Chapter 92: The Tin Knight and The City of Struggle (11)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 92: The Tin Knight and The City of Struggle (11)
The Champion. Kalidah.
The influence of that name was immense.
So immense, in fact, that she could turn away the city guard—who had been dispatched to deal with the massive brawl in the middle of the street—with but a single word.
“Just a moment, Champion. Even so, asking us to let them go without any investigation is a bit…”
“It’s no use trying to capture those two… one person and one… machine? In any case, it’s impossible. You must be busy enough with the chaos all over the city. Don’t waste your manpower by getting involved; just go back.”
“But… they’ve torn up the ground over there.”
“I did that.”
“Champion!”
Thanks to her, the party was released without incident. Peter, too, seemed to have lost his enthusiasm and wandered off somewhere.
He hadn’t given a definite answer about participating in the tournament, but from the looks of it, he would be staying in the city for a while.
The Iron Stake Mercenary Group, who had bought time by taking a beating from Peter until the Tin Knight arrived, were recognized for their efforts. Their status was upgraded from the “Association for Upholding Big Sis Dorothea (self-proclaimed)” to the “Association for Upholding Big Sis Dorothea (temporary),” and they received treatment for their injuries.
Looking at the results alone, most things had been resolved smoothly, yet Dorothea’s expression was anything but pleased.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ puffs out his chest, declaring that justice always prevails!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ shakes his head, as if to say, “See? I told you we should have just signed up for the tournament from the start!”]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ solemnly proclaims that if she would just admit defeat and hand over her mana, no bloodshed would be necessary!]
“You’re so noisy! Give it a rest!”
Clang!
Dorothea’s staff dented the Tin Knight’s helmet, but his jaunty dance didn’t stop. He was so excited about the martial arts tournament that he’d been like this for hours.
“That blasted champion.”
The champion’s declaration that she would hand over the belt to the tournament winner was nothing short of a disaster for Dorothea.
I mean, was it even logical? Instead of holding a grudge against the opponent who beat her up, she was going to praise them and even give them a gift?
Their way of thinking was the weird one, not hers, right?
As Dorothea was grinding her teeth over this, it was none other than Sophia who delivered the final blow.
“Usually, a tournament’s champion has close ties to the event organizers. If you think of it as bait to boost the tournament’s popularity, it doesn’t seem all that strange.”
Dorothea’s mouth snapped shut.
She yelled in an irritated voice.
“Fine, I lost! I admit it!”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ sings a victory anthem!]
Dorothea, shrouded in a gloomy aura, and next to her, the Tin Knight, striking a victory pose with one arm raised.
Watching the two of them, Adel wore a puzzled expression.
“…But, when you think about it, isn’t this a win-win situation for both of you, rather than a clear victory for one side?”
The Tin Knight got to participate in the martial arts tournament as he wanted, and Dorothea could now acquire the sacred treasure without any extra cost or effort. Looking at the outcome, both sides had gained something. Adel found it hard to understand why Dorothea was so dejected, or why the Tin Knight was so smug.
“Well, the human heart isn’t always so logical,” Sophia said. “More importantly, are you alright, Lady Adel?”
“Huh? Why me?”
“Well, since Sir Tin is entering the martial arts tournament, that means you’re confirmed to participate as well.”
“Ah.”
Adel’s jaw dropped.
That was right. They had certainly discussed that.
Only then did she realize. This was no time to be worrying about others.
*
Adel’s face had turned deathly pale.
But for her, a helping hand arrived from a completely unexpected direction.
That savior’s name was “Participation Rules.”
“I’m sorry, but magic dolls are not permitted to enter the individual matches.”
At the receptionist’s words, the Tin Knight staggered as if he’d received a great shock.
Shaking her head at his increasingly frivolous gestures, which contrasted with his solemn appearance, Dorothea asked.
“Your champion was the one who told him to enter the tournament. And you’re still saying no?”
“Even if you say that, rules are rules.”
Mentioning the champion’s name seemed to have an effect, as the receptionist continued his explanation with a troubled look.
“In the past, mages also participated in this tournament, and the ‘familiars’ they brought with them were treated as weapons or shields for a warrior, so they could fight together… but as a result, most of the warriors were eliminated in the early rounds, and it became common for only mages to be left in the finals.”
“Well, that makes sense.”
Whether it was a homunculus, a spirit, or a magic doll, the familiars controlled by mages often displayed exceptional combat abilities.
Even magic dolls, considered the weakest among them, were impossible for a warrior who couldn’t properly wield sword energy to face.
Have the familiar tie up the opponent, and in that opening, the mage finishes them off with magic.
