Chapter 87: The Tin Knight and The City of Struggle (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 87: The Tin Knight and The City of Struggle (6)
The quality of the lodging was excellent, especially for a temporary place in the preliminary area, just outside the main district.
Knowing they'd have to move again soon, they unpacked only the essentials. Without so much as a moment's rest, the party began planning their next move. They were an impatient bunch, comparable to tuna that die if they stop swimming.
“First, we need to get our money. Is there a Halder Company branch in this city? It would also be good to pick up some supplies and a new carriage.”
Dorothea was focused on securing funds and supplies.
“I’d like to visit a bookstore or a tavern,” Sophia said. “We should be able to gather useful information, like the local situation or details about the champion.”
Sophia was on information gathering.
“Ah, I also need to get a new sword,” Adelaide added. “My armor, too. They were badly damaged during the fight in the Garden.”
Adelaide’s priority was repairing and upgrading her equipment.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ insists that he wants to register for the martial arts tournament!]
And the Tin Knight was being his usual self.
At the Tin Knight’s words, Dorothea’s eyebrow twitched.
Her expression could be summed up in a single word: Really?
“That martial arts tournament… didn’t they say it doesn’t start for another two weeks? You want us to just sit around here until then?”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ argues that it’s absurd to skip the main event of a new map after just arriving!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ exclaims that big events like this always have awesome rewards!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ passionately points out that even Adelaide is burning with the will to win, wanting to replace her weapon!]
“What?”
Adel, standing beside him, let out a single word that perfectly encapsulated her thought—What did I just hear?—but naturally, the Tin Knight paid no mind to such trivialities.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that a master and student facing off in a tournament is one of the classic tropes!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ declares his ambition to become Adel’s trial, pushing his student to her absolute limit!]
“The more you talk, the paler that student's face gets.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that they have to take the belt from the champion anyway!]
“And what does that have to do with entering the tournament?”
Dorothea leaned back on the sofa and crossed her legs. She folded her arms beneath her chest and lifted her chin slightly.
Unaware that the Tin Knight, Adel, and Sophia were all simultaneously thinking, She looks like a villainous executive, the lady of the Iron Stake Bandits continued to speak.
“Let's say the champion has one of the kingdom's sacred treasures. If you beat him in the tournament, do you think he's going to say, ‘Ah, this sacred treasure has finally met its true master!’ and just hand over the belt? No matter what, the belt is something we'll have to get by negotiating with the champion personally. The tournament has nothing to do with it.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ insists that in cases like this, the plot usually goes, ‘You want the belt? Then try and defeat me!’]
“Nonsense. Why would he give a gift to the person who humiliated him? It's more likely he'd be grinding his teeth, plotting revenge.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ argues that warriors have a world that only other warriors can understand!]
“I'm a mage, so I don't know much about that field, but I'm pretty sure most warriors would be offended to be put in the same category as you.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says they should make a bet then!]
“A bet?”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ requests that if they meet the champion and things go as he said, he be allowed to participate in the martial arts tournament!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ declares that if, on the other hand, they can obtain the belt through negotiation without entering the tournament, he will stay quiet for the duration of their time in this city!]
“So you were aware that you're not usually quiet. That's even more infuriating.”
Despite her grumbling, Dorothea's expression brightened, as if she thought it wasn't a bad proposal.
Her blue eyes sparkled as she spoke.
“Fine. You're on. A bet.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ exclaims that the star of victory is with him!]
Adel, who had been listening to their conversation, spoke up.
“So… are we going to use the compass right away to find where this champion is?”
“That’s pushing it.”
Dorothea answered coolly.
“We don't know how the negotiations will go. Besides, for someone as important as the champion who symbolizes this city, it's doubtful we could even meet him just by knowing his location. We need to finish our preparations first so we can leave at a moment's notice if things go south.”
“Then, we should head to the company first.”
Having reached a conclusion, the party set out.
*
“The Halder Company, you say? Of course I know it.”
There was no need to ask around to find the shop.
They simply had to ask Hindler, who was waiting like a statue near the inn's entrance, and he immediately had an answer.
He spoke eagerly, as if trying to prove his usefulness.
“It wasn't originally a very famous company around here, but thanks to a new product they recently started selling, word has spread like wildfire. They sell pills processed through a special method, and the effects are said to be amazing.”
“Pills?”
Dorothea looked momentarily puzzled, but perhaps thinking she would find out once they arrived, she urged him to lead the way without another word.
A low murmur filled the air.
Hindler hadn't been exaggerating about the buzz; the area around the shop was bustling with people.
Two stalls were set up in front of the shop. One of them displayed various goods useful for travel, like dried fruit and jerky.
The problem was the other stall.
Here, bite-sized black pills were piled high, and the employee’s sales pitch was truly a spectacle.
“Come on, come on! Step right up! Come see the Halder Company's special, the Witch's Elixir!”
Twitch. Dorothea's body shuddered violently.
The gazes of the Tin Knight, Adel, and Sophia flickered toward Dorothea before quickly looking forward again.
“Just one pill will make your fatigue disappear! Two pills will make your limp lower parts stand straight! And three pills will awaken the hidden potential within your body! A miracle pill! The mysterious pill made by a legendary witch with a special secret recipe is right here! You'll regret it if you don't buy now!”
Dorothea's lips twitched uncontrollably.
A few onlookers watching the employee's pitch spoke up.
“Is that medicine really so effective?”
“But a legendary witch? Who exactly are you talking about?”
The employee answered the onlooker's question skillfully.
“Ho ho, is it effective, you ask? Don't say a word until you've tried it! And as for the witch's identity, I dare not speak it myself. She wished to keep her identity a secret. However, she is someone you are all quite familiar with! Hahaha!”
