That’s how things ended up.
Hearing Dae-wa Jingjing-i’s words, Jaeho pressed his forehead.
He, too, had seen the Golem’s horrifying actions, so he could tell that the ego dwelling within was far from normal.
“Well… After all, it was the Demonic Pact that gave it to me.”
Just that alone was enough for him to accept the situation.
“Anyway, the situation’s been handled…”
Gold Tooth, demonized, was knocked out cold by the Golem’s relentless assault.
While she was temporarily incapacitated, Jaeho had securely bound her using the flowers.
“You’re something else… How are you still alive after taking such a beating?”
Jaeho spoke in genuine astonishment.
“If it were Taylor, he’d have died at least five times by now.”
If Taylor were here, he’d probably protest, asking how you could possibly compare a warrior’s house to an assassin’s.
“Haa. Haa.”
Her face was filled with irritation as she panted for breath.
“I think I understand now why the Bear Kingdom got done in so badly…”
“Well, sorry about this. Honestly, I’d love to just throw that old man at you and be done with it, but people’s feelings aren’t so simple.”
“Of course, Dwarves are bound to want something in the future. Especially someone as ambitious as you.”
“No, I’m just a florist…”
“Well, let’s see if you can handle what’s to come…”
KWAANG—!
Suddenly, the Golem’s fist came crashing down.
Pshhhhh—
With a single blow, Gold Tooth turned to dust.
When Jaeho looked at the Golem with an utterly dumbfounded face, the Golem instead waved its other arm as if protesting.
— …He’s saying there’s no need to entertain provocation… right?
Jingjing-i spoke cautiously.
“If you can understand her, why did you leave her alone in the first place?”
—Just because you can understand doesn’t mean you can communicate, you know? I told you, that one’s crazy…
“Summon Release.”
[The <Blood Golden Golem>’s summoning has been released.]
Jaeho immediately dismissed the Golem.
“Alicia! Are you all right inside?!”
At that moment, Jaeho recalled that the large flowers around him were still writhing menacingly as he heard a shout from outside.
“Yeah.”
They were called flowers, but to Jaeho’s eyes, they looked more like man-eating monsters.
“They didn’t attack, but… it’s okay to pass by them, right?”
—Ah, I can take care of that.
With that, Jingjing-i approached the Demonic Spirits.
—Open up.
Kududududu—
Amazingly, at those words, the flowers parted to create a path.
“What? You could do that?”
—Like I said, I’m a king-class spirit myself. Just as that murky guy can influence all the flowers of the intermediate world, I can command all the Demonic Spirits.
“That’s impressive.”
Jaeho was genuinely impressed by Jingjing-i’s words, brimming with pride.
“Now you’re finally showing some useful abilities.”
—Hahaha, of course I am… Huh?
Jingjing-i realized too late that the tone at the end sounded off, but by then Jaeho had already stepped outside.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
In response to the Elf’s question, Jaeho showed his arms and gestured that he was perfectly fine.
“I can at least take care of myself. Where did you all go, anyway?”
“Ah! It’s just that… being with the Demonic Pact isn’t exactly a pleasant environment for us. So we were staying separately on the outskirts of the forest, where the pollution is less severe.”
“Then we heard the explosion and came running.”
Jaeho nodded at the Elves’ explanation.
Even if the forest had been purified, it wouldn’t be completely cleansed of the Demonic Pact’s influence right away.
“If you’d let us know in advance, we could have come right away to escort you.”
“That’s right! If we’d known, none of this would’ve happened…”
The Elves revealed their subtle disappointment, and Jaeho hurriedly offered an excuse.
“I didn’t want to bother you all, since you’re already having a tough time in this uncomfortable place.”
Poke poke
Poke—poke
The prickly gazes of the Demonic Pact at his back were lightly ignored.
“Kuh…! Not at all! Alicia is the benefactor of all Elves!”
The Elves, moved by Jaeho’s words, shook their heads fervently.
“We are always ready. If you order us to die, we would, truly!”
“Hey, hey. Let’s not get so serious.”
“Please, treat us a little more harshly!”
“That’s a scary thing to say…”
Jaeho had a hard time calming the excited Elves down.
“But humans, you say… Are they here to capture the Demonic Pact?”
“No, actually, a Dwarf moved in here. That guy’s a bit of a handful.”
Since they’d find out sooner or later, Jaeho spoke honestly.
“Ah, I see.”
Sure enough, whether it’s the Demonic Pact or Dwarves, both are troublesome races!
Such unabashedly prejudiced words.
“Not much different from the Bear Kingdom, now that I think of it…”
It was a sudden and terrifying realization.
***
“What happened outside? There seemed to be some commotion.”
Vulca’s nonchalant question came from the basement.
“You already know, don’t you? If you heard the noise and didn’t come out…”
Vulca coughed awkwardly and avoided his gaze.
“It was that Gold Tooth woman, the one after her debt, she showed up and caused a scene.”
“G-Gold Tooth! That crazy woman was here?!”
Vulca shuddered and Jaeho cocked his head.
“Is she really that scary?”
“O-Of course! Gold Tooth is like the Grim Reaper of debt collectors. There’s even a rumor that if you get caught by her, all your gold teeth will be yanked out.”
Weh. Geh.
“And I have six gold teeth…”
Brrrr—
Vulca trembled all over, then grabbed Jaeho’s hand.
“…Thank you. For protecting my gold teeth.”
“If I lost these, I wouldn’t be able to eat meat anymore…”
“Uh, sure…”
Jaeho desperately wanted to make a sarcastic remark, but held it in.
Vulca’s expression was just too sincere.
“Ah, I should repay you. I actually made something as practice.”
