Chapter 90: The Tin Knight and The City of Struggle (9)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 90: The Tin Knight and The City of Struggle (9)
[The 'Tin Knight' cheers, asking if this was a hidden combat event disguised as a crappy shop!]
Unlike Dorothea and Adelaide, Franka couldn't directly hear the Tin Knight's insane ramblings.
But people have a primal instinct for danger.
At the sight of the Tin Knight’s unnervingly gleaming blue eyes, Franka let out a shriek.
“W-Wait! Why? I did everything you said! I paid the compensation, and I even took the fall for your crimes! And now you’re going to kill me!? You vicious witch!!”
“I won’t deny being vicious or a witch, but I don’t want to hear it from you.”
Dorothea was dumbfounded. What right did the woman who’d tried to assassinate her at their first meeting have to say such things?
After smacking the Tin Knight on the back of the head with her staff to subdue him, she glanced around the shop and said.
“…Are you broke? Did I take too much from you?”
At her subtly pitying gaze and tone, Franka’s face instantly flushed red.
“Do you think I’m cooped up in here to make money!? The money I gave you is a drop in the bucket compared to my fortune!”
“Then what are you doing here?”
“And whose fault do you think this is…!”
Franka ground her teeth, but she didn’t dare lunge at Dorothea.
Bound by the Blood Oath, she was forbidden from any hostile acts against Dorothea’s party unless they attacked first. The moment she violated the oath, Franka Aglaia would become Franka Croakia. [A pun on the Korean onomatopoeia for a frog's croak.]
Besides, it was debatable whether she would have stood a chance even without the oath.
Not a single one of the golden-winged monkeys she had so adored remained by her side.
“Hah, forget it. What’s the point in talking.”
Franka sighed under her breath as if complaining to herself, then lifted her chin arrogantly.
It was an attitude that couldn’t be called good customer service even with the most generous interpretation, but it suited her strangely well.
“So, if you’re not here to clean up your mess, what do you want?”
It was a blatant attempt to change the subject, but Dorothea didn't press the matter.
Their relationship wasn't close enough to be chattering about personal affairs.
“Why else would I come to a weapon shop but to look at weapons?”
“Not for your staff, I assume.”
“Of course not. I make my own.”
“Then it must be for the magic doll and the kid.”
Franka stared at the Tin Knight for a moment, then pulled a shield from the wall display.
“Why don’t you use this?”
The Tin Knight, Dorothea, and Adelaide’s eyes all turned to the shield.
The shield was… ornate.
For starters, it was golden, not the color of any normal metal. Its surface was covered in incredibly detailed embossed patterns, and it was even studded with gems.
It looked like something that should be hung on a wall for decoration, not used in actual combat. Dorothea narrowed her eyes.
“Are you just trying to mess with me?”
“Hmph. I merely recommended what I thought was most suitable. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it.”
Just as Dorothea was about to retort, the Tin Knight took the shield.
He rapped his fist against its surface.
Despite its seemingly soft appearance, the shield didn't change shape or even get a scratch.
The Tin Knight equipped it on his arm and drew upon his mana.
As his mana flowed into it, the gems on the shield greedily absorbed the power.
When the Tin Knight drew the mana back out from the gems, it burst forth with a pop, making the very air tremble.
[The 'Tin Knight' marvels that while the shield's defense is just so-so, it comes with an external hard drive function!]
[The 'Tin Knight' rejoices, thinking it would be fun to store up a ton of mana and release it all in one go!]
“Hmm.”
Dorothea’s eyes gleamed.
She had noticed a significant amount of the Tin Knight’s mana drain away, even though he had only filled one of the three large gems on the shield.
If one were to cram the shield with mana to its absolute limit, it seemed it could store almost as much as the Tin Knight’s own body.
“Looks like you recommended something decent, despite its appearance. What about a sword?”
“Just grab any of the ones lying around over there. As long as it’s a one-handed sword, he’ll use it well. There’s no point in recommending one.”
At Franka’s words, the Tin Knight began to carefully examine the displayed swords.
Adelaide was about to join him when Franka spoke.
“Not you.”
“Pardon?”
Adelaide tilted her head.
Franka pointed a finger to the opposite side of the shop.
It was a display of two-handed swords—all of them quite large and heavy.
“Choose from over there.”
“Oh, um, I’ve never handled anything but a one-handed sword.”
“No. That’s not for you. That is. My aesthetic sense tells me so.”
A look of bewilderment colored Adelaide’s face.
If a skilled warrior had said it, that would be one thing, but the Franka she knew was a mage. An alchemist, at that.
