Tafel and Alice nodded at the elf who had been guiding them and stepped inside of the room. The elf closed the door behind them, the heavy metal closing with a clang. A deep voice boomed through the room, coming from behind the chair that had its back facing them. “Welcome, champions. I, General Governor Dupey, have been impressed by your performance.”

The chair swung around with a cracking noise, causing Tafel to flinch. She stared at the bug-eyed dwarf who had an equally large nose for a second before bursting out into laughter which was quickly stifled by a sharp pain in her back—courtesy of Alice.

Alice cleared her throat. “Greetings, General Governor Dupey.”

Tafel coughed once as her face assumed a neutral expression. “It’s nice to meet you, Governor Dupey.”

Dupey scowled. “Call me General Governor Dupey,” he said, narrowing his eyes at Tafel. She resisted the urge to laugh by biting her lower lip. “Before I hand out your rewards, do you mind answering a few of my questions?”

“I really rather not,” Alice said. She pursed her lips as Stella’s curse forced her to speak. “I think I’ll step outside while you have a chat with my party member. Sorry about my rudeness.”

Dupey watched Alice as she opened the door and stepped outside. His heartrate quickened as the remains of his lock fell to the floor. The berserk librarian hadn’t even noticed it was there. He shook his head and turned his gaze back onto the demon who was trying, but failing, to stop herself from laughing. “Is there something funny?” he asked, his voice lowering even further.

Tafel bit her lower lip. “I thought you’d look a lot more intimidating because of your voice,” she said. She cleared her throat and turned her gaze away from the odd-looking dwarf. “Sorry.”

“Am I not intimidating?” Dupey asked, furrowing his brow. “Forget it.” He sighed. “Why did you two join my tournament? No adventurer above B-rank ever joins.”

“I heard there was a nice reward for winning,” Tafel said. “I wanted it.”

“And you have no intention to work alongside me, correct?” Dupey asked.

“Yeah,” Tafel said and nodded. She turned her gaze back onto the dwarf. “That’s fine, right?”

“Of course,” Dupey said. “I’m not unreasonable.” He pushed a piece of paper on the desk towards Tafel. “Here’s a list of the rewards. Under normal circumstances, I only award those who decide to join me, but I’m willing to make an exception this time.”

Tafel took the paper and read through it. She raised an eyebrow. “What’s kalyterium?”

Dupey’s eyes widened. “You’ve never heard of kalyterium?” He muttered, “Why did I even offer it?” He cleared his throat and puffed out his chest. “It’s an alloy of orichalcum, mithril, and seven other metals that only dwarves know how to create. It’s as tough as orichalcum, but it also has an added effect of resisting magic.”

“The armor that those people wore then,” Tafel said with a nod. “But I already have armor and a weapon…. Huh, Alice had a point.” She scratched her head as she continued reading the list. “What’s a car?”

“It’s a special horse carriage,” Dupey said.

“Like unicorns?” Tafel asked, raising her head. “You strapped them to a carriage?”

“No,” Dupey said and scowled. “Not like a unicorn. The carriage is horseless and runs on explosions. We harness the power of the explosion with an engine that turns the wheels of the carriage.”

Tafel furrowed her brow. “Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Only if an accident occurs,” Dupey said with a nod. “We’ve perfected the car. Out of a hundred uses, it’ll only explode 49 times.”

“That sounds far from perfect,” Tafel said, mentally crossing out the car option from the list of choices.

“An invention is a success if it works more than it fails,” Dupey said and shrugged. “And a successful invention is a perfected one.”

Tafel’s eye twitched. “I have a feeling my husband would get along really well with dwarves if they’re all like you.”

“Where is he?” Dupey asked. “I assume he’s part of your party. Why did you attend with only two people?”

“I’m not sure where he is,” Tafel said and sighed. “He was teleported away along with a candied apple stand. Wherever he is, I’m sure he’s doing fine though.”

“Teleported away… candied apple stand…?” Realization dawned on Dupey’s face. “It was the Gemstone Merchants Clan. They’re the clan where all the free earth elementals gather. It was most likely them who took your husband. They’re the richest clan on the continent, and selling exotic or rare specimens is one of their largest sources of income.”

“Oh,” Tafel said and continued reading the paper. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“…Do you not care?” Dupey asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Would you be worried about a wolf if it was kidnapped by a flock of sheep?” Tafel asked.

“Earth elementals aren’t sheep,” Dupey said. “They wouldn’t be the richest clan if they were. Earth elementals are vicious, cunning beings. Though fire elementals may be stronger, they’re very straightforward and direct. An earth elemental will wait for the perfect opportunity before stabbing you in the back.”

“Oh,” Tafel said without looking up. “I see. What’s a mayjorb?”

Dupey sighed. “This is why I don’t bother with kindness. No one ever listens,” he said and shook his head. “A mayjorb is an orb with a spell recorded inside of it. They’re single use, but anyone can use them even if they don’t have mana.”

“Mm.” Tafel grunted. “I think I’ll go ask Alice for her opinion. I have no idea what to pick.” She opened the door and left before Dupey could say anything else. The door swung shut behind Tafel’s back, and she saw Alice sitting on a couch in the hallway.

“Done already?” Alice asked. “He didn’t ask anything weird, did he?”

“No,” Tafel said and shook her head. “Here’s a list of the rewards we can pick.” She offered the paper towards Alice. “What do you think we should get?”

Alice’s gaze ran down the page like flowing water. A second after she retrieved the list, she said, “Get the car.”

“…Why?”

“Cars are a status symbol. Trust me. It’s the most valuable thing on this list.”

Tafel tilted her head. “Have you heard about their accident rates…?”

“Yeah. 51 times out of a hundred, the car will work. That’s not bad at all,” Alice said with a nod.

Tafel muttered as she reentered Dupey’s room. “Maybe I’m the one who doesn’t understand percentages.”