Chapter 2172: Gathering Ends

While the orcs were having fun, the dwarves stayed in the villa and enjoyed the buffet at the side. They were given their own table, one that matched their heights. They also had the option to interact with humans, but they were also given enough space so they didn’t have to.

It wasn’t because it was racist, but their identities were sensitive, and many of them still innately disliked humans. Who’d want to be uncomfortable at a party?

Anyway, there were many dwarves, and they could entertain themselves well, especially since she dropped a few magic tools in her space for them to play with.

Not to mention, they never had this variety of food before. In the granite mountain, their diet was primarily monster meat. They were practically little carnivores.

They were omnivores though, so they were also very fond of the vegetable dishes.

"So good!" Hisi exclaimed as he ate the skewers with veggies and meat.

"I like this one, too," Chisi added from the side, filling his bowl with his second serving of noodles.

The dwarves had a ramp next to the buffet table so they could get what they wanted, and they really were getting what they wanted. If this went one, considering their height, they would become walking balls.

While they ate, they saw that some of them were engrossed with the phone.

Curious, they toddled over to see what he was so busy with, expecting him to just be looking at photos, since that was what know the phone was used for.

They saw Choisi, one of the younger dwarves, pressing around. He was matching gem-like things of the same color, which would explode in a satisfying way when they form a line of three or more.

"I was pressing around..." Choisi muttered absent-mindedly as he played, answering when someone asked him questions. He was really fascinated with how the images on the screen changed whenever his chonky fingers touched something.

At some point, he accidentally opened this. He was so shocked at first, especially because it was so colorful.

The dwarves stared and watched.

And that was how the dwarves got addicted to a game called Candy Smash.

...

Speaking of the dwarves, when Valhalla and the others saw them, they were shocked. When they were called over the first time, they just thought Tanko and the others were making trouble because they were greedy for Alterran goods.

Who knew the ’goods’ the couple brought in were far more valuable than they thought?

They hadn’t seen dwarves in a long time, and many of the locals had never even seen a dwarf at all. Unlike territories like Hassen and Bleulle that kept dwarves, Warrior City never did, so this race was very much a novelty to them.

At the time, Valhalla could only heave a deep breath. "You really do big things without people knowing!"

And he knew full well this was an understatement. Alterra had a record of surprising him, no matter how high he set his expectations—whether it was in innovation, culture, or other things.

"I just hope that whatever Alterra creates with the dwarves, our Warrior City can be among the first to buy them," he said, raising his glass for a cheer.

Althea and Garan smiled. "You probably wouldn’t be disappointed."

And he really wasn’t.

...

The party soon ended, and every guest left the villa. Althea and Garan went to the master’s bedroom, a little whoozy.

Garan carried Althea with one hand and took out a bottle with the other. "Virion gifted us one of their latest alcohols. He says it’s for couples," he said.

The couple happily brought the drink to their room and had a taste as they lay around.

Unexpectedly, it was stronger than they thought. It was a mix of various fruits, some of which Althea either wasn’t familiar with or were processed in a way she could not recognize them.

It also had some aphrodisiac effects.

Their bodies heated up within a few cups, and they could tell that the aphrodisiac was not weak.

Garan’s face darkened when he realized this. Was that bastard implying that he needed this?!

He then looked at his wife who had taken a sip, looked at her reddish cheeks, looking particularly enticing—like a fruit waiting to be plucked.

Well, it was his wife with him, so there was no harm done. They could technically endure the effect, but since they were just together in a private place, might as well deal with it with how it was meant to be dealt with.

Along with good alcohol, the fire between the couple ignited, burning the atmosphere inside the room.

The two did not leave the room for the entire morning, delaying their trip.

Virion was in the living room for a visit. When he saw their states, he gave them teasing looks.

"You’re welcome."

"We didn’t need it. We have a loving relationship," Garan said with a deadpan expression on his face. "Try with your own wife."

"..."

....

It was already too late to travel this time, so they sent a post to say they’d be delayed a day. They also had to wait for the orcs to return. For one reason or another, their orcs—Quo Town or not—all ended up outside, hunting.

Later, they would find out that it was instigated by the Eastern orcs, since they really couldn’t let a day pass by without fighting.

They actively went to hunt level 30 beasts, which took them several hours, especially since they had to handle some weaker mobs in between.

The orcs on this side were also apparently not aware of the effects of the meat in the body. It wasn’t that it didn’t work with them, because they did. It was just that they didn’t eat enough of the proper leveled monster to notice the difference.

Only monsters above level 10 had decent effects on the orc’s bodies, with weaker monsters giving just enough sustenance to fill the stomach. On the other side, this was easy to obtain because the average level of monsters there was stronger than this.

Further, since they settled down around towns and cities, they had access to pharmacy goods, so they really hadn’t noticed the effects until someone pointed it out.

One had to remember that orcs looked at things at the surface level. In fact, the other side only found out because they had so many chances to find out, considering the level of monsters there, and they had no other choice but to fight.

Further, the orcs were pretty much on top of the pyramid on this side of the wall, and they rarely got so badly injured that they would feel the difference after eating monster meat. Those who encountered extremely strong monsters were likely orcs from Warrior City.

Though the potions had milder effect on them, they still did work to some degree, so they just never found out about the ’meat cheat’. Now, it was good, and now they were especially eager to hunt monsters.

Virion gave them a lot of looks and grinned. If Garan were a bit more flexible, he’d have rolled his eyes.

"Come on! Let me show you around," he said. "There are parts of the city only nobles could access~!"

Hearing of this, the couple was intrigued, and the two of them followed him. They had toured a bit of the city before, but they had their priorities, so they couldn’t do so for a long time.