Chapter 111

#111 Episode Little Lion and the Crimson Monster (3)

It was a dark space.

The sky was nowhere to be seen, so neither sunlight nor moonlight shined through.

The only beings illuminating the place were the faintly glowing moss and the fireflies fluttering in the air.

Amidst the light, a small throne appeared, and on it sat a woman deeply ensconced in sleep.

The woman held a gigantic great sword in her hands.

She was clad in crimson armor.

The armor bore the figures of bears and tigers.

The woman had hair as dark as blood.

At some moment,

the woman’s eyes quietly opened.

Her brilliantly shining violet irises resembled those of a monster rather than a human.

With a dazed expression as if in a dream, the woman murmured.

“…Gaizel.”

It was joy.

It was pleasure.

It was hatred, and it was vengeance, and thus, it was love and hate intertwined.

With a burning intensity of longing and boiling rage, the woman repeated that name.

Again and again, and again,

as if she wanted that name to wear away and disappear from this world.

***

The incident that unfolded in the finals of the individual tournament became an immense topic of discussion.

“Why on earth did Kalidah do that?”

“Well, the opponent, the noble girl Adelheid, fought so well that maybe she just got too excited?”

“Oh dear, what a thing. The champion, who was like a symbol of this city, is leaving so emptily.”

“Lady Kalidah. She was such a good person. At the very least, we should offer flowers.”

“Speaking of that final match, wasn’t it truly amazing? I’ve watched all of Kalidah’s matches, but I’ve never seen such an incredible showdown!”

“That’s true. Kalidah was terrifying, but what about the knight who defeated her head-on? Who would have thought a magical automaton would be that powerful?”

The truth was that people could chatter so easily thanks to the mysterious barrier.

Had the barrier not been in place, the audience would have started fleeing in terror at Kalidah’s sudden actions, and seeing others run would have triggered a massive chaos.

However, the barrier allowed the spectators, though somewhat unsettled, to literally enjoy the fight from a safe zone, witnessing the overwhelming might of the two warriors.

As it was, only Kalidah and the two judges were casualties, so while some would mourn privately, a grand atmosphere of mourning did not arise.

In an event that was attracting attention, a shocking incident occurred, and countless witnesses made it unreasonable to request that they not gossip about it.

As usual, the end of such chatter boiled down to one question.

“So, what happens to the tournament?”

First off, it was unclear who the winner was.

The Tin Knight had defeated Kalidah, but he was not even a participant in the individual tournament.

The official match had always been between Kalidah and Adelheid, and there was heated debate on who had won that contest.

Some claimed Kalidah had won because Adelheid had been knocked out of the ring, while others stated it was a disqualification because the judge was killed.

Some argued that since Kalidah herself was dead, it should simply be considered a victory for Adelheid, and others even proposed leaving the winner’s position vacant.

Meanwhile, the organizers held a clear stance.

– Right now, it’s not important who won the individual match; we need to cover the individual match itself with another topic.

Strictly speaking, Kalidah could not be said to be part of the Trakus organizers.

Yes, she did operate out of Trakus, but if asked whether she was a lord’s subordinate, the answer was no.

However, the external perception did not align with that notion.

Kalidah had been so famous for so long in her role as champion that people’s understanding lumped them together.

This meant that the aftermath of Kalidah’s reckless actions fell entirely on the lord of Trakus and his subordinates.

Even if they claimed, “Champion Kalidah is but an individual and has no official relation to us Trakus,” the likelihood that people would accept that and think, “Oh, I see, those two are unrelated,” was extremely slim.

Right now, everyone was understandably caught up in the thrilling matches, but as time passed and people calmed down, voices would surely arise questioning whether the audience might have been put in danger and discussing responsibility and compensation for damages.

At this point, the fact that no one was hurt due to the barrier was of little importance.

Unless the lord’s side had any clue how the barrier came to be or who created it, they couldn’t escape criticism by claiming, “They were just lucky.”

Therefore, the lord of Trakus and his subordinates were determined to escalate the stakes for the team match.

A big match between “the Tin Knight, who defeated the individual champion Kalidah” and “the team led by the finest wizard in the Empire, the South Witch’s apprentice.”

