The Tin Knight-Chapter 41: The Tin Knight and The Hanging Sinner (4)

The Empire.

Adventurers Guild Schwartz Branch. Branch Manager’s Office.

Branch Manager, we’ve received an urgent report from the Taros Labyrinth Management Department.”

“An urgent report?”

The Branch Manager furrowed his brow in confusion as he took the report.

As he checked the contents written in the report, his face gradually turned red, and finally, an indignant shout burst from his mouth, “So, explorers under the Halder Company swept up all the relics inside the labyrinth in just one day? And the incompetent fools on site just watched it happen? Hey, you bastards! How did you handle this?!”

“T-that’s because the contract terms with the company were set up that way...”

“And who the hell approved such a ridiculous contract!? We should have either limited the amount they could take at once or made sure our people went with them!!”

The subordinate felt the words, “You’re the one who approved it without properly reviewing when the related documents first came up, so why are you yelling at me?” welling up from deep inside, but those words never escaped his lips.

Instead of provoking the Branch Manager’s anger with unnecessary words, the subordinate silently bent his waist at a 90-degree angle.

“My apologies.”

“Tsk, such incompetent fools.”

Clicking his tongue in disapproval, the Branch Manager carelessly threw the documents on the desk, and said, “Retrieve them.”

“Pardon?”

“I said retrieve them. Halder Company or whatever. Isn’t it just one of the small to medium-sized companies? Intimidate them appropriately and retrieve everything. Especially if there’s anything obtained from the last floor, don’t miss even a single piece of cloth, get everything.”

The subordinate was shocked, his mouth hanging open blankly.

He couldn’t comprehend what he had just heard—no, more precisely, he simply didn’t want to understand.

It was true that the Halder Company was a smaller force “compared to the Adventurers Guild”.

However, that didn’t mean they were the kind of group they could dismiss as “just one of the small to medium-sized companies”

If one made a huge list of companies on the continent, they might not reach the very top, but they’d no doubt be in the grade just below it.

If they had been any less significant, they wouldn’t have been granted exploration rights in the first place.

Moreover, if they forcibly seized the treasures from the Halder Company, other companies wouldn’t remain idle either.

Before talking about loyalty among merchants, they’d worry about becoming the next target.

“Wait a moment, please reconsider. If we do that, we may end up provoking all the companies involved in this case might rebel. Moreover, if we unilaterally break a contract once made, it will damage the honor of the entire guild! Rather, it would be better to purchase the necessary items—“

“How frustrating. You’re so lacking in business sense.”

The Branch Manager cut off the desperate dissuasion of the subordinate, who had mustered up the courage to speak, with an attitude of annoyance.

“Listen. A mere company, blinded by greed, harmed other adventurers and plundered treasures within the labyrinth managed by the guild. Which do you think preserves the guild’s honor: quietly watching this wicked behavior, or resolutely punishing it? Do I really need to explain even this to you?”

“What do you mean...?”

The subordinate was genuinely perplexed.

He wondered if the Branch Manager had even read the report he had submitted.

What the Branch Manager said had already been suspected of and thoroughly investigated on-site. The report had explicitly stated that no adventurer party had been harmed.

But, what on earth?

No, wait.

The subordinate’s face hardened.

“What a tragic affair. Truly tragic. To think that the guild’s precious adventurers were brutally murdered. If our guild doesn’t resolve their unjust deaths, who will? Punish the company severely, and make sure to judge those explorers who committed this act. We should also retrieve any items they might have kept for themselves instead of handing them over to the company.”

The Branch Manager spoke in an exaggerated tone, his body language nearly theatrical as he stared down his subordinate.

“What are you waiting for? Move quickly.”

At the snake-like gaze filled with greed, the subordinate involuntarily shuddered without realizing it himself.

“...Understood.”

The subordinate bowed his head.

After all, he had no other choice.

He’d seen his seniors demoted or vanish without a trace after having defied the Branch Manager—he didn’t want to become another predecessor for his role.

***At the same time, near the Taros Labyrinth.

“Are you leaving already?”

The head of the Halder Company, Lorentz Halder, showed a troubled reaction, but Dorothea remained indifferent.

