Chapter 15_Trolls of the Mountain

Chapter Summary: Shouta and the dwarfs meets the Trolls living in the mountain. But are they friend or foe?

"Ahh-!" Denki screamed as he stumbled back. He aimed his hands at the crystal, releasing a small electric charge. Instead of hitting the target, however, the lightning ricocheted off the crystal and around the cavern. The others screamed as they threw themselves to the cave floor to avoid getting electrocuted.

Shouta growled as he pushed his head up.

"Denki!" The boy in question started to babble. His eyes had a glazed look while his words were slurred slightly. Shouta was worried he had fried his brain again before Denki lifted his hand and pointed forward.

"Sum...Sumbone's thdere!" Shouta and the other dwarflings turned their heads and gasped. Above them and behind the crystal was the warped reflection of a creature, which towered high above them. Shouta jumped to his feet. He slipped on the gravel a bit but managed to get to his feet.

"Everyone, get back!" He yanked the sword from his belt in rocky motion as blades weren't his forte. He didn't know how well he would be able to fight, but the man knew he had to try-

"W-wait! I'm not here to hurt anyone!" From behind the crystal stepped out not a monster, but a boy, albeit one with horns. He didn't appear to be human-or dwarf-to Shouta.

His crimson eyes were wide with worry as he watched Shouta and his sword. Shouta lowered the blade slightly. He didn't feel comfortable raising a weapon against a child, yet he didn't dare to sheath it. This might be a trick after all.

"Who are you?" he asked. The redhead forced a large, nervous smile. Despite the row of sharp, shark-like teeth, the grin wasn't at all threatening.

"I'm Eijiro Kirishima," he said. "I'm one of the trolls that own this mountain. Er, that is as much as you can own a mountain…"

"A troll?" Izuku inquired from behind Shouta. "Like the ones All Might met when hiding the Black Cauldron? Wow! I didn't know you were all real!" The troll perked up at this.

"Oh! You've heard of All Might?!"

"Definitely! I know all about him! Like how he-" Shouta interrupted the boy before he could start his trivia of All Might facts by clearing his throat. Izuku quieted down, looking sheepish, as the adult turned back to the other child.

"Why are you here?" He lowered his sword fully. He didn't believe Eijiro was a threat to them.

"Oh… W-well, I was trying to catch a peek of the lightning and I saw you guys enter…" Ochaco jumped, realizing something.

"Ah! You were that shadow! You pushed the rock!" she exclaimed as she pointed an accusing finger, her other hand holding a wobbling Denki.

"I didn't!" the redhead denied. "I-I was just hiding behind it and it fell all of the sudden." He fidgeted as he explained this, looking embarrassed about the action. He shrank under their stares of suspicion and accusation.

"I'm sorry I scared you all… and almost got you crushed by a rock... I just wanted to make sure you weren't demons or imps and things… happened."

'I'll say.' The human glanced the troll lad over with a calculating frown. The boy seemed earnest in his apology and words while looking repentant. Just like when Denki had gotten out of hand, Shouta believed that he didn't mean any harm and that it was just an accident. He sighed.

"Alright, I believe you," he said. His words seemed to be all the dwarfs needed to believe it too. The troll's face brightened considerably.

"Really?!"

"Yeah," 'For now.'

The troll boy grinned widely, showing off all his sharp teeth.

"Awesome!" Now that he didn't feel that he was in trouble, Eijiro cocked his head curiously. "So, who are you guys?"

The dwarfs all moved forward to introduce themselves and Shouta with enthusiasm. They were eager to meet someone new. Which was fair as they had only met three people, and they were all adults. Eijiro seemed to be a little older (in appearance), but was closer to their age.

"Wow! This is amazing! I never met a troll before!" Izuku said.

"I never met a—whatever you all are, before!" Eijiro said, just as excited. "Er, what are you exactly? You look kinda like humans, but you don't?"

"That's because we're dwarfs!" Momo explained. The redhead blinked.

