Chapter 5

# Episode 5: The Camping Cooking of the Tin Knight

For Dorothea, camping was just one of those everyday, run-of-the-mill things.

Given that she had even sneaked in for a stealth mission at a troll’s nest under her eccentric master’s orders, sleeping in a regular forest was hardly a hardship.

Dorothea knew that other travelers prepared more than this, but she didn’t really care.

She possessed magical power.

By using ashes from burnt root plants as a catalyst, she could fend off cold and humidity. If she had something made from dried white petals powdered down, she could chase away most bugs. Magical bugs were the exception, but those were rare.

The blanket she carried, infused with magic, expanded in size, so even though it was as small as a handkerchief normally, it was no hassle to carry around.

That was why Dorothea couldn’t help but be taken aback when she saw the Tin Knight suddenly dash into the darkness, muttering about cooking.

“No, but wait, a magical automaton can’t eat food! What kind of cooking can it do if it can’t even taste it…”

Just as she uttered that, Dorothea hesitated for a moment.

She recalled that there was indeed a ‘magical automaton that could cook’ in the catalog she once peeked at when her master wasn’t looking.

Could an outdated automaton lacking remote magical power really have such a high-end feature? But thinking about those ridiculous combat abilities made her think it wouldn’t be odd if it had some unexpected talents.

“…Maybe I should wait a little.”

Dorothea put away the dried fruit and jerky she had taken out.

Even if she was used to sleeping on a hard floor, that didn’t mean it was more comfortable than a bed, and just because she had adapted to haphazardly snacking didn’t mean it tasted better than a proper meal.

Even though she didn’t plan on preparing anything herself, there was no need to decline someone who said they would take care of it.

Feeling a mix of slight anticipation and nervousness, Dorothea waited for the Tin Knight to return.

***

Your blade split the deer’s head in two.

It was a notably brutal strike. There was no finesse or cleanliness to the moves of a seasoned swordsman.

As you looked down at the four-legged creature collapsed before you, you briefly fell into thought.

This was not a late-onset regret over a life taken.

It was merely pondering how to process the corpse before you into something delicious—’meat’.

You had no refined skills. Still, your enthusiasm was overflowing.

When those two factors clicked together, it was only natural that a terrible outcome would result.

You severed one of the deer’s legs with your sword.

It was a brutal handling that would make any butcher shake their head in disbelief.

With a sword in one hand and a large chunk of meat in the other, you stumbled around looking for a place to light a fire.

You had boldly ignored various steps of preparation: stripping the hide, trimming the fat, seasoning it with salt to let the flavors soak in—things that should have been done in a civilized cooking process.

Just then, you noticed a flickering light from a fire in the distance.

Using an existing fire was always easier than starting a new one.

Gratefully for your unexpected luck, you began to walk towards the flickering flames.

***

Someone’s fortune, however, could very well be someone else’s misfortune.

This process usually occurred indirectly, but there were those in the world who were not fond of distributors profiting off the margins.

Thus, they stole other people’s luck in a ‘more direct’ way.

People called them thieves.

“So, there she was, begging like, ‘Please, please not this child!’ And I said with quite a solemn face—”

“Somber my ass! Even a monkey would do better than that!”

“Ah, shut up and let me finish. Anyway, I told her, ‘Tsk, can’t help it. Come with me, and I’ll sneak you out before the others notice.’ And she was, like, crying and thanking me over and over!”

“Dude, how come we can’t see what happened after that?”

“So, what happened next?”

“What do you mean what happened next? I enjoyed it to the fullest and tossed her and her kid in our pen. I mean, I even showed some kindness by making sure she wouldn’t be separated from her child. Ain’t I nice?”

“Nice my ass. At least acknowledge you’re a total piece of trash.”

“Hey, you bastard. Get to the part where you enjoyed it more seriously! You’re skipping over the most important bit!”

The ones laughing and having a good time here were part of a less-than-admirable group.

They’d hit a village, plunder some goods, and, more deplorably, kidnap people to sell elsewhere.

The lighter their bodies felt, the easier it became to acquire new things.

Those who tossed out their consciences, morals, and ethics like trash were precisely why they were wealthy.

The booze and food strewn around them were proof of that.

After quite a lot of raucous banter and ribald jokes.

One of the thieves subtly threw out an idea.

“…Hey, just listening to your stories leaves me itching for more. How about we snag a few from that place?”

His words made another thief frown.

Of course, this wasn’t out of consideration for the victims shivering in cold and hunger inside their camp.

“Did the deputy forget the boss told us not to touch the goods?”

