Chapter 217: The Tin Knight and The Singing Bones (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 217: The Tin Knight and The Singing Bones (5)
Even as the Tin Knight’s party disappeared into the distance, the mages dared not give chase.
It wasn’t that they were frozen in fear. That was a slightly different matter.
Their enemies were certainly strong, but not overwhelmingly so.
The mages loyal to the Tower of Control were numerous, their mana was plentiful, and reinforcements were steadily trickling in even at that very moment.
If the battle continued, it was a fight they were bound to win eventually.
Yes, if the battle continued.
That would have been the case, had someone been there to keep pushing them forward.
But Skoll and Hati, the very ones who should have been giving the orders, were now a bloody pulp, crushed beneath some unknown mass.
“…”
The crowd stared at the red blood slowly spreading across the ground as if they were witnessing the impossible.
Even if the Rognir royal family had been demoted to one of the four magic towers instead of being the sole rulers of Aeolia, their blood was still considered noble.
Within the Tower of Control, especially, many regarded them as being no different from actual royalty.
And the death of royalty, as they imagined it, was supposed to be something more dramatic, more dignified.
A grand battlefield, a valiant duel, a solemn final word. At the very least, a public execution scaffold where all could watch. Things of that nature.
No one had ever expected them to die so suddenly, so pointlessly, without meaning or solemnity, like a random, hollow accident.
In a way, it was akin to the shock of seeing a human, who had been amusing themselves by stepping on ants, get bitten by one and die.
They did not understand the ant’s fury.
They did not understand the sorrow of those who had died for reasons unknown, caught in the great chess game of the powerful and influential.
They did not know that the girl who had learned of this sorrow, while good-natured, was anything but indecisive.
In truth, it didn’t matter that they didn’t know.
They were destined to find out soon enough, whether they liked it or not.
*
The Magic State was a single nation, but in reality, it was a confederation of four. Each magic tower had figures who held positions similar to diplomats, dispatched from the other towers.
And right now, the diplomats from the Tower of Control were running around as if their feet were on fire.
The Tower of Foresight.
“It seems your territories have been quite tumultuous lately.”
“Thank you for your concern, Tower Head Geldnir. But rest assured, though some unidentified subversive elements are spreading malicious rumors, our Tower of Control’s elite will capture them all and uncover the full truth behind this conspiracy.”
“Oh, is that so? I thought it was just some baseless rumor, but seeing you all react so seriously, it seems the incident is larger than I thought.”
“Not at all. However, is it not better to suppress an incident in its early stages with a swift and strong response, rather than letting a small matter grow by being complacent?”
“You’re not wrong. Ah, if you happen to need our help, just say the word. Whatever our fighting skills may be, we are likely better when it comes to finding and investigating things.”
“We are truly grateful for the consideration, but this is our problem. There is no need for your tower to trouble itself.”
“Hmm. Well, if you say so. I suppose it could get bothersome if we went poking around and happened to uncover some… peculiar information.”
“…Surely not. We have done nothing we aren’t proud of.”
‘What is this? How much does he know?’
The diplomat, having finished his high-pressure interview with Medir Geldnir, the head of the Tower of Foresight, felt a sense of foreboding and unease from the old man who only looked middle-aged, his expression utterly unreadable. But in truth, this was the easy mode compared to the other towers.
After all, for the diplomat dispatched to the Tower of Annihilation, even opening his mouth was an ordeal.
“—Explain.”
It was common for powerful individuals like a tower head to have an age and appearance that didn’t match, but Frandol Herteite, the head of the Tower of Annihilation, was genuinely young.
She was also the Tower of Annihilation’s craziest mad dog.
She was leaning back on a sofa with her legs crossed on the table, a posture that was a grave diplomatic insult.
But instead of pointing this out, the diplomat from Control forced his dry mouth to move.
“I-It’s all a misunderstanding. We are currently investigating the details, but once we capture the culprits, the truth will surely be revealed.”
“A misunderstanding, you say. A misunderstanding.”
Frandol cracked her neck from side to side with a grating sound.
It was a gesture more befitting the boss of a local gang than the head of a nation, but for that very reason, it stirred a more primal fear.
“Fine. I’ll believe you for now. But if that turns out to be a lie, it’s going to be very unpleasant. For you, and for your tower. The price for making fools of us will not be cheap.”
It was a blunt declaration, devoid of any diplomatic pleasantries.
And as if to prove her words were no empty threat, the three spirit birds that protected the city cried out, their mana flaring.
The diplomat cursed his fate for being assigned to this post, but even his ordeal was merely the intermediate level of difficulty.
The true hard mode was yet to come.
*
Turning back the clock a little, to just before the Tin Knight’s party landed on the island.
“Th-Those are the ones! If they make it onto the island, there’s no telling what those wicked necromancers will do! We must stop them here and now!”
“Hmm.”
At the words of the diplomat from the Tower of Control, the guard captain in charge of coastal border security let out a thoughtful hum.
Seeing his unhurried attitude, the diplomat urged him on again.
“What are you doing! Before they land, quickly, attack—”
“—Hold on. I may have permitted you to accompany us because you claimed it was a matter of great importance to your tower, but mobilizing the troops is my authority alone. I see no reason to be swayed by your interference. Or does your tower perhaps consider us your subordinates?”
“N-No, that’s not it, but…”
The diplomat cursed inwardly.
The role he’d been given by the Tower of Control was that of an insurance policy.