"What are 'dwarfs?'" he asked. The others blinked, not sure how to explain that. They never really thought about it before. They never had to think about "what they were." They were just them.

"Well, they're us!" Toru finally said. Eijiro seemed to realize they weren't going to be able to tell him more than that, at least for now.

"Um, okay? But what are you all doing with a vampire?" He looked up at Shouta. The man grimaced while the others laughed.

"Oh, hee'se nots a vumpire!" Denki said, grin larger than the rest. Though he swayed and stuttered slightly, he seemed to have most of his brain function still. At least he wasn't dopey like he would usually get. "He'sh joost really pale."

"Really?"

"Vould a vumpire dress like that?" Eijiro looked over Shouta's bright, mismatched clothes.

"Hm! Good point." Shouta grumbled a little but didn't say anything about it.

"We became trapped inside here and got lost," he explained. "Do you know a way out?"

Eijiro thought for a moment or two, scratching at his head.

"Uh, sorta?" Eijiro then seemed to remember something. "Yikes! Uh, before that, I'm s'posed ta take ya'll to the queen now." Momo gasped.

"A queen? You have a queen? Like, a real queen?" she said, her eyes sparkling as her mind imagined elegant women in impossibly fluffy gowns with crowns and scepters.

"Yup! She's a real—queen!" Eijiro forced a chuckle. "She rules the mountain and all the trolls within it. She's, um, odd? But she's still in charge so we gotta listen to her and one of her laws is that we gotta take visitors to her—or else." Shouta was suspicious to hear that.

"Or else, what?"

"Or else we get in trouble. She really, really loves surface folk for some reason. And gets mad when we don't introduce them to her," Shouta doubted it was for friendly socializing. "Not that we've had anyone in or on our mountain for years."

Shouta debated this in his mind. A part of him wanted absolutely nothing to do with any sort of royal due to his personal history. Not to mention he just had a bad feeling in his chest about it. (Though he chalked that up to nerves.) Then again, it wasn't as if they had much of a choice;

They were lost in an underground tunnel that they might take weeks or months to get out of, which was time wasted. And that was IF they could find their way out on their own. Not only that, they had run out of their food rations and water. If they didn't manage to restock, they would die. It didn't matter what he felt. They had to risk it. It wasn't rational otherwise.

"Alright then. We'll go," he said.

This was going to be a big mistake.

The former Prince and the seven dwarfs followed the tiny troll boy through the many hallways of the mine, even finding tunnels that Shouta's eyes couldn't see.
Izuku was walking beside him, asking all sorts of questions about trolls and such.
"So, do all trolls live in mountains?"
"Yah! Well, some of us live near volcanoes, according to Vlad, but I've never seen one myself." Eijiro explained. "What about you? Where do dwarfs live?"
Izuku practically bounced as he spoke the boy, really happy to meet someone just as curious as he. "We lived in a forest."
"Cool! Forests are supposed to be a lot of fun!" Well, that's not the word Izuku would use. "What do you do?"
"Mine mostly."
"Mine what?"
"We mine jewels."
"Like these?" Eijiro waved at the crystals.
"Kinda? Actually, they're more like this-" Izuku reached into his pocket. Shouta, who realized that maybe it wasn't a bright idea to announce that they carried magical jewels, moved to stop him.
"Izuku—" Before he could say anything, a wind brushed against his cheek. Shouta gasped.

Figures suddenly appeared from the shadows. The dwarfs all crowded Shouta, hearts racing as they found themselves surrounded. Shouta whipped his head about to look at the attackers. They all appeared to be the same person, as each figure had the same ugly maw.

The figure had skin like charcoal and white eyes without any pupils. What stood out the most was the large grin that showed all his teeth. A white cloak wrapped around him despite the lack of wind.

'Shit! Were we lured into a trap?' Shouta reached for his sword wondering about the odds of fighting all the surrounding attackers while keeping everyone safe. It wasn't good.

