Getting Brimdal to agree actually hadn’t been that difficult.

After all, he was still an honorable Knight at heart, fully prepared to sacrifice himself for the sake of saving the world.

...At least, that was the explanation I decided to give the Empire.

“I failed to recognize a tiger cub when I saw one.”

—Inside a carriage racing across a barren desert, Brimdal glared at me while grumbling.

After more than twenty escape attempts, he’d finally been caught on the twenty-first.

"Over these past years of chaos, I’ve seen countless Fallen. Every last one of them claimed to be the true master of some world.”

"I’m sure they did. Why are you bringing that up?”

"Now I realize they were all frauds. If any of them had actually been like you, the Empire would’ve collapsed within 3 days.”

His gaze drifted toward the thin stream of water binding his legs.

It looked rather insignificant—yet Brimdal’s sword couldn’t cut through it. After trying over and over, he’d finally accepted his fate.

He simply sighed as if he were still unable to believe it even now.

"Just how much are you capable of?”

"I honestly don’t know yet. I’m figuring it out as I go.”

"..."

Brimdal shot me an irritated look from where I sat at the coachman’s seat, clearly thinking I was talking nonsense. But it was the truth.

"Hmm..."

There was a reason I was sitting at the front guiding the carriage manually instead of just manipulating it with currents.

Vision. After dragging the Abyssal Sea into the real world during the rescue of Elisia, my ordinary eyesight, which had become nearly useless compared to my Tide Sense, had suddenly gained a new purpose.

'They overlap.’

I repeatedly closed and opened my left and right eyes one at a time, checking again and again.

Through my left eye, I saw the normal world. An endless desert. Horses sweating as they pulled the carriage forward.

But through my right eye, I saw the Abyssal Sea.

The desert was still there, but it existed at the very bottom of the ocean. It was the exact landscape that would appear if I fully summoned the Abyssal Sea into reality.

Naturally, the Abyssal Sea visible through my right eye belonged entirely to me. A domain I could manipulate however I wished. If I waved my hand, currents would form. If I wanted, I could create as many deep-sea creatures as I pleased.

"This can’t just be a hallucination…”

After some thought, I came to a conclusion.

Both of them were real. The difference was simply between the world seen as a human and the world seen as the Outer God of the Abyssal Sea.

Could I use this? I clenched my fist and moved the Abyssal Sea I was seeing.

-Ruuumble...

Within the ocean depths, a massive vortex formed, forcibly dragging up sediment at the seabed before erupting upward.

At that exact moment, Brimdal, who’d been sitting there looking annoyed, suddenly widened his eyes and stood up.

"Damn it, a sandstorm.”

"What?"

"This isn’t the season for one, tsk. We should turn back now. Once we’re inside it, you can’t see direction or anything else, for that matter.”

"Ah, it’s fine. I made that.”

I unclenched my fist, dispersing the vortex. The sand that had risen into the air fell harmlessly back to the desert floor as if nothing had happened.

Changes that occurred within the Abyssal Sea manifested in reality as well.

Of course, what I’d just done wasn’t especially meaningful on its own. I could’ve accomplished the same thing using ordinary currents.

Still, it felt like something that could be applied in other ways. As I nodded to myself thinking that, Brimdal let out a hollow laugh.

"...Didn’t you say you fell into a world called the Abyssal Sea?”

"I did."

"Then how in the world are you making sandstorms…?"

"It’s a long explanation. Do you want to hear it? We’ve still got a long way ahead of us anyway.”

"...Never mind."

Looking utterly drained, Brimdal slumped back against the carriage wall and waved me off.

"And what do you mean a long way? We’re already here.”

-Creak.

Following Brimdal’s direction, we arrived at a desert.

Which, admittedly, wasn’t strange considering we’d already been in a desert. But this was literally just more desert. Nothing but sand stretching endlessly in every direction. As I looked around, Brimdal snorted and tossed out a joke.

"You idiot. You got tricked.”

