The students continue on their way, but Sai suddenly stops.

  Sai: "Leo, Leo, look over there! It's a restaurant!"

  Leo: "This is not the time to eat, man."

  Sai: "You go ahead with the others, but I’m going to fill my stomach."

  Before Leo could speak, Kani and Kano were already heading toward the restaurant.

  Sai: "Wait for me!"

  Arian: "I won’t go now... Wait... Where’s Hakan?!"

  Neron: "Oh god..."

  Kinto: "Since we’re in the city of the dwarfs, I think it should be fine."

  Beatrix: "Does that mean..."

  Kinto: "Yes, you can go have fun here."

  Kaiser: "I’ll come with you, Beatrix."

  Arian: "I think I’ll go break some rocks."

  Karez: "Itor, do you want to come with me?"

  Itor: "Where to?"

  Karez: "There’s something I want to see here."

  Itor: "Alright, I’ll come with you."

  Garin: "We’ll be ordering the crafting of our weapons, so splitting up won’t be an issue."

  Mary: "Does Sai ever get full?"

  Leo: "I don’t think so."

  Damian: "Let’s just keep moving."

  Leo: "Bu—"

  Suddenly, a giant boar ridden by a child crashes into Leo.

  Mary: "W-What is that?!"

  Garin: "Children are a problem..."

  Kinto: "Is that a child or an insect? He’s tiny."

  The child angrily speaks up.

  Loren: "I’m not that small!!!"

  Leo: "Are all the kids here like this?!"

  Loren: "Shut up! You should bow when speaking to me! I am Loren, the Beast Tamer!"

  Leo stands up, brushing off the dust from the impact as he speaks sarcasticly: "I guess I should learn to 'bow' to people like you, little one."

  Loren: "I am NOT little! Didn’t you hear what I said?! I am the great Beast Tamer, Loren!"

  Leo: "Did you hear that, Kinto?"

  Kinto smirks sarcastically.

  Kinto: "Maybe you really should bow before he kills you, Leo."

  Loren: "You too, Flame Head! You should bow as well! I am the son of the great woman Heves!"

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Kinto: "Flame Head??!"

  Damian: "The great woman Heves?"

  Neron: "Is she a woman?"

  Loren: "And what about it??"

  Mary: "Then why did Karl refer to her as a man...?"

  Loren: "My mother doesn’t go out into the city much, and even if she does, she doesn’t go to the upper levels. That’s why many think she’s a man."

  Leo: "How is she still alive...?"

  Loren: "Because she’s my mother! And my mother is great!"

  Neron: "Can you take us to your great mother?"

  Loren: "Of course!"

  The students follow Loren to Heves. Meanwhile, Sai and the others have already started eating at the restaurant. As they eat, Sai talks to the chef, who is reading a newspaper: "Sir, the food here is delicious. Why doesn’t your restaurant have many customers?"

  The chef, with an old and indifferent voice, replies: "Most people just want fancy places with luxurious food, even if the food isn’t tasty or filling: "Your voice... What’s up with it...?"

  Chef: "I may look young, but I’m 54 years old."

  Kani whispers to herself: "An old man..."

  Chef: "I heard that."

  Sai: "What are you reading in the newspaper?"

  Chef: "The assassination of the director of Zoo Academy in the kingdom of Ogrulia."

  The three are shocked by the sudden news.

  Kano: "W-What?!"

  Kani: "This brings back bad memories..."

  Sai: "This is really bad. What’s happening to the world...?"

  Kano: "That leaves only Titans Academy in the kingdom of Great Nest..."

  At Beatrix and Kaiser’s location

  Beatrix: "Is that a bug?"

  Kaiser: "Do you not know what a rat is?"

  At the city center

  Mary: "So this is the elevator?"

  Leo: "It’s just a platform."

  Loren: "It will lower you down. Once you reach the bottom, you will know where my mother is."

  Kinto: "That’s good."

  Garin: "tha—"

  Before Garin could finish speaking, Loren runs off into the forests outside the city.

  Damian: "Let’s go down."

  Neron: "Heves, huh? I wonder what she looks like."

  They stand on the platform, which has a lever in the middle. Neron pulls it, and the platform begins to descend.

  The underground space is vast. Despite being underground, there are many lights illuminating the area, along with small glowing creatures flying through the air.

  The underground city is much larger than the one above, with even more dwarves present.

  Mary: "What are these flying lights?"

  Leo: "I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like them before."

  One of the glowing lights lands on Mary’s finger, revealing itself to be a butterfly with luminous wings.

  Mary: "It’s a butterfly!"

  Garin: "A glowing butterfly? That’s completely new."

  As the platform descends, Damian notices a large building at the end of the city.

  Damian: "I think that’s Heves’s house."

  Neron: "Loren said we’d recognize it when we see it. And karl said her house is bigger than the rest in here. "

  Once they reach the ground, the platform stops, and they start walking.

