## Chapter 1181 – Dwarf Kingdom Magna Glat

Since we were behind schedule, we decided to camp by a nearby lake. The water was clear, and we ate some food we’d bought in a human city.

And then.

“Quiet. I need to concentrate.”

I held up the World Tree crystal ball and poured my divine power into it.

ㅡPatzzzut.

A pure white flame enveloped the crystal ball. Then, it began to glow green, which meant the signal had reached the World Tree.

After confirming that, I extinguished the flame.

“So, it’ll come to you in your dreams now.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m so jealous…! Even I, a succubus, can’t enter Katt’s dreams! Why does that World Tree get to invade Katt’s dreams!”

Hilde had always wanted to enter my dreams. She used to be able to, but at some point, she couldn’t anymore. That’s how much stronger I’d become.

“Hehehe, you wanted to come into my dreams that badly?”
“I always thought Katt’s dreams were mine alone. Together during the day, together at night, and together in dreams too…”
“Yeah, yeah.”

I stroked Hilde’s ear as she sat next to me. Anyway, I needed to get to sleep quickly. The World Tree’s energy could dissipate.

“Hey, Blackie. You’re going to decide how to move after getting the oracle from the World Tree?”
“That’s the plan. It’s the only guide we have right now.”
“Then do that.”
“Let’s go to sleep.”

I immediately lay down and closed my eyes.

* * *

As expected.

The scenery in my dream had changed.

I opened my eyes in the middle of a beautiful forest.

“…”

Well, I’ve been here a few times, so I’m definitely getting used to it. The other side of the forest used to look a little hazy, like heat haze, but today it feels less like that. And above all, I could feel the World Tree’s energy more clearly.

ㅡSwoosh.

The World Tree appeared before my eyes.

Can’t you put some clothes on, damn it?

“World Tree. It’s good to see you. As you directed, I’ve come to the land of the dwarves, but how should I proceed from here?”

I bowed immediately and asked directly.

“…It’s felt.”
“Yes.”
“Perhaps. It is sealed.”

As usual, the fragment of God was sealed somewhere. The World Tree seemed to feel it strongly.

“Sealed, huh.”

Anyway, if it’s certain that something like that is sealed somewhere in this land of the dwarves, where should I start looking? Maybe an old temple, a shrine the dwarves revere, or a dungeon.

Isn’t that too broad?

It’s going to be incredibly difficult to find it raw.

Our World Tree needs to narrow down the range somehow.

“Should I look for an old temple, a shrine, a religious building, or maybe a dungeon?”
“Do. So.”

No.

“Judgment. Is free. What is clear. Is that in this land of dwarves. There is a fragment.”
“Yes. I understand.”

Give me a little more clue.

“But how can I find it if I don’t know the exact location?”
“…”

The World Tree stared at my face. That gaze was… a little strange. To judge calmly, a god is looking at me right now. Can it see through me? Or can it sense something essential?

I don’t know anything, but without lying, it looks exactly like Shahran, but this one feels more like a queen.

There’s more weight to it.

“To the northwest. Head. The power is felt there.”

Northwest.

If I keep going in that direction, I’ll enter the deepest part of the dwarf kingdom.

“I will infuse my power. More strongly into the crystal. If it is nearby. You will be able to feel it.”
“Hmm…”

The clues are too lacking. Is there no choice but to headbutt the ground? If that’s the only way, there’s nothing I can do. I’ll just have to move northwest as instructed and look for something similar.

Let’s look for religious buildings or dungeons along the way.

It said I’d be able to feel it if it was nearby, so the radius will probably be a little wide. I’ll just have to look around with that feeling.

It’s probably going to be a little difficult.

“Yes. I understand. Then I’ll go that way and start searching.”
“…”

The moment I said goodbye.

“Kieeeeeeeeeek!”

I felt my consciousness being sucked somewhere.

* * *

As soon as I opened my eyes, I organized my thoughts.

For dwarves, blacksmiths are practically priests, and warriors are practically paladins. The dwarves’ religion is very closely related to their lives.

Why was that culture created?
Are they close to God?

Maybe they keep a fragment of God in a large temple somewhere and worship it, or maybe they consider it a sacred object and enshrine it. If that’s the case, there’s a high probability that it’s in a large temple in the northwest.

If not, I’ll just have to find it somehow.

Whatever it is, I have to go northwest now.

“Northwest. It says to go there.”

I started the conversation while eating breakfast by the lake.

“Northwest, you say?”
“It says I’ll be able to feel something if I go there.”

That’s how I set the direction.

“Hey. But you all know.”

Karin said while cutting a fruit.

“There are areas in the dwarf kingdom that we humans can’t enter. What are you going to do about that? It doesn’t seem like anything good will come of just going in.”
“Yeah, Blackie. If you try to enter a restricted area, all you’ll get is a fight.”

That’s right.

“Do we have to kill a lot of dwarves again? This lady is not very interested.”
“No. What do you mean, kill a lot? We don’t do things like that.”
“This lady has a feeling…”
“Don’t worry. There won’t be any bloodshed unless there’s a good reason.”

We’re not a group of crazy hitmen who cause bloodshed for trivial reasons. The most important factor in creating bloodshed is the other party’s wickedness. Or if they’re hostile to me, or if they’re being cocky. There are reasons like that too.

“Restricted areas… Let’s think about that when the time comes.”

There’s not enough time to think, and what’s not possible is not possible. I can’t establish my authority, so I have no choice but to find a way.

I need to minimize physical friction as much as possible.

“The most peaceful way would be to solve a request from a dwarf noble or something and become a guest. Will there be such an opportunity?”

Liztina said that.

“I should think about that too.”