If they could succeed in drawing in a crowd, it might minimize the fallout from the Kalidah incident.

Or, even beyond that, it might create a new marquee star to fill the void left by Kalidah’s death.

Thus, the lord’s attitude towards Dorothea and her companions was exceedingly friendly.

To put it bluntly, he seemed ready to bend over backwards for them.

“Punishment for interfering with the match? Ha ha, that’s hardly the case. The match already ended, and you were merely trying to save your colleague, right? No need to worry unnecessarily. And we can hand over Kalidah’s belt as you requested. That was more of a personal belonging of Kalidah than a prize of our tournament, so it’s no big issue. Just, um, do me a favor and put on a magnificent, flashy show in the team match. Got it?”

‘…It’s convenient but feels a bit off.’

Dorothea had anticipated a thorough inquiry or that the other party would be picky about the ownership of the belt, so the outcome was quite deflating.

The lord was clearly hoping not only for their participation in this tournament but also for the next one, but he wasn’t exactly forcing it. The matter he had just requested—“make a grand spectacle in the finals of the team match”—was something they would have done without it being asked.

Even if Dorothea had no desire to make it grand, considering the opponent’s strength and the Tin Knight’s eagerness, it couldn’t help but flow that way.

Nonetheless, to sum it up, all of this negotiation turned out to be meaningless.

“Our team will forfeit the finals.”

It was none other than Alingd Goodwitch, the very opponent, who made the bombshell announcement.

***

“The Tin Knight’s performance in the last fight was akin to that of a legendary hero. Unless my master were to step up personally, I fear that my lacking skills would turn into a disgraceful display instead of an entertaining match for the audience. Everyone has been looking forward to a great battle, and if the subsequent match turns out to be dull, how sad would that be? To prevent such a mishap, I hereby withdraw in respect to you, the Tin Knight, and your owner, Lady Dorothea Aschengard.”

To summarize Alingd’s lengthy speech as simply as possible:

“You are all too strong for me to possibly win. Instead of making a fool of myself, I’ll gracefully withdraw. That’s all.”

The lord and his subordinates clutched their heads in disbelief.

They could not grasp the sudden change in circumstances and were growing furious, yet they couldn’t express their fierce emotions towards Alingd. The reason was not the common sense of “What can we do if this person wishes to forfeit?” but purely out of fear of the backing that she had.

The audience looked rather disappointed, but there was also a notable understanding of Alingd’s decision.

Having witnessed a fight that literally turned the ground upside down, many felt that it was wise to throw in the towel early.

Now, as for Dorothea and her companions…

[‘The Tin Knight’ is furious, asking where in the world such a nuisance exists!]

[‘The Tin Knight’ is complaining about how often boss battle skips occur in this world!]

[‘The Tin Knight’ is insisting that it’s not too late to charge at Alingd to fight and additionally raid the kingdom’s treasure!]

“That extra isn’t supposed to be a part of the plan, you lunatic.”

The Tin Knight wailed.

He was blabbering so much about wanting to fight that Dorothea had to break a sweat to calm him down.

Of course, Dorothea wasn’t exactly in a pleasant mood herself.

“Doesn’t this feel like a joke?”

While the audience who were unaware of the circumstances rated Alingd’s forfeit as unavoidable, given the Tin Knight’s prowess, Dorothea felt otherwise.

While it was conceivable that one could feel a certain level of threat from the Tin Knight’s skills, it couldn’t reach the level of deciding to forfeit without even trying to fight.

“However, if they’ve decided to withdraw, we won’t really have a reason to fight either, right?”

“Hmm.”

At Sophia’s words, Dorothea struggled to respond promptly.

To be fair, that was indeed true.

They had already concluded that they would retrieve the treasures later on, and they had also obtained their primary goal of participating in the Trakus Tournament—the ‘Belt of Amaryllis.’

Given that they couldn’t go and forcibly take the treasures even if they won against Alingd, it seemed wiser to head straight into dealing with the West Witch.

Logically speaking, that made sense.

However…

“Then why on earth did I spend days and nights making this!?”