Before anything could happen, Eijiro jumped between them all.

"H-Hold on a sec, Ectoplasm!" he called, his arms waving about. "It's okay! They're with me!"

The figure looked surprised to see the redhead.

"Eijiro? What are you doing here?" 'Ectoplasm' asked.

Eijiro looked nervous as he scratched at the back of his head. He shifted from foot to foot.

"Eh, heh, heh… J-just following the Queen's orders…" he said. "You know, the thing about how all guests must meet her?"

"No. I mean, why aren't you at the daycare with the others? It's dangerous to wander alone."

Though it was mostly an inquiry, there was also the unmistakable tone of scolding. Eijiro seemed to pick up on this as he kicked at the ground.

"I know. But Hatsume dared me to see the lightning and try to catch it and-I'm sorry." Eijiro dropped his head to look at the ground. Though the expression didn't change on the figure's face, Shouta could see that the boy was in for a lecture later.

However, that was going to have to wait. The man and his copies turned towards Shouta and the dwarfs. They looked them over, trying to see if they were a threat.
"There haven't been humans around our mountain for years," he mused. "And none from the other kingdoms have made it past the forest." That didn't surprise Shouta one bit.
He raised his hands in what he hoped was a peaceful motion.
Even if they weren't clearly outnumbered, none of them were fighters. Denki might be able to take out one, maybe two—though he doubted it as Denki didn't seem to be able to use his quirk at all without hurting himself anymore. Tenya could run away while Toru hid, but the rest wouldn't fair as well, even Shouta.
"We didn't come here to fight or cause any trouble," he said. "We were traveling over the mountain when it started to rain, so we sought shelter in a cave. Things happened, and we got lost."
"And why were you and your children here in the first place?" Shouta hesitated to tell him.
"We're traveling to get to Golden Valley." He figured that the truth would be the best option. It wasn't as if their mission was a secret after all.
The man looked surprised.
"The Golden Valley? Of the elfs?" Shouta nodded.
"I need their help." That's all he was saying on that.

The man seemed to decide that Shouta and the dwarfs weren't any danger. The copies all vanished until only one was left.

"Sorry about that," he said. "You can never be too careful about what may wander in here. I'm called Ectoplasm."

Shouta lowered his hands but kept his guard up. "Shouta Aizawa. These are the dwarfs of the Daemonium forest." He motioned to the children who were staring at Ectoplasm curiously, but also cautiously. As the adult troll stared at them, Shouta wondered if he made a mistake.

"Dwarfs?" Ectoplasm muttered, mostly to himself. "I thought they all were..."

He stopped himself and Shouta was glad for it. Whether the troll thought they were fairy tales or he knew the real story, Shouta didn't want to get into it in front of the children, lest it brought up unpleasant thoughts.

"Well. This is probably a little late, but welcome to the Troll Mountain. I suppose Eijiro already told you about our—curious Queen?" Shouta nodded slowly.

"He said it was required that he bring us to her," he said, the feeling in his gut growing worse.

"Yes, it is." Shouta couldn't read his expression, but his tone said that he was uncomfortable with this.

Before Shouta could think on this further, the man motioned to him. "Follow me."

Ectoplasm walked over to Eijiro and grabbed the boy's hand gently before starting to walk away. Shouta looked at his own kids. The dark feeling in his stomach was gnawing at him now. Yet Shouta knew that even if they decided to run, they were too exhausted and none of them would make it very far. Not to mention, Ectoplasm could literally make an army to hunt them down, and he might not be as kind when he caught them. And there were still the other facts he brought up to himself earlier.

He sighed. 'No turning back now.'

