I went on a walk around Blutgang, since I needed to wait for Haruka and Penny, and the only thing I could say about the city was that it was amazing. This woman—made place that existed inside a golem was so well constructed that even the ceiling wasn't readily noticeable as fake as long as you didn't stare at it.
I'll be honest here. I'm in awe.
I never expected the dwarves to have come this far from living in caves. The townscape may have seemed old-fashioned to me, since I was from modern Earth, but the fact that they'd managed to construct an entire city in limited space like this reminded me of space colonies from a mecha anime I saw a long time ago.
The dwarves really are the farthest removed from this world's fantasy setting. There's no doubt they're getting closer and closer to the Modern Era.
Maybe after another hundred years Blutgang won't look too different from the cityscapes I remember. Maybe soon we'll end up getting cars and traffic lights or something.
Oh, wait. There's already a car in this world. I made it.
I continued thinking on that subject as I wandered around when I heard the heavy footsteps of a number of people coming my way. They're about… 300m away?
While it wasn't nearly as good as Penny's, my hearing was still strong. Compared to a human, the footsteps were a little narrow in stride and slower than normal. They're probably all dwarves.
As if the world wanted to prove me right, six dwarves in work clothes rounded the corner at that moment.
…They look like older construction or warehouse workers.
I could feel my internal image of dwarves in armor crumbling to pieces.
"Oh, there she is!"
"Are you sure it's that lovely lass there?"
"No doubt! You don't see a beauty like that every day!"
The group of dwarves looked over at me and their expressions changed, so my caution grew.
From their conversation, it was clear that they were looking for me. They even said that there was no mistaking my looks.
…Could this be something bad? I was currently wearing the outfit Juvia gave me. I also had changed my hairstyle and had my wings hidden. I was even wearing glasses. But I wasn't completely hiding my face, and Naru's face really stood out.
The dwarves didn't have long life spans, and since this world didn't have photos or anything, there shouldn't have been any dwarves who remembered how I looked. Or so I assumed, but… I'd messed up. With technology this advanced it would make sense for them to have cameras.
I didn't like covering myself in my cloak since restraining my entire body like that felt like some sort of weird sex fetish, so I'd gone with my current outfit. I guess that'd been too careless.
…Well, whatever. With my combat ability I should be able to manage something.
I cracked my knuckles and used my Observing Eye on the group of dwarves.
Their levels are only around 20-40. I can easily knock them all out in an instant.
I slipped into battle mode, and as my perception of time changed, the dwarves started moving slower.
I concentrated and slowed down my perceived time even further, making it possible to launch an attack in but a small moment in time… It was something I'd realized I could do after my recent fight with the Grimm King.
I should be able to knock them out without them realizing what happened. That's just how different our specs are.
If they give off even the slightest hint of attacking, I'll make my move.
"W-wait a second, Miss Naru! They don't seem like enemies!"
I was brought back from combat mode by Wendy. My head instantly cooled when she said that, and my experience of time returned to normal. Then, the dwarves arrived with full-faced smiles and not a hint of hostility between them.
"Yo! We were looking for you. You're the girl who came in that golem that looks like a metal box, right? Look, it's me. I'm the one you left your golem with at the entrance." The older-looking dwarf pointed at himself as he spoke, but to be honest, I couldn't tell any of the dwarves apart.
"…Huh? Ahhh… Excuse us, We did not know it was you."
Well, that's not completely accurate. If I look closely I can tell that their faces are different. But these six… Actually, are all dwarven men like this? Everything on their face that can be used to tell a person apart is covered by hair.
They all had thick eyebrows, large noses, and extremely long hair. They also all had rough features.
As if I could tell these people apart. On top of all that, all their work clothes were even the same color. You gotta at least wear different-colored clothes. Like, if Mario and Luigi wore the same colors nobody would be able to tell them apart, either.
"Agghh! That's someone from the outside for you! Look closely! I'm the most handsome out of everyone here!"
"Hah! More like you're the oldest-looking here!"
"Yeah, yeah! I'm the most handsome!"
…I can't tell them apart at all… They might have been able to tell each other apart, but to me, it just looked like six of the same person arguing with each other. I bet I'd at least be able to tell their faces apart if they'd just shave off all that hair, though…
"Ahh, well… Anyway, we should get to the point."
"Ohh, right. It's about that golem that you were riding in. That thing's awesome! We've already started using rideable golems as transport in Blutgang, but this is the first time I've ever seen something that well-made! On top of that, the inside is a perfect living space, which is great for long journeys! That thing is revolutionary! Could you tell me who made that and where they are?"
Apparently they had neither realized who I was nor were they hostile in any way. Their spirits as craftsmen were just fired up by Honda, so they'd come looking for me.
This is kinda embarrassing. Considering how I was just acting a moment ago, I kind of just want to curl up and disappear…
Imagine if I said something like, "If they give off even the slightest hint of attacking, I'll make my move. Flash!" Luckily, I didn't say any of that out loud, but if I did, that moment would've put a black mark on my personal history. Thank god Wendy stopped me.
…Actually, wait. Now that I think about it, haven't I been a bit too aggressive as well? I get the feeling that my inner thoughts have been getting more and more violent recently.
"Oh, if that's what you want, We made it. But, is it really that surprising? Don't you all have the ultimate in rideable golems, Blutgang?"
"Well, of course. Blutgang is the highest peak of alchemy. Nothing beats it. But Blutgang is the masterpiece of the Blacksmith Princess. It's not something we could imitate at all. It's way out of our league. By comparison, the golem you were riding on seems like something we could make ourselves if we understood how it worked. That's why I said it'd be revolutionary," the dwarf replied proudly.
