Hmm, a diversity party.

Blacksmiths don't just make weapons and armor. Kitchen knives, of course, but also scissors, pots and ladles, nails, and pretty much anything made of metal is made at a smithy.

The prices are a bit high since they're handmade and there's labor involved, but in this Karkassa dungeon, there are Armor Ants with iron exoskeletons, so iron products in particular are reasonably affordable.

In fact, the gear I bought while gathering information on smithies, safety shoes with iron plates, were quite a bargain. (Though they still cost 25 silver coins per pair.)

Aishia called out toward the smithy.

"Excuse meee. Could I have a moment?"

"Hm, what is it? A custom order?"

A short man with a red beard came out. Is he the master dwarf?

Aishia had the alcohol I'd given her in her hands, and he was eyeing it.

"Excuse me, I'd like to observe the smithy. Could you call the person in charge?"

"Hm, oh, sure. Hey, Pops! Customer wants a tour."

So apparently that dwarf was just a regular worker.

"Dea-kun, I thought that guy was the master."

"Same here."

"Huh? That boy is probably younger than Dea-sama, since he's a dwarf."

Really!?

"Wait, so about how old is that dwarf!?"

"Um, about 15 years old, I'd say. Probably an apprentice smith."

"So he is older than me, then. I'm about 30 years old."

Really!? So Dea-kun was legal all along…!?

"Elves are long-lived, after all. In human terms, he'd be about 11 years old, Master."

"Oh, is that so? How's the lifespan for dwarves?"

"Not much different from humans. Though the women tend to look young."

Aishia said this, puffing out her chest. Hmm, a legal loli. Every party member is a legal loli… no wait, maybe Dea-kun is quasi-legal? Quasi-legal shota.

"I see. Even so, now that I'm actually looking, I really can't tell their ages."

"Aishia and Sati-tan are older than that guy from earlier, after all. And it seems from a dwarf's perspective, you can actually tell their ages properly."

From an elf's perspective, that guy apparently looked like he had an especially dignified beard… Of course it would look like an old man is hitting on a child. Yep.

Then, a white-bearded dwarf appeared. I see, the presence is different.

"So, you want a tour? How peculiar."

"Nice to meet you, Master. Please accept this as a token of our acquaintance."

"Alright, you can look around as you like as long as you don't get in the way. Make sure you look after those young ladies you've got with you."

Through dwarf-style negotiation (alcohol bribe), Aishia easily obtained touring rights. That was quick!

"We did it, Master. They said we can watch the forging too!"

"I was surprised how easy that was."

"It was probably Sati's alcohol. He got interested the moment he saw it."

Aishia was proud of Sati-tan's contribution, nose held high.

Meanwhile, Dea-kun was furrowing his brows.

"… They both had such impressive beards. As I thought, without being told, I can't tell which one is the master. Karina-oneechan understood, didn't you?"

"I see. So from an elf's perspective, you can't tell a dwarf's gravitas either? You know, things like the texture of the beard, the wrinkles, the look in their eyes?"

"When you put it that way, I feel like I somewhat get it… If I touched them, I could probably tell by how refined their mana is, but…"

"I can't understand that at all. To me, dwarves just look like either a fresh young adult or a skilled older man, plain as day."

It seems the three of us each perceive things differently even when looking at the same person. Hmm, what a diversity party.

… …

I wondered just a liiiittle bit about how those two see me, but let's keep that between us.