Chapter 204

#204 Episode: Little Lion and the Memory Room (3)

─Putting aside grudges and looking at it objectively, he was an impressive man in his own right.

Just a mere thief. The audacity of a baneful gang leader from the continent’s outskirts, unabashedly targeting the Lion Duke’s Bloodline’s branch for plunder.

He had an instinct as sharp as a wolf’s, keenly sensing when the prey was weakened, showcasing skills that surpassed the average knight.

His birthplace, the direction he chose to take, and a bit of luck that was lacking.

If any one of these had been different, he might have grown into something significant, and now I could admit that honestly.

At least he wasn’t someone to be easily outdone by an idiot girl who was born with treasures but let them rot in comfort.

But that’s all ancient history.

The thief who stabbed a dagger into the back of the feudal lord, the thief who laughed while binding the female soldier, the thief who swung a sword to block her.

After slashing and cutting, when I faced him, he no longer felt as strong or frightening as before.

“You brat—!!”

The sword of the thief, Columbo, unleashed a wave of sword energy.

In the face of that, Adelheid didn’t even bother with any fancy moves.

She simply swung her sword smoothly like a top, using her whole body as the axis, left to right.

What was needed was just strength, speed, and accuracy that didn’t disturb the trajectory of the attacks.

Swish!

From shoulder to side.

The body of a man who once harbored ambitions was split diagonally as if it were sliding apart.

The remaining thieves fled, and the surviving soldiers and feudal lords burst into cheers.

And soon, all of that disappeared like a bubble.

Before I realized it, Adelheid returned to the original corridor.

At a glance, everything seemed to have reverted to its original state, except for the small nameplate next to the door that testified to what she had achieved.

<Leader of the heartless thieves. Columbo. -Elimination complete>

“…”

A feeling of emptiness suddenly crossed Adel’s mind.

This wouldn’t change the past, and now showing off her strength against Columbo seemed to have no meaning apart from simple self-satisfaction.

However.

[‘Tin Knight’ asks if your heart feels a little lighter now!]

That’s enough, her master had said.

It’s not possible to change what’s already happened, but at least wouldn’t the weight in her heart lighten up a bit?

[‘Tin Knight’ suggests to quickly move on to the next stage since warm-ups are done!]

…Well, perhaps he was just wanting a quick new fight without deep thoughts, but Adel decided to interpret it in a positive light.

“Yes, I’ll give it a shot!”

Whether he intended it or not, it was clear that being with her master made all kinds of trivial worries feel futile.

Adel opened the door.

***

The location was the training hall of Count TikTok’s mansion.

Two shadows were reflected in Adel’s sight.

One was a strict old man in a rough yet wild training uniform, showing signs of relentless training from head to toe.

The other was a young man in a flamboyant red outfit that reminded one of a military band, with a gender-neutral appearance that could easily be mistaken for a woman.

Adel glanced aside, but the Tin Knight, who should have been there, was now just a little mascot atop her shoulder.

So, it was 2 against 1.

A sturdy, rock-like fist pointed straight ahead, battered yet tough.

A flexible, sharp, silver rapier gleamed ominously.

The referee shouted.

“Match, start!”

Along with that, the two seasoned warriors charged at Adel.

The young man, Rene’s thrust was like a flash of light.

They were about five meters apart, yet before she knew it, that blade was right near her neck.

Attacks she once merely dodged and endured.

But now, Adel was different.

Swish!

Adel let her dual swords follow the trajectory of Rene’s thrust, and the moment the blades connected, she smoothly deflected it to the side.

A simple move packed with colossal strength, causing Rene’s stance to sway awkwardly.

Rene quickly tried to recover the extended rapier, but Adel swung her sword forward, following that momentum.

Whoosh!

Thanks to Rene’s quick evasive maneuver, the blade only grazed a small part of his left forearm.

But the power from Amaryllis’ belt was so immense that even a slight touch of the blade caused the skin around it to burst open.

Adel aimed to follow up with a quick strike, but at that moment, an unsettling sensation grazed her from the side, prompting her to quickly twist her body.

Not stopping there, she concentrated her magical power to its limits to bolster her defense.

But—

Kaboom!

That level of preparation was as effective as glass, as the old man, Gerhardt’s blow struck Adel’s side, sending her flying.

“Cough!”

Adel coughed up blood as her body was launched sideways.

It was an immense shock. I doubted even a direct hit from a war hammer swung with centrifugal force would cause this much damage.

[‘Tin Knight’ remarks that you need to be cautious next time, as that old man’s ordinary blow can sink deep into your body!]

Didn’t you have to mention such things earlier? Without even a moment to argue, Adel swung her sword at the approaching enemy.

The sharpness in Adel’s sword attack couldn’t slice through Gerhardt’s tough muscles and strong bones, nor his defensive body armor, but hurting someone doesn’t only require sharpness.

Crash!

Gerhardt’s arm couldn’t withstand her monstrous strength and literally “tore” away from his shoulder.

It looked like the arm of a stuffed doll that had gotten snagged on something sharp and was pulled apart.

In a situation where an ordinary person would scream in pain and despair over their loss, the old man was resolute.

He threw a front kick at Adel without caring for his one-armed state, and Adel’s left arm bent grotesquely as she received the attack.

