Chapter 98

#98 Episode: Tin Knight and Martial Arts Tournament (5)

Dorothea had two options.

One was to completely ignore the message and head back to her lodging, and the other was to respond to the call.

The former was practically a choice she couldn’t make.

‘They’ve already figured out our identity and location.’

Even if she ignored the call this time, it would only postpone the inevitable. As long as they had business with her, a meeting was bound to happen whether she wanted it or not.

And next time, it might even come in the form of an ambush or an uninvited visit.

In that case, facing them directly and having a proper confrontation suited Dorothea’s temperament more.

“Adele, Sophia. You two should go back… No, wait. Let’s just go together.”

Dorothea changed her mind midway.

She thought it wouldn’t be wise to bring Sophia along if their business was related to the maze, but then again, that could very well be their lethal strategy. It was far more reassuring to stick together from the start than to risk having Sophia or Adele end up being attacked by strange individuals.

The rendezvous point designated by the other party was a mansion located in the heart of the special district.

True to being a place that only those with special recognition could enter, the buildings in the special district were generally extravagant and upscale. Still, the mansion in front of her was particularly large and magnificent.

As she approached the grand iron-barred front gate, two knights stationed at the entrance bowed in respect.

The elegance of their movements and the intimidating posture of their sheathed swords indicated that each one of them was not to be trifled with.

After a brief twitch of her eyebrows, Dorothea glanced at the Tin Knight.

The look was one that asked whether he could handle the situation.

[‘Tin Knight’ confidently assures that as long as there’s magical power left, there’s no problem!]

With the Tin Knight’s reassurance, Dorothea closed her eyes momentarily before speaking.

“Someone named Alingd called for me.”

“They are waiting inside. Please come this way.”

Following the polite guidance, the group stepped inside the gate.

However, the guide didn’t head toward the building.

Instead, they went to the garden that surrounded the mansion.

There, amidst flowers and butterflies, was a small tea party area.

And there sat a girl.

“Thank you for responding to the invitation. I am Alingd Goodwitch.”

Her hair was as white as snow.

In contrast to her fairy-tale-like appearance was her rather stiff and rigid expression and tone.

Dorothea opened her mouth toward the last witch’s apprentice after Franka and Gale.

“I assume introductions aren’t necessary? You already seem to know quite a bit.”

“Yes.”

Alingd didn’t deny it.

“I am aware that your name is Dorothea Aschengard, that you are the apprentice of the East Witch, and that you are one of the conquerors of the Taros Labyrinth. In other words, that’s about it.”

Dorothea remained unfazed by Alingd’s calm enumeration of her details.

This was well within the realm of her expectations.

Thus, she casually replied, “Oh really? So, what’s the business here?”

Alingd stared intently at Dorothea.

Though her expression didn’t change, it almost seemed like she found Dorothea’s reaction amusing.

“The public reason is to investigate several questions related to the treasures of the Taros Labyrinth, for instance, whether you and your group have any connection to the mysterious death of the Adventurer’s Guild Schwarz Branch Manager. It’s an incident that gained an unnecessarily high level of attention given the scale of the events.”

A public reason, meaning that it was just a facade, and that the real purpose was something else entirely.

“What’s the real reason?”

At Dorothea’s question, Alingd’s golden eyes shifted sideways, reflecting the appearances of her companions one by one.

The Tin Knight, whose thoughts were inscrutable, and Adele, who seemed slightly tense as if intimidated by the current situation.

Finally, her gaze halted at Sophia.

“I would like you to hand over everything you obtained from the Taros Labyrinth.”

The air, which had already been laden with tension, became completely frozen.

Before Dorothea could utter a word with her cold expression, Alingd continued.

“Of course, I’m not saying this will be without compensation.”

As Alingd raised her hand, a small whirlwind formed on the table set for tea.

As the breeze settled, a small, green pouch emerged.

At first glance, it seemed like a shabby pouch half-filled with indistinguishable grains, but Dorothea could sense it.

The unusual magical power contained within the pouch.

“‘Lilium’s Pouch