Chapter 213

#213 The Tin Knight and the Singing Bones

After the exploration of the past, combining Dorothea’s necromancy and the power of Tuberosum’s Chalice.

With a deep sigh, Dorothea spoke up.

“First of all, the higher-ups at the Tower of Control are all black. As for Duke Lenart, I’m not sure how deep he is in it, but even if he isn’t directly involved, he can’t escape responsibility. If his subordinates are acting without his knowledge, then he’s incompetent; if he knows and does nothing, then he’s in cahoots.”

Truly a sticky situation, she thought.

The Tower of Control. Duke Lenart.

One was one of the four heads leading the Magical Kingdom, and the other was a noble family whose power rivaled the imperial family.

Given their combined power, military strength, and influence, there might be forces that could match them, but none that could surpass them.

The military strength held by Dorothea and her party could be considered quite exceptional for a small party, but even so, there were limits.

Confronting them head-on was definitely not a wise choice.

The issue was whether the girl, knowing that her precious family was brutally murdered in the power struggle of others and their honor sullied, had the rationality to judge the situation.

Bearing that concern, Dorothea glanced at Adelheid and was surprised.

The Little Lion’s gaze was far calmer than she expected.

As if reading the witch’s thoughts, Adelheid forced a smile.

“It’s not that I’m not angry. But if I lash out indiscriminately here, I won’t achieve anything.”

The Little Lion quietly looked at her hand.

Recalling the memories of the knights that rested on her hands, she closed her palm tightly.

“Father, the knights, the soldiers, they held their pride until the very end. So I can’t face them unless I do the same.”

That was by no means an act of giving up or resignation.

It was rather a determination to walk a much harder path.

“I want to bring the culprit to justice and restore Friedel’s honor. I want to win proudly and acknowledge those who have left by laying flowers at their graves, not in some miserable victory wallowing in a gutter.”

Because that would make the departed heroes happy.

They weren’t the kind of people who would rejoice at seeing Adelheid throwing everything away for revenge and succumbing to madness.

“But I don’t have enough power to do that on my own. I lack the wisdom to find the answers. I have no assurance that I won’t walk down the wrong path.”

So, she pleaded for help.

She asked her colleagues to come together to join the fight against the continent’s most powerful forces.

And what did her colleagues think?

[‘The Tin Knight’ praises the okay statement!]

[‘The Tin Knight’ immediately suggests smashing the Tower of Control or the poop barrel!]

“Enough of the nonsense. I mean, if the person involved can read the situation and hold back, why is the so-called master making a fuss?”

“Well, I do get the sense that ‘if it’s the Tin Knight…’ but that would just be inefficient. If it’s just about seeking revenge, that’s one thing, but to restore Friedel’s fallen honor, it’s even more crucial.”

Without even a plausible acceptance, they started discussing the next plan as if it were a matter of course.

Without needing to ask, it seemed they were already inclined to help.

Feeling their goodwill, the Little Lion wiped away a tear that was almost about to fall and smiled brightly.

The first to propose a plan was Dorothea.

“First, we need to wreck the Tower of Control, right? How about informing the other towers about this? After all, they were backstabbed too, right?”

The Tower of Control had been playing the victim in this incident.

Claiming they were attacked first and shouting for revenge, the Tower of Control agitated the others for war.

The Tower of Prophecy and the Tower of Guardian, wary of a full-scale war with the Empire, tried to calm the Tower of Control, which then turned it into a political debt saying, ‘You stopped us, so we had no choice but to endure.’

But what if it turns out that this was all a staged production?

The two towers of Prophecy and Guardian wouldn’t just sit back and watch.

Moreover, the Tower of Annihilation, which similarly shouted for war, would also be furious if they realized they were being used.

In response to Dorothea’s suggestion, Sophia added.

“I think the general flow of things is good. However, it won’t be easy to persuade them just based on our claims.”

“Well, we did use magic to record what we saw this time.”

As Dorothea tapped on the glossy black skull, Sophia replied.

“For incidents like this, the accuracy of evidence is often not regarded highly. What matters more is ‘who’ is claiming it and ‘how widely’ it is known.”

Sophia raised two fingers.

“First, we need to contact the Master of the Tower of Prophecy, Mr. Medir Geldnir. He’s one of the few remaining power holders supportive of us in the Magical Kingdom.”

“Do you remember how we skedaddled without a proper trial at the end?”

“That doesn’t matter. The core issue is someone else. He just needs to play the role of a supporter.”

“Who?”

At Dorothea’s question, Sophia answered with a strangely mischievous smile.

“We need to bring in the North Witch. If she, who was involved in the founding of the tower, declares that our story is ‘the truth,’ then that’s the most solid guarantee we can have.”

Hmm, Dorothea crossed her arms.

“…If we succeed, it would be perfect. It’s fortunate we were planning to meet her anyway, so we won’t need to change routes. But we don’t really know what kind of temperament the North Witch has. She might just keep her disciples close. Isn’t it a bit reckless to just show up and ask for help?”

“Indeed, you speak true. Naturally, we need to dig several holes.”

‘Who’ and then ‘how much,’ the Scarecrow chimed in with wisdom.

“First, let’s─”

“─gather all the bones of the wizards scattered around here.”

***

In the Aeolia Magical Kingdom. The territory under the Tower of Control, Greenwood.

“Yawn.”

Shepherd David struggled to keep his eyes open, rubbing them vigorously as he got upright.

