Dea, you're such a sinful woman...

"Phew, I feel a little better now."

"I-I can't believe you actually shot through the entire stock…"

I emptied every bullet they had in stock with my dual pistols. Rapid-fire, too.

Six rounds per gun, all twelve fired in one second. A manual machine gun.

The guns couldn't keep up, so I had them do maintenance partway through. Free of charge, of course.

Now I know the guns' limits. Great test fire!

"I'm back!"

"Welcome back, Master."

"Ah, good work out there, Onee-san."

Aishia and Dea-kun both looked pretty exhausted for some reason.

I guess I made them wait too long with all that test firing.

"So, what's up? You two look really worn out."

"… While you were test firing, Onee-san, we took a look around the village, but…"

"Dea-sama was extremely popular…"

I see. Well, Dea-kun is cute, so it can't be helped.

Though if anyone actually tries anything, I'm knocking them out.

"They kept coming up with mithril ore hair ornaments, earth spider silk textiles, asking 'Won't you share a drink with me?'…"

"They seemed quite serious about proposing. Each item was an elaborate masterpiece."

For dwarves, it's common to present your finest handcrafted work when proposing.

Dea, you're such a sinful woman… even though you're a guy.

"… So, you didn't accept any of them, right?"

"What do you think I am, Onee-san!? I refused them all!!"

I think you're a very cute elven femboy. Yep.

"… Maybe you should keep Arthur-kun with you while we're in this village. With a dragon around, I doubt any pests will come sniffing."

"Me? I don't mind."

"Sorry about this. Please do."

Having bearded men sending him amorous glances must have really gotten to him. Dea-kun nodded obediently.

"It might also help to spread the word among the women."

"Like village gossip? That does sound effective, but I don't really get it. Won't the dwarf women start targeting Dea-kun instead?"

"To female dwarves, he's just 'a child without a beard,' so it'll be fine."

I see. Maybe I can pick up some socks while I'm at it, I thought, as I headed with Aishia to where the dwarf women gathered.

The women's gathering spot. It was the kitchen area.

A dwarf-sized kitchen that looked child-sized to human eyes, where dwarf women were bustling about preparing dinner.

At first glance, it looked just like an elementary school cooking class!

"Ooh, they're so loli-ish…! But look at those knife skills!"

Julienne cuts done in an instant! That's not a mandoline, that's a knife!?

And what's with those decorative cuts? They're making Tanabata strip-like garnishes while chatting away… These are veteran chefs!

"Well, they are dwarves. Compared to humans, everyone here is dexterous."

"I couldn't copy that without using Spatial Magic… Whoa, amazing."

There's a geometric pattern on that potato skin… Ah, and then she just peeled it normally. That was just idle fidgeting to pass the time, huh.

By the way, apparently the village meals are all prepared here together.

This might be another reason why the village counts as one household.

"Oh my? Aishia-chan. It's been so long. So you're still alive, huh."

"Ah. Yeah. It's been a while, Grandma. I'm doing well now as this Master's slave. Didn't Dad tell you?"

"Ahhh, now that you mention it, he did say something about a celebration feast tonight. Must be for that, huh."

A dwarf with red hair and brown skin. Looking closely, she had small wrinkles around her eyes.

… She's a grandma with only small wrinkles? She really does look young.