The capital of the Yanting Empire, its Imperial Capital, lies at the junction of two continents.
It sits beside a wide strait where Eastern and Western cultures collide.
To the north, winding mountains provide a natural barrier for the city.
To the south stretches a vast sea.
Despite Ambory, the capricious deep-sea queen, venting her wrath and fury on ships sailing the ocean, the sea remains the safer route for long-distance cargo transport most of the time.
Thus, ships bring exotic treasures from afar and deliver all sorts of people to this place.
So, seeing a dwarf guard clad in a mix of plate and scale armor, with a short bow at the waist and a greatsword in hand, is hardly surprising here.
For reasons unknown, the local “Alliance of Good Gods” hired dwarf guards for the Radiant Cathedral.
They stood in neat rows across the wide plaza in front of the cathedral, like mushroom-headed rivets hammered into the square.
Perched on Richard’s head, Aurina found them peculiar and nicknamed them “dwarf stumps.”
So the “Alliance of Good Gods” hired them in case the stone nest built by the bugs collapses, and the dwarf stumps can hold it up.
She spoke without controlling her volume.
Nearby worshippers, noticing the flat-topped helmets of the dwarves, found the nickname “dwarf stumps” all too fitting.
The long-bearded dwarf guards, far from amused, raised their greatswords and surrounded them.
Richard hurriedly urged Aurina to apologize, as dwarves were known for being stubborn.
A minor slight could land someone’s name in their Book of Grudges, passed down through generations.
A well-known legend told of an earthquake collapsing a dwarf city.
The clan leader shouted, “It must not be buried in the ruins!”
Braving falling stones, he rushed into the clan’s secret vault to retrieve it, only to be crushed by a boulder at the door.
His relatives came to save him, but he cried, “Don’t save me, save it!”
They moved the stone and retrieved it, passing it from one dwarf to another, each dying in turn.
The last dwarf warrior delivered it to the clan’s sole survivor in a safe cave.
Hearing that his grandmother, uncle, aunt, cousins, and husband all died for it, the survivor wailed in grief, cursing what could be worth so many lives.
The warrior revealed the bloodstained object—the Book of Grudges.
The survivor’s face lit up with joy, declaring their sacrifices worthwhile.
However, Richard didn’t know that Aurina’s former incarnation, Obus, had his name inscribed in countless Books of Grudges.
And he made a mistake: never ask Aurina to do something she doesn’t want when her head or mouth is out of reach.
Aurina shouted at the grim-faced, long-bearded dwarves below, “Dwarf stumps! Dwarf stumps! Dwarf stumps!”
Richard swiftly grabbed her ankle, yanked her down, and held her with his right arm while raising two steel-clad fingers with his left.
Aurina immediately covered her head, shrinking in defense.
The entire sequence took less than a second, prompting murmurs from onlookers:
“That knight is so brutal.”
“How could he lay hands on such a cute girl?”
“Really, too barbaric. It’s practically child abuse.”
Under the weight of public opinion and Aurina’s silence, Richard lowered his hand and faced the lead dwarf, whose stern expression matched his flat-topped helmet.
Richard’s mind echoed with Aurina’s voice—“Dwarf stumps! Dwarf stumps!”—so apt.
He shook his head to clear her voice and said, “I’m very sorry for her discriminatory insult.”
“Just pay one gold coin as compensation.”
“One coin?”
“We dwarves keep our word.”
“It won’t go in the Book of Grudges?”
“By the heavens, that damned rumor spreads far,” the dwarf guard captain said.
“Pay one gold coin, and we won’t write your name in blood in the Book of Grudges.”
Richard pulled out a gold coin and said to Aurina, “This is compensation for the harm your insult caused. I’m paying it on your behalf.”
Aurina’s eyes gleamed at the coin’s shine, her tail curling toward the coin between Richard’s fingers.
Richard reacted quickly, raising and slapping his hand to secure the coin.
He crouched down and handed it to the dwarf guard captain.
Aurina grumbled, “Gah.”
She’s sorely in need of taming. Giving a coin to someone else when it should be tribute to this king.
The dwarf guard captain bit the coin, satisfied.
“Very good, excellent. Sir Knight, are you here to pray, purchase divine services, or wait for free divine healing? To receive the Good Gods’ free blessing, you’ll need to join the longest, most ragged-looking queue. But you don’t seem like a nobody. I know a few priests who charge very fairly.”
In front of the Radiant Cathedral was a vast plaza where devotees of various Good Gods performed religious rituals or queued for the “Daily Act of Good” free divine healing.
“Sorry, I’m here to see the Arbiter of Light. Where should I go?”
The Arbiter of Light was the spokesperson elected by the Alliance of Good Gods in the Imperial Capital.
The dwarf guard captain tucked the coin into his pouch, scratching his cheek.
“You are?”
“Richard, and this is Sophia.”
Richard gestured to Sophia, dressed in a simple priestly robe, chatting with a woman about the plaza’s no-horse-riding rule.
The dwarf guard captain quickly lowered his hand, stepped back, and sized Richard up, his gaze landing on the dragon horns atop Aurina’s head.
He hadn’t noticed them earlier because she was too high up.
The dwarf guard immediately stood at attention, adjusting his flat-topped helm—looking even more like a dwarf stump—and asked, “You’re the dragon-slaying hero Richard?”
“Yes.”
“And his master,” Aurina suddenly broke free, climbing onto Richard’s shoulder and perching on his head.
“The greatest true dragon in the world, this king could take down seven at once.”
“Of course, absolutely,” the dwarf guard captain said excitedly.
“Lads, come on, let’s escort them—this legendary team—to see the Arbiter of Light!”
The dwarf guards swarmed over.
“No need,” Richard said.
“Your duty is to guard. You shouldn’t neglect it for me.”
“It’s fine, no one’s attacking.”
Richard insisted, and most dwarf guards reluctantly returned to their posts, leaving only the captain and a few escorts with the trio.
The surrounding worshippers began noticing them, and a growing crowd gathered, hard to refuse.
“Saintess, please touch me to ward off my bad luck!”
“Dragon-slaying hero, please kiss my son’s sword. He’s heading to the border next month.”
“Look, it’s the young dragon princess!”
They had to jog quickly, crossing the plaza and ascending the steps.
Aurina, riding Richard’s head, saw the dwarf stumps’ short legs flailing rapidly and couldn’t hold back, bursting into laughter.
“Gah gah gah.”
The dwarf guard captain didn’t notice her mockery, unable to see her face.
“Dragon-slaying hero,” the captain said, his face red from running, pulling out the gold coin.
“My apologies, here’s your coin back.”
“No, that’s compensation.”
“No, no, no,” the captain said.
“I’m ashamed to admit, I thought you were outsiders and wanted to… huff huff, slow down, run slower… give you a lesson. Who charges a gold coin for a single insult?”
“One is one, two is two. Compensation is compensation, and dragon-slaying hero is dragon-slaying hero. I agreed to the amount, not because of coercion, and it doesn’t change with my status,” Richard said.
“Do you often extort outsiders like this?”
“Uh… you’re running too fast. Sorry, a little bit.”
“If you feel guilty, think of this coin the next time you extort someone,” Richard said, carrying Aurina and joined by Sophia as they ran up the steps into the Radiant Cathedral.
After giving their names, a guide led them deep into the cathedral.
The cathedral was magnificent, adorned with symbols of Good Gods and some neutral deities.
Originally, the Imperial Capital had a Pantheon housing Good, Neutral, and Evil Gods.
As time passed and conflicts among followers grew, they split.
After the Alliance of Good Gods was formed, they left and established the Radiant Cathedral.