Chapter 246: The Tin Knight and the Strange Resort (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 246: The Tin Knight and the Strange Resort (5)
They say the brighter the light, the darker the shadow.
On the surface, the island was the very image of a summer sea, brimming with the intense energy of the sun. But a peek behind the curtain revealed all sorts of evil spirits coiled in the shadows.
And the master of these evil spirits had commanded them thus:
“Scare away all who visit this island. Through the rumors they spread, ensure that no one ever approaches this place again.”
The evil spirits were faithful to their master’s orders.
Sailors who blithely landed, deceived by the island’s appearance, fled screaming and crying after encountering the various horrors hidden throughout the island. The rumors of their experiences spread far and wide.
The already superstitious sailors began to avoid the place, calling it a cursed island, and a quiet peace fell over it.
Occasionally, non-human creatures would pop up from the sea to cause trouble, but the fish-people, who were stupid, dull, and numerous, were no match for the evil spirits.
Their master was not the type to name each and every defense mechanism, so the evil spirits distinguished one another by their own defining characteristics.
The defeat of one of them, the Haunted Mansion, quickly spread to the others.
-It seems the Haunted Mansion has been taken down.
-Hehehe… It was the weakest among us.
-So, who’s next?
-I shall do it.
The Inescapable Dream spoke to its comrades.
-They may be quite powerful in reality, but they are still only human. In the helplessness of their dreams, I will carve a nightmare into them that will never fade!
After its confident declaration, the Inescapable Dream stealthily approached the carriage where its targets were.
In truth, its body lacked a physical form, so a direct approach might not have been a problem, but it exercised caution, knowing the enemy had defeated the Haunted Mansion.
It soon found its prey.
Despite the sun still shining brightly, a golden-haired girl was taking a leisurely nap in the shade.
A book lay beside her; it seemed she had dozed off while reading.
The Inescapable Dream quietly formulated a plan in its mind.
Pattern A: Show the girl a terrible nightmare. The terrified girl tells her companions, but they dismiss it as just a dream. Then, when they all fall asleep at night, they too are tormented by the same nightmare.
This was the Inescapable Dream’s favorite pattern, but this time, the opponents seemed to possess various abilities in the real world. It was best not to give them a chance to counter its power.
In that case, it should aim for Pattern B.
Torment the girl to her absolute limit within the nightmare, then make it so she couldn’t remember any of it upon waking.
After all, if you don’t know a threat exists, you can’t prepare for it.
It would gradually gnaw away at their mental fortitude, then, at a critical moment, strike all at once. They wouldn’t be able to hold out any longer.
With a sinister smile, the Inescapable Dream crept into the girl’s dream.
The next moment, a giant boulder grazed past its head with terrifying force.
-…Huh?
A dumbfounded sound escaped the Inescapable Dream’s lips.
Its gaze quickly scanned the surroundings.
A vast wasteland. A ruined city.
And in the middle of that city, two shadows were locked in a deadly duel.
“Is this all you’ve got?! Heaven’s dog!!”
With every step the giant took, the entire area trembled as if struck by an earthquake. Sand and dust flew, and the already dilapidated buildings crumbled to the ground.
The giant’s voice was so immense it sounded like thunder crashing from the sky.
It was a disaster incarnate.
The very personification of violence.
And facing this overwhelming being was a single girl, tiny in comparison to the giant.
Golden hair, violet eyes.
The girl, armed with adventurer’s armor and a two-handed sword, charged the giant without hesitation, swinging her weapon.
Of course, the results were less than impressive.
Each time the giant’s club struck the ground, each time its foot stomped the earth, the girl’s body was sent flying like a ball.
The difference in strength was obvious to anyone.
But despite it all, the girl did not stop her assault.
She was completely immersed in the battle, her eyes calm yet filled with concentration, as if she were clearing a routine daily quest.
《Critical damage confirmed. As per basic settings, will not return to the corridor until 50 respawns are complete.》 《21 respawns remaining.》
Occasionally, she would meet a gruesome end, but each time, a mysterious voice would echo from the void, and the girl’s body would be restored to its original state.
And each time the girl was resurrected, the giant would resume the fight without hesitation.
The problem was that the sheer scale of the battle was so grand that its aftershocks reached the Inescapable Dream.
The giant casually kicked a chunk of the ground with the tip of its toe, and it came crashing toward the spirit like a landslide. After desperately dodging it, the Inescapable Dream frantically used its power.
-I-It’s still just a dream! This place is under my control!
It tried to use its ability to transform this insane, mythical battlefield into its preferred horrific stage.
It would get rid of the terrifying giant, turn the strong warrior girl into a helpless child, and stage a dream where she was chased by a monster. That would easily instill fear.
But no matter how much it used its power, nothing changed.
The presence and sheer class of the ‘giant’ were so immense that its very existence nullified all outside interference.
And this was merely a re-enactment, far from the real thing.
The Inescapable Dream tried to flee, but even that was not to be.
A nightmare that has lost its power to control is nothing more than a mere character within the dream.
As it despaired, the shadow of a club fragment, chipped off by the girl’s sword, fell over its head.
CRUNCH!
*
“Yawn… Huh!”
Adelaide, rubbing her eyes after a small yawn, looked startled as she noticed your gaze.
As you looked back and forth between her and the game book by her side, she broke into a cold sweat and lowered her head.
“I’m sorry.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks why you are apologizing!]
“W-well, everyone was so considerate to give me this time to rest, but I ended up training again…”
You pondered her words for a moment before replying.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says it’s not that unusual for people to be glued to their phones or game consoles even when they come to the beach!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says he respects diverse tastes, so there’s no need to feel sorry for something like that!]
