Since he had decided to stay in Shield City for a while, Lin Gui planned to bring in Eve, who was still waiting outside.
To his surprise, the dwarf leader Grom Stonehammer followed him out.
"I'll open the gate for you!" Grom shouted with a booming voice and a seemingly solid justification.
However, his sharp eyes scanned Lin Gui from time to time, as if he were afraid they would disappear in the blink of an eye.
Lin Gui did not notice this hidden worry.
Back at the hovering raft, Eve was standing quietly on it.
Before, they had been too far away on the iron gate for Grom to see clearly.
Now, seeing Eve's face up close with its somewhat sacred air, his thick eyebrows immediately knotted together, and he spoke in a gruff voice.
"Little human girl, have I... seen you somewhere before?"
Eve lowered her eyes slightly and gave a gentle yet distant smile.
"It must be your imagination, Master Dwarf."
"Is that so?" Grom muttered suspiciously, scratching his beard forcefully.
Grom occasionally left Shield City with the transport teams. For some reason, he felt as if he had seen this person in one of the human city-states.
He did not press further and instead waved his large hand.
"Let's go! I'll give you a proper taste of our Shield City 'hospitality'!"
He led Lin Gui, Theia, and Eve back across that massive threshold.
They did not head toward an inn or residence as expected, but instead dove headlong into...
...a noisy passage carved into the middle of the mountain wall.
After a few steps, a massive portico supported by rough iron frames appeared before them.
Above the portico hung a wooden plaque blackened by smoke.
Four large characters had been branded onto it with a hot iron: Thunder Tavern!
Even before they stepped through the door, a deafening wave of noise rushed to meet them.
Rough, wild laughter; the crisp clatter of mugs slamming together; drunken singing in the dwarven tongue; and the thumping sound of tables and chairs being slapped...
All sorts of noise mixed with the strong scents of ale and roasted meat, creating what was almost a physical shockwave.
Lin Gui's mouth twitched slightly as he looked at Grom.
"Shouldn't you take us to our lodgings to settle our luggage first?"
Grom slapped his chest, which was covered in chainmail, making a clanging sound.
Then he tilted his head back toward the smoke-filled upper floors of the tavern and let out a booming roar in the dwarven tongue.
A younger voice responded from above.
Soon, another sturdy but younger-looking dwarf climbed down a nearby metal ladder with a rhythmic clinking sound.
Grom pointed to Lin Gui's raft and gave instructions to the young dwarf.
"Baggins! Take our honored guests' luggage and deliver all of it to Council Hill!
"Yes! Right there! The most luxurious residence in Shield City!"
The young dwarf named Baggins looked at the two humans and the single elf with a strange expression.
However, he asked no questions and simply nodded before blowing a sharp whistle.
Several other short, sturdy figures arrived at the sound. They hoisted the heavy raft onto their shoulders effortlessly and walked off with steady steps.
Lin Gui's heart jumped as he watched the raft being carried away with all their belongings. There weren't many valuables inside, but it did contain the letters he needed to deliver upon his return.
Surely... nothing would go missing, right?
After all, these were dwarves, famous for their reputation and stubbornness, not the light-fingered gnolls.
Before he could think further, Grom had already enthusiastically wrapped an arm around his shoulders and began half-pushing, half-pulling him into the rowdy tavern.
"Don't worry about those little things! Come, come, let's have a drink first!
"This is the highest form of etiquette for Shield City to welcome friends!"
The moment Lin Gui was shoved into the tavern by Grom, the clamor that had been like a volcanic eruption stopped abruptly.
Every sound—the laughter, the singing, the clinking mugs, the arguing—vanished.
It was as if someone had suddenly seized every dwarf by the throat.
Dozens, even hundreds of eyes turned in unison from every smoke-filled corner. Their gazes were like physical nails, pinning themselves firmly onto the two 'humans,' Lin Gui and Eve.
Those eyes were filled with blatant suspicion, scrutiny, and even intense hostility.
The air in the entire tavern seemed to freeze, becoming so heavy it was difficult to breathe.
But when their gazes shifted to Grom, who was intimately wrapping his arm around Lin Gui, those angry looks instantly turned into disbelief.
"Captain Grom!"
A dwarf with a flush face and a beard like a stiff steel brush stood up abruptly. His thick finger pointed at Lin Gui, and his voice trembled with rage.
"You! Why are you being so friendly with these shameless humans who drove out our heroes?!"
This roar was like a massive boulder dropped into a quiet lake, instantly igniting the suppressed silence.
"Exactly!"
