Chapter 244

#244 Episode Tin Knight and the Strange Resort (3)

To heal their weary bodies and minds from tough days, the Tin Knight and his crew are enjoying a vacation on a remote island in the northern continent (not summer).

However, the island they visited held a serious and terrifying secret.

Mystical creatures that seemed to be a mix of humans and sea creatures were slithering out from the depths of the ocean.

Deep within the seemingly bright and clear island lurked a monster of bloodstained darkness.

Facing the impending threat, the Tin Knight and his crew…

[“Cheers!” shouted the Tin Knight!]

“Cheers my foot. Adel, can you pass me that plate?”

“Uh, yes. Here you go.”

“Hehe, shall I join too? Cheers!”

…were completely oblivious to the threat and indulging in a party.

***

After hearing from the turtle merman about the rivalry between the Sea Kingdom and the vampires.

Dorothea declared,

“What do I care about the underwater kingdom or vampires? Just leave it be.”

That was something you could not possibly tolerate.

I mean, you arrive in a new area, a new quest is flashing in your mission log, and just ignore it?

In response to your protest, Dorothea retorted with a defiant posture.

“Then are we going to starve? Hmm? We came for vacation, and now we’re caught up in some weird incident, and you’re saying we should just munch on jerky?”

[“The Tin Knight thinks people need to relax when they need to take a break!”]

You quickly surrendered.

Of course, you had your excuses.

Dorothea had requested Gale, and finally, after the prolonged crisis in the Magical Kingdom, the modification of your food intake function was finally completed.

Strictly speaking, it was somewhat different from ‘eating’ food.

You weren’t actually putting anything in your mouth or digesting it.

You just gained the ability to share the experience of eating with Dorothea, Adelheid, and Sophia. There was even a feature that randomly selected which sensations would not be mixed up.

You might ask, doesn’t that just make you frustrated? But surprisingly, it wasn’t only that.

In truth, humans can feel a certain level of vicarious satisfaction just by watching someone eat.

The existence of mukbang content didn’t come from nowhere, and in reality, you enthusiastically recommended unappetizing dishes to your friends during meal times. That alone brought you some level of fulfillment.

But what if the mukbang experience came with texture?

What if you could actually taste it, not just see and hear it?

As a Magical Automaton, you didn’t know the joy of eating.

This cold metal body was far too practical to feel anything ‘extra’ like that.

The you outside the monitor was the same.

Your body didn’t feel hunger, thirst, or fatigue, but the mental hunger and emptiness were always there.

Yet there was no way to fill it.

In your room, all you had was a desk, a chair, and a computer.

But now things were different.

When Adelheid tore into the meat, you could vividly feel the texture, warmth, and juices spreading in your mouth.

When Dorothea bit into fruit, you could taste the sweet, refreshing flavor and delightful aroma, and when Sophia had a drink, your dry throat felt revitalized.

It wasn’t just the joy of achieving goals or defeating someone in a game; the joy of eating and drinking something as a person brought indescribable emotions.

Your colleagues seemed to understand that feeling, responding somewhat to your detailed requests.

[“The Tin Knight tells you to eat some meat!”]

[“The Tin Knight requests you to tear into some fresh meat!”]

[“The Tin Knight scolds you for picking at it and tells you to tear into those ribs!”]

“Ugh! Fine! Just chill! What’s with the meat meat meat?”

Dorothea said irritably.

In the first place, her actual food intake wasn’t that high, and she preferred vegetarian meals, so your fiery love for meat seemed a bit burdensome.

As for Sophia, she went a step further, barely enjoying other foods besides sipping on beverages.

“Haha… It’s fine, Knight. I can eat more.”

Thank goodness for having Adelheid among the group.

As a warrior who used her body a lot, you admired your small-frame apprentice who devoured food at an astonishing rate.

After nearly two hours, the long barbecue party finally ended, and while you might not have felt physically full, mentally fulfilling satisfaction was unparalleled.

You took a position lying flat on your back, maybe for the first time as this metal body.

Your body felt sluggish.

At that moment, you even had the illusion that you might be able to sleep.

“He’s completely out. I think I’ve never seen him sprawled out like this before?”

“Still, he looks really pleased.”

“Dorothea asked Gale to make modifications; it was worth it. After all, you chose it over boots, right?”

“…Well, saying I wanted shoes in that situation was a bit awkward. Managing the mental state of my familiar is part of the master’s role.”

The sounds of your companions felt strangely distant.

Just as you wished for this leisurely time to flow…

You sensed something.

Splish. Splish.

