Chapter 205

#205 Episode: The Little Lion and the Memory Room (4)

For the Tin Knight’s group, drawing attention was just another part of daily life.

Three stunning beauties, each quite different in type, and a fully armored knight ready for battle, year-round, indoors and out.

If they hoped not to attract eyes in such a situation, that would truly be shameless. Especially a certain witch.

However, that applied only in the heart of the city; the carriage was currently rolling through a forest.

Specifically, it was an open space carved straight through a vast expanse of woods, like a crewcut, allowing passages for carriages.

Naturally, this was not a place brimming with activity, surrounded only by densely packed trees.

Feeling eyes upon them, especially multiple gazes, in such a location was undoubtedly unusual.

“Is it bandits?”

Dorothea offered a reasonable hypothesis.

It would be bizarre for ordinary people to hide in such a forest, spying on passing carriages, but humanoid monsters like bandits could very well do so.

“Sophia, speed up the carriage.”

“Yes.”

Following Dorothea’s command, Sophia moved to the driver’s seat.

If she had grabbed the reins here, it would have led to yet another disaster, but fortunately, controlling the golem horses only required a few commands.

Moments later, the carriage’s speed, initially comparable to “a common horse can lightly jog,” skyrocketed to a level that no ordinary horse could catch up with.

Even though they were riding in a cart equipped with various shock absorbers and weight controls, the rough jolts shook their bodies, making it feel like the cargo hold might spill out.

As Dorothea’s summoned undead held Adel and the Tin Knight in place, Gale shouted.

“It seems the eyes aren’t keeping up and are falling behind!”

“Right, then we—”

Dorothea’s statement couldn’t finish.

A sudden surge of magical energy in the surroundings distinctly registered on her skin.

Dorothea’s staff resonated. Magical inscriptions flared up around Gale’s body.

Then, the White Knight leaped into the air.

Boom!

An ice chunk, descending towards the carriage, shattered into pieces upon the White Knight’s strike.

Seeing a fragment the size of a human torso sweep past the carriage, Dorothea’s expression tensed.

This was not merely an attacking maneuver meant for restraint.

If the occupants of this carriage were ordinary people, being impaled by such a magical blast would not come as a surprise.

A witch’s scales must be precise.

Once an attack filled with murderous intent is made, the counterblow must equally be laced with intent to kill.

As Dorothea attempted to gather her magical power, Gale stopped her.

“Please wait a moment.”

“Why?”

Dorothea’s attitude was indifferent.

If Gale had suggested something like “You shouldn’t kill people recklessly,” she would have dashed into battle, disregarding their past relationship.

However, Gale’s response was different.

“They seem like people we know. There’s no need to reveal our strength to them, so let’s observe for now.”

Since it was a valid argument even for Dorothea, rather than waste time debating, she gestured for Gale to proceed.

Gale grinned, passing over the halted driver’s seat to climb onto the roof of the carriage.

“As the North Witch Olin’s apprentice and a 4th Grade Wizard of the Tower of Guardian, I ask you to reveal your identity!”

Whether it was with the help of magical runes or not, her voice, though not particularly loud, rang out around them with a resounding echo.

At the same time, the waves of magical power that had been felt in various spots around them steadily halted.

The term “mostly” indicates that not everyone complied.

Whoosh!

A slender, elongated object shot through the air with a characteristic sound.

An ice chunk, compressed to the limit and shaped like a spear, was directly hurled aiming for Gale’s forehead.

Of course, the White Knight wouldn’t just stand by and watch.

The trajectory of the ice spear, forced off course by the White Knight, pierced through nearby rocks and continued to dig forcefully into the ground behind.

Its savage might was enough to impale even a fully armored knight.

However, Gale’s expression remained unfazed.

As if to say, her knight couldn’t handle at least that much.

She casually remarked, “Attacking after I revealed my name… Can I take that as a declaration of war?”

The response came from mid-air.

“Please don’t say anything so terrifying.”

Before them stood a beautiful young man with silvery white hair.

Surrounded by a white, frosty aura, he appeared almost ethereal, like a fairy from a tale.

“Isn’t human reaction time always quite different? It’s rather difficult to cancel a spell already being cast so swiftly.”

“Oh, right. It seems your precision with the attack didn’t match that sluggish reaction. It’s as if you waited until I got on the carriage before aiming.”

“Just a feeling.”

His answer was shameless, devoid of any guilt or apology.

Of course, Gale was no ordinary person either.

“Well, I suppose. People make mistakes. After all, going from directing others to doing it yourself could make one slow. I completely understand. Still, it’s impressive to see genuine effort as you manage to lift your butt off the chair.”

The young man’s face twisted slightly in anger, though it was brief.

He quickly forged a calm expression and replied.

“My apologies for the attack. I only intended to stop an intruder from entering a restricted area, but when the carriage suddenly accelerated, I was left with no choice but to use force.”

“I’ve never heard this is a restricted area. I passed by just fine before.”

“Better late than never to find out. So, will you turn back?”

“What if I want to continue going?”

“Listen here, Gale Elilraz. I’ll return your earlier words.”

Suspended in the air, the young man looked down at Gale with an air of superiority.

“Are you really planning to declare war on our Tower of Control?”

