Ushi City.
Smelting Workshop.
This place gathered all of Ushi City’s workshops for processing and crafting weaponry, ironware, copper goods—
And various types of ore workshops.
Next to the workshops, there were more than a dozen large warehouses.
Inside, goods crafted by each workshop and ores transported from outside Ushi City were stored.
As Willis led the group of women closer, they could already hear the clanging of hammers echoing through the air.
The streets here were always damp and strewn with mineral slag.
Water from the workshops wound its way across the ground, forming a seemingly endless trickle.
Within the flow, black mineral residue swirled.
Anne walked at the front, and the girls looked around curiously at the environment.
Passersby were equally surprised by their unmasked beauty.
It was rare to see such beautiful women in a place filled with sweat and iron hammers.
And there were four of them at once!
A few pedestrians even stared so hard they stepped right into a gutter of waste water.
Which drew hearty laughter from others.
‘It’s so hot here!’
Anne fanned herself with her small hand, pointing at the chimneys of the workshops.
From the dense chimneys and vents, thin wisps of smoke drifted, carrying waves of intense heat.
Even with the tall chimneys, the air shimmered from the scorching heat even at a distance.
There were more than thirty such workshops, large and small.
Aside from the ten largest workshop complexes managed and funded by the Castle Lord’s Mansion, the rest were private workshops.
Big and small, crowded together, radiating overwhelming heat.
Yes, literally.
On the broad road outside the workshops, carriages loaded with ores or finished goods rolled by.
Many pedestrians entered various workshops, selecting retail products inside.
At the end of the street stood the largest workshop compared to the others.
The wooden sign above was covered in thick black soot, but its name could still be faintly seen.
‘Dwarf God Dimuoluo.’
Ofilia read out the words.
At that moment, a dwarf with a face full of beard and big red eyes came out carrying a basin of dirty water.
Without a word, he hurled the basin.
Victoria jumped in surprise, quickly pulling Willis aside to dodge.
Anne also barely managed to avoid it.
Only Ofilia at the back stood stunned.
She got splashed on her pant leg, and dirty water trickled down from her calf.
‘Hey! What are you doing!?’
The blonde girl stormed up, pointing down at the dwarf.
‘Apologize!’
‘Apologize!?’
The dwarf didn’t even look back as he walked into the workshop.
‘This is the territory of Dimuoluo! Forget a basin of water, even if I poured molten iron, you’d have to endure it!’
His foul attitude made Ofilia’s anger boil over.
Whether they were customers or just passersby, wasn’t this behavior too vile!?
She looked back at Willis and asked, ‘Will… Master, can I use magic to teach him a lesson?’
‘Oh?’
Willis nodded with interest.
‘If you can manage it…’
Ever since she’d been locked in the dark room, Ofilia had behaved obediently.
At least in front of Willis.
This was the first time in days Willis had seen her get angry.
And the thought of using magic for payback intrigued her.
Ofilia was a super Genius Mage with extreme affinity for wind, thunder, water, and fire.
Her natural talent was higher than 99.9% of people on this continent.
Unfortunately, nurturing such a super genius required astronomical resources.
It was as despairing as darkness.
Not just a few times more than a single magic type, but geometrically terrifying!
The current Laiensi Family couldn’t possibly afford it.
Let alone four elements, even supporting her in one was barely possible.
That was why the Laiensi Family sold her off as a commodity.
Looking at it now, Willis felt like she’d struck gold.
As long as—
She could bear the cost of nurturing this girl with endless resources.
But if she rebelled, just like the Laiensi Family feared she might marry out…
If she became someone else’s asset, that would be an utter disaster.
‘You said it!’
Ofilia glanced at her wet, dirty legs and at the dwarf’s shameless attitude.
All the resentment from being bullied by Willis these days erupted.
If I can’t defy my master, do I still have to put up with a dwarf blacksmith!?
Ofilia rolled up her sleeves.
Lightning magic instantly gathered in her hand, forming a low-grade Lightning Ball magic circle in just 3 seconds.
Lightning Ball— a low-tier, non-lethal spell.
But enough to paralyze an enemy for several seconds, depending on their strength.
Perfect for teaching a lesson.
The speed and control of her casting made Willis nod in satisfaction.
Indeed, my own is always the best!
Imagining pinning her down and bullying her, Willis licked her lips.
Noticing Willis’s malicious gaze, Ofilia snorted and fired the Lightning Ball at the dwarf’s back.
But what happened next left Willis speechless.
‘Hey! Be careful! Don’t say I didn’t warn you!’
As Ofilia’s words fell, the dwarf didn’t even flinch, letting the Lightning Ball hit him.
Willis, seeing his total indifference, immediately activated the Real Eye.
【Beneath this sweat-soaked, filthy rag is a vest forged by a master’s hand from Magic Sealing Stone and various magic-resistant materials. Magic below a certain power level can’t harm it. Recommended to strip and wear yourself—if you carve two holes in the chest, otherwise it’s too stuffy.】
Willis’s eye twitched.
‘H-how can this be!?’
Ofilia stared at her hand in disbelief.
Then at the dwarf, who, unfazed, walked into the workshop, picked up a crude item from the shelf, and tossed it into the trash bin.
He completely ignored Ofilia’s attack.
He cursed.
‘Who the hell made this garbage!? It’s worse than a defective product!’
‘You even dare put it on the shelf? You disgrace my name, Dimuoluo!’
‘Fei’er, was this your dog-begotten handiwork!?’
At the dwarf’s angry roar, a skinny young man with a bronze torso ran out, wiping sweat.
‘M-m-master…’
‘Scram!’
The self-proclaimed Dimuoluo kicked him.
Pointing at the weapon in the trash can, he shouted, ‘I can’t believe you’re my disciple… Damn! You make me sick.’
‘Did you forge this!?’
‘Y-yes!’
Fei’er lowered his head in shame.
Though Dimuoluo was half a head shorter, his presence was overwhelming.
‘You piece of crap! How did I end up with such a blockheaded apprentice!?’
The dwarf grabbed the junk weapon from the trash, berating it.
‘Look here, I told you to hammer it thirteen hundred times! Keep changing positions to make the force even!’
‘And here, the edge is completely off, the power is too strong, it’s all bent.’
‘Master, it’s not bent…’
Fei’er protested weakly.
‘You still dare talk back? Want me to get an 80,000x magnifying glass to show you!?’
Dimuoluo kicked Fei’er.
‘Or are you such a dog-born cross-eyed fool that you can’t tell straight from bent!?’
Dimuoluo actually jumped up and smacked Fei’er on the head.
‘What pisses me off the most—how many times have I told you to add Refining Agent when purifying low-grade ores!?’
‘Look at this crap you forged! You dare put it on my shelf? Disgrace! Ptooey!’
Outside, Willis and the others stared in shock.
They’d heard that dwarf blacksmiths were short-tempered, but this was on another level.
And to their eyes, the so-called ‘junk’ weapon had no flaws or bends and was sharp.
Was something like that really trash!?