I'm a Child

"Xu Yi, even if you hadn't offered five hundred gold coins in compensation, the chief would have had no choice but to accept your terms in the end," Master Ranu said with a sigh on the carriage ride back.

"Oh? What do you mean?" Xu Yi asked.

"Didn't you see how hard life is in the tribe?" Master Ranu gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "I suggested long ago that the tribe should venture into the human world more often. With our Dwarven forging skills, we might be able to improve everyone's lives considerably."

"That sounds like a good suggestion. Why didn't Chief Shluka agree?" Xu Yi asked curiously.

Master Ranu glanced at Xu Yi and hesitated before answering. "Because humans have cheated us Dwarves too many times. The chief doesn't trust humans at all."

Now it was Xu Yi's turn to smile bitterly.

"Then why did the chief agree this time? Isn't he afraid I might be cheating him too?"

"Because he had no other choice," Master Ranu said helplessly. "Humans rule the entire Sains Continent now. They occupy nearly every place with plentiful resources. We Dwarves, the Elves, even the strong Orc Tribe—all of us have to stay far away from humans and find some patch of land you haven't occupied yet. But those places have few resources to begin with, and we aren't as resourceful as humans. Our living conditions keep getting worse, and our numbers keep shrinking. Xu Yi, did you know that when I was little, our tribe had more than a thousand Dwarves? Now there are only a little over five hundred."

"When you were little?" Xu Yi studied Ranu. Dwarves lived far longer than humans; Master Ranu's childhood was probably several hundred years ago.

Master Ranu paid no attention to what Xu Yi might be thinking and continued. "Last year, three more elders died, and not a single baby was born. The tribe lost another three people. The chief knows that if this goes on, our whole tribe may gradually disappear. But there's nothing we can do. We Dwarves can't contend with humans on the Sains Continent, and we can no longer wage war to reclaim its resources as we did thousands of years ago. Yet joining human society is easier said than done. You probably have no idea how much I suffered just to survive in Bunta City. I nearly lost my life."

Xu Yi looked at Master Ranu in silence and nodded gently.

Although he didn't know exactly what had happened, he could imagine how hard Master Ranu must have worked to fit into human society and make a life in a human city as a member of another race.

"The chief hadn't planned to let you take so many able-bodied workers from the tribe. But the terms you offered were simply too good. Those five hundred gold coins alone will help us solve many urgent problems. And you promised to pay the tribesmen you hire as much as eight gold coins a month. With that income, their families won't have to worry about getting by. Tell me, how could the chief refuse?"

Xu Yi thought for a moment, then couldn't help asking, "Has life really become that hard for the Dwarves? And why does the chief believe me? Isn't he afraid I might be deceiving him?"

"Don't you get it? Even if you are deceiving him, the five hundred gold coins you handed over are real." Master Ranu rolled his eyes. "Besides, I'm the one who brought you. I haven't known you long, kid, but I've lived among humans long enough to see that you aren't some fraud. At the very least, you're making a sincere effort to keep your word. That's enough for me to think you're worth trusting this once."

Xu Yi rubbed his head sheepishly and chuckled. "So I'm that trustworthy?"

Master Ranu shot him an irritated look. "Don't celebrate yet, kid. What matters is how you treat my people when the time comes. I'm warning you: if you cheat them, I'll make you pay, even if it costs me this old life!"

Xu Yi waved his hands quickly. "I would never do that. Master Ranu, you and your people are precious to me. I can't take good enough care of you, let alone cheat you. To tell you the truth, the work you and your people are about to do will be among the most important in changing the entire Sains Continent. You Dwarves may leave a lasting mark on its history. By then, you'll be experts respected across the continent. Why would you still have to worry about making a living?"

Master Ranu glared at him. "Enough with the pretty words, kid! I don't care about changing the continent or going down in history. What I care about right now is this: where are the houses you promised to build for my people?"

Xu Yi laughed. He hadn't expected Master Ranu to believe any of that just yet.

But he was certain that, if everything went smoothly, Master Ranu and his people would become a driving force behind a historic change on the Sains Continent.

By the time they returned to Bunta City after three days away, the streetlamps had come on. Once inside the city, Master Ranu said a few words to Xu Yi, then jumped down from the carriage and left.

Xu Yi asked the driver to take him back to the house he rented. As soon as he stepped down, he noticed someone sitting in the shadows outside his door. The figure looked familiar.

When he came closer, Xu Yi froze.

"Stille? What are you doing outside my house this late?"

Stille sat hugging her knees, her head buried between them. At the sound of Xu Yi's voice, she slowly looked up.

The sight of her face startled him.

In the lamplight, Stille looked terribly pale and much thinner. All the youthful brightness had vanished from her face, and the sparkle was gone from her large eyes. She looked utterly drained.

"Hey, Stille, what happened?" Xu Yi crouched before her, met her eyes, and asked in a low voice.

Stille opened her mouth, but no words came out. After a long while, she slowly shook her head.

Xu Yi frowned. Without worrying about anything else, he helped Stille up, opened the door, and brought her inside.

The light in Vivian's bedroom came on at once, followed by her timid voice.

"Who... who is it?"

"It's me! Go back to sleep. You don't need to get up." Xu Yi helped Stille onto a stool, poured her a cup of hot water, and sat across from her. After a pause, he asked gently, "Stille, tell me what happened. Did someone... hurt you?"

A bitter smile suddenly touched Stille's lips. She glanced at Xu Yi, picked up the cup, and gulped down some water.

She drank too quickly and started coughing hard.

Xu Yi's frown deepened.

He didn't know much about girls, but Stille must have suffered a terrible blow. She was usually so lively and playful; she would never have become like this otherwise.

"Stille, did you... not get to give them the present?" Xu Yi guessed.

The last time he had seen Stille was when she had come over one evening to thank him. But he had upset her by saying, "You're still a child," and she had stormed off.

Before that, she had told him the Piano Model she'd asked him to help make was finished. The birthday of the person she loved was approaching, and she planned to travel to Anvilmar City, the capital of the Lampari Kingdom, to give that person the present herself.

A few days had passed, and now Stille had come back looking utterly lost. It seemed likely that something had gone wrong with the gift.

At Xu Yi's question, Stille set down her cup and stared blankly at him for a while. Then she asked, "Xu Yi, do you think I'm a child?"

Xu Yi froze. Was Stille still upset about what he had said last time?

But she didn't look like it.

Xu Yi thought carefully, unsure how to answer.

Stille was clearly in a fragile state. If he said the wrong thing, there was no telling what might happen.

"Well... that depends on what you mean. From my point of view, you—"

"Enough. You don't have to say it. You were right. I am a child! An unbelievably stupid child!" Stille suddenly raised her voice.

"Why do you say that?" Xu Yi asked with a frown.

"If I weren't a naive child who didn't understand anything, how could I have fallen for that scumbag?" Stille suddenly cursed viciously.