CHAPTER 273: SMALL STORIES, BIG HEART ( 273 )

He stretched his back with a groan, rolling his shoulders.

Ridan floated nearby, still silent.

Then—

Clap.

Another.

Clap clap clap!

A sudden burst of applause erupted around him.

Hazuki blinked.

Turned his head.

And froze.

He hadn’t even noticed it—

but a small crowd of dwarven kids had gathered around him, squatting on crates, sitting on baskets, even peeking from behind stalls.

Wide-eyed.

Mouths open.

Hanging onto every word.

Some adults clapped too—grinning, arms crossed like they just watched a tavern tale unfold.

"Whoa, Uncle!!" one kid shouted, stars in his eyes.

"That’s awesome!" another yelled.

"You met a legendary dragon!?"

"You beat a minotaur all by yourself!?"

"Tell us more, Uncle! More story!!"

Hazuki stood there, stunned.

One hand half-raised in confusion.

"...Uncle?"

He turned slowly to Ridan, who was now smirking like the smug cloud he was.

"Don’t look at me. You were monologuing so hard, I didn’t wanna ruin your spotlight."

Hazuki groaned, hand on his forehead.

"Ugh. I was just talking to you..."

A small dwarf girl tugged at his cloak.

"Uncle~ was the dragon beautiful? Did it have shiny scales?"

Hazuki looked down at her.

Then sighed.

"...Fine."

He sat down on a nearby crate with a tired grin.

"You know, I was a newbie adventurer back then... ah no—actually, I wasn’t even an adventurer at all."

Hazuki chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head as he sat on the crate, surrounded by wide-eyed dwarven kids.

"I didn’t have weapons, skills, or even underwear that matched the world standard."

One of the dwarven kids blinked. "What’s underwear?"

"Trust me, kid, that’s a secret you’ll learn when you’re older." Hazuki gave a tired grin.

He looked up at the cloudy morning sky.

"Back then, I thought this world would give me a grand start—you know, OP powers, a harem, magic swords... what I got instead?"

He held up a finger, "One. Orcs. Horny male orcs."

The kids gasped in unison.

"Two. I had no weapon, no idea how to fight, and no cheat skill. And the best part?"

He leaned closer, lowering his voice. "They complimented my ass while chasing me through the forest like it was a prize turkey on festival sale."

The kids burst into laughter.

Hazuki shrugged and grinned. "And that, kids, is how I started this glamorous isekai journey."

The kids leaned in, giggling and whispering excitedly.

Until a nearby dwarven elder suddenly cleared his throat.

"Shhh! Quiet now, ye little beardlings!" the old dwarf barked, thick accent rolling like gravel in a barrel.

He stepped closer, arms folded, beard braided with iron rings that clinked when he moved.

"Listen well, lads and lasses. Orc males in heat? That’s no joke. Real trouble, that is."

The kids blinked in confusion.

The elder nodded gravely.

"Ye lose yer manhood—not the dangly bits, aye—but yer dignity. Yer pride. Yer stance as a warrior."

He tapped his own belt with a grim look.

"Once they pin ye down... ye’ll never walk straight again."

Hazuki nodded solemnly.

"See? Told you. I ran like hell just to save my ass."

He pointed dramatically.

"Lucky a squad of human knights happened to patrol the area and saved me. If they hadn’t—"

He shivered.

"Damn. Just imagine getting tackled and pinned by four bulky, muscle-flexing, groaning orcs—"

One of the kids gasped. "Ewwww!!"

Hazuki threw his hands up.

"Exactly!! You’d never walk straight again. Ever."

"So what did you do after that, Uncle?" one of the kids asked, eyes still wide from the orc horror tale.

Hazuki scratched his cheek, expression calm now.

"Hmm? Nothing much. Like a normal guy. I worked as a wall repairman for a while."

A few dwarves nearby raised their brows.

"Seriously?"

Hazuki nodded.

"Yeah. Carried bricks, stacked stone, fixed holes on the wall, sometimes in the middle of monster attacks. I met a lot of people there. Some kind, some annoying."

He leaned forward slightly, voice a little quieter.

"You know... just trying to survive. Daily life. Saving up coin. Slowly. Carefully."

He pulled the shortsword from his side and showed it to the kids.

The blade shimmered faintly, the metal colored a light green, glowing slightly in the morning sun.

"Took me a long time to save enough for this sword. Ten silver coins. Hard-earned."

The kids gasped.

"Whoa... that’s beautiful!"

Even some of the dwarven vendors looked over.

One of them stepped closer, eyes narrowing at the blade.

"That’s... a rare piece, lad. Light-core metal with a mana-reactive fuse. That ain’t normal steel."

"You’re saying you got this for ten silver? Who made it?"

Hazuki just shrugged, nonchalant.

"Some weird blacksmith. Hesbeirn his name. I just handed him the coin, and he gave me this."

The dwarves murmured among themselves, impressed.

One of them scratched his beard.

"Hmph. That ain’t something ye see every day. Not even in dwarven forge stalls."

Hazuki sheathed the sword again calmly.

"Well. It’s been with me since then. Helped me survive more than once."

"Uncle’s cool..." one kid whispered.

"He’s like a real storybook adventurer."

Hazuki snorted softly.

"I’m not. I’m just a guy who didn’t want to die."

"So, Uncle... can we ask something?" one of the kids asked, pointing shyly at Hazuki’s hand.

"Hmm?" Hazuki tilted his head.

"That ring... isn’t that a pinky promise ring?"

Hazuki glanced down.

"Ah... yeah. Kinda. Why?"

A beat of silence—

Then suddenly—

"OI LAD!! FOR REAL!?"

One of the dwarven vendors dropped his wooden mug in shock.

"Ye made a pinky promise!?" another barked.

"With who!?" a third leaned in, eyes wide.

The nearby dwarves started murmuring, gasping, looking at him like he just walked in wearing a wedding dress.

Hazuki scratched the back of his head, awkwardly.

"Uh... I didn’t know it was serious back then. I thought it was like in my old world. Just... a kid’s thing."

He sighed.

"This little girl named Ellyn kinda tricked me into doing it. She forced it, really. I didn’t know."

"A KID!?!?!"

The whole street echoed with that one shout.

A dwarf dropped his hammer.

Another dropped his bread.

Even Ridan, floating quietly above, let out a pfft.

"What?! I’m not guilty!" Hazuki waved his arms.

"I didn’t know the rules!"

The dwarven men all stared at him—with absolute pity.

"Man... this lad can’t even touch another woman now. Not even a casual flirt. Not even a brotherly hug."

"That oath sticks till death! He’s bound for life!"

One of them leaned back and shook his head.

"What if the girl turns into a bloated, fat, ugly mess later? HAHAHA!!"

"Oi! Poor lad will wake up next to a troll every day!"

The whole crowd burst out laughing.

Hazuki slumped forward on the crate, face buried in his palm.

"...You guys are cruel."

A kid tugged his sleeve gently.

"But... if she stays beautiful, then it’s romantic, right?"

Hazuki glanced at the kid.

Paused.

Then smiled faintly.

"Yeah. That’s what I’m hoping for."

( End Of Chapter )