Chapter 24: The Tin Knight and the Lion's Bloodline (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 24: The Tin Knight and the Lion's Bloodline (7)
Finding the Lennart dojo was a simple affair.
The path itself wasn't very complicated, but even if it had been, it wouldn't have been a problem.
"Hup, two! Hup, two! Hup, two!"
That was because a group of incredibly loud, boisterous, and conspicuous guides were leading the way.
However, there was a slight problem.
These sweaty guides, perhaps having never received proper guide training, didn't even bother to check if their guest was following them, instead just running off on their own.
The solution the Tin Knight came up with was simple.
['The Tin Knight' suggests you run along with them!]
"Pardon?"
Adel was bewildered.
I already know the way, so do I really have to chase after them?
Besides, didn't he just say that doing this on a public path was a nuisance?
Running in the middle of the street is uncultured for a noble... no, wait, I'm not a noble lady right now, just a disciple, so does it matter?
Could this be some kind of training?
A myriad of question marks flooded her mind, slowing her reaction time like a buffering video.
If it had been Dorothea, she would have smacked him on the head first while telling him to cut the bullshit, but that was too much to ask of Adel, who was only at the beginner level of Tin Knight comprehension.
Clank!
Thus, the Tin Knight began to sprint down the street without any restraint.
"W-Wait! Sir Knight!!"
Adel, coming to her senses a moment too late, cried out urgently, but the Tin Knight's speed didn't decrease in the slightest.
Clank, clank, clank!
At the noisy sound coming from behind, some of the trainees turned their heads.
"Shit, what the hell is that?"
And then they saw it.
A knight with something like blue flames flickering from the slit of his helmet, and a girl with long, flowing golden hair.
A bizarre duo, chasing after them.
The commotion spread quickly, and in less than ten seconds, all the trainees had witnessed the strange sight.
'What the hell is that? Why are they chasing us?'
'A surprise attack? No, that's ridiculous. In broad daylight? And there's only two of them.'
'Are they just a couple of lunatics?'
The trainees' gazes turned to their instructor.
Their eyes held a clear message: We don't know what's going on, but do something about it.
"Hahaha! Excellent! Wonderful! Listen up, boys! When you receive a challenge, you must answer it! One more lap, full course! Anyone who falls behind that knight gets no free time today! And if you fall behind the young lady... well, you can figure out the consequences yourself!"
What in the world are you talking about, Instructor?
In that moment, the trainees' hearts became one, but they failed to weave that unified feeling into words.
CLANKCLANKCLANKCLANKCLANKCLANK!
To escape the Tin Knight, who began to accelerate like mad as if he'd heard the instructor's words, asking questions was a luxury they couldn't afford.
But the trainees weren't the only ones with their feet to the fire.
['The Tin Knight' warns that if you fail to overtake them, your running training will level up to running with a backpack starting today!]
"Wha—"
Adel was horrified.
So horrified, in fact, that her formal speech pattern crumbled.
The running she'd been doing until now was already enough to make her see stars day after day, and now he wanted to add a pack to that?
Absolutely, positively unacceptable.
'Aaaaaaaargh!'
'Kyaaaaaaaaargh!'
The trainees ran, and Adel ran too.
And the instructor and the Tin Knight watched, pleased.
*
Total annihilation.
Thirty percent survival.
These were the results the dojo's trainees achieved against the Tin Knight and Adel, respectively.
It couldn't be called a good performance even with the most generous of words, but the instructor wasn't in a bad mood.
It was a handicap match that started after they had already been running for a while, and their opponent was none other than a member of the Lion Duke's bloodline, so it wasn't as if they had no excuses.
Of course, him not being in a bad mood and the training volume increasing were two separate issues. The instructor had no doubt that this was the mark of a fine instructor.
Lennart Dojo, reception room.
Serving tea to the rare, distinguished guest, the instructor spoke.
"Ruben von Lennart. I'm the instructor here. So, you're Lord August's daughter?"
Her expression brightening at the goodwill in his tone, Adel replied.