“We’ve decided on our next target, and we’ve gotten everything we needed. There’s no reason to stay here any longer.”

“But you haven’t properly received the sales proceeds yet, have you?”

“I’ve received the advance payment, and it’ll take a while to sell everything anyway, right? I’ll come back for it later, so keep the money safe for me. Deduct the storage fee from the sale price. It’s not like you’re taking a loss out on this deal, are you?”

“Well, that’s true, but...”

Far from a loss, it was quite beneficial.

If free trade was possible without a set sales deadline, they could carefully choose their buyers and extract the maximum profit.

However, from a networking perspective, it was somewhat regrettable.

The plan to host Dorothea’s party as honored guests while the goods were being sold, and build a relationship, had all come to naught.

“Instead of that, if you tell us your destination, we’ll treat you with the highest hospitality. It would be a shame to let such valuable customers leave without proper treatment.”

“It’s fine. Too troublesome.”

Dorothea waved her hand dismissively.

Even though the other side had shown an insincere attitude, she was the one who had even discarded the escort unit provided by the kingdom without hesitation.

While a temporary accompaniment might be acceptable, she had no interest in traveling with a large entourage.

Moreover, if they kept moving around together, there was a concern that Sophia’s existence might be discovered.

Realizing that Dorothea had no intention of changing her mind, Lorentz couldn’t help but feel disappointed inwardly.

However, if he gave up so easily, he wouldn’t be worthy of being called a merchant.

“In that case, please at least accept the carriage we’ve prepared. Not only is the ride comfort and loading capacity excellent, but the horses are also top-class steeds.”

“...Well, I suppose that much would be fine.”

Though looking a bit reluctant, Dorothea accepted.

Although she viewed kindness without compensation as a debt, in this case, there was no catch, so there was little reason to refuse.

Above all, it was clear that if the carriage’s performance improved, the journey would become more comfortable.

While Dorothea had the patience to endure the poor ride of a cheap carriage and the discomfort of sleeping outdoors without much complaint, having patience and enjoying it were separate issues.

“Miss Adelaide. Our company headquarters is in Perdia City in the southern part of the Empire. Please make sure to visit!”

“Ah, yes. Thank you. I hope Mr. Micks stays healthy too.”

After finishing their final greetings like that, they set off on their new journey.

To Adelaide, who was now doing her pre-run stretches with familiar movements, the Tin Knight asked.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ wonders what Adel thinks about that boy’s kindness!]

“Hey.”

“Oh my.”

Dorothea frowned at the tactless question, while Sophia showed a reaction as if it might be amusing.

Adelaide blinked her large violet eyes a few times, then soon answered with a bright smile, “He seems like a nice person!”

““...””

An indescribable silence fell.

It was meant as a compliment, but it wasn’t.

At least, not when evaluating a potential romantic partner.

The Tin Knight, Dorothea, and Sophia exchanged glances.

They silently agreed to pretend the previous question never happened.

“Everyone! Have a safe journey!!”

With the boy waving from afar in the background, the carriage departed.

It was a truly peaceful scene.

***As always, the Tin Knight led the carriage and Adelaide sprinted alongside it.

Inside the carriage’s cargo space—now, properly furnished with proper seats—Dorothea and Sophia were facing each other.

With an arrogant posture, arms crossed and legs folded, Dorothea asked, “So, what are you?”

Sophia, sitting formally with her hands neatly placed on her knees, answered with a smile, “Sophia Hubris. Scholar, cleric, and monster.”

“I’m not in the mood for wordplay.”

Despite her sharp glare, Sophia merely let out a faint laugh.

Dorothea clicked her tongue, seemingly realizing intimidation was useless.

“Fine. Then I’ll change the question. Where are you from?”

“I’m from the Doria City-State Alliance.”

“The name Doria seems familiar, I feel like I’ve seen it in a book somewhere. A state alliance... does that mean there are multiple kings?”

“Each city is led by a people’s assembly, so there are no kings.”

“...If there’s no king, isn’t it not a country?”

Dorothea made a puzzled expression, and Sophia nodded as if understanding, saying, “Ah...”

“I was wondering why the language was so different despite only a few centuries passing, but it seems the censorship was quite severe. Well, even back then, we were treated as oddities by surrounding countries. Anyway, don’t worry about it.”

