Nateaser: Reborn As My Love Interest

Dio - Chapter Forty

"T-this is... Baran."

Fang's jaws dropped. I understood why but managed to hide my surprise a little better. The dwarf leading us laughed.

"Hoho, that's right, you know your stuff, Sir Beastman." He nodded, leading us through the massive city gates, beyond them a sight to behold. "Welcome to the once-great capital of the Dwarven Kingdom."

"When you said you had a shop in a nearby settlement, I wasn't expecting this one," I admitted, looking around the magnificent city. The streets were only lit by the moon, the night catching up to us, but the splendid architecture still amazed me. Only dwarves were capable of pulling this off. "I thought it was completely abandoned."

"Completely? No. But mostly, yes." Gomel explained. He lit a torch before leading the way. "The dwarves left the surface when your kind abandoned us, Sir Goblin. They had world-famous architecture and metalworking, but could not handle agriculture."

"I knew we were lost." Fang put his hand on my shoulder. I had a bad feeling about this... "Dio, you had no idea we'd end up in Baran."

"What are you talking about?" I protested, trying to shake his hand off. "I knew we were close to the capital, I just didn't expect him to live here, but as you can see, we were on the right track all along."

"Oh, you headed the wrong way, Sir Dioneras." The dwarf spoiled my plan, handing the torch to Bastion, and lit another one for himself. "But there isn't much left here..."

"So why did you remain on the surface?" Fang asked curiously, letting my shoulder go. "And why did the dwarves move underground if they already struggled to make enough food on the surface..."

"Ah, you would think it's easier to cultivate land up here. Well, I don't blame you, it's a common misconception." Gomel explained, showing us the way along a massive avenue. The buildings would stand for another millennium, but nature crawled back to reclaim the streets. "Dwarves grow different types of mushrooms or breed fish in underground lakes rich in minerals."

"Oh? I never heard of that..." Fang admitted. His head kept turning to take in the sights. While I never visited the capital, a dwarven city was near my home before the Collapse. The sights stunned me regardless.

"Indeed, grain takes an entire year to grow, and you process it multiple times before you have food on the table, but you can grow new mushrooms every day, and eat it right away." The dwarf educated Fang. "They are very nutritious, you don't need to eat much..."

"So why did you remain on the surface then?" I asked him, suspicious.

"Well... The thing is... I can't stand the taste of it." The dwarf seemed embarrassed. "Ever since childhood, I'd throw up from the fish and mushrooms. It's simply not for me. Give me bread and meat instead."

"Being a picky eater can be a problem..." Bastion nodded. He held his torch high, looking amazed. "But nothing beats starving... We met a human wizard last week, his cooking was life-saving and delicious."

"You sure fell in love with that Lambert fellow," I noted, laughing, but had no criticism for the food he made. We packed a lot of it after he gave us one of the Bags of Holding. It was an excellent parting gift for the long road and gave me an idea. "So you said you have weapons and stuff and like food? How much could we get for that wizard's meal?"

"Hard to say in advance." The dwarf hollered. He combed his thick beard while thinking. There was a sprawling belly underneath. "If it tastes that good, I might give you a spear or a sword for a portion. It usually takes me a day to make 'em when I have the materials all set up... Armors are a bit tricky, the Beastman would be easy, but Sir Goblin and the Ogre would need extra fitting..."