Chapter 31: The Tin Knight and The Witch's Way of Greeting (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 31: The Tin Knight and The Witch's Way of Greeting (6)
Amidst a splitting headache, Franka Aglaia regained consciousness.
Her entire body ached and throbbed, and her limbs felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton.
Her feverish condition was a classic symptom of being cursed.
That’s right. A curse.
She had been defeated by that woman in black—
“Looks like you’re awake.”
—Franka’s eyes flew open.
She reflexively tried to assume a combat stance, but her heavy body wouldn’t move as nimbly as she wanted.
And even if her body had been light, it seemed nothing would have changed.
Skeletal hands extended from the chair, firmly gripping Franka’s hands and feet.
True to form for a Necromancer, even her method of restraint was overflowing with wickedness.
Franka quickly scanned her surroundings.
The witch, Dorothea, was looking down at her, bound to the chair.
Standing behind her were the Tin Knight and the golden-haired girl.
And in the corner, tied up, were her own familiars.
“My babies…!”
Franka let out a small scream as she checked on her two Golden Monkeys.
The Bat-Winged one had been struck a few times and was covered in bruises, but otherwise had no major injuries. The Insect-Winged one, however, could not be called fine even in jest.
Cuts and bruises were clearly visible all over its skin. Blood, dark and festering, trickled from the wounds, staining its golden fur.
As Franka rattled the chair, Dorothea spoke.
“They’re not dead yet, so stop struggling.”
“You… how dare you… how dare you do this to my children!!”
“You’re the one who came after my life first, and you’re the one who got your ass kicked and lost. Don’t act like the victim here. And remember, the more you throw a fit, the worse it’s going to get for you and your precious children.”
Franka’s mouth snapped shut.
As if trying to suppress her throbbing headache and rage, she took several deep breaths before speaking again.
“First, treat my children’s wounds.”
“Why should I?”
“The fact that you’ve kept me alive means you want something from me. If my children die while we’re talking, I will never open my mouth, no matter what happens next or what you do to me.”
Dorothea paused, lost in thought.
Honestly, there was no need to grant Franka’s request.
Dorothea had the overwhelming advantage. It was by chance that she had captured both familiars; in truth, one hostage was more than enough.
“I refuse—”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ suggests killing one of them first, and if she still doesn't cooperate, killing the other one too!]
“—is what I could say, but fine. I’ll grant you that much as a victor’s mercy.”
Dorothea quickly changed her tune.
She didn’t want to get caught having the same idea as the Tin Knight.
That would be a disgrace for a civilized person.
Dorothea took out a container of her special ointment and was about to hand it to Adelaide, but she abruptly changed direction and gave it to the Tin Knight instead.
“Just apply it to the worst-looking wounds.”
The Tin Knight took the ointment and, with a somehow cheerful air, approached the monkeys and began to slather it on them.
As the special ointment seeped in, the monkeys thrashed their limbs about, driven mad by the intense stinging and itching.
The skeletal hands restraining them rattled, but the Tin Knight paid them no mind.
Watching the Tin Knight ruthlessly smack the jaw of a monkey that had bitten his forearm, Adelaide instantly understood why Dorothea had given the ointment to him and not her.
Franka screamed, “What do you think you’re doing?!” for a while, but she regained her composure after seeing the monkeys’ wounds healing at a rapid pace.
Franka asked, “…What do you want?”
“Oh, I want a lot of things.”
Dorothea gestured with her head, indicating the surroundings.
The inn was a wreck, shattered and torn apart.
“First, the mess your familiar made when it first attacked me, and everything that happened here now. You will go to the city guard, confess, and take full responsibility for all of it. You will say that the first time was a one-sided attack by you, and the second time was something you did on your own, without our involvement. Say your familiars went berserk, or that an experiment failed—come up with your own excuse. The point is, we were never here. Got it?”
Franka’s eyes narrowed.
“I can accept the first part, but you want me to take the fall for the mess you made here?”
“If you want to get technical, the first incident was your fault too, wasn’t it? If you don’t like it, then forget it. We’ll find another way.”
Her words were nonchalant, which made them feel all the more chilling.
Realizing that Dorothea’s “other way” did not include her or her monkeys’ safety, Franka had no choice but to nod.
Confirming this, Dorothea proceeded to list her next demands.
-Hand over all treasures Franka possessed and all information about them.
-Pay compensation for the various pieces of equipment Franka had damaged, such as the staff and shield.
-Cease all hostile actions against Dorothea and her party.
-Swear to all of the above with a ‘Blood Oath.’
Finally, Franka could take no more and exploded.
“Just kill me instead! My master will avenge the blood of me and my children!”
Dorothea pouted.
“Seriously, what’s the problem now?”
“‘Cease all hostile actions’? Let’s say I take the blame for your crimes and turn myself in. What happens after that? If you decide you’re done with me and try to kill me, am I supposed to just die without any resistance?”
Listening from behind, Adelaide and the Tin Knight’s eyes (and blue glow) widened.
Wait, was the plan that wicked?
Dorothea let out a hollow laugh.
“I wasn’t even thinking of that! What do you take me for? …Huh?”
Feeling a prickling sensation on the back of her head, Dorothea glanced behind her.
Smack! Smack!
[The ‘Tin Knight’ shouts to stay still so he can apply the medicine!]
“Th-that’s right! Please be still! Ah, Sir Knight! Here’s more ointment!”