Dorothea shouted, striking the ground with the staff in her hand.

The creation of the staff had been something she originally intended to do, but having to rush to finish it to face Alingd was entirely driven by the prospect of the confrontation.

She had been waiting for the day to demonstrate the staff’s new functions in front of Alingd, only for the opponent to completely bail out on her!

To put Dorothea’s feelings plainly, it felt akin to a graduate student who had pulled all-nighters by consuming coffee and energy drinks to meet a tight project deadline, and on the day of submission, received a notice saying, “You don’t need to submit it; consider it submitted already.”

Regardless of whether the outcome in the situation was advantageous or not, a sense of frustration welled within her, questioning what all her hard work had been for.

[‘The Tin Knight’ is requesting at least an event match among the winners!]

“But, Tin Knight, we don’t have any viable opponents to fight among the winners, do we?”

Kalidah was dead, Adel was in recovery, and Peter had long declined the proposal to act as a winner after losing his match.

As for Maximilian, he seemed to have been so affected by his defeat that he had departed for the imperial capital even before the finals started.

It took a good amount of time before the lamentations of the Black Witch and the Tin Knight ceased.

***

“…that’s what happened. Well, in the end, Dorothea agreed.”

When I commented that “You keep saying similar things to the Tin Knight,” the effect of Sophia’s words was outstanding, and Adelheid could only exhibit an ambiguous smile.

“So, are we leaving tomorrow?”

“Yes. The wagon we ordered in advance is ready as well. We’d simply be dragged into the aftermath if we stayed here.”

Rustle, rustle.

At the eerie sound near her neck and the occasional cold touch of metal against her skin, Adelheid involuntarily flinched.

Sophia gently soothed her, easing her tension each time.

Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Adel cautiously asked.

“Sophia.”

“Yes?”

“What was all this about, really?”

The identity of the armor that drove Kalidah into a frenzy. The gaze she felt while witnessing Kalidah’s past.

What was it about Adel that provoked such rage in the crimson monster? What was the precise source of the barrier that surrounded the arena?

There were far too many unknowns, and unanswered mysteries lay thick.

Though Sophia had unraveled part of it with her abilities, it was insufficient to solve every suspicion.

Sophia spoke in a gentle tone toward the slightly anxious Adel.

“It’s good to seek out the unknown. Curiosity is one of the most crucial traits humans possess.”

But, Sophia added,

“Every bit of knowledge requires foundations. Without the basics or comprehensive knowledge, simply reading a solution won’t allow for proper understanding.”

“Is that the case with this incident as well?”

“I believe that is the case. For now, we should hold onto what we’ve learned in our hearts and revisit it when the time is right. After all, I have a feeling it will come to us on its own.”

Adel sank into thought for a moment.

After a while,

“Yes, it’s over.”

At Sophia’s words, Adel re-focused her gaze on the mirror after having been staring into space blankly.

There she saw herself with her hair trimmed short instead of the familiar long locks.

Due to an attack from Kalidah, she had her hair cut asymmetrically, resulting in the other side being shorn to restore balance.

Noticing Adel’s nuanced expression, Sophia asked,

“Is it not to your liking?”

“Oh, no! I just… it’s just taking me a bit to adjust to it.”

While Adel checked her reflection in the mirror multiple times, she eventually shook her head.

In a situation where she could have almost lost her head, to lose merely a few strands of hair was, in fact, a great stroke of luck.

However, a sense of bitterness lingered in the corner of her heart.

Despite having experienced numerous defeats before, this specific loss left tangible marks that stood out.

‘—Kalidah.’

Adel still couldn’t forget the feeling of helplessness and fear from the last moment.

In fact, she sensed instinctively that this wouldn’t be something she’d easily forget.

Especially since the subject itself had already met death; it could remain as an unpayable trauma for a lifetime.

Yet,

‘She’s alive. Somewhere, still.’

It wasn’t a theory but an instinct; Adel arrived at that conclusion.

And she also understood that the day they’d meet again could very well be the day she could repay her for this loss (the defeat).

Determined not to lose next time, the Little Lion resolved within herself.

The belt tied to her waist quietly ignited.

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