The Tin Knight-Chapter 26: The Tin Knight and The Witchs Way of Greeting (1)

Chapter 26: The Tin Knight and The Witch's Way of Greeting (1)

After shutting herself in her lodging, Dorothea was lost in thought.

If she thought about it rationally, even if one of the treasures was in this city as the Tin Knight said, Dorothea wouldn’t lose anything.

It was naturally easier to find something in the middle of a busy street than digging through some strange mountain valley’s secret ruins.

Yet, the reason Dorothea grumbled was simple.

...Somehow, I feel like I’m being swayed by that guy more and more as days go by.

The Tin Knight.

A familiar contracted to Dorothea and her personal guard.

A skilled fighter who could effortlessly cut down dozens of armed troops, yet frivolous and impulsive in a way ill-suited to his skills.

“For a magic doll, that guy’s emotional expressions are excessively abundant.”

Ordinary magic dolls were low in intelligence and incapable of complex thought activities.

Come here, bring that, wait, fight.

They couldn’t properly understand anything but simple, intuitive commands, and their active judgment was very poor.

But the Tin Knight?

Far from having poor judgment when it mattered, he often did things he wasn’t told to do.

Like arbitrarily saving Ronnie and the other slaves, and then encouraging Dorothea to accept Adelaide as a companion.

Of course, this didn’t particularly harm Dorothea or interfere with the goals she was trying to achieve.

Although she had to use spells for Adelaide during the journey, she received catalysts necessary for spells in return, so this was also a gain.

Objectively, she had suffered no loss. And yet.

— Aigo, you foolish thing. The problem starts with the familiar doing things on its own without being told. To think you can’t properly control even one familiar, and you still dare call yourself my apprentice?

She could almost see the image of her teacher clicking her tongue in disapproval.

It was as clear as her own face reflected in a polished mirror.

Trying hard to ignore it, Dorothea leaned back in her chair.

And then, pushing the backrest backward, she rocked back and forth.

The chair, which should be standing on four legs, precariously balanced on its rear legs.

It was an action perfect for tipping over backward if she wasn’t careful, yet Dorothea’s expression remained utterly indifferent.

Staring blankly at the wood grain etched on the ceiling, Dorothea continued her train of thought.

It was a solution.

She could simply amend her contract with the Tin Knight.

Don’t do unnecessary things. Follow commands only. Prioritize Dorothea Aschengard’s safety above all else.

That kind of content.

Dorothea held the card that made such a contract possible.

It was none other than the mana Dorothea possessed.

Whether because it was an old model or for some other cause, the mana required by the Tin Knight was unusually high compared to ordinary magic dolls.

It was at a level that would be burdensome even for mages who focused on increasing the “quantity” of mana, let alone warrior types who focused on improving the “quality” of mana.

Handing over such an amount as easily as dispensing a cup of water from a water purifier, and still using all her own magic on top of that, was a feat possible only for Dorothea, who, according to the “Wicked Witch of the East”, had “mana rotting in excess”.

Conversely, if Dorothea cut off the mana supply, the Tin Knight, who had no suitable alternatives, would have no way to resist.

If she played that card well, it wouldn’t be difficult to form a contract overwhelmingly favorable to Dorothea.

“Tch.”

Dorothea clicked her tongue softly.

Despite the obvious solution staring right into her face, for some reason, Dorothea couldn’t bring herself to use that method.

And she didn’t even know why she didn’t want to use that method.

She could only express it as simply distasteful.

“...Haa, I don’t know. If it becomes necessary, I’ll do it then.”

With a thud, the two front legs of the chair that had been wandering in the air settled on the ground.

Since she had enough catalysts even now, she thought she’d buy a book to read in her spare time.

There should be a bookstore or two in a city of this size.

Dorothea opened the door and stepped out of the room.

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On one side of the second-floor corridor were the wall and rooms for guests, and on the other side was a railing that came up to the waist.

Below the railing, the view of the first-floor dining area could be seen, but due to the awkward time of day, there were largely no customers.

Dorothea figured she’d time her return from the bookstore to coincide with mealtime and started walking.

Suddenly, right next to the door, something strange was visible at Dorothea’s feet.

A pitch-black snake, with a texture that seemed as if a shadow had gained three-dimensional form.

Dorothea immediately recognized what it was.

After all, it was something she had seen so often lately, she was sick of it.

Shadow snake.

One of the eight animals that guide the way to the location of the kingdom’s eight treasures.

Among them, the snake was the one responsible for the “Opium Key” that Dorothea possessed.

Dorothea reflexively checked the animal compass she carried in her bosom.

Among the eight emblems, only the purple mole was dimly erased, not having its cooldown fully recharged.

The emblem of the shadow snake was shining clearly, ready to be summoned at any time.

In other words, the shadow snake in front of her eyes wasn’t from her compass.

— You must have received a magic tool from the king that reveals the locations of the eight treasures. That wasn’t made in our kingdom. It was given by the Kingdom of Heaven that roams the heavens. The foolish king rejoiced, believing the Kingdom of Heaven wanted to return the treasures to their rightful owners, but that’s surely impossible. They must have given the same thing to other countries as well. The Kingdom of Heaven is scheming to have all the countries on the ground dance in the palm of their hand. This is such a grand conspiracy. We mustn’t get involved!

The face of the kingdom noble who had tried to dissuade Dorothea from her journey came to mind.

Her judgment was quick.

Crack!

First, she broke the miniature skull to alert the Tin Knight who had the matching skull.

Boom!

The defensive magic engraved on her staff was activated at full strength.

Dorothea’s quick judgment was rewarded.

In the form of saving her own life.

Whoosh!

Right after a loud noise hit her ears, “something” broke through the room window, pouncing on Dorothea.

