Chapter 61

#61 Episode: Tin Knight and the City of Gears Act 3

Finally, the list of nominated candidates was decided as follows:

Rene von Lenart under 25 people.

Gerhardt von Lenart under 18 people.

Adelheid von Lenart under 7 people.

In the case of Rene, he was already known as a prominent figure in TikTok, and the dojo he operated was quite friendly to the public, so many had no reservations about choosing Rene. Generous rewards and kind service were the basic elements for gathering people.

As for Gerhardt, while he had a frightening and strict appearance and wasn’t exactly rumored to be great, the overwhelming martial prowess he displayed surpassed any negativity. Moreover, among the young people in their prime, there were quite a few who admired Gerhardt’s rough and violent demeanor.

What about Adelheid? No lengthy explanation was necessary. Sometimes, a pretty face is an answer to everything.

One of the vassals of the TikTok family, Ernest, thought to himself, “My lord has started a dangerous game. This is troublesome.”

Indeed, in the letter sent by Duke Lenart, it was stated that “the appointment of a representative instructor is to be left to Count TikTok.”

If taken literally, it meant that the Count could assign the position of the representative instructor to anyone he wished.

However, it’s important to note that communication among nobles involves more than just direct content; the surrounding context is key.

Involving a third party, besides the concerned parties Rene and Gerhardt, could easily be seen as provocation against the Duke Lenart family.

Fortunately, Gerhardt and Rene seemed open to Adel’s participation in the competition, or else the conflict between the Lenart family could have spiraled into a confrontation between Lenart and TikTok.

While hoping his lord would refrain from dangerous matters, Ernest also realized that it wouldn’t be easy to avoid them. His lord was a man who couldn’t resist fun.

And now, before Ernest, there was that “fun opponent.”

“I am Ernest, assigned to assist Lady Adelheid for the next week,” he introduced himself with a bow.

Startled, the blonde girl returned the greeting, “Oh! Yes! Nice to meet you!”

Her every expression and action radiated a youthful innocence, and Ernest couldn’t help but smile wryly. No matter how you looked at it, this girl seemed more suited to being a student than a master.

Considering the Lenart Dojo’s reputation, the fact that such a little girl was participating in the competition for the representative position was almost comical.

“You can use the lodgings, training weapons, and practice area within the castle. They’re the same ones the territory’s soldiers used for training, so there shouldn’t be a quality issue. Of course, if you have any personal preparations, you can use those as well.”

Originally meant for Rene and Gerhardt, these facilities became available after both declined.

It was somewhat expected that Rene would stick with his usual dojo, but Gerhardt’s refusal was somewhat surprising.

Since Gerhardt had been living in a large mansion on the outskirts of the city with his subordinates, he seemed inclined to use that.

“Oh, then I’ll rely on you. We’re staying at a tavern, so bringing everyone along seems a bit tough.”

“Understood. Is there anything else you need?”

“Um. Nothing in particular—”

As she was speaking, the girl turned her head sharply to the side.

She briefly glanced at the magical automaton beside her, then turned back to say, “Can we bring in food or medicines from outside?”

“Medicines, you say?”

A puzzled expression crossed Ernest’s face.

If this were the Tin Knight’s hometown, it would be akin to asking the competition director, “Can we bring in some doping for our players?”

Initially, he’d doubt his ears or think the translation was off, and upon realizing it was genuine “drugs,” he might accuse her of having lost her mind. Still, Ernest opened his mouth, “Please feel free to do as you wish.”

There was no negative sentiment in his expression. Rather, it conveyed a hint of pride, as if to say, “At least she’s trying to do something.”

The lack of a “World Anti-Doping Agency” or even the concept of “doping is bad” was simply a limitation of the era.

Thus, “Witch’s Mysterious Medicine” was brought into the training grounds.

***

On the first day of training.

“Ahem. Alright everyone. I’m going to explain today’s training, so please listen carefully!”

“Yes, Master!”

“One out of seven will spar with me one-on-one! The other six will watch! Oh, and after the sparring is over, the knight over there will correct your stances, so make sure to take that too! Once we finish a round, we start all over again! Did everyone understand?”

“Yes, Master…?”

They answered, but their responses were quite vague.

There were two main reasons.

‘…You want us to swing weapons against that cheerful girl?’

‘Isn’t this training a bit too light?’

While it wasn’t completely unreasonable to ask to engage in a 7-to-1 scenario (at least as they saw it), doing one-on-one sparring repetitively felt off.

Plus, while waiting, they could rest, but Adel would have to keep fighting continuously.

This arrangement was inefficient: the instructor would expend unnecessary stamina, and the students would be left bored waiting.

Wondering if there might be a better training method, the students raised their weapons as instructed.

The young man selected as number one quietly gathered his breath.

He might have been a man driven by desire enough to choose a master based only on looks, but that didn’t mean he lacked brains.

‘That lady is confident in her skills, so she must have set it up this way.’

Preparing for a nimble attack that played to her small stature, the young man tightly gripped the handle of the wooden sword.

The match began.

-Wham!

The match ended.

About two seconds into the horn announcing the start, Adelheid declared as she elegantly tumbled a young man bleeding from his nose, “Next!”

All eyes of the apprentices simultaneously widened.

-Wham!

“Uh, hold on! I’m not ready yet—”

-Wham!

“Uwaaahhhh!”

-Wham!

“Wait, but this training is kind of strange—”

-Wham! Wham!

“Heeek!?”

-Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham!

“Today’s training ends here! Good job, everyone!”

“Good job, cu—”

After squeezing out a last greeting, the last apprentice, who had been standing, collapsed like a fainted mannequin.

