‘So… what in the world am I actually looking at?’

Before my eyes lay a scene that was dizzying just to behold.

A line of dwarves.

These little guys were lining up one by one to sign contracts.

Where the heck did they even find those contracts? As I looked closely, I noticed the seal of the Holy Church on them.

Those must be the items they used to control test subjects.

Lucy, who wouldn’t let me stand around, had somehow procured a fancy black chair.

I sat down and casually glanced over the terms of the contract.

And… naturally, I was left speechless.

Who would have thought the Holy Church would be so rotten?

They’ve made an already nasty slave contract even nastier.

Originally, if you broke the rules, you’d get your heart pierced by the Contract Sword—a hefty price to pay.

But these guys decided to mix in some demon nonsense to make it worse.

If you break the rules, you don’t just die; your soul goes to the demon and you suffer for eternity.

‘These guys should really be commended for their frugality.’

Did they make a deal with a demon while writing this contract?

The contents of the contract even stipulated that when a slave’s soul passes to the demon, the demon offers strength to the master in return.

The more I looked at that contract, the more horrified I became.

All sorts of toxic clauses.

Whoever fell victim to this contract would be treated worse than a pet for the rest of their life.

“This… this is just too much, isn’t it?”

My voice trailed off as I spoke.

I could clearly see he was angry, but he didn’t dare express it.

There was awe and fear in his gaze.

I had a decent idea of how he viewed me.

And… I couldn’t even think of a good excuse.

It wasn’t intentional, but I definitely looked like the big boss of a villainous organization right now.

Here I was, calmly pulling off this ridiculous stunt while sitting comfortably in a fancy black chair.

It was more bizarre not to misunderstand at this point.

‘That said, it would feel a bit awkward to suddenly say all this is just a misunderstanding.’

Lucy made some persuasive points.

The method was rough, which was a problem. But I did think I couldn’t just leave these guys alone.

If I let those sleazy dwarves be, they’d definitely drown more people in their schemes.

So I decided to speak up.

“Don’t worry. This contract is just for safety. I won’t misuse it to oppress you.”

I said this with a friendly smile, but the dwarf screamed in horror.

“I—I don’t doubt you! It’s just that I’m scared to death! Please spare my life!”

His face turned pale.

When I reached out to hold his hand to check if he was okay…

“Ugh!”

He just fainted.

What a sudden turn of events.

But I remained calm, checking the dwarf’s condition. Thanks to the experience I unintentionally gained from Rubia.

He wasn’t dead. He had just fainted, unable to handle the fear.

That was a relief.

But…

“Did you see that?!”

“His face didn’t change a bit while he—”

“Not even any magic, and he just—”

The other dwarves murmured among themselves about me.

I had clearly tried to comfort them, but it was having the opposite effect.

I could kill with just a mere presence without even lifting a finger.

My image among the dwarves was transforming into that of a mad munchkin with a one-hit kill cheat.

Some even started rumors that I might be the ‘boss of the Black Fangs’.

I stopped enhancing my hearing with mana.

Someone was talking about a plan to escape, and I’d enhanced it for that reason, but now, not a single mention of escape was being made.

Not resisting was the way to survive.

No one who challenged the Black Fangs ever came out alive.

The Holy Church had taken a beating, so what chance did we stand?

All I heard were murmurs of resignation.

Before I knew it, they had become utterly compliant.

The truly stubborn dwarves signed that vile slave contract while praising me as if it was an honor.

“…Indeed, my lord. I’ve only been able to control them through violence. But you, my lord, command them with sheer dignity.”

Lucy also joined in on the flattery.

…No, looking closer, it didn’t seem like mere flattery; it felt genuine.

Her eyes sparkled too brightly to be just for show.

This clueless girl genuinely believed all this was thoroughly calculated and intended by me.

What on earth does she think I am?

I just came to the blacksmith’s street to find something!

There was no grand scheme to rehabilitate dwarves who’ve lost sight of right and wrong!

Those words almost came out, but…

I desperately held them back and only left a request to handle matters a bit more peacefully next time.

It wasn’t possible to go back to undo what had happened already.

Thinking positively was the best course.

When you come to think of it… whether I buy equipment made by the blacksmith or threaten him to make it at the point of a sword,

As long as the result is good, isn’t that what really matters?

Isn’t everything I do about saving the world?

