The Tin Knight-Chapter 70: The Tin Knight and The City of Clockwork — Act 4 (4)

“What was the original purpose of coming here? It was to strengthen you, right? And that’s done. You also got Adel’s token along the way. Then we should set off for the next destination!”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ insists that there’s still a mini-game left to clear the dojo mission with Adel!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ argues that since they’ve somehow passed the 6th level, the 7th level is just within reach if they do a bit more!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ passionately argues that they can’t just throw away Adel’s blood, sweat, and tears into thin air like this!]

Adelaide, who was listening from the side, timidly said, “No, it’s fine if you throw them away. Rather, I wish you would...” but the Tin Knight didn’t listen.

“Ha.”

Dorothea snorted.

With her arms crossed and chin slightly raised while doing so, combined with her unique fashion sense, she looked every bit like a female executive from an evil organization.

“7th level or whatever, is that really necessary? We’ve already taken the dojo representative position anyway, so can’t we just consider it a pass? What’s so difficult about drawing a few lines on a document?”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says such a shortcut is unforgivable!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ criticizes that if you’re going to use cheats, why play the game at all!]

“What nonsense. Where in the world is there such a thing as fairness and righteousness? It’s natural to use what you can use.”

It was truly an unbecoming statement for a necromancer who didn’t use necromancy due to being conscious of her reputation, and who was disgusted by armies of corpses. Judging by her thorough double standards, she indeed had sufficient qualities of a witch.

Seeming to think that persuasion was impossible by this method, the Tin Knight attempted a detour attack.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ argues that they need to settle the connection with the Adventurers Guild!]

“Sophia enticed an old man with her tongue and resolved it, didn’t she?”

Dorothea continued, not hesitating to use expressions that could be misunderstood if others heard, “The guy who plotted it is dead, and there’s no more pursuit team to follow us. Isn’t that the end?”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ argues that villains who suddenly die like this are usually just minions!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ expresses his view that the true mastermind’s conspiracy must be separate!]

“Haa.”

Dorothea shook her head and said, “How should I know?”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ opens his non-existent mouth in shock!]

“The world is full of conspiracies, scams, and secrets, anyway. Trying to dig them all up one by one is foolish. How is it different from scooping a bucket of water from a lake, looking into it, and saying, ‘I’ve uncovered the truth!’? What do you gain from that? Self-satisfaction?”

Sophia, who was listening from the side, said with a rare hurt expression, “That sounds like a sponsor asking why do research with no immediate benefit...” but Dorothea didn’t listen.

It seemed the master and servant were both well-versed in the skill of ignoring the words of others.

“Let’s say there is a grand conspiracy. Let’s say we go back down to the south and harass the soul of that branch head or whatever. What if what he knows isn’t satisfactory? Even if he does know something, what if it’s someone so high up that it’s troublesome to touch? Have you thought about how annoying the preliminary work would be to crush that guy?”

Dorothea only said it was annoying, not that she couldn’t do it.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that even excluding that, there’s still the promise with Peter!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ argues that a request isn’t over until the reward is paid!]

“That’s just an excuse. You’re just hoping that if it’s revealed that Sophia is a vampire, you might be able to fight that gold-rank adventurer, aren’t you?”

When Dorothea stared intently at the Tin Knight, he hesitated.

Then he slowly turned his head and started to feign ignorance.

Dorothea said with a sulky face, “I’ll pay the reward properly. Even if Sophia did it on her own, a contract is a contract. Whether we send a letter or leave a memo, as long as we pass on the information, we’re not skipping out on the reward, right?”

Of course, it wasn’t likely to end just like that.

Even if they didn’t meet directly, the fact that they needed to pass information about the vampire—that was, Sophia—to Peter remained unchanged.

Dorothea had a headache thinking about getting tangled up with someone called the pinnacle of adventurers, but she didn’t blame Sophia.

After all, it was true that thanks to Sophia’s plan, the Adventurers Guild matter was settled for now, and it was Dorothea herself who entrusted the task to Sophia. She wasn’t someone who avoided responsibility.

Let’s just ignore the fact that she occasionally ignored the Tin Knight’s rampages.

Leaving the Tin Knight crouched in the corner, the witch, little lion, and scarecrow began to plan their next schedule.

Sophia opened her mouth first, “Dorothea. Have you already decided which sacred treasure to look for?”

“I’m considering among a few candidates. Why?”

“There’s something I want to confirm.”

Sophia looked at the map spread out on the table, then pointed to a certain spot.

“‘The City of Struggle’ Thracus. Although it’s technically part of the Empire’s territory, it’s far from the capital and due to its location adjacent to the Magic Country and the Federation, it’s a place where cultures from various countries are complexly mixed.”

“And?”

“This place is famous for a tournament where martial artists from all over the continent gather to compete, and it seems the current champion of the arena possesses an interesting item.”

Like a bard, Sophia spoke as if singing, “‘It is a belt containing the courage of a lion. Containing a light like a burning flame, it grants its owner the strength to face a hundred warriors. Who but the legendary archduke would dare to face this?’”

“Hmm.”

Dorothea’s eyes lit up.

The Tin Knight in the corner also seemed to react to the words “arena” and “champion”, and was now listening to the story with an excited look.

“Dorothea, you know about the appearance and abilities of the eight sacred treasures, right?”

“I heard an explanation when I first received the compass. The explanation was a bit lacking because there weren’t many remaining records, even in the kingdom. Anyway, yes. A belt. And it enhances physical abilities, right?”

Dorothea recalled the movement directions of the compass animals she had summoned several times during the waiting period.

