Night came and the whole village lit up.

You could see the dwarves dancing to the music, with every move they made, the earth accompanied them.

The gemstones lighting up the place went on full throttle, as if it was midday on the surface.

Food stalls, stands, showcases, you name it, they got it.

The entirety of the dwarves was overjoyed for the return of Tsikee.

The person mentioned was in the middle of all of it; drinking, eating, dancing, many dwarves gathered to greet him and they all were met with delight.

Despite being an underground village, their numbers are great.

The streets were full yet none of them seem contained… maybe that’s just the way things are.

“HAHA! I never thought I’d see that old coot walking again!”

“No he’s like a bird that broke out from his cage! HAHAHA!”

“Too bad, we won’t be needing a new chief soon”

“Hey! I heard that!” [Tsikee]

“”“HAHAHAHAHA”””

They were all relieved for the village chief, that’s all I can see right now…

Hmm?

Wait

If time doesn’t work here…

They have extreme longevity…

Considered immortal…

And yet they get sick…?

Injuries and diseases shouldn’t be possible…

“Good evening” [Stephan]

“Oh hey, I thought you’d be beside the village chief?” [Lan]

“Oh heavens no, he can have the time of his life for himself, as you can see” [Stephan]

“Speaking of which, I have a question” [Lan]

“Ask away” [Stephan]

“If time doesn’t work here and you all are considered immortal, why’d the village chief get sick?” [Lan]

“Ah, it’s quite simple. Physical injuries, terminal, or any kind of injury is void here. However, injuries involving arcana are an exception” [Stephan]

“Why?” [Lan]

“As you know, arcana isn’t something like a limb or a lung; it is an outside extension of our body, comparable to remoras. Just like remoras, they do not feed off the consumption of sharks, they require their own nourishment. If the arc we have gets blocked, overloaded or clogged, many things could happen. The chief certainly wouldn’t die if the medicine wasn’t administered but he would be paralyzed since his ark would be corrupted whilst the arcana pool here in the underworld remains wild and dense, continually injecting arcana on a broken vessel would mean that the broken vessel was still active despite being defective. Does that answer your question?” [Stephan]

What’s a remora…?

“… I sorta get it. It makes perfect sense if you put it that way. Conditions regarding arcana huh” [Lan]

“Being paralyzed would be the worst case scenario, self-destructing to kingdom come would be the best outcome” [Stephan]

“! How would that be the best outcome???” [Lan]

“As the arc overloads then explodes, it resets to its’ original form, along with the arc’s owner. The only problem would be property damage… well, consider it a home remodeling opportunity” [Stephan]

“Ha~… I see… so that’s why…” [Lan]

HOW WOULD THAT BE THE BEST OUTCOME?

I mean it’d be a problem if you were to be paralyzed but still…

Basically, the arc become the center of the person here

“There’s something I must attend to. I’ll leave you to your thoughts. Have a nice evening” [Stephan]

“Okay, yeah, you too” [Lan]

I wonder what that dude was up to…

Well, I guess he’s doing fine granted his reaction earlier at the Shroom Room

“Y-Yo” [Enrica]

“! Yo… how are you feeling? Shouldn’t you be resting?” [Lan]

Now I see why Stephan had ‘something to do’

“Yea... we newbloods don’t heal as fast as the village chief and the others but that doesn’t mean we’re helpless” [Enrica]

“I see…” [Lan]

“So why aren’t you out there amongst the crowd?” [Enrica]

“Hmm… just felt like it. Seeing all this got me a little homesick” [Lan]

“The surface huh? I wanna get there someday too…” [Enrica]

“… I’ve been wondering for a while now… why are all you gu-“ [Lan]

“Ah!” [Enrica]

[BOOM]

“It’s starting…” [Enrica]

“! Fireworks?! Underground?!” [Lan]

“Hm? Oh, look at the ceiling” [Enrica]

“Wha- it went so much higher…” [Lan]

“That’s how much the earth loves us. It moves in our favor, sometimes even without us asking” [Enrica]

“Wow…” [Lan]

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” [Enrica]

“Hmm?” [Lan]

When I turned to her, I saw an epitome of innocence and wonder.

The light illuminated from the fireworks reflected her pristine face.

All the questions I wanted to ask, I’ll save it for later.

The questions full of curiosity her eyes hold were incomparably genuine in contrast to mine.

“Yes… it truly is” [Lan]