Surviving as a Knight in a Trash Game

Chapter 173

"That fist just now…."

"I couldn't see it."

Among those gathered here, there were several knights whose names alone would be recognizable.

Nevertheless, none of them had managed to properly capture the previous situation with their eyes.

"Black hair… black eyes…."

Karl Reitz Arthur Meyer.

The Grandmaster who shook the continent.

The knights who had doubted the truth behind the rumors thought at that moment that a real Grandmaster might have been born.

Thus, Karl's unintentional single punch created an order that hadn't existed, and the subsequent entry was smooth.

With Karl, the legendary Grandmaster and a powerhouse who wielded as much influence in the northern regions as Ellenhower, entering with only a single attendant, there wasn't much they could do.

"Ahem… ahem… Well then…."

Thanks to this, it was a natural outcome that the favorability of the dwarves guarding the entrance towards Karl rose endlessly.

***

Upon entering the open space in the cliff, a huge artificial cave was revealed.

The width of the cave was as vast and wide as the main road of any capital city.

Looking up at the ceiling, sunlight was surprisingly streaming in.

It seemed that, by some method, they had pierced through the cliff to allow light to enter the cave's interior.

The dwarven city of Dertrungen had created even more mysterious and magnificent structures compared to the grand cities of my past life.

"Amazing."

"Isn't it truly amazing!?"

"Master!"

"This, you see."

"This is the kingdom designed by Pyotr the Great, the great craftsman and king."

"Even the dwarves themselves haven't fully grasped how large it is!"

Volker, excited by Karl's admiration, began to prattle on about everything he knew.

"I think that's enough, so please be quiet."

Even Sancho, who was originally talkative, had clammed up quite often after meeting the even more talkative Volker, as if he had grown tired of it.

In the underground space, beautiful pillars and ornaments lined the sides of a well-paved stone floor.

After passing through such a long passage, a vast city was formed in the underground space, much like a domain on the surface.

Houses for living, markets, everything one might find in a large surface city had been created underground.

What was most astonishing amidst all this was that even farmland for cultivating crops and trees had been created underground.

Moreover, the sky of the central plaza was.

"Open… it was…."

"That's right, it's a place created by further carving out an open space made in the middle of the cliff."

A kind of harmony between the underground and the surface, perhaps.

Moreover, its size was larger than most large domains.

For the first time since coming to this world, Karl was purely amazed by the grandeur of a city.

"This is the lodging where Lord Karl and his party will be staying."

The building pointed out by the one who had first guided them was a mansion several times larger than the surrounding ordinary houses.

The location of the mansion was also situated closest to what appeared to be the main castle.

"I only have two people, including my attendant, isn't it too big?"

"His Majesty Ultore decided it."

"My Lord, you are our most important guest."

"...Please convey my thanks."

Thus, on the evening of the first day he entered the dwarven kingdom, Karl received a separate invitation from Ultore.

***

"His Highness the Prince has returned."

"Volker is here?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Didn't it seem like he would never return?"

"He came with two humans."

"Humans?"

"Yes, the very Lord Karl Reitz Arthur Meyer whom Your Majesty wished to see so much this time."

Ultore Vertrungen, the king of all dwarves and ruler of Dertrungen, recalled Karl's name.

"Grandmaster, huh…."

It was almost a forgotten word.

For hundreds of years, that name had rarely appeared.

Perhaps there had been someone who reached such a state, but no one had overtly revealed themselves to the world.

"So why did the Grandmaster come with Volker?"

"Well, that's…."

At the king's urging, the retainer explained Volker's recent actions.

When his story ended, Ultore's face turned red, and he slammed his hand hard on the dining table.

"This shame of a dwarf!"

At the story of him pawning a kingdom's treasure for gambling money, he was so enraged that he shattered the dwarven-made dining table with his fist.

"Bring him in at once!"

"...Your Majesty, please forgive His Highness the Prince."

"I have no face to see the late King!"

"How on earth can I forgive a brat who almost lost a kingdom's treasure in a gambling den?"

“…”

Ben Mandley, Ultore's most loyal retainer and the master of the Blue Anvil, the chief of all blacksmiths, looked at his king with a pitiful gaze.

As Volker's master, he knew the prince well since childhood, so his pity was doubled.

The prince was someone who had no intention of becoming a craftsman.

It was impossible to forcibly make a prince, who only wanted to live as a warrior, into a blacksmith.

However, according to dwarven tradition, no matter how much he wanted to live as a warrior, the path of a craftsman was an indispensable element.

Not long after that, Volker, having returned to the castle, entered the king's office.

"Have you been well, Father?"

"Your Majesty."

"You are always so formal, Father."

"Your Majesty."

"Do you like the words 'Your Majesty' so much?"

"Your Majesty?"

A voice with a very slight hint of rebellion and a stern voice that seemed unlikely to ever bend intertwined.

"I heard what you did after running away from home."

"They say you fell into gambling and almost lost a royal treasure to a human."

"...It was just a brief commotion."

"Nothing significant happened."

Volker held up the bracelet on his wrist and shook it.

"You, you still show no sign of remorse whatsoever!"

"Father, the old era has passed."

"Not all dwarves have to hold a hammer and stand before an anvil."

"Even now, some of us who are not kings live holding swords and axes instead of hammers."

"Why do you say that the king must always hold a hammer and stand before an anvil?"

"Because that is the foundation of the dwarves!"

