No Game No Life - Volume 10 Chapter 1 part 1

── Sora and Shiro came back from their thoughts and looked at the problem in front of their eyes once more.

Before their eyes── that is, the presumed dwarf lying on the bed right in front of them. The dwarf had a coat like a firefighter’s covering them, so it was impossible to tell their gender ── No. Without Emiline’s information it would have been impossible to even determine if the rucksack-like thing was a living being. This Unidentified Object X had been harvested, carried, and washed by Jibril before throwing it on the bed… and now──

“They’re still not waking up. What should we do?”

“… Nii… are they… really alive?”

The Unidentified Object X still hadn’t moved at all, so now they were doubting whether it was even alive. The pair was getting worried, so Jibril solemnly kneeled on one knee and told them:

“Since it was harvested from Master’s field, that means it belongs to Master. You may do with it as you please ♥”

… Let’s make a stretch longer than the horizon and say that Jibril’s argument is true  ── Even so!!

“So this thing with a wrong vertical aspect ratio and a beard is mine!? I don’t want it! What I want is to know how I can get it to wake up so I can tell it to ‘please go home’!!”

Sora remembered the disappointment he felt the first time he saw a Dwarf and lamented:

… Aah ── I had some great expectations.

In this world… the Warbeasts were animal-eared girls. The Seirens weren’t fish-men, but proper sirens. The Elves too were fair-skinned, blond, and long-eared. Such a world ── gave me a dream!

That the Dwarves would be super-strong girls like in manga! Or that they would be legal lolis like in eroges!! Surely ── they wouldn’t be faithful to the old stories where both men and women are rough and have beards!!

… But in the end it was just a dream. Sora lamented the reality of the situation ── however:

“I’m terribly sorry Master, but I beg you to reconsider.”

Jibril folded her wings, put her hands together as if she were praying, and continued:

“── There is nothing better than Dwarves in this world.”

………

……… Well then. Is a meteorite going to fall today too?

Sora and Shiro unintentionally looked outside the window to confirm their apprehensions about today’s weather, but ignoring that:

“More specifically, that’s because they require a ‘catalyst’ like this to use magic…”

What Jibril held in her hands was ── a gigantic mechanical-looking hammer. It was a hammer so big, it was about Sora’s height even when it was buried with the Unidentified Object X. Sora and Shiro didn’t understand the details behind this ‘catalyst’ but──

“What… so they can’t use magic unless they have something like a magic wand?”

“… ? And they are… the best for that? Wouldn’t that be… lame instead…?”

Sora and Shiro instantly thought about Sunday morning animes, and presented their doubts together. Magical girls have the inescapable fate of selling toys (for profit), so they always have to come with some merchandise…

Then, what kind of adult circumstances (fate) are the Dwarves bearing? Is what Sora and Shiro’s gazes were asking.

“A Dwarf’s body hair is mythril, their eyes are orichalchum. With such special spiritual materials in their bodies──”

Jibril gulped… and continued:

“When they use spirits from within their bodies, the spirits get amplified because of the mythril’s nature … In the worst case scenario they overload ── so instead, to use magic they have to use orichalcum to synchronize with something outside their bodies, something that was made to be overloaded: their ‘catalyst.’”

That answer made Sora and Shiro narrow their eyes even more.

── So it’s magic… in other words, something beyond our understanding (crazy).

Since Sora and Shiro were humans with common sense, they didn’t understand any of the details at all… but.

In short, it’s not that Dwarves can’t use magic without a ‘staff.’ They were simply so powerful that they couldn’t control their power without one…

… The one thing Sora understood was that the concept tugged at his boyish heartstrings ──

“They also engrave many complicated runes into catalysts and combine them. By making a machine with interchangeable parts, they can also change the combinations of runes they can cast ── This machine has a ‘core catalyst’ and by synchronizing with it, they can cast many different types of magic ── They can even pseudo-cast the multi-spells that were originally exclusive to the Elves──” Jibiril was using a lot of technical terms. She showed Sora and Shiro the big hammer she held in her hands and finished her explanation:

“And that machine is this ──── the ‘Spirit Code.’”

──── ‘Spirit Code’…

In other words, this mechanical hammer’s countless parts are all catalysts. And each and every one of those parts has minute runes engraved in them? And by rearranging and combining those they can uhm… cast some awesome magic…

Even though they were simple humans, Sora and Shiro understood how the rank 8th race works, so they became calmer instead of nervous, when suddenly:

“In other words, the Dwarf can’t use magic without this hammer, right Jibril?”

“You are absolutely right. As expected of Master, of course you’d notice.”

*gulp*… Jibril gulped again and sweat ran down Sora and Shiro’s cheeks.

