Let's leave her be

"So this is Aishia's hometown, huh."

"Yes. It's just a humble cave in the countryside."

"This is my first time visiting a dwarven village, so I'm excited."

"I gotta be careful not to accidentally revert to my original size. The collar would choke me."

Aishia's hometown, an unnamed dwarven village.

It was a cave hollowed out of a rocky mountain like an anthill. The paths were properly paved with stone bricks, so it clearly wasn't a natural cave.

"It doubles as a mine shaft, you see. Of course, we don't dig new tunnels near the residential areas, so there's no need to worry about cave-ins."

The gentle upward slope was probably for oxygen circulation. I'd heard that even in Japan, tunnels are built so the center is at the highest point.

We got out of the magitech car (though we'd actually been in the base the whole time, so it was just for show) and proceeded down the tunnel. Dea-kun and I followed Aishia as she walked confidently ahead, with Arthur tagging along.

After walking a bit, we came to a door made of iron bars to allow air circulation, where a heavily bearded dwarf stood guard.

"Hmm, visitors… who are ya? Merchants?"

"Big bro! Long time no see, it's me!"

"Wait, Aishia?! You haven't changed a bit. How ya been?"

Apparently, he was Aishia's older brother. Not an uncle or her father, but her brother. And this casual way of speaking from Aishia was quite refreshing.

"The sexual dimorphism among dwarves is way more extreme than I expected."

"It really is surprising. I had no idea males and females looked so different."

"Hm? An elf and a human and… hey, that's a dragon, even if it's tiny! It ain't gonna go on a rampage, is it?"

"It's fine, big bro. Arthur is a docile dragon. Go on, say hello."

"Nice to meetcha!"

Arthur flipped open his word cards to the "Hello" page and showed it to him.

"O-oh?! Well, how polite of you… Hey, I just talked to a dragon. I can brag about this to everyone."

"We're going to greet everyone anyway, so save your bragging for people from other villages. Oh, and I ran into Sati a little while ago. She was doing well."

"Ahhh, I ain't worried about that one. I was more worried about you getting tricked and sold into slavery or somethin'."

Yeah, spot on. I'm very much a slave right now.

"I am a slave, but I'm being treated well. Things were pretty rough before Master bought me, though…"

"Eh, you're seriously a slave?! … Ah, so one of these young ladies is your owner?"

"Yep. Her name is Karina-sama. She's an amazing Master, you know. I bet she could destroy two or three countries if she wanted to."

"What's that supposed to mean? That's terrifying."

Aishia? I mean, sure, I probably could do that, but why are you threatening your brother with me?

"If you disrespect Master, I'll dispose of you myself, big bro!"

"O-okay… Umm, Karina-san? What exactly did you do to my little sister?"

"Weeeell… All I remember doing is treating her wounds and taking care of her basic needs like food, clothing, and shelter?"

I genuinely have no idea. When did your loyalty get this high, Aishia?

"Hey. Can you go tell everyone in the village ahead of time not to be rude to Master? And also let them know I'm being treated well so they don't worry."

"Y-yeah, got it. Some folks might get angry hearing you've been made a slave, after all. I'll make sure to explain things properly, so wait here a bit."

"Thank you. And please, make sure they understand."

Aishia smiled sweetly at her brother. The gate guard brother hurried off into the village.

After watching him go, Aishia turned her usual smile back to us.

"Master, this should take care of things! If any problems come up, I'll dispose of them!"

"… Y-yeah. Hey Aishia, weren't you acting pretty different just now?"

"It's only natural that my attitude differs between my respected Master and blood relatives."

Well, I suppose that's true, but still.

"But honestly, Master is more important to me than family, so please don't hesitate to tell me if anyone is rude. I'll ext… I'll correct them or dispose of them!"

"Hey, Dea-kun. Doesn't Aishia seem a bit worked up?"

"She's probably just pumped up for the family visit. Let's leave her be."

In any case, her brother came back, and we were to meet with the village chief first.