Chapter 40: The Tin Knight and the Hanged Sinner (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 40: The Tin Knight and the Hanged Sinner (3)
The negotiations with the guild were a success.
The guild staff, who had been consistently high-handed with the Tin Knight’s party, seemed at a loss and had no choice but to back down when Lorentz and the Halder Company stepped in to apply pressure.
“We have the upper hand, both in terms of the contract and justification. If we can’t win this, we might as well quit being merchants.”
Lorentz was full of confidence, assuring them that while entering the labyrinth again might be a different story, no one could find a pretext to cause trouble over the items they had already acquired.
The party was satisfied with that.
The labyrinth had been larger than expected and filled with so many hidden treasures that they’d had to leave some behind, unable to fit them all in the cart. But they had already secured all the most valuable-looking ones.
Most importantly, they had obtained the most crucial treasure of all.
The witch, however, was displeased, as the form of said treasure was quite different from what she had anticipated.
*
In a private lodging prepared by the Halder Company.
The party gathered in a space safe from prying eyes and ears.
The atmosphere in the room was tense.
This was because Dorothea was letting out overtly irritated sighs.
Her gaze was fixed on the wine-colored goat.
The goat, which usually wandered off on its own, was now staying put in the room with no sign of leaving.
Beside it lay the vampire on a bed.
The vampire’s condition was ‘passably’ good.
She was dressed in a clean one-piece dress instead of her previous rags, and her body, which had been crushed under the pillar, was now healed without a single scar.
However, her complexion was still pale, completely devoid of color.
Dorothea watched the goat nuzzle its head against the vampire’s palm and finally spoke.
“I checked while changing her clothes, but the kingdom’s secret treasure… the ‘Chalice of Tuberose’… is nowhere to be found. And yet, that goat refuses to leave the vampire’s side. So the treasure really must be inside her body. What the hell did this damn vampire do?”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks if he should also convey the part about her being a ‘damn vampire’!]
“Uh, Sir Knight. If you say that, won’t she hear you?”
At Adel’s point, the Tin Knight made a gesture as if to say, Oops.
The vampire herself, however, showed no reaction.
One would expect her to be wary after hearing threatening words about driving a stake through her heart while she was completely helpless, but the vampire’s demeanor remained placid.
“Haaah. Seriously. This is so annoying.”
Dorothea grumbled that at this rate, it would have been better to just have a good, clean fight like that idiot knight wanted.
If the vampire had tried to kill them, she could have fought back without hesitation and taken the treasure. But with the woman being so docile, pointing a blade at her felt… awkward.
By any normal standard, being a vampire was a crime punishable by death in itself, but Dorothea couldn't think that way.
In the first place, if one were to follow common sense, the entire profession of necromancy was problematic in many ways. It was a pathetic sense of shared suffering.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ suggests that if she’s so conflicted, they should just defeat the vampire and get the item!]
…There was also the stubborn refusal to stoop to that thing’s level.
After stewing for several long minutes, Dorothea finally shouted, as if to say, whatever happens, happens.
“Ah, I don’t know! We’ll just have to carry her around as she is. We can just treat her like a rather bulky piece of luggage.”
It was a wicked declaration, treating a person—or a person-like thing—as baggage. A truly witch-like conclusion.
Adelaide let out a sigh of relief.
She had been on edge, thinking Dorothea might actually accept the Tin Knight’s proposal and decide to tear the vampire to pieces.
The Tin Knight, who would sometimes make Adel dissect animals or insects he’d caught alive for ‘practice,’ might have even tasked her with disposing of the vampire.
Adel would rather struggle through the labyrinth again than be forced to participate in a vampire anatomy lesson.
The Tin Knight stepped forward to ask a question.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks what she means specifically by ‘luggage’!]
“Can’t we just get a coffin or something and physically seal her in it? We can just stick the coffin in a corner of the carriage.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ points out that this is a waste!]
“Then what do you suggest?”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ argues that if they’re going to take her along anyway, it’s better to have a companion than baggage!]
Dorothea’s eyebrow twitched, and Adel’s expression turned to one of surprise.
Dorothea shot back sarcastically.
“What’s with the sudden change of heart? Weren’t you the one just talking about fighting and killing her?”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ passionately explains that a plot where you recruit a potential boss as an ally is, in its own way, incredibly hype!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ points out that carrying a vampire around in a coffin will be a hassle whenever they have to pass through checkpoints!]
