The Time-Stop Breeding Uncle Wants to Retire – Chapter 52

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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It didn’t take long to reach the outskirts where we had been before.

However, it took a whole two months to reach the capital of the Dwarf Republic.

Still, Ambassador Viral’s carriage was comfortable, so there wasn’t really any problem.

I swallowed my dry saliva.

From now on, the real fight was beginning.

Bluntly put, this place was no different from enemy territory.

Even if they weren’t demons, there was a high possibility that the Dwarf Republic would view us unfavorably.

There was the matter of what we did to Ambassador Viral before. And we had an exchange of words during this negotiation.

Perhaps because two months had passed?

The season had already passed spring and was almost summer.

And as soon as we arrived at the republic, what greeted us was the noise of hammering steel and the scorching heat of furnaces.

No joke, everything around us was a smithy.

Unlike other castle walls, pitch-black walls welcomed us.

Even the ground was black.

I thought maybe they made the castle out of steel, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

“This is the capital of our Dwarf Republic, the Cast Iron Furnace.”

“Cast Iron Furnace… It definitely gives off that vibe strongly.”

“The heat is incredible… It’s not easy to endure.”

“It wasn’t this bad the last time I came.”

Helia seemed to be struggling with the heat emanating from the furnaces and stuck close to my side.

On the contrary, Cluna seemed intrigued and was taking in the sight of the cast iron stronghold.

“We achieved a dramatic advancement in technology due to the war with the demons. After all, war leads to technological development.”

“The problem is that it’s holding us back now, right?”

“…Yes, because there are always side effects to unnaturally rapid development.”

“Welcome back, Ambassador Viral!”

A woman with blue hair and blue eyes wore a steel breastplate over chain mail armor, her breastplate had the shape of a gorilla engraved on it.

“I remember seeing you before. Your name was…”

“It’s Rain Emerald. I’m the deputy commander of the Jewel Star, who protects the leadership of the Dwarf Republic.”

“Jewel Star?”

“Simply put, it’s a concept similar to the royal guard. Let’s go inside and talk for now.”

Before entering, I first gathered the Royal Knights members in one place.

Fortunately, everyone seemed to have arrived safely.

Except for Bayard, who suffered from motion sickness.

“Was she unconscious the last time we returned to the fortress?”

“Bayard has always had severe motion sickness.”

“That’s why she usually transformed into a bear and followed.”

“…It’s dangerous now.”

I was almost 99% certain.

There were demons in the Dwarf Republic.

Because the setting collection clearly mentioned that it was destroyed by demons.

I clicked my tongue.

Then, there was a high probability that the reason the Dwarf Republic was going crazy now was also because of some tricks played by the demons. And that too, from a long time ago.

Anyway, what a hassle.

If only they were the type to confront head-on.

But it seemed like they were the type to meticulously move behind the scenes like Comprachico.

Whatever, just let me get my hands on the divine sword.

I’ll kill them with one strike.

“Come to think of it, where is that renowned divine sword?”

It seemed I wasn’t the only one interested.

Commander Yuren brought it up first.

I inwardly shouted “Nice!” I had been keeping quiet because it was a bit much to bring it up first.

As expected of Commander Yuren!

Scratching the itch just right!

At Commander Yuren’s words, Ambassador Viral glanced at me and then raised his hand to point at the center of the square.

“The sword stuck in the square over there is the divine sword.”

“That’s the divine sword that can cut through anything?”

“Oh my~ It’s been a while.”

“Been a while?”

“Cluna should know. That sword was used by the first-generation hero.”

On top of that, it was the sword used by the first-generation hero?!

I barely managed to hold back my drool that was about to come out.

Isn’t that the ultimate weapon?!

If I get that, I can become the strongest!

But not yet.

It would be very, very easy to steal it with time stop.

But I didn’t want to act the same as the Time Stop Breeding Uncle.

However, that divine sword…!!

After twists and turns, we finally arrived at the reception room.

It was a place decorated with all sorts of jewels and fancy furniture, unlike the Dwarf Republic.

I thought they only cared about practicality.

“How unexpected. I thought there wouldn’t be any such decorations at all.”