  At Karez and Itor’s location

  The two arrive at a small lake surrounded by flowers and plants. The trees have long leaves that almost touch the ground.

  Karez: "The place is still beautiful."

  Itor: "Have you been here before?"

  Karez: "Yes, my mother took me here when I was a child. It’s my most cherished memory."

  Itor: "I can see why."

  Karez: "The water, the trees, the flowers—they’re all beautiful."

  Itor: "They remind me of someone."

  Karez: "I think I know who."

  Underground – At Heves’s house

  The seven arrive at the large building and knock on the door. After about half a minute, someone opens it. It’s Heves—naturally short, being a dwarf, dressed in dirty clothes, and holding a large hammer.

  Heves: "Are you here for weapons?"

  Leo: "Yes."

  Heves: "Come in."

  Mary: "I didn’t expect it to be this easy..."

  Garin whispers to Mary: "Karl said she was hard to reach, but it seems that’s not true at all."

  Heph: "I can hear you. Karl... only a few really know me well. Since I don’t leave my house, many assume I’m hard to approach."

  Garin: "That’s... good, I guess..."

  Damian: "Karl said your real name isn’t Heves. What’s your real name?"

  Heves: "My name is Kara."

  Damian: "I’m Damian."

  Mary: "I’m Mary."

  Garin: "Garin."

  Neron: "I’m Neron."

  Kinto: "Kinto."

  Leo: "I’m Leo."

  Kyotai: "Kyotai."

  Kara: "Not that it really matters. Come with me."

  Leo: "That wasn’t very nice..."

  The seven enter the forge, where Leo sees a familiar face.

  Leo: "Y-You... Myuso?!"

  Myuso: "Leo?! What are you doing here?"

  Leo: "I should be asking you that!"

  Myuso: "It's a bit complicated... You could say I'm here to meet someone."

  Leo says teasingly: "are you interested in one of the dwarfs?"

  Myuso: "Of course not."

  Mary: "Who is this?"

  Leo: "Oh, this is Myuso. Sai and I met him at the capital center of Anastasia."

  Mary: "I see. I'm Mary. Nice to meet you, Miuso."

  Myuso: "I've already heard your names. The pleasure is mine."

  Leo: "So, who do you want to meet? If you don’t mind telling us."

  Myuso: "To be honest... I don’t know."

  Garin: "Huh..."

  Mary: "What is this now..."

  Leo: "How do you not know...?"

  Kinto: "What’s up with your acquaintances, Leo...?"

  Myuso: "My friend Rivan told me I had to meet someone here."

  Leo: "Wait, wait! Rivan?! A person wearing a long, wide robe and lives in an abandoned house??"

  Myuso: "Yes? Do you know him?..."

  Leo: "Of course I know him—actually, we all do. He trained us for two months. Or rather, he trained everyone except me..."

  Myuso: "A-ah... I see. Then he must have meant you all."

  Kara: "What are you all talking about? Don’t waste my time."

  Damian: "We want you to make some weapons for us. The price doesn’t matter—we just want the best quality."

  Kara: "The price doesn’t matter? Since you're Myuso’s acquaintances, I'll make whatever you need for free."

  Mary: "Really??"

  Damian: "I wasn’t expecting that."

  Neron: "Looks like the townsfolk really don’t know you."

  Garin: "I love anything that’s free."

  Kinto: "Same here."

  Kyotai: "At least..."

  Leo: "So you know her, Myuso?"

  Miuso: "Yeah, she’s kind of an old acquaintance."

  Kara: "Tell me, what exactly do you all need?"

  Damian: "To be honest, we need quite a few things."

  Damian requests a spear for Kaiser, while Garin asks for some improvements to his sword. Neron requests two swords, whereas Kyotai asks for a single sword but takes some time explaining its design. However, when Kinto takes out his daggers and shows them to Kara, she is visibly shocked. She speaks in disbelief: "H-how do you have this dagger...?"

  Kinto: "What do you mean?"

  Kara: "Where did you get it?!"

  Kinto: "I found it when I was a kid."

  Kara: "How... What’s your full name?"

  Kinto: "Kinto Shinga."

  Kara: "Shinga...? I see... Congratulations."

  Kinto: "What do you mean by that?"

  Kara: "You’ll find out what i mean one day. For now, I’ll make some modifications to your daggers."

  Kinto: "Don’t change their appearance."

  Kara: "Don’t worry. What about you, black-haired guy?"

  Leo: "I don’t really need anything, but could you take a look at my sword?"

  Leo takes out his sword, Lin. Kara examines it and holds it, but she senses a strong aura from it.

  Kara: "W-what... Could it be...?"

  Leo: "What?"

  Kara hands the sword back to Leo and says,

  Kara: "I can’t do anything to your sword."

  Leo: "Why?"

  Kara: "Your sword... is cursed."