In the unlikely event the culprits broke through the cordon and crossed the strait, he was to set the stage for a clash between them and the Tower of Protection.
Furthermore, his orders included a directive to ‘induce the Tower of Protection to launch a preemptive strike.’
If the culprits retaliated against the Tower of Protection, treating them as enemies, the battle would naturally escalate. Then, no matter what they tried to say afterward, their credibility would be severely weakened.
Of course, like most insurance policies, this was a plan best left unused.
There was no guarantee the Tower of Protection would move exactly as they wished.
And just as he’d feared, instead of launching a preemptive strike as the diplomat demanded, the guard captain used sound amplification magic to shout at the figures approaching on a raft.
“To the travelers over there! You are currently under suspicion for various charges, including the murder of a Tower mage! If you disarm peacefully and comply with the investigation, you will be treated according to proper legal procedures. If you refuse, we will commence battle!”
“Wait a moment! What if they use some bizarre trick? It could cause immense damage!”
This time, the guard captain didn’t even bother to reply to the diplomat’s outburst.
The diplomat gritted his teeth.
The culprits seemed to be muttering amongst themselves, and then one of them slowly stepped forward.
The green-haired woman, showing no sign of fear at the arrows aimed at her, smiled gently and placed something she was holding on the ground.
The next moment, the object on the ground—a flute that was unusually saturated with mana—began to sing with vigor.
《Oh, my friends! Hear my tale, hear my tale!
You must know the truth the oppressors tried to hide, the story they tried to conceal!
Those called sinners were not sinners, and those who claimed to be victims were not victims!
It was all a prepared script, and even now they seek to use the innocent for their stage!
Friends, do not be deceived!
Friends, you must not be used!
Friends, please call for the wisest witch you know!
For the great teacher who created the towers will prove the truth of my words!》
The voice was comical, but its content was venomous.
Feeling the stares beginning to prickle the back of his head, the diplomat desperately raised his voice.
“Th-This is slander! Are you truly going to believe the words of these unidentified strangers over your blood allies, who have stood with you for so long as members of the same Magic State?!”
“My, you talk a lot.”
Though he shot the diplomat a displeased glare, the guard captain did not lower his guard against the green-haired woman—Sophia.
After all, the diplomat’s words weren’t entirely wrong.
“I understand what you’re trying to say. However, this is a matter of procedure. If you comply with the arrest, we will gladly listen to your story afterward. For now, please follow my instructions.”
“Should I take that to mean you can’t let us see the Witch of the North right away?”
“To begin with, no one has the authority to order her to meet or not meet with anyone. Once she hears the story, she will judge for herself.”
“I see.”
Sophia smiled quietly.
The guard captain didn’t realize it, but his words and attitude implied that ‘the Witch of the North is here, in the Tower of Protection.’
Because Sophia had spoken with the casual assumption, ‘You have the Witch of the North here, right?’, the guard captain had mistakenly assumed, ‘They already know the Witch of the North is here.’ In reality, it had just been a guess with a slightly higher probability of being correct.
And while Sophia was buying time, Dorothea and the others in the back were quietly gauging the timing for their next move.
They had no intention of actively fighting the Tower of Protection, but if they meekly complied with the demand to disarm, there was no telling when the Tower of Control might send assassins.
Of course, killing a suspect arrested by another tower would have serious repercussions, but people could do anything when cornered.
The party began to conspire in the back.
“Their encirclement is pretty tight. The soldiers’ weapons and armor look like magic tools, too.”
[The Tin Knight says he can just run them over in a hit-and-run!]
“I think it would be best to avoid injuring anyone unrelated to the incident if possible.”
[The Tin Knight says he’ll just blow them away with wind pressure instead of hitting them physically!]
“Alright, then we’ll somehow break through the encirclement, dart around the island spreading the flute’s song, and once we’ve spread the story enough that they can’t touch us carelessly, we’ll assess the situation and renegotiate—”
The party was in the middle of their discussion.
Suddenly, Adelaide’s eyes widened, and she pointed a finger toward the sea.
Thinking that perhaps pursuers from the Tower of Control were flying in, Dorothea quickly turned around, and her jaw dropped.
A jet-black hull. Golden sails. A pirate emblem made of jewels.
A pirate ship, ostentatious from any angle, had somehow approached the coast.
At the prow of the magnificent vessel, Cap’n Bill stood holding a girl tightly bound in ropes with one hand, shouting at the party.
“Oh! My dear old friends! I have waited and waited to meet you! You’d best not think of running away like last time! If you do, this young lady will become shark food!”
“I-I’m sorry…!”
Everyone on the shore froze.
The sudden appearance of a pirate ship moving at a speed impossible for a normal vessel, the inhuman-looking crew aboard it, and the girl with impressively long, flowing hair captured by the pirate.
Faced with too much information at once, they were all frozen, unable to decide how to act.
Adelaide’s face was stiff with shock.
Though the girl’s hair color had changed from blonde to a reddish-brown, likely due to the potion Dorothea had given her, she was unmistakably the temporary companion who had once traveled with them.
She had been there during Cap’n Bill’s second attack, but they had assumed she’d been forgotten in the chaos. To think he had remembered and taken her hostage.
Facing this sudden, unplanned crisis, Dorothea opened her mouth.
“Go ahead. It’s not like I’m her babysitter.”
“Huh.”
“Wha—.”
The bewildered sounds of the hostage and the kidnapper echoed at the same time.