Chapter 50

# Episode 50: The Tin Knight and the City of Springs (9)

Kumara, a Silver-ranked adventurer from the Empire’s Adventurer’s Guild, received a strange request from the Guild one day.

“…So, you want me to give false testimony?”

“False testimony? Not at all! We just want to correct your ‘misunderstanding,’ Kumara.”

Despite Kumara’s voice dripping with impatience and irritation, the Guild staff maintained a perfectly professional demeanor without revealing any emotion.

“A Silver-ranked adventurer, Castor, and his three party members were murdered in the Taros Labyrinth. It was undoubtedly a crime aimed at their treasure. We’ve decided to tackle this matter rigorously for the safety and honor of our affiliated adventurers, and after a thorough investigation, we’ve determined both the crime’s process and the identity of the perpetrator.”

With a tone as flat as reading from a manual, the staff continued.

“The culprits are explorers in the employ of Halder Trading Company, who ambushed the two parties to steal their discovered treasures. They swiftly transferred the goods to the Company and fled after securing immediate payment, fearing the crime would be uncovered. It appears they ignored repeated requests from the Company for cooperation, which might suggest they were eager to shift all the blame onto them.”

“Hey, you lunatics!”

Kumara’s patience finally reached its breaking point.

“Those so-called explorers from Halder Trading Company are long gone, yet I’ve seen Castor and that Pelleidos guy wandering around just fine! How could someone who is already gone kill someone in the Labyrinth, huh? If you’re gonna investigate, do it right!!”

“You must have misseen.”

The staff’s unwavering confidence felt like a wall; they evidently had no room for any other possibilities in their minds.

Kumara’s face twisted grotesquely.

At this point, it seemed less like “the explorers from Halder Trading Company are the criminals” and more like “the explorers from Halder Trading Company **must** be the criminals.”

‘…Wait a minute.’

A chilling possibility crept down Kumara’s spine.

“Exploring the Labyrinth is an extreme occupation. It involves tremendous physical and mental exertion, and without seeing the sun for a long time, your sense of time becomes vague. It’s not uncommon for the sequence of memories to become jumbled. That’s just how it is—merely a trivial mistake.”

The staff’s empty eyes locked onto Kumara.

“We’re not asking for anything outrageous. We just want to prevent confusion in the investigation. After you leave this room, all you need to do is say to any inquiring adventurers, ‘I’m sorry. Upon reflection, I might have mixed up the dates a bit.’ That’s it, and everything will be resolved. The curious adventurers will just laugh it off, and we’ll handle the aftermath.”

Kumara realized.

This wasn’t a request for cooperation or advice.

It was a threat to comply with the story prepared by the Guild.

“Ha.”

Kumara let out a hollow laugh.

He wasn’t exactly a righteous person.

Whether explorers who had just brushed past in the Labyrinth were wrongfully accused or not was honestly outside his concern.

But one thing stood.

“Could it be that you guys set this up?”

He couldn’t forgive the fact that the Adventurer’s Guild would murder their affiliated adventurers to use them as political fodder.

Because Kumara himself was an adventurer too.

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Ha, right. You wouldn’t know. Yeah, I don’t know either.”

Kumara stood up from his chair.

He no longer wanted to stay here.

Just as Kumara was about to leave, he heard the staff’s voice behind him.

“You’ll regret this.”

Ignoring the comment, Kumara exited the room.

The first thing Kumara did after escaping the Guild was to explain the situation and apologize to his party members, the mage Magia and the warrior Sitarr.

“Sorry. I made a decision on my own.”

Magia and Sitarr exchanged glances.

“Ah, it’s fine. What can we do about what’s already done?”

“Why didn’t you at least punch them before leaving?”

“You guys…!”

In a brief moment of heartwarming camaraderie, the three soon began to take action.

Their first stop was Halder Trading Company.

***

Meanwhile, Halder Trading Company had received the following ‘notification’ from the Guild:

– Explorers hired by Halder Trading Company killed adventurers. Therefore, all treasures possessed by Halder Trading Company are considered ill-gotten gains.

– Upon investigation, it appears the incident was solely due to the adventurers’ actions. Halder Trading Company seems to have been manipulated by their intentional approach.

– Even if it wasn’t intentional, the responsibility of hiring individuals with unclear identities cannot be denied, yet one must consider that Halder Trading Company had been trading in good faith with the Guild.

– If Halder Trading Company issues a statement condemning those adventurers, we’ll conclude the matter by returning all treasures, and will not demand further compensation.

– We express our deep regrets that such an incident occurred and hope for a harmonious relationship between both parties moving forward.

Lorenz, the head of Halder Trading Company, interpreted the Guild’s notification like this:

– Hand over every treasure you have. We’re just retrieving stolen property, so no money will be paid.

– We’ll publicly announce that you hired a bizarre killer group that killed our people. Just admit that you guys messed up too.

– Your reputation will take a hit, but that’s not our concern. If you didn’t want trouble, you shouldn’t have hired those weirdos.

– Honestly, we should’ve hit you harder. We let you off easy. So, so thankful, huh? Better be nice to your big brother from now on.

“Damn it.”

Lorenz Halder thought he might finally understand what it felt like to have blood rush to your head.

The reason he hadn’t declared war immediately was twofold.

One, the opposing force was incredibly powerful, and two, he feared there might be some truth to their claims.

