Chapter 143: The Tin Knight and The City of Scales (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 143: The Tin Knight and The City of Scales (3)
“Gah, ugh, what the fuck is this?!”
The young man, who had been scowling from the intense pain in his back after the fall, let out a string of curses upon seeing the food scraps smeared on it.
Judging by his flushed red face, he seemed to have had quite a lot to drink.
As he pushed himself up with a groan, his eyes met Adelaide’s, who was staring blankly, trying to process what had just happened.
The young man saw her brilliant golden hair and violet eyes, and he flinched back in surprise.
“Y-You! You’re with them!”
“Excuse me?”
She didn’t even have a moment to ask what he meant.
The young man swung the sword in his hand without warning.
Before she could even comprehend the situation, Adelaide’s body reacted.
Pivoting on her left foot, she spun halfway around to dodge the sword, grabbed the man’s wrist with her right hand, pulled him forward, and then—thunk—plunged the fork she held in a reverse grip in her left hand into his neck.
“Ah.”
A moment too late, she thought she might have gone too far, but what’s done is done.
The situation worsened when the young man’s companions came down from the upper floor and saw his fallen body.
“Over here! They’re here too!”
“They got Zhang!!”
Four or five men drew their swords in unison and surrounded Adelaide and her party.
It was clear at a glance that they weren't in the mood to talk.
Just as Adelaide was debating whether or not to draw her sword, another figure dropped through the hole in the ceiling where the first man had fallen.
Her golden hair, tied tightly back, swung like a tail as the figure shot across the room.
Swish!
With each swing of the intruder’s sword, blood splattered and the young men fell.
Adelaide’s eyes flashed with admiration.
‘Beautiful.’
It was an astonishingly fast and dazzling display of swordsmanship.
The afterimages of her sword energy lingered in the air, looking like a flower in full bloom.
In the time it took to draw and release a single deep breath, the figure had cut down all the men. She then turned to face Adelaide.
Her beautiful face, once as cold and emotionless as ice, twisted in shock.
“Lennart Mask…!”
“Wait, wait, stop.”
Adelaide had spoken reflexively, forgetting her usual tone.
*
Maris von Lennart.
An overwhelming background as one of the daughters of Duke Lennart, the Empire's Guardian Lord of the State.
Exceptional swordsmanship that pursued both intricacy and speed, and a strategic mind far too profound for her young age.
As one of the rising stars expected to lead the next generation of the Lion Duke’s bloodline, she had no end of male suitors, but none had ever succeeded.
This was because Maris was as famous for her cold, arrogant disposition as she was for her stunning beauty. Her suitors would lament that even if they offered her a fortune in gold, they couldn't elicit even the faintest smile.
“Hm? Ah, sorry, my bad. I mistook you for someone else. You just look a lot like a certain ‘fan’ I saw the other day.”
“I-Is that so? If it was a mistake, then I suppose it can’t be helped.”
“Right, right.”
And now, that same cold beauty was teasing Adelaide with an incredibly friendly smile.
It was a sight that would have made anyone who knew the usual Maris rub their eyes, wondering if they were seeing things.
Of course, Maris had her own justification.
How could she treat those bastards trying to get into her pants the same way she treated a little sister who gave such fun reactions the more you poked her?
As much as she wanted to keep teasing her, the situation unfortunately didn't allow for it.
“My lady. Are you unharmed?”
Two knights appeared on the stairs connecting the third and fourth floors and approached Maris.
They held swords dripping with blood, and a lingering killing intent, not yet faded, emanated from their eyes, a sign they had just cut down many people.
They showed a hint of confusion upon seeing Adelaide with Maris, but their faces hardened when they saw the Tin Knight beside her.
“My lady, please come over here.”
“It’s fine. If these people were with those thugs, they wouldn’t have all swarmed me like that. Besides, if even one of my knights here had stepped in, you would have wiped them all out. Why make a fuss now?”
“But, my lady.”
“Enough.”
At her firm command that permitted no argument, the two knights bowed their heads apologetically.
Just as Maris, having silenced her men, was about to speak again.
A commotion rose from below, and a man who appeared to be the restaurant owner emerged with a group of soldiers.
“They got here fast.”
With that one irritated remark, Maris’s expression turned icy cold.
The one who seemed to be the captain of the guards approached Maris and spoke.
“We received a report about people causing a disturbance in the restaurant. We ask for your cooperation with our investigation.”
Maris retorted in a cold tone.
“Are you saying you see us as the culprits?”
“...This investigation is to determine that. Do you require an explanation of the investigative procedure?”
For someone interrogating a suspect, his attitude was strangely polite.
Perhaps because of the two guards standing behind Maris with fire in their eyes, the guard captain and all the guards seemed somewhat intimidated.
“I’ve been through it several times. It’s not necessary.”
“Then, we shall begin.”
The guard captain lifted something from his hip.
From the spot where a sword would normally hang, he produced a scale with a black plate and a white plate.
“Did you kill these men?”
“Yes.”
With a clank, the black plate dropped down sharply.
“Reason for the killing?”
“These guys were pestering me to pour them a drink. I refused verbally at first, but they must have had their brains pickled in alcohol, because they resorted to violence, so I responded in kind.”
The black plate rose slightly.
“Who drew their weapon first?”
“They did.”
The plate rose again.
“During the fight, did you feel your life was in danger?”
“Of course. How could I not, when they were charging at me with swords?”
Vmmm!
The scale trembled as if it were crying out.
The guard captain stated impassively.
“Please refrain from false testimony. If you did not feel your life was in danger, why did you kill them instead of simply subduing them?”
Maris’s eyebrow twitched.
