Excluding its residents the Dweyer village was fairly normal. To be quite honest the weirdest thing about it was the fact that it was this deep inside the mountains. Most people would think it was too dangerous but they seemed to cope perfectly fine. Apparently the weapons they make were strong enough to defend themselves with. The village seemed to be based around smithing and mining and all the residents seem to be some sort of mix of either of them.

Kotori’s initial assumption that they were all bishounen was also wrong. Although it was difficult to tell the difference several tomboyish looking girls were walking around as well. It was more easy to tell the difference in gender based on their clothes than actually looking at them.

Apparently this was a dwarven village which shattered Kotori’s conceptions of what dwarves could be.

Horatio and Nick were one of the few traders in the villages. They were childhood friends and although they were decent smiths, they couldn’t compare to some of the best in the village.

They had decided to become traders with the human kingdom after that.

Incidentally, they were offering their homes to Kotori party as a thank you. She didn’t think they did all that much but apparently, Horatio and Nick insisted on it. Thus, they split the party between their houses. The dwarf houses were a modicum smaller than normal human homes, which made it slightly uncomfortable for them. But for Kotori who hadn’t grown fully yet, it was perfect.

[They just want to flirt!] Kotori thought

The moment Kotori got to Horatio’s house he instantly started trying to make a move on Umi. Despite his cautious personality, he was quite brazen with it too. Even going as far as to ask Umi to go out on a lunch date with him. Apparently, Horatio didn’t know that Umi wasn’t really a lizard girl but Kotori didn’t have the heart to tell him.

Umi was surprisingly tactful and politely turned him down with a light smile on her face.

When Horatio asked for the reason why

Umi just told him that she had to stay with her master

[Rather diligent this spirit is] Kotori thought

That’s when she heard Umi mutter under her breath,

“Besides, I’m waiting for someone else to ask me to go.” She finished glancing at Kotori

[I change my mind this is a troublesome spirit] Kotori thought.

She was wondering how Shu and Layla were doing over at the other house but imagined it couldn’t be much better.

Kotori was happy to learn that the dwarves ate meals of meat hunted from the mountain and freshwater fish that was caught in the river nearby. They also ate wild mountain vegetables and mushrooms.

[Is this what they call a paleo diet?] Kotori thought as she pecked at her food.

The next day Kotori explored the village. She talked to the few shop owners and look at the goods that were being sold. Most of the things the dwarves made were jewelry which made sense considering their size and lean builds. Small fingers were better for doing the delicate work that they did.

Incidentally, the few dwarves that did make weapons were slightly bulkier than their counterparts but not by much. The weapons they made were delicate and magical. They were inlaid with magical stones that they trade from the kingdom. The larger the stone the more valuable the sword.

“How much for this sword” Kotori asked.

She was holding a thin rapier that had an ornate handle. She really wanted a weapon ever since the fight with Nero but had been unable to find something that she could hold without it feeling awkward. The thin and small dwarven swords felt like a good fit. She didn’t really have any money but she considering bartering.

The shop owner gave a price that made Kotori balk.

She learned that dwarven-made goods were highly prized, even among humans and thus they were quite expensive. Most dwarves made their own weapons so they rarely bought them. The ones that did usually made their money elsewhere.

[This is a village of rich people!] Kotori thought.

Although the dwarves lived modestly they were actually quite rich relatively speaking.

Still, Kotori really wanted a weapon.

She asked the shop owner if there were any cheaper weapons and the shop owner said that it was impossible

“You really can’t find anything cheap around here,” She said. Kotori had almost mistaken the shop owner for a boy and was happy to infer from the tone of her voice.

“Ah wait..” The shop owner said

“I guess you could commission a weapon with a smith and get a lower price.” The owner said

“But I don’t think people really do commission anymore..."

“Why is that?” Kotori asked

“Adventurers have been going down for a while now, nobody really wants commissions anymore. It’s a shame those pieces always looked the nicest.”

[Hmm, that might be possible] Kotori thought. She thanked the shop owner and then looked around for smiths who were willing to do commissioned work for her.

[Impossible!] Kotori still realized that commissioned smiths were doing mass produced work now. Barely anybody was doing commissions