"What are you talking about?”

"You came all the way into the middle of a desert and still haven’t realized it? Where’re the mines? Where’s the alcohol? Dwarves don’t live in a place like this. I fooled you.”

"Ah, yes. Hilarious.”

Ignoring him completely, I pulled out some rope and tied him up before walking toward a nearby sand dune.

Brimdal’s expression instantly darkened.

"You..."

I hadn’t stopped using my Tide Sense for even a single moment.

Naturally, I’d already found the dwarves’ hidden base over an hour ago.

"So you asked me even though you already knew?”

"I thought maybe you’d tell me willingly. I was planning to untie you if you did, too. A shame, really.”

"Haah, you really haven’t changed at all. Humans growing this little mentally is pretty rare…”

-Boom!

The instant Brimdal let out that exclamation, the sand dune, about the size of a small hill, exploded, scattering in all directions.

Beneath it was a narrow copper tube, barely large enough for one person to squeeze through.

Lightly opening the entrance, I lifted Brimdal first using my currents.

"Let me warn you first.”

Sounding genuinely serious for once, Brimdal sighed as though he’d already given up.

"This is seriously an idiotic move. The dwarves aren’t foolish enough to undertake a project of that scale over a single enemy. And honestly, they probably won’t even be happy to see you.”

"Yep. I’ll handle that part just fine myself.”

After tossing Brimdal inside, I jumped in after him.

There were no ladders nor ropes. It was a pure free fall. One that almost lasted 5 full minutes.

At this point, it felt like we were plummeting towards the planet’s core, and just as I was about to frown at that thought, light appeared below.

-Thud!

"...?"

"Huh? Hic.”

Beneath the desert—

Was a completely different world.

It was, quite literally, another world. Despite supposedly being underground, a blazing sun hung proudly in the sky above. Below it stretched a low-ceilinged city that looked as though it had been built entirely from steel and brass.

And within that city, there were no fake dwarves like Brimdal but real ones.

Short in stature, with bushy beards and a muscular physique. The smell of molten metal clung to them as they carried hammers, swords, anvils, and tongs through the city streets.

The moment we dropped from the copper tube positioned at the center of town, dozens of dwarves turned to stare at us. They looked like they’d only just begun their workday, each carrying armfuls of tools.

"That’s a human..."

Before hostility could fully settle into their eyes, I quickly held up the bound Brimdal.

"Greetings. It’s a pleasure to meet you, dwarves.”

"Wh-what?”

"The Empire has apprehended a particularly vile dwarf child abuser. During interrogation, he confessed to committing similar crimes in his homeland as well, so despite the rudeness of intruding like this, we’ve come to extradite the criminal.”

"...Th-that’s Brimdal. It really is.”

"They actually caught him?"

Murmurs spread through the crowd. But the dwarves still hadn’t made a judgment.

Now was my chance. I immediately grabbed my key to unlock my workshop, opening it using one of the several doors around me.

"Furthermore, His Majesty instructed us to ensure not even the slightest disrespect would occur during this meeting with the dwarves. As such, we’ve brought a small gift.”

The inside of my workshop was packed to the brim with ore.

It was neither gold nor silver.

It wasn’t refined steel either, but raw ore.

"Heh."

Seeing it, Brimdal let out a mocking laugh.

"You fool. Bringing steel as a gift to dwarves? Are you sane? Do you know how many hours a day these bastards spend mining?”

"I hope the gift will please you.”

Ignoring Brimdal casually, I used a current to lift one of the steel ores and tossed it toward the murmuring dwarves.

The dwarf who caught it looked utterly unimpressed at first, turning it over lazily in his hands. Then his eyes slowly widened.

"...Hold on. Huh.”

"What? It’s just normal steel.”

"No, it is, but…it feels different.”

"What?"

One by one, the dwarves began grabbing pieces of the ore. Their expressions brightened almost immediately.

"Hah, never in my life have I seen steel ore like this.”

"I can’t wait to melt this down.”

