Chapter 73: The Tin Knight and The Land of Deep Green (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 73: The Tin Knight and The Land of Deep Green (3)
Miraculously.
Or perhaps, as expected, the horses were safe.
To put it another way, not much else was.
The high-end carriage had sunk to the bottom of the lake in pieces, and the cargo in the storage compartment had met a similar fate.
Truthfully, these weren't such great losses from Dorothea's perspective.
She had already spent most of the compensation money extorted from Franka and the advance from the Halder Company back in Tik-Tok. The rest was just trivial items like spare clothes, blankets, and feed for the horses.
The real problem lay elsewhere.
“It’s all gone…!”
A strangled cry escaped Dorothea’s lips.
It wasn't a very ladylike sound, but no one in the party dared to point that out.
Not the Tin Knight, kneeling in the corner with his hands up (his crime: ignoring Dorothea’s advice and insisting on carrying out Adel’s training, claiming a harsh environment would be more effective), nor Sophia (her crime: being useless from the shoulders down), and not even Adel, who had been spared from punishment.
Dorothea usually wore multi-purpose pouches and leather bags on her belt, all filled with the catalysts she used for her magic.
But now, the pouches were completely empty.
Their contents had spilled out when she fell into the lake and climbed back out.
The disaster was a result of her not sealing the pouches completely for quick and easy access, combined with the fact that most of the catalysts were in powder form.
All that remained were her wooden staff for defensive magic and the chain ring for soul negotiation.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says not to be so discouraged, since you came here to get catalysts anyway!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ insists that it’s always good to clear out your inventory before putting in new items!]
“I wish you’d just shut up!!”
After screeching at the Tin Knight, Dorothea slumped to the ground.
It seemed she didn't even have the energy to beat him up like usual.
“Witch. Please have some of this and, um, cheer up. It’s a little wet, but it’s still edible.”
As if to console her, Adel rummaged through her bag and offered Dorothea some candy.
Unlike Dorothea, who had lost all her assets (?), the damage Adel suffered was somehow manageable.
It was the result of the Tin Knight’s abuse—no, his foresight—shining through, as he had made her run with a backpack on to increase her training load.
“…You know, the bees probably went wild because you were running around carrying that, right?”
“…Ah!”
Maybe it really was abuse after all.
“Anyway, shouldn’t we do something about our clothes first? The Tin Knight and I are one thing, but you two might catch a cold if you stay like that.”
Sophia addressed Dorothea and Adel.
Perhaps due to her frail stamina, her raised arms were trembling slightly, yet her serene expression created a truly unbalanced picture.
As Sophia had pointed out, the group looked like a bunch of drowned rats.
In Sophia’s case, her alluring curves were clearly visible beneath the soaked fabric. Adel was slightly better off thanks to her leather armor, but parts of her were still visible.
Of the three, Dorothea’s appearance had changed the least.
Since her usual evil-henchwoman fashion was already toxic to the eyes, getting wet didn't significantly increase its potency. (The assessment of some men might differ.)
Normally, Dorothea would have used her magic to dry their clothes or do something about it, but with her catalysts gone, she had no choice but to dry them physically.
It was infuriating to hear such words from one of the culprits, but Sophia’s point was valid, so Dorothea conceded with a sour expression.
The bevy of beauties hastily gathered firewood, built a campfire, and began to take off their clothes.
And so, a delightful fan-service time for any onlookers began... or not.
“Tin Can. You said you saw the carriage wreckage. Go retrieve anything useful, like the blankets.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says someone needs to stay here and keep watch!]
“Just go. If things get dicey, we can just sacrifice Sophia and make a run for it.”
“Oh my.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ points out that being overly self-conscious is not good!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ insists that whenever the escort is sent away like this, something bad is bound to happen in the meantime!]
“That could happen.”
Dorothea readily agreed.
“But your very existence is a walking disaster. If trouble's going to happen anyway, isn't one disaster better than two?”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ is shocked!]
As if she had said all she needed to, Dorothea waved her hand dismissively, shooing the Tin Knight away.
Feeling wronged by the witch who treated him so poorly despite him having done nothing wrong (though others might disagree), the Tin Knight trudged into the lake.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ discovers a large fish and is overjoyed!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ announces the start of Underwater Battle: Season Two!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ declares that tonight’s dinner will be whole-roasted fish!]
Of course, it took less than three minutes for that sorrow to vanish.
He truly was a madman not worth worrying about.
*
A few hours later.
Having reorganized themselves to some extent, the party gathered around the campfire.
As the fish caught by the Tin Knight sizzled over the fire, the main topic of conversation was, of course, the strange phenomenon he and Sophia had experienced at the bottom of the lake.
Dorothea glanced at the Tin Knight, who was excitedly spinning the skewer, and spoke.
“So, you're saying a vision appeared when this guy used your mana?”
“It's unclear whether the vision was a mirage that spread across the area, or if only the Tin Knight and I saw it.”
“Hmm.”
Dorothea seemed to ponder for a moment, then frowned.
“…The Chalice of Tuberose. Fill the chalice, and grant the power of prophetic dreams to whoever drinks its contents. You absorbed the whole chalice, Sophia, but you said you’ve never had a prophetic dream, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Did the sacred treasure's effect change because the chalice itself fused with you? A power that lets someone who receives your mana glimpse a scene from the future?”