Shadows began to emerge around the young man.

Each radiated an unusual magical power, and their numbers easily exceeded dozens.

‘…They seem to be eagerly looking for a fight. Do they believe they can win against me and Sig?’

It was somewhat ambiguous to label them as overconfident.

This was a battle force owned by one of the four pillars supporting the Magical Kingdom.

When it came to sheer destructive power, they could turn an entire territory to rubble in a day, given the chance.

That the battle could be joined with just the two of them spoke volumes about how exceptional Gale and the White Knight were.

And within this carriage, an energy exceeding even those two was waiting.

Gale concluded.

“If we fight, we’ll win.”

The caveat was that winning wouldn’t necessarily mean an end.

Considering there was likely royalty involved, they seemed part of a significant force, but even if they wiped them out, there would be other powers within the Tower of Control.

Gale’s current role was as a guide.

While she might lead the way, she had no authority to make decisions that could affect their future path.

“Understood. I’ll turn back. But can you at least tell me the reason for the restrictions?”

“It’s a secret.”

With a callous response, the young man vanished deeper into the forest.

The remaining mages, looking on impatiently, turned their gazes back to Gale, who shrugged and climbed back into the carriage.

“—I need a moment to withdraw and hold a meeting.”

***

“So to summarize, the Tower of Control is surrounding the forest where the incident occurred and is restricting access, right?”

“Yes. The representative, Giras Lognir, is one of their royalty. He’s certainly among the top ten within the Tower of Control. The fact that someone of his stature is guarding it with an elite squad means they’re quite serious about this matter.”

“You don’t know what they’re doing here?”

“Who knows? As those involved, there could be countless reasons. So many that it’s hard to guess. What are we going to do?”

“Well, since we’ve been attacked, we should retaliate. The problem is how to do it.”

Dorothea fiddled with her flowing hair, deep in thought.

“I need to change my plans. Originally, I intended to investigate the forest first and then head to the tower, but it’s better to pass through the forest directly to where the Tower of Guardian resides. Gale, you go check the tower—whether your master is there, the atmosphere, those kinds of things.”

“Or I could sneak into the forest myself?”

“We can’t bring Sophia along. Without Tuberosum’s Chalice, a proper investigation is impossible.”

“That’s true. I’ll hurry, but it will still take about two days.”

“Wrap it up within a day if possible.”

“I’ll do my best, so please look after Sig in the meantime. Sig, take care of everyone here. Oh, and the Tin Knight is fine to leave out of that.”

Though the White Knight appeared displeased with Gale’s solo venture, the White Witch soothed him, taking his hand, before stomping her foot on the ground.

In an instant, like a mirage, the girl’s body vanished.

The White Knight stared blankly at the spot where she had been for a moment before eventually climbing up to the roof as if claiming that was his place.

Sophia said, “Reliable temporary protection, isn’t it? What’s your plan?”

“I need information first. The problem is that I can’t use normal methods.”

To gather information through the undead, whether by scattering souls or even mice, a few additional processes would be required so that Dorothea could extract the information they grasped.

They could either create a separate observation tool like embedding jewels in mice or elevate the undead’s intelligence to sustain a level of insight necessary for explanation.

The issue was that those currently blocking the forest were high-level mages from among the continent’s elite.

The more capabilities added to the undead, the stronger their presence and magical power would become, and any skilled mage would certainly be able to detect such changes.

But if the undead were so weak they couldn’t be detected, Dorothea wouldn’t be able to gather information even if they were strung across the forest.

As Dorothea explained, Sophia piped up.

“Then, couldn’t we just reverse the order?”

“Reverse it how?”

“Disperse low-level undead that are hard to detect to gather information first, and extract that later.”

“Hey, there’s no way necromancy is that convenient…”

Dorothea’s statement trailed off.

As if something came to mind, her blue eyes widened.

Sophia smiled, lightly tapping her chest with her fingertips.

“Even experts in magic find it astounding when it comes to abilities outside magic. I experienced this already at the Tower of Prophecy.”

“…You getting that Chalice has turned out to be both the best and the worst scenario possible.”

“Thank you for the compliment. By the way, are you going to leave those two asleep?”

“For now, let’s leave them be. It’s best for Adel’s mental care and any potential power-up to be taken care of while we can.”

***

[The ‘Tin Knight’ inputs ↑ ← ↓ → A to command an enemy explosion!]

“I don’t understand!”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ insists that there’s also A B with ← →!]

“No, I mean!”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ notes that too many unnecessary buffs have recently led to a bad habit of disastrous outcomes!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ comments on the need to use power efficiently!]

[When the ‘Tin Knight’ extends a fist, the power flows from the fingertips through the waist to the shoulder and fist, suggesting that enhancement should also focus on specific areas rather than a mere whole body boost to maximize potency!]

Boom!

Rene’s side was blasted apart by a kick.

Chop!

Gerhardt’s upper and lower halves ended their separation.

Fortunately, it seemed they wouldn’t be apart for long, as it looked like they were both leaving on the same day.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ indicates that having successfully completed two challenges, it’s time to move on to the next stage!]

The gamer, freed from fatigue limits, transformed into a fierce spirit.

As she trained under the unleashed Tin Ghost, the Little Lion sharpened her teeth little by little.

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