Chapter 15: The Tin Knight and The City of Pleasure (9)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 15: The Tin Knight and The City of Pleasure (9)
The Black Boar Inn, once a banquet hall for bandits, had now become a sanctuary for their victims.
A large crowd of people huddled together around it.
“Lady Ronnie. Is it truly all right for us to accept this?”
A middle-aged man asked cautiously, inspecting the pouch Ronnie had handed him.
He was the chief of a village that had been tormented by the bandits.
He was also the one chosen to lead the victims back to their domain in Ronnie’s stead.
“You’ll need at least that much to return safely to the Friedel domain. I should be the one protecting you all personally, but instead, I must send you off ahead of me. I am truly sorry.”
The village chief, taken aback by Ronnie’s apology, waved his hands in dismissal.
“No, not at all. You are staying behind to rescue the young lady. What is there to be sorry for? If anything, we are the ones who feel ashamed for accepting your support when we cannot even stay to help.”
The number of people the chief was leading was immense.
In addition to those rescued from the bandit stronghold, they had also freed everyone who had been sold into slavery throughout the City of Pleasure.
Some had offered to remain with Ronnie and help rescue the young lady, but Ronnie had shaken her head.
Dorothea had advised her to evacuate the people as far away as possible before the auction began.
Though Dorothea hadn't shared the specifics of her plan, Ronnie had never known the young witch’s ‘advice’ to be empty words.
Besides, though she couldn't say it to their faces, Ronnie thought the witch’s advice was wise for another reason.
It was only natural.
…It costs too much money.
The number of freed slaves had long since surpassed one hundred.
Treating them for the hardships they’d endured, clothing them, feeding them—every single action cost money.
She was managing somehow with the wealth recovered from the bandits, but it was obvious that if they kept spending without earning, their funds would eventually run dry.
At first, Ronnie had dreamed of a triumphant return with everyone after rescuing the young lady, but at this rate, such a stunt would result in a scene of ‘the heir and the beggars’ rather than ‘the heir’s magnificent return.’
Better to send them back now than to see that sorry sight. Yes, that was the wiser choice.
After sending everyone off, Ronnie headed to the second floor of the inn.
“Excuse me.”
Knock, knock.
She knocked on the door at the far end of the second-floor hallway, but there was no reply.
Ronnie hesitated for a moment, then opened the door with a short sigh.
Regardless of her entry, the Tin Knight and Dorothea didn't spare her a single glance, each completely absorbed in their own work.
One might have seen it as a dismissive attitude, but having grown used to it over the past few days, Ronnie paid it no mind and spoke.
“I have sent all the captured domain residents on their way back. Thank you again for providing the funds.”
“Yep.”
“Is there anything else I should do?”
“Did you take care of our transportation?”
“I’ve prepared two horses and a carriage.”
“Then get some rest. Once the auction starts, we might have to keep moving without a break. It’d be best to conserve your strength.”
“Ah, yes.”
Ronnie nodded and lingered awkwardly before finally settling in a corner of the room.
She observed Dorothea.
For the past few days, ever since the fight at the bandit stronghold, Dorothea had always seemed busy.
One day, she crushed large animal bones into a fine powder.
The next, she set fire to a distinctively striped leaf with a lidless lamp and collected the ashes.
On another day, she boiled a snail shell in an unidentifiable liquid until it turned into a gray gel, which she then scooped into a small bowl.
She had channeled mana into a still-vibrant plant stem, causing it to wither; she had mixed two different kinds of stone powder; she had even spent nearly half a day chanting over a tray filled with blood.
Is this what magic is really like…?
Ronnie had met the mages employed in the Friedel domain a few times, but their ‘magic’ felt considerably different from Dorothea’s ‘magic.’
To put it more bluntly, Ronnie had never once seen the mages of Friedel go through such a ‘bothersome’ preparation process.
Nor had she ever seen them display such a wide variety of abilities as Dorothea.
The magic Ronnie had seen until now was specialized in destructive tasks—shooting fireballs, hurling icicles, or creating blades of wind.
I suppose I can’t complain if magic, like swordsmanship, has its various schools.
Though she was curious about many things, Ronnie didn't dare ask.
In the world of warriors, prying into another’s techniques or school was a great discourtesy. She imagined it wasn't much different for mages.
Ronnie shifted her gaze to the Tin Knight.
Unlike Dorothea, who was busy with all sorts of preparations, the Tin Knight was doing only one thing.
He gripped a gently curved sword, from which a silver mana emanated.
At times, the silver mana was as thin and faint as a veil; at others, it was so thick and vivid that the shape of the sword was obscured; and sometimes, it was drawn out in thread-like strands.
Ronnie let out a dry laugh.
…Even his late lordship couldn't handle sword energy with such freedom.
Her former lord, while somewhat lacking in political skill, had been praised as the kingdom’s finest warrior.
If something was impossible for him, it meant no knight in the kingdom could do it.
And no matter how weak the kingdom itself was, the title of a nation’s champion was not one to be taken lightly.