The seven bodies sprawled across the floor, or rather the apprentices, were approached by the Tin Knight.

Feeling the cold metal touch and the ointment’s sensation on their bodies, they thought, “I can’t take this.”

Having been knocked down repeatedly by Adelheid’s wooden sword.

At first, they had no idea what was happening, then they thought they were determined, and after a while, they got exasperated but the results were the same.

They cursed the very thought they had before the matches began.

What? The training is easy? Bored during the waits?

Experiencing the dread of waiting for their turns while watching earlier contestants get smacked down one after another was nothing short of a horror experience.

If only they got hurt, they could use injuries as an excuse for a break, but the damned ointment was too effective for that to be possible.

What was even scarier was that this was only day one of training.

***

“Great job today, everyone! Rest well, and we’ll start training tomorrow at 9 AM!”

With a bright smile, Adelheid greeted them.

What initially seemed alluring and lovely about her now felt terrifying.

The apprentices exchanged glances.

It seemed ‘extraordinary measures’ were needed.

***

That night.

“Master isn’t hanging around, right?”

“He was assigned a separate room inside the lord’s castle, so he won’t be near us tonight.”

“As long as we can at least tell the lord or one of the vassals nearby, we’ll be fine. If we can just say we can’t endure this training anymore, the lord won’t insist on forcing us.”

“I do feel a bit sorry for the master though.”

“Hey, don’t act all innocent now, huh?”

“We’ve got to survive, right?”

“You pervert. I’ve noticed you ogling the Master since we got close.”

“Ugh, can you not pile on? Like you guys are any different.”

With murmurs coming from behind, the young man at the front snapped in annoyance.

“Hey, shut it, you guys. Is there a need to announce our presence as a group here?”

Suddenly, silence fell.

Taken aback by the cold, stiff faces of his friends, the young man felt awkward and stuttered, “I mean, can we just be quiet? Why are you all looking so serious, huh?”

It was then the young man realized that his companions were not looking at him, but rather behind him.

With creaky movements like an old wooden puppet, he turned his head to look.

And what he saw was—

In the dark of the night.

The Tin Knight, watching him with glowing blue eyes like flaming embers.

With a whoosh, the Tin Knight quietly drew his sword.

The apprentices’ faces turned pale.

***

In the lord’s office, three vassals were reporting in their respective ways.

“Count Rene’s side has assigned a mentor to each student. They’re gaining practical experience against low-level magical automatons, with mentors correcting their stances and fighting techniques alongside.”

“Count Gerhardt’s side has focused entirely on basic physical training all day. While it’s unlikely for their physical capacity to improve dramatically over a week, it seems they aim to teach them the nuances of operating beyond their limits in extreme situations.”

“Ah, indeed. Each shows their individuality; it’s entertaining. Ernest, how about your side?”

In response to Count TikTok’s inquiry, Ernest hesitated briefly before replying, “…It’s still difficult to give a report. Training is ongoing.”

At that moment, the screams from the training ground began to echo, validating Ernest’s words.

-Aaahhhh!

-Somebody help me! Somebody help me!!

-I’m getting out of here! No, noooo! Aaaahhhh!

The expressions of the vassals twisted grotesquely.

The lord exclaimed, “Oh? It’s already a bright, shining hour, and they’re all working hard, aren’t they?”

“Should we perhaps step in to prevent this?” Ernest asked, and the lord waved his hand.

“No need for that. While the stage for the contest is set, intervening in the contest itself wouldn’t be fair. As long as it doesn’t pose a significant threat to this territory, let’s refrain from interference.”

“Understood.”

“It seems that the young lady is overflowing with motivation. Pushing too far this early might lead her to collapse on the day of the competition.”

“Even the strict Gerhardt has shown a tendency to not cross dangerous lines. It seems unavoidable that lack of experience has its drawbacks.”

Little did they know, one step back, Ernest wore an extraordinarily complex expression.

***

The next morning. Having finished her grooming, Adelheid walked toward the training area with a sense of unease.

‘ Was yesterday really too much?’

Adelheid wasn’t a complete sociopath incapable of empathizing with others’ pain.

While she demonstrated such a tendency during her time at Rowefelt Dojo, it was simply the result of lacking real battle experience, muddied by the overall brutality of the Tin Knight’s style.

Now she had, in a way, come to terms with the fact that the Tin Knight’s notion of “as long as your head doesn’t break, it’s training, not real combat” was flawed (even if she couldn’t emotionally accept it). (It all depended on who you chose as your master.)

She felt she needed to demonstrate a bit of hesitation for both the apprentices and herself.

Thinking along those lines, she stepped into the training ground, only to be taken aback by the unexpected scene before her.

“Welcome, Master!!”

“Welcome!!”

All seven apprentices stood with determination in their stances, their eyes brimming with resolve, waiting for her arrival!

Adelheid was taken aback and stammered, “Oh, hello everyone. You all seem so energized. Is everyone alright?”

“We’re fine!!”

“Thanks to you, Master!!”

“Please guide us in yet another vigorous training today!!”

“I really want to grow stronger!!”

Their voices echoed powerfully.

If a guy from the Tin Knight’s homeland saw this scene, he’d think, “Did those trainees not get fed? Is that all the strength in their voices?” followed by, “No, it’s not!!” Yeah, replaying that whole series in his head and it was impossible for Adel to know that.

Thus, she spoke with genuine joy.

“Alright! I’ll give it my all, so let’s do our best together!”

“Yes!!”

On one side of the training ground.

The Tin Knight was watching the scene with a satisfied smile.

---