There Is No World For ■■

* * *The dwarves on Earth no longer lived in the mountains.The traditional underground stone homes had long been replaced by apartments, and their kin’s mountain range palaces exchanged for modern mansions.While the kindred from his homeland, along with the other races, would look at them and ramble on about how they had abandoned their traditions or betrayed their homeland, Earth’s dwarves would simply scoff in return.Had they betrayed their traditions? Hardly so.They still exchanged pickaxes during their coming-of-age ceremonies.They also wore ceremonial outfits made from mountain goat fur at weddings, ate barley stonebread and drank barley beer during holidays, and celebrated together.They didn’t ignore their traditions; it’s just that they were no longer bound by the past.Because the miners who had spent their lives excavating, and the craftsmen who lived and died for their masterpieces, had already perished during ‘Yellow Winter’.The dwarves who had stayed back in the modern world were nothing more than capitalistic entrepreneurs and workers chasing after paychecks.…Of course, as with any place, there were exceptions.A few outdated dwarves still babbled on about tradition and vengeance.These were the old kin, born before Stalin’s invasion.…Damn old-timers.Darulma Dune hated them.He hated how they lived in a house that was no different from an underground bunker even though they had perfectly good apartments, and how they ran the clan’s business as if it were their own personal empire.A business exclusively for dwarves, run by dwarves? What a load of nonsense.How could anyone still be so foolish in this era of globalization?If only they agreed to a merger with the Earthians, the company could have grown severalfold by now.But this wasn’t just about the size of the company.The biggest stumbling block was their selfish mindset—thinking it was enough as long as their own race was well-fed and living well.What good was it for the dwarven company to make donations, start an ad campaign in the media, and build a good public image?All that reputation would simply vanish overnight as soon as a jobless Earthian went on TV and said, ‘I lost my job because of the dwarves.’It didn’t help that the Republican Party presidential candidate was a lunatic calling for the restriction of dwarves’ voting rights.If dwarves didn’t wish to become the next Jews, they needed to change their attitude and start actively collaborating with humans.“…Darulma.”At the voice coming from ahead, Darulma flinched and snapped out of his thoughts.When he looked up, he saw the worried eyes of the old dwarf who had been guiding him.Darulma lowered his head almost instinctively and responded.“What is it, uncle?”“I called out because you look a bit pale. I guess you are worried considering that you’re meeting the family head after so long.”“…”“Don’t worry about it too much. As long as you have a just reason, even the family head won’t be able to reprimand you harshly. After all, he’s still your father.”Darulma said nothing, and the old dwarf, whom he addressed as eldest uncle from his paternal side, didn’t seem to be expecting a reply either. He simply resumed walking.Step, step.The sound of their footsteps echoed through the corridor, a recreation of the old underground passageways.And after they arrived before a massive iron door, the old dwarf spoke again.“You’re on your own from here on.”“Uncle, aren’t you coming…?”“I will be waiting here. Don’t worry about me. Seeing that it’s been a while, take your time catching up with your father.”Catch up? Darulma swallowed the words rising in his throat and simply bowed to his eldest uncle.Creak!As the sound of his eldest uncle opening the iron door resounded, Darulma stepped inside.