──── Why does Jibril have something so important?…

“I dug out this hammer and picked it up ── Yes… I was able to pick it up”

… She was able to pick it up. In that case──!

“Since ‘theft’  is forbidden by the pledges, then this hammer is a lost item, and since I found it, it’s mine now ── In other words, this means the pledges have acknowledged that the hammer belongs to Master now──!!”

“But no… misappropriation of lost things is clearly against the pledges, right?…”

“… If they told us… to return it… we would be forced to do so… “

While they were retorting Jibril’s passionate speech, Sora and Shiro understood. The reason why Jibril had declared that the Dwarf belonged to Sora and Shiro was──

“Yes. Masters would! That’s exactly what would happen if you were told to return it. However, since I have the hammer, and I’m nothing more than Master’s possession, they have no right to ask me to give it back!!”

Jibril said with a radiant smile, and she was right. In other words──

“Therefore, if they told me to return it, I’d have no obligation to give it back ♪ I’m sorry Masters, but I’ll just ask you to leave for a little while, make this Dwarf agree to a small game by the pledges ── and then this Dwarf will become Master’s possession. This is already decided ♥”

That’s right, Jibril can make the Dwarf agree to a game. By force. That’s because──

“The Dwarf can’t leave ‘severed space’ or win in a game of my choosing without this hammer ── without their magic♥”

As soon as Jibril does that, the Dwarf will have only 2 alternatives: They will either reject Jibril’s game and be unable to leave, or they will accept it, lose it for certain, and become Jibril’s possession.

Jibril was looking at Sora and Shiro with upturned eyes, wanting to be praised. What she had just described was a brilliant set up that was like a devil’s.

── Hm. Jibril… has come really far, huh?

Sora and Shiro smiled with warm eyes. They were about to give her words of praise just as she wanted ── however.

Jibril gulped again as she approached the Dwarf ── and Sora and Shiro noticed the nuance behind her gulps. She was salivating.

“So Master, before you leave, there is something I want to ask. Here we have some spirit amplifying mythril, and some soul synchronizing orichalchum. During the Great War, I could just catch as many as I wanted, but after the Ten Pledges got established, the Dwarves became extremely valuable ‘walking ore veins’…”

Well, it looks like there’s no need to worry about meteors today. Sora and Shiro thought, and remembered Jibril’s words:

── ‘There is nothing better than Dwarves in this world.’

“So how should I process this one!? Please tell me! Uehe he～”

“Can you at least see it as a living being!? Why don’t we just give their hammer back right now!?”

Jibril asked for ‘mining instructions’ with a blade of light in hand, so Sora couldn’t take it anymore and screamed. And surprisingly, the two who agreed with him were the spectators in the corner of the room from 2 different races:

“Seriously～… This devil’s only talent is killing. Such simple mindedness is quite troubling～”

“Agreement: In the first place it’s impossible to process this substance. Flügel’s critical lack of intelligence reconfirmed. Stuuupid.”

Fiel and Emiline said, but ── Aah this again?…

Killing intent exploded for the second time today, so Sora looked up to the sky melancholically ── However.

Suddenly… He lowered his gaze from the ceiling, looked into Shiro’s eyes, and thought:

──── A Flügel, an Ex-Machina, an Elf ── and a Dwarf…

… It might be just my imagination, but I feel like right now, in this tiny store’s bedroom in a corner of Elkia, the ingredients for a second Great War have been gathered…

Kinda, mayb────────eeee!?

“Eheeem!!!! Emiline ♪ What do you mean by ‘impossible to pro──”

“Yes, let me answer that Master ♥ That’s just an antiquity’s outdated information. Please ignore it♥”

In order to try and avoid a Second Great War, Sora had clearly turned to ask Emiline. However, Jibril teleported in front of him and blocked even his gaze ── so Sora and Shiro had the same thought:

Was the explosion that shook the building just now really just an illusion?…

“… Hindrance: Mithril and orichalchum can only be processed by Dwarves. This much is obvious.”

“That’s not true, Master. If we had the Old Deus Okein’s fire we would be able to process it ♥”

“Scorn: Stealing the Godly Forge is the same as taking control of the God of the Forge, Okein. Please tell us your plan to accomplish that. Well, it’s not like you have one anyways.”

“None of this matters ～♥ I’ll just dispose of it deep underground so I don’t contaminate the soil ♪”

“Rejection: If it’s only harvesting, then it’s possible. Recommendation: Disassemble the raw materials and resell them. Easy money.”

The three girls from three different races were pushing each other away with hostility and made three completely unrelated requests ── however.

“Hey, does no one here remember the Ten Pledges?… Don’t just assume we’ll kill them!!”