Ooh, ooki?!
But all she saw was the Tin Knight and Adelaide earnestly tending to the monkeys.
Dorothea tilted her head for a moment, then turned back and cleared her throat.
“Ahem, fine. In that case, if we attack first, that clause will be nullified. No other problems, right?”
“…And the price for breaking the oath?”
A smile formed on Dorothea’s lips.
Franka’s question implied that she was, in effect, accepting the contract.
“Well. How about you try being a frog?”
*
The battle ended in victory for the Tin Knight’s party.
Franka and her two monkeys were taken into custody by the city guard. Thanks to Franka’s ‘voluntary testimony,’ the Tin Knight’s party was cleared of all charges in a matter of minutes.
Thinking about it calmly, the Tin Knight’s party was just as suspicious, and it wouldn’t have been strange for them to be held for a day of investigation. However, Adelaide’s golden hair and violet eyes possessed a magical power that could make the stiff-backed guards bow flexibly and their stern faces break into fawning smiles.
It reached a point where the Tin Knight questioned whether they could have solved everything from the start by just pushing Adelaide to the front.
Dorothea ignored him, of course.
Franka had been wealthy enough to rent out the most expensive inn in the city.
Having extorted a massive sum of compensation from her, the party’s wallets were now quite full.
They had also obtained information about their new destination.
West of Lowefelt, on the very edge of the Empire’s territory, a new underground labyrinth had been discovered, and a treasure was said to be hidden inside.
Several months had passed since the ruins were found, but progress in clearing it was slow due to its immense depth and complex internal structure.
Franka explained that she had been searching for the ‘Key of Opium,’ which had the power to open all sorts of locks, to break through the labyrinth. When she realized Dorothea had the key, she tried to take it, only to be defeated herself.
Despite gaining so much, Dorothea’s expression was not bright.
“Hah. Dammit. I got played in the end.”
She had gotten compensation. She had gotten information. She had resolved her social troubles.
But she had failed to get the treasure itself.
Dorothea recalled the events of last night.
*
After making the Blood Oath—the same kind of contract Dorothea had made with the Tin Knight and the kingdom’s nobles—Dorothea had demanded that Franka hand over the treasure, and Franka had complied.
Or rather, she had tried to.
“Huh? No, wait, why is this…?”
Despite rummaging frantically through her belongings, Franka couldn’t find the treasure.
Franka claimed the treasure was gone.
Normally, Dorothea would have snapped at her to stop playing games, but this time, her expression hardened.
The ‘Blood Oath’ had the tricky condition that all parties must clearly understand and agree to the terms of the contract, but it was a magic that held an equally powerful binding force.
The fact that Franka’s body hadn’t immediately turned into a frog meant there was no possibility she was intentionally stalling or deceiving the party.
Thinking it might have been buried in the debris during the fight, they even tried using Franka’s Animal Compass, but the purple mole, instead of circling inside the inn, disappeared into the middle of the street.
As the party stared blankly in the direction the mole had gone, they spotted something glittering in the sky.
It was a winged, golden monkey, flying through the air with something clutched in its hand.
Franka muttered in a trembling voice.
“Master…?”
The Witch of the West.
Franka’s master, and the most skilled alchemist on the continent.
She was the culprit who had snatched the victor’s prize.
The monkey, larger and with a glossier coat than Franka’s familiars, flew off into the sky without a single glance back.
…even though she clearly had the power to help or rescue her own apprentice if she was capable of swiping the treasure during Dorothea and Franka’s fight.
*
Recalling the look on Franka’s face when she realized she’d been abandoned by her master, Dorothea’s expression soured.
Objectively, it was a fight where she had gained a lot, but the image of Franka being dragged away by the guards, utterly dejected, lingered like an afterimage.
They weren’t close friends; she told herself there was no need to care about someone she’d fought to the death, but the nasty aftertaste just wouldn’t go away.
Just like her own master, this Great Witch was the absolute worst, right from their very first encounter.
Dorothea fell into thought.
Her opponent was a witch said to be on par with her own master.
It was frustrating, but for now, there was no way to get the stolen treasure back.
However, judging by the fact that the Witch of the West had only retrieved the treasure Franka had and hadn’t tried to take Dorothea’s ‘Key of Opium,’ it seemed she wasn’t ready to go all-in on the treasure hunt race just yet.
‘My master and the other Great Witches of the East, West, and South don’t get along. If one of them starts making overt moves, the others are bound to intervene. Are the Witches of the South and North also after the treasures? Or, like me and Franka, are they sending their apprentices…?’
Someone tapped Dorothea on the back as she was lost in her worries.
The Tin Knight had approached her at some point. Dorothea responded bluntly.
“What is it?”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ insists that you’re supposed to get new tokens in new cities, not steal them from rivals!]
“She’s not my rival.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ insists that if we keep collecting treasures, she’ll have no choice but to contact us again!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ insists that a gentleman’s revenge is never too late, even after ten years!]
Dorothea let out a small laugh.
“Ten years? You look like you couldn’t even wait ten weeks.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ protests, telling you not to underestimate his patience!]
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.”
“Ah, Miss Witch! Sir Knight! The carriage and travel permits are ready!”
Seeing Adelaide waving from beside the carriage, Dorothea and the Tin Knight walked forward.
The grudge from having a 100-point victory turned into an 80-point one was clearly etched in their minds.
Onward, to the next destination.