The tunnels had started jagged and rocky but became smoother the further they went in. Soon it felt like they were walking the halls of a palace (which Shouta supposed they were). At a point, Ectoplasm created a copy of himself by coughing out some goo. This action startled the dwarfs at first, but then they became curious.
"I didn't know trolls had quirks," Izuku said.
"Quirks?"
"Magic," Shouta explained to the troll.
"Ah! Yes, everyone has magic in this world, even if it's a different type." Shouta almost missed Izuku's expression drop. He didn't have time to think about it as the adult troll continued. "I sent a clone ahead to announce us, as protocol." Shouta nodded.
They passed many copper and brass doors that seemed to intrigue the kids. Eijiro seemed to want to show them every room, but Ectoplasm pressed them onwards. After all, you didn't keep a queen waiting.

The closer they got to their destination the more nervous Momo seemed to become.
"I never saw a queen before…" she muttered. She was tugging at her hair which was a mess, despite her efforts to improve it.
"Don't worry our Queen—er, w-well, I'm sure she'll be glad to see you?" Eijiro tried to comfort her, but his voice set off a warning bell in Shouta's head. There seemed to be a touch of fear in the boy's voice, the same tone people would use when talking about Shigaraki.
After walking for a long, long time, they came upon a giant golden door. The door was decorated with brass flames but also dark topaz gems. Standing in front of the door was a woman with two long horns protruding from her head. She looked over the other with mild disinterest as she played with a ringlet of her long, straw blonde hair.
"I sent a clone to explain everything," Ectoplasm prompted. The woman sighed, as if they were the most irritating thing in the world.
"One moment." She grumbled before entering the door.

A few minutes passed before they swung open. Behind the door was a long and wide hall with smooth, marble floors. Inside the room was all manners of trolls who watched them, each with a different expression. Shouta had to nudge the dwarfs forward. Though they liked meeting new people, they appeared to be overwhelmed by the amount. Shouta couldn't blame them. He felt the same way. There wasn't any malice, but it was still uncomfortable walking the long hall with all the eyes staring at them.

As they neared the throne, a voice called out;

"THERE'S my lost chicklet!" A very large and very round yellow troll strolled from the crowd towards Eijiro. He reminded Shouta of an egg with arms and legs. He huffed and puffed as he frowned at the troll boy. "What were you thinking, kid?! You can't just disappear on me like that! I had three heart attacks worrying about you!"

Eijiro grinned apologetically.

"Sorry, Fat Gum!"

"Ahem." There was a small, polite, but fake cough. Shouta looked past the lofty troll and saw a young woman sitting on a gigantic, stone-carved throne embedded with brass and chiseled with strange designs.

Fat Gum apologized quickly and ushered Eijiro out of the way and towards a group of what Shouta assumed to be other troll children. The woman didn't have long protruding horns like Mt. Lady did, but instead, she had small winding horns on the side of her head, reminding Shouta of a ram. Aside from those though, she mostly resembled a human—except for her eyes. The earth-brown orbs were far too animalistic to mistake her for a human. She smiled, showing some sharp canines.

"Well, well! And what do we have here?" she asked. Ectoplasm stepped forward.

"Queen Himiko; this is Shouta Aizawa of the human kingdom Nixterra, and the children are dwarfs from the Daemonium Forest," he explained.

The queen had her interest peaked when they had entered, now she was leaning forward in her seat, her eyes huge with curiosity.

"Nixterra? The human lands? That's a long way away." she commented. "And to make it through the Daemonium forest as well? You must be a great warrior. Or a lucky fool." Shouta didn't comment either way. Her attention shifted to the dwarfs.

"And you say these are dwarfs? Are they really?" she seemed excited at this. The children shared a look with each other and glanced at Shouta, unsure what to say. Tenya stepped forward and bowed.

"Um, yes? Your Majesty?" Tenya said, stiff at talking to royalty. He was still leaning forward and didn't seem prepared to straighten himself anytime soon. "We're, um, dwarfs, your majesty, of the Daemonium woods… we um, well you see… It's, um, nice to meet you?" Tenya glanced pleadingly at Shouta. He had never spoken to royalty—except Shouta, but he didn't count. He had no idea about the proper greeting or what he should do. Luckily he didn't need to.