“Oh, um, is that the issue?”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says there’s no dopamine rush quite like leveling up!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says he’ll join in if you need a 2P player!]
Adelaide blinked at your words for a moment, then broke into a gentle smile.
“Thank you for the offer, but it’s okay. It’s important to move my body, too.”
With that, Adelaide rose completely from the cot and stood with both feet on the ground.
Perhaps it was because of her recent conversation with Dorothea, but your eyes were strangely drawn to the swimsuit she was wearing.
Whether it was the standard for this world or a special design from the Tower of Protection, the swimsuits the party had received from the tower were quite modern.
While Dorothea’s was a black bikini, Adelaide’s was a tube top style.
It prioritized mobility while remaining appropriately girlish, a style that suited Adelaide’s image perfectly.
As you were quietly observing her, Adelaide’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment.
“I-is it… strange to look at? I’m so brawny and all.”
As she shyly tried to cover her body with her arms and legs, you tilted your head.
A rumor had been circulating that Adelaide had dismantled the Tower of Control with her bare hands (she hadn’t dismantled it, just punched a hole in the floor), and it seemed some people imagined her as a hulking, muscular giant. But from what you could see, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
She had muscles, yes, but they were pleasantly toned. If anything, she was less like a gorilla and more like an agile leopard.
And thanks to Dorothea’s special ointments and Sophia’s holy magic, she had no visible scars, despite her rough-and-tumble lifestyle.
You placed a hand on Adelaide’s shoulder.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ gazes seriously at his pupil!]
“S-Sir Knight?”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ advises that deception should be used on enemies, not as an indiscriminate area-of-effect attack!]
“Huh.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says he won’t stop you if you want to live in constant tension, drawing the aggro of the masses and wondering when you’ll be stabbed in the back!]
“No?! That’s not it!”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says it’s even worse if you’re doing it unconsciously!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says you should apologize to those who can only dream of having such a blessed physique!]
“N-no, that’s not what I meant! …Sir Knight!”
After a moment of flustered panic, Adelaide realized you were teasing her and pouted.
After a brief squabble.
You and Adelaide sat down side-by-side on the ground.
“To be honest, I still wonder sometimes. If it’s okay for me to be here, doing this.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks if you can’t rest until your revenge is complete!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that with revenge, satisfaction is the top priority, not practicality!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ suggests that if a rational, planned revenge doesn’t seem like it will be satisfying, there’s always the option of just dropping everything and charging straight in to tear it all down!]
“……”
Adelaide’s lips parted a few times, but she eventually shook her head.
“That’s not it. To be honest, a lot of my anger was relieved when I brought down the Tower of Control. Of course, I fully intend to make them pay for their remaining sins, but if you were to ask if my heart is burning with thoughts of revenge day and night… it’s not. My family died, but… am I being too cold-hearted?”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ refutes his pupil, saying a truly cold-hearted person wouldn’t use a Tower Head’s head for demolition work!]
At your words, Adelaide’s shoulders slumped as she relaxed.
Thump. Her head came to rest on your shoulder.
“My goal was to inherit the Friedel domain. But after I overthrow the Lennart Ducal House, no matter the outcome, my family’s relationship with the main line will never be the same. The succession test itself might even be nullified.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says he doesn’t think Adelaide would lose, even if the test were held properly!]
It wasn’t an empty compliment.
Her martial prowess was already beyond question, and financially, Adelaide had secured a promise of immense support from the Tower of Control.
The wealth of those who had been the ruling class since the days of the Magic State kingdom was so staggering that one could seriously wonder if it was enough to build a new count’s territory from scratch.
Even if Giselle received generous support from the ducal family, it would be nothing compared to the fortune Adelaide would bring.
With fame and legitimacy to boot, Adelaide’s inauguration as the lord of Friedel was all but decided.
“I suppose so. I think so too. But…”
Adelaide swallowed the rest of her words.
“…No, it’s nothing.”
You looked down at your pupil’s head.
There was nothing more infuriating than someone stopping mid-sentence.
The Q&A with Dorothea had been interrupted by an external factor—a shoddy haunted house—and postponed. But this pupil had cut herself off, so there was no one else to blame.
So, you placed your hands on Adelaide’s sides and lifted her straight up.
“Huh? Huh?”
And with a clank, clank, you began to advance toward the sea.
Adelaide, who had been dazed at first, felt her lips begin to tremble.
“S-Sir Knight? Excuse me? Hello?”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that now that he thinks about it, if you come to the sea, a good swim is a must!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that while leaving a sentence unfinished is cheeky, he is a teacher who can understand his pupil’s complex girlish heart, so he will let it slide with just a little game of toss-in-the-water!]
“Wait, something’s wrong when the words ‘girlish heart’ and ‘toss-in-the-water’ are in the same sentence!!”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that sometimes, actions speak louder than words!]
“That’s not how you use that phra—”
SPLASH!
Adelaide’s words were cut short.
She was thrown far out into the sea. A few seconds later, she resurfaced and spoke quietly.
Her wet hair obscured her eyes, but a chilly smile played on her lips.
“…Sir Knight, what are the rules of this game?”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says the first one to throw the other into the sea ten times wins!]
Before you could even finish speaking, Adelaide lunged at you in a spray of water.
Even without her belt, her physical ability and speed were terrifying.
But you had no intention of yielding victory to your pupil just yet. You skillfully dodged her attacks and attempted to counter by sending her flying.
And so, on the beautiful beach, a pleasant communication between master and pupil continued.