Chapter 116
Chapter 116
Rupdell approached with a sullen face and swore at the dog. He took out a golden whistle, tapped the tip of the whistle with his little fingernail, and blew hard.
Then the watchdog loudly howled once to show that he was finally sober, and then swiftly rushed to the entrance.
Over Rupdell’s golden rimmed glasses, small black eyes rolled in the visitors’ direction.
‘It’s really fascinating.’
When Luciel saw the dwarf for the first time, she was curious, but she was careful, as it seemed rude to intently stare at others.
A long cone-like nose and pointed, leaf-shaped ears. Unlike his grumpy and wrinkled old man’s face, he was tall as a child. He had sharp teeth and long nails.
In addition, his golden necklace and belt were particularly dazzling, capturing the viewer’s attention.
Rupdell grumbled his first greeting.
“You bastards. What are you doing bothering me? I have a lot of work to do!”
Walking with his hand behind his back, he ground his teeth and let out his dissatisfaction. Gillard was the first to mutter a reply, perhaps ashamed to be cursed in front of Luciel.
“He’s still got his temper, isn’t he? Hm-mm.”
“Gillard, how long has it been since you’ve been here before? Let’s not see each other for the next ten years.”
Rupdell sternly replied a grumpy come back.
“In ten years, I may not be able to come here on my own feet.”
“Then it’s better. You won’t bother me anymore. By the way, how did you get here?”
Arzeon gently showed the purple portal stone in his arms.
“With a portal stone made with your own hands.”
“……Damn it I forgot what you had that. By the way, I have never seen this fluffy little kid before.”
Rupdell looked sideways at Luciel, holding his chin with his long-nailed finger.
“Ah, hello. Mr. Rupdell!”
“This child is the daughter-in-law of my family.”
“……How dare you bring a kid here?”
An angry Rupdell opened his eyes and Luciel flinched for a moment.
“This is a place where selected few can come. I especially hate children! If they’re tired, they cry and wail. If you bother me, I’ll throw you right into that guy’s mouth!”
Rupdell trying to wickedly scare her, pulled a golden staff from his waist and lifted Luciel’s chin. But Luciel was not afraid. Because she’s already made friends with the watchdog.
It seems that Rupdell was trying to scare her away, or trying to test her courage.
“Mr. Rupdell, if you want to scare me, you better do it another way. He’s already my friend, so I know he won’t eat me.”
Luciel said so with twinkling eyes.
“Hey, you’re a pretty cheeky kid. I can control him again and make him swallow you, you know?”
As Rupdell opened his mouth to speak, Gillard sprang up with a vicious aura from behind.
“I don’t think you would.” (Luciel)
“Why do you trust me so much?”
At Rupdell’s question, Luciel rolled her crimson eyes and then smiled broadly.
“These two people are the ones who brought me. Even if you use force, I do not intend to obediently be beaten around. Grandpa Gillard and Arzeon must have the same idea. But we are just here to talk.”
Arzeon and Gillard also nodded their heads in agreement with Luciel’s opinion.
If Rupdell attacked, they were ready to fight back, but it was best to solve it through dialogue rather than unnecessary attrition.
On the other hand, Rupdell also became curious about Luciel, who had a strong spirit that was not pushed back by his threats.
Clear and bright mana and crimson eyes shining like jewels. It certainly wasn’t that of an ordinary human kid. More than anything else, the inside was quite firm.
Rupdell, noticing something, muttered.
“You’re a fairy’s bloodline, aren’t you?”
Seeing someone who had fairy blood in their veins, which was now hard to find, his nostrils grew slightly larger. Luciel just nodded her head slightly.
“The most boring thing in the world is a favor.” (Rupdell)
“I will not force you to do a favor. Just listen to my story first.” (Luciel)
He wanted to hear the story, but his pride didn’t easily allow such a thing. Dwarfs don’t usually listen to stories easily, so Rupdell deliberately spoke more forcefully.
He threw one last tantrum before taking a coin from his pocket. He bounced it into the air, grabbed it, and then he said.
“Well then. Let’s play by flipping a coin.”
“A cheap dwarf.”
Gillard sharpened his teeth, and Arzeon also sent a condemning look. But Rupdell replied with a giggle.
“If you win, let’s hear the story. But, if I win, what will you do in return for taking my precious time and bothering me?”
Aside from it being an absurdly unreasonable bet, the conditions were poor, but Luciel agreed.
“If you win, I will give you my jewels.”
Luciel took the jewel from her pocket and showed it. Then Rupdell who looked into it through his spectacles, had his pupils shaken when the value was not fully calculated.
“Wh-what the hell is that jewel?!”
He took off his glasses, swiped his lenses with his sleeve, and put them back on properly. His magic glasses had the function of converting the value of an object into money and showing a number.