It looks like the decision to murder someone was unanimous, so Sora raised an objection ── but then.

── The shock of a third explosion shook the store.

“Wait ── that just now wasn’t just an illusion, right!? It was a real explosion, right!?”

The heat from the explosion clearly wasn’t an illusion, so Sora covered Shiro and screamed. Had he failed to stop a Second Great War? Sora’s fear was more than half serious. When suddenly…

“……… It looks like… they were awake…?”

“Assumption: It was planning to escape by feigning sleep. However, its Spirit Code is broken. It exploded due to a failed spell. Boom.”

Shiro and Emiline pointed at the burning and trembling backpack in the corner of the room. It was just as they said ── the backpack had woken up already and it looks like it was waiting for a chance to run away. Then, the escape magic misfired so the backpack had no choice but to tremble with a broken hammer and head in their hands. That backpack was, of course, the Dwarf.

………… And it was only natural.

As soon as they woke up, Jibril’s plan to deprive them of their human rights was already in progress. Plus, a Flügel, an Ex-Machina, and an Elf were having an argument about ‘how to kill it’ ── it was a nightmare. But even so, the hero Dwarf had recovered their hammer and tried to run away. Sora and Shiro respected that, but ignoring them:

“── ? Oh dear… why did that happen…? It’s quite mysterious, isn’t it?” Jibril muttered, in sincere wonder.

“You saying that with the same mouth that was seriously planning to kill them is kinda off-putting, Jibril!!” Sora tried to bargain with the devil, but:

“Ah, no Master. Not that… over there──” Jibril said, and Sora and Shiro opened their eyes wide.

── The Dwarf was still trembling in fear, but there was something around them. Countless afterimages moving at speeds that Sora and Shiro were barely able to perceive.

The pair didn’t know what they were. But like a video playing backwards, the hammer was being fixed by the afterimages ── Sora and Shiro were barely able to see the countless tools that were being juggled in the air ──

“As you can see, the Dwarves are an extremely dexterous race, do you understand now?”

“… No… We can’t see… And we don’t understand…”

“Hmm… the only thing I understood is that they are incomprehensibly dexterous…”

The Dwarf was repairing their hammer so fast it literally couldn’t be seen by the naked eye.

It looks like the dexterity of their fingers is also faithful to the old stories. Sora and Shiro thought with half-lidded eyes, surprised. However.

“Such a race failed? At a rune spell?… It’s quite mysterious──”

“Sorry to interrupt you. But before that, can you explain that mystery over there?”

“Mr. Mole, you can use magic even without your Spirit Code, you know? If you just take the spirits into your body the only thing you need to remember is not to explode!! I mean, you are just going to get killed anyway, you know ～? It’s sink or swim, you need to activate your escape magic!! Come on, show me how cool～ you are Mr. Mole! 1-2 do your best ♥ 1-2 explode and die ♥”

── A certain big breasted girl had no intention of letting the Dwarf, or the opportunity to kill them, go. Fiel was jumping up and down around the Dwarf with a full-faced smile ── and telling it to ‘pls die ♥’ in a roundabout way.

The Elf was trying to provoke the Dwarf into stopping the repairs and trying to do magic without the Spirit Code──

“Fiel, were you always like this!? Actually, Kurami she’s your responsibility so hurry up and stop her!!”

“──── Eh? I-I have never seen Fii like this! Hey! Fii!?”

Due to Fiel’s abnormal hostility towards the Dwarf, Kurami had been out of it in the corner of the room this whole time. However, Sora’s voice woke her up, so she raised a flustered scream and tried to stop Fiel.

── Jibril had destroyed the Elves’ capital during the Great War, but Fiel had forgiven her after harassing her just once. However, Fiel’s mysterious enmity towards the Dwarf was harder than cement, and that’s what made Sora ask his question. So Jibril bowed and answered:

“Well Dwarves and Elves are as irreconcilable as oil and water, or cats and dogs for example.”

Aah. The bad relationship between the Dwarves and the Elves is common in older and newer works, and in both eastern and western literature ── However!!

“And which of the sixteen races aren’t irreconcilable with each other!? Do you really expect me to believe that such a common thing is causing this change in personality!?” Sora roared angrily at the people who were rushing to restart the Great War since a while ago, but──

“Warning: Overload detected. Master, I strongly recommend you take shelter inside this unit’s skirt. Herein.”

“Ah. Master, it looks like it chose to ‘sink or swim.’ It’s either trying to run away or explode.”

“Stop them!! Kurami, take Fiel somewhere else! Jibril──”

Sora screamed. The two weapons had told him that the Dwarf was about to self-destruct as if they were merely chatting. Then, one after another, Sora, Shiro, and Kurami’s instructions and pleas flew through the room…