Chapter 55 (continued)
... Thinking back to those few I saw on the road, it was really...
They were having a lively discussion, but I was completely clueless about politics. I couldn't help but lean on Mel's shoulder and doze off. He put his arm around my waist, so I could rest comfortably against him. Whew... I really admire Mel... He doesn't fall asleep when they're talking about politics; it's driving me crazy...
... By the way, Mel went on an expedition with the Kunlan Rangers years ago, no wonder he adapted so well to unfamiliar environments...
So sleepy...
... After a fight, it would be perfect to lean against Mel and take a nap...
... Mel, don't pinch my waist...
I shifted slightly, not entirely satisfied, and remained clinging to Mel's neck... I'm so sleepy. Controlling so many evil spirits, plus a teacher who keeps howling randomly, is exhausting... sigh
... Hmm... Don't pinch there either...
Hmm... that place feels so good to touch...
... Put your hand back... It feels good to massage there, don't take it away...
I half-opened my eyes, somewhat dissatisfied, Mel and the others hadn't finished their discussion.
I was half-asleep when suddenly Ms. Angela said, "Let's turn the Speaker back; he seems to have something to say."
"Huh?"
We all looked down at the small, dark alpaca in our hands. The mine was dimly lit; even I could barely see anything. Since we weren't fighting anymore, no one was wasting Magic Power to light it up, so Reynold, being such a small, dark lump, was easy to lose as it rolled around at our feet. Right now, he was desperately nudging Ms. Angela's leg with his head. I rubbed my eyes, fully awake, and heard him making "ooh ooh ooh" sounds. But Mel frowned and said, "Ms. Angela, don't druids all know animal language? Could you please translate?"
"No," Ms. Angela waved her hand. "He's a fake alpaca; his bleating is meaningless."
Hmm... I need to write this down. When Arcane Magic Transformation turns a human other than the mage into an animal, the sounds they make are indeed animal cries, but they are meaningless animal cries. Druid Beast Speakers cannot understand what they are trying to say!
--It seems that there is still much to be studied in the field of metamorphism, and many details need to be supplemented.
Reynold suddenly reverted to his human form—his hair was a mess, his clothes were wrinkled, and he was frantically straightening them, but he didn't seem angry at all.
It's a bit strange, Reynold's temper is so good now?
He looks more pleasing to me like this than when his hair is perfectly styled. His usual hairstyle makes him look too politician, giving the first impression that he is an official. But now he looks much more lively and vibrant, with a rosy complexion, making him appear more amiable and approachable.
Reynold, somewhat awkwardly, walked to the mechanical door blocking the tunnel and pointed to the pattern on the lock, saying, "Look, this isn't the symbol of the Gray Mountain Kingdom the dwarves. These two doors fell down when the Electronic Demon attacked us, so this must have been set up by the attackers. This pattern happens to belong to another dwarven faction— the Red Lion Federation."
Upon closer inspection, I had to admire Reynold's professional politician skills, because the pattern, to me... looked like scratches and rust on a lock. Yet Reynold told us it was the symbol of the Red Lion Federation. If being a politician requires memorizing all the strange countries and organizations around the world, along with their bizarrely aesthetic symbols, then I have no reason to criticize Reynold's magical abilities. I think memorizing those things is already quite mentally taxing; it's forgivable if he's not good at magic!
The Red Lion Dwarves' country is a bit far from us. They live in the Sonalan Valley area, located in the northwest of the continent. It has four distinct seasons and a relatively dry climate. Further north, it borders the Karena Republic, the kingdom of the Highlanders. And even further north, in the snow-capped mountains, lies the stronghold of the dark forces— the Shadow Moon Temple. In other words, the geographical environment and cultural landscape there are very different from the southeastern plains where the Osland Federation is located.
Therefore, these two types of dwarfs seem almost like the same species.
The crucial problem is that the Red Lion Dwarves resist magic!
Perhaps because of their proximity to the Shadow Moon Temple, and because the Highland wizards also possess some visually unappealing spells, the Red Lion Dwarves have always disliked magic. Therefore, the Red Lion Dwarves and the magic-loving Gray Mountain Dwarves are mutually hostile.
Hmm... it seems every race has a mess to clean up.
Ha... I covered my mouth, feeling sleepy again. This topic is so boring; killing Electronic Demon would be much more satisfying.
"So, does the Speaker mean that this attack might be an internal conflict within the dwarven tribe?"
Lusien asked Reynold a question, but Reynold frowned, pondered for a moment, and replied, "It's hard to say. Both the Red Lion Dwarves and the Gray Mountain Dwarves have joined the Grand National Defense Joint Council, and the Great Defense Council meeting is about to convene... If we were to openly attack them like this, we would be condemned by all international powers, and the consequences would be difficult to control. Therefore, I think that such an obvious emblem might be a smokescreen, or at most they might be providing some technical support."
That makes sense, we all nodded. It seems that Reynold has other uses besides being good at handling.
"Therefore, I believe it's organizations like the Dawn Alliance that are behind this." He said, picking up a piece of metal from the ground; it was still hissing. Reynold carefully showed it to us. "This circuit design is the same as the cyborgs that were attacking the Federation recently."
"But Artificial Demon are creations of mages," I said. "Wouldn't mages join anti-magic organizations?"
"Of course," Angela replied. "Common interests can break down factional boundaries, a stark difference between modern society and the legendary era—economic interests are sometimes more appealing than faith, Archmage. Welcome to the new century."
That concludes our deduction.
We continued deeper into the mine, passing the canteen, lodgings, and the dwarves' bathhouse. Sadly, this time we discovered several unfortunate victims, likely killed by demons. The dwarves' steam-powered rooms showed obvious signs of damage, suggesting it was also the work of demons.
We also discovered an Electronic Demon at a destroyed power node. It was quickly dismantled by Ms. Angela and Lusien.
"The signal here is terrible." Angela sat on the demon's corpse, shaking the military communicator in her hand, raising it high and waving it in front of her, repeatedly turning the phone on and off in frustration, looking like someone suffering from a phone addiction episode.
"The major defense conference is about to be held, and all countries will be participating. It will attract even more attention than the Magic Summit," Reynold suddenly said. "I've thought about it and I don't see any treasures worth robbing in this mine, and the traces of Electronic Demon along the way are too obvious."
Yes, Reynold is right about that. There were many scratches, secretions, and Magic Power fluctuations left by Electronic Demon along the way, and in some places there were remnants of Black Magic. Yet, they appeared quickly and silently when they attacked us. These two completely different methods are very suspicious.
"So, one theory is that the anti-magic forces want to create a magical disaster during the regular meeting—for example, an out-of-control magical artifact attacking an innocent dwarf mine—to further publicize the dangers of magic," Reynold said.
Wow... Although this sounds a lot like paranoia, upon closer analysis, it actually makes a lot of sense.
"But why attack the dwarven mines?"
"Because of magic crystals," Lusien suddenly said. "The dwarven mines produce Magitech Corps crystals, which are the energy source for the Federation's main weapons. Once this mine shuts down, the Federation's energy reserves will decrease."
Huh? This is so complicated, it's come full circle back to the Federation?
I couldn't resist lying down next to Mel again...
"So we need to contact the Federation," Lusien said, shaking his phone along with Angela —I didn't understand their action. Sometimes when the internet speed was bad, Moli would shake her phone like that too, and I wondered—could shaking the phone speed up the internet?