However, that jewel was only marked with a question mark.
“It is a jewel that contains both mana and elemental magic.” (Luciel)
“What, isn’t this a precious jewel that can’t even be priced?” (Rupdell)
Luciel nodded her head.
“That’s right. So, please make different terms for me, Mr. Rupdell. Just listening to my story does not make a bet equal to the value of this jewel.”
Luciel had read a passage about a dwarf in a fairy tale.
[Don’t think about winning a bet with a dwarf. Beware of cheating because they always have a trick. Double the conditions if possible.]
It was just a classic fairy tale, but it didn’t seem like it was wrong.
‘Still, I have to win.’
Rupdell, who was snorting, said as if there was nothing special.
“A pretty tough fellow, aren’t you? The condition is…….”
“This is the condition. If I win, please listen to my story and do me a favor.”
“Damn, you mean work without pay? I mean, I have an expensive body.”
As the dwarf huffed, Luciel stimulated his fighting spirit again.
“Then you just have to win and take the jewels.”
“Hmm, I see. I get it. Then it’s a deal.”
Luciel guessed something at Rupdell’s reaction, which had calmed his excitement again.
‘He is confident of his victory.’
That means that no matter what I do, he will trick the coin into making him win. Or the coin is already under a spell. He has a knack for crafting special objects, so it’s likely that it’s already enchanted.
Rupdell chuckled as he showed both the head and tail of the coin.
“Come on, look. There’s nothing wrong with the coin, is there? Kid, which side would you choose? Front? Or back?”
Gillard and Arzeon were about to approach, but Rupdell gave them a glare as a sign not to intervene.
“Wait a minute.”
Luciel, seemingly troubled, reached out her hand, asking to see the coin.
“I will look at the coin. It’s the first time I have seen such a coin.”
“It’s a dwarf coin.”
It was a gold coin with the number 100 on the front and a hammer on the back.
“Well, you don’t believe me? All right, Gillard. I want you to check this coin.”
Gillard looked at the coin tossed by Rupdell with detection magic.
“There is no magic on it.”
Then he returned the coin.
“Is it okay now?”
“Yes.”
“Then choose.”
Luciel nodded and thought to herself.
‘When I tell him what I choose, he will start the bet.’
“Is the side with the number the tail?”
Luciel asked with a puzzled face.
“No. That’s the head.”
Rupdell clenched the coin in his fist and tapped it with his other fingernail.
“Then the front is the hammer, no. I also like the back with the numbers on it. Alas, just do it with a hammer!”
While Luciel deliberately pretended to be flustered, he repeatedly tapped his nail on the coin. When Luciel continued to confuse the tail and the head and couldn’t come to a conclusion, Rupdell lost his temper.
“Oh, so what the hell is it? Head or Tail?”
Then, as if waiting, Luciel’s eyes lit up.
“It doesn’t matter. Please check the coin again, Grandpa.”
“…….”
Gillard stole the coin from Rupdell’s hand. The coin had already been manipulated with hammers drawn on both front and back.
He deliberately used magic after the verification, thinking that Luciel would check the coin before the bet. When release magic was cast, the magic of the coin was easily dispelled.
“…you seem to be quick-witted. How did you know that?”
When Rupdell, who had a frown on his forehead as if he didn’t like it, asked a question, Luciel smiled broadly.
“You activate magic with your little fingernail. I watched carefully when you blew the whistle earlier to send the watchdog back to its original location.”
“Well, perhaps because you’re young. You have a good eye.” (Rupdell)
“You cheated, it’s Luciel’s victory.” (Gillard)
“Shall we throw it anyway? I’ll do it with the number side up.” (Luciel)
Wanting to test her luck, Luciel tossed the coin Gillard had given her into the air and received it. Then, as Luciel had chosen, a face with the number 100 appeared.
“Well, if it had been a fair match, you would have won. I lost.”
As if apologizing for his rudeness and grumpiness, Rupdell asked for a handshake from Luciel. He was the first adult with a lower eye line than herself.
“Gillard has brought a very ferocious little kid into the family. Come inside. I’ll listen to the story.”
Only then did Rupdell guide the three inside.
Round mushrooms lined up in a row, and the maze-like interior was full of various objects and tools.
Some rooms were full of insects, others full of unknown liquids and separated parts, pieces of wood and stones in bottles.
The group took a seat at the dinner table that Rupdell had guided. Due to the low ceiling, Gillard and Arzeon had to bend their necks or crouch around.
As they barely sat together in front of a round table, Rupdell showed two large and two small teacups and asked.
“Choose a glass.”
Then Gillard stared at him.
“You’re a terrible dwarf to offer alcohol to a child.”