Chapter 118 - The Secret of the Dwarven Kingdom
When I returned to the surface and stood before the Dwarven King once more, the hall was swallowed by a wave of shock and panic. It was as if a dead man had just crawled out of his grave.
"I’ve returned after completing the trial," I announced.
"You...?! How are you alive...?!"
The King looked as though he’d seen a ghost. Not surprising, considering they had sent me into that trial with every intention of having me killed. Beside me, Septekifa stood tall, her expression clear, as if a great weight had finally been lifted from her soul.
"Septekifa! What is the meaning of this?!" the King barked. "Did you not fulfill your mission?!"
"He successfully completed the trial. He was recognized by the Guardian who dwells in the depths of the Great Mine."
"The Guardian?! Such a thing actually exists...?"
The contrast was stark: the elderly King was trembling in confusion, while the young dwarf woman stood her ground with newfound iron resolve.
"The Guardian's true identity is Blast-Hole, the Earth Spirit—one of the six great spirits of this world," she explained.
"Wh-what?! The very thing that country has been searching for so desperately...?!"
"If word of this reaches them, they will descend upon us in a massive horde. Treaties won't matter. They will burn our nation to the ground and slaughter us all just to secure it."
They were exchanging information that I wasn't entirely privy to. I wished they’d argue in a way that an outsider could understand—after all, I was the one who fought to get back here.
"You've always known they aren't the type to keep their promises, haven't you?" Septekifa countered. "If they feel like it, they’ll ignore every rule of logic and honor to crush us like insects. They only let us live now because we still have utility. That’s all."
"But... even so...!"
"If we want to survive, we must act before they change their minds. We must destroy them. There is no other way."
"If we could do such a thing... we would have done it long ago!!"
"Exactly. We couldn't do it alone. We had all given up. We were in total despair. But now, we have hope. We have Sao."
Septekifa pointed directly at me. It seemed our lust had turned to love, and that love had turned into absolute trust.
"You realized he was working to bring about Niosebuk's downfall, didn't you? That’s why you tried to have him killed in secret—so there wouldn't be a single shred of a chance that we'd offend them."
That was the extent of their fear. The reason they maintained a monopoly and gave their best weapons only to Niosebuk was confirmed: pure, unadulterated terror. They obeyed because they didn't want to be wiped out. It’s the same motive that keeps most people serving under evil men.
"Um... excuse me?"
I spoke up, knowing I was taking a risk. If I wanted them to be honest, I had to show my hand as well.
"I came here as an envoy of the Merchant Coalition, but that was a lie."
"What did you say?"
"I am actually a citizen of the Reniosegra Kingdom."
"WHAT?!"
The reaction from the King and Septekifa was even more explosive than I expected.
"Reniosegra?! The Great Eastern Kingdom! The utopia ruled by the Queen who burns like a fierce flame?!"
"One of the few powers capable of standing against Niosebuk?! You're saying that kingdom—not just the merchants—is moving to exterminate those beasts?!"
"Exactly," I said. "So, why not join us? Let's all get together and give Niosebuk the thrashing it deserves."
"Grandfather... a chance like this will never come again...!"
"I have spent my life in despair!" the King cried out. "Our dwarven pride has been trampled. I thought we would spend our remaining days as slaves to those beasts! Are you telling me... we can actually escape this? Truly...?"
The gravity of their situation was far deeper than I had imagined.
"Sao, I’ll tell you the truth, though I’m sure you’ve guessed most of it," Septekifa said, her voice dripping with bitterness. "We dwarves are being forced into submission through threats. By those Niosebuk bastards!"
"They invaded suddenly, long ago," she continued. "They seized the castle in an instant and forced us to swear loyalty. This happened before I was even born!"
"The weapon monopoly, the pathetic pay that’s basically zero... it was all decided then!" the King added, a single tear rolling down his face as the old humiliation resurfaced. "We are effectively a vassal state. Any other nation would have been annexed and its royalty slaughtered, but thanks to our smithing skills, they let us live... as tools!"
"They demanded a hostage as proof of our submission," the King choked out. "My only daughter was taken without a second thought. I haven't seen her once to this day. She remains a prisoner to ensure we never rebel...!"
"And it didn't stop there," Septekifa hissed. "Those Niosebuk stains, who are lower than the beasts they're named for, played with the hostage in the most disgusting way possible. The Niosebuk King took the hostage—the Dwarven Princess—and knocked her up. Then, he sent the child back to this country like he was disposing of trash. Just the child...!"
...Wait. That means...?!
"Yes. That’s me. I am the daughter born from the Dwarven Princess who was used as a plaything by the Niosebuk King."
Hold on. That makes Septekifa the granddaughter of the Dwarven King?! She’s an incredibly important person! I slept with her?! Man, I always do this! I get so caught up in a woman's immediate charm that I don't even look at her social status until later!
"I couldn't even give my daughter away to a proper marriage," the King lamented. "She was made into a one-night stand, knocked up, and then her mixed-blood child was forced back on me to raise. The anger... the humiliation... it is more than a father can bear!"
I could only imagine. For a father, that’s enough to make a man die of pure rage. So his sickly, withered appearance was a result of that trauma. And yet, the one speaking for the King’s heart was none other than his granddaughter, Septekifa.
"Is that why you were treated so strangely by the other dwarves?" I asked. I’d noticed they respected her, yet treated her like a sensitive wound. It also explained her rough, violent personality—she was a woman who had grown up hating the world.
