Chapter 46 (continued)
We tore off the shielding spell and saw that Lusien, who had been sleeping soundly on the other side, had woken up. He seemed very embarrassed, not knowing where to put his hands... Hmm, Priestess Luolan was still lying on top of him, and judging from the situation, he didn't seem to want to get up at all... No, he didn't want to "get up, knight" at all.
Priest Luolan mumbled incoherently in his sleep, clinging tightly to Lusien's chest. I'd always found it hard to believe that the Elven Guard Corps, if they patrolled the woods too far and couldn't get home in the middle of the night, would sleep hanging from tree branches—yes, I couldn't quite imagine it, because if it were me, I'd definitely fall off in the middle of the night...
But Luolan can hang so sturdily; no wonder the elves can sleep soundly in the trees.
Lusien Tree Xiuga looked awkwardly at the priest sleeping soundly against his chest, and had to try to lift his chin because Luolan's ears were twitching in his sleep. If Lusien didn't tilt his head back, the tips of Loran's ears would be sticking into his mouth. So, Lusien looked helpless, completely unsure whether he should reach out and hug Luolan to prevent him from falling—because we needed to disembark from the airship.
At this moment, the airship brushed past the tall buildings in the city and began to descend to the docking point. From the porthole, one could see rows of steam furnaces outside, with plumes of red or purple smoke drifting above the city, making the sky colorful and very unique.
This city is called Gray Mountain City... Yes, Gray Mountain City of the Gray Mountain Kingdom of dwarves. What a simple and convenient name! Because this city is surrounded by a mine called Gray Mountain, with the famous Gray Mountain Mine. The energy ore produced here is transported all over the world, and almost every industrial zone has some dealings with it. The dwarves who live here call themselves... Yes, Gray Mountain Dwarves.
... I have immense respect for this talent for naming things.
Aside from a brief period of discord during the Age of No Light, humans and dwarves have generally enjoyed a mutually beneficial and amicable relationship. This is especially true for our Osland Federation, whose eastern border contains a recessed area that surrounds the dwarven Gray Mountain Kingdom on three sides. Therefore, bilateral relations have always been an important issue.
The two races are not strikingly different in appearance. Although dwarves are short and often have long beards regardless of gender, their facial features are still very similar to humans. Dwarves are also very hospitable, unlike elves who are noble and aloof, often with a... I don't want to use that word, but it's really accurate. Most surface elves, except for dark elves, are... um... sexually indifferent.
The relationship between the Dwarven Gray Mountain Kingdom and the Osland Federation has always been very good. Airships flying from the Federation's capital don't even need to go through border checks; we went straight from the airship station to the bustling area of Gray Mountain City.
The cities of the dwarves are vastly different from those of humans— Moli once told me that dwarves are more rugged and unrestrained, and their architectural style has been given a name by human architects. "Heavy industrial steam style."
Their neighborhood planning is somewhat chaotic and haphazard, with towering buildings and giant steam furnaces standing side by side. Huge pipes, thick enough to fit a person sitting inside, wind their way along the streets; these are facilities for transporting steam energy. The dwarves' civilization is powered by steam springs hidden deep in the mountains, which can be used to drive machines, generate electricity, and draw water. The Magitech we use more often in the Federation is actually a technology unique to humans—because dwarves cannot use Magic Power.
Oh, not entirely accurate. Goblins also use Magitech, but... this race is a bit too chaotic. They haven't even solved their own internal problems, let alone had time to compete with humans in terms of technological development speed.
Dwarves lack Magic Power affinity; this is a racial issue, just as humans will never grow wings to fly.
They are born with the ability to detect precious mineral veins deep in the mountains, and almost the entire population is skilled in forging. Blackfire wine is the dwarves' most famous specialty. However, they cannot sense even the slightest bit of basic Magic Power. For tens of thousands of years, the dwarves have never produced a single spellcaster.
Therefore, mages hold a unique position among dwarves, falling into two extremes. One is the Gray Mountain Kingdom, which borders the Osland Federation. They greatly admire mages and worship magic. They trade ores and steam energy with the Federation, while the Federation exports Magitech products and regularly sends mages to assist dwarves in using magical technology—such as nationwide mobile phone coverage and the internet. Although dwarven steam technology can also produce communicators, their products are mostly bulky and have a mountain-like appearance. As a result, human-made magical mobile phones are more beautiful and popular. Several well-known manufacturers have even launched dwarven collectible models, which look quite adorable.
Another dwarven nation, the Red Lion Federation, deeply hates magic, considering it sorcery... However, the Red Lion Federation is far from our Federation, and we don't interact with the Red Lion dwarves. Personally, I certainly wouldn't travel there.
"The latest steam music box!" a dwarf vendor by the roadside shouted to us. "Look! Exquisitely designed and adorable, it can spray out seven colors of steam! Selling to the esteemed mage for only ten dollars! Federation currency transaction!"
We were immediately drawn to them; they were two dolls holding hands. The design was rather ordinary, because the dwarves' artistic level has always been... well... only slightly higher than the goblins'. But the steam they emitted was peculiar—it was rainbow-colored, and it felt...
"Anna and Moli will like it," I said. "Moli read a novel before, and there was a character in it who had... rainbow-colored hair, rainbow-colored eyelashes, and even rainbow-colored tears."
"... My God, that thing you're talking about, it seems to be something Anna wrote when she first started writing her novel. I heard her mention it once." Mel shuddered. "What terrifying aesthetics..."
We were deeply concerned about the apprentices' taste, but since they liked it... we might as well buy it. Mel gave the money to the dwarf, then stuffed the steam music box into her spatial ring and said to me, "I've made up my mind. I'm going to research a dye that can turn all the hair on a person's body into seven colors, and then put it in Anna's morning tea so she can experience firsthand what a terrifying combination of dreamy seven-colored hair really is."
"Give one to Moli too." I nodded.
Lusien, draped in Luolan's arms, led the way. The dwarven streets were bustling and lively, but the dwarves' excessive enthusiasm occasionally caused trouble.
They gathered together, twirling their large beards, pointing and gesturing. Several dwarf girls with elaborately styled, dyed beards in various colors even approached and asked, "Do you need any help? We know the nearest hourly inn, oh~~~ and also some fine blackfire wine, fatigue-relieving potions, orchid-scented lubricant imported from the Elven race... and..."
The dwarf girls, their faces flushed (it was quite an achievement to even see their blushing through their ornate beards), chased after Lusien, one of them even pulling out a camera. "Could we take a picture with you two? We rarely have knights or elves passing through here, so..."
Lies! Absolutely lies!
Because I just saw two elven knights walk past! Yes, two, elven knights!
The way they looked at Lusien and Luolan sent chills down my spine... That look... um, it was familiar, similar to the look Moli gave when she was holding the booklet.
Lusien awkwardly tried to shake them off, but it took the taciturn knight a long time to get rid of these overly enthusiastic dwarf girls. If this were Holy Light City, Lusien could simply put on a stern face and no one would dare to be disrespectful to him, but this was the dwarf Gray Mountain City!
"Ms. Angela wants us to meet her at Mining Platform No. 8." Lusien, sweating profusely, managed to pull his hand out from under Luolan's arm and glanced at the communicator on his wrist.
I sensed a sense of relief in Reynold. He let out a long sigh and uttered his first complete sentence in a long time, "Then let's hurry up and get going, don't let anything delay us."
Lusien pulled a dwarf traffic cop by the roadside and asked, "Excuse me, how do I get to Mining Platform No. 8?"