Free Web NovelIan immediately teleported the others who tried to follow him into the dungeon before sprinting toward Nameita Village.
What greeted him there was a scene so absurd that his mind blanked for a second.
“You filthy bastards! You were trying to starve us to death!”
Moiken was violently shaking an elderly dwarf back and forth.
The old dwarf had a beard like Santa Claus, a body built like a barrel, and legs so absurdly short it looked as though someone had compressed him vertically with a giant press. Naturally, he was nowhere near an elf’s height, which meant Moiken had lifted him completely off the ground by the collar.
The dwarf dangled helplessly, choking between coughs.
“L-let... go...! We didn’t—! Cough! Cough!”
“Return Lord Nameita, you savages!”
“You traitors to your race! How dare you disgrace elven pride?!”
The surrounding dwarves shouted furiously, waving spears and stones.
Ian immediately searched for Genea.
Somehow, inside the circle of hostiles, there were only Moiken and the elderly dwarf.
Genea was—
“Lord Ian!”
—standing calmly outside the confrontation with her arms crossed beside Hiikan, the elf ranger vice commander.
“...?”
Meanwhile, Moiken roared like an enraged bear.
“You want to see the pride of the elves?! Fine! I’ll show you!”
“Ack—! Cough!”
“L-Lord Nameita!”
What the hell is happening?!
The elderly dwarf being shaken to death by Moiken was none other than the “scholar” Nameita himself.
Ian felt a headache coming on instantly.
“What the hell happened here?!”
Genea approached with an apologetic look.
“I attempted to stop him, but Hiikan judged the situation dangerous and fired the signal flare. There is no issue on our side.”
“There is a massive issue right in front of me!”
“...Pardon?”
“Stop your brother!”
Losing Nameita here was absolutely not an option.
Genea looked genuinely confused by Ian’s reaction. frёewebηovel.cѳm
Before she could answer, another commotion erupted nearby as a group of dwarves burst from the forest.
Their faces were smeared with soot, demonic ritual branches still tangled in their hair. They looked half-dead with exhaustion and terror.
Ian recognized them immediately.
The remnants from the slave village.
“We... we finally made it!”
“Lord Nameita! Save us!”
“We’re your kin, aren’t we?!”
Why are you people showing up now?!
They should’ve escaped ages ago.
Ian already knew they had been heading toward Nameita Village. He had noticed their direction long before this.
Had they been too panicked to realize where they were running?
Honestly, Ian had assumed Genea and Nameita would capture them almost immediately. They were exhausted, demoralized, and barely armed.
They shouldn’t have been a threat at all.
But somehow—
instead of reaching the “misunderstanding resolved, everyone reconciles peacefully” stage—
Genea and Nameita had apparently skipped directly to mutual hostage negotiations.
What had these people even been doing this entire time?
The moment the fleeing dwarves emerged from the forest, realization dawned on Moiken’s face.
“These bastards... they brought reinforcements!”
“It seems they deliberately lowered your guard before surrounding you with allies, Moiken.”
“You’re right, Genea! Cowardly tactics!”
“No, those people are—!”
Nameita tried desperately to explain.
Unfortunately, Moiken responded by shaking him even harder.
The old dwarf flailed like a rag doll.
Ian instantly understood why nobody had managed to communicate properly.
Meanwhile, Genea calmly nodded.
“It appears Hiikan’s judgment was correct. Moiken captured their leader, but now enemy reinforcements have arrived and surrounded him. Lord Ian, what should we do?”
Hiikan also looked toward Ian with complete seriousness.
For one brief moment, Ian thought maybe this elf would be reasonable.
Then he remembered they were elves.
What was the point of those absurdly long ears if none of them ever listened?
“What do you mean, what should we do?! Moiken, let him go!”
“...What?”
Moiken looked utterly bewildered.
Unfortunately, his confusion only made him tighten his grip further.
The unfortunate four-star dwarf finally stopped struggling altogether and went limp in his hand.
The surrounding dwarves screamed in horror.
“L-Lord Nameita!”
Ian was reaching his limit.
“Who are these elves?! Lord Nameita, we’ll save you!”
