanks to it, he had survived more than one life-or-death situation.
‘Though it was all destroyed in the battle against the Demon King.
That shows how fierce the fight was.Our strongest hero even lost an arm. The flashback of that past was interrupted by the children’s barrage of questions.
“Sir, what exactly were you? You seem to know everything.”
“Not many in the empire can handle dwarf technology so skillfully.”
“And the way you spoke dwarf language earlier… Sir, you’re not just a mercenary, are you?”
Their reaction to his mastery of Living Armor was that strong.
“Hey, kids… Isn’t that something to ask later?”
Only Emilia stopped the children from bombarding him with questions. Since the deal wasn’t finished yet, she wanted to steer the conversation back on track.
“Those questions can wait until we’re done.”
As she said, the children’s questions were temporarily blocked.
“(Thank you, sir.)”
They expressed their gratitude to the blacksmith. In battle, weapons and armor are tools tied directly to survival, and today they had obtained almost everything necessary to navigate the demon maze.
‘Better to get the bows later.’
Though Lian and Budica needed bows, the dwarves’ bow-making skills were poor at best. Their species solved melee combat with axes and ranged combat with gunpowder weapons.
“(I’m the one who should be thanking you for the company after so long, haha.)”
The blacksmith chuckled, staring into the forge’s furnace.
“(It’s been twelve years since I last met someone speaking my hometown’s tongue.)”
‘Is that so.’
He had apparently lived alone here, missing his homeland for twelve years. That’s why he was so friendly to a human who could speak his language. But now, there were trains and the dwarf autonomous territory’s borders were open,
(So you could go to your people’s land anytime, right?)
The dwarf answered the question as if reading the unspoken doubt.
“(I need to guard my wife’s grave.)”
“Oh.”
His wife was likely human. Though rare, dwarf-human unions existed, as with Budica. But just as humans frowned on mixed blood, dwarves also disapproved of interspecies unions.
‘So he left his kin and lived in human lands.’
And after his wife passed first, he guarded her grave. Although dwarves generally outlived humans, aging was still aging. Unless immortal like these guys, one eventually completes their life and returns to the earth.
‘So he’s guarding this place until his beard turns white.’
He would likely protect the village until his final breath.
‘Lucky.’
A fate denied to immortals. To reminisce about a loved one and reunite on the day of one’s passing, that was a privilege only mortals whose life had a natural end could enjoy.
‘While mortal time flows, immortal time remains still.’
As he quietly closed his mouth, trying to soothe his bitter thoughts,
“(… I’ll give you this last thing.)”
“(Huh?)”
The dwarf suddenly took a necklace off from around his neck. Attached was a gemstone shimmering with a clear blue hue. The moment he recognized the gem, his eyes widened.
“(Isn’t this the Deus Lapillus?)”
“(Indeed. The most powerful stone in the world.)”
The blacksmith nodded. To an outsider, it might appear as a mere dazzling luxury, but to experienced adventurers, this gem’s value matched that of Living Armor.
‘The divine gemstone.’
Deus Lapillus was literally the Gem of the Gods. A rare mineral, only found in handfuls in meteorites fallen from space. It was renowned for its magical properties surpassing any material on this land.
‘Impenetrable to poison.’
This stone could block or purify any poison, including curses, effectively granting immunity to magic. Especially magic that distorts body and mind was neutralized into harmless energy by the gem.
‘An absolute bane for demonkin who breathe magic.’
Hence it was also called “Divine Tear Stone”. Besides immunity, the stone had a powerful magical effect, the ability to heal all wounds.
‘It can restore any injury unless one is killed outright.’
If you place the gem on a wounded spot, it regenerates to its healthy state before injury.
‘Almost like my immortal ability.’
The difference was this could revive even after death. Though not needed much by him, for the other children, it was an essential recovery item.
“(If I accept this too, won’t I owe you a great debt?)”
Seven sets of Living Armor plus the Divine Tear Stone easily surpassed royal gold coin value. The blacksmith didn’t seem the type who couldn’t calculate that, so Yujin fished around to see if he had more gold coins to add.