"I know I’m not truly accepted here," Septekifa said with a self-deprecating smirk. "I’m not a pure dwarf. Half my blood is human... the blood of the Niosebuk invaders who stole our pride!"
"But that’s not the only reason I’m hated. The truth is, I’m a pawn sent from Niosebuk. I'm a watchdog, sent to keep an eye on the dwarves and make sure they don't rebel."
"Why you?"
Based on her hatred for Niosebuk, I couldn't imagine her working for them.
"My will doesn't matter," she said quietly. "Whether I like it or not, I am a daughter of the Niosebuk King. Until my royal rights were stripped, I was the 11th Princess. There is an inescapable blood-curse on that royal family."
"A blood-curse?"
"When siblings of the same blood fight, the loser becomes incapable of disobeying the winner. Until they die. I grew up in Niosebuk, and when I was ten, I was forced to fight my brother, the Third Prince. I lost miserably. And so, the curse of submission was placed on me."
The secret of the beast-nation: a curse of absolute obedience. I’d always wondered how a country that worshipped brute force and had bloody succession wars could survive for so long. This was the reason. The curse ensured that losers obeyed winners, suppressing unnecessary chaos and making the transfer of power smooth.
"That's why I'm both a nuisance and a spy," she explained. "If the dwarves showed even a hint of rebellion, I would be unable to stop myself from reporting it. The curse wouldn't allow me to stay silent."
A daughter as a hostage, and a granddaughter as a spy. This double-shackle was how Niosebuk kept the dwarves under their thumb. How truly depraved... these people really shouldn't be allowed to roam free.
"About that... Septekifa...?!" the old King interrupted, sounding hesitant. "I know all about the curse placed upon you. I know it’s why you’ve never been able to truly fit in here... but what’s happening now?"
"What do you mean?"
"You haven't stopped hurling insults at Niosebuk for several minutes! Because of the curse, weren't you supposed to be incapable of even speaking ill of that country...?"
"About that, Grandfather... I have been released from the wretched curse of the Niosebuk royalty."
"WHAT?!" the King squawked, sounding like a startled chicken.
"When Sao was recognized by the Earth Spirit, I also received the mark of a 'Favorite of the Spirits.' I have the 'Earth-Stigma' on my chest," she explained. "It seems that spirit energy blew away the curse. I am free. Now, I can hide any inconvenient facts from Niosebuk, and when the time comes, I can take up arms to destroy that shithole of a country myself."
"Unbelievable...! Truly...?!"
The King stood up from his throne and approached Septekifa. One step, two steps... his gait was shaky.
"I apologize for the trouble I’ve caused you, King," she said. "It must have been stifling to have a spy like me by your side. But from now on, things are different. I am free from their shackles, and it will take them time to realize it. In that window, I will work with Sao. We will do whatever it takes to get the Princess back...!"
"O-Oh...!"
"When that time comes, I will throw my life away for this country. I know I’m an outsider with the blood of your enemy—proof of how your daughter was used—but I’ll never forget that you raised me regardless. I will give my life to pay back that debt and destroy those beasts."
"What are you saying?!" the King cried out, his voice a sharp shriek. Septekifa flinched.
"Even if you have the blood of an enemy, you are still my granddaughter! You are the child my beloved Spikefa gave birth to! Do you have any idea how much watching you grow supported me during these years of despair?!"
"Grandfather...!"
If it’s a living thing, there is always familial love. Niosebuk, who lacks that entirely and tramples on the love of others, truly has no place in this world. I was already working on their destruction, but... I began to wonder if that was enough.
"I am overjoyed that Septekifa is free," the King said, his voice dropping. "But even so, we cannot openly defy Niosebuk...!"
"Why, Grandfather?!"
"Because they still have my daughter, Spikefa, as a hostage. From what I’ve heard, the late King grew bored of her quickly and tossed her into a corner of the castle... but she is only kept alive because she is still useful as a hostage."
If the dwarves rebel, she’ll be killed immediately as an example.
Niosebuk used two chains to rule the dwarves: the Princess as a hostage, and the granddaughter as a spy. Thanks to my unexpected success, Septekifa was free, and one chain was broken. Spirit blessings are truly something else.
But one chain remained. For the King, having his daughter held hostage must be a soul-crushing agony. Anyone who says a King should be able to sacrifice his own family for the country has no heart and isn't worth listening to.
In that case...
"The Dwarven Princess... Septekifa’s mother. I’ll be the one to rescue her."
"Sao?!"
"And while I’m at it, I’ll kill the entire Niosebuk royal family."
Until now, my plan to destroy Niosebuk was passive—indirectly weakening them by fueling their civil war. But I’ve finally realized that was far too soft. While I sit here, those beasts—no, those pieces of shit who are worse than beasts—are actively ruining people's lives. They raid, they kidnap, they take hostages, and they shatter the happiness people worked so hard to build.
People like that shouldn't be allowed to live for a single second.
"If I'm going to rescue the hostage, I have to go to the capital of Niosebuk anyway, right? Then I might as well slaughter every remaining prince and princess while I'm there. And every soldier who follows them. True peace only comes when all the beasts are exterminated."
Author's Note:
That concludes the Dwarven Kingdom arc! Next time, we begin the 'End-of-the-World Love, Violence, and Sex Arc' in the heart of the Niosebuk Kingdom. I'll be planning the details, so please look forward to it!
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