From the deep sea, something was crawling up to the surface.

Squish. Squish.

Wet feet trampled the sandy beach.

Hiss. Hiss.

It was an oddly eerie breathing sound that didn’t quite belong to an ordinary person.

In the vicinity of the wagon, which was lit like a camping vehicle, dark shadows were slowly gathering.

Above your head, a witch’s sigh was heard.

“…I should have just ended it instead of letting it go.”

“Well, there was also the possibility of becoming completely hostile against an unknown marine force. Keeping them captive is just a hassle.”

“Um, about a hundred? Or a hundred creatures? Including those crawling out of the sea, maybe it’s doubled or tripled.”

“If they can mobilize that much force regularly, it seems like the vampire on the island holding out against this is quite talented. Or the island itself has a secret.”

“I’m not interested. As long as they don’t mess with us.”

The conversation had no hint of tension.

Perhaps displeased with that, a murderous aura emanated from the shadows surrounding them.

The figures reflecting in the campfire looked grotesque, like a mix of humans and marine creatures.

Eyes bulging out, backs hunched, with gills or scales protruding here and there.

Compared to them, even the turtle merman or the crew of the pirate ship looked rather handsome.

One of them raised a spear high and pointed it at your group, shouting,

“Fools who harmed the messenger of the Sea King! You shall pay with blood!”

“You shall pay with blood!”

“However, the mercy of our great lord is endless, so if you follow us willingly even now—”

After hearing that much, you shot up your upper body.

On one hand, you were annoyed that your good mood was ruined, but on the other hand, it was the perfect timing for a post-meal workout.

[“The Tin Knight asks whether it’s dead or alive (Dead or Alive), or if it should be caught alive (Only Alive), which one is it?”]

In response to your question, Dorothea answered without hesitation.

“Just crush them all (Only Dead). Just be careful not to muddy our nice scenery.”

That was truly a satisfying answer.

You rushed forward and delivered a knee strike to the merman’s head, interrupting whatever annoying speech he was trying to give.

The bizarre fish head with just big eyes went squish.

Before its blood could splash onto the sandy beach, you sent its corpse flying with a gust made by swinging your shield through the air.

Upon landing, you slashed at the nearby octopus head.

The octopus, unaware of what was happening, attempted to stab you with its spear, but you were quicker to grab its tentacle and throw it.

The opponent, falling back into the sea in anger, tried to emerge again, but before it could, its body was split in two.

You felt oddly exhilarated.

You recalled an urban legend about how a skilled cook could fillet a fish and it could swim unaware of its death, and you never thought it would actually be true.

Even your accumulated combat experience as the Tin Knight felt strangely new with such absurd acts.

Feeling like you had gained a fantastic new skill, you swung your sword with glee.

Slice, then swing the shield.

Slice, grab it, and spin it like a windmill.

Slice, and toss the sword like a pole.

Just then, the mermen began to realize something was wrong and tried to target your other colleagues instead, but that was a wrong judgment.

Boom!

With a strike from Adelheid, one merman that resembled a stingray soared into the sky before plummeting into the deep sea.

It seemed like she thought simply handling the enemy like you wasn’t possible, as she seemed to opt for a blunt format holding her sword horizontally.

You briefly worried about what would happen if they survived, but then saw that concern was unnecessary.

Each of Adelheid’s blows packed the force of a collision with a speeding truck.

At this point, whether they flew far away or not, just hitting the sword blade meant guaranteed death.

Neither those targeting Dorothea and Sophia had a good fate either.

As Dorothea infused her staff with Divine Power, the mermen that touched the barrier began to tremble and froth at the mouth before collapsing.

It felt a little like bugs getting swatted by an electric fly swatter.

The night sky was clear, and the stars shone bright.

You suddenly recalled various horror movies.

Abyssal mermaids, creatures, phantoms, zombies, masked killers, sharks with tornadoes, and more.

Anyway, seeing how the main characters in every holiday movie ended up dead without enjoying their vacation due to some disaster that popped up, you felt a deep sadness.

With vacation being so enjoyable, how could it be spoiled by outside interference? What could be sadder than that?

But in all matters, a shift in perspective is vital.

If external disturbances are the problem for enjoying a vacation… then shouldn’t you just eliminate all those external interferences?

If you removed ordinary tourists trying to enjoy the same holiday, that would be nuisance behavior, but defeating those who would harm you is self-defense, right?

You trembled at this perfectly logical theory you came up with yourself.

You vowed.

No matter what happens, you would enjoy the perfect vacation.