“...Because showing clumsy mercy would only lead to greater trouble later on.”
The scale’s black plate dipped down again.
After a few more questions regarding the number of dead and the damage to the building, the guard captain checked the state of the scale.
The balance had markings on it, allowing the degree of the tilt to be measured numerically.
“The sentence is twenty months of imprisonment. Please decide whether you will serve the sentence or pay the bail.”
“There can’t be any other city guard in the world that has it as easy as you.”
With that sarcastic remark, Maris flicked something up with her fingers.
Two brilliant imperial gold coins landed on the white plate and, in the next moment, began to dissolve into a halo of light in mid-air.
As the coins dissolved, the scale gradually returned to balance. It became perfectly level when one of the two coins had completely melted away and only about a third of the other remained.
The guard captain offered the remaining coin fragment to Maris.
“Why don’t you just keep it as a tip?”
“Personally handling the remainder of the bail is strictly forbidden by law.”
After bidding Maris farewell with a perfectly bureaucratic attitude, the guard captain turned to the restaurant owner, presented the scale, and began to question him about various things.
Adelaide’s party couldn’t take their eyes off the bizarre and fascinating scene.
Maris shrugged and said to Adelaide.
“Shall we move, for now? It’s not a great place for introductions, and it looks like you have a lot of questions. Since neither of us got to enjoy our meal, the least I can do is treat you to one.”
“Uh…”
Adelaide glanced at the Tin Knight and Sophia, seeking their opinion.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ exclaims that while Dorothea would have refused to get involved, he is more than happy to accept!]
“You can do as you wish, Lady Adel,” Sophia said.
One in favor, one neutral.
The choice fell to Adelaide.
Although Adelaide wouldn’t call herself well-versed in politics, she knew that Maris held a rather high status even within the main family.
She was famous enough that news about her reached Adelaide’s ears without her having to seek it out.
Perhaps because of what she’d heard from the Witch of the West, her interest in the main family had grown.
Adelaide nodded at Maris.
*
The party was invited to a mansion on the outskirts of the city.
Putting aside its height, the building’s sheer width was easily six times that of the restaurant they had just left.
“Do you live here?”
“Hm? No, I’m just renting the whole building for a while. It might seem like I’m making a fuss, but staying in a normal inn would be its own kind of nuisance to those around me.”
The security at the mansion was tight.
Dozens of soldiers were visible at a glance, and among them were scattered a few individuals with golden hair or violet eyes.
Adelaide sensed that a good number of them, perhaps even all of them, were skilled enough to wield sword energy.
Normally, they would have been required to disarm before entering such a place, but thanks to Maris saying it was fine, the party was able to enter without any restrictions.
While the meal was being prepared, the party formally introduced themselves to Maris.
Adelaide took the lead in the conversation.
Usually, when Dorothea was absent, Sophia acted as the party’s representative, but this time, since they were dealing with a member of the Lion Duke’s bloodline, Adelaide was the more suitable person for the role.
“I’m Maris von Lennart. I haven’t taken a public office yet, so I don’t have a formal title.”
“Adelaide von Lennart. A candidate for the heir of the Friedel domain in the Kingdom of Ionia.”
Maris gave a curious smile at the words ‘candidate for the heir’ before her gaze shifted to the Tin Knight and Sophia.
Adelaide, about to introduce the two according to etiquette, hesitated for a moment.
‘...Come to think of it, what should I call Sir Knight...?’
Dorothea called the Tin Knight things like ‘Hey,’ ‘You,’ or ‘Tin Can,’ while Sophia called him ‘Sir Tin,’ and Adelaide herself called him ‘Sir Knight.’
Among companions, those names were sufficient, but when it came to introducing him to others, she couldn’t think of a proper title.
“Um, this is Miss Sophia. And this is Sir Knight. They are my traveling companions.”
With a hint of hesitation, that was the best she could manage.
Fortunately, Maris didn’t press the issue. Perhaps she wasn’t very interested, or perhaps she noticed Adelaide’s predicament and decided to be considerate.
“First, about what happened earlier, I’m sorry for getting you caught up in that. It seems they attacked you because they saw your appearance and assumed you were with me.”
“They were picking a fight… with you?”
Adelaide tilted her head at Maris’s words.
It was the same question she’d had when she heard the story Maris told the guard captain.
She wondered if there were really people audacious enough to pick a fight with none other than the daughter of the Guardian Lord of the State.
Even if they didn’t know she was the Guardian Lord’s daughter, her distinct golden hair and violet eyes made it impossible not to recognize her as a member of the Lion Duke’s bloodline.
It might be a different story in the borderlands where the Empire’s influence is relatively weak, but this was one of the five cities where a Lennart dojo existed.
As if guessing Adelaide’s thoughts just by looking at her face, Maris let out a hollow laugh.
“Sounds unbelievable, doesn’t it? I thought so too, until I experienced it myself. But in this city, it actually happens.”
“How is that possible?”
“Because that’s the law of this city.”
—Wrongs committed outside of Justitia will not be questioned within.
—Wrongs committed inside of Justitia will not be questioned without.
—Wrongs committed in Justitia will be punished by Justitia itself.
—All judgments are presided over by the ‘Scale.’
—All punishments can be substituted with ‘value’ sufficient to balance the Scale.
Adelaide tilted her head.
There were far too many things she didn’t understand.
“So, you’re saying that no matter what crime someone commits here, they can’t be punished for it outside the city? And that any crime can be resolved just by paying money?”
“There are loopholes in practice, but in principle, yes. At the very least, you can’t punish them openly.”
“Why?”
Maris answered Adelaide’s question.
“Because this is the Kingdom of Heaven’s territory. Its domain on earth.”