The Author's POV

Click! Clank—

Upon entering the hideout, I was immediately greeted by a solemn atmosphere.

"Waylan, yer finally here."

Once Waylan entered, Jomnuk, sitting with his arms crossed in the middle of the living room, sighed in relief.

Sitting down on the seat opposite to Jomnuk, Waylan inquired, his tone serious. An unprecedented feeling of grim concern clouded his face.

"What's the situation here?"

"According to reports from the spies, the enemies are preparing to attack by tonight."

Answering Waylan, in Jomnuk's stead, was a dwarf. He had thick eyebrows and long, flowing black hair. Most striking were his thick arms that looked to be the size of a small football. It gave off the impression of breaking rocks by merely flexing them. Fitting, for a race of miners.

"Tonight?"

Waylan's brows furrowed in thought.

Subtly turning his head to face me, I faintly nodded back.

Upon seeing me nod, Waylan's tense shoulders relaxed a little.

Because everyone was currently focused on the situation our little exchange went unnoticed.

'To think they've already found this hideout in a month's time. As expected, there must be a spy hiding amongst the upper echelon. We have a traitor in our midst.'

It was normal for both sides to have spies planted.

Unlike the Union and the Monolith, where the power balance leaned more on the Monolith's side, the difference in strength between the dwarves and the Duergars was just about the same.

This meant that both sides had to resort to more discreet means to weaken the other. For example, planting agents in the upper echelon of each organization.

A classic tactic in warfare, there was never a conflict where spies or intelligence-gathering divisions were not put to use. Methods of subterfuge often laid waste to enemy armies, as it is often said, 'know thy enemy, and thou shalt win a hundred battles.'

However, the nature of conflict here brought about a certain issue. In order to be a spy for the other organization, one must show that they have mana tainted with demonic energy. Unlike the Union that could not replicate this, the dwarves were capable of doing it.

That just proved how advanced the dwarven species was.

"Alright, although I didn't expect them to find this place so early, now that the situation has escalated to that point, we must get ready."

Standing up, Waylan looked at the others and started to issue orders.

"Everyone, do as trained. Guard each perimeter of the place, and make sure to check all the ventilations and food for any poison or gas. We all know just how sneaky those bastards can be."

"Understood."

Everyone nodded their head in agreement.

Since Waylan was the strongest by a large margin, no one had any qualms with his arrangements.

Not even Jomnuk, who instead seemed rather pleased with the new directives.

Whilst everyone was busy organizing themselves, walking up to Jomnuk, I tapped him on the shoulder.

"Sir Jomnuk, I would like to have a word with you in private."

Raising his brow, Jomnuk tilted his head to the side.

"Human? What is it?"

Fidgeting my fingers, I replied in a quiet tone, "Well, you see…I'd ideally prefer to discuss this in private rather than in the open."

"Why?"

Wariness flashed in Jomnuk's eyes.

Looking around the room, towards the other guard in his post, Jomnuk stared back at me.

"If you have anything to say to me, say it here."

Scratching the side of my neck, I smiled wryly.

"…Well, you see, I can't really say it out here since it's something I can only ask you in a more comfortable setting."

The matter regarding the chip in my head was a sensitive topic.

The fewer people that knew, the better.

Unfortunately for me, my vague words were irritating Jomnuk. He started to raise his voice.

"What is it? Spit it out already."

Glancing around the room, I lowered my voice slightly.

"You see, I have something stuck inside of my head, and I'd like to have it looked at. I've heard that you are one of the best engineers that have ever lived. So I wanted to ask you for advice."

The moment I said the words, 'one of the best engineers', a flattering look appeared on Jomnuk's face.

"Hehe, well, there's no need to exaggerate like that."

"No, no, I'm not exaggerating. I have to give credit where credit is due."

I really was serious with my words.

As Ryan said, Jomnuk was indeed one of the top dwarven engineers available.

My words weren't empty acts of sycophancy.

"You have something in your head?" Jomnuk asked, his tone sounding a lot more comfortable than before, evidently pleased by my words.

"Correct. That was why I wanted to ask you for advice."

"Might as well."

Standing up, Jomnuk glanced at the other guards present in the room and shooed them away.

"As you've heard, I need to help him with something. If possible, I'd like for you lots to clear the room."

"That's not possible."

The dwarf standing guard immediately refused.

"Oh? Why is that?"

Jomnuk's face sank.

Unfazed, the dwarf replied with a straight face.

"I'm sorry sir, but since your life could in danger, we can't allow you to be left alone."

In simpler words, they weren't willing to trust me.

"Bah, what is there to worry about? Since you guys are waiting outside, there is no worry about anyone coming in to kidnap me."

"But—"

Before the dwarf could argue, Jomnuk cut him off and pointed in my direction.

"If you're talking about him being a threat, scratch that thought. I've got enough artifacts on me to protect myself from a mere <C> rank."

'Mere <C> rank...'

Somehow, those words hurt a lot more than I expected.

"The human over here is also with Waylan so questioning him is the same as questioning Waylan."

"…Understood."

Unable to refute any longer, the dwarf eventually nodded in defeat.

Turning his head to face me, the dwarf said.

"I'll give you guys ten minutes."

"That'll be enough, thank you."

I replied back.

Jomnuk nodded in satisfaction before sitting back down on his seat.

"I'll also be leaving then."

Waylan, who was watching the whole thing from the sidelines, also stood up and followed the others out.