Feeling the impact that grazed her nape, Dorothea threw herself over the railing as if bouncing off.

Crash!

“Whoa, w-what’s this!?”

As a person fell onto the restaurant table, the innkeeper who had been yawning leisurely raised his voice in surprise.

Dorothea rolled her body off the table and onto the floor.

Although there were no major injuries thanks to the defensive magic functioning properly, her nape had taken the attack from the unidentified assailant and her back that had collided with the table edge were throbbing.

Dorothea looked up at the railing.

The “something” that had attacked her was perched on the railing, looking down at her.

[Ooh?]

At first glance, it looked like a monkey.

But it was undoubtedly more than a mere monkey.

On its back was a pair of wings reminiscent of birds, and its long arms ended in claws that brought hooks to mind.

Dorothea realized that it was these claws that had just slashed at her neck. If she hadn’t used defensive magic in time, her carotid artery would have been slashed clean through.

The fur covering the monkey’s body was golden, and its texture reminded one more of hard metal than animal fur.

“I-is it a magic beast? In the middle of the city!? How!?” the innkeeper screamed.

As if reacting to that sound, the golden monkey looked at the innkeeper.

[Shaaaaa!]

As the golden monkey bristled its fur threateningly, the innkeeper fled out of the building with a short scream.

The golden monkey laughed, clutching its belly at the amusing sight. However, it never lost focus of Dorothea, keeping a sharp eye on her every move.

It wasn’t behavior one would expect from an ordinary wild animal.

The golden monkey’s actions clearly conveyed both mischief and malice.

Dorothea’s blue eyes narrowed.

The innkeeper had called the golden monkey a magic beast.

It wasn’t wrong.

In the first place, the definition of “magic beast” itself was notoriously vague, so ordinary people tended to label any unfamiliar or dangerous life form a magic beast.

But even if a layperson could afford such imprecision, a professional couldn’t.

Dorothea knew a more accurate term to describe the monkey before her.

A heretical life created by arbitrarily combining, twisting, and strengthening all kinds of organisms.

Those with knowledge called it, with contempt for its unethicality, a synthetic creature—chimera.

As if to refute this, those who claimed it was a creature born by their own hands, therefore like a child, called it a little person—homunculus.

Like necromancers, one of the many branches of mages—alchemists.

A familiar used exclusively by them was staring at Dorothea with clear killing intent.

[Ooh-keek!]

The golden monkey’s wings fluttered, and its body shot like an arrow.

Dorothea dove under the table.

Slash!

The wooden table was instantly reduced to splinters by the sharp swipe.

Seeing the faint mana flickering at the tip of those claws, Dorothea raised her assessment of the enemy’s attack power.

If hit without defensive magic, it wouldn’t just be her carotid artery at risk—but her entire body would be dismembered.

Black spheres scattered from Dorothea’s hand.

In form, they were just black-colored magic bullets, but in reality, they were curse lumps brimming with the grudges of the dead.

Physically, they gave an impact like being hit by a hammer, but their true value laid in showering living creatures with debuffs like vomiting, chills, dizziness, and other debilitating status conditions.

[Ooh-ki!]

As if mocking that counterattack, the golden monkey nullified the black spheres by charging into them with its body.

Slash!

Another swipe hit Dorothea.

Dorothea tried to swing her staff to strike the golden monkey, but the monkey deftly avoided it with quick movements.

Dorothea tore off a leather pouch from her waist and scattered its contents in the air.

Strands of multicolored hairs received mana and instantly turned to ash, coalescing into the form of spirits that began wailing out curses and lamentations as they encircled the area.

《Die die die die die》

《It hurts, it’s painful, I can’t breathe》

《You too, just like us...!》

[Kee-shaaaaa!]

As if annoyed by the group of spirits clinging to it, the golden monkey let out an irritated screech.

As the golden light surrounding the monkey’s body intensified, the group of spirits touched by that light quickly melted away.

Dorothea quickly tried to prepare her next spell, but the golden monkey was faster in swinging its long arm to strike Dorothea.

Crack!

The wooden staff Dorothea was holding split with a loud noise.

The staff, which had been acting as a catalyst for the defensive magic, could no longer withstand the attack and was destroyed—the remaining impact was directly transferred to Dorothea.

“Ugh, guh!”

Raising a long dust cloud, Dorothea’s body rolled on the floor.

Her cloak failed to stay in place and slipped off, and a burning pain came from the skin that had been scraped against the ground.

Ignoring the pain and forcibly getting up, Dorothea gritted her teeth.

“Do you know how much trouble I went through to make that staff...!?”

[Ooh-ki-gi-gik!]

The golden monkey let out a gleeful laugh, seemingly reveling in Dorothea’s frustrated appearance.

The compatibility was the worst.

There was no comparison in physical abilities, and the golden fur seemed to have resistance to all kinds of mana.

If magical attacks didn’t work, she should unleash physical attacks, but necromancers weren’t a school with excellent physical destructive power to begin with.

Or more precisely, there were such types of magic, but they were all not to Dorothea’s taste and couldn’t be used in the current situation.

It wasn’t possible to find a corpse to suddenly self-destruct in the middle of the city.

The golden monkey lowered its body.

It looked like it was about to pounce at any moment.

Dorothea, who had been wearing a stern face, suddenly relaxed her expression.

The golden monkey interpreted this as resignation.

A golden flash streaked through the air.

Sharp claws aimed for Dorothea’s chest—and the heart within.

Clang!

A shrill metallic sound rang out.

The golden monkey’s eyes widened at the unexpected resistance.

Before the golden monkey could react, the intruder swung his shield to strike the monkey.

[The 'Tin Knight' launches a strike of fury!!]

Whoosh!

Translator's Note

Sky Kingdom —> Kingdom of Heaven