From the mage’s perspective, they might argue that since it’s their own mana moving the familiar, it’s no different from a sword or shield. But it wasn’t the same for their opponents. Or for the audience, for that matter.
Sophia asked.
“Then couldn’t the mage or the familiar just participate alone? At least that would solve the unfairness of being outnumbered.”
“We tried that, too. But when mages entered alone, they were defeated too easily by warriors. And when familiars entered alone, people complained, ‘They’re constantly being supplied with mana and support from the outside, so isn’t that basically a two-on-one fight?’”
“I see, so you were swayed by public opinion. Since most of the audience would empathize with the warriors over the mages or familiars, I suppose that’s a natural conclusion.”
“But listen,”
Dorothea said, irritably brushing back a stray lock of hair.
“So what are we supposed to do? The champion told us to come and fight in the tournament, but if we can’t even participate, what’s the point?”
“Ahem. Well, there are also team matches. How about participating in those?”
“Team matches?”
“Yes. Separate from the individual matches, familiars are not restricted from participating in the team matches, where three people form a team. It does take up one of the participant slots, though.”
“Is the champion in those, too?”
“Lady Kalidah only competes in the individual matches. However, the team matches also have spectacular prizes…”
“Hmph.”
Perhaps thinking that having a mage—especially one with such a striking appearance as Dorothea—participate would be good for business, the receptionist raised his voice to explain how amazing the prizes were, but Dorothea’s reaction was lukewarm.
It wasn’t that she had no desire for material possessions, but their core objective in this city was, first and foremost, to secure the sacred treasure.
Now that she couldn’t enter the Tin Knight in the important individual matches, Dorothea felt no need to participate in the team matches, which had nothing to do with the sacred treasure anyway.
“What a boring conversation.”
Just then, a voice cut into their discussion.
The party’s gazes turned.
Pigtails that seemed to shift between silver and gold in the light. The owner of red eyes and a voluminous skirt.
Franka Aglaia was there.
The receptionist’s eyes went wide as saucers.
“L-Lady Franka?”
Gently ignoring the receptionist who called her name, Franka spoke to Dorothea.
“The point is you need a stage to fight Kalidah, right? That’s not difficult. We can just make up an excuse, like a special event match or something, and create a showdown between the winner of the individual matches and the winner of the team matches. The top three from the individual matches could form a team, or conversely, one representative from the winning team could step forward.”
Dorothea narrowed her eyes.
“You can just do that as you please?”
“The Aglaia family is one of the biggest sponsors of this tournament—no, of this entire city. If I put my mind to it, something like that is well within my power.”
Dorothea glanced at the receptionist.
Judging by his initial reaction of recognition and the fact that he was flustered but not questioning her claim, it didn’t seem like a complete bluff.
However, that didn’t mean Dorothea’s expression softened.
“What are you plotting?”
Franka was one of her rivals in collecting the eight sacred treasures.
For her to offer help that would lead to one of the treasures falling into Dorothea’s hands, her motives were naturally suspect.
Franka spoke with a look of displeasure.
“I have my own circumstances. However…”
Franka trailed off.
She looked as if it was difficult to speak with so many ears listening.
“…Shall we move somewhere else first?”
*
It wasn’t enough to move to her own shop; only after thoroughly locking the front door and blocking all the windows did Franka begin to speak.
“To get straight to the point, I have no reason to stop you from retrieving the sacred treasure. I’m already as good as eliminated.”
“Eliminated?”
“You’re the one who made me take the Blood Oath. How am I supposed to collect the eight sacred treasures when I’m completely unable to take any hostile action against you?”
After complaining with a grimace, Franka let out a sigh.
“After we parted ways, I went straight to my master to confront her. I thought she might know a way to break the oath, and more than anything, I couldn’t accept how she’d abandoned me and my children in that situation, only to snatch the sacred treasure for herself.”
“It was a ridiculous mistake,” Franka said self-deprecatingly.
“Instead of apologizing or helping, my master scolded me. She said she could no longer entrust the retrieval mission to me, took my compass, and assigned me to watch this shop as penance. Fine, whatever. Let’s say I failed, so I got what I deserved. But taking my children… even if she is my master, I can’t forgive that.”
Dorothea spoke coolly to the indignant Franka.
“That’s a long preamble. What is it you want?”
“Get my children back.”
Franka stared directly at the party and said.
“I don’t think for a second you can beat my master. However, if I tell you the strategy, it might be possible for you to steal something from her ‘world.’ You get the ‘Gloves of Haider’ that my master took from me, and you rescue my children in the process. If you accept my proposal, I’ll also help you set the stage to fight Kalidah. It’s not a bad deal, is it?”
“…Hmm.”
Dorothea fell into thought.