Amidst the kingdom’s clamor of banknotes and silver coins,
A ghost…or rather, someone cloaked like a ghost, wandered Arkenia.
It was Wiz, the Millenium Minister of Industry.
“Hmph-.”
‘Seeing Master’s face outside like this gives me a strange feeling.’
With a banknote in her hand, she looked every bit the human.
No one paid her any mind.
Considering her rank and status, this was extremely odd, but…
In truth, it was only natural.
Her visit was a top secret, unannounced to anyone.
Her rank was concealed as well.
‘What’s the point of announcing it? I need to see how they’re really living.’
“Where… southeast would be that way, right?”
After touring the capital, she soon zipped away.
At full speed, she headed towards the southeast of Millenium.
Not long ago, Mel had delivered news of improved treatment for the dwarves.
She was going to see it with her own eyes.
Thanks to her rank-appropriate speed, it didn’t take long.
-KWA-KOOOM!!!
‘They’re setting off bombs~ They all seem to be having fun.’
The sound that greeted her arrival was the explosion of explosives shattering thick bedrock.
A smile graced Wiz’s lips.
She was reminded of how much the dwarves, her subordinates, had loved this.
[Do we like it? You have no idea! A month’s worth of digging can be turned to dust in an instant!]
[Besides, it’s kind of cool, isn’t it? This thing called dynamite.]
[We, who have experienced various arts, can declare with certainty: explosions are art.]
‘They must have had a hard time working under duress until now… but now their work-life balance should be better.’
Light footsteps pattered.
Wiz’s steps headed towards the coal mine.
Since Mel had spoken so highly of it, she believed that the dwarves’ lives had improved considerably.
Indeed, the first mine she visited was fine.
“A human? Who… gasp!! What a beautiful device this is!!”
“A steam engine prototype. I made it.”
“Who are you…?”
“I am Wiz, recognized as a blacksmith by your kin.”
“Lady Wiz! I heard from a fellow dwarf who came as a supervisor! That you created something amazing called a steam engine….”
“What, the news has already spread? How embarrassing.”
Dwarves flocked to her, their eyes shining.
Like those who had met a revered artisan, purely.
They were covered in soot, but looked healthy.
“Anyway, how are things these days? Millenium requested that your treatment be improved. Has it gotten better?”
“Of course! The human bastards still nag, but they treat us pretty well once we finish our work.”
“They even serve beer after meals. It’s a little flat, which is a shame….”
“Flat beer? That’s crossing the line. I’ll talk to them separately, so wait a bit.”
“Long live Lady Wiz!!”
“Say long live the great Teonar. It’s all thanks to her grace.”
“Long live the great Teonar!!”
Thus, the mine was filled with praise for Teonar.
Wiz’s satisfaction doubled.
‘It’s the same with other races, but I’m especially fond of these guys.’
What’s more, the dwarves were her subordinates and colleagues.
They were a race that had suffered ‘forced labor’ together in the workshop, weren’t they?
Naturally, her heart went out to them even more.
Far from looking down on them for their low rank, she was eager to take care of them.
‘They’ll be toiling under me in the future anyway. I should treat them well in advance.’
There were other intentions as well, but anyway.
Afterward, Wiz listened to their grievances for a long time.
With an attitude that was very mature, unlike her appearance.
She was the most moderate of the five, as expected.
“Okay… is there anything else that’s uncomfortable?”
“No, there isn’t!”
“Just that we hate seeing those humans who don’t even know the first thing about craftsmanship?”
“Just bear with it a little longer. Master said that one day she’ll bring you all to Millenium.”
“Long live the great Teonar!!”
“Alright. Good work.”
Thus, the first mine. Passed without incident.
The situation was similar in the other mines.
“Lady Wiz!? If you were coming, you should have let us know….”
“How are things these days? You have no idea. It feels like heaven compared to before.”
“It still pisses me off that we have to work for disgusting humans, but….”
“Still, it’s bearable.”
“That’s a relief.”
The treatment had improved considerably.
In Wiz’s view, it was about 40 points.
Since the original working environment was 0 points, it could be seen as a very big change.
Therefore, she returned with satisfaction…
“——U-Um, Lady Wiz?”
“It’s Pin, isn’t it? What’s wrong?”
“Actually, there’s one suspicious mine.”
Just as she was about to return, she heard some information.
A dwarf from the workshop who happened to be dispatched here was saying this.
That there was something suspicious.
“There’s a mine that they absolutely won’t let me approach. The deposits seem to be quite large, but the general manager, a human, personally blocks access.”
“Suspicious.”
“Yes. I don’t hear any explosions, but I do hear the sound of rocks being mined….”
“Is it some kind of secret research base?”
“I don’t know. I’m just a little uneasy.”
“Why?”
“I thought I heard groaning from inside. I’m not sure, though.”
“I see, I’ll check it out.”
At that, Wiz’s figure flashed again.
She headed to the mine that her subordinate had told her about.
Even prepared to reveal her identity as the Millenium Minister of Industry if she was stopped.
Fortunately or unfortunately, no one stopped her.
“I think I’ve come to the right place… huh?”
“Kuh-uh… phew~ kuh-uh….”
“A human?”
The sight that greeted her as she entered the particularly dark mine.
In front of a passage blocked by iron bars, an old man was sleeping, completely drunk.
