Chapter 38: The Tin Knight and the Woman Hanged (1)
The eyes of the woman hanging from the column met those of the party.
Her pinkish eyes gazed successively at the Tin Knight, Dorothea, and Adelheid.
For someone who had been trapped and suffering for countless years, her eyes were astonishingly tranquil.
Eyes are vessels of emotion, windows reflecting the heart.
There was no pain or anger in the woman’s gaze, nor did it reflect malice or hatred.
She looked at them with the curiosity of a reader who has discovered a rare book hidden in an old library.
Like a scholar who has found a new species for the first time.
Like a child just before unwrapping a gift.
With eyes full of curiosity and interest, the woman focused on the group.
Receiving her gaze, each member of the party had different thoughts.
The innocent Adelheid felt relieved.
The woman didn’t seem as tormented as she had expected. She didn’t hate them or spew curses in madness.
The astute Dorothea sensed caution.
That unsolicited kindness and curiosity could turn at any moment; there was no guarantee that madness wasn’t lurking behind that curiosity.
The strange Tin Knight felt a rush of excitement.
A vampire sealed deep in the labyrinth. The smell of a boss battle was already in the air.
With no stake on hand, he thought he could always borrow Dorothea’s wooden staff to drive it through its heart if needed.
One individual’s, or rather one creature’s, mental state seemed somewhat on the psycho side, but that was unfortunate yet unavoidable.
With their respective feelings in mind, they prepared to confront the vampire.
And then.
Nothing happened.
“…?”
A question mark appeared above the party’s heads.
Among the three, the one lacking patience was the Tin Knight, but since he had no mouth, it was Adel who spoke up.
“Um, excuse me, vampire lady?”
The woman’s gaze turned toward Adel.
“Well, you haven’t said anything…”
As Adel stammered, the woman blinked her eyes once more.
“■■■■■■■?”
Finally, the woman’s lips parted, and words escaped.
But no one in the party could comprehend what was said.
Seeing their reactions, the woman appeared troubled by the lack of understanding.
At least, she didn’t seem in the mood to attack or break free from her seal right now.
“What should we do, Witch?”
“What do you mean? She doesn’t seem to want to fight for now, so let’s just leave her be and go treasure hunting.”
“Huh?!”
Adel was aghast, not expecting such a response.
Dorothea continued with her cold demeanor.
“My goal is to retrieve the kingdom’s eight treasures. I’m here to conquer the labyrinth for that purpose, and I’m not particularly interested in its secrets. Whoever that vampire is or why she’s sealed here, as long as she doesn’t attack, we don’t need to involve ourselves.”
“But still, I mean, she’s hanging there…”
“So what if she is? Should we release her? And if she attacks, can we even deal with the aftermath?”
Adel fell silent.
Dorothea’s words were cold but simultaneously rational.
If you don’t poke a snake, it won’t jump out at you.
If it’s not needed for her purposes, it’s wise to ignore it rather than meddle and get caught up in unnecessary trouble.
However, there was one thing.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ disagrees!]
There was one peculiar individual who had to make trouble even if none existed.
The Tin Knight could not accept Dorothea’s words.
A player would typically go out of their way to find and smash even a hidden boss living in complete silence, so it was simply unacceptable to leave something resembling a boss from the main quest unattended.
“What’s wrong about it?”
Dorothea reacted with a scowl.
Her grip on the right hand holding the staff tightened, as if she intended to smack anyone spinning nonsense.
The Tin Knight, pouring out his desire, shouted.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ claims he wants to fight the vampire!!]
Kaang!!
Dorothea’s staff erupted in flames.
“Shut up.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ argues that he can handle it even if the vampire attacks!]
“Just because you can handle it doesn’t mean you have to fight. Whose magical power do you think you need to fight?”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ proposes the possibility that the vampire might be friendly and not require a fight!]
“You just said you wanted to fight a second ago. You’re just saying whatever now, aren’t you?”
And that was the truth.
Based on the Tin Knight’s ‘common sense,’ the chances of a vampire sealed in such a place being non-hostile were incredibly slim, if not zero.
To avoid the nightmare of skipping a boss fight, the Tin Knight, who usually charged ahead without thinking, began to engage his rarely used brain.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ points out that he sees nothing else useful in the vicinity!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ insists that they will need the vampire’s help to find treasures!]
“Hmm.”
Dorothea crossed her arms, seemingly considering the new point raised.
This was the deepest part of the labyrinth.
Aside from the woman bound to the column, there were no other structures in sight, nor were there treasure chests.
In other words, the whereabouts of the kingdom’s treasures Dorothea sought were completely unknown.
The guiding goat had been destroyed by the golem, and it seemed that none of the souls in the cage had any information about this place, leaving no method to gather information.
The goat would eventually resurrect over time, but it felt pointless to just wait here, especially considering the earlier earthquake; they had no idea when new adventurers might arrive.
“…But still, it’s the same if we can’t communicate.”
Dorothea’s response remained curt, but her tone had softened somewhat.
Confident that this was the right direction, the Tin Knight pointed to his brooch.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ claims he can communicate using the ‘Voice of Guidance’!]
“That’s one-sided, right? Hmm, is that enough?”
As long as they could convey a message correctly, the rest wouldn’t be too challenging.
Even a simple nod would suffice.
“Well, fine. It wouldn’t hurt to try.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ praises the wise decision!]
