Norway heard heavy and decisive footsteps stop in front of his iron cage, but no one spoke for a long time, and he couldn't help but open his eyes.

The white-bearded dwarven king was glaring at him from outside the cage.

The elf felt that he probably didn't need any "pretense of etiquette" now, so he just kept silent.

"Do you know why this place is called the Silver Tooth Mountains?"

The old king asked suddenly, thoughtlessly.

It was a strange question, and Norway didn't know whether the old dwarf wanted an answer, or if he wanted to start some kind of conversation, so he could only tentatively answer: "Because the snow-covered peaks here are like silver fangs?"

The Dwarven King once again showed a look of disdain: "How old are you?"

“...... Four hundred years old. ”

The Dwarven King snorted heavily, glared at him for a long time, as if to judge whether the confusion on his face was true or false, and then suddenly turned around and walked away with the same heavy and decisive steps as when he came.

The elf's gaze followed his back blankly, still completely unaware of the meaning of this strange conversation.

He searched his memory for all the legends of the Silver Tooth Mountains, but the elves had withdrawn from the entire northern region more than a thousand years ago, when the mountains and forests had different names, they knew little about the history of the cold and vast land, and the records of the dwarves and humans he came into contact with never explained why the mountain got its name.

Duane Kotula, who was in the cage opposite, laughed, "I thought the elves knew everything about this world. Obviously, your long lives are a waste. ”

Norway ignored the frivolous provocation. He was familiar with the resentment and jealousy that lies behind the taunts, a resentment that many humans can never get rid of—elves and dwarves can live hundreds, if not thousands, while humans live for only a few decades.

His coldness angered the other even more, and the man grabbed the iron bar on the cage and shouted at him, "This mountain is called Silver Fang because it was once the lair of an ice dragon, and the dragon's name is 'Silver Fang'!"

"How do you know?" the elf asked casually, not looking too interested in the news, but his heart was already starting to beat uncontrollably.

He thought of a possibility—and that would put his young human friend at the risk of death.

A hint of panic suddenly crossed Duane's face. He stepped back and shut his mouth tightly, while his companions, including the other two who were later imprisoned, looked at him with sympathy and schadenfreude in their eyes, as if he were already a dead man.

The elf had no intention of lamenting the coldness of human nature, and his mind was spinning wildly, trying to piece together all the bits and pieces of information, and came to an unbelievable conclusion, but he couldn't put it on the back burner.

Even if there was only a faint possibility, he could not afford to ignore it.

He sat up straight and shouted, "Guards, hey, is there anyone outside!"

A dwarf hurried in.

"I want to see your king. He's just left here, trouble is catching up with him, and I have something important to tell him as soon as possible. ”

The dwarven guard was a little confused, but quickly ran out, and it didn't take long for him to run back again.

"His Majesty has gone to the bottom of the pit, and he will not allow anyone to follow, can't you wait?"

He couldn't.

“...... Mock, Mock Brass, where is he? Can you get him here?"

The dwarf scratched his beard and reluctantly ran out again.

The elf was so anxious that his hand involuntarily touched the lock on the iron cage.

That's not that hard to open.

Thankfully, Mock didn't keep him waiting too long.

"I want you to know that my friends and I came to the north to find an ice dragon. Before Mork could ask, the elf couldn't wait, "And after entering the pit, we heard that the dwarves had captured him. ”

Ignoring the look of surprise on Mork's face, he quickly continued, "Tess and Naria didn't run away, they would be desperate to rescue the dragon, but I just learned that it might not be the same one at all...... And they probably won't be able to tell the difference. Even he wasn't sure he could tell the difference between the two ice dragons, after all, it was a creature that had almost completely disappeared.

"Whether they succeed or not, they could be in danger, the pit could be attacked again, and ...... Your king has just gone to the bottom of the pit, and I believe he is on his way to meet the ice dragon, and he may be in danger as well. The elf pleaded, "Mock, you must take me to the bottom of the pit." ”

“...... Too many 'maybes', elf. Mock clearly didn't quite believe his words, "I've heard a lot of unbelievable stories, but, let's not talk about why you would want to save a dragon," he frowned and shook his head, "Two ice dragons? We haven't heard of a dragon in hundreds of years, and now there are suddenly two?"

"I know it's hard to believe. Norway looked into Mock's eyes, and with one hand slowly pushed open the door to the cage, ignoring the startled dwarf's most immediate reaction - he quickly reached for his tomahawk.

"I was able to get out of here, but I didn't. Together, we can stop everything, or let disaster happen. "The elf had learned from his Bolt dwarven friend that the millennia of hostility between the two races might be due to their diametrically opposed natures, more friction and strife, but more unnecessary suspicion that resulted from it, and that the world would have been completely different if they had trusted each other more from the beginning.

He saw a glimmer of hope in the bearded dwarf in front of him, and for now, he could only hold on to it. If that turns out to be a disappointment...... The elf silently measured the distance between him and the dwarf, and if he had to attack, he had to strike with a single blow.

Mock slowly withdrew the hand that had rested on his tomahawk.

"The ice dragon is locked up so tightly by us that it's impossible for your girls to even get close to it. He said, but his tone had loosened a little.

"You haven't found them yet," Norway reminded him, "and never underestimate the 'girls,' no matter what race they belong to." ”

Not to mention Ed and the half-elf. Norway hoped that the half-elf would recognize the ice dragon if it was Is, but he couldn't be sure about that either.

Mock hesitated for a long time—or just for a long time in the elf's sense—and finally nodded.

"It doesn't hurt if I want to go and see it. He said.

The elf couldn't help but close his eyes, rested his forehead against the iron bar, and thanked wordlessly any of the gods who had fulfilled this moment, and then tried not to get out of the iron cage so as not to frighten the dwarf again.

"We have to do it as soon as possible. He said.

"Oh, we have a shortcut we just made. Mock walked out the door on his short legs, the elves following him, feeling the urge to pick up the dwarves and run forward.

But he's sure Mork won't like that.

He could only pray that the dwarves' "shortcuts" were fast enough.