“Is it the Witch of the West?”
“The Halder Company's headquarters is in the southeast, so it must be the Witch of the East or South.”
“Nah, isn't the Witch of the South the Empire's top mage? Would she even have time to make something like this?”
“Then that means it's the Witch of the East, but does that mean there's something weird mixed into the medicine—”
“Now, now! Today's stock is everything on this stand! Once it's sold out, you won't be able to get it even if you want to!”
“Give me one!”
“I’ll take three!”
“Alright! Alright! Form a line! A line!”
Watching the pills sell like hotcakes, Adel whispered to the Tin Knight.
“Um, wasn't the medicine the witch told the Halder Company about for horses? I don't think people should be eating it.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that merchants are the kind of people who would put chalk in milk for money!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that people consume mercury, so there's no reason they can't eat horse feed!]
“No, but still….”
Just then, Dorothea stepped forward.
“Give me one.”
“Welcome, customer!”
Taking the pill, Dorothea didn't put it in her mouth, but instead crushed it in her palm.
As she examined the pill's scent and texture, her eyes grew cold.
It seemed she would have much to discuss with the owner of this shop.
*
The Thracus branch of the Halder Company was not one that held high expectations.
The Halder Company's main sphere of influence was in the southeastern part of the Empire, while Thracus was located in the northwestern part of the continent.
While branches of the same company weren't necessarily clustered together, proximity was certainly advantageous for inter-branch coordination.
Therefore, the Thracus branch's raison d'être was not sales.
It was a bridgehead for the day the Halder Company would make its name known throughout the Empire. A reconnaissance base for gathering information on the northern and western parts of the continent.
And the branch manager of Thracus, Joseph, was a man very dissatisfied with this situation.
‘That company head is too timid for his own good. Every time he tries to start something, he dithers on about the reactions of neighboring companies or the state of the continent, slowing the company's growth. Sometimes you have to be bold and just do it to win big.’
Joseph was the brother-in-law of Lorentz Halder, the head of the Halder Company, and though he had become a branch manager thanks to that connection, he always resented Lorentz.
His reasoning was that if they were going to recruit a talent like him, they should treat him accordingly, instead of sticking him in this remote part of the Empire and acting like they'd done him a favor.
With a mindset that considered what he received as his due and what he didn't as a loss, he was a man with excellent qualities for a corrupt merchant.
Due to the long distance, the main branch's control over the Thracus branch was not very strong (which was also why Lorentz had dispatched a relative as the branch manager, though it ultimately backfired). Joseph took full advantage of this, turning the Thracus branch into his personal fiefdom and continuing his wayward conduct.
The ‘Witch’s Elixir’ being sold at the Thracus branch was one of those ‘wayward’ things.
-Swapping expensive herbs for cheaper, similar ones.
-Adding only about 10% of the effective herbs and filling the other 90% with miscellaneous grains and weeds.
-Completely ignoring the instruction that it was for horses and selling it as a medicine for humans.
-Fabricating a backstory based on eyewitness accounts of the mysterious party from whom Lorentz received the recipe.
It was a business tactic so vicious that Mr. Stromboli, the philanthropist of Tik-Tok, would have been left speechless with horror had he seen it.
Even while engaging in such a risky act that could easily tarnish the Halder Company's name in the northwestern Empire, Joseph felt not the slightest hesitation.
After all, the money was rolling in.
Occasionally, people would collapse clutching their hearts after taking the medicine, but Joseph believed the problem wasn't the medicine, but the customer's weak constitution.
Even if the number of people complaining about side effects increased later, he figured he could just slip some money to the higher-ups, and they would take care of it.
Joseph had a plan for everything.
“Branch Manager. Some customers have arrived, saying they're here to collect their money.”
“Hm?”
That is, until now.
Hearing his subordinate's report, Joseph frowned.
“Did someone at our branch start a loan-sharking business behind my back?”
“No, sir.”
“Then why are they collecting money from us?”
“Um, you know that direct order that came down from the company head at the main branch? The one that said not to treat them poorly under any circumstances and to pay them the full amount if possible.”
“Hm? Ah.”
Only then did Joseph recall that such an order had come down a few months ago.
“What was the total amount for that?”
“Paying the full amount is impossible, but if we empty out all the branch's surplus funds, we can probably cover about thirty percent.”
“Shit, are you crazy? You want me to just give them that cash?”
“It's not exactly a loss, sir. They said if we bill the main branch for the expense, they'll reimburse us with interest…”
“But the warehouse will be empty in the meantime! Besides, wasn't that deal made in the south? Why the hell are they crawling all the way here to raise a fuss? Forget it, just kick them out.”
“Judging by their appearance, they really seem to be the ones the company head mentioned. Will that be alright?”
“They don't have a certificate or anything, right? We can just say we didn't give it to them because they were suspicious. So— Hmm, wait, hold on a second.”
Joseph's eyes gleamed, and a sinister smile formed on his lips.
“Those travelers and the company head, they're not in frequent contact, are they? And the 'witch' thing was just an assumption based on the circumstances, not something she introduced herself as.”
“It seems so.”
“Let's say… we give that party the money. And then we bill the main branch for the payment. If we then recover the payment we gave them through ‘appropriate’ means… wouldn't our funds double? And the main branch would have no way of finding out.”
“…Branch Manager?”
“Besides, didn't they say that witch knows a lot of useful things? We're making this much money from just a single horse herb. Imagine how much our company could grow if we could get other things from her, eh?”
The subordinate looked hesitant for a moment, but soon a sinister smile similar to Joseph's spread across his face.
“I'll prepare to welcome our guests.”
“Yes, do that.”