He then put his hand on my shoulder.

"Be quick, we don't know when those Duergars will make a move. It's best if you end the conversation early."

"I got it."

"Alright then."

Satisfied, Waylan left with the others.

Click! Clank—

Soon, the door closed and the room was enveloped with silence.

The first to speak up was Jomnuk.

"So…"

With his arms crossed, and a smug look on his face, he asked.

"How was my acting?"

Turning my head, the edges of my lips pulled upwards.

"Oscar-worthy."

***

"How much time has passed?"

The dwarf from before muttered in annoyance as he looked back at the room where Ren and Jomnuk were discussing.

"Don't worry, nothing will happen with me here."

Waylan said with a slight smile.

Unfortunately for him, his words did not ease the dwarf's worries.

Frustratingly looking at Waylan, the dwarf said, "Human, I don't doubt your abilities, but you just don't know how vile those malevolent cretins are."

"You're right. I've not faced many of them yet, but that doesn't mean I don't know what you're talking about."

Upon getting this mission assigned, Waylan spent a lot of time researching the duergars.

From how they fought to what types of strategies they used.

He wasn't just going to blindly protect Jomnuk without knowing at least this much.

"I've done my research and I can guarantee you that as of right now, no one will be able to enter the room."

Raising his hand, a thin glow enveloped it.

Staring at the dwarf, Waylan flashed a slight, fox-like smile.

"That's because I've already sealed the whole room with my mana. Unless someone kills me, no one will be able to do anything."

"I see…"

Having seen this much, the dwarf couldn't say anything else.

Even he had to admit that it was pretty safe.

Click! Clank—

And right on cue, the door opened. Coming out from it were Ren and Jomnuk.

With his arms behind his back, and a pleased smile on his face, Jomnuk looked around.

Seeing the tense faces of everyone present, Jomnuk chuckled.

"As you can see, I'm totally fine. The human did nothing to me."

"Please wait, sir."

Blocking Jomnuk's path was the same dwarf as before.

The moment the dwarf blocked Jomnuk's path, his face scrunched up.

"Angus, what are you doing?"

"I apologize for my rudeness in advance."

Before Jomnuk could say anything, the dwarf named Angus took a small black object out of nowhere.

Pressing onto it, red lights shot out from the box, completely enveloping Jomnuk, whose face looked extremely pissed.

Bee-Beep—

It wasn't long before the X-rays disappeared and the box rang.

Lowering his head and checking onto the black box, Angus finally relaxed.

"Everything is alright. The check came out clean."

"Of course, it came out clean!"

Jomnuk angrily spat.

"What do you think could've happened with you guys guarding outside?!"

Putting the device away, Angus stood up straight and replied.

"Sir, I'm just doing my job."

What Angus just did was check whether Jomnuk was truly fine via a scanning device.

The device that he used was capable of detecting poisons that may have entered Jomnuk's system unknowingly. Not only that, it had many other interesting functions such as measuring the skeletal structure of the target as well as diseases and other stuff.

'This guy is pretty thorough. Seems like he even came prepared for all eventualities,' Ren mused from the side.

After all, one didn't have to be strong to poison someone.

"Sir, my priority is your safety. You can punish me if you want."

Staring at Angus from the side, Jomnuk's frown receded.

After a while, letting out a sigh, he helplessly waved his hand.

"Sigh, forget about it. I know that you're doing this for my own safety."

Just as things were calming down, Jomnuk glared at Angus and raised his voice.

"But that doesn't mean I'm not pissed. If something like this happens again, be prepared to face the consequences."

"Now, now, Jomnuk. There's no need for that."

Stepping in-between Jomnuk and Angus, Waylan tried to de-escalate the situation.

"Just let it go for now. He's merely doing his job. There is no need to be so harsh on him."

"Hmph."

Jomnuk turned his head away and crossed his arms.

Helpless, Waylan patted him on the shoulder.

"Anyway, it's time for dinner. Let's go eat."

"Dinner? Alright."

Behaving like an appeased child, once Waylan stepped in, the whole situation calmed down as Jomnuk's mood shifted at the mention of dinner.

"That's good, I'll follow you soon."

Winking at Angus, Waylan urged him to follow Jomnuk to the dining hall.

"I owe you one, human."

Throwing Waylan a grateful look, Angus brought Jomnuk to the dining hall.

Thanks to Waylan, Jomnuk was no longer angry and this did not give him a hard time.

"I'm glad that's sorted."

Waylan wiped his forehead.

Then, turning his head, he proceeded to walk in Ren's direction.

"How was it, has he managed to solve the problem that you had?"

Turning around, Ren proudly smiled and started endlessly praising Jomnuk.

"But, of course! As expected of the best dwarf engineer, I never once doubted his abilities! As soon as I showed him the problem, he was quickly able to tell me where the source lay! He even guaranteed that it can be fixed in a little less than a week! Truly marvelous!"

"That fast?" Waylan sounded quite surprised.

"What else do you expect from the best dwarven engineer? Something as little as my problem is nothing in his eyes."

"Is that so…"

Wryly smiling, Waylan looked towards the other guards standing in the room.

Then, turning his attention back to Ren he beckoned him to follow along.

"As long as you're happy. Let's go, it's time to eat."

"Food? Great! I'm starving."

Rubbing his stomach, under the guards' watchful gazes, Ren followed Waylan into the dining hall.

'Truly marvelous, hehe…'