Magnetic Hammer's Dwarven Beer

Lily subconsciously looked at Hai Na and sized her up.

... Not short at all? Don't dwarf hybrids have shorter stature? Noticing the surprised looks from Iver and his group, Hai Na's father was immediately amused and burst into hearty laughter.

The dwarf raised his hand and took a big gulp of wine to moisten his throat.

Without any beating around the bush, the dwarf uncle went straight to the point about what Iver and the others cared about most. "Don't look at her like that—neither of these children are my biological children. But I've taken care of them since they were little, so I'm kind of like a father to them."

"Their irresponsible bastard father ran away—he ran away from Eagle Cape Village before Jack was even born."

The dwarf uncle said bluntly, "I think that kid is probably possessed by some evil spirit, or he got too wild after playing with his master—that's why I don't want this girl to study on Glass Island. After all, her idiot father is on Glass Island."

Upon hearing this, Iver silently looked at Sherlock.

Sherlock paused for a moment, then understood what Iver wanted him to do.

—This is clearly letting him speak without restraint.

After all, he still looks like a child, so he's quite perceptive in this regard. Even if he says something inappropriate or asks an impolite question, Iver can simply add, "He's just a kid, he doesn't know any better, he just asked that," and the atmosphere won't become too awkward.

Then Sherlock spoke up in his childish voice, "That person is so bad... But what does he do? Why does he have a master who takes him out to play?"

"That kid's master was the village's original blacksmith, but his skill level was far inferior to mine."

The dwarf said with great disdain, "That old fellow even said... he learned in the capital before? What a load of rubbish! The old blacksmiths in the capital are all those eccentric, long-eared charlatans. If he really learned from them, would he be an ordinary person?"

"That old rascal is all bragging— Hai Na used to love listening to him brag when she was little. Now you know, right? I told you back then and you argued and didn't believe me! Now you believe me!"

After the dwarf finished speaking, he burst into laughter.

He had finished his drink, so he poured himself a full glass.

"...really."

Hai Na nodded somewhat awkwardly. "I'll understand when I get to Glass Island."

"Right, right! Hahahaha!"

The dwarf laughed heartily, his voice so loud it could be heard from inside the blacksmith's shop.

Sherlock pressed on, "Then, Uncle... how did you meet Hai Na's mother?"

"Ah, this..."

Hai Na was immediately embarrassed.

She instinctively wanted to stop Sherlock, but knowing Sherlock identity, she didn't dare; at the same time, she was also curious herself—

"Don't call me uncle anymore, just call me Grandpa Magnetic Hammer!"

The dwarf Magnetic Hammer laughed heartily, "We're not the long-eared kind of creatures, we just don't look old—but I'm actually almost sixty, hahaha!"

No, it's not so much that dwarves don't look old, but rather that they look too old. Iver thought to himself.

After all, dwarfs between twenty and fifty years old all look pretty much the same. Once I've aged prematurely, you can't tell whether I've actually aged or not.

"Actually, you want to know too, right?"

Magnetic Hammer took another sip of wine and looked at Hai Na.

"I want to know too, Dad."

Hai Na's brother Jack, also asked a question from the side.

He was eight years younger Hai Na, and Magnetic Hammer had been taking care of him since he opened his eyes.

Unlike Hai Na, who sees Magnetic Hammer as her stepfather, Magnetic Hammer is his biological father—raised without being born, and in some ways even closer than a biological father.

"I'm the one who picked up your dad."

Hai Na's mother, carrying tea, came over and said, "Two days after that lunatic ran away, he appeared unconscious in the swamp. I was the one who brought him back..."

"Did Grandpa William also emerge from the swamp?"

"Hai Na suddenly asked."

Iver's ears twitched slightly, realizing that it was the Old Inspector's name.

"Yes, these outsiders all come from the swamp. That's why I sent you to pick them up... It's not easy for people to enter our village through the main gate."

She said with a hint of helplessness, "Seriously, won't you let your guests sit down and chat?"

"That's right, no need to be so polite, we're all family, please sit down!"