For someone who looked like she’d never touched a sword in her life to suddenly insist on what weapon was right for her, even the good-natured Adelaide found it hard not to be perplexed.
“Um, Sir Knight.”
She looked at the Tin Knight with pleading eyes, but he gave an unexpected response.
[The 'Tin Knight' says that since Adelaide is quite strong for her size, that might not be a bad idea!]
[The 'Tin Knight' adds that since he’s more of a bruiser, having a dedicated damage dealer would be good for party balance!]
“Is that so…?”
Adelaide hesitated for a moment before nodding.
The Tin Knight never lied when it came to combat. (Though he did spout nonsense from time to time.)
Adelaide picked up a two-handed sword from the display, choosing one that was relatively smaller and looked easier to handle.
The sword, just a little shorter than she was tall, was quite heavy, but when she actually swung it, it wasn’t as difficult as she’d thought.
Seeing the sword Adelaide had chosen, Dorothea asked.
“Does that one have some kind of special function, too?”
“The sword itself doesn’t have any particular magical gimmick. If I had to point something out, it’s that the weight is well-balanced. Oh, the scabbard is magical, though.”
What Franka presented as a scabbard was something like a small badge.
She attached two badges diagonally to Adelaide’s shoulder and hip. When the greatsword was brought near, it maintained a fixed distance from the badges, as if held by an invisible hand. From the side, it looked as if the greatsword was floating behind Adelaide’s back.
Dorothea muttered in disbelief.
“That’s not alchemy, that’s from the rune character school. Aren't you a little unprincipled?”
“Shut up. If you try to sheathe a greatsword normally, it either looks terrible or is completely impractical. Besides, most of the items here aren’t made by me; I’m just brokering them. I can’t repair worn-out armor, so go somewhere else for that.”
“You talk so confidently about what’s right and what’s not for things you didn’t even make.”
“Is there a problem with stating the facts as they are?”
After a brief war of nerves, the Tin Knight finished his browsing and selected a few new swords. Dorothea then asked for the price of the equipment.
Franka offered a sly smile and handed them the bill.
“It’s about this much.”
The price written there was, no joke, enough to build a house in the city center.
Only then did the party understand why Franka, despite her sharp responses, had been so strangely helpful in showing them the equipment.
It was a petty—no, a terrifying—scheme to let them get their hopes up, knowing they couldn't afford it.
Franka let out a light snort and continued.
“Hmph. If you’re really in a hurry, I could cut you some slack. In exchange, if you could just help my children a little—”
“Here. The payment.”
“…Huh?”
Cutting Franka off mid-sentence, Dorothea placed the amount written on the bill squarely on the table.
Then she turned her back and walked out of the shop.
Franka remained frozen for a long time, a dumbfounded look on her face as if she couldn't comprehend what had just happened.
*
“Is it really okay to just leave like that? It seemed like she had a favor to ask.”
“It’s fine. We’re not in a position to be asking or granting favors for each other.”
Dorothea cut Adelaide’s words off sharply.
“The only reason I let her live back then was because it was more advantageous at the time. If she hadn't turned herself in, we would have been blamed for everything that happened in that city. That’s all there is to it. There’s no need to be hostile, but I have no intention of laughing and getting along with her either.”
[The 'Tin Knight' wonders why she gets along so well with Gale, then!]
[The 'Tin Knight' insists that becoming friends with a rival after a fight is a classic trope of the genre!]
“I don’t need it.”
[The 'Tin Knight' expresses his view that even if you try your best to avoid these things, you end up getting involved one way or another, so it’s better to just take the initiative and dive in!]
Just as Dorothea was about to get annoyed at the Tin Knight’s repeated suggestions, a man came running toward them.
“B-Big Sis! There you are! I’ve been looking for you!”
A man rushed out and collapsed in front of the party.
Putting aside the man’s face or name, it wasn’t hard to guess his identity from the title ‘Big Sis’ alone.
In this city, the only ones who would call Dorothea by that title were the Iron Stake Mercenary Group.
The man shouted.
“S-Sophia is in danger! Some weird guy in green clothes started a fight with her, and he’s incredibly strong…! You have to come quickly!”
“Wait a minute. He picked a fight? Over what?”
“I-I don’t know! He was rambling on about some promise and an adventure… I couldn’t understand a word of it!”
The gazes of the three companions met in mid-air.
Dorothea pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed.
Somehow, she had a feeling she knew the identity of the man who had started the fight.
The Tin Knight exclaimed with an excited air.
[The 'Tin Knight' laments that while he despises fighting, he has no choice for the sake of a comrade!]