Vulca led Jaeho to the smithy.
“This is for you.”
He held out what looked like an ordinary iron ingot.
“What’s this?”
“You wanted me to craft something for golem-making, right? So I put some thought into it. Take a closer look.”
Jaeho accepted the ingot and checked its item info.
[Magical Iron Ingot Forged by a Dwarf]
[Usage requirements: none]
[A specially crafted, highly efficient magical alloy created by a Dwarf master.]
[Effect: Increases the shock absorption efficiency of this alloy. (With an extremely low probability, will trigger <Jackpot>.)]
[<Jackpot>: The absorbed impact explodes, dealing double damage.]
Once again, it was a very Vulca-esque result, but at least it was better than a fixed 1-point critical hit.
“But you can use magic?”
“Of course! People tend to think of Dwarves as blacksmiths, but actually, we’re an excellent magic race too.”
A fact Jaeho had never expected.
No matter how you looked at it, Dwarves just didn’t seem magical.
“That’s just prejudice. But Dwarven forges use all sorts of delicate magic. It’s the same for crafting too. Who just hammers away with brute force these days?”
“Fair point…”
It just felt strange hearing it from a Dwarf.
But if you think about the unique properties items have, it made sense.
In New World, what they called ‘item options’ seemed to be explained as magic.
Even when Jaeho crafted items, he used a variety of skills, so it wasn’t that odd.
“So, are magical ingots like these mass-producible?”
“If I have the materials, yes. To use magic in Dwarven crafting, I need something called Mana Dust, but I don’t have much on hand right now.”
“What? So you’re saying you don’t use your own magic?”
“Hmph! A clueless human could sprinkle Mana Dust for a hundred days and never make a great weapon. Only Dwarves can do it!”
Since he was insisting so strongly, Jaeho just accepted it.
“Where can you get that dust?”
“My homeland, Gurshima Volcano.”
“I have no idea where that is, but don’t even think about asking me to get it.”
“Hmph, I wasn’t going to. Besides, only Dwarves can go there. I’ll contact my family myself.”
“That’s a relief.”
Jaeho had actually been worried he’d be sent on another absurd journey.
He really wanted to focus on the Flower House for once.
He still hadn’t had a proper customer yet…
“Well, I’ll make good use of this. If you get the chance, make some more for me.”
“Then… can I rest easy now?”
Vulca asked.
Could he finally rely on Jaeho’s protection?
“Of course.”
The mere fact that he could enchant items this way proved his skill.
[Quest Completed]
[Gambler Vulca has become the chief blacksmith of Elysia Garden.]
[A Dwarf chief blacksmith is highly valuable just by existing.]
[Elysia Garden’s reputation is spreading.]
[Your renown has increased.]
[If it becomes known that you are illegally occupying Embay Forest, the local Nobles may express their displeasure.]
Though Embay Forest had long been abandoned by people, it still officially belonged to a country.
Jaeho’s claim was limited to what the Demonic Pact recognized.
If this place was discovered, a huge uproar was inevitable.
“Someday, I’ll have to resolve that…”
Still, since the local Nobles were on fairly friendly terms with Jaeho, he figured it could be sorted out through conversation.
***
For now, it seemed there was no need to worry much about Vulca’s safety.
There was no guarantee Gold Tooth wouldn’t come after him again, but Jaeho had asked the Elves, who monitored the Demonic Pact, to keep an eye on Vulca as well.
Though, for the sake of their “protection,” he’d phrased it as “monitor the Dwarf”…
“This is your new workplace now. And if possible, you shouldn’t leave the forest.”
“Of course. Now that Gold Tooth is after me, I’d have to be crazy to go outside.”
“Glad you understand.”
Jaeho nodded.
“In return, I won’t care what you do here. Gamble, do business—whatever. If you want, I can even send a few customers your way.”
But at Jaeho’s words, Vulca shook his head with a serious expression.
“I’ve been thinking a lot lately. And I’ve made up my mind.”
“Hmm?”
Did he finally decide to repent or something?
“I’m not ready to run a full-scale forge yet.”
“So that’s it.”
He’d never say he was quitting gambling.
“I do need money, but the facilities here aren’t up to proper work. So I’m thinking of calling my family over from my homeland.”
“Ah, right. Because of the Mana Dust… But will the family that left you even come?”
“Of course! They’d probably come just to beat me to death!”
“I’m not going to protect you from that.”
Jaeho made that clear in advance.
—Alicia!
Just as Jaeho was running out of things to say, a message arrived at the Call Center.
—Is it a new job request?
—Huh? How did you know?
It had been so long since he’d received a job request from the Call Center…
—It’s from the same customer as last time. Mr. Red.
—Oh! Mr. Red
Both the first and second customers of the Garden had been Red.
At this point, he might as well be a regular.
“My only customer…”
—What’s the request?
—Similar to last time, he needs fire and magic damage boosts. This time, though, the target dungeon inflicts constant HP drain and debuffs, so he’d like options that counteract those too.
Jaeho opened Alicia’s Plant Encyclopedia to search for suitable options.
—Any estimate on price or duration?
—He said if you can do it, he’ll pay whatever it costs, and wants you to start right away. He’ll come get it as soon as it’s ready.
—Huh? He doesn’t want to check the detailed options?
—No, he said he trusts you, Alicia, so just let us know if you accept the job.
After checking the encyclopedia and selecting a few options, Jaeho nodded.
—Tell him I’ll take the job. I’ll get right to it.
Excited for his first job in a while, Jaeho rolled up his sleeves.
“Should I throw in a little service for my only customer?”
Wondering what other options would help a mage, Jaeho returned to searching the encyclopedia.