By the time Gauss returned to Farlim, it was already late at night.
The biggest difference between a big city and a small place is the nightlife; Farlim was lively even after dark, full of bright lights and merriment everywhere.
Back in the city, Toga, who had just endured two days of gut‑wrenching fear, finally let out a long breath.
The group returned to the Adventurer’s Guild and settled the commission.
"Then we’ll leave this piece of mithril to you."
Gauss and the others received the reward for this commission.
He weighed it in his hand; it was roughly a bit over twenty pounds, about ten kilograms.
After Albena checked it and confirmed the quality of the mithril was fine, this commission was considered finished for both sides.
Don’t underestimate those twenty‑odd pounds of mithril. According to Albena, it should be enough to forge three suits of armor for someone of Gauss’s build, with some left over.
Mixed into high‑strength steel, mithril is enough to boost its defensive power several times over.
"We’ll go with you guys."
Knowing that Bruno and the others were also unfamiliar with this place, Gauss didn’t mind forming a temporary party with them in the city.
After all, these were some very big spenders.
Getting on their good side was definitely not a bad thing, and Dwarves generally don’t have any real ill intent. As long as you can put up with their blunt tempers, most people can feel fairly at ease becoming friends with them.
...
"Drink!"
Inside the tavern, cups clinked and wine flowed.
The Dwarves, who had originally held a bit of awe toward Gauss, seemed to turn into completely different people once they had some alcohol. They stood on chairs, faces flushed, throwing an arm over Gauss’s shoulder and waving the other as they shouted loudly.
"Gauss, I swear on my beard, you really need to eat more. You’re as skinny as a stick of firewood right now—no woman is going to be attracted to that."
"Bullshit!"
Albena, standing beside them, grabbed Bruno and lifted him up with one hand.
She let his short, thick limbs flail in the air.
"Lord Gauss, don’t listen to this little shorty’s nonsense."
"You’re perfectly fine as you are."
Albena really was anxious. The odds were low, but she was genuinely afraid Gauss might take it to heart and end up becoming the kind of barrel‑chested, thick‑waisted build these Dwarves admired, topped with a big, bushy beard like a tumbleweed.
Just picturing Lord Gauss turning into that made her feel like the sky was collapsing.
Gauss just sat to the side drinking, shaking his head with a faint smile and saying nothing.
With his inhuman Constitution, ordinary alcohol was no different from plain water; no matter how much he drank, he couldn’t get even a little bit drunk.
He simply couldn’t figure out why Dwarves got drunk so easily.
He guessed it was partly due to their Constitution, partly due to their inherent personality—their straightforward nature probably made it easier for alcohol to amplify everything.
As for aesthetics, he didn’t take it to heart. His build was very standard.
And Bruno’s advice wasn’t malicious anyway; a Dwarf’s eye for beauty just differed drastically from a human’s.
Once drunk, the red‑faced Dwarves started tap dancing in the hall again.
It wasn’t until late at night that Gauss finally herded the Dwarves back to their own rooms.
He had finally figured out why they had wanted to team up with them temporarily.
Clearly, they felt that with him around, they could vent their emotions and drink to their hearts’ content without worry.
...
The next day.
When everyone sobered up,
Dwarf Toga and the others were much more restrained.
"Drank too much again last night."
"I was just thinking you were upset, you know?"
Dwarf Toga and Bruno chatted outside their room.
"Morning."
"Morning, Gauss."
The two greeted Gauss.
"We caused you trouble yesterday," Toga took the initiative to say.
"It was nothing."
Gauss waved his hand.
He understood that these Dwarves needed alcohol to wash away the gloom and terror of the past days.
The inn’s staff brought breakfast—roasted meat and tea.
"Gauss, you’re staying in Farlim for a few more days, right?"
"Yeah, we’re waiting for the adventure group approval to come through."
"We’re planning to stay here a few more days too," Bruno said happily.
Gauss glanced over at Toga.
She seemed quite calm in her response.
He had heard from Bruno why they’d had that argument a few days prior.
The reason they left the Dwarf Kingdom and traveled south, aside from training, was to head to the Demon nation in the far south to have a look.
At least, that had been the original plan.
But on the way south, Toga and Bruno quickly came to a disagreement over it.
Bruno felt that their strength was far too weak and that it wasn’t the right time to enter the Demon nation; it would be better to train for a while along the borderlands.
Toga, however, felt that he’d simply been scared senseless by the monsters they’d encountered along the way.
Looking at things now, that experience of leaving the group and getting captured had made Toga recognize her true strength.
Objectively speaking, she was indeed strong enough, capable of dealing with most enemies they’d encountered, but the outside world was fraught with dangers, and she clearly wasn’t strong enough to handle everything.
From that perspective, this incident wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for her.
"An adventure group, what’s that?" another Dwarf, Sean, asked.
"You don’t even know that? Looks like taking you out this time was the right call—otherwise you’d just stay home swinging a hammer all day," Bruno said, shaking his head.
He gave his companion a brief explanation.
Gauss watched the scene quietly.
He could guess that these Dwarves were probably all from the same clan, and Bruno likely held a relatively high position among them.
Aside from Toga, who was level 6, Bruno was level 5, and the other three were level 3 and 4, basically all Warriors using Great Swords and axes.
If the adventure group application was approved, he could form additional squads.
Toga and the others in front of him were a pretty good choice.