 

Once the incident was somewhat wrapped up,

I issued waiting orders to the dwarves and walked with Lucy toward our destination.

Somehow, I ended up collecting over a hundred dwarf slaves along the way.

But ultimately, my purpose for being here was to retrieve the Holy Sword.

‘…This place has become way more extravagant than ten years ago.’

I soon arrived at Rob’s blacksmith.

It boasted a flashy exterior in the previous work, but compared to now, that was nothing.

This was more like a mansion than a blacksmith’s shop.

A gold-plated building,

decorated with luxurious fountains and statues.

I couldn’t even guess how much money had been lavished here.

But then again, if he hadn’t earned this much, it would be more unusual.

Rob the Blacksmith.

He was the dwarf I had asked to repair the Holy Sword.

He was that character who was crazy about money.

While other dwarves stubbornly claimed, “I only take requests from those I recognize,” Rob was equal opportunity when it came to clients.

Money.

Overwhelming money.

He would accept requests from any villain or hero as long as the price was right.

Besides, his skill was among the best of the dwarves. So if he had been working for over ten years, he would have naturally become incredibly wealthy.

‘…I can’t help but think this guy is a major reason why all the dwarves have gone off the deep end.’

I was puzzled as to why those noble artisans had gone so far off base, but it seemed Rob’s influence had a huge part in the current transform.

I mean, if some dwarves were struggling to earn a living while being discriminated against for being a different race,

and here was Rob, sitting on a mountain of cash enjoying every luxury,

jealousy was only natural.

Of course, it would lead to thoughts like tossing aside pride to go earn money like him.

“Ah, welcome, our precious customer!”

While I pondered this, Rob opened the front door and greeted us warmly.

Dressed as flamboyantly as the mansion itself, he was decked out in a suit and watch. It was practically like he was wearing the building itself—talk about over-the-top luxury.

We followed Rob into the mansion. Without a guide, we might have ended up lost in its vastness.

After walking for a while, we finally reached the reception room.

Sitting on a plush sofa with nice tea, we waited for a few minutes until Rob reappeared.

“What do you think? I think it’s a pretty good result.”

He said this, pulling out the Holy Sword.

Naturally, a smile crept onto my face.

I hadn’t expected much since it was just a repair job, but the results exceeded my expectations.

What was once a pitiful excuse for a sword had completely transformed.

It was a tad shorter, but it had been reborn into a proper sword.

Rob definitely delivered a job worthy of the payments made.

While I was admiring the Holy Sword, Rob tentatively spoke up.

“Honestly, if I had a bit more time and resources, I could have completed it perfectly. Such a pity.”

He was being blatant about it.

He kept casting glances my way with intention.

It was clear what he was trying to say.

After a moment’s thought, I finally spoke up.

“If you need something, just let me know. If there’s anything lacking for the perfect repair of the sword, I’m willing to support it.”

Given his character,

he would probably try to squeeze some money out of me under various pretenses.

But considering the value of the Holy Sword, that would still be a profitable deal. Anyway, money was being copied in real-time.

As soon as I finished speaking, Rob, as if waiting for this moment, unfolded a map and started talking.

“I need materials that can capture the mystery of the artifact. If I have that, the sword can be completely repaired.”

Adamantium.

With that, he said repairing it would be just fine.

And he pointed to the location of the ore vein on the map.

In the current situation, the only thing I could say was this.

“Oh great, so the reason the repairs have been delayed was the lack of adamantium. But do you perhaps have a lead on where to find some?”

As a gamer, there’s no way I wouldn’t recognize a map.

There was no ore vein where he pointed; just a dangerous ruin where a dragon sleeps.

“Looks like your forging skills have only gotten better over the last ten years, but your tricks are still the same.”

Sweat began to trickle down from his neck.

He was already preparing for a battle.

He had all his artifacts ready, fully defensive, but…

It was already too late.

‘If only you just accepted the money and worked quietly, we wouldn’t be here.’

I wasn’t here to kidnap anyone, but…

It’s true that the first time is always the hardest, and then it gets easy from the second.

I looked at Lucy.

I had told her not to solve everything with violence earlier, but…

I was withdrawing that statement.

Maybe because the dwarf was a different race, proper communication wasn’t going to happen, so what could I do?

“Lucy, could you inject a bit of etiquette into our friend over here?”

It was time to deploy excellent conversation methods.