Volume 6 Chapter 25: Inspiration
Volume 6 Chapter 25: Inspiration
(Walson)
Thinking back, throughout the dozens of chapters since Tanaya joined our party, she has always been extremely interested in watching me craft or assemble technological products.
When I first gave her [Redstone] as a toy, I had no particular purpose in mind, just thinking that kids need some creative enlightenment.
It turned out she had a unique talent for this. The biggest proof was when she mixed [Redstone] with dwarf reactor technology to create a powerful mechanical arm, all on her own.
Turns out she has dwarf blood! This explains everything, and given the current situation, her dwarf bloodline is from [Noble Dwarf].
A mix of Horned Demon and dwarves, that's quite an unusual combination. A Horned Demon mother and a dwarf father, three meters tall versus one and a half meters tall—what an odd picture.
—I'm sorry, my fiancées are all taller than me, and I feel bad for talking about it.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Leica."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Grace."
"Melon."
"Derisha!"
"Just call me Aure."
By the way, shortly after the dwarf king left, Chuck had me inform Grace to bring the others back. Initially, I was a bit hesitant about Leica seeing them, but I underestimated the future queen of this country.
Now, they were all standing in a circle, chatting. Leica, who was shorter than me at one and a half meters, looked very cute shaking hands and introducing herself to Grace and the others, all of whom were at least one meter seventy.
"And this beautiful lady in the corner is also Lord Walson's fiancée...?" Leica asked, noticing someone in the corner of the room.
"Hah, in his dream, I only wish to marry a proper man, not goblins," Belle, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, raised her eyebrows, clearly displeased with such a statement.
"Lord Walson is a goblin!? Ah, could he also be a mixed blood? Prince John and a goblin mother, uh..."
"Hey, at least lower your voice when bad mouthing someone! And stop calling me goblin!"
...
...
...
Since I have to start pretending to be royalty from now on, and to delay any potential exposure (Chuck hopes it never happens), Chuck told me some things about my supposed father.
The capital of this empire, [Dying Steel Citadel], has been under lockdown for centuries, but there have always been a few who opposed this.
About a century ago, the leader of the anti-isolationist faction—Prince John, the dwarf king’s brother—escaped from the capital with some of their advanced technology, leaking it to the general dwarf populace. (Yes, dwarves live quite long, not as long as an Elf, but still long)
Since then, the dwarves, previously known only for their blacksmithing, began using steam power technology, which attracted foreign invasions. In the end, this country had no choice but to deploy their [Guardian Mechs] to completely annihilate the invading forces, leading to legends of giant iron monsters.
As a result, a bloody crackdown occurred in [Dying Steel Citadel], and there were no more public dissenting voices. However, such thoughts persisted among a few. Ten years ago, Chuck, secretly adhering to these beliefs, took action and escaped from [Dying Steel Citadel] to gain more influence. As for Prince John, he had been missing for a long time, and no one knew if he was still alive.
But judging from Tanaya's age of ten, he was probably still alive. Now, he’s become my convenient father.
In any case, our planned activities weren’t altered by the dwarf king’s intervention. I still need to create a [Steam Motion Armor] for Chuck that can win the [Ore God Festival] competition.
Participating in the festival...
According to legend, the dwarven sun god Tuvok (Cat God) wakes up for only one day each year. On that day, the dwarves present competitions, dances, and songs to entertain the deity, thanking Tuvok for the prosperous life they’ve enjoyed that year—this is the origin of the [Ore God Festival].
If the Steam Motion Armor I create wins the competition, it will be the highest honor for the Noble Dwarf living in [Dying Steel Citadel], bringing wealth, fame, status, and power.
This aligns with the dwarves' value of technical prowess—indeed, a unique trait of this race.
Although Chuck hasn’t explicitly stated his wish, it’s not hard to infer from our previous conversation.
For a long time, the dwarf empire of Mahamatra has implemented a capital lockdown policy, supposedly to protect their species, even at the cost of imprisoning their people. They even established a false capital and puppet government on the surface to maintain this policy.
These groundbreaking technologies have been hidden for too long, and surface dwarves have long lived in contempt.
Chuck's desire is simply for this country to step out proudly into the world, no longer hiding in the shadows. This beautiful underground capital should not be a cage that hinders freedom but should be a spiritual symbol for all dwarves.
And he brought me back for this ultimate goal.
Ah, I’m really lucky to be this short; otherwise, none of this would have worked, hehehehe.
Thinking about this, I couldn’t help but feel a bit disheartened.
"Walson, my brother, our future is in your hands. Please, make sure to create a [Steam Motion Armor] that can win the competition!" Chuck said, gripping my shoulders.
"Don't do that, you're giving me too much pressure," I replied with a wry smile. "But I think I can manage it, probably."
"Hmm!? Does that mean you have an idea, Walson?" Chuck asked eagerly.
"Yeah, but first, I have a few questions for you," I said.
"What is it?" Chuck asked without hesitation.
"Since Tanaya has [Noble Dwarf] blood, can she use [Metalforge Manipulation]?" I paused. "And also, do you have pumpkins in this underground world?"