“Jewel crafting, furniture making, etc. We used to treat all skills equally without discrimination. That was our Dwarf Republic, but…”

“Everything changed because of the war.”

Viral nodded heavily.

Currently, in the Dwarf Republic, only very powerful weapons were recognized, he said.

Unlike in the past.

It certainly wasn’t a good phenomenon.

No matter how much of a war it was, a war wasn’t conducted solely with weapons.

A war was carried out by various technologies and people coming together.

But they insisted only on weapons?

The puzzle pieces were slowly coming together in my head.

The absurd weapons like the mobile fortresses that popped up in the original story.

Could it be that the demons had been targeting the Dwarf Republic from the beginning for this…?

Of course, it wasn’t like they had the big picture from the start and annihilated the Royal Knights.

But it was certain that they had been laying the groundwork to absorb the Dwarf Republic’s technological prowess from long before.

“At first, we thought it was a temporary situation. But after a secret investigation, we…”

“Demons, huh.”

“…How did you know?”

“Huh?”

I inadvertently blurted out those words.

When I came to my senses, everyone around me was looking at me.

Especially Viral and Rain showed surprised expressions.

The others were also looking at me with puzzled faces.

Come to think of it, we were just about to hear the story.

Of course, they wouldn’t have thought that the mastermind was a demon at all.

Ah, damn it.

My mind was so full of thoughts related to demons that I failed to properly read the situation around me.

I quickly moved my mouth to somehow rectify the situation.

“I know of a country that fell in a similar way to the Dwarf Republic.”

“Come to think of it, I’ve heard before that there used to be several human kingdoms.”

“Well, yeah. Because of the demons, they’ve all merged into one now.”

It was not for nothing that the countries were called the Human Kingdom, the Dwarf Republic, and so on.

The only ones who hadn’t lost their own names were perhaps the Beastmen and the Dragons.

Come to think of it, there was also the Holy Kingdom.

However, the Holy Kingdom had a great symbolic meaning.

After all, they were the benefactors who allowed us to protect more than half of the continent.

Although the power of the Holy Kingdom was gradually weakening now.

“Humans have their own history. Sir Hans, it seems you’ve been through more than I thought.”

“So that’s why you said it like that…”

“Mother, what do you suspect?”

“Didn’t I tell you to call me by my name when we’re outside, Miss Clara?”

“…”

Fortunately, Viral and Cluna misunderstood on their own.

I kept my mouth shut.

Rather than blabbering more here, it was better to stay quiet and at least get halfway there.

Thanks to the two of them, I safely overcame the crisis and heard the detailed story from Viral.

Sensing something suspicious, Viral had started a secret investigation together with Rain Emerald.

And they were barely able to obtain evidence that demons were involved.

But they couldn’t bring out that evidence right away.

Because the demon’s reach in the Dwarf Republic was deeper than expected.

“If we made a wrong move, I would have been eliminated. So I had no choice but to pretend to cooperate with them and leave the Dwarf Republic.”

“Just in time, Ruby’s father said he was going to the castle of the Royal Knights. So you joined him and came along.”

“That’s right.”

“I don’t understand. Do they have to go as far as capturing their distant child and throwing them into the furnace to be satisfied?”

“…That’s…”

“I’ll directly explain that part.”

Ruby, who had been keeping her mouth shut, spoke up.

What’s with you now?

Do you have some hidden family power or something?

Those words rose up, but I forcibly swallowed them.

I replied,

“Okay, go ahead.”

“Among dwarves, there are occasionally cases where someone is born with a special power.”

“Special power?”

“We usually call it a ‘raw gem.’ The power to turn iron into gold, or to freely control the iron they forged with their own hands.”

Simply put, it was a power similar to psychic abilities.

Come to think of it, Bell Sapphire in the original story also had a similar skill.

It was a skill that consumed a gem to gain a buff.

“Then, did that man target Ruby’s raw gem?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“What the hell is that raw gem?”

“…To be precise, it’s a raw gem I inherited from my mother.”

“Your mother?”

Ah, I have a bad feeling about this…

“My and my mother’s blood can turn metal into the highest quality, even beyond that, depending on the concentration.”

Why is it that bad premonitions are never wrong?

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