Chapter 21: The Tin Knight and the Lion's Bloodline (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 21: The Tin Knight and the Lion's Bloodline (4)
The departure schedule was pushed back.
The original plan had been to leave at the crack of dawn, but that was no longer possible now that the heir to the domain had joined their party.
Adel herself insisted it would be fine since she’d left a letter, but Dorothea knew that if the doted-on ‘youngest lady’ suddenly vanished with only a note, it would undoubtedly spark a kidnapping scare followed by a massive manhunt.
The Tin Knight’s eyes lit up, thinking that sounded like fun in its own way, but Dorothea had no interest in being chased when she hadn't committed any crime.
An emergency meeting was held to convey Adel's wishes, and, as expected, the domain was thrown into chaos.
It was problematic enough that Adel, who had only just returned after being kidnapped, was suddenly declaring her intention to leave again. But to do so with a duo of questionable origin, and without a single attendant?
No matter how noble her cause of proving her worth as an heir, the vassals and subjects weren't so naive as to accept it at face value.
And the person who had to bear the full brunt of the fallout was Giselle, the acting lord.
A rumor had already been subtly circulating that the young lady was being driven out due to the acting lord's veiled pressure.
For Giselle, it was a completely unfair accusation.
She had nothing to gain by ousting Adel.
Had Adel been an heir so exceptional as to make Giselle feel threatened, things might have been different. But within the domain, Adel's reputation, viewed in the most favorable light, was that of a ‘cute and gentle youngest lady.’
Simply by treating her and the fallen lady of the domain well, Giselle could win the people's favor and see her standing with the vassals soar. Why would she take such an unnecessary risk? She had even given Adel a generous sum of money as a sign of goodwill, only to be repaid like this. She was left reeling from the betrayal.
In the lord's office of the mansion.
Giselle questioned the black-haired witch with blue eyes.
“…Did you plan this from the moment you first brought it up?”
“What are you talking about? If you have a complaint, take it up with Adel. I only heard about it this morning myself.”
Dorothea glanced out the window. In the small square in front of the mansion, she could see Adel surrounded by vassals and subjects, with the Tin Knight standing guard by her side.
“It's funny, isn't it? They ignored her when she was clinging to you, but now that she's leaving of her own accord, they're all gathered around her, pretending to be worried.”
“That is the nature of a crowd,” Giselle said. “It is the ruler's role to guide them correctly.”
It was a very aristocratic sentiment, but Dorothea didn't bother to argue.
Thanks to the influence of her witch mentor, who called the king of a nation a ‘brat,’ Dorothea herself didn't care whether someone was a noble or not. But she was aware that her attitude wasn't exactly normal.
“So, what's the reason you called me here alone?”
“I wish to dispatch a unit of knights to serve as Adelaide's escort. Your safety, of course, will also be guaranteed.”
“Not happening.”
It was a curt reply that left no room for compromise.
“You call it an escort, but it's really just surveillance. Besides, it's more convenient to travel light. That tin can over there is all the protection we need.”
“…Then couldn't you at least take a servant with you?”
“I can take care of myself just fine, and soon, Adel will be able to as well.”
Faced with such an impenetrable wall, Giselle let out a sigh.
Considering the reactions of the vassals and the main family, it was crucial to keep track of Adel's status.
—Where is the heir? She left on an adventure to gain skills and achievements, you say? She'll be back in a year, but you have no idea where she is or what she's doing? Ah, so you just released her into the wild without any plan whatsoever? Excuse me, but are you out of your mind??
…She had to prevent that kind of disaster.
Giselle felt a throbbing headache coming on.
Sending people with them was out, but forcibly detaining Adel would cause a whole other kind of commotion.
The thought of secretly assigning a tail crossed her mind, but that too would be difficult.
It was one thing to monitor a target who was settled in one place, but tracking people who were zipping all over the continent for a full year without being detected was not a feat achievable with ordinary skill and persistence.
The continent was full of all sorts of eccentrics, so perhaps such a person existed, but Giselle had no such talent under her command.
If she couldn't proactively monitor them, the only option left was to guide their destination.
“Then how about this? Adelaide's goal is to build her skills and achievements. I can tell you of a suitable place for that.”
Dorothea listened as Giselle laid out her proposal.
*
If a traveler were to walk into a tavern and ask, ‘Who is the greatest hero?’, the patrons would erupt into a noisy debate over who was the strongest.
