Chapter 4

#4 Witch and Tin Knight (4)

After the commotion in the mansion settled down, the girl Dorothea looked at you with a somewhat astonished expression.

“Seriously, I never thought you’d take out all the Guards of the mansion head-on. And without a single fatality, no less.”

– Save those you can without causing a ruckus.

That was the limitation Dorothea imposed on you.

And you had cleared that limitation perfectly.

[‘Tin Knight’ boasts that he is the type to accomplish goals flawlessly!]

[‘Tin Knight’ puffs out his chest proudly!]

“…If you just look at the surface, you seem like the epitome of a noble knight. I wonder if those who can’t hear this ‘sound’ mistake you for an emotionless, brutal monster made of iron and blood.”

At Dorothea’s words, you recalled that scene.

It seemed rather amusing.

[‘Tin Knight’ vows to create a better atmosphere going forward!]

Dorothea chuckled softly.

Despite her chic appearance, the girl in front of you was surprisingly expressive.

[‘Tin Knight’ asks if it’s some kind of non-violence policy!]

Dorothea waved her hand dismissively.

“It’s not that grand; it’s just about managing your reputation. There are already tons of people who view you with suspicion just because you’re a Necromancer. If you’re casually going around killing people too, you’ll be branded in no time. My Master is a real monster, so it’s fine for him, but I can’t afford that.”

You nodded.

You’d take down those who were intent on killing, or who commanded that fate. Everything else, you’d try to spare if possible. If it didn’t work, then so be it.

Dorothea’s criteria were loose, but you found that it suited you just fine. It meant more freedom to move.

[‘Tin Knight’ is curious about the next target!]

To your question, Dorothea pulled something from her waist pouch.

At first glance, it looked like a pocket watch.

But it only had one hand, and instead of numbers, there were eight different symbols engraved where the usual numbers would be.

“This is a gift from the royal family. According to the nobles, it’s tied up with some annoying business in the Holy Kingdom, but that’s a discussion for later. For now, let’s make use of what we have.”

Dorothea clicked a switch on the edge of the pocket watch, then rotated the hand to point to one of the eight symbols.

With another click of the switch, the transformation was dramatic.

The symbol pointed at wiggled and then popped out from the pocket watch.

It was something that was just dark and lacked both eyes and scales.

A snake, seemingly made of shadow, slithered across the floor and started moving somewhere.

“Just follow that. It’s a shame it can’t map out the finer details, but having a guide is still pretty decent.”

After saying that, Dorothea calmly began following the shadow snake.

You tried to follow behind her, but for some reason, you realized your body wasn’t cooperating as well as you’d like.

You could move, but something about your reactions felt sluggish.

[‘Tin Knight’ reports that something is off with his body!]

Upon hearing your words, Dorothea turned her head.

“Huh? Oh. Just a sec.”

Dorothea stepped closer to you.

Her white hand pressed against your chest.

She then closed her eyes as if concentrating.

You felt something flowing from her palm, filling your body.

Soon, you felt lighter.

Dorothea let go of you and explained.

“A Magical Automaton can’t move without external magical power sustaining it. The latest models seem to recharge from a distance without direct contact, but you look like one of the older versions.”

[‘Tin Knight’ insists that prototypes are usually stronger and better!]

“If a prototype performs worse than the completed version, then that’s just negligence on the engineers’ part. There’s a lot of folklore where Magical Automatons just pop up. Seriously, how long ago was that prototype story?”

[‘Tin Knight’ boasts about his rich knowledge!]

“I was originally planning on acquiring a few or making some, so I looked into it.”

Dorothea let out a deep sigh for some reason.

“My Master just needs to skim over a grave, and he gets all the labor he needs. Why would I choose to use something like this? Automatons are cleaner than corpses. Plus, there’s less scrutiny from onlookers.”

[‘Tin Knight’ remarks that she doesn’t look like that and seems surprisingly aware of the public’s perception!]

Dorothea paused.

