“That’s a bit more chaotic than I expected.”
Upon hearing Sophia’s question, you tilted your head.
When Sophia mentioned “you,” she was probably referring to the ‘Tin Knight.’
In other words, Sophia was asking about the era when the Tin Knight was active.
Or she was asking about the time when he was still human.
You decided to be honest.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ answers that he doesn’t really know either!]
It’s true that you inherited the powers of the Tin Knight, but most of it was skewed towards combat-related elements.
While you retained the martial skills etched into your body, as well as the experience and insights of a warrior, you hadn’t inherited any actual memories or knowledge of the Tin Knight, so of course, you wouldn’t know if she asked about his lifetime.
“Oh my.”
Sophia covered her mouth with her hand.
It was an exaggerated gesture, but it suited her perfectly.
“You don’t remember at all?”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ confirms that indeed, he doesn’t remember!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ insists he’s perfectly fine!]
“But isn’t memory loss just another mental symptom?”
Hmm, you paused for a moment.
Your memory loss wasn’t because of that, but explaining it would be quite the hassle.
Plus, claiming amnesia might actually make things easier, who knows?
[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks if you know anything about your past self.]
“I have some guesses, but I’m not certain.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says it doesn’t matter if it’s just a guess.]
“Well, to explain that, I have a place to stop by for a bit… Oh, there it is!”
At Sophia’s words, you turned your gaze.
It was a building that, while different in detail from your memories, generally resembled something familiar.
If you had a sense of smell, you could probably catch the scents of paper, ink, and dust.
“Well then, shall we go in?”
Sophia smiled in front of the largest bookstore in TikTok.
***
“What? You want to look at books here? Ugh, cut it out, you jokester! I thought maybe I’d get one last thing before closing time, and now some weirdos come in!”
The tavern owner’s blunt reaction felt like he was mocking someone.
“Oh, please, make yourselves comfortable. We have chairs, so go ahead and use them. Huh? You’re asking if I won’t close? Ha. It’s fine! I can finally stay up all night reading! Hahaha!”
Just a heavy leather pouch was enough to change his mood completely.
Your curiosity was piqued by Sophia’s action of handing over half of the money she borrowed from Dorothea.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks if she’s giving too much!]
“Reading books at a bargain prices diminishes the value of the knowledge inside them. Of course, just because something is expensive doesn’t mean it’s good. One must remain flexible according to the situation.”
With a wink, Sophia held up a language-related book recommended by the owner.
Sophia began to focus on the book without a word, and with nothing left to do, you started looking around the bookstore.
Since you had this rare opportunity, you thought about reading an interesting book if you found one, but…
[The ‘Tin Knight’ laments that he can’t read!]
At the very least, you needed to know what’s written on the cover to pick a book, but everything looked like scribbles to you, leaving you with no way to choose.
Unlike when you signed a contract with Dorothea, no one was around to explain the contents.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ wonders what this has to do with his past!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ points out that suddenly diving into reading in the middle of a conversation is rather rude!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ appeals for you to look over here!]
Silence answered you.
No matter how many messages of protest you sent, Sophia remained focused on the book without reacting at all.
It was a striking contrast to how Dorothea would respond immediately if you sent her three messages in a row when she was nearby, claiming that it made her head spin and urging you to quiet down.
With no other choice, you decided to practice manipulating magical power in a corner.
You needed to remember the changes made while improving your magical circuits.
About 40 minutes passed.
“Hmm, I see.”
Sophia stood up.
Returning the language book to its original place, she grabbed another language book from the same line and began reading while still standing.
Thinking nothing more of it, you returned to your practice.
And 10 minutes later,
Sophia swapped the book she was reading again and started flipping through the pages quickly.
You tilted your head.
The speed at which she flipped the pages felt a bit too fast.
Before a single page even reached the end, it seemed she was already starting a new one.
In less than 10 minutes, Sophia had pulled and pushed three different books on the shelves before moving to the corner of the bookstore and repeating the ritual.
“Hmm?”
The bookstore owner wore a puzzled expression for a moment but soon lost interest and turned his gaze elsewhere.
He likely thought she was just browsing a bunch of books to find one she liked.
You looked into Sophia’s eyes.
Normally, a person’s eyes would move in a zigzag when reading a book.
But while she kept flipping through the pages, her pink eyes showed almost no movement.
To put it bluntly, it looked like she was only glancing at each page once as if picking a dot on each.
And in the latter half, she even looked at the two open pages together.
What to call that?
It seemed less like reading and more as if she was taking in the entire page at once.
Almost like a scanner.
“Hmm. Nice.”
Sophia closed the book.
It was the last book she hadn’t touched among all the books in the store.
As you finished up your magical adjustment and were brainstorming new training menus for Adel, you turned to Sophia and stared at her intently.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ complains if she’s finally done!]
“Hmm, are you angry?”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ states that anyone would feel displeased if someone suddenly got engrossed in reading during a conversation!]
“I’m sorry! I meant to read just what I needed and then continue our conversation. It’s been so long since I’ve held a book that I got carried away without realizing.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ shows off his broad-mindedness, saying he can forgive you!]