Whispered gossip broke out around the room.

"Are they really dwarfs?" someone asked in a loud whisper.

"They're so tiny!"

"What are dwarfs? I never heard of them?"

"That's because you're too young! Only we oldsters got to see them. Er, occasionally. Once."

"But I thought they were all dead."

"Indeed," The queen said loudly, putting a stop to the whispering. "That is the story." Her dark, earthy gaze never left Shouta or the children. "Pray tell, how seven dwarfs and a human ended up in our mountain from such a ways away?"

Realizing he was being addressed, Shouta stepped forward with a small bow. Digging in his memory for the royal lessons he had received before having his title stripped.

"We meant no harm, your majesty," he said. "We were passing through to get to the Golden Valley, but got trapped by the rain." The Queen tilted her head.

"The Golden Valley, hm?" she said. "Going to see the elfs?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I was told they might be able to help me."

"Oh? Help with what?"

Shouta hesitated. "To rescue...a friend."

The Queen had an odd look on her face after hearing that. It was a mix of irritation and a pout.

"Hm. Well, that bunch does tend to have a hero complex about them—shamefully so. If you can reach them, that is."

The Queen stood. Her height wasn't that impressive, in fact, she was shorter than Shouta, yet he felt very small in comparison to her. Queen Himiko's dark purple dress rustled like insects on dry leaves as she walked down the steps towards them. She stopped before Shouta. Her eyes traced the human's form, taking in every detail. Shouta felt nervous under her gaze, like prey under the watch of a predator. Queen Himiko leaned close to him-too close-and looked deep into his eyes.

"Your eyes are such a beautiful shade of red," she sighed, her voice filled with a strange pleasure that made Shouta uncomfortable. Before anything untoward could happen, she pulled away and straightened herself. "I insist you all stay the night. It's far too late to be traveling, and there is no way you are prepared to enter the territory of those savage Imps. Eat, sleep, stay."

Though a part of Shouta wanted to refuse, but he had had this argument with himself several times already. Nerves shouldn't get in the way of rationality.

"We humbly accept your offer, your highness," he said with a polite bow.

The Queen clapped her hands joyously.

"Excellent!" she said. "Join us for dinner. We shall have your rooms prepared later."

777

The dwarfs and Shouta were tidied a bit, then brought to a large dining room where several trolls sat, eagerly gossiping about things. Though there were many trolls in all shapes and sizes, the group found their gaze captivated by the feast that awaited them.

Even Shouta was shocked by the amount of food that laid sprawled on the long table before them. Despite being born royal, he had never been allowed to eat in the royal dining room and instead ate in the kitchens.

It was a shame that the food presented wasn't anything he particularly liked. Most of it was mushrooms, roots, and from what he could see, all the meat was rats or moles. The rest he couldn't identify.

The dwarfs weren't as cautious, however. Each and every one of them stared with wide eyes and dropped, drooling jaws at the sight of the meal. The moment they were allowed to, they dug in like hungry little savages. Shouta was about to scold them but saw the trolls were doing the same.

"Ha! Quite an appetite on them, eh?" Fat Gum said. He slapped Shouta's shoulder so hard he was almost pushed into the food, only missing it by an inch.

"Y-yeah, I guess..." he said, trying to ignore the sting on his back.

He glanced around the table then noticed that the Queen was observing him and the dwarfs with an adoring look. Yet despite the infatuated face she gave them, Shouta couldn't help but feel uneasy. He turned away. He tried to assure himself that this feeling was nothing. He was just worked up after everything that had happened today. Now he was just projecting his anxiety and feelings of Shigaraki onto the Queen, which wasn't rational at all.

"So! I hear you're looking to see the elfs? Why's that?" Fat Gum asked cheerfully, not noticing the human's worries. Shouta was thrown off a bit at being pulled back into the conversation. "I need their help to rescue someone and defeat a mad man with power." As far as he knew, there was no reason to keep that secret.

