Chapter 964 964: Dinner?
In an odd way, Solenne kind of reminded Rael of himself. He always talked a lot of shit, and his only way to get out of that shit was through fighting. In that regard, she had pretty much just pissed off every dwarf here by saying the truth.
After all, when the dwarves raised their makeshift muskets and pointed them at Uriel and Solenne, Rael knew it was probably high time to step in and stop this nonsense.
Yet as he took one step out of cover, he saw something interesting. Solenne reached into her pocket and pulled out a note containing a few recipes. Rael didn’t recognize the recipes at first, but that was only because he wasn’t a blacksmith.
After a second look, he figured that the recipes were meant to strengthen materials with less than half the effort. It was an interesting recipe, and all it did was change their stance… Honestly, was Solenne better than he gave her credit for?
At this rate, Rael might actually accept her into the family rather than oppose her for all the fucked up shit she had done in the past.
Welp. That was still on the table for now, but with the recipe now in her hands, and the dwarves seeing it, Rael felt a bit more confident in their survival.
After all…
“This is… You came up with this?” the same dwarf from before asked, completely in disbelief. “I can’t seem to wrap my finger around one part though. Why does someone like you have your hands on dwarven necessities? You’re only human.”
Solenne rolled her eyes.
“Human? I’m nowhere near being a human. But I understand. If that’s how you feel despite my kindness, then I suppose I have no choice but to take my husband and leave.”
With that, she turned around, gestured at Uriel to follow her, and finally, the two of them began walking back toward the sewer entrance.
Except, before they could even take two steps back, the same dwarf from before coughed once, stopping them.
“I suppose you two can stay here for a bit. But don’t get too cozy. We’re dwarves, and we’re not your friends.”
Right…
Rael had nearly forgotten every single dwarf was a tsundere. Was it in the genetics, or maybe the lack of communication with humans? Rael could’ve sworn he’d never met a single dwarf who wasn’t a tsundere.
Finally, with this tsundere-ish acceptance, the drama had died down, and for the next couple hours, Uriel and Solenne did nothing but help out the dwarves, then eventually got settled into their own home of sorts.
It was cozy, and Rael approved of this home much more than the last one. Though, for some reason, Uriel didn’t seem the most pleased, while Solenne was beaming with happiness.
So after a few more hours passed and Uriel finally left his home to explore, Rael took it upon himself to walk out from the alley and ‘accidentally’ bump into Uriel. He had meant it to be a small bump which would do nothing but knock himself back.
And yet, Uriel was so out of it that with just his collision, Uriel thundered back and nearly fell into a puddle of mud. As for Rael, he just stood there, trying his best to act like he had been hurt as he rubbed his back with a pained expression.
That bit of pity farming was enough to tug at Uriel’s heartstrings, as he went ahead and stood up and approached Rael, a worried expression on his face as he stared at this old dwarf’s appearance.
“I’m sorry sir… I wasn’t looking where I was going. Are you alright? You’re not hurt, are you?”
“Hmph. Of course not,” Rael replied in a much deeper voice. “Though, young man, why did you come here? Isn’t it wiser to flee and find another human civilization that could defend you?”
Uriel tilted his head. “I came here because I wanted to. Rather, who are you? I didn’t see you earlier…”
His suspicions only grew further when he realized the familiarity he felt with Rael. It was instinctual, purely because of just how much of Rael’s power Uriel had. So when that realization came, the only thing left was coldness.
“What do you want from me this time?”
Rael let out a chuckle. “I’d like it if we didn’t have any more problems moving forward. To be frank with you, I really want to make up with the only son I currently have. I’m sorry for how I treated you when I came along last time. I didn’t mean any of it.”
Uriel just stared at him for a few moments, then let out a sigh. “You’re annoyingly persistent. Though my wife did say you’d come back. I honestly didn’t believe her. I thought of you as an arrogant man who did nothing but inflate his own ego.”
Rael rubbed the back of his neck. “You’re not really holding back this time, are you?”
“Should I?” Uriel tilted his head. “I feel like punching you for how you talked about Solenne last time.”
Hearing that, Rael extended his arms and pointed at his own face. “Go for it. Punch an old dwarf in the middle of a dwarven city. Let’s see how they pack you up and toss you into their furnace, idiot.”
“…”
Uriel let out another sigh, then lowered his head.
“I don’t really care much about your intentions. Honestly, I don’t hold grudges either. I forgive you, but I still won’t forgive you for all the time you abandoned me. Though… We are about to have dinner. Would you like to join us?”
Rael thought about it for a moment, his thoughts lagging behind as he failed to process that his son had actually just invited him to dinner.
Letting out a chuckle, Rael nodded, agreeing right away.
“How can I refuse? Of course I accept,” he said.
Uriel stared at him for a moment longer, then turned around.
“In that case, follow me.”