“The first part is your usual nonsense, but the second part is worth considering.”
“However,” Dorothea added.
“The same goes for just taking the vampire with us. Her appearance might not give her away, but the moment she’s exposed to sunlight, she’ll burst into flames. How are we supposed to hide…”
Dorothea, who was about to state a ‘perfectly obvious fact,’ suddenly trailed off.
She had just remembered something.
“…On the way back to the room, didn’t she get hit by sunlight?”
“Oh? Now that you mention it, I think she did.”
Although Dorothea had used magic to divert others’ attention, its effect wasn’t absolute, so the party had to be extremely careful when moving the vampire.
They had been so focused on avoiding people’s eyes that they hadn’t paid any mind to the sunlight, but looking back, something was strange.
Seeing is believing.
The Tin Knight pulled back the curtains on the window, and sunlight poured down onto the bed where the vampire lay.
Squint.
The vampire furrowed her brow.
It seemed the sunlight was simply too bright for her eyes.
In other words, that was it. Her skin didn't burn, nor did it even turn red.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ wonders if their assumption that she’s a vampire was just plain wrong!]
Dorothea’s mouth hung open.
She seemed to be searching for a rebuttal for a moment, but finding nothing to say, she changed the subject.
“Hmph, ahem. Anyway, even if the sunlight isn’t an issue, treating her as cargo is one thing, but as a companion, her opinion matters. We can’t just decide for her.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ points out that her treatment has suddenly improved drastically!]
“Shut up.”
The Tin Knight’s gaze turned to the vampire.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks if she wants to be their companion!]
It was an offer thrown out with a complete lack of context.
Dorothea scoffed, thinking there was no way she would agree to that.
Nod.
The vampire nodded her head without hesitation.
“Wait, why!?”
Dorothea was genuinely bewildered.
Glaring at the triumphant Tin Knight, Dorothea demanded.
“Hold on. Words are cheap. Ask her if she can swear a Blood Oath to never harm us under any circumstances.”
Even as she said it, Dorothea didn’t think the other party would accept.
If she accepted this condition, she would be unable to retaliate at all, even if the party tried to kill her.
Nod.
But, contrary to Dorothea’s expectations, the vampire nodded far too easily.
Dorothea wore a dumbfounded expression.
“My lady.”
Adel looked at Dorothea.
Seeing the words Isn’t this enough? written all over her face, Dorothea felt a sense of injustice.
Wait, am I the strange one here?
She was certain her arguments were sensible and logical, yet Dorothea couldn’t comprehend this atmosphere that was painting her as the bad guy.
But with the vampire being so compliant, she couldn’t just throw away all their discussions and stubbornly push her own opinion.
Of course, she could if she really wanted to, but in Dorothea’s mind, that would be an ‘ugly’ thing to do.
Fine, I’ll do it, Dorothea thought, stepping forward while grinding her teeth.
She slit her palm with a dagger. The blood that flowed out didn’t fall to the floor but swirled in the air, forming letters.
【‘ ’ shall swear not to harm ‘Tin Knight’, ‘Dorothea Aschengard’, or ‘Adelaide von Lennart’ under any circumstances. The penalty for breaking this oath shall be death.】
“Translate for her. A Blood Oath can’t be formed unless both parties fully understand and agree to its contents.”
After the Tin Knight relayed the message, the vampire nodded.
Confirming her consent, the contract floated through the air and touched the back of the vampire’s hand.
It was then that the blood making up the contract flared, and its contents changed.
【‘Sophia Hubris’ shall swear not to harm ‘Tin Knight’, ‘Dorothea Aschengard’, or ‘Adelaide von Lennart’ under any circumstances. The penalty for breaking this oath shall be ■■.】
Dorothea’s eyebrow twitched.
It was good that a name had been added in a language even Dorothea could read. That was why she had deliberately used her own blood instead of the vampire’s.
The problem was the penalty.
The characters for ‘death’ had been smudged, rendering the content illegible.
Dorothea swung her staff.
The blood of the contract shimmered, trying to reform the word ‘death,’ but it only held for a moment.
A second later, it reverted to an indecipherable smudge.
Dorothea knew what this phenomenon meant.
Assuming there was a normal person, A, and a mage, B, the possible penalties that could be set were as follows:
-If the contract is broken, A will hold their breath for 10 seconds.
-If the contract is broken, A will turn into a frog.