“You monsters! Come fight me!”
“Wait—no! Over there! Those demons—!”
The remnants from the slave village finally noticed Ian’s group.
Their expressions turned pale with terror.
Weapons that had been aimed at Moiken immediately shifted toward Ian instead.
At the same time, Nameita’s dwarves completely ignored the slave village remnants and focused entirely on rescuing their leader.
Now they were glaring at Ian’s party suspiciously too.
Enemies in every direction.
How did the situation even deteriorate this badly?
“You idiots are the ones summoning demons!”
Ian finally snapped.
Being accused of being demons by actual demon worshippers was genuinely infuriating.
“Moiken, are you letting him go or not? That dwarf has nothing to do with this! He’s not the enemy!”
“How do you know that?!” Moiken shouted back.
This moron.
Ian’s hand twitched toward his bow instinctively.
From Genea onward, everyone in his party seemed bizarrely talented at suspecting the wrong targets.
If they weren’t all consistently four-star units, Ian would’ve lost his temper ages ago.
“What are those ears even for?! The dwarf you captured has been screaming that he’s innocent this entire time! Listen to him!”
Moiken narrowed his eyes sharply.
Ian briefly considered shooting him.
Then suddenly—
“You make an excellent point!”
THUD!
“Aagh! Cough—!”
Moiken released Nameita without warning.
The dwarf slammed into the ground with horrifying force.
Dwarves were naturally sturdy and heavy, which made them excellent tank units.
Unfortunately, that also made impacts like this catastrophically painful.
“Lord Nameita!”
“Stay back, elves!”
The dwarves shouted furiously.
Using the chaos as cover, Ian discreetly signaled Keith and Louise.
The two silently disappeared into the surrounding forest.
Thanks to the sudden hostage fiasco, none of the slave village remnants noticed Ian’s group quietly shrinking.
“As expected of the savior of the elves. Your wisdom is truly unmatched. However... something still feels strange. If this dwarf is unrelated to the beasts, then why did we attack him in the first place?”
Moiken suddenly gasped.
“...I see. He deceived even you with his harmless appearance.”
Oh, for the love of—
“Those dwarves are the enemy.”
Ian pointed directly at the remnants from the slave village.
The three elves turned toward them.
“...?”
Their expressions practically screamed:
They’re dwarves too. What’s the difference?
Ian could almost hear the thought process.
But he wisely decided not to ask aloud, because he had a terrible feeling the answer would only make him angrier.
Instead, he pointed toward the group surrounding Moiken.
“These dwarves are allies.”
“...?!”
“Nameita. Pull yourself together and take command already.” freeweɓnøvel.com
The elderly dwarf—who genuinely looked like he belonged on a sleigh pulled by reindeer—slowly raised his head in a daze.
“...How do you know my name?”
“Are you going to arrest those idiots or not?!”
Ian exploded.
Even through his disorientation, the force in Ian’s voice made Nameita instinctively turn toward the group Ian indicated.
“Gorea!”
The roar that burst from him carried both fury ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) and despair.
The dwarves Ian had identified as enemies were followers of Gorea—a traitor from Nameita Village itself.
For years, Nameita had tried to persuade his fellow villagers. He shared his research and ideals tirelessly, enduring mockery and dismissal all the while.
People called him eccentric, but he had still believed the village would never choose the worst possible path.
After all, they shared the same enemy.
Shouldn’t the weak stand together against greater oppression?
But Gorea chose the easier road.
The darker road.
He led countless villagers astray and even branded Nameita’s faction as traitors. Armed followers constantly loitered around the village, spreading fear and intimidation.
Worst of all—
Gorea freely sold fellow dwarves into slavery.
Seeing those same followers standing before him now made Nameita’s blood boil.
And yet—
the moment they saw him, they immediately fell to their knees.
“L-Lord Nameita! We’re your kin! Please protect us!”
“Gorea’s dead! He’s gone!”
“What could we have done against him?! We were victims too!”
“Please save us, Lord Nameita!”
“Shut your mouths, you scum! Don’t you dare speak of kinship!”
Enraged, Nameita snatched up a rock and hurled it at them.
“......!”
