Chapter 131 Celebratail

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We marched towards the capital, accompanied by gongs and cheers from the entire mines. Only the dwarves in our party raised their hands and screamed with the crowd. The elves simply waved their hands to the public as if it were a royal parade, and they were the guests, maintaining a professional smile along the way. Edelweiss, the best doctor among the elves, didn't forget to slip in potions for dwarven epidemics to Lily, Sana, Alith, Mark, and Rick for our use. I prompted Lily to use it immediately, fearing the worm that had tried to parasitize me before.

The tailfolk merrily waved both their hands, occasionally jumping as we greeted the crowd. Not wanting to be the odd one out, Mattheus tried to mimic the elves, but his smile was stiff and comedic, like a bad actor forced to do his job in a lousy movie.

"The Hell Conqueror! The Abyss Ascender! The Hell Conqueror!" The crowd cheered us and kept repeating the words.

"We are the Hell Conqueror! We are the Abyss Ascender!" Sig and the other dwarves shouted at the top of their lungs, their right hands raised and pumped toward the sky. The crowd matched their rhythm and screamed with them until we reached the capital. Lily was getting sleepy, which meant it was nearing evening twilight, or maybe we had already passed it.

Sig gathered us into his chamber, and his retainers and vassals all congratulated him, except for a few who shouted toward the king, asking for the whereabouts of their relatives. It was clear what would have happened to them if they were not with us, but we could only nod mournfully at them.

"Where is my son?"

"Where is my brother?"

"My husband! Boord! Is he safe?" they said. Their words looked innocent, but from their gestures, it was apparent they were trying to put the blame on him. The room turned solemn in an instant, and Sig made an announcement.

"Boord, Leghorn, and Ugrek have perished in the dungeon. Leghorn was ambushed by a bunch of cowardly hell monsters while Boord and Ugrek perished in the fight against the dungeon boss." Sig exclaimed, his voice reverberating to the audience in front of the castle. "Let their names be sung even above us! Those who fall bravely in Hell!"

The crowd cheered once again, and then Sig added, "I apologize for my delay in ascending Hell. This abrupt ascension must have startled you, and thus you could not prepare a suitable banquet."

"Not a chance, King Sig. A banquet has been prepared for you! Let us party!" His chancellor shouted. Apparently, they had already sent a messenger when we departed from the gate. The fastest messenger then arrived at the capital a few hours earlier than us who strolled while cheering our achievement. The chef and vassals put out a hasty party with those few hours.

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Unlike elven parties, which needed to be planned weeks or months in advance for their decorations, dwarven parties mainly relied on their food and alcohol. Those few hours were enough for the maids and chefs to prepare a feast consisting of roasted meat, a rarity even among dwarves, and several other greens and bread, courtesy of our recent trade.

Cultural gaps were shown here. As honored guests, all of us had our own chairs and tables. The dwarves raised their mugs, stood on their tables, and screamed in joy while Alistar kept his handsome smile and chatted with Edelweiss, treating this occasion as a tea party.

"Jump and show your glee! We have meat tonight, a scarce ingredient!" Sig shouted towards Alistar, raising his beer and drinking it with an audible gulp. Alistar waved him back, raised his own beer, and cheered. Sensing the atmosphere turning tense around the elves, he stood up and imitated the dwarves by shouting, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do!" Alistar knew this well and joined the dwarves, his height difference making him seem even more animated.

"Hell yeah! We made it out of Hell alive!" he shouted, and the dwarves cheered with him.

"Boys…" Edelweiss muttered. Alistar was adaptable in any situation, but Edelweiss was not. She kept up her prim and proper appearance all the time. Her professional smile kept showing, and the dwarves treated her as a beautiful, static statue in the corner.

"Alith! Sana!" Lily cheered as her retainers took hold of the hall and began to dance. Born in the elven lands, they only knew elven dance, but their innocent appearance and courage to dance here did not offend anyone.

Seeing the chance to lighten the mood around Edelweiss, Alistar grabbed her and asked her to dance. Finally knowing what to do, Edelweiss leaped at the opportunity, and her smile became fifty percent cuter. The elven dance was not meant for the cramped hall of the dwarves, filled with thousands of people, but the two pairs of dancers circumvented it nicely.

Alith and Sana simply stopped dancing and repositioned themselves when they were about to hit tables or other people. Nobody actually knew the dance, so stopping was okay. On the other hand, Edelweiss and Alistar navigated the dance. They changed their moves to suit the limited space the dwarves had provided.

The dwarves partied all night long, and Lily slept partway on her table. Her biological clock was undoubtedly stronger than her will. Alistar still had energy and enjoyed the party until the end, while Edelweiss was visibly exhausted from the festivities, but her smile never left her face.

"Should we go to Hoeth now, Alistar?" Edelweiss asked. "The celebration has concluded. We still have to attend another one in Hoeth during the Lord's council."

"Another party?" Alistar frowned, and Lily followed suit, her face contorting tiredly at the thought of stacks of invitation letters that would undoubtedly come to her desk in Edenthal. Alistar, the de facto leader of the expedition, was sure to receive more letters than the rest.

"Wait, at the very least, we need to rest our bodies in a hotel or something. I don't want to camp out in the mountains after going through dungeons!" After all this time, Mattheus spoke up, having grown braver and closer to the elves.

"No, we can rest in Edenthal. Our potion supply is limited, and Lily could be in danger," Edelweiss said.

With that, the group prepared for the quick return journey.