“That was just Eric, that idiot, getting all jumpy because he touched the high-end stuff and came to discipline us collectively. Those peasants won’t matter anyway.”

“If we get caught just after we bring it up, we’ll be screwed.”

“Stop being such a coward. If you don’t want to see things go south, then you better be on board. What do you guys think?”

The suggestion from the thief piqued interest among the others.

Even the one who was just opposing seemed to feel the tension.

“Seeing things go south? How about letting you guys have your fun?”

“Yeah, that’s how you should’ve acted from the start.”

Once an agreement was reached, the actions were swift.

Some of the thieves dove into the cargo wagon, and as they came out, victims clung to their sides.

With tear-streaked faces, the frail victims had no strength left to resist; they were dragged along, following the thieves’ lead.

Against the backdrop of a blazing campfire and torches, a brutal feast was about to commence.

“Ugh, that bitch is going crazy!”

“Gagh! Gagh!”

One thief cursed with an anxious expression.

A woman they picked based on her looks was struggling wildly and resisting.

“Hey! Just sit still!”

The thief, displeased with her resistance, resorted to violence without hesitation.

With her hands and feet bound and a gag in her mouth, the woman couldn’t fight back and soon hung limply.

Her bright blonde hair was dirtied, and her moist green eyes reflected various things.

The dark night sky.

The twisted faces of thieves corrupted by base desires.

The Tin Knight wielding a sword aimed at the back of a thief’s neck.

‘Huh?’

The question mark in the woman’s mind coincided with the moment the thief’s head got split in two.

Having achieved a second headshot after the deer, the sword shone red under the torchlight.

Then, the knight galloped forward.

Swish!

“Gah!”

“Hey, wait! You—”

It didn’t take long for the festival grounds to turn into a slaughterhouse.

The knight’s sword showed no mercy, whether the opponent was armed or not.

Only after losing three of their group did the thieves finally manage to prepare for a fight.

“Damn it, what was the lookout doing while that guy came in!!”

“Is that really important right now? Just take that bastard out first!!”

Murderous intent overflowed in the thieves’ eyes.

They had confidence.

While their numbers had dwindled due to the sudden ambush, they still had more than ten remaining against just the one knight.

“You bastard. Don’t think you’re going to die nicely!”

One thief shouted intimidatingly at the knight.

It was a very basic psychological ploy to shrink the enemy and bolster the allies.

The Tin Knight replied.

Not with words, but with actions.

The sword in the knight’s right hand sliced through the air.

If all the previous attacks had been brute force, what the knight now displayed was a very orthodox yet efficient technique for murder.

Clang!

When the thief’s sword clashed with the knight’s, the result was one of two things: either the thief’s sword would be knocked away, or they’d lose their balance while holding onto theirs.

And that would be the end for them.

Swish!

Necks were severed, hearts pierced, and guts spilled.

The sight of the thieves methodically being dismantled before them paralyzed their senses.

“Gack!”

Those who moved toward the knight’s left fared even worse.

If the right hand wielded a sword of intricate skill, then the left hand clutching the deer’s back leg unleashed sheer barbarity.

Thud!!

A massive chunk of bones and muscle, weighing dozens of kilograms, acted as a giant mace.

Some of the thieves foolishly swung their swords as if to chop a piece of meat off, but their efforts barely scratched the surface.

A few even stupidly tried to stab, getting their blades stuck in the meat and losing their weapons.

“What the hell is this monster…!”

Only then did the thieves realize the fallacy they had been operating under.

By not keeping an eye on their surroundings. By getting ambushed. By not being prepared or armed.

All of these were mere excuses.

Even if the thieves had banded together right from the start, fully prepared, the knight in front of them was a monster that could slaughter them all without so much as breaking a sweat.

It was a realization far too late.

The thieves, scrambling to abandon their comrades and flee, found that even that wasn’t allowed.

“Hey, just wait a minute! You know who we are—”

“We’re sorry! We’re sorry! Please just forgive us this once!”

“Eek! Hek!”

Threats, pleas, and desperate escapes were all useless.

Slice and strike, slice and strike.

The methodical killings continued until every last thief had met their end.

“……”

The surviving women held their breath, cautiously glancing at the knight.

While it was undoubtedly a relief that the demon-like thieves had been brought down, the knight’s behavior in the recent battle felt too gruesome to praise blindly.

Cling, cling.

Ignoring all the gazes, the knight walked to the center of the thieves’ camp and plopped down.

Then, under the bright flames of the torches, he began roasting the deer leg he held in hand.

?

A gigantic question mark loomed over the heads of every survivor.

Regardless, the knight persistently turned the leg, diligently cooking the meat.

---