"Mad with power, huh? Yeah, I know all about that..." Shouta didn't miss the way his eyes flashed in a direction before settling back on him. "Funny how that works, right? Always the crazy ones who get put in power, never anyone with any sanity. So anyway, this person you wanna rescue, they special?" He moved his brows up and down as he enunciated the word. Shouta's face fell.

"More than anything." The words slipped out without any thought or hesitation as Hizashi, who seemed to haunt Shouta's mind like a ghost, was brought to the forefront.

The teasing vanished from the troll's face as it shifted to a genuinely sympathetic look.

"I see," he said. He cleared his throat, feeling slightly awkward. "Well, it's not going to be an easy trip, I can tell you!"

"Tell me about it..." Shouta remembered the monster that attacked him. They had just barely begun their trip, and it seemed the world was doing everything it could to stop him. If it wasn't for that bird, he would have been dead.

Speaking of which, he hoped the creature managed to find shelter from the storm. Would the rain harm it? Could it fly with wet feathers? And what about the lightning, would—wait a minute.

'Why am I worried about some dumb bird?' True it saved his life, then started to follow Shouta and the others like a lost puppy, but what did that matter? Why should he care enough to worry?

The bird's face floated to his mind, mostly the eyes. Those scarlet eyes… he had never seen them before, and yet they were so familiar...

"And it's gonna get harder," Fat gum warned, interrupting Shouta's irrational thoughts. He spoke between bites as he munched on what seemed to be a slab of mutton. His teeth tore off a particularly large bite. "You'll have to go through the Imp's territory to get to the elfs from here."

"Imps?"

"You haven't heard of them?" Shouta shook his head. Fat Gum sighed, then grumbled. "Not surprising. They're a wild bunch and aren't good at socializing. Lotta people mistake them for demons. Which is fair, considering their temperments and how they'll set you on fire before saying hi. And those hotheads are ALWAYS looking for a fight. Luckily, after the demon war and the flood, there's not a whole of lot 'em left. Wait, that sounds really bad, don't it? Shit. Didn't mean it that way, I swear!"

Shouta was only half listening at this point, thinking.

"So, what you're saying is that the imps aren't friendly and will attack on sight?"

"Yup."

"Anyway to go around and avoid them?" Fat gum shook his head.

"I wish! Those bastards have caused more trouble than they'll ever know because of their blood knight nature." When he said this he seemed completely bitter, even morose. "Unfortunately, if you wanna see the elfs you gotta go through their valley of brimstone and murder, no way around. And I gotta tell ya, no one has made it past them in years."

Well, that sounded just great.

Shouta glanced at Fat Gum who stared at him with a long, hard sigh.

"I don't envy ya, especially with..." The troll nodded towards the dwarfs, then gave a heavy sigh. "I don't even want to think what I'd do if I hadda take my kids there." Shouta tensed.

"The imps, would they…?" He couldn't finish the question but didn't need to.

"Without even a second's hesitation," the other said bitterly. "Kids, elderly, etc., none of that matters. All they care about is a good fight—and WINNING said fight."

'Shit.' Shouta bit back a groan.

Shouta wasn't a fighter. He had said that many times and it was proven time and again. The only reason he was alive was sheer luck. He didn't know anything about imps except what he heard in the All Might legend where the hero clashed with their child chief. He knew they used fire-based attacks, though one had ice powers in one story. Either way, without a way to defend themselves, Shouta and the dwarfs were toast. Possibly literally.

'What am I going to do?'

Unaware of their human friend's inner turmoil the dwarfs chatted eagerly with the troll children. Aside from each other they couldn't remember ever talking to anyone their age (mentally), so this was a new experience.

"...So after that you became transparent?" Ojirio, a troll child asked. His long tail wagged behind him as he spoke to the invisible girl. Toru nodded eagerly.

"Yup! I don't mind it, but sometimes I do miss my reflection…" The troll child blinked at the invisible dwarf with a curious tilt of his head.