"The Stoneheart Clan was forced away by them!"
"Not a single human is any good!"
Curses and questions flooded toward Grom like a tide.
Faced with the surging anger of the crowd, Grom did not show any panic. He let go of Lin Gui and raised both hands, pressing them down to signal for silence.
"Quiet down, all of you!"
His booming voice drowned out the noise.
Then, under everyone's gaze, he performed a nimble flip and landed steadily on a nearby heavy wooden table.
Looking down at the entire tavern, he pulled the letter from the borderlands out of his grimy leather armor's inner pocket.
He held the letter high and waved it forcefully, the paper snapping in the air.
"Look closely, all of you!
"Open your eyes and see exactly what this is!"
His voice was like thunder, echoing through the silent tavern.
The nearest dwarf squinted and leaned in to get a good look.
"It's a letter!" he shouted hoarsely.
"It seems to be... a letter from Copperhammer Stoneheart to Orse!"
"It even mentions that stupid thing Orse did."
"Exactly!" Grom stomped his foot on the table, making the mugs rattle.
"It's for that Orse who ogled a dwarf wife's backside and got chased through three streets by her husband!
"This is a letter Copperhammer wrote to you!"
As soon as he finished, a dwarf suddenly squeezed through the crowd. With a red face, he jumped up and snatched the letter from Grom's hand.
The surrounding dwarves immediately gathered around, poking their heads in curiously to peek.
Orse quickly scanned the paper, his expression turning strange.
"Yeah, this is definitely that gambler Copperhammer's tone.
"But we haven't heard a word in years. Why would he suddenly write now? Does he even have the money for it?
"Captain, was this delivered by a transport team?
"But shouldn't the North Wind caravan be at least half a month away?"
"No!" Grom waved his hand and pointed at Lin Gui.
"It was delivered personally by Copperhammer's human friend!"
He looked around the room and declared loudly, "Not just Copperhammer's letter! There are also letters from our other Stoneheart brothers scattered across the borderlands!
"This friend braved hardships and crossed ten thousand li to bring them here!"
The tavern was instantly filled with the sound of collective gasps.
Every dwarf examined Lin Gui with shock. With their sharp senses, they could clearly tell that this human mage was only at the Mid-tier High Rank.
To cross the perilous wilderness alone at this level was practically inconceivable.
Furthermore, the two girls beside him were only at the Low-tier Transcendent rank. With that strength, they could barely cross a few of the safer wilderness areas.
As residents of Shield City, they knew the terrors of the wilderness surrounding their home better than anyone.
To the north was the Wall of Sighs, while the Silent Sea lay to the west and south. And to the east was the Giant's Canyon—though not a Forbidden Zone, it wasn't a place that Transcendents could simply cross at will.
How did this weak party even make it here?
Lin Gui stepped forward at the right moment and calmly corrected him.
"To be precise, these are letters from dwarves in New Covenant City, Caran City, and the Carter Royal Capital.
"It isn't just the Stoneheart Clan; there are also letters for other clans."
Lin Gui had seen the covers of the letters and knew for a fact that some belonged to non-Stoneheart dwarves. He was very certain of this.
He looked around at the surprised faces and spoke clearly.
"My name is Lin Gui, and I am a Messenger.
"If any of you have letters that need to be sent to other city-states, you can commission me.
"If they are within the city-states on my delivery route, I will deliver them.
"It costs only 7 copper coins per letter."
After speaking, Lin Gui pulled a stack of posters from his bag.
These weren't the discriminatory flyers from the Carter Royal Capital, but a version he had designed himself back in Caran City.
He began to distribute the posters to the surrounding dwarves. He believed that with the dwarves' love for spreading news, the reputation of the post office would soon travel throughout Shield City.
Although the final number of letters he received might not be massive—since the number of dwarves in the borderlands was limited—for Lin Gui, every little bit counted.
The dwarves accepted the posters with curiosity.
When they saw the 7-copper fee and the delivery route that spanned the entire borderlands, their eyes widened, and they wore expressions of utter disbelief.
Even Grom, who had been somewhat mentally prepared, fell into a long silence after carefully reading the contents of the poster.
His thick fingers trembled slightly as he held the paper.
Was there really someone... who would risk their life to cross the wilderness to deliver letters at such a low price, almost for free?
And from Copperhammer's letter, he knew better than anyone that the human mage before him wasn't just boasting.
He had actually done it.
One gasp after another filled the tavern. The dwarves looked at each other, completely stunned into silence by the unbelievable price and the promise made.
Rate on N.U.
