Trash Prince and Ice Queen 10th Re - Life-Chapter 134: The War Room of Steam and Iron
A moment later, Ard, Eva, Hardim, Thorena, and Geoffrey entered the military command building. It was a wide, single-story structure that looked like a sprawling medieval facility specifically designed for the military. The atmosphere inside was thick with the scent of oil and iron, made even warmer by a mist of steam that somehow filled the room, compounded by the crowd of dwarves packing the interior. When they reached a set of double doors that looked like a command center or a war room, Hardim pushed them open.
Inside stood four dwarven soldiers who appeared to be high-ranking officers, along with a dwarven man with white hair, a matching beard and mustache, and blue eyes. He wore armor that seemed to be crafted from a blend of platinum and gold. On his back, he carried a massive sword that featured a rifle barrel as its blunt edge—like a bayoneted rifle, but with a wide sword blade extending all the way to the hilt.
"Huh... Thorena? Why are you here?" the man asked.
"Papa," Thorena answered.
Thorena immediately went over to the man and hugged him. Ard and Eva knew instantly who this man was, given his commanding presence that stood out from the rest; he was King Murmic II, the ruler of the Kingdom of Grimgarth. Hardim immediately prostrated himself before the king. The military officials—who appeared to be three generals—glared at Ard, Eva, and Geoffrey, who were clearly humans.
Sensing the piercing stares from the three generals, which seemed to suggest they were disrespecting the king, Ard took the initiative to drop to one knee beside Hardim. Naturally, seeing Ard kneel, Eva and Geoffrey followed suit and knelt as well.
Thorena, realizing that Ard, Eva, and Geoffrey were kneeling, immediately let go of her embrace and went over to them. She then asked everyone to stand up, including Hardim; afterward, she pulled Geoffrey forward to face Murmic.
"Papa, this is Geoffrey. I want to marry him," Thorena said loudly.
The entire room went dead silent. The three generals appeared startled and shocked, yet they said nothing. Meanwhile, Murmic simply remained quiet, observing his daughter and staring at Geoffrey as Thorena explained to her father who Geoffrey actually was. As for Ard, Eva, and Hardim, they looked a bit worried that their entire plan was about to fall apart. Geoffrey looked confused and pale; he couldn’t say a word and just stood there, frozen in resignation, as he watched the king’s face studying him with such seriousness. But suddenly,
"Hahahahaha,"
Murmic laughed loudly, clutching his stomach with both hands. Then he turned and walked to a table, picked up two glasses, poured some wine, and walked back toward Geoffrey carrying the two full glasses. He handed one glass to Geoffrey, who felt he had no choice but to take it because Thorena was glaring at him.
"I like you, human. I give my blessing to your relationship with my daughter. Welcome to the family, son-in-law," Murmic said with a smile.
"Huh... bu... but I’m still not..."
"Hey, we already talked about this, right? Please, don’t bring it up again," Thorena said, cutting him off.
"Uuuh... fine," Geoffrey replied in resignation, not daring to say another word for fear of ruining everything.
"Huff," Ard, Eva, and Hardim immediately sighed in relief, but Geoffrey turned to look at the three of them with a sharp stare. His face seemed to say, "hey, help me; if it goes like this, I’ll have no choice but to marry this mustached princess, hey... help." Meanwhile, Ard and Eva stared back with faces that seemed to say, "please hold on and just stay quiet for now; after our business is finished, then we will discuss your situation."
Then Murmic downed his drink, and Geoffrey, having no other choice, was forced to follow suit and finish his. Afterward, Murmic turned to look at Hardim, and then his gaze shifted toward Ard and Eva. He immediately studied Ard and Eva closely, stepping toward them.
"Hmm... who are you two? Can you explain, Hardim?" Murmic asked. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦
"I will explain, Your Majesty," Hardim answered.
Without delay, Hardim explained who Ard and Eva were; he also explained their objective and why they had come to the border. Murmic, hearing about Ard and Eva’s identity, appeared slightly shocked. Then, he stood up straight and bowed his head to show his respect to Ard and Eva—an action that, naturally, left the three generals stunned.
Naturally, Ard and Eva immediately asked Murmic to stand back up and take it easy; then, Murmic proceeded to introduce Ard and Eva to his three generals. They were instantly shocked, but they understood because they, too, had heard the stories of Ashton and Esmeralda—the human heroes from three thousand years ago who sealed away the demon god Malekh.