“…Wait, how do I look?”

You scanned her from top to bottom.

There was no doubt she was a cute girl.

But, somehow…

[‘Tin Knight’ evaluates her as looking like a bad organization’s second-in-command!]

Kaang!!

Dorothea’s staff smacked your head.

***

“Don’t talk to me until sunset.”

With that one remark, Dorothea fell silent.

No matter what signals you tried to send, she ignored you completely and continued walking solely after the shadow snake.

So what could you do? You had to walk too.

Clunk. Clunk.

An Automaton doesn’t know exhaustion. So no matter how much you walked, you never felt tired.

But watching Dorothea, who was definitely human, walk for hours without a single complaint was quite impressive.

Swish, swish, the shadow snake moved smoothly.

It seemed like it was consuming something else over time; as the minutes passed, the snake’s size grew ever smaller.

You wondered if it was okay for it to shrink like that, but Dorothea remained silent.

Finally, just as the shadow snake was about to lose its form completely and disappear, the two of you arrived at a certain forest.

“We should start preparing soon. Can you keep watch?”

At this casual remark, you were momentarily taken aback.

You stared at Dorothea, who, in turn, questioned you as if something was wrong.

“Why?”

[‘Tin Knight’ asks if the silence is over!]

Dorothea pointed her staff at the sky.

“The sun has set.”

You looked up at the sky.

Sure enough, it was getting dark around you as the sun dipped.

“The accounting is done. Dragging it out won’t help anyone.”

This seemed to be Dorothea’s way of ‘cooling off.’

You suddenly became curious about her possible reaction if you pointed out her outfit again but decided against asking.

Traveling without a conversation partner was incredibly dull.

Instead, you opted to ask something else.

[‘Tin Knight’ inquires if it’s okay that the shadow snake just vanished!]

In response to your question, Dorothea pulled out what looked like a pocket watch.

You noticed the patterns that had been missing slowly reappearing.

“It’s a Magical Device. Once used, it summons a guide that lasts for a few hours. Since it’ll need to recharge, you can’t use it for a while again.”

[‘Tin Knight’ asks if they could just mark the destination on a map!]

“If you want to complain, take it up with the people who made this.”

[‘Tin Knight’ asks who made it.]

“Just some folks who think they’re gods, stuck between heaven and earth.”

It was a riddle of sorts.

As you tilted your head in confusion, Dorothea shook her head dismissively.

“You’ll see it for yourself soon enough, so hang tight. That’s faster than me explaining it a hundred times.”

Having cut off the conversation, Dorothea started preparing for camping.

However, compared to what you’d imagine as ‘camping preparations,’ her tasks felt rather trivial.

She selected a decently-sized tree, then scattered black and white powder in a circle around it before sitting in the center, wrapped in some kind of blanket.

That was it.

Not a tent or even a small mat or campfire.

[‘Tin Knight’ questioned if that was really enough!]

Dorothea replied nonchalantly.

“I already cast spells to keep out the cold and dampness, and another to deter insects. A blanket is enough to shield from the wind.”

[‘Tin Knight’ asked if they didn’t need a campfire or anything!]

“Finding dry wood is its own job, and managing not to let the fire spread is also a hassle. Honestly, if you’re sitting around with a campfire, it’s a beacon for anything to come sniffing around.”

[‘Tin Knight’ inquired about food!]

“I have dried fruits and jerky. My body doesn’t require much water normally.”

You felt a sense of ‘familiarity’ from Dorothea’s actions and responses.

It was a calmness and ease unique to someone who had gone through many experiences, not mere bravado.

It was clear Dorothea’s method was extremely efficient.

Yet, something about it left you dissatisfied.

Because there was simply no ‘romance’ to it.

For someone wanting to enjoy this world, it was a significant issue.

[‘Tin Knight’ insisted on preparing the best camping meal!]

“Huh? No, really, you don’t need to—”

[‘Tin Knight’ shouted to wait just a moment!]

You dashed into the darkness of the forest.