There was no doubt that Blutgang was the ultimate rideable golem. Blutgang was 300m tall and 1100m long. It was just absurdly huge. Added to that, it was able to house several tens of thousands of people, possibly even hundreds of thousands if pushed. Its extraordinary qualities were clear for everyone to see. It'd be easy to say it was the greatest piece of alchemy in the world.
But it was impossible to mass produce. Such a ridiculous masterpiece was only possible because Jenny had been the one building it, and no dwarf of this era could imitate that feat. But Honda was easy to copy as long as the person knew how it worked. At the very least, it was easy for Alchemists.
Autonomous, rideable golems already existed in this world, of course, but Honda was made to imitate modern cars, so the comfort and shock absorption it provided were on another level. I'd bet that the autonomous golems here were something more like a carriage's cabin that moved without horses.
"So I'd like to ask you a favor. Would you mind letting us examine it? We'll pay you back. We can even put your name in as a developer when we manage to mass produce it. You see, in Blutgang, there's this thing called a 'patent.' Unlike other countries, the ones who invent something get corresponding rights and money for their invention. Those who want to make their own copy need to have permission, and if they do, they have to pay a fee to the inventor. How about it? Sounds like a good deal, right?"
"Hmmm…"
I considered the man's proposition for a while. I didn't have anything in Honda that I didn't want copied. If Honda were an actual car, there'd be things like gasoline and engines that would be clearly too advanced for this world, but Honda was just a golem that looked like a car on the outside.
While it did have rubber tires and modern suspension, it wouldn't be too far a leap to give those to the dwarves, given their current level of technology. There weren't any items left inside I didn't want them seeing, either. In the worst case, I'd be able to put Honda back together even if they completely took it apart.
Also, if I were to improve the dwarves's technology, that would only be an advantage for humanity as a whole. I guess it's not a bad deal then?
"Yes… We don't mind. Examine it all you like. However, We will need to be there to watch over you."
"Sure, that's just perfect. It'd be better for us if you were there, since you made it."
For the moment, I agreed as long as I was there with them. While I was confident that I'd be able to repair Honda, there was still the possibility that they would break it down so far that Honda would be irreparable. If they were to get close to doing that, I needed to be there to stop them, so I figured it would be much better if I were there.
But more than that, I just wanted to see the current technology level of the dwarves up close.
"Great. Now that that's all decided, let's go."
And so I ended up going back to Blutgang's entrance along with the six dwarves.
Fiona and the others tagged along as if it were only natural, so we ended up walking along the streets in a snaking group of ten people. We were an odd assortment, but nobody seemed to mind.
Having reached the gate through which we'd first entered, we returned to the loading dock.
"Ohh, right. I haven't introduced myself yet. My name's Tendo."
"I'm Shurado."
"I'm Ningendo."
"Chikushodo. Nice to meet ya."
"My name is Gokido."
"And I'm Jigokudo."
Right. I now understand that I have no intention of memorizing any of their names. As if I could do that if you all name yourselves at once while looking exactly the same.
For now, I just remembered Tendo, since he was the first one to talk to me. I designated the others Dwarves B-F I couldn't even tell which one was B and which one was C and such, though.
"Oh, right. Tendo… was it? If possible, could you sell us some raw materials that We can only get here?"
"I'm Chikushodo. Tendo is on the opposite side."
"…"
Crap. Maybe I should take a paintbrush to their hair now… Damn all of them and their black hair. You gotta at least have some variation in hair color…
It's making me want to yell. Like, did you just give them all the same model to save on graphics load? No, even background villagers get different colors, at least.
"Ahhh. At any rate, Tendo—"
"I'm Gokido. Tendo's here next to me."
"It's me."
"Either way, it would be great if you would consider our request."
I believe I've explained before that the basics of being an Alchemist were transmuting base materials into something different. For example, transmuting a rock to make iron and using that iron to make a golem.
In the game, the possible combinations were limited. There was a very defined set of things that were possible. But now, things are different. If I felt like it, I could make any number of alloys or steels. And right now, we were in the country of dwarves, which was the most friendly for Alchemists. There was no way they hadn't developed some sort of new material.
So there might be some new material that didn't exist on Earth. At least, that was what I was hoping for.
"Materials only found in this country, you say… I'll gather them up, and bring them over later."
"Thank you." I smiled when Tendo (…This one's Tendo, right?) replied favorably.
To be honest, the materials I used to make Honda were far too cheap and low level, so I wanted to remodel it using better materials. While I did have materials stored away in my tower, all of them were treasures as Midgar currently was.
There was the super-rare orichalcum, then adamantite, damascus, mithril, and hihi'irokane. They were all very powerful, but there wasn't too much of any of them, so I was hesitant to use them so nonchalantly.
I don't know what'll happen in the future. I might need to make a powerful golem for my eventual fight with the Grimm King and the Goddess. It'd be terrible if I used too much of my materials before then on Honda, who was just a method of transport. Moreover, I'd already used Wootz steel when remodeling Honda to have jets.
It was a fairly strong metal, but it wasn't all that precious in the game. It was fairly cheap to obtain, but for all that, its maximum level was fairly high. It was basically a metal to make decently strong, mass-produced golems.
Now, then. I guess I'll just be watching the dwarves examine Honda for a while. They seem honest in their intellectual curiosity, but they still might not know when to stop.