If it were Dorothea, she’d have called your nonsense out, and if it were Adelheid, she’d have given a neither positive nor negative response with a sunken expression, but Sophia just smiled and said, “Thank you.”
Not receiving the sharp reaction you anticipated, you felt a bit disheartened.
“Well then. Shall we continue the conversation we were having?”
Sophia momentarily shifted her gaze to the tavern owner.
After confirming that the bookstore owner was dozing off at the counter, she continued.
“This city is quite famous for being a source of Magical Automatons even within the Empire, and there are many related books here. While the crafting methods and specific techniques are likely kept as industry secrets, the basic structure and characteristics were well laid out.”
Sophia approached a bookshelf and picked up one of the books while saying,
“‘The essence of the Magical Automaton lies in what is called the artificial or synthetic soul. This intelligent device, which can be created by artisans or wizards who can handle magical power, was developed to generate obedient and versatile familiars instead of homunculi endowed with the characteristics of the base animal, haughty and arrogant spirits, or vengeful spirits of the living.'”
Sophia’s hand touched another book.
New lines flowed from her lips.
“‘The artificial soul can be regarded as the brain of the Magical Automaton. The higher the ability of the creator, the better the cognitive abilities and judgment are, while initially, it can only exhibit exceedingly passive movements. However, an artificial soul that has accumulated ample experience may sometimes take autonomous actions. Whether to consider this growth or an inconvenience caused by excessive information accumulation varies among experts.'”
Next book. Another one next.
“‘There are various theories regarding who first developed the artificial soul, but the most credible one suggests that its origin lies in the ‘Tower of Guardian,’ one of the magical towers of the Aeolia Magical Kingdom.'”
“‘The artificial soul is a magical entity that requires magical power for its existence. Should it fail to receive a magical supply, it will slowly dissipate, and while it can slow this process somewhat in a dormant state, there are still limits.'”
Until you entered this bookstore, the vampire, like you, couldn’t read a single character, but in merely a few hours, it felt as if she had absorbed the contents of all the books in sight.
“There’s a lot of variety, isn’t there? But, among all these books, not a single one contains the information I hoped for.”
Sophia leaned in closely, her pink eyes shimmering with strange heat.
“─The origin of the Magical Automaton. Where it was made, when it was made, and why it was created.”
Sophia pointed at your breastplate, or more precisely, the vessel containing the soul inside it.
“Let me tell you the answers. Where was it made? The Ionia Kingdom. When was it made? During the Dark Ages. Why was it made? Out of necessity. To survive against the threats to humanity, even if it meant sacrificing human souls to secure power.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ is curious about who these threats are!]
“I can’t tell you that.”
Sophia said playfully, “I was sealed while investigating just that.”
“Using human souls as material for Magical Automatons was one of the strictest taboos, even back when I was human. The most common occurrence of that was about five hundred years ago, when I was sealed, around a thousand years ago during the Dark Ages. So, if you’re a person from that time, I figured you might remember something… But if you don’t remember, then oh well.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ is shocked, asking if that means he’s ancient!]
“Well? That’s only considering that it was the ‘most produced era.’ There’s a chance it could be after that.”
You crossed your arms and leaned forward.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ grumbles that he’s only raising more questions!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ demands a clear answer!]
In response to your complaints, Sophia smiled brightly.
“I totally get that. That’s why I plan to investigate further.”
-Even if someone finds that inconvenient.
The softly muttered words left a peculiar memory.
***
“Hmm? Oh, have you finished whatever you came for? Haha, thank you for using us.”
The drowsy owner of the bookstore smiled brightly when you two announced your departure.
He looked relieved, as if now he could finally get some decent sleep.
The streets were dark.
When you first entered the bookstore, a few shops, including the tavern, were still open, but now they had all closed.
Then again, aside from a few unusual cases that blatantly catered to entertainment and tourism, staying open for just a few hours after sunset was already considered pretty impressive.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks if you’re ready to prove your usefulness!]
“Somewhat. The rest will come down to collecting information while moving between busy areas. If I could become a walking map and encyclopedia, perhaps it would benefit Lady Dorothea too, wouldn’t it?”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ agrees that navigation would indeed be very useful!]
As you made your way back to the tavern,
-…clang…
A distant metal sound caught your attention.
You turned your head.
-…clank…crash…boom…
There was definitely a fight happening somewhere in the darkness, where everyone was asleep.
By the sound of it, it was multiple people against multiple people.
Your eyes gleamed.
A strong sense of a subquest surged through you.
The problem was that Sophia was with you…
“Tin Knight, let’s go. I’m curious what’s happening. Oh, but I might slow you down, so it would be best if you carried me.”
You gazed at Sophia blankly.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ warns that it might be dangerous!]
Sophia replied,
“Anyway, I can’t die, and you shouldn’t either, so doesn’t that make it fine?”
You fell silent.
That was truly a crazy thing to say.
In other words,
[The ‘Tin Knight’ agrees with Sophia’s reasoning!]
It was just your kind of thing.
![[TS] The End of Magical Girls Has Come](https://i3.wp.com/darkmtl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1737407792-8993-TS-The-end-of-magical-girls-has-come.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] The End of Magical Girls Has Come")
