## Chapter 1198 – Power

Anyway, if the Dwarf King is happy about this, nothing could be better. Things worked out well. Yes. There’s no way the King would like those warlord bastards.

It was a situation where even he was hesitant to clean them up himself, and I helped him out. From what I can see, the King cleaning up the warlords with his own power… with Godhammer, it seems easy enough.

Is it just for public opinion?

That seems likely.

With the border touching humans, it wouldn’t be good if word got out that the Dwarf King was leaving the humans alone and beating up his own kind!!! No matter what.

The average dwarves living near the border don’t like humans much, and neither do the dwarves with military power. Putting the past aside, humans are now mining competitors.

They have to share the pie, so they can’t get along and hate each other a lot.

In other words, they’re belligerent.

But now that the all-out war with humans is over, those belligerent guys are like bombs. There’s no point in causing trouble with humans.

From the King’s perspective, those troublemakers disappearing must feel like a Christmas present.

“Hehehe, if you, the Dwarf King, are so pleased, then I am too.”

Thinking about that, I understand the King’s feelings.

“You have done a very good deed, Human Paladin.”

But I didn’t clean up the warlords with the intention of doing the Dwarf King a favor. There’s no reason to look good to this Dwarf King, and I have no intention of getting involved in other races’ politics.

They just messed with me.

So I cleaned them up.

“I didn’t intend to, but if you, the Dwarf King, see it positively, then it’s likely to be a good thing for me too.”
“Hahaha. A human who speaks my language.”

The Dwarf King seems to be easy to talk to as well.
He seems to have a cool and straightforward personality.

“Well, anyway, I’m very satisfied. You cleaned up the warlords who were difficult to deal with.”

At those words, I smiled and nodded.

“If you’re not looking for any interests in this land, then I also have the will to protect you.”

I don’t really need protection anymore.

“Protection, huh.”
“Before that, we need to show a picture of reconciliation.”

The Dwarf King offered to create a picture of reconciliation, saying he would protect me. He wants to wrap up this lucky event in the best possible way.

“Reconciliation. Reconciliation is good.”

This is a really good dwarf.

I like people who try to end things in the best way possible, no matter what. Because I also like to end things well.

“Then I will do as you say, Dwarf King. All the guys who held a grudge against me are dead anyway. I can reconcile as much as you want.”

Of course, I should accept.

“Thank you very much! I want to give you a separate reward!”
“Hehehe, I will gratefully accept it.”
“Ah, by the way. I heard that an ancient Great Demon awakened and destroyed this city.”
“That is true.”
“…”

At my words, the Dwarf King made a serious expression for a moment.

“Hmm… well, as a king, I’m not ignorant of the situation. The demons living far away are stirring. I can say that I know that much. Was such a demon sealed here?”
“To tell you the truth, I came to the Dwarf Kingdom after receiving a divine message. The message was to catch and kill the ancient Great Demon sealed in this land before it awakened.”
“Heo.”

It’s a hard story to believe. But there’s more than one or two guys who witnessed Adramalech. Even Vacuumseuss watched it.

“Anyway, such… honestly, it’s hard to believe. But since there are many dwarves who saw it, I can’t say anything. Anyway, you caught it and restored the city. This is nothing but good.”
“The city wasn’t as badly destroyed as I thought, and most of the money came from Rommilla Jawood’s secret vault.”
“Hehe, really.”

Then let’s wrap up the story.

“Anyway, Dwarf King. I will accept your proposal.”
“Oh! Then clear your schedule for tomorrow! After creating a picture of reconciliation, I will give you as much reward as you want!”
“Hehehe, I understand.”

Anyway, I just need to meet the Dwarf King officially around tomorrow and make a gesture of reconciliation. If I do this, the unfortunate events in the Dwarf Kingdom will be resolved in the best possible way.

He even said he would give me a separate reward for this, so there’s nothing bad about it. It’s a good thing that the Dwarf King is someone who speaks my language.

Yeah.

In any country, if a guy who doesn’t listen becomes king, the end won’t be good. I finished talking in that way and came out of the room with the Dwarf King.