"Yes. I am Adelaide von Lennart. Did you know my father?"
"We were both based in the kingdom, and though the kinship is a bit distant, we're relatives, so we had some dealings. He was a man strict with himself and gentle to those he had to protect—a true knight's knight. I can only say it's regrettable that he met with such an unfortunate accident. ...Then again, coming from me, a member of the main family, that might sound sarcastic."
"Oh, no. Not at all."
"I'm glad to hear you say so."
As Ruben brought the cup to his lips as if to gather his thoughts, Adel also took a sip of her tea.
It wasn't the warm tea Adel was used to, but a cold tea that felt cool to the taste.
She felt a sweet yet sour flavor seeping deep into her body.
Ruben spoke again.
"Do you know what the Lennart dojo's 'test' entails?"
"I heard it's a custom where each dojo sends disciples they've acknowledged as 'skilled enough not to bring us shame' to other dojos, and the receiving dojo confirms their skill through an appropriate test."
"Correct. But in your case, you don't belong to any dojo to begin with. This means our dojo must provide that guarantee of being 'skilled enough not to bring us shame' on your behalf. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"If our dojo vouches for you, and you get utterly crushed somewhere else, it becomes a matter of our dojo's honor. In other words, your test will be conducted just as strictly as any other disciple's. Any complaints?"
"N-No, sir!"
"Is that so."
Seeing Adel answer energetically while unable to control her trembling eyes, Ruben felt a renewed sense of bitterness.
She was a truly naive girl who knew nothing of the world.
In that she didn't try to use complex schemes or rely on privilege, she was the type of person Ruben quite liked.
However.
'…She doesn't seem to have what it takes to compete with that Giselle and win.'
Ruben glanced at the letter from Giselle that Adel had given him.
It detailed the reason Adel had left her domain and requested that she be allowed to take the Lennart dojo's test, all written in a very polite and elegant script.
Judging by the state of the wax seal, there were no signs it had been opened, but even if it had, it was such a perfect letter of introduction that no one could have found fault with it.
That is, if this had been the only letter.
Recalling another letter that had arrived by messenger bird a few days before Adel's arrival, Ruben gave a bitter smile.
The other letter didn't contain a request to fail Adel in the test.
Giselle was not so foolish as to leave behind evidence that could not only become a political debt but also a weakness to be used against her in a pinch.
The letter's contents were about Adel.
It detailed what kind of person the girl named Adelaide von Lennart was, what kind of life she had led when the former lord was alive, what she had gone through after the lord's death, and how Giselle had originally intended to treat Adel.
Through that letter, Ruben realized what Giselle was trying to say.
That Adel was not cut out to be a lord.
That if this girl, like a flower in a greenhouse, were to wander the continent, she would only get hurt without achieving anything.
And therefore, it would be better for Adel herself to be made to give up early and return to her domain, without getting any foolish ideas.
'So she's saying that even if I fail this young lady here, her life won't be ruined, so I shouldn't feel guilty and just be fair? Ha, honestly. Her delicate consideration is enough to bring tears to my eyes.'
This alone was absurd enough, but the finishing touch was the line in the latter half of the letter: 'I ask for a fair test, unswayed by sentiment.'
Fairness.
Ruben knew all too well how that seemingly just word could become cruel depending on how it was used.
Making A and B compete under the same rules to select the superior one. That is fair.
But if A is a child who has just started walking, and B is a hale and hearty young man, making them compete 'fairly' is, in itself, no different from being 'unfair.'
To judge a girl who had never once received proper training in her life by the same standards as the dojo's disciples, who had trained for several years, was a cruel thing no matter how you looked at it.
Thus, Ruben had asked.
He would use the same standards as the other disciples; did she have any complaints?
And the girl had nodded.
That was the end of it.
He didn't like that it felt as if he were deceiving a naive child, but as the instructor in charge of the dojo, he knew how to suppress his personal feelings.
Ruben's gaze shifted to the knight standing behind Adel to her right.