His body felt as heavy as sheep drenched in rain, and yawns kept escaping his mouth.

Having not slept properly for several days, standing vigil all night, he simply couldn’t shake off the fatigue.

“Damn beast, the bastard.”

It had been a week since some monster had been circling around David, eyeing the sheep he needed to protect.

Though an ordinary shepherd like David could handle a wolf alone, it was different with a monster endowed with special powers.

A beast that could chew a wooden staff in one bite and easily leap over the high fences.

Unless it was a knight or a wizard that managed magical powers, David, with just superior physical abilities, found no way to defeat that monster.

At least it didn’t seem to have a particularly keen appetite, as it only ate one sheep every couple of days, but that didn’t ease David’s discomfort.

Unless the sheep spawned young overnight, meaning there was no way to save them, it was just a matter of time before he was left with nothing.

It was just a prolonged wait until that outcome.

“Damn kingdom. Just collapse already.”

David requested help from the guards, but their attitude was cold.

They said it was not their jurisdiction since it wasn’t happening in the city.

Of course, David didn’t remember seeing them actually do their jobs in the city either.

He often witnessed wizards on excursions, flattering them, while they made a ruckus around.

Wizards.

That’s right. Wizards.

“Damn it, damn it. What good is having special powers if you don’t use them properly!”

The Tower of Guardian drastically raised living standards using the magical devices they created.

The Tower of Annihilation built facilities similar to a request center to solve residents’ petitions without hefty costs. It was a draw since their purpose was to train the battle experience of their affiliated wizards, meaning they wouldn’t take commissions outside of battle, but it still helped the residents greatly.

The Tower of Prophecy was not involved with external affairs in particular, but they granted broad discretionary power to the local lords, resulting in decent living conditions for citizens as long as the lord was not corrupt.

However, the Tower of Control wasn’t like that.

They also used their magical powers not to help others, but the benefits only went to the well-off.

Rather than care about the weak and powerless, it was more efficient to offer just enough to those who possessed wealth and power.

In fact, there was a way for David to join that high-class cartel.

Since he inherited several dozen sheep from his father, in terms of wealth, David was relatively wealthy.

With David not too old and having decent aptitude, he was still working as a shepherd. He could even purchase slaves to manage the herds if he wanted to.

He could just close his eyes, get rid of half the sheep, and oil the gears, making it possible to receive help from the ‘wizard.’

But it was hard to bring himself to hand over what he had sweat for to those thieving bastards.

Hoping that the damn monster would get caught in a trap he had set up, David went to work.

“Eh?”

To cut to the chase, the trap didn’t yield any results.

However, strangely enough, no sheep had been eaten either.

“…What the hell is going on?”

A monster that had been building a nasty relationship with David circled around the sheep, drooling, yet this time, unlike usual, it was only loitering nearby without approaching.

Curious, David observed more closely and realized that the monster wouldn’t come within a certain distance of the leading sheep.

As if it was scared of the leading sheep.

The reason soon became clear.

Hanging from the fluffy fur of the leading sheep, there was an object he had never seen before, dangling.

“A flute?”

Indeed, it was a pure white flute.

It wasn’t particularly well crafted, but its unique sheen oddly had a captivating power.

David grabbed the flute without thinking and was startled.

《Oh, friend! My dear friend who has taken me into your hands!

Please, listen to this story.

Acknowledge this massive conspiracy.

The tower is cooperating with lions, staging a fake war!

Innocent people were killed, and all their sins were pinned on us!

Those who know the truth, and those who want to know, they tried to erase them all!

Oh! How terrifying!》

David reflexively threw the flute aside as it suddenly began to sing, but the flute didn’t stop its melody.

“What the hell is that?”

David stared, mouth agape.

He wondered if he was hallucinating from lack of sleep, but even when he pinched his cheeks hard, all that resulted in was pain, nothing changing.

‘Is it a cursed item? If I break it, I might get cursed in return, so I should secretly throw it away somewhere… no, wait.’

Half unconsciously, David grabbed the flute again and stepped closer to the monster that was growling in the distance.

And just like that, the monster started to back away.

“Oh, it’s effective!”

In David’s heart, the flute’s rating soared from ‘cursed ominous item’ to ‘heaven-sent gift to smite the cursed monster.’

What if it’s a little ominous? He could finally get back at this damn monster that was about to ruin his life!

“Besides, since the sheep gather around the leading sheep, if I tie it to me, that monster won’t dare come near. Good, splendid.”

However, the only thing bothering him was the content of the lyrics sung by the bone.

As just a humble shepherd, David didn’t quite understand what those lyrics meant, but he could get that it was cursing the tower.

But he liked the effects of the flute too much to just dispose of it.

After a brief consideration, David decided to head down to the city to check it out.

He intended to subtly bring up the flute with the innkeeper, some elderly person, or various others.

And David witnessed a stunning sight.

The flute was singing.

From the hands of a street performer, from the rooftops, and even in a cat’s mouth, it was singing in all sorts of places and in every possible way, giving all its might to sing.

A bird flying through the sky dropped a new bone flute right in front of David and flew away.

《Oh, friend! My dear friend who has taken me into your hands!

Please, listen to this story.

Acknowledge this massive conspiracy.

The tower is cooperating with lions, staging a fake war!

Innocent people were killed, and all their sins were pinned on us!

Those who know the truth, and those who want to know, they tried to erase them all!

Oh! How terrifying! Oh! How pathetic! If you can hide it again, please try! Tower friends!》

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