[A Study on the Rise and Isolation of the Dwarf Kingdom] ...
In the early days of the Imperial Calendar, the Dwarf Kingdom maintained active exchange with the Arcanus Empire. The friendly relations between the two nations are considered to have led to the prosperity of the entire continent. However, in the year 202 of the Imperial Calendar.
The Dwarf Kingdom abruptly severed all diplomatic ties with the Empire and vanished into the Iron Mountains. The reason for this sudden isolation has not been clearly identified to this day. According to the Empire's records from that time, the dwarf delegation's last words were, "the capital has fallen from the sky."
However, it is unclear whether this meant an actual natural disaster or was a metaphor for a sudden political upheaval. Gossipmongers speculate that there must have been a serious internal division within the Dwarf Kingdom behind this incident.
The cited causes for the division are varied, including disputes over the royal succession, resource depletion, and a plague common to magical beasts and dwarves. However, this paper will not delve deeply into the commonly circulated 'sky island debate.'
Some radical scholars claim that a part of the land where the dwarves lived rose into the sky and disappeared entirely, and that this is the real reason they hid within the mountains. But the consensus among the mages of the Magic Tower is that 'flight' is a phenomenon impossible even with magic.
Furthermore, if such a major event had actually occurred, it is impossible that there would have been no witnesses. To this, the radical scholars present the existence of the 'Sky Island' fairy tale as a counterargument. However, this is nothing more than a misconception stemming from anachronism.
This is because the sky island folklore appeared even earlier than the dwarves' disappearance. In other words, it was not that the fairy tale was created because a 'sky island' actually existed, but rather that a folktale about a 'flying island,' passed down from ancient times, became conflated with the sudden disappearance of the dwarves and was distorted.
It is highly likely that the common image of dwarves fearing the sky also originated from this. If you were to actually meet a dwarf, you would find it difficult to feel that they particularly fear or revere the sky.
They are simply a race that loves the earth and fire with the passion of iron. -From "A Study on the Rise and Isolation of the Dwarf Kingdom," co-authored by the School of Non-Human Cryptoarchaeology
Arranging a space to feed and house all 127 dwarves was no ordinary task. Renting out an inn in the capital would have been easy, but a nation's delegation could not be treated in such a manner. Therefore, the princess offered to give the dwarves an annex of the Imperial Palace.
But Balkan, I was told, refused. There was no particular excuse. Balkan had simply said, "We cannot sleep in the palaces of men."
In the end, I led the dwarves to the Upperhills Foundation. Fortunately, a newly constructed dormitory building, prepared in advance for next year's second selection, had just been completed. The beds might be a bit small, but considering the height of the dwarves, they might actually be a perfect fit.
Inside the moving carriage, I asked Balkan.
"By the way, why did you refuse to stay at the Imperial Palace? It would have been comfortable and nice."
"Because all dwarves have made such a promise. We do not engage in unnecessary exchanges with other races."
"... Excuse me?"
I tilted my head. Then what am I?
"Don't tell me you still think I'm a dwarf?"
"... The grand council has already confirmed that you are a dwarf. Therefore, helping you is not helping another race. It's helping our own kind."
"What kind of miraculous logic is that?"
"It might seem strange in human eyes. Just know that dwarves sometimes value promises more than their own lives."
"I see..."
The idea that the free-spirited and fiery-tempered dwarves revered rules felt somewhat contradictory. Upon arriving at the foundation, I came to understand what he meant.
"What's this shabby statue?"
A dwarf poked at the statue of me erected in front of the main building, scowling.
"The alloy ratio is a mess. I would have mixed in a bit more copper."
"Leave it. All metal touched by humans is like that."
They held a critique session over the statue modeled after me. It was a strange feeling. Only then did I understand Balkan's words.
'Ah, so this is why they needed rules.' According to the Dean, dwarves are 'a folk who are self-willed, complain the moment they open their mouths, and want to bang on anything they can get their hands on.' If they didn't have strong rules or promises, they would have fought amongst themselves to extinction.
'Is this something like social selection rather than natural selection?'
After unpacking our things at the foundation, I led the dwarves to the workshop.
"Oooooh...!"
As soon as the workshop doors opened, gasps of admiration erupted from all over.
"It's bigger than I thought."
"The equipment is pretty well set up, too. For humans, they've put in quite a bit of effort."
Hehehe.
This is the full power of our workshop. The current Upperhills iron workshop had been doubled in size in preparation for constructing the airship. We had added ten more furnaces, and the workbenches, anvils, and various tools were all newly serviced.
All of them had been set up in optimal condition by the hands of our workshop's people. Balkan said to me.
"... You've expanded the scale quite a bit."
"The workshop folks and I put in some effort."
For the record, the building extension was finished overnight by Doloren. According to Giuseppe, Doloren is likely to leave to search for ruins soon, so I plan to make good use of her until then. The dwarves strode around the workshop, their short legs moving busily.
One dwarf tapped the wall of a furnace with a hammer and said.
"It can't compare to the great furnace back home... but the insulation is excellent. The heat efficiency should be quite good."
Then another dwarf next to him retorted.
"Hey, be honest. It's better than the furnace in your backyard, isn't it?"
"You bastard! Take that back!"
