Chapter 64: The Tin Knight and The City of Clockwork — Act 3 (6) + Concept Art Added
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 64: The Tin Knight and The City of Clockwork — Act 3 (6) + Concept Art Added
“We did it!! We did it!”
“Oh yeah!! We did it, we fucking did it!”
“Hahahaha! Wow, seriously, wow! Hey!!”
The atmosphere on Team Adelaide's side was purely celebratory.
They rushed to the representative student who had displayed such a brilliant performance at the end, showering him with praise. They embraced each other, cheering wildly.
But where there is a winner, there must also be a loser.
The members of the other two teams all wore grim expressions.
Bewilderment, frustration, anger, grief—a storm of emotions flickered across their faces.
It was a perfectly natural reaction, but the problem this time was that the winners were too few, and the losers far, far too many.
The result was a strange scene where the vast majority of people in the arena wore scowls, while only a small group leaped for joy.
The knight commander, serving as the referee, narrowed his eyes.
What an unsettling air.
The reason was clear.
A victor had been decided, one way or another, but the losers had not accepted it in their hearts.
No, some might have accepted it, but they seemed to be a small minority.
No one was complaining out loud or blaming the winner, but that was all.
Even if the match were to conclude like this, it didn't seem likely that the losers would genuinely acknowledge the winners and respect their authority.
The knight commander grunted inwardly.
If the conclusion of this match fizzled out and sparked further conflict, it would reflect poorly on the Count who had overseen it.
As the man in charge of Tik-Tok's military forces, he was about to step forward to change the mood, even if it meant being somewhat forceful. But at that very moment…
“My Lord Count. I wish to make a request.”
An old man with faded blond hair.
Gerhardt stepped onto the stage and spoke.
As everyone watched in bewilderment, the Count, who had been observing the match from the best seat in the house, replied without changing his seated posture.
“A request, you say. What might that be?”
“Before the curtain falls on this stage, I ask that you grant us a brief stay.”
The murmuring in the crowd grew louder.
To ask that the event not end even after the match was over was a request laden with meaning.
The Count spoke with a hint of suspicion.
“How strange. Did you not swear before the match to accept the outcome, no matter what it was?”
“I do not intend to dispute the results. However, as things stand, my friends and I will be leaving Tik-Tok. Before that happens, there is one last thing I wish to do.”
“And what is that?”
Gerhardt raised his arm for all to see and pointed in the direction of the Tin Knight.
“That doll. No, I wish to test my skills against that knight.”
Knight.
At Gerhardt’s official use of the title, some in the crowd widened their eyes.
That stubborn, pig-headed old man, the man who had declared that a magic doll was nothing more than a toy, had just called his opponent a ‘knight’.
That alone was surprising enough, but to go so far as to bow his head to the Count and request a duel—for those who knew Gerhardt’s character, it was nothing short of astonishing.
“Hoh.”
A smile of intrigue formed on the lips of the Count, whose face had been suspicious until now.
“So you’re not disputing the match itself, but requesting an exhibition match. Lending you the venue is no difficult task. However, shouldn’t we hear the other party’s opinion as well?”
At the Count’s words, all eyes turned to the Tin Knight.
But the Tin Knight had no mouth.
Therefore, it fell to Adelaide to speak for him.
Staring intently at the Tin Knight, she was startled by a voice that only she could hear in this place.
“W-wait a moment, Sir Knight. Are you serious?”
After a moment of listing words like ‘unreasonable’ and ‘impossible’ at the knight, she finally seemed to have lost to his stubbornness and spoke up.
“Ah, ahem. I will relay the knight’s words. ‘I will accept the challenge. However, if this is to be the final battle on the stage that decides the dojo's true master, a simple one-on-one duel is insufficient.’”
Everyone hung on every syllable that came from Adelaide’s lips.
“‘This was originally a contest where three representatives staked their pride. It would not be right for only you, Representative Gerhardt, and I to compete, while the other is excluded.’”
René, who was suddenly named, looked bewildered, but Adelaide wasn't finished.
“‘Therefore, how about this? René von Lennart. Gerhardt von Lennart. Come at me together. Adelaide and I will face you and prove our right as victors once more.’”
Having finished speaking, Adelaide glanced around nervously and added.
“Uh, that’s… that’s all he said.”
A silence fell.
Adelaide had done her best to polish the Tin Knight’s blunt, jab-like speech into something more archaic, but she couldn't change the fundamental content.
A duel was fine. But it was a shocking response that essentially said, if you’re going to fight me, both of you come at once.
Considering that Gerhardt and René were skilled enough to serve as the dojo’s representative instructors, the declaration felt less like disrespect and more like sheer madness.
People expected Gerhardt to erupt in anger, but he merely twitched an eyebrow, not shouting or losing his temper.
“That’s what he says. What will you do, youngster?” Gerhardt said without even turning his gaze.
A shadow fell beside him.
“How can I ignore a stage that’s been set up this perfectly? It’s not like I want to ruin the event,” René grumbled, taking off his brimmed hat.
“Still worrying about pointless things like events. That’s why you’re a clown, not a representative instructor. Pathetic fool.”
“Let’s just call it the virtue of a competent businessman. For someone who was kicked out for failing at both management and business, you sure are arrogant.”
At the sight of the two men standing side by side, someone else decided they could wait no longer.
Clank! Clank! Clank!
With heavy yet brisk footsteps, far louder than any normal person’s, the Tin Knight landed on the stage.
Beside him stood Adelaide, her face taut with tension.
The Count rose from his chair and declared.
“No interests are at stake in this match, and there is no reason it must be fought. However, I find this match far too intriguing!”
He spoke as if questioning the members of the Lennart dojo, his voice loud enough for everyone present to hear.
“What say you all! Is a fight with nothing to gain worthless? Is a struggle with no reward meaningless? Do you truly feel no anticipation for the stage that is about to unfold?”
No one raised their voice.
But the look in the audience’s eyes showed their will more intensely than any words could.
The Count shouted with delight.
“I have heard your answer loud and clear! Then let us all bear witness! Let us all anticipate! The greatest finale, one that will satisfy us all!”
Gerhardt, dressed in a coarse martial arts uniform, steadied his breathing, widened his stance, and assumed a fighting posture.
René, in his flamboyant uniform, drew his rapier, its sharp blade, usually hidden, now asserting its presence.
The Tin Knight raised his sword and shield, and Adelaide gripped her sword with both hands.
“Let the exhibition match begin!!!”
Four shadows charged toward one another.
*
The Lennart Ducal House was one of the most distinguished noble families in the Empire.
The interests and power they held were vast, and so too was the struggle for power and competition among the bloodline.
Gerhardt was a loser, pushed out of that competition.
He once dreamed of becoming a hero who would surpass his ancestor, the Lion Duke, but the times did not smile upon him.
His bloodline had grown too powerful.
To maintain their status, the family valued versatile individuals who were also skilled in combat over pure warriors.
Gerhardt’s martial prowess was exceptional, but it was not enough to cover his shortcomings in politics and personnel management.
He felt it was unfair.
He believed that fools who couldn't hold a candle to him in terms of pure strength were devaluing him with strange concepts like ‘management skills’ and ‘reform.’
That was why he had rejected René and his methods, gathering those who shared his views to demand a rematch.
And he had lost.
Worse, he had lost to an unexpected opponent, not even René.
He had tried to act composed for the sake of his pride and dignity, but his heart was burning like a flame.
He couldn't accept it. He didn't want everything to end like this.
At the very least.
He wanted to unleash the body he had trained for so long, the skills he had built through pain and perseverance—everything he considered ‘strength’—on something.
And now, before Gerhardt’s eyes, stood an opponent whose ‘strength’ even he had no choice but to acknowledge.
“Haaaaah!”
With a powerful kiai, Gerhardt stepped forward.
He threw a straight punch.
It looked like a simple fist, but the power contained within was enough to shatter boulders.
Thwump!
But the sound the attack produced was surprisingly light.
Gerhardt’s eyes flew open.
He deflected it!
A subtle adjustment to the angle. A relaxation of the body at the moment of impact.
It was such masterful shield work that Gerhardt himself, the one being attacked, was filled with admiration.
The Tin Knight’s sword shot out, aiming for Gerhardt’s neck.
Its trajectory was ruthlessly efficient, with not a single wasted motion.
Blood spurted from Gerhardt’s neck as he dodged the attack by a hair's breadth.
It was an attack so full of killing intent that one might wonder if the knight even knew this was a duel on a stage, but Gerhardt actually smiled.
Anything less would be a disappointment!
With blood streaming down his neck, Gerhardt didn't retreat. Instead, he pressed in even closer to the Tin Knight.
He extended his right leg to trip the Tin Knight while shoving his upper body with both arms, sending the knight’s massive frame toppling backward.
Gerhardt’s leg shot up toward the sky, then came crashing down.
CRACK!
A small crater formed on the smooth stone floor.
It was an unbelievable display of power, hard to believe it was caused by a mere human stomp, but even that was meaningless if it didn't connect.
As the Tin Knight nonchalantly rolled backward to break his fall, Gerhardt charged again.
Thwack, thud, thud-thud-thud!
A continuous assault rained down, as if to give no opportunity for a counterattack.
At a glance, it looked like he was compensating for a lack of power with speed and technique, but some of the more skilled onlookers could tell.
Each of the blows, delivered in rapid succession, was in fact a terrifying attack capable of caving in a man’s skull.
The Tin Knight’s body was not made of flesh and blood, but even that didn't matter much.
Gerhardt was a man who could crumple steel with his bare hands if he put his mind to it.
Which was why Gerhardt was all the more astonished to see the shield before him, completely unscathed despite the full force of his assault.
How…!
Thwack! Crunch!
The answer to Gerhardt’s question was a sharp, throbbing pain in his wrist.
At the moment Gerhardt’s attack landed, the Tin Knight had deftly twisted the shield, wrenching his wrist.
The moment the seemingly endless barrage was broken, the edge of the Tin Knight’s shield struck Gerhardt squarely in the chest.
The impact felt as if it had driven all the air from his lungs.
He had gathered his mana at the last second to receive the blow, so his ribs weren't crushed, but he couldn't stop his body from freezing for a moment.
As Gerhardt tensed his body to avoid a fatal blow from the follow-up attack…
CLANG!
The Tin Knight left Gerhardt and launched himself between Adelaide and René.
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