The three of them immediately studied Ard and Eva, then proceeded to ask several questions which Ard answered with a relaxed demeanor. Afterward, they were about to prostrate themselves in a show of respect, but Ard and Eva quickly intervened to stop them. They then invited Ard and Eva to sit at the long table inside the room to talk, as did Thorena, who brought a listless Geoffrey over to sit at the table.
"Alright, now I will explain the situation to you," Murmic said.
Without further delay, Murmic explained the situation to Ard and Eva: the giant forces had already advanced to the perimeter of the dwarven defensive front lines. If the front-line defenses were breached, it would mean the border fortress was the dwarves’ last line of defense.
"Okay, before we continue, may I ask—why are you at war with the giants?" Ard asked.
"The cause was a misunderstanding from long ago; the actual issue has become blurred over time. But because it has become so deeply ingrained, it is impossible for us to stop the fighting, and there is no peace with them," Murmic said, looking energized as he spoke.
"Huh? So because the war has lasted nearly five hundred years, the original cause can no longer be identified?" Eva asked.
"Something like that. But they have become our eternal enemies, and of course, we have become eternal enemies to them as well," one of the generals answered.
"If they surrender, I would consider it, but I think that’s impossible. They are just as stubborn as I am," Murmic said.
"That’s just how we dwarves are," Hardim whispered to Ard and Eva.
After that, the generals and Murmic explained the battlefield situation to Ard, Eva, Geoffrey, and Hardim. Meanwhile, Thorena just sat next to Geoffrey, clinging to him. Ard and Eva listened to the generals’ explanation, but their minds were more focused on how to bring peace to two tribes that had been at war for so long—especially since one of the generals mentioned and confirmed that the Githiess egg, a precious treasure of the dwarves, was now being worshiped as a god by the giants.
Suddenly, "blam," the command room doors burst open. Two dwarves entered dragging someone along. Ard and Eva turned, as did Geoffrey; their eyes widened because the person being dragged in by the two dwarven soldiers was Pyria. She was followed by Alicia, Beatrice, Rosalind, Adeline, Mirea, Claudia, Milia, Irwin, Irina, and Ainsley, who all filed into the room. Seeing an elf in his city, Murmic’s face turned bright red, and he stood up, slamming his hand against the table.
"What is the meaning of this? Why is there an elf here!" Murmic shouted.
Ard and Eva immediately stood up. They rushed over to Pyria and demanded the two dwarven soldiers release her; Pyria instantly hid behind Ard.
"She came with us, King Murmic," Ard said loudly.
The atmosphere turned tense. Geoffrey stood up from his seat and joined the rest of his friends, ignoring Thorena. Dwarven soldiers flooded into the increasingly strained room, leveling their rifles. Hardim could only shake his head; he looked like he had aged ten years in just five minutes. Ard and Eva stared at King Murmic, whose face was flushed and looked ready to explode, as he glared back at them with Thorena standing by his side.
Seeing the situation descend into chaos because of her, Pyria’s face was filled with deep guilt. She gripped Ard’s arm and brought her face close, right between Ard and Eva’s ears, to whisper,
"I’m sorry, Ard, Eva. I took off my disguise in the inn room and didn’t realize the room was being monitored. I was arrested immediately," Pyria whispered.
"It’s okay. We’ll handle this together," Ard whispered back.
Alicia, Beatrice, Rosalind, Adeline, Mirea, Claudia, Milia, Irwin, Irina, Geoffrey, and Ainsley turned to face the dwarven troops surrounding them, standing back-to-back and drawing their swords. Ard and Eva did the same, preparing to pull out their weapons even as they remained locked in a staring contest with Murmic and Thorena right in front of them.
Hardim stood up and joined Ard and Eva, though he cast a sidelong glance at Pyria behind them.
"Please, next time be honest from the start and explain everything. For now, let’s talk to the king and don’t offend him again," Hardim muttered in a whisper.
"Sorry, Guild Master," Ard replied.
"It’s fine, it’s already happened," Hardim shot back.
Hardim’s hand moved to grip the handle of his rifle, ready in case the tension finally exploded into open war.