A smile formed on Dorothea’s lips as she recalled in which direction the orange-colored lion had moved.

“‘The Belt of Amaryllis’. A sacred treasure that greatly enhances the user’s physical abilities without additional mana reinforcement. Good. The possibility is certainly high.”

“I’m glad it was helpful. However, there are a few months left until the next tournament, so even if we go now, there’s a high chance the champion will be away.”

“Then we can just stop by somewhere else before going there.”

This time, instead of Sophia, Dorothea pointed to a part of the map with her finger.

When drawing a line connecting Tik-Tok and Thracus, a bit further north from the center.

There was a vast forest area between the Empire and the Magic Country.

“‘The Garden’. It’s a place where the concentration of mana in nature is particularly high even within the continent, and accordingly, there are many materials that can become powerful catalysts. There should be plenty of materials that are difficult to obtain with money, so securing them would be a boost to our strength.”

Dorothea picked up a pen and started drawing arrows on the map.

“First, we’ll stop by the Garden and secure powerful catalysts. There are some animals heading in the direction of the Garden, but we can’t confirm whether the sacred treasure is inside the Garden or beyond it right now, so let’s just consider it a bonus for now. After securing the catalysts, we’ll head straight to Thracus. We’ll negotiate with the champion or do whatever to get the belt.”

And, she added, “Then, riding on that momentum, we’ll attack the Witch of the West’s stronghold.”

Adelaide was startled, “Didn’t you say we’d face her later because she’s an extremely powerful mage?”

“What have you been listening to? I said we’ll attack after securing catalysts and retrieving the belt, didn’t I? If you count strengthening this guy here in Tik-Tok, that’s three preparation steps. If you’re going to whine about not being able to catch her even after all this, it’s better to give up saying it was impossible from the start.”

“Well, that’s true, but...”

The Tin Knight patted Adelaide’s deflated-looking shoulders.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ encourages Adel not to worry, saying they can do it!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ shows confidence, saying he’ll beat them all up himself!]

In contrast to his sprawled out appearance just moments ago, the Tin Knight looked very excited.

As the names of strong opponents came up in succession, he seemed to be brimming with enthusiasm, looking forward to new battles.

He had an air about him as if he might say, “Peter? Who’s that? Oh, that adventurer nobody. So, is he stronger than the witch?”

“Um, Sir Knight, encouragement is good, but it hurts, it hurts! I get it, so stop!”

Originally, even between normal people, pain was felt if too much force was applied when patting the back or shoulders.

Let alone a body made of metal hitting her shoulders repeatedly, Adelaide made a tearful face.

Seeing the Tin Knight so excited that he couldn’t even control his strength properly, Dorothea made an expression as if she couldn’t believe it.

“You really can’t help yourself when it comes to fighting. Anyway, so you have no more complaints now? We’re leaving right away?”

“Uh, but shouldn’t we at least say goodbye before we go? Like to the Geppetto siblings, or the lord, or Kumara’s group?”

Adelaide was the lone voice crying out for common sense in human relationships, but there was no one who agreed with her.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ argues that past connections are not to be looked back upon!]

“Annoying. Troublesome. We can just give a letter to the last guys and leave. That Gale gal also disappeared without a trace at some point.”

“If we’re going to slip out, night would be good. Honestly, the inspections in this city are quite lax.”

Is this... right? Is this really okay? It’s not like we’re fleeing in the night or anything.

Various questions flashed through Adelaide’s mind, but in the end, she nodded.

“Ah, then I’ll quickly go to the store! It’s hard to find things like candy except in big cities like this!”

Despite everything, Adelaide had been sufficiently influenced by the group.

***“We’re from the Halder Company! Are Dorothea and her companions here? What? They’ve already checked out?”

“I came looking for Representative Instructor Adelaide. We received a message from a woman named Giselle asking about her recent situation... What? She left at night?”

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“Hahaha! I’m here! Now! Where did that Sophia girl go? Quickly, the reward for the request- Huh? Not here? You say to go find three youngsters?”

“This is... Tik-Tok. A city with quite an exotic landscape.”

A girl with impressively snow-white hair surveyed the street scene of Tik-Tok.

Around her were dozens of soldiers and mages who clearly seemed to be elites.

One of them addressed the girl.

“The target seems to be staying at an inn in the bustling area. Shall we bring them?”

The girl shook her head.

“I heard that the one keeping the target is the apprentice of the Witch of the East. Even if we’re to be hostile, it would be courteous to at least greet them first. Guide me.”

“I obey your command.”

The girl, Algind Goodwitch, and her followers headed towards the inn.

People around murmured at the sight of them, who had an obviously unusual atmosphere, but they advanced with confident strides as if already accustomed to it.

And finally.

The door of the inn opened.

“Oh, my! Do you really not know where Dorothea went? If I go back like this, I’ll be severely scolded by the company head! Please, give me at least some hint!”

“Ah, I really don’t know! They checked out at night and left in a hurry without even a chance to say anything!”

“Maaaaster! How could you disappear without a word!? What are we disciples supposed to do!? Whaaaa!”

“Tsk, can’t you all be quiet!? You’re supposed to be teaching other disciples as assistants, how can you be so weak?”

“What is this all about!? My reward? The legendary adventure!?”

“S-Senior. Please calm down first. There’s a letter here, so read it! We haven’t touched the contents at all!”

The inn door closed.

“...???”

The protégé of the Witch of the South.

Numerous question marks swarmed over the heads of Algind Goodwitch and her subordinates.