'…Aside from his initial eccentric behavior, he hasn't intervened at all. Does he have no aptitude for political maneuvering? Or is he simply watching over this girl's choice?'
The eyes, which flickered like blue flames, were difficult to read.
Feeling a strange sense of unease at the sight, Ruben stood up.
"Well then, let the test begin. Prepare yourself."
*
"The test for the challenger, Adelaide von Lennart, will now commence. The rules are simple. You will repeat one-on-one matches, and you must achieve ten consecutive wins without a single loss. The first opponent is... Paulo. You're up."
"Yes, Master."
Paulo, a disciple of the Lennart dojo, thought to himself.
'I'll show her what's what.'
Paulo was often told that while he had a talent for swordsmanship, he lacked perseverance and diligence.
It was annoying enough that the running drill he hated had been forcibly extended, but on top of that, his precious free time had been cut, and additional training was scheduled in its place. It was impossible for him not to grind his teeth in frustration.
Thinking that this was all because of that weird tin can and the girl in front of him, he felt a heat bubble up inside him.
Her small, cute face would normally have been enough to make a good impression, but after the trouble he'd been through, even that just looked displeasing.
Paulo carefully observed his opponent.
And he came to a conclusion.
'Pathetic.'
Her foot placement. Her balance. The height at which she held her sword. Not a single thing was right.
Above all, her violet eyes, filled with tension, clearly showed that the girl was a beginner who had only recently set foot on this path.
'I was nervous because she's from the Lion Duke's bloodline, but she's nothing special.'
Not to mention Ruben, the head instructor of this dojo, but even the assistant instructors who traveled between the Empire and this city—every member of the Lion Duke's bloodline Paulo had seen until now had possessed monstrous skill.
Compared to them, the girl named Adel before him was the very picture of clumsiness.
There was a rumor that the more distinct the hair and eye color of a member of the Lion Duke's bloodline, the greater their talent. Seeing her now, it seemed that rumor was clearly false.
He had lost the running race, but that was just a fluke that happened because he had to run more after he was already exhausted.
He could accept losing to the ridiculous tin can behind her, but he didn't think he'd lost because the girl herself was superior to him.
The fact that his opponent was a noble of the kingdom was a bit bothersome, but as long as the match was held in the Lennart dojo, he wouldn't have to worry about the consequences.
Clap!
The moment the clap signaling the start of the match sounded, Paulo's body shot forward.
Judging by her grip, it seemed a powerful sideways blow to her wooden sword would be enough to make her drop it and end the match, but that would give him no pretext for a follow-up attack.
Paulo was determined to land at least one harsh blow on the girl, no matter what.
A sharp thrust pierced the girl's right shoulder—
Tap.
—or not.
Paulo was momentarily flustered.
The girl's movement to dodge the thrust had been surprisingly swift.
Having lost sight of the girl, Paulo spun around in alarm, but contrary to his expectations, she hadn't closed in on his flank to attack.
No, far from it, she was standing at a distance from him with a bewildered expression on her face.
Just as both of them were looking at each other with puzzled faces, the girl's head suddenly snapped to the side.
It was in the direction of the Tin Knight.
Paulo, who had been put on alert by the girl's sharper-than-expected movements, saw red when she blatantly looked away in the middle of the match.
Fueling himself with rage, Paulo charged once more.
A two-handed overhead strike, aimed for the crown of her head, descended upon the girl.
Instead of raising her sword to block it, the girl pivoted on her left foot, pulling the right side of her body back to let the attack flow past her.
Paulo tried to raise his sword again, but before he could, the girl's right foot stomped down on the spine of his wooden sword.
Paulo held on, trying not to lose his sword, but in this case, that was a bad move.
The girl twisted her waist. The wooden sword, swung with her left hand, struck Paulo across the side of the head with all her might.
Everyone in the dojo clearly witnessed Paulo's body lift into the air for a moment and spin half a turn.
Paulo, twitching and convulsing on the floor, and the girl, blinking with an expression that said, 'Huh? That's all it took?'
"...H-Huh?"
10-Win Challenge.
1st victory achieved.