Finally granted permission, the Tin Knight looked at the woman.
Due to her high hanging position, it seemed difficult to reach her directly.
The Tin Knight was about to call for Dorothea but changed his mind and instead spoke to Adel.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ requests a demonstration of how to use the brooch!]
“Huh? Oh, leave it to me!”
Adel clenched her fists with enthusiasm.
Climbing on the back of the Tin Knight, Adel got herself up on his shoulders.
Though her position was precarious, she managed to stay balanced, likely due to her innate sense of balance.
The vampire watched the scene with intrigued eyes.
“Um, excuse me, vampire? Please pay attention.”
Saying so, Adel infused magic into the brooch she received from the Tin Knight.
Dorothea behind her thought, ‘Saying that won’t make the vampire comprehend,’ but she didn’t voice it. It was Dorothea’s subtle kindness.
More than anything, she had to be ready to activate defense and counter-spells at any moment, so she had no room for distractions.
Golden magic flowed into the brooch, and the brooch absorbed that magic and sparkled as Adel demonstrated the process multiple times, watching the vampire’s face.
When the vampire nodded, Adel brought the brooch closer to her body.
After a few seconds of stillness.
Noticing the lack of movement from the vampire, Adel tilted her head in confusion.
Could it be that she couldn’t use magic? As she examined the vampire, she noticed a serious expression as if she was lost in some thought.
And finally.
Magic began seeping out from the woman’s body.
It was a vivid red magic, befitting of a vampire.
However, the amount was alarmingly scant.
It looked as though she had squeezed a handful of dried sand to produce a single drop of water.
As the brooch touched the magic, it glowed a shade of red.
Swuuuuuuu!
The next moment, the thorn vines around them grew rapidly, wrapping around the column.
It was a sudden ambush.
However, the responses of the Tin Knight and Dorothea, who had already been on guard, were swift.
With a snap.
The Tin Knight’s left hand seized Adel’s ankle.
“Whoa.”
Without hesitation, the Tin Knight flung Adel forcefully in another direction.
A shrill scream echoed, but the Tin Knight was a malevolent battle enthusiast, or rather a good master who trusted his apprentice.
He had instructed Adel to climb instead of Dorothea for this very reason. Adel would manage to live through it.
After flinging Adel out of the attack range, the Tin Knight unsheathed his sword without hesitation.
With movements reminiscent of a dance, his sword swept through all the surrounding thorn vines.
Though the vines left on the ground tried to regenerate and retaliate, Dorothea’s curse rained down upon them.
The thorn vines, glistening with the crimson blood, rapidly withered and shrank.
It was a seamless combo attack; however, the subsequent problem arose.
Whether the column had integrated with the thorn vines from the start, or they had gradually infiltrated over time, as all the vines perished, the column began to shake and crumble.
Recognizing that the column was falling toward Dorothea, the Tin Knight leapt and caught her in his arms.
The Tin Knight and Dorothea tumbled over the ground.
The column crashed to the ground with a thunderous sound, and a large cloud of dust rose up.
“Cough, cough.”
Dorothea coughed up a cloud of dirt, rising with an irritated gesture.
Thanks to the Tin Knight’s quick reaction, there were no injuries on her body.
The room’s scene had transformed into a disaster.
Dried and dead thorn vines, a crumbled column, and blood oozing out from beneath the splintered structure.
With the sole information source now deceased, Dorothea sighed.
“Hah. Why does everything have to get complicated?”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ points out it’s too early to declare death!]
“What are you talking about? Even if vampires have great regeneration abilities, that’s just impossible… well, isn’t it?”
Dorothea’s confidence waned as her statement trailed off.
As the rubble was stirred, someone emerged from within.
Her clothing was tattered rags. Her limbs bent at strange angles, and due to the alarming blood loss, she was more crimson than intact.
And even those injuries were regenerating rapidly right before Dorothea’s eyes.
Her frizzy, light green hair flowed like waves.
The eyes, a blend of pink and red, were filled with ecstasy.
The vampire took a step forward.
The Tin Knight stepped forward in response.
The battle of destiny between monster and knight was about to begin—
Thump.
—But it didn’t.
The vampire collapsed forward and fell down instead.
The once proud Tin Knight stood frozen.
Dorothea’s gaze turned perplexed, as if questioning what was happening.
“Um, wait a minute.”
Adel, who had returned before anyone knew it, approached the fallen vampire.
There was no time to even warn her about danger.
As she examined the vampire’s complexion and body, Adel stated simply.
“Looks like anemia?”
A silence fell.
Dorothea questioned.
“Yeah. Sometimes we get patients with excessive bleeding in the Order, and it felt just like this.”
“…That makes sense. Since ancient times, it seems all the blood has just been sipped away, so it’s not surprising if a vampire runs low on blood.”
A laugh escaped Dorothea’s lips.
It was a laugh that surpassed anger and bewilderment, now teetering on the edge of just letting things go as they were.
She urged the Tin Knight.
“What are you waiting for? Aren’t you going to fight? The formidable foe you expected is right in front of you. Just poke her and it’s over.”
The Tin Knight’s blue gaze switched back and forth between Dorothea and the vampire.
With a thud, the Tin Knight knelt and placed his hands on the ground.
His back was engulfed in deep sorrow.
In despair over the vanished boss battle, the Tin Knight began to weep.
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