"If the king does not hold a hammer and distances himself from the anvil, who will recognize the foundation of us dwarves!"

"That can be made so."

"Since you've been out in the world, you must have seen human blacksmiths."

"How did they seem to you?"

"That's…."

Volker had seen it with his own eyes too.

In the human world, craftsmen were often not treated according to their noble role.

Of course, some domains in the north were said to be different.

But that was usually the case.

"Yes, if the king holds a hammer and becomes a craftsman, would our dwarves dare to look down on craftsmen?"

"That is why we must do so, even if we dislike it."

"But...!"

"Even if the king doesn't personally wield a hammer, we can make sure the nobility of craftsmen is not forgotten."

"By what means?"

The king's eyes shot towards Volker.

Volker, receiving his father's gaze which he had feared since childhood, felt his body unknowingly shrink.

"That's… that's…."

"Hmph…!"

The king looked at his son as if he were pathetic.

"Words, words, words."

"Show it through actions, not words."

"If you truly hold such thoughts, you must also present a method!"

The king's words were not wrong.

Volker powerlessly turned his body and trudged away.

“…”

***

-Words, words, words. Show it through actions, not words. If you truly hold such thoughts, you must also present a method!

Karl, having received an invitation from the main castle and arrived at the great hall, heard Ultore's shouting from outside.

Not long after his shouts were heard, Volker walked out of the great hall with slumped shoulders.

He flinched when he encountered Karl outside the great hall, but his previous vibrant demeanor had vanished.

He passed Karl with his head bowed, without saying a single word.

Karl didn't particularly call him over to talk and simply walked into the great hall.

"I've shown an unsightly side."

"I don't mind."

"I've heard the circumstances."

"Thank you for saving the prince and recovering the kingdom's treasure."

I didn't know how many dwarves there were, but he, the leader of a race and the king of a nation, bowed his head.

‘A great man.’

I didn't know what kind of person he was before coming here, but his single action just now gave me a certain understanding of him.

"I didn't care about others, but I really hoped you, at least, would accept my invitation."

"The Star of Humanity."

"Master of Masters."

"It's been too long since I've seen a human walking the path of a hero."

"I am not such a person."

Dwarves were a race that lived for 500 years at the shortest and up to 700 years at the longest.

Even Karl couldn't guess how long the dwarven king in front of him had lived.

"By the time I became king, we had already built our kingdom underground and lived far removed from humans."

"Our ancestors insisted that we should stay as far away from humans as possible."

The king spoke, and Karl simply listened to his story in silence.

"However, I thought that story didn't suit our situation."

"This place is safe, but eventually, this place and our existence will become known."

"And I thought a time would come when we would have to clash with humans again."

"If so, wouldn't it be better to proactively go out into the world and get to know humans?"

Neither opinion could be called wrong.

Humans were numerous and a greedy race.

Of course, not everyone could be said to be like that.

"So I decided to go out into the world."

"As it happens, the continent is in a chaotic period, and perhaps because of that, haven't all the other races revealed themselves?"

"I hear that Sir Karl has accepted elves."

"When I heard that those sinister pointy-ears had submitted to you, sir, I was convinced that you were no ordinary human."

It wasn't exactly submission, but Karl merely deferred his answer with an expressionless face.

"What do you think, sir?"

"Would it be alright for us to go out into the world?"

"I don't know well."

"I just arrived here today."

The king liked his honest answer.

"Honest."

Swish.

At that moment, something flew from the king's hand towards Karl.

The item Karl naturally caught was a bracelet with truly exquisite craftsmanship.

"It is a sacred relic proving my permission."

"During your stay here, I will understand no matter where you enter."

"Even my own chambers."

"I would like you to see us through your eyes, sir."

"It may not be necessary for you, sir, who has already transcended human limits, but still, we will repay you with the value we can offer as craftsmen."

It was just about seeing and talking.

There was nothing for Karl to lose.

[Mission: Friend of the Dwarves (Favorability: 0%)]

The elves appeared as targets to be subjugated, but the dwarves seemed to be targets to befriend.

With the king's request concluded, Karl was about to turn his body to leave the office.

"We dwarves never invite a friend and send them away empty-handed."

The moment the king finished speaking, servants rushed in, a huge dining table and setting were prepared in the great hall, and all sorts of food filled the entire table.

Among them, the most overwhelming was a giant beer keg.

Even at a glance, it looked like it could hold 100-150 liters.

And the king seemed to be thinking of emptying that entire keg here and now.

Beer poured from the valve attached to the oak barrel and instantly filled a mug the size of a human head.

"Now!"

"I guarantee you, it's a taste you've never experienced anywhere else."

At his words, Karl accepted the mug.

‘...It's cold!’

Karl felt his heart tremble as he looked at the beer mug, so cold it made his hand numb.

And he slowly poured the accepted mug down his throat.

Gulp.

‘...!’

A refreshing carbonation that cooled his insides.

It was a taste he thought he would never experience again.

It was the taste of that beer he had tried to make somehow in his domain but had failed every time.

Karl absentmindedly gulped down the beer offered by the dwarven king.

I must become friends with these guys, no matter what.

It was the moment Karl made his decision.

"How is it?"

"...The best."

"The best, you say!?"

"Uwahahahaha!"

The dwarven king, pleased that their beer was praised, began to exchange beers with Karl in a frenzy.

That day, the two of them truly emptied an entire beer keg.