A lone member of the Immortal Brigade crossing Rosalia.
　Ithmus raid.
　The rescue of the dwarf king.
　Everything went well.

　Well done, or perhaps too well done to be afraid of, but not all had been successful yet.

　There was still some work to be done with Günther, King of the Dwarves.

　When I returned to the city of Ivalice, I invited Günther, King of the Dwarves, into the parlor of the mansion.

　Not as a prisoner, but as a guest.

　Or, as is the case with the demons here, I could hold him hostage like Ithmus and force the dwarves to work for me.

　That's another way.

　That was a more demon-like approach, but he knew very well how pointless and futile that action was.

　You may be able to motivate people with fear, but it's impossible to make people work with fear.

　People will never work if they don't get something in return.
　This was proven by the King of Ismas.

　He may have succeeded in taking the dwarven king captive, but he could not get the dwarves to follow him, could he?

　I wasn't going to make the same mistake.

　Günther was already sitting in the parlor.
　He ordered Satie to serve tea.
　She was in awe and bowed her head and brought the tea in a wagon.

'How many cups of sugar can I put in it?'

　The maid, Satie, asks Günther, but Günther shakes his head.

'I don't want sugar. Put some spirits in it instead.'

　Satie hurries to bring me some spirits.

　It took a little time, probably because I, the owner of the house, don't drink much.

　When Satie brought me the spirits.

How much would you like to pour?

　I asked.

　Günther silently took the spirit from Satie and didn't pour it into his cup, but just put it on his lips.

　It's as if he's drinking water.
　Satie whispers in my ear.

'You dwarves really like to drink, don't you, Mr. Dwarf?'
...Yeah, I guess so.

　When it occurred to me that I might need a barrel instead of a bottle, Günther opened his mouth. I could feel the alcohol wafting through the air.

The first thing I want to do is to thank you for saving me.

　He bows his head as he says this.
　Apparently, this king seems to be an honest king.
　It is said that even commoners, or even demons, will thank you if they are grateful.
　When I gave a standard response to that thanks, I decided to get down to business.

''I have a favor to ask of Günther-sama, the King of the Dwarves.

　Günther shook his head slowly.

'I'm not the king anymore,'
What do you mean by that?

"My kingdom, Wilheim, died long ago. There is nothing more ridiculous than a king without a country.

...I see.

You'll be polite to me, but that's not necessary. Just treat me like an old man.

　Hearing those words, Lilith spoke to him in a familiar way, "Well," she said.
　Then she took up the cylindrical object on the sofa in the parlor and placed it on the table.

'Grandpa, can you make something just like this?'

　Although he is rude to the king of a country, Günther, as he said before, does not seem to care and takes the flintlock gun in his hand.

　Günther is a dwarf as well as a king.
　It's impossible not to be interested in this kind of machine.
　His eyes change color and he picks up the gun.

'What's this?'
It's called a flamethrower.
"Hinawaju?

'They fill the tube with gunpowder and ammunition from the end of the tube, set it on fire, burn the gunpowder, and the explosion fires a steel bullet at high speed.'

Is that some kind of magic?

　'No, it's science,' he stops, almost saying.

'Think of it as a form of alchemy. When you explode a material called gunpowder, it produces combustion gas. If you explode it normally, it will dissipate in four pieces, but if you explode it in a tubular iron cavity--

The energy is transferred to one side and the bullet is ejected at high speed.

That's right.

　He is indeed the king of the dwarves.
　He understood everything with a simple explanation.

　Then he would understand the most important part of making a flamethrower: the screw.

　I took a screw out of my pocket and asked him directly: "Can you make one like this for mass production?

"Can you mass produce one like this?
　And--

　Günther picked up the screw and frowned as he picked it up.

'It's a simple yet complex shape. It's like a spiral staircase.
'Yes. It's that spiral structure that's important.

　Its spiral structure makes it possible to fix objects firmly in place. That is the advantage of the screw.
　The gun would not be complete until the bottom of the gun was sealed with this screw.

Can we make it?

　I ask again.

　Günther returns without moving a single eyebrow.
'I can make it,'
　And--

　Hearing those words, Lilith is flabbergasted, but Günther adds, however.

"It would be impossible to mass produce anything of this shape. Even if you could get a team of skilled dwarven craftsmen together, they could only produce a few pieces a day.

I see...

　The answer was as predicted in advance.

'Each one will be carved out. Such an elaborate one. We may not be able to reproduce them, but it would be difficult to get them in numbers.

　Günther punctuated his words there, "Such as this in the first place. Who on earth made it? He asked me if I was Japanese.

　It would be easier if I could say that I'm a Japanese from another world, but I'll fool myself into thinking that it's a secret.

　However, I had an idea of how to mass produce this screw or whatever it was.
　Of course, my hands are not as dexterous as those of the dwarves.

　I went all the way to Ithmus to see if I could talk to this brilliant king and he could help me build it.

　I will tell him how to do it.
　That's when modern knowledge comes in handy.

　Günther's eyes widened when he heard about it.

''I didn't know there was such a method!

　After all, Günther came up with a method for mass production of screws just by hearing that story.

　After all, the king of the dwarves is no ordinary man.
　If you give him the idea, he will immediately understand and produce the same thing.
　No, he can make something more than that.
　Now we have a plan for mass production of screws, or in other words, guns.

　The only thing left to do is to gather dwarven craftsmen and start mass production, but the problem was the price to pay.
　I don't intend to make other people work for free.
　We are taking over the most powerful weapon in the world, a gun.
　I was prepared to pay a commensurate price for it.

　I will make a proposal to the king, who is still in a state of excitement.

''His Majesty Günter, if you are willing to mass produce these guns, I will advise you to rebuild the dwarf kingdom after the Demon King unifies this world.

　The face Günther showed when he heard those words was the best thing he had seen that day.
　He opened his eyes wide and said, "Really? I ask.
　I reply with one word.

'I'll get permission from the Demon King,'
How do I know you'll give me the green light?

　I answer honestly.

'None. Besides, you can't make this a pledge.
So how is it possible for me to believe your story?
Just my word. --for now.
What will you do if you break that promise?
Then you'll have to use the gun Günther made for me.

　That's how much he was prepared to do.

　The Demon King-sama, due to his position, couldn't make a promise to the Dwarf King here and now.
　There was also the case of Basteo the other day.

　It's because if he shows a compromising stance to the exiled king here, he won't be able to show the other legion leaders.

　However, if it's that Demon King-sama.
　I'm sure that girl will definitely come to the same conclusion as me.
　Believing that, I dared to mention the name of the Demon King.

　If I can't fulfill that promise, as I said before, I'm willing to give my life to this man.

　He looked at Günther's eyes with such a resolve.

　-- did that resolve get through to him?

　Günther slowly shook his head.

'Alright, I will issue a proclamation and gather all the skilled dwarven artisans here in Ivalice.

　Günther said and offered me his hand to shake.
　I squeezed his hand.
　Thus, a secret alliance was formed between the Demon King's army and the Dwarf tribe.