"What did you used to look like?"

"I think I looked like Yang Guifei and Francis Xavier meshed together."

"Who?"

Beside them, Ochaco glanced at Tsuyu. She had been quiet all evening and, despite all the new food that was before them, Tsuyu was barely touching it, only munching once in a while.

'Maybe she doesn't like it?' Tsuyu wasn't as picky as Momo, but she wasn't as curious about new foods as the rest of them. Ochaco looked around the table for something familiar, but there wasn't anything. The only thing she recognized was the mushrooms, and she wasn't touching them because one time Izuku ate one and was sick for a week.

"Tsuyu?" Ochaco offered her some of the sweets on her plate. "These taste really good. Want some?"

Tsuyu hesitated but nodded. "Okay." As she nibbled on the sweets Ochaco noticed Tsuyu's eyes drifted to the trolls but then she dropped her gaze before they could see.

"There's a lot of people here…" she mumbled after a moment. Ochaco's face brightened with understanding. So the reason she was so quiet was that she was shy. It had been just them for—a long time before Mr. Aizawa appeared. Meeting so many new people at once must have been overwhelming.

"It's okay!" she assured the other girl. "They're all super friendly!" Tsuyu agreed with a smile and a nod.

"Yeah, you're right," she said as she relaxed a little. Then her face became worried. "Still, doesn't something feel—off?"

"What do you mean?"

Tsuyu shrugged as she tried to find the right words. "I dunno it's just—I have a weird feeling, like something bad's going to happen."

"You're just nervous, that's all! True we had a little trouble with that monster awhile back, but everything else has been okay so far!" Ochaco assured her. Her face softened. "This isn't like the forest. We're safe here! And if something bad happens, Mr. Aizawa is here." Tsuyu sighed, trying to calm herself.

"I guess so…" Still, the feeling remained.

Down the long table, Momo was showing a young troll girl with pink hair styled like an octopus, her quirk.

"That's so cool!" She said, her golden eyes almost as wide as her smile. Momo learned that her name was Mei. She was very, very impressed with Momo's talents. "Are there any limits?"

"Well, I have to know the structure of the thing I'm making," Momo explained. She held out the wooden doll, which looked like Fat Gum.

"Momoyao's very good at working with what she knows though," Tenya complimented. "She's saved us a lot over the years." Momo blushed happily at the praise.

"Lucky! I wish I could make any material or item I wanted!" Mei said as she inspected the doll. "That would make my inventing so much easier!"

"You're an inventor?" Momo said in awe.

"Yup! Ah. But I'm not allowed to show my stuff at the table anymore after I blew up the last one." Mei started to pout a little and folded her arms. "Actually, I'm not allowed to build anything without Power Loader to supervise. So mean and unfair, right?! Adults just wanna ruin everything fun! Power Loader isn't even around much anymore! He's always off digging tunnels and stuff." Tenya blinked.

"You blew up a table?" Mei ignored the question.

"Still, I guess it's better in the long run. Once all the tunnels are done, Power Loader said we'll be able to go anywhere on the continent! I can't wait! This mountain's been dead for years. I haven't even seen a squirrel in ages!" she went on to say.

"Er, same?" Momo said, though, technically, they've never seen a squirrel before. There weren't any animals in the forest, which was probably lucky all things considered. The trees were enough of a nightmare without throwing demon squirrels into the mix.

"Right? So boring! But! With our tunnels built, we'll be able to visit all human cities! And I'll be able to buy all sorts of stuff!" Mei continued.

"Buy?" The two dwarfs looked confused. Mei then went on to explain the concept of purchase and selling.

Not too far from them, Izuku and Eijiro were chatting in loud, excited tones.
"...Did you hear how All Might managed to defeat a thousand bomber demons by creating a tornado fist?!" Izuku blabbered with bright eyes.
"YEAH! That was so awesome! I heard he was so strong that he could change the weather with a single punch! He was the manlinest man ever!"
Denki groaned as his head hit the table. He had clearly picked the wrong place to sit, as it turned out Eijiro was just as big a fan of All Might as Izuku was. Izuku, however, was just excited to finally have someone to talk All Might stuff with.