Magnetic Hammer spoke with an air of absolute authority, jumping off the old sofa, finding an oak wine glass, and pouring himself another glass of wine.

He held two wine glasses and scanned the crowd.

Yes, Hai Na. Yes, this girl... and the child. And the birds.

So he eventually approached Iver and asked, "Hey kid, wanna have a couple of bites?"

"That works too."

Iver smiled and took the glass.

He glanced down and saw that the glass contained some kind of dark beer with a burnt and malty aroma.

"Beer?"

Iver was somewhat surprised. "I thought you would drink hard liquor."

"Just woke up, let's have some beer to rinse our mouths! Besides, spirits are too expensive, beer is much better! A good bottle of brandy costs at least three or four white crowns, and even the cheaper ones cost twelve Red Coin. But beer—haha, this beer only costs half a copper coin for a full glass!"

Magnetic Hammer laughed heartily, "This is a dwarf flavor; you definitely can't find it on Glass Island. Why don't you try it?"

Hai Na, watching from the side, looked uneasy. "Dad, if you're going to drink, don't get any cheap liquor..."

This is a minister of Avalon—

Before she could say anything, Iver reached out and patted her arm, indicating that it was okay. Then he tilted his head back and took a big gulp.

This taste is Iver definitely can't find at the Glass Island.

Compared to regular beer, it's stronger and more aggressive. It contains tiny, unidentifiable specks of cloudiness and is somewhat uneven in texture. But what impressed Iver most was a strong, smoky bitterness...like the taste of smoky milk tea.

"Carbon?"

"Iver asked the question out of the mouth."

—What the heck? You can grill beer over charcoal?

The dwarf with the Magnetic Hammer widened his eyes slightly.

He paused for a moment, then patted Iver on the shoulder forcefully. "Not bad, kid! You could tell right away in one bite!"

"But actually, you can get a more authentic beer if you go to Yongshuang. Our proper dwarf beer is brewed with roasted malt. But sometimes when you're away from home, you can't get the beer from your hometown... so there's a simple way."

"So you're using red-hot charcoal to simmer beer, huh?"

Iver guessed it immediately.

What kind of bizarre recipe is this...?

"It's not that simple, even if you know it, you can't do it."

Magnetic Hammer emphasized, "If you soak it too much, it will dissolve; if you soak it too little, it will only taste burnt. How to soak it and for how long is a skill; you only learn it by doing it a lot. Only Old Blacksmith understand this."

The more he talked, the happier he became.

He pulled Iver to sit on the sofa and poured Iver a glass of wine.

At this point, Iver also realized what the cloudy substance in the wine was—it must be tiny particles of carbon.

Seeing this, Hai Na's mother shook her head helplessly.

She led Hai Na, her siblings, and Sherlock upstairs to the bedroom.

The biggest advantage of this type of village is probably the relatively low cost of building a house. Land is basically free, and as long as a family has a reliable laborer and can buy materials, they can build a large duplex house.

Sherlock also gained a general understanding of Hai Na's family situation.

—She is a little bit richer than she looks.

After all, her father was the best blacksmith in the village... although there were more than one blacksmith in the village, and he had only been there for a little over ten years. But that was still a superhuman skill, the level of crafting equipment.

However, he did not support Hai Na going to study in a place full of elves, so he probably didn't give her much money.

But since he was an unregistered person, even if he had the skills, he couldn't sell his goods at the normal price.

... However, if Hai Na's father is skilled enough... could I order some equipment from here?

Sherlock was somewhat tempted.

Although he probably couldn't craft the equipment for Law Mage and mages.

But Sherlock had also learned some stick fighting skills from Edward—

How about we get a walking stick from Uncle Magnetic Hammer?

We can also bring Edward some gifts back... as an apology for stealing his equipment.

Chapter Two, updated!

I woke up to the sad news that another respected senior has left us...

Everyone should have regular checkups, exercise more, and get plenty of rest! Remember to have regular checkups!

I'm going to start working out when I get back... I haven't had a physical exam in two years. I'll go for one after a month of rehabilitation to get my levels back up!