But if they were to ask, ‘Who is the most famous hero?’, the answer would almost always be the same.
The Lion Duke, Geisel von Lennart.
There were several reasons for the Lion Duke's fame. The Empire, with which he had deep ties, was one of the strongest nations on the continent. The Duke himself lived about two hundred years ago, making his era of activity relatively recent among famous heroes, which meant there were plenty of historical records.
But the deciding factor was that the Lion Duke's descendants were one of the most prestigious families of the current era.
Those who inherited their ancestor's phenomenal constitution were, for the most part, blessed with outstanding martial talent, and they utilized it to the fullest.
Not only did they advance in the military and secure key positions, but they also established dojos across the continent, cultivating many disciples—which is to say, supporters.
The trainees of the Lennart dojos would then spread out to their own regions, preaching the greatness of the ducal family and the Lion Duke. This was why the Lion's Bloodline was hailed as the greatest martial family of the age.
「There are a total of five Lennart dojos. And there is a culture where trainees who have reached a certain level of skill tour the other dojos to prove their strength. Adelaide is not a trainee, but she is without a doubt a member of the Lion's Bloodline. If I provide a letter of recommendation, she will not be turned away at the door. Why not give it a try?」
It was a proposal with a painfully obvious motive.
If the party visited the various dojos, their status would be reported directly back to Giselle.
Of course, Dorothea had no intention of playing along.
Her goal was, first and foremost, to run the King's errand—to retrieve the eight sacred treasures.
However, there were two variables she hadn't anticipated.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ is excited, declaring that a dojo tour is classic content!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ wonders if they give out things like badges!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ is disappointed he can't participate directly, but is fired up with the resolve to level up Adel and clear the challenge!]
The first, as always, was the Tin Knight.
Despite his dignified appearance, his insides were frivolous, and Dorothea sometimes wondered if he even had a human heart. For some reason, he became frenzied upon hearing the story and burned with the desire to conquer all the dojos.
Naturally, Dorothea did not allow it. Her top priority was always completing her master's assignment—retrieving the treasures.
After a flurry of whacks from her staff and a torrent of curses, she succeeded in calming the Tin Knight down. But her smile was short-lived.
Faced with the second variable that had just appeared before her, Dorothea could only make a sour face.
“…Shouldn't our paths have diverged by now?”
The magic tool for treasure hunting, received from the royal family.
The ‘Animal Compass,’ as the Tin Knight had named it, had a mysterious ability. When one poured mana into an emblem engraved on the tool, the emblem would transform into an animal and guide the way.
This had the advantage of not requiring any complex thought—one simply had to follow the animal's tail. But its drawback was just as clear.
If the target's location were marked on a ‘map,’ they could simply retrieve the treasures in order of proximity. But with the Animal Compass's ability, there was no way to tell which treasure was near and which was far.
This meant they could end up ignoring a treasure that was only a day's journey away to chase one that required over a month of travel.
So, when the Tin Knight insisted they follow the purple mole heading north, chosen from among several animals moving at their own whim, Dorothea didn't particularly object.
It was a crapshoot no matter what they chose, and besides, she felt a little smug.
‘He probably heard there’s a Lennart dojo in a city to the north and is acting like this, but not all norths are the same north, you know?’
Let's assume there are two travelers starting from the same point, one heading at a 90-degree angle and the other at 89 degrees.
At first, the distance between them wouldn't be that great.
But after walking for an hour, they would be quite far apart, and if they walked for a whole day without rest, they would likely lose sight of each other completely.
This would be even more true if they had to navigate around various geographical features, winding their way along different paths.
The distance between Friedel and the city with the Lennart dojo was more than a fortnight's journey by carriage. To think that the mole would move in the exact direction of that city the entire time was an incredibly naive assumption.
Therefore, Dorothea was relaxed.
To be precise, she was relaxed until she confirmed that even after traveling for over a week, the mole's direction of travel and the city's location on the map were still perfectly aligned.
“No, it can't be. It shouldn't be.”
Dorothea's muttering was now halfway to self-hypnosis.
In truth, it wouldn't be a loss for Dorothea if a treasure was located in the city with the Lennart dojo, but this was less a matter of logic and more one of emotion.
And about five days later.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ puffs out his chest, declaring that main quests and side quests are often on similar paths!]
Having arrived at the exact city the Tin Knight had pointed to, Dorothea ground her teeth.