"What, you punk, it's true! A hoe made here would be sturdier than a sword made in that furnace of yours."
As the dwarves bickered, Tobin approached, wiping away his sweat. He greeted Balkan before me.
"I've been waiting for you, Senior Balkan."
"Tobin. Have you been well these past few weeks?"
It's a bit strange to see Tobin, who is already an old man, looking after Balkan. A moment later, Tobin came over to me, smiling brightly.
"The paper business was going so well, I almost forgot that our workshop's roots are in ironworking."
"It's all good now that we've expanded. What do you think, is it any good?"
"Yes... it's incredible."
Tobin nodded his head, looking satisfied. Some of the dwarves rushed over to Callen and started asking him all sorts of questions.
"Human! You don't know the structure of metal by instinct, yet you know how to do tempering. How did you do it?"
"That's mostly done by looking at the color. And my name is Callen."
"Hey, Callen! How does the power transmission system on that power hammer work?"
"Ah, that is...!"
Despite the barrage of questions, Callen was excitedly answering them. Just then, Balkan approached me.
"I heard you, Isaac, designed this entire workshop."
"Yes, that's correct."
He pointed to the 10-meter-high furnace in the back and said.
"It's a fine, large furnace and I quite like it... but I have one question."
"Go ahead."
"I understand that the lands where humans live are short on coal. Without coke, it would be difficult to properly utilize such a massive furnace. How did you solve the fuel problem?"
"Aha. That. I decided not to use coke."
"What?"
Coal, and the coke made from coal, is the very backbone of ironworking. However, in this world, charcoal is widely used instead of coal. This is because there are almost no fossil fuels like coal or petroleum in this world.
To give mana but take away fossil fuels. What kind of equivalent exchange is this? I said to Balkan.
"There was too little coal, so I had no choice."
Whether it's because the microorganisms that decompose plants evolved too early, or because all the underground coal burned up like during the Permian extinction... I'm not a geologist, so I don't know the reason. The only place where coal is found, they say, is in the Iron Mountains, the homeland of the dwarves.
I suppose that's why the dwarves live there. Balkan tilted his head.
"Without coke, how do you operate that large furnace? If you use charcoal, it will crumble inside and block the passage of air."
"You'll keep a client's secret, right?"
"Of course. I'll keep it a secret on my cherished hammer."
Do dwarves have cherished hammers? In any case, having received his assurance, it was only right to answer. I spoke softly, just loud enough for Balkan to hear.
"I've improved the efficiency of mana stones. To the point where they can be used for ironworking."
"What...?"
"I'll show you myself."
I approached the 'mana stone' exclusive furnace he had pointed to. F=ma Using telekinesis, I filled the furnace with iron ore and charcoal.
Rustle. Crack.
Having filled the 10-meter-high furnace to the brim, the charcoal couldn't bear its own weight and shattered. This sight drew the attention of all the surrounding dwarves.
"Hey, hey! Kid! What are you doing!"
"What is it, what's going on."
"That Isaac fellow, he filled that huge furnace with charcoal, not coke!"
"He's crazy!"
A commotion stirred. Dwarves who had been doing other work also abandoned their tasks and crowded around me.
"Don't tell me... he's good at design but knows nothing about practical work?"
"If he burns it like that, the fire won't catch..."
I said to them.
"Everyone, please be quiet for a moment."
"This is no time to be quiet!"
This won't do. I'll have to show them without explaining. My mana flowed into the magic circle laid beneath the furnace.
This magic circle itself had no special meaning. It was a magic circle that sustained the spell I cast for a long period. Q = cmΔT First, I calculated the amount of heat needed to melt the iron.
PV = nRT Then, I adjusted the air pressure to prevent the charcoal inside from burning up before it could react with the iron oxide. After that, I converted the mana of the mana stones placed inside the furnace into thermal energy. The mana stones inside the furnace began to glow and vibrate.
Since oxygen was cut off, the charcoal did not catch fire. But the energy emitted by the mana stones raised the temperature inside the furnace to the melting point of iron. I said to Tobin and Callen.
"You two, please put on your safety goggles."
"Got it."
"Yes."
The two of them put on goggles that looked like safety glasses. With this, I could rest easy. F = ma As I opened the furnace's outlet with telekinesis, molten iron flowed out.
My eyes hurt. The dwarves would probably be fine even with the radiant light of the molten iron. But a delicate human mage is not.
A=εbc So, I manipulated the absorption coefficient of the water vapor. A black shield materialized before my eyes. The dwarves muttered as they watched the red-hot molten iron.
"... My word, to think this is possible with just charcoal."
"Where on earth did the heat come from? The charcoal didn't burn..."
Hehehe.
They must be curious. How did mana stones replace fossil fuels? But before I could open my mouth, an elderly dwarf beat me to it.
He said.
"My word... the prophecy was true."
"Prophecy?"
"The reincarnation of Vulcan."
He looked at me and said again.
"The son of the purest flame has appeared!"
A stir went through the crowd.
"The reincarnation of Vulcan?"
"That can't be... that kid isn't even a dwarf."
"My word, I thought Vulcan only favored dwarves."
A great commotion erupted among the dwarves. And in the midst of it all, I... I... ...just stood there, dead still.
I had to have a clue what they were talking about.