Lorenz’s intuition told him that Dorothea and her party weren’t the type to commit such acts. Still, their time spent together was far too brief for him to stake the future of his Company on it.

Stuck in a dilemma, neither admitting to Guild’s request that Dorothea’s party were the culprits nor raising his hand against the Guild, Kumara’s party’s testimonies were as precious as treasures.

“We need to inform the party we hired without delay. If they’re orchestrating this incident, they won’t just let it slide. They’ll do everything to keep their mouths shut. The issue is not knowing their exact location…”

“Do you happen to know what carriage they used?”

“It was one provided by our Company. Why do you ask?”

“Then it should bear the Company’s mark. I’ve seen the physical description of their party, so that should be enough for me to pursue.”

“…Alright. Prepare the fastest horse. And give me that special herb. When fed to a horse, it greatly enhances stamina and endurance. They’ll run as fast as someone going head-to-head on foot even while pulling a carriage, so if I ride without a carriage, I can move even faster.”

With their roles assigned, Kumara and his two companions began their pursuit of Dorothea’s party.

Their goal was to inform the party of the Guild’s conspiracy and bring them to a city under Halder Trading Company’s influence.

Kumara, who had learned horse riding from his father, a captain in the Empire’s special forces, and Magia, a fallen noble, were naturally skilled. Sitarr, on the other hand, hung on for dear life, relying on sheer brute strength and endurance.

The next problem arose.

“Damn it. Looks like we’re not the only ones following them.”

Upon spotting tracks of the targeted carriage, Kumara clenched his teeth.

At this rate, his goal might get ambushed before he could even reach them.

If a general in the Empire had witnessed it, he might have screamed something like, “Why the heck are people like you wasting away as adventurers? Enlist immediately!” showcasing their remarkable ability, and Kumara’s party hurried onward.

Before the Guild’s trackers could find Dorothea’s party, they aimed to meet up with them.

And they did.

Not with Dorothea’s party, but with the Guild’s minions tracking them.

“Magia! Sitarr! There they are! Prepare for combat!”

“I knew those sneaky bastards were trailing us!”

The bizarre situation ensued where the actual targets, Dorothea’s party, were completely unaware of being hunted, while two sets of pursuers clashed.

Against the backdrop of the night-shrouded TikTok, Kumara’s party and the Guild’s trackers engaged in battle.

Clang! Boom!

Proving why they were among the finest even within the Silver ranks, Sitarr’s axe and Magia’s magic took down the trackers one by one.

As Kumara stabbed a dagger, usually used against monsters, into an enemy’s throat, he thought.

‘I’m at a disadvantage here!’

Individually, Kumara’s party was superior, but their numbers were lacking.

With fatigue piling up from their intense ride, their limbs started to feel unresponsive.

‘Damn it, if only I were just a little bit faster…!’

In reality, after setting out a few days late, Kumara’s party had arrived in the same city as Dorothea’s party with just under a day’s difference, showcasing mobility rivaling professional couriers, but that mattered little to Kumara at the moment.

As Sitarr dished out more wounds, and Magia was panting heavily, Kumara decided to signal for a retreat just at that moment.

Clank.

Despite the fierce fight, weapons clashed and magical explosions roared, creating enough noise that ordinarily, any minor background sounds would fade into oblivion.

Yet for some reason.

Clank.

In the dark of night, the sound of footsteps on the ground rang too clearly in Kumara’s ears.

Forgetting they were in combat, he instinctively turned his gaze.

Emerging from the darkness was a heavy metal presence.

With bright blue eyes blazing like will-o’-the-wisps.

A terrifying knight, carrying a person on his shoulder like a bag of potatoes…!

‘Huh?’

Didn’t he just see something strange?

After blinking several times, Kumara scrutinized the newcomer once more.

An armored knight.

No, a Magical Automaton.

The very one they had been desperately searching for was right here!

He felt so relieved that he almost wanted to hug him despite not being close.

If only the Tin Knight wasn’t carrying someone.

This wasn’t the kind of charming princess carry you might imagine.

It looked more like a brutish kidnapper dragging someone off by the shoulder.

The bizarre sight made even those deeply engaged in battle pause, blinking in surprise.

“Did we arrive? Then I would appreciate it if you could set me down. This position is rather pressing, and blood is rushing to my head.”

A calm voice echoed through the chaos.

As the knight shifted, the person draped over him slid off unceremoniously, landing with a thud on the ground.

All observers stood dumbfounded, but the woman who fell simply got up as if nothing happened.

She then spoke.

“Nice to meet you all, just a wandering knight and a curious scholar passing by. Could you tell me why you’re fighting?”

Silence enveloped the scene.

The beauty with green hair and pink eyes tilted her head and suddenly glanced over at the knight.

“Oh, right. Knowledge comes at a price, doesn’t it?”

For a moment, she nodded emphatically, before speaking again.

“We’ll give a small token of gratitude to anyone who shares information. Anyone need some gold?”

Kumara thought.

‘This person must be mentally unstable.’

The trackers seemed to arrive at similar conclusions.

“What the hell is that lunatic saying? Take care of them!!”

Some of the pursuers charged at the woman.

She merely stared blankly at them before replying.

“Oh, I’ll pass the message along.”

Smack!!

With the swing of the Tin Knight’s shield, the charging pursuers went flying.

The woman remarked.

“The Tin Knight says that if he dislikes money, we should settle this with our fists instead.”

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