That was how it should be, according to Ronnie’s common sense… but things seemed a little different here.
Fwoosh.
The Tin Knight’s sword energy, which had been changing form freely, suddenly dwindled and vanished completely.
The Tin Knight’s gaze turned to Dorothea. Dorothea, who had been engrossed in her work, also stopped moving, whipping her head around to glare at him.
“Hey, I told you not to waste mana like that! This is the third time today, you know?”
Woosh, woosh.
“Epiphany, my ass! Get a new excuse!”
Woosh, woosh.
“I don’t give a damn about your power-up event!”
Woosh, woosh.
A witch fuming with all her might and a Tin Knight swinging his arms as if in protest.
The childish, tantrum-like gestures held not a shred of the dignity of a nation’s champion.
It was hard to believe this was the same knight who had coolly and efficiently slaughtered the bandits with his swordsmanship.
Dorothea’s gaze shifted to Ronnie.
“Hey, you said you were a knight, right?”
Ronnie, startled, shook her head.
“A k-knight? I am merely a page.”
“Still, you should have a rough idea. This sword energy thing, does it normally guzzle this much mana?”
“It’s difficult to say for certain. It can vary depending on the school of swordsmanship, an individual’s constitution, or their habits. Besides, I have no way of knowing how much mana the knight possesses to begin with.”
“So you just need to know the mana capacity, right?”
Huh?
Ronnie’s question never left her lips.
An immense amount of mana began to flow into her through the wrist Dorothea had suddenly grabbed.
Her vision swam, her body felt light, and she was overcome with a vibrant energy that made her feel like she could do anything.
“…Hmm, I haven’t even put in a quarter of what I give him, and you’re already full. Any more and you’ll burst.”
Dorothea released Ronnie’s wrist, frowning as if displeased.
Ronnie felt the mana that now filled her body, utterly astonished.
“H-how did you do that? Injecting mana into another person’s body… that should be impossible unless you’ve trained in the same, or at least a similar, school of cultivation…!”
“That’s because different types of mana repel each other. I just changed its properties to match your body before putting it in, so you don't have to worry about that. More importantly, if you were to use that to create sword energy, about how long do you think it would last?”
I don’t think this is something to be brushed off so lightly.
Despite her thoughts, Ronnie quickly began to focus on channeling the mana.
This was the second time in her life she had handled mana in this way.
Ronnie clearly remembered the feeling from when the ‘young lady,’ taking pity on the mediocrity who remained a page while her juniors were being recognized as apprentice knights, had given her the elixir meant for her own training.
Back then, her mana control had been so clumsy that she had exhausted all her mana and collapsed right after forming the sword energy. This time, however, thanks to her past experience, she was able to create the sword energy with relative ease.
Though it was crude and clumsy compared to the artful sword energy the Tin Knight produced, the very fact that she could maintain it without much strain was a deeply moving experience for Ronnie.
“So, how long?”
Of course, Dorothea was oblivious to Ronnie’s emotional state.
And in truth, the mana that had just been tossed to her felt less moving than the grace she had received from the young lady in her time of hardship. This allowed Ronnie to consider Dorothea’s question with a cool head.
And she came to a conclusion.
“…If I do nothing and just sit here maintaining the sword energy, I think I could last for about six hours at most.”
It was a long time, but Ronnie knew this result wasn't due to her own skill.
In fact, she couldn't even control all the mana currently in her body; the excess was leaking out of her like evaporating water.
If a truly skilled person had received the same amount of mana, they would have been able to maintain the sword energy for far longer than she could.
That was how much mana Dorothea had given her.
And thinking about it that way, she was suddenly dumbfounded.
Didn’t she say earlier that this was a quarter of the amount she gives the knight?
A quarter. That meant the Tin Knight was receiving four times the mana that now filled Ronnie’s body.
No, since he had already been refilled three times as Dorothea said, it was actually twelve times.
Then just how much mana did Dorothea herself possess?
What’s more, from the way she spoke, she still seemed to have plenty to spare.
Ronnie looked at Dorothea with newfound awe.
The Tin Knight, with his swordsmanship that surpassed the kingdom’s greatest knight, was one thing, but the girl beside him was just as extraordinary.
“You hear that? She says your mana efficiency is crap when you use sword energy! It costs less mana to just take hits and repair yourself, so it’s forbidden unless it’s an emergency!”
Woosh, woosh.
“Forget about looking cool! What are you going to do if you run out of mana in the middle of a fight and just stop, and I die in the meantime?! You old-fashioned model can’t even be supplied remotely!”
Woosh, woosh, woosh, woosh!
Well, whatever.
For all their power, they acted like children.
But that didn't change the fact that they were her benefactors.
Staring at the bickering pair with a deadpan gaze, Ronnie finally came to a decision.
I should just focus on my own training.
*
A short time later.
“Now, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the specialty of the City of Pleasure, Albert! The Grand Auction!!”
“Woooooooooah!”
The fateful day had arrived.