Chapter 258

“So, do you have something you want to say?”

After Werner, who seemed to be deep in thought, and Maris, who was quite flustered, left.

The Lion Duke tried to subtly dodge the sharp gaze of the witch.

Dorothea looked astounded as she spoke.

“You just had to go and provoke them like that, right? ‘From now on, I’m the main branch.’ ‘If you want to keep using the Lenart name, you have to get my permission first.’ Are you serious? You plan to take the name Lenart from them?”

“If you’re asking if I mean it, it’s about… three parts, no, maybe two parts and four pennies?”

“What kind of ridiculously vague measure is that?”

“Well, um.”

Adelheid hesitated, pondering how to explain, before finally blurting it out.

“I thought maybe that would make them take it a bit more seriously.”

No way, I’m sure they weren’t slacking off.

Dorothea desperately suppressed the words that almost sprang from her throat.

Adel probably knew that as well.

In a situation where the family’s downfall could be looming, the Lion Duke’s bloodline wouldn’t take things lightly.

Simply put, the Tower of Control. In other words, for Adel, who had to literally “fight for her life” against Lognir, the intensity of that fight just felt relatively mild.

However, pointing that out frankly and worrying was just not Dorothea’s style, so she spoke somewhat gruffly.

“Well, like master, like student. I mean, why raise the difficulty for yourself like that?”

“Hehe….”

No, that’s not a compliment, right? Are you happy because you think it sounds similar?

Dorothea was left speechless again by Adel’s seemingly awkward yet not bad demeanor as she scratched her head sheepishly.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ argues that an appropriate declaration of war is a crucial factor for a fair duel!]

“This isn’t a duel!”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ states that an appropriate increase in difficulty enhances the sense of achievement when clearing!]

“Isn’t it better to win comfortably and easily?”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ points out that they don’t want to hear that from someone who imposes self-restrictions while wielding convenient and powerful necromancy!]

Clang!

Dorothea’s staff struck the Tin Knight squarely in the face.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ complains that he didn’t speak wrongly this time, so why is this happening?]

Dorothea responded with a calm demeanor, as if it were obvious.

“You asked for it. Why?”

….

If he were human, he would have been left agape, mumbling incoherently. The Tin Knight remained frozen, unable to move.

Adelheid thought to herself.

No, it seems like the witch has also picked up some things from the knight in various ways.

Of course, that thought didn’t escape her lips.

She occasionally feared that if that overwhelming magical staff fell onto her head, she might end up squashed like a watermelon in front of a wagon.

This was a hierarchy separate from strength.

It was then that Sophia, who had been engrossed in some experiments deep inside the mansion, stepped outside.

The three of them tilted their heads sideways at Sophia’s usual inscrutable yet oddly excited demeanor.

“Everyone, I think I’ve figured out the identity of the treasures… ─They seem to be remnants of mythical generals!”

And then, with no prior warning, a bombshell exploded.

I mean, everything this group was involved in could be considered a bombshell, so in some ways, it was just an ordinary day.

The trigger was a story from the vampire Camilla, who resided on a deserted island.

In a time long past, the eight generals invaded the surface.

They were defeated by the queen and knights of the eastern kingdom.

And the eight treasures of a now-fallen kingdom that scattered across the continent after being passed down in the eastern realm.

Anyone would find that combination suspicious, and Dorothea was not the type to leave things unchecked when she noticed such ominous signs.

But even if she wanted to investigate further, it wasn’t easy to find books that recorded information from over a millennium ago. The few records that existed were distorted or fragmented, making them unreliable as resources.

So, the group decided to use a cheat code.

They would use Tuberosum’s Chalice to gain information about the other treasures.

Normally, Dorothea and Sophia would have teamed up and repeated trial and error until the desired information popped out (the Tin Knight referred to this as ‘re-rolling’), but the remote power supply function they obtained from the Tower of Guardian proved helpful here.

Besides setting up a direct line between the Tin Knight and Dorothea, two magical devices were handed to Sophia and Adel, intended to increase the effective range of the supply.

This meant that, even if it wasn’t specifically between the Tin Knight and Dorothea, they could trade magical power among the group, including Sophia and Adel.

Sophia originally couldn’t use the powers of Tuberosum’s Chalice solo and required help from other companions, but by effectively utilizing the above function, they could trick the Chalice into thinking ‘someone other than Sophia used the power.’

In simpler terms, it meant that as long as Dorothea supplied the magical energy, Sophia could use the chalice by herself.

The non-human scholar who didn’t need food or rest spent most of the day engrossed in this study except for time invested in experimentation, and her efforts finally bore fruit.

“It seems that ‘People of the Underworld’ refers to a collective term for those among the monsters we call who possess a certain level of intelligence. Vampires, giants, dwarfs, half-beasts, and so on. Among them, the entities known as the ‘Eight Generals’ were particularly powerful and served as the vanguard of the surface invasion.”

In front of the blue chalkboard, Sophia chalked furiously, resembling a teacher instructing students.

That gesture somehow felt oddly familiar.

“Half of these eight generals were defeated by the legendary knights, likely the ‘previous Tin Knight,’ and the other half was exterminated by the angels serving the Holy Kingdom. The Holy Kingdom then transformed their remains into eight treasures.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says item looting is a given!]

The Tin Knight nodded lightly.

Defeating strong foes and acquiring loot was essential. In his mind, it was only natural to strip materials if no loot was available.

“So that’s how it was…,”

Adelheid reacted in surprise but also comprehension.

While she had a faint idea of what the giant she had seen in her vision was, hearing it as confirmed information felt distinctly different.

“Why did they do that? If they simply wanted powerful magical tools, they could have kept them for themselves. Why go through the trouble of crafting them with rare materials and handing them over to the kingdom?”