The silver flash nearly pierced Adel’s forehead.

To be precise, it was just shy of piercing it.

Snap!

A violet light flared around Adel’s body, and her movements accelerated, amplifying to several times their normal speed.

The organs that had been screaming in agony after being hit by Gerhardt suddenly regained their function, and her broken left arm returned to its original state.

Before Rene could even react to Adel’s abnormal recovery ability, her hand grasped Rene by the collar.

In the next moment, Rene’s body was launched like a bullet.

Gerhardt managed to dodge the incoming human missile, but he couldn’t react to Adel, who was right up in Rene’s shadow and closing in.

Adel’s thrust cleaved Gerhardt’s upper body in two, and at the same time, Rene crashed into the wall, his head splattering.

The referee declared.

“Winner! Adelheid von Lenart!”

***

Back again, the corridor.

[‘Tin Knight’ sighs in disappointment, lamenting that the hero died, how pathetic!]

“No, I’m not dead!”

[‘Tin Knight’ acknowledges that although you won, based on the match, it was a loss!]

[‘Tin Knight’ states that with Adelheid’s abilities, she could have won using just the power of the ‘belt’ without even invoking the lightning!]

“Hmm…”

Adelheid pouted a little.

And who could blame her? The opponents were the elite instructors of Lenart Dojo.

Even without undergoing modifications to restore her magical circuit, they were still formidable enough to hold their own, even temporarily, against the Tin Knight.

She had once struggled to even hold out for seconds against just Rene, but winning 2 against 1 under these buffs felt like quite an achievement.

Adel thought that she was just annoyed because the Tin Knight didn’t praise her.

However, that anger didn’t last long.

Bam! Bam!

Watching the mini Tin Knight jump and try to reach the nameplate beside the door, she felt all her dissatisfaction melting away.

Adel placed the Tin Knight on her palm and moved him closer to the nameplate.

[‘Tin Knight’ praises her for the nice assist!]

With that, giving a thumbs up, the Tin Knight scratched out the words <Representatives of the new and old joint instruction. Rene & Gerhardt. -Elimination complete>.

What could that possibly mean, she wondered, but the question was soon resolved.

Unlike when she moved straight to the next battlefield after defeating Columbo, the recently fallen duo reappeared.

[‘Tin Knight’ gives a challenge to his disciple!]

[‘Tin Knight’ states that to win, you must succeed in defeating them without wearing Amaryllis’ belt and without using purple lightning, both separately!]

[‘Tin Knight’ adds that while doing both at the same time would be great, that’s a bit too difficult, so let’s just try out the two things mentioned first!]

Adel nodded.

The match commencement signal rang, and the three Lenarts tangled together.

***

“Is there any possibility of issues? On the surface, everything seems fine.”

In a moving wagon.

Dorothea remarked while glancing at the relaxed-faced Adel lying down, alongside the seemingly motionless Tin Knight resting beside her.

Gale shrugged.

“I’ve placed double and triple safety measures. At least it won’t plunge into an eternal slumber or suffer mental damage that affects the body. Though I can’t guarantee against other emergencies.”

“Hey.”

“Of course, this is something that my master personally crafted! And you, Dorothea, can modify that cage to your liking, right?”

With that, there was nothing more to say.

Souls left unchecked in their natural state usually harbor muddiness, and such souls are difficult to use except for harming others or squeezing out magical power.

To utilize them for obtaining information or rational actions outside of combat, purification of the soul becomes necessary, and Dorothea’s cage was an outstanding item that simplified that process.

So good that it was inconceivable to recreate or modify it.

Dorothea fell silent, leaving Sofia to take over the discussion.

“By the way, are there no limitations to the illusions that can be created from that book?”

“Not quite. Precise illusions require precise information, you see.”

Creating a strong foe by sheer force is pointless; without detailed and ample information, only rough and low-quality facsimiles can emerge.

“So the realizable ones essentially boil down to two categories. One being characters or enemies that feature in the book’s core story of ‘Labyrinth Exploration.’ The other being characters from the memories of participants. But even the latter has its limitations. Since it’s basically a reconstruction based on memories, it won’t be as perfect as the original.”

Even if a memory bear witness to a character wielding both sword and magic, if the participant remembers that character solely as a swordsman, that character will manifest only as a swordsman.

Furthermore, if the character’s prowess far exceeds that of the participant such that they can’t grasp their strength accurately, they will only be represented within the user’s understanding.

“Having the Tin Knight as an assistant is for that reason. A young Adel, who was still in the midst of growth, wouldn’t have fully grasped the capabilities of the formidable enemies, yet the Tin Knight would have complete comprehension and recognition. Thus, the fidelity of the reproductions would be much higher. Plus, even without that, the current Tin Knight too, would maintain a healthy mental state just by being around.”

“Can the same be said for their personalities?”

“That part is a bit ambiguous. Unlike physical specs or combat strength, quantifying someone’s personality data in full isn’t straightforward. Unless there’s an external device that stores the soul or memories of the target… Huh? Sig? What’s wrong?”

Gale’s explanation suddenly cut off.

The White Knight guarding the driver’s seat issued a warning to his master.

The content of the warning was as follows.

─Many eyes are monitoring this wagon. The numbers are increasing.

---