It was human nature to become more concerned when told not to worry, but this time, Dorothea decided to simply follow Sophia’s words.

After all, she had no interest in the headache that was politics.

“Then, for what reasons were you sealed in that labyrinth?”

“I didn’t hear a direct explanation from those who sealed me... but perhaps it was because they had no way to kill me? They might have hoped I’d gradually weaken and die, or they might have passed on a troublesome problem to future generations.”

“There were words like taboo and sinner written on the stone tablet. What exactly did you do?”

“Ah, that?”

Sophia answered as if it was nothing special, “I believed in God. I followed His laws. But as I did so, I found passages here and there that I couldn’t understand at all. So I raised questions.

“Then people around me said it was blasphemous. They said that doubting itself was a sin. That it wasn’t about logic or theory, but accepting things as they are since that is the manner in which they were written.

“I couldn’t understand. Couldn’t God be wrong too? But when I said that, they accused me of being possessed by evil, that I had fallen.

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“When I heard that, I thought, ‘Ah, that’s how I should do it.’”

Sophia raised her right hand.

It was a pale, lacking a hint of blood.

In that hand, an intangible energy rippled.

It wasn’t the deep red mana that Sophia originally possessed.

“「Evil exists solely to defy God’s providence. One must never approach it.」

“And vampires are an easy-to-understand synonym for evil. So, if a vampire can demonstrate God’s miracles, it can negate the above passage. Like this.”

What formed in Sophia’s hand was a pure white light.

A pure white light that truly deserved to be called holy.

Whoosh!

The bright light spread like a ripple, illuminating the cargo compartment.

And Sophia’s hand that emitted that light was burning up like logs in a fire.

“So, because you, a vampire, can exert holy power, it proves that neither God nor His words are absolute? Did you wish to deny Him that much?”

“No? Why does being curious about God’s flaws mean a denial of Him? Can’t God make mistakes sometimes? Isn’t it much more blasphemous to insist that God is absolutely perfect while ignoring that possibility? Personally, I find a God with room for mistakes far more endearing because of His imperfections.”

“You’re casually saying things that would have people from the Kingdom of Heaven coming after you with hammers and nails.”

“Ah, are those people still lecturing the earth, telling them to do this and that these days?”

“I don’t know. The high-ranking people in each country might know.”

To begin with, the information Dorothea had about the Kingdom of Heaven was extremely biased.

Her teacher had gritted her teeth, calling them arrogant bastards who put on airs just because they lived in the sky despite having nothing special about them.

“Haa.”

Dorothea clutched her forehead as if she had a headache.

A vampire wielding God’s miracles.

What could this even be compared to?

A fire-type flower? An electric-type fish?

No, it was even worse than that.

At least in Dorothea’s memory, there were certainly flowers that burned on their own without being touched, and fish that emitted electricity, but at least those existed as entire species, while this vampire was a unique individual.

No matter how she thought about it, her very existence was an incident just waiting to happen.

And the biggest problem—Dorothea had no choice but to keep this troublesome existence around.

All because the kingdom’s sacred treasure was inside Sophia’s body.

“More importantly, why did you absorb the Chalice of Tuberose? Was that also to deny God’s doctrine or whatever? Was it even something you could consume in the first place?”

“Ah, that? I did that just out of curiosity. The Chalice of Tuberose was said to give the power of prophetic dreams. If just drinking alcohol from the cup does that much, I couldn’t help but wonder how amazing it would be if I absorbed the chalice itself entirely. But it seems it was a magic tool that had no effect without following the proper procedure because I’ve never had a single prophetic dream!”

“Hey, you crazy woman!!”

Finally, Dorothea exploded.

“Spit it out! Spit it out right now! Leave just the chalice and disappear!!”

“Ahaha, that’s impossible. It seems to have been completely absorbed during the hundreds of years it was inside my body. It no longer has a physical form!”

Even while being shaken back and forth with her collar grabbed, Sophia just laughed nonchalantly.

Dorothea’s screams and Sophia’s laughter echoed across the plains.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ is pleased with the sight of the two getting along well!]

“Haah, haah, should we, huff, really call this, huff, getting along?”