Dorothea responded somewhat curtly.

The indiscernible actions of the Holy Kingdom left her feeling somewhat unsettled.

“Maybe it was a gift? After all, it was their cooperation with the previous knights that led to victory in the great war, right? Perhaps they sent some sort of thanks from the heavens?”

“Do you really think those guys would do something so thoughtful?”

“If they wanted to avoid being at odds with the kingdom while the previous knights were still active, they might have.”

“Hmm.”

Dorothea nodded absentmindedly.

If Adel had answered, ‘The good Holy Kingdom kindly rewarded them,’ Dorothea would have brushed it off. But considering they might have offered a bribe to calm down someone who could cause trouble was quite plausible.

At the same time, this was also proof that Adel didn’t see the Holy Kingdom as purely benign. Growth really seemed evident in various ways.

“So, any answers?”

“Unfortunately, there is still not enough investigation into that aspect. Should we dig deeper?”

“I would like to say please do, but let’s call it a day for now. Although the future matters, we have to resolve what’s in front of us right now first.”

As she said that, Dorothea flicked a paper given to her by Alingd with her finger.

・Third Appointment Exam <Color War>

-Before the match begins, participants are assigned specific ‘colors’ as ‘marks.’

-Those of the same color are treated as a team.

-Those who lose their marks are considered eliminated.

-At the end of the match, the four teams with the least eliminations will advance to the next exam.

-Even if one is eliminated as an individual, if their ‘color’ wins, they will also be counted as passed.

***

“They probably plan to funnel our people into specific teams. Of course, since they’re watching, they’ll only break us up into two or three teams at most. But that’s still just a blindfold over the eyes.”

Hilda von Lenart muttered after the Council Leader’s words.

“It’s so cowardly that they get to decide the rules and the specifics however they want!”

To be precise, it wasn’t that the Empress’s faction did whatever they pleased; after repeated checks and intrigues against the Duke’s house, a decent compromise was reached. But the Elder Council Leader didn’t bother explaining that part.

For this naïve yet tragically brilliant girl, the royal family and their cohorts were simply easy-to-understand villains who wielded power as they liked.

“Indeed, how cowardly.”

The Elder Council Leader, resembling a kind grandfather, patted Hilda’s head.

Though feared as a wild child by the general public, in front of the Elder Council Leader, she merely purred like a well-mannered cat.

Delighted by that sight, the Elder Council Leader laughed heartily.

Hilda von Lenart.

She was a masterpiece created by the radical faction of the Lenart family.

A talent that made even the term genius feel too frivolous. A narrow-mindedness that took the words of old men as absolute truth and never considered alternative possibilities.

The royal family would use the Duke to the fullest, then attempt to stab him in the back.

The Duke, scared of the royal family, was just a coward, worried only about his self-preservation to the extent of selling out his family’s reputation.

The tragedy of the Friedel Territory was an incident caused by the Duke. So now, he had to provide assistance to Friedel’s heir who had been used in this way.

The girl suspected nothing of what the Elders and other old men had engraved in her mind, hence she was filled with rage towards the easy-to-understand ‘villains.’

Where could there be such a powerful, lovable, and convenient piece?

Thus, the Elder Council Leader thought.

‘What a waste.’

Knowing Hilda’s value, feeling her utility, the Elder Council Leader couldn’t help but feel deep sorrow.

‘Had things gone well, we could have also taken in that girl named Adelheid.’

Originally, the Elder Council had not paid much attention to the Friedel Territory.

Once they manipulated Friedel through commands disguised as the Duke’s, at the point when they were obliterated, and the Duke issued a gag order out of concern for the public opinion on participation—at the moment they submitted a suggestion to the Duke for ‘supporting Friedel’ and it was accepted, Friedel had already fulfilled its role.

They spread rumors behind the scenes about the Duke, disguised the incident’s protagonist as the Duke, and created a narrative of ‘a silent Duke who sacrificed his branch to cover his missteps’ versus ‘an Elder Council who supported Friedel against that Duke.’

Of course, the Duke was no pushover, so creating overtly negative public sentiment was no simple task. But fortunately, this had to be a match the Elder Faction would win.

No matter how competent the Duke was and how strong his authority was, as long as the royal family was focused on ‘containing Lenart,’ and as long as the Duke didn’t resort to extreme countermeasures, dissatisfaction and unease within the family would only grow.

There was an entirely different domain, spreading rumors like above on bare ground and handing excuses to those already seeking a reason to hate the Duke.

If they truly sought to find Friedel’s utility, they would secure the heir and utilize her as a ‘pitiful victim whose life was ruined due to the Duke’s ambition and blunders’ in shaping public opinion.

The issue was that a bird which should have remained neatly in its cage had taken to flying wild.

The misstep was failing to properly brief Gisel, who was dispatched as the lord’s representative, about the detailed backstory to avoid the Duke’s suspicious gaze.

In fact, when the Elder Council first heard that the Friedel family’s youngest daughter had set off on a journey, they merely thought, ‘One less rock to throw at the family head,’ but after Adelheid proved her worth, they only felt remorse for not having secured her even if it meant some excess efforts.

‘What a waste, what a waste. Had it been possible to convey our rightful beliefs not just to Hilda but also to that girl, she would surely have been a stepping stone to support the family.’

However, thinking about what wasn’t in their hands was meaningless.

“Hilda, there’s something you need to be especially cautious about in the next trial.”

“What is it? That Magical Automaton might be a bit tricky, but I’ll try my best with everything else! I just need to win, right?”

“No.”

For the family’s sake and to uphold the honor the name Lenart carries, the Elder Council Leader whispered to his granddaughter.

“─I hope our entire family loses as dramatically as possible.”

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