“…”

Right in front of the door.

There was a huge dwarf standing there.

He was about the same height as me, but he was a warrior with a wider build. His gray hair swept back was like looking at an old veteran, and his neatly trimmed beard was like Guan Yu’s.

I could instinctively tell.

That this really strong dwarf was Godhammer.

“…”

He looked at my face with an observing expression.

“Ah, our pride, Godhammer. You were waiting.”
“Tualle. Is this human the Human Paladin?”
“Yes. We just finished talking.”

So he’s Godhammer.

“Let me introduce you. This dwarf is our great Godhammer and my sworn brother, Ssookumtate. By the way, I’m the younger brother.”

Sworn brothers?

Even the King is the younger brother.

Looking at that, I thought.

This is a world where superhuman Swordmasters exist.

Honestly, if a Swordmaster in the Karga Kingdom threw a fit and demanded to be king, neither the mages nor the Royal Knights could stop him. And if there’s no one to stop him, the superhuman would achieve what he wants in the way he wants.

In other words, a strong person like that can always.

And again, as much as he wants.

He can replace the king and become king if he wants to. For such a being, the throne is just something he can take as he pleases.

But why doesn’t such a skilled person do that and stays by the King’s side?

Because he doesn’t think he needs to be king? Because it’s a hassle? Because he can do whatever he wants even if he’s not king? Those things might be true, but the important thing is that he’s very close to the royal family.

The Royal Knights can never stop a Swordmaster.

If such a person runs wild, assassinating, sabotaging, and whittling down the Knights’ power with guerrilla warfare, how can they stop him? The same goes for mages. No matter how much of a battle mage they are, they can’t fight a super serial killer who is a war and combat expert.

They can’t stop him.

Because they almost never get tired.

In a world where only superhumans can catch superhumans, if there’s the strongest superhuman, the superhumans below him have to gather and keep him in check, but honestly, the Royal Master Knights aren’t that transcendently strong.

It can’t be done.

The absolute superhuman who has no one to keep him in check can reign as he pleases.

The royal family knows that too. So they try to get along with such a superhuman Swordmaster as smoothly as possible. So that the Swordmaster doesn’t feel lacking. In the end, they have no choice but to rely on friendship because they lack power.

—The Dwarf Kingdom seemed similar.

This super-dwarf Godhammer is sworn brothers with such a weak king.

In other words, the elves are a bit unique. The meaning of things like kings and supreme leaders has faded a lot in that country.

“Nice to meet you, Human Paladin.”

While I was thinking about that, the Dwarf Godhammer greeted me and offered a handshake.

“Nice to meet you too, Dwarf Godhammer.”

—Squeeze.

When I grabbed his outstretched hand, he squeezed it powerfully. But it was just child’s play. Did he just give it a light squeeze? I really like this.

“Oh… I can feel a very powerful force. I didn’t know humans had such strong people. To be honest, the ones called the apex of the surrounding human kingdoms were below my level.”

I could feel the fighting spirit emanating from Godhammer.

“Hehehe, I guess that’s how it is in small human kingdoms.”

Is this guy burning with fighting spirit after seeing me?

This is good.

I feel the same way.

“I came from the Karga Kingdom far away. It’s a kingdom bigger than this dwarf land and the human kingdom in front of it combined.”
“I’ve heard the story. I guess strong people are produced well in large lands.”
“That’s exactly it.”

He’s a really strong Godhammer, but who would win if I fought him?

There’s no need to even look.

I would win.
I would win easily.

I’m lacking in technique and skill. That’s for sure. But I’m stronger in terms of output. Then I can win.

Anyway, I let go of his hand and stared at each other’s faces.

“Now, now. Godhammer, don’t be too hard on the guest. Then, Human Paladin. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I understand. Take care, Dwarf King.”

But there’s no reason to fight.

With that, I parted ways with the Dwarf King and his party and came outside.

“Is the story over?”

Vacuumseuss was standing there awkwardly.
But looking at this guy’s face, something suddenly came to mind.