When almost all the food was gone, The Queen tapped her glass, which rang out like a bell. She stood.
"That'll be all tonight; our guests have had a long journey after all and are probably exhausted," she proclaimed to the room. "Show them to their rooms where they may rest. We'll meet again tomorrow." She nodded at Mt. Lady, whose face stated that she thought she was above such things.
Everyone stood from their seats, leaving their plates and food behind. Shouta assumed that the servants would come after they left.
"Whelp! We should gather our kids then and get them to bed then!" Fat Gum said as he stretched. Then he called out, "All right, chicks! Time to get going!"
The troll children all crowded around Fat Gum, who swept them up in one big hug. They all then literally sink into Fat Gum's stomach until all that was sticking out was their heads. Shouta stared.
"Aren't you gonna grab yours?" Fat Gum asked.
"Er, yeah…" None of the children, nor anyone else looked worried, so Shouta chalked this up as a troll thing.

He gathered the dwarfs, double-checking to make sure Toru was still there with them. Tenya lined them up in an orderly fashion, so they could follow through the long, long halls.
The torches were lit, but they weren't bright enough to light the halls completely. Shouta shivered as he was reminded of the halls back at the castle. The children were nervous about the shadows and shifted closer to each other and Shouta.
"Here we are," the trolla said with an annoyed sigh. She motioned to a line of doors. "Pick whichever one you like."
"Thank you…?" Tenya said, trying to be polite. She waved over her shoulder but said no more as she walked away.
Shouta sighed but didn't comment. Instead, he turned to the dwarflings.
"Will you all be okay on your own?" They all gave sleepy nods.
Shouta watched each of them enter a room. He thought about tucking them in but decided they were probably too tired for all of that, and honestly, Shouta's own body was starting to give out. So when the last door closed, he opened his own and entered.

777

After everyone had been excused and sent away, the Queen walked down the underground halls spotted with crystals of dark colors. There were no lights in the halls, but as a troll she did not need them as evolution had given her kind the ability to see through the night. She stopped in front of a large crystal and pulled one of the smaller crystals growing out of it. A doorway opened up to her, and she slipped in with a hum. She walked down the steps and came to a room lit with green fire from a pit. Hanging over this pit was a cauldron full of red liquid. Though she thought it was a pretty red, it paled in the comparison of the red that flowed through the veins of those with heartbeats. Her face flushed just from imagining it. She touched it with the tip of her finger and sent a ripple across the bubbling surface.
"So pretty… I wonder how red their blood is?"

{To be Continued...}

A/N:
*What's this? A chapter where nothing tries to kill Shouta and the Dwarfs? Things must be looking up—if you ignore that last part.

Meta Notes:

*I was going to start a small subplot with Tsuyu here, but I cut it as it didn't fit with the story flow.

Troll Facts:

*Trolla=Female trolls
*Trolls are made from the earth, so they tend to live inside mountains. Some live in volcanoes as well.
*Ectoplasm is a scout guard who patrols the tunnels. These are usually given to those who clone themselves.
*The Ruler is usually a female, though other genders can technically take the throne as well. This rarely happens, as female trolls are known to be the more combative of the troll genders.
*Fat Gum is a Nursing Troll. Basically, the nanny and parental figure of all the troll children. Nursing Trolls usually carry the young inside of them. They have been known to adopt any other children of other races as well. You a kid? Gotta parent? No? Mine now. No, really. That's literally how it works. Any child needing love will get it from a nursing troll. Though, they have no issue dolling out punishment for the bratty children (it's all done with love, however).
*Trolls can see perfectly in the dark but have a hard time with sunlight. The firelight is okay, though.
*Trolls can grow crystals like humans grow flowers.
*Brass is a favored metal to them.