Around him were several cups of beer, gifts for the dwarves, scattered about.
‘Embezzlement? Haa, I knew it would be like this.’
Wiz didn’t get angry.
She thought that there would be at least one or two people like this.
She just sighed, thinking that what was coming had come.
It was a part of her kind nature that was revealed, but…
——Things changed after she saw beyond the iron bars.
-Clang… clang……
“What is this.”
Inside a dark cave with not even a single torch,
Dwarves with dying faces were swinging pickaxes.
They didn’t even seem to notice she was there.
‘There’s no coal there? If they just drilled some holes and used bombs, it would be done in one shot, so why are they doing such useless things?’
‘I can’t help but notice the shackles on their feet. But why are they wearing knives around their necks?’
‘If they do something like that, the efficiency… is…….’
-Pause.
“……Hands?”
Wiz’s gaze soon turned to the surroundings.
Towards the supports installed in the cave, wooden structures installed to prevent collapse.
Many severed hands were hanging there.
“Could it be…? You there.”
“……Uh, eh.”
“Where did your hand go? No, who did this?”
“Uuh…?”
“Answer me, now!!!”
She roared, letting out a shout filled with anger.
The sound echoed loudly in the cave, so much so that an echo returned.
Only then did the dwarves turn their gaze towards her.
Unlike the ones she had seen earlier, their black eyes were filled only with fear.
“H-Heek…!!”
“It’s not night yet!! I haven’t met my quota yet….”
“Quota? You there, come here and explain immediately.”
“…Dwarvish!? How can a human….”
“Answer me. What, exactly, is the meaning of this.”
“I, you’re not a human… that’s right.”
The dwarf with the severed left hand hurriedly opened his mouth.
It wasn’t easy to understand because he was rambling in a parched voice, but.
Wiz’s rank allowed her to understand it.
“This is a mine directly managed and supervised by the general manager. You haven’t seen the sunlight once since you came here. If you don’t meet your quota, your wrist will be cut off, and next, your neck. Is that right?”
If they didn’t meet the mining quota, they would be punished as an example.
By cutting off the hands that were most precious to the artisans, and eventually taking their lives as well.
“Even if we meet the quota, on days when the humans are in a bad mood….”
“You bastards are worse than beasts.”
They even cut them off simply because they were in a bad mood.
It was something that Wiz had never thought of, or even wanted to think of.
She felt chills.
‘I can accept enslaving them. The law of the jungle, it’s natural for the strong to rule the weak.’
‘But, this isn’t right. It’s just for the sake of tormenting them.’
‘Even though they’re a different race, why….’
…No, these things are different races. From us.’
Her hands trembled.
Anger dominated her emotions.
Her vision was dyed crimson.
-Gooo…
“H-Heek!!”
“Please, have mercy….”
“Sorry, I can’t control myself very well.”
It wasn’t just her imagination that her vision was dyed red.
Crimson magic. A fire of destruction that burns everything.
The powerful energy of a top-tier race surged.
According to the logic of the law of the jungle.
She was now the absolute strongest in this mine.
There was no one who could stop her.
-Flash.
“It’s okay. If I use my strength now, the mine will be blown away, but I don’t even need that.”
“T-That’s….”
“A gun. It’s a prototype, but its power is sufficient.”
A cold metal machine was in her hand.
A manufactured product taken from Teo’s Hyperspace.
The pistol she had developed.
Even throwing off her cloak, Wiz took a step forward.
‘I thought humans weren’t a bad race. Even though they’re foolish, I believed that we could communicate with them someday.’
‘But… is that really the case?’
‘No, that’s not it. Even unintelligent monsters don’t do this.’
‘Torture and punishment for the sake of tormenting the weak, without any meaning. Only a demon would even think of doing such a thing.’
‘And yet, coexist with these things?’
-Click.
‘This time, Master is wrong. We and humans cannot coexist.’
The muzzle was soon pointed at the general manager, the old man sleeping alone beyond the iron bars.
Her finger was on the trigger.
‘First, let’s kill him. And then, as the Minister of Industry, I’ll formally raise an objection.’
‘This is their clear breach of contract. It’s okay to kill this old man, even if it’s just one person.’
‘They killed them too, didn’t they? They cut off their heads, didn’t they?’
‘An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Don’t even think about dying comfortably.’
And then, she pulled the trigger…
-Clang.
“P-Please don’t.”
“…What?”
“No, don’t….”
A faint voice was heard just as she was about to pull it.
Wiz’s gaze turned beyond the iron bars.
What she saw were dwarves clinging to the iron bars.
Their faces were pale and terrified.
Their bodies were trembling, overwhelmed by her rank.
Even though she had opened the door, they couldn’t even think of taking a single step outside the iron bars.
“…… You guys.”
Was it subjugation born from learned fear?
Was it simply a heart that worried about her?
Or was it both?
It didn’t matter.
The gun that had been aiming at his wrist fell to the floor.
“Wait a moment. I’ll call Master.”
‘I’ll show them, and persuade them….To eliminate these demons.’
Her hatred of humans burned even more coldly.
* * *
A little later.
“……Kuang.”
‘I thought it couldn’t be true when I heard the name Leopoldus, but was it really him?’
Teo descended upon the scene of the interspecies abuse.