I’d already known ordinary gems or common ore wouldn’t impress dwarves.

And considering I’d never once seen Brimdal drinking, I doubted imperial alcohol would interest them much either. So the real appeal of my gift was its uniqueness.

Remembering when I’d gifted pearls from the Abyssal Sea to Elisia, I’d gathered every ore-like mineral I could find from the mountain-like formations inside the Abyssal Sea.

Fortunately, their composition seemed slightly different from anything mined on land.

Well, that place wasn’t an ordinary sea trench. Naturally, the minerals produced there wouldn’t be ordinary either.

An old enemy of the dwarves and minerals, unlike anything they’d ever seen before. The two gifts seemed to work extremely well together.

"Human brat, we gratefully accept your Emperor’s gift! Welcome!”

"I’m glad to see you like it."

First impression, resolved.

"...Goddammit."

It seemed the only one dissatisfied here was Brimdal.

*t*t*

"Wahahaha, this stuff's incredible!”

"Tell me about it! We finally managed to lock up that monster bastard!”

"Come now, my friend! Have a drink!”

Between the steel and Brimdal, it seemed Brimdal had been the more effective gift.

Locked inside a prison cell that looked absurdly durable even at a glance, Brimdal sat there with a sour expression while the dwarves hurled taunts at him. Meanwhile, I sat in the palace of honor being served endless beer and bread.

"Thought humans had completely lost interest in us. Seems like you finally started coveting our weapons again!”

"Haha! Haven’t there been talks of wars starting again lately? That must be the reason!”

"Wasn’t that like 100 years ago?”

The dwarves were much friendlier than expected.

Rather than eccentric master craftsmen, they felt more like simple countryside elders. Which only made me more curious about what exactly Brimdal had done to make them hate him this much. Still, something else took precedence right now.

"Um, by the way..."

After enough alcohol had loosened the atmosphere, I casually asked while spreading my Tide Sense around the city.

"Which one of you is the King of Dwarves, if I may ask? His Majesty specifically instructed me to greet him personally.”

"The king?”

"Aha, the king? Why not make Kornax the king?”

"Yeah, I’m king! Pour me another drink, wahahaha!”

The dwarves jokingly shoved each other around before shaking their heads at my confused expression.

"We don’t have anything like that.”

"We respect the greatest craftsman who creates the finest weapon, sure, but that doesn’t mean they can command us.”

"All we do is gather together, forge weapons, judge them, and fight each other! What use would we have for a king?”

"Ah, I see…”

They were even less organized than a primitive tribe.

Part of my plan immediately hit a snag. If there had been a ruler, I could’ve persuaded a single person. But if there wasn't, then I’d have to persuade every single dwarf here.

'What method should I use?'

As I thought it over, I spread my Tide Sense throughout the underground city and found a massive mine located at its center.

Countless rails and carts filled the cavern. Pickaxes and rubble were scattered everywhere. It looked so active, it felt like they’d been working there mere moments ago.

"Well then, should we get back to work?”

"Indeed. Tell your emperor we’re very pleased with the gift. Ah, perhaps we should forge you a weapon while you’re here."

Then the solution instantly hit me.

"....Would that be possible?”

"Huh?"

"With all due respect, His Majesty might suspect I simply stole the ore without ever truly meeting you dwarves.”

"Hoh, is that so?”

"Yes. Therefore…”

Wearing the friendliest smile I could muster, I bowed my head in front of every dwarf present and made my request.

"If you would forge even a single small dagger, one that could only be made by dwarven hands, then I shall present it directly to His Majesty. Would that be acceptable?”

"Wahaha! "Acceptable," he asks?"

The dwarves burst into hearty laughter before nodding enthusiastically—

"Indeed, after receiving steel this fine, we can’t very well wipe our mouths and pretend nothing happened! Good. Then we’ll forge you the finest blade we possibly can! One so magnificent that no one could ever doubt you truly met dwarves!”

—And magnificently took the bait.