The first was possible because A could do it on their own, and the second was possible because even if A couldn’t, B had the ability to make it happen.
Conversely, a penalty like ‘A will turn into the sun’ could not be set. It was impossible even if A and B worked together.
Therefore, the current situation was proof that no matter what they did, they could not sentence the vampire to ‘death.’
Not by Dorothea’s will, nor even by the vampire’s own.
“You… what in the world are you?”
It wasn’t a question that expected an answer.
Since they couldn’t communicate, it was probably closer to her muttering to herself.
“—That is quite a philosophical question you ask.”
An answer came to a question that hadn't expected one.
Dorothea’s and Adel’s eyes widened.
The light in the Tin Knight’s visor flickered wildly.
Whether she knew of the shock around her or not, the vampire, Sophia Hubris, continued to speak calmly.
Unseen until now, there was a smear of blood on her lips.
“I am a scholar, you see. Though the homeland that could certify my degree seems to have already fallen. I am a cleric. Though I was excommunicated for being branded a heretic.”
With a beautiful smile, Sophia sat up and perched on the edge of the bed.
“—And I am a monster. That, at least, has not changed.”
The Tin Knight drew his sword.
Dorothea aimed her staff.
Only Adel, unable to keep up with the sudden turn of events, was left sputtering.
Dorothea asked sharply.
“You could speak all this time, and you pretended you couldn’t?”
“Oh, no. At first, I truly did not understand. I simply observed you all chattering, grasped your intent through the knight’s magic tool, and pieced things together with a little information from the young lady’s blood. It was fortunate that while the words have changed since my time, the grammar is almost identical.”
Sophia answered with a cheerful smile.
She said it simply, but it was obvious that it was no easy feat.
“Besides, until a moment ago, I didn’t have the energy to speak. Even just nodding my head was quite an ordeal, you know.”
“So, you feel energized now that you’ve siphoned off and drunk my blood?”
“I shall rate it as the first nectar I’ve tasted in hundreds of years. Ah, but please do not misunderstand. I have no intention of fighting. The only reason I drank the blood was because I thought it would be faster if we could communicate freely, not because I had any complaints about the contract. In fact, I find it quite reasonable. It would be foolish not to have such a safeguard against a monster of unknown origin.”
“You’re quite talkative.”
“It’s something I’ve been told often in the past.”
Dorothea thought for a moment, then brought up the contract.
“You said things would be faster if you could speak. Then answer me. Why can’t ‘death’ be set as the penalty for breaking the contract? Is it because you’re a vampire? Because you’re already a corpse, so you can’t be killed again?”
“A good line of thought, but incorrect. It is true that a vampire is closer to a corpse, if one must classify it, but the concept of death certainly applies to us. You can kill one by piercing the heart with a stake and beheading it, or by having it sunbathe.”
“Then why?”
“Who can say? I have rarely seen other vampires, so I haven’t been able to perform a direct comparative experiment, but I simply do not die easily. The people of the church tried all sorts of things but failed to kill me, so perhaps it means that neither my power nor yours, my dear witch, is enough to kill me?”
Dorothea’s expression twisted bizarrely.
Being told she lacked power to her face was hardly pleasant, but since the vampire herself admitted she couldn’t do it either, it was an odd situation to get angry about. That was the look on her face.
“…Fine, how about this, then.”
【‘Sophia Hubris’ shall swear not to harm ‘Tin Knight’, ‘Dorothea Aschengard’, or ‘Adelaide von Lennart’ under any circumstances. Should she violate this oath, ‘Sophia Hubris’ shall fall into a sleep from which she cannot awaken.】
“If death cannot be the price, then a sleep akin to death? A fine idea.”
“Quiet, just decide whether you’ll accept it or not. The idiot next to you is itching for a fight as we speak.”
“Please add one more clause. It is frightening to have no way to reverse it.”
At Sophia’s proposal, Dorothea fell silent for a moment, then nodded.
【However, if ‘Tin Knight’, ‘Dorothea Aschengard’, or ‘Adelaide von Lennart’ attempt to awaken ‘Sophia Hubris’ of their own free will, she may, as an exception, awaken from her sleep.】
This time, Sophia readily accepted the contract.
And then, she asked.
“Ah, by the way, what kind of party are you? Now that I think about it, I never heard your objective.”
Dorothea suddenly stared up at the ceiling.
The order of things was a complete and utter mess.