“Hey, Vacuum.”
“Vacuum? My name is Vacuumseuss.”
“Anyway. There’s a dwarf I’m looking for.”
“A dwarf you’re looking for?”

I took out the Dwarf Scholar’s personal information from my pocket and handed it to him. This was Kadia’s request. Honestly, I haven’t done anything other than `fuck` in the Dwarf Kingdom, so I didn’t have a chance to find him.

But now, well.

I can easily find out.

“This is…”
“I’m looking for this dwarf.”
“You want me to find him?”
“Yeah.”
“…”
“Find him and bring him to me if you don’t want to get hit, you punk.”

It’s really convenient to have a guy I can order around like this.

“Th, the city is a bit far away…”
“Send someone to call him. Tell them properly that the Brass Celestial Paladin called.”
“Ah, I understand. I’ll do that.”

I don’t really expect it, but since Kadia is waiting, it’s good to find out some news.

* * *

The next day.

As promised, I greeted the Dwarf King in public, talked about this incident, and made a gesture of reconciliation. He praised me for killing the Great Demon and said he would grant me the status of a VIP in the Dwarf Kingdom.

Honestly, I don’t know if I’ll ever come here again, but it’s a good thing that the current Dwarf King will treat me as a VIP as long as he maintains power.

I also got some useful rewards, which weren’t enough to cover the cost of restoring the city, but it was still a decent amount of money when converted.

With this, everything in the Dwarf Kingdom was resolved smoothly.

The Dwarf King seemed to want to create a good relationship with the neighboring human kingdom as if they were looking at chickens and dogs, but that’s not something I can do.

Why would I act as a diplomat in the Dwarf Kingdom?

“Oh.”

Anyway, in that sense, I honed my strength while staying in the area and looked at the jewel I got from catching and killing Adramalech.

Then one day.

Vacuumseuss brought the Dwarf Scholar.

So I got to talk to him.

“May I ask why the schedule is so late?”

The Order commissioned this guy a long time ago, but he was still in the Dwarf Kingdom.

“Ah… th, the investigation was a bit delayed.”
“Delayed? Why?”
“It’s very difficult to find materials on ancient styles… so it’s a bit delayed.”

The Dwarf Scholar who said that had a very anxious face.

Why is he so nervous?
Is it because I’m known as the Dwarf Slaughterer?

“Well, that’s possible.”

Anyway, I don’t know exactly how scholars work, but it’s natural for the schedule to be delayed.

But since he’s here, I should listen to how far this dwarf has investigated. He must have some materials that he investigated and organized, so I should make a copy and take it with me.

“Anyway, I am the direct Paladin of Saintess Kadia of the Brass Celestial Order, who hired you, and I have been delegated the authority for this matter. So please show me those things, even if it’s just the results of your research.”

I have to do this much because Kadia asked me to.

“Re, research results?”

At my words, he widened his eyes.

“That’s right. I’m talking about the research results. Didn’t you bring them? Show me.”
“Th, that’s… I didn’t bring them…”

What?

Why didn’t he bring them?

“No. Then you didn’t bring them?”
“That’s… I didn’t know you would ask.”
“I clearly gave my name and title and sent someone.”

I told Vacuumseuss to tell him everything before he sent someone. If he heard that, shouldn’t he have brought them?

“You. You came here after receiving an advance payment from the Order. Are you saying that I have to explain even such basic things when you’re working after receiving money? I’m a busy person.”

No, he might not have brought them, but he’s not a moron. He’s a guy who was hired with the Order’s money, and after a few years, he was called by someone from the Order and came here, so why did he leave them behind?

“I’m sorry. As soon as possible…”
“Then let’s go get them right away.”
“Yes?”
“I will go get them. If we leave now, we can get there soon.”

I already know the direction of the city.

I immediately hugged the scholar’s torso, went outside, and deployed the Celestial Demon’s Descent.

—Kukung!

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!”

As his body soared into the sky, he screamed. Should I move by combining flight and sprinting?