“(No, repay me in other ways.)”
But the old man reached out and stopped his hand. It seemed he wanted repayment not in money. Yujin stopped and waited to hear his request.
“(But when you visit this village someday, just pour a sip of beer on my grave.)”
“(Sir…)”
Knowing he had little time left, he wanted someone to visit his grave. People naturally want someone to remember them before they die. Regardless of race, any sentient being aware of death would come to that conclusion.
“(… Understood. May I know your name?)”
As long as the immortal fate continues, it is his duty to remember mortals who live and pass away. And on that list was now added the name of a blacksmith from a border village. The dwarf smiled satisfied by the question.
“(My name is Volundr.)”
‘What story is he trying to tell?’
Emilia watched Yujin continue his conversation with the dwarf from the corner. Since the dwarf autonomous territory was established fifty years ago, speakers of the dwarf language had dwindled. Many dwarves had disappeared within the empire, and now it was only taught to diplomats.
‘Naturally, dwarf culture and technology had mostly faded inside the empire.’
Then how had this man learned dwarf language? There was a professor teaching dwarf language for diplomatic reasons at the Royal Academy. Though apologetic, Yujin’s proficiency seemed even better.
‘He even made the dwarf grandpa smile, whom I’ve never seen before.’
Dwarves were known to be exclusive toward other races. If this man could make a dwarf so cooperative in a deal, he must be well-versed not only in the language but also in dwarf culture. That was no small feat achieved in just a year or two.
‘What adventures had he gone through before meeting us?’
He was barely over thirty years old, but what had he seen and felt in those thirty years The more one looked at Yujin, the less one could guess.
‘Most of all.’
Why did Yujin’s eyes always seem to long for something? Sometimes, the gaze he showed was deep and profound, resembling the eyes of an old man reflecting on his life in his twilight years.
‘The bald grandpa from the hometown village said that once.’
He was a grumpy old man who made even the village children wary, but usually, he would sit outside on a rocking chair, gazing at the distant horizon. He was said to have been an adventurer who traveled all over the continent in his youth.
‘Yujin’s gaze is similar to his.’
What was he longing for? Home? Parents? Friends? Maybe a lover somewhere.
‘I wonder.’
That was why I secretly looked forward to adventures with Yujin. The more we journeyed, the more chances to learn about him. What connections he made, what experiences he went through.
‘I’ll find out little by little.’
This demon maze expedition would last a whole year. Short or long, it was enough time to get to know him, maybe even after the expedition ends…Lost in such thoughts, Yujin came back after ending the conversation.
“Deal’s done, let’s go.”
Needle scolded him.
“Why so long talking?”
“Bargaining on price.”
Yujin answered in a surprisingly calm tone. Normally, he would have grumbled at Needle, but something must have changed in his heart after talking with the dwarf.
‘His expression is too composed.’
If anything, he seemed a little sad. Worried, I asked him.
“Are you really okay?”
“Hm?”
He turned to look at me. He quickly hid his expression, but in his eyes, it was clear. A lonely look, longing for someone.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re fine? Sitting there all pitiful—gah!”
Needle mocked but got a slap on the neck, silencing him. Apparently, Yujin couldn’t stand Needle’s teasing. That little detail reminded me of the usual Yujin and made me smile.
“… You seem fine.”
“I said I’m fine.”
Yujin shook his head and moved on.
‘Better not ask any more.’
Though he said that, I’m sure it wasn’t the case. We still had distance between us. In such moments, respecting what each wants to hide is important.
‘When we grow closer, then~’
Whooosh…
My thoughts stopped, carried away by the sound of the wind.
“Huh?”
Maybe it was my imagination, but the wind’s direction had changed. Until now, a southwest wind had been brushing our hair, then suddenly, a northeast wind blew, chilling our faces.
‘Does the wind usually shift so abruptly like this?’
There was a strange unease in the change.
“… What’s going on?”
Yujin also stopped in his tracks.