Chapter 200

#Chapter 200: The Tin Knight and the Interlude of the West – Part One

Franka Aglaia, having splendidly severed her master’s neck as the West Witch’s apprentice, had recently been leading a very busy and fulfilling life.

– Oook! Oookik!

“You managed to gather all the monkeys within the barrier again? Well done! Now, here, have some fruit and take a break!”

Upon seeing the fruit basket Franka offered, her two homunculi began to enjoy it with apparent delight.

After watching them for a moment with satisfaction, Franka turned her attention to one of her ‘tools of the trade.’

A wide plate crafted from premium black iron, equipped with a writing tool made from a mix of plaster and various other materials, allowing her to easily write and erase various contents.

If the Tin Knight had seen this, he would have marveled at its presence, but in this continent, it was known as the ‘blackboard,’ which was hardly used outside certain classes, including alchemists. Though it was particularly high-end, that was still the case.

On the blackboard, several phrases were written in quite an elegant handwriting, and Franka crossed out the item that read [Identify and Recover the Trajectory of the Homunculi Left by the West Witch].

“Hehe, hehehe, hahahaha!”

Joyful laughter spilled from Franka’s lips.

Somehow, that expression came off as quite sinister and foreboding, clearly marking her as the archetypal villainess, albeit one with a comedic twist, but the familiar homunculi were too accustomed to it to pay much mind.

In fact, even if there were others present aside from her servants, it was debatable whether Franka would have stopped smiling.

That was how much Franka was shining lately.

After the defeat of the West Witch, the immense treasures she possessed passed to Dorothea’s hands, yet that was only half the story.

The massive volume of research data left behind by Elphaba, the homunculi, and the workshops stayed firmly in Franka’s control, which were treasures unmatched in the realm of alchemy.

Had the Alchemist Association known, they would have likely offered a fortune that could have saved a nation just to acquire it.

Although many were lost during the onslaught against the West Witch, still, there remained hundreds or more golden monkeys, each as skilled as a seasoned knight.

While it might not cover the entirety of the Lokria Federation, it was a vast space that could certainly handle about a quarter of it.

The various types of homunculi crafted through countless ages of research and improvements.

To that, the social influence of the name ‘West Witch’ and various commercial interests added up.

Combine that with the power of the Aglaia family, which already ranked among the top five in wealth within the Lokria Federation, and one could realistically foresee an immense force capable of seizing the entirety of the Lokria Federation’s hegemony.

“Hehehe… foolish Dorothea Aschengard. She cast away such vast interests for only tangible assets. I can’t help but feel a twinge of pity for her short-sightedness. What does a mere recovery of treasures even mean?”

Franka scoffed at the foolishness of the black witch, who left without the time to leisurely absorb such riches.

There was no way she had fallen out of the competition for recovering treasures and was simply engaging in self-deception, ‘That’s just sour grapes!’. At least that was Franka’s assertion.

“If you think you’ve grown close just because you worked together for a short time, you’re mistaken. Once I fully inherit the power of the West Witch, then it’ll be time for revenge—aha, revenge…”

Franka’s voice began to grow softer.

The image of the Tin Knight, who literally ground the West Witch’s formidable military force to dust, flashed through her mind like a panorama.

Franka’s gaze darted to her nearby homunculi.

The homunculi were crossing their arms and drawing X’s with their wings and arms.

“…Hmph! Cowardly witch indeed. If it weren’t for that cowardly blood oath, I could easily take my revenge, but it can’t be helped—<Uuuuwuuung!> Eek!?”

Mumbling words that no one could understand, she was suddenly startled, jumping up in surprise at the sound of a vibrating noise.

After a brief pause of silence.

Realizing the sound was not the witch and knight come to hear her insults, but an announcement of visitors from her magical device, she hastily fanned herself, her face flushing as she attempted to appear calm while activating the device.

“What’s going on?”

《All invited guests have arrived.》

When she heard the voice of one of the golden monkeys inherited from the West Witch, Franka nodded.

“I’ll be there shortly, so wait.”

With Franka’s signal, the two homunculi, who had been busy enjoying their meals, followed behind her.

Tap, tap.

As the sound of high heels clacking echoed down the corridor, the golden monkeys serving in the castle bowed their heads in unison as they showed their respect toward Franka.

It was a tribute to the new master who had defeated the West Witch and inherited her position.

At the end of their approach was a massive flowerbed in the front courtyard.

Though the witch’s castle was undergoing renovation in accordance with Franka’s tastes and had a suitably grand banquet hall, some among today’s ‘guests’ required an open space like this for proper reception.

《Lady Franka Aglaia is entering!》

At the shout of a well-dressed golden monkey butler, all the guests seated in the courtyard focused their attention.

Facing a mixed array of gazes filled with scrutiny, fear, and indifference, Franka confidently took her place at the head table.

The participants before her were incredibly diverse.

Not just in terms of age and gender, but entirely by race.

There were diminutive dwarves no bigger than a human palm, as well as giants capable of grasping a typical person in one hand.

There were individuals with human bodies but wings on their backs and raven heads, and others with looks that directly blended wolf and human traits.

The West Witch.

The golden alchemist, Elphaba, had recreated homunculi based on ancient traditions.

Bringing together the representatives of diverse cultures that thrived independently across various islands, Franka’s efforts combined to create the current situation.

“Now, thank you all for responding to my invitation today.”

When Franka emphasized the word ‘all’, several attendees seated at the banquet visibly flinched or turned pale.

These were the very leaders of factions who had resisted and disregarded Franka’s succession of the title from the West Witch, and in some cases, even harbored hostility towards her.

Of course, this was somewhat of an understandable reaction.

Elphaba had isolated each island to create gardens of her liking, and the residents held various perceptions of her.

On some islands, she was revered like a goddess; on others, she was merely seen as a foreign queen; and there were even cases where they were entirely unaware of her existence.

Those friendly towards Elphaba naturally disliked the ‘usurper,’ while others were put off by an unfamiliar person making sudden demands for submission.

Franka did not spare consideration for their circumstances.

Without successfully coordinating even one workshop and its residents, it would be a far-off dream to inherit the position of the West Witch.

Her initial attempts at polite ‘recommendations’ were only made the first couple of times, and those who still did not comply were directly subdued through brute force.

With so many tasks at hand to pursue alongside the process of assessing and absorbing disparate inheritances, she had hardly stepped outside the barrier since Dorothea’s company left.

However, all that would change after receiving today’s oath of loyalty.

Feeling satisfied, Franka opened her mouth.

“As you may have heard from the monkeys beforehand, I have no intention of treating you like slaves. Unlike Elphaba, I won’t confine you to your islands; if you wish, feel free to interact with other islands.”

To put it simply, the conditions Franka proposed boiled down to reasonable levels of tribute and labor support when needed.

It simply wasn’t Franka’s style to treat the homunculi within the workshops like mere toys or consumables as Elphaba had done, and given her current position being below Elphaba, acting that way would surely incite significant pushback.

“So, do you have any questions?”

Franka asked, addressing the leaders who were muttering among themselves with complex expressions.

The first to respond was the King of the Dwarven Kingdom.

“O new ruler. I acknowledge your abilities, which show you are indeed the most esteemed and exceptional among us. However, it is hard for me to easily accept that those here are all equal to me.”

“What’s it to you?”

“How dare a mouse speak so carelessly!”

“Hah! If you have any complaints, come at me! I’ll show you just how useless a mere oversized meat sack can be! Grant me permission to duel, ruler!”