But it seemed that the dwarves lived in groups of families, almost like villages. I haven’t seen a big city ruled by nobles yet.

And the term “dwarf warlord” has appeared several times, which, according to what I learned in the human city before coming here, was a group with a slightly different feeling from feudal nobles.

They are skilled and businessmen who lead their own private armies, and rather than ruling territories, they have a strong business-like nature, trying to resolve various disputes with force and generate profits.

This business was mainly related to mines.

There was even news that a certain dwarf warlord was causing friction with a human noble over a mine somewhere in the north. They should be interpreted as a violent group trying to seize mining rights through combat.

“There are these things called dwarf warlords, right? For now, it seems like these guys are the closest thing to nobles, the most powerful group?”
“Ah, dwarf warlords.”

Moving through these guys might be a good way.

“But these guys are so proud that it doesn’t seem like communication will go well… Let’s try to have a polite conversation when we meet them.”
“Well, I hope nothing bad happens.”
“Just be careful. Just be careful.”

Anyway, after finishing the strategy meeting, we started moving again. The destination was a nearby dwarf village. Let’s casually ask if there are any temples or shrines in the northwest.

Since I’m a paladin, if I say I’m doing it for religious research, there’s almost no chance of raising suspicion.

As I was driving the carriage like that, a dwarf village started to come into view around noon. I went straight there, and when I arrived at the entrance, a few hairy dwarves came and stopped us.

“Halt. Who are you?”
“Ah, we are people like this.”

I immediately showed my ID and introduced myself as a paladin.

“Paladin? Ah. This is a priest. What brings you to our village?”
“I’m traveling through the dwarf kingdom for work. Does this village not welcome humans?”
“Of course not. Human merchants come and go quite a bit. We don’t refuse entry.”

It was a place with a lot of interaction with humans.

“Come in.”
“Thank you.”

We entered the village like that.

There wasn’t a particularly unwelcoming atmosphere, and we headed to the inn we were guided to. When we got to the inn, another group of human merchants had rented the entire second floor.

We said we’d take a room on the third floor.

But damn, it was a rip-off. I don’t know why they were asking for so much money. After paying a reasonable price, I headed to the village chief’s house to gather information.

The village chief was the dwarf who had greeted us at the entrance of the village earlier. He was a very rugged-looking hairy man, a dwarf who looked like a typical dwarf.

“I am the village chief, Jijamoreul.”
“Ji, Jijamoreul village chief. I am Kim Katt, a paladin.”

We exchanged simple greetings and I heard about the village.

This village is a medium-sized village, and many human merchants come and go. Or, human miners often pass through on their way home, so they have a lot of interaction.

“There are many human workers in the mines inside, so in fact, there are not many problems in this area just because the races are different.”
“Oh… I see.”

Village chief Jijamoreul seemed to have a good personality.

“Anyway. What did you say you came here for?”
“Ah, it’s nothing special. I am a paladin who serves the god Verde.”
“Verde… Verde? I don’t know.”
“It’s a religion called the Brass Celestial Angel Society. It’s a religion in the kingdom at the far east end. It doesn’t seem to be very well known here.”
“Hmm…”

The village chief narrowed his eyes at my words and stroked his chin.

“A religion from a very distant… kingdom. And a priest.”
“That’s right. Anyway, I’ve been ordered by the church to investigate the gods and religions of the dwarf kingdom.”
“Our gods?”

I nodded.
The main purpose is this.

“So, is there a temple or shrine nearby?”
“Temple? Shrine?”

The village chief tilted his head.

Doesn’t he know?

“I’d appreciate it if you could tell me if you know anything.”
“Knowing. What I know…”

The village chief muttered that and smiled.

Then, he made eye contact with the two dwarf men behind him.

ㅡCreak.

With a smiling face, he took out a piece of paper from the drawer and said.

“Well. I’ll tell you what I know.”
“Oh! Thank you!”
“Only if you fulfill our request.”
“Request?”

A request.

“I understand.”

Of course, I can do a request if they ask me to tell them something. I readily nodded. But the village chief handed me the paper.

“What is this?”
“It’s a contract.”

Looking at it, it’s a contract.

“We dwarves value accurately recorded promises and contracts. The word that we are scammers is widespread, but… we only do what is written in the contract. It’s an unfair accusation.”
“Ah. Now that you mention it, I’ve heard that you value contracts.”

I heard it before I came.

A personality that values contracts is a good thing.

“So, in exchange for fulfilling your request, you fulfill our request. We’re going to make a deal like this, so let’s write a contract.”
“I understand. Let’s do that. There’s nothing better than leaving it in a contract.”

When I answered, the village chief started writing the contract.

“There’s a mine that the village manages to the north of us… But a few days ago, a monster sneaked into the mine and caused some damage. I think we could get rid of it if we tried, but I don’t want to increase the damage if possible. So, I was going to ask the mercenary group belonging to the Rumillerjaud warlord. It’ll be cheaper than asking them. So, I’m trying to make this deal.”

The village chief said that and completed the contract.

I roughly understood the situation.

But Rumillerjaud? I’ve heard of it.
They were muttering about it in that dwarf village last time.

I’m sure there was a guy from that group in the bandit group… Well, it’s common for a mercenary to switch to being a robber.

“If you get rid of the monster that has occupied the mine and bring back the evidence, I’ll tell you what I know about that old temple.”
“Well, that’s not a bad contract.”

I can do that much.

“Sign it.”
“I understand.”

I read the contract one last time.

If we get rid of the monster that occupied the mine, the village chief will tell us about the `old temple` he knows.

ㅡSwish swish.

I immediately signed it, and the village chief smiled and shook my hand.

“Then the contract is established.”
“Tell me the location of the mine.”

I grabbed his hand and shook it.