“I agree that mana is the condition, but I doubt it was a scene from the future. From what I saw, it felt more like an event from the past. A vision of this forest before it grew so large.”
“So the act of pouring a drink and consuming it was twisted into transferring mana, and the future was changed to the past? Isn't that a bit of a stretch?”
“Not being bound by preconceived notions is also important in academia!”
“You should try being a little more bound. Why the hell did you eat it in the first place, really.”
Grumbling, Dorothea abruptly held out her hand to Sophia.
“Hand it over.”
Sophia tilted her head, then clapped her hands as if in realization.
“…Ah, are you sourcing catalysts for necromancy? I don't mind giving you a few bones, but they'll just disappear soon after leaving my body, so you won't be able to store them.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ expresses admiration for the vicious idea of using a comrade as a resource!]
“What kind of ridiculous nonsense is that?! I meant your mana! And Adel, why are you freaking out and backing away?!”
Dorothea fumed.
Muttering things like, ‘Of all the people, why did I have to get a Necromancer as a master?’ and ‘No wonder she kept me from learning about other schools of magic while I was growing up,’ Dorothea repeated her demand in an annoyed voice.
“I need to test if your mana really has some special power. So give me your mana.”
“Ah, I see.”
Nodding serenely as if she understood, Sophia took Dorothea’s hand and began to channel her mana.
A blood-red energy shimmered, covering one of Dorothea’s knuckles.
And then it stopped.
“What, why did you stop?”
“I gave you all of it.”
“…Seriously? What am I supposed to do with this?”
Dorothea tried to move the minuscule amount of mana toward her eyes, but the red light vanished without a trace before it even passed her wrist. It was like dropping a single spoonful of ink into a giant lake.
Dorothea muttered, looking crestfallen.
“Is this really all you have?”
“I gave it all to the Tin Knight earlier.”
“But that was hours ago!”
“Hahaha. To recover the same amount of mana I gave the Tin Knight, it would take me at least a week. Isn't the amount of mana you recover in an hour probably more than Miss Adel's and my maximum mana combined? In fact, I find your constitution quite fascinating, Miss Dorothea.”
“Enough with the nonsense. Anyway, does this mean we have to wait a few days for the experiment?”
Just then, the Tin Knight spoke.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ suggests that Dorothea could just put her mana into Sophia!]
“Hm?”
Dorothea’s eyebrow twitched for a moment, but she soon relaxed her expression, as if deciding it wasn't a bad idea.
“That could work. Mana changes its properties depending on where it resides. If I store my mana inside Sophia, it will be dyed with her color.”
Dorothea took Sophia’s hand and poured a large amount of mana into her. A wave of energy began to ripple around Sophia’s body.
Watching the obsidian-black mana slowly take on a reddish hue, Dorothea reacted with satisfaction.
At this rate, she should be able to conduct a satisfactory experiment in about a day.
No, wait a minute.
“Hey, your mana is leaking everywhere. Aren't you going to contain it?”
“I've never handled this much mana before. Besides, my specialty is in holy magic.”
“Specialty or not, you self-destruct when you use it…”
Dorothea covered her eyes with her hand and sighed.
From the looks of it, more than half the mana she put in would evaporate if left alone, but she decided to take comfort in the fact that it would still be faster than waiting for Sophia’s natural recovery.
Just then, Adel, who had been listening quietly, raised her hand.
“So, if we have to wait to find out about the vision, what should we do in the meantime?”
“We'll gather catalysts, as originally planned. First off, hey, stop putting the fish so close to the fire! If you don't keep it at a certain distance, the outside will burn before the inside is cooked!”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ argues that a proper char adds to the flavor of the dish!]
“Flavor my ass. I can make it so you never touch cooking again.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ humbly expresses that it is right to follow an expert’s advice!]
After confirming that the Tin Knight had stealthily corrected his posture, Dorothea spoke again.
“First, we need to secure a base. I was originally planning to set up a barrier around the carriage, but since that’s gone, it might not be a bad idea to just build a new one from scratch.”
“Here?”
“Having a water source nearby isn't bad, but this is too close. It would be better to find a spot a little farther away.”
Dorothea gripped her staff and began issuing orders.
“First, I’ll prepare the essential magic for living in the forest, like insect repellent and moisture removal. Sophia, you’re with me. You can at least pull some weeds, right? …You have to be able to. Please.”
“Understood.”
“And Adel. You stay by my side until the base is complete. We'll need someone who can use a sword. After it’s done, you’ll team up with that guy to go gather materials.”
“Yes!”
“Finally, Tin Can.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ awaits his quest with a pounding heart!]
The Tin Knight’s eyes sparkled.
He had apparently enjoyed the underwater battle at the bottom of the lake and was now filled with anticipation for a new fight.
A competent leader, as they say, assigns tasks that match the aptitude and motivation of their team members.
And Dorothea was, without a doubt, competent.
“Find anything around here that looks like a boss, kill them one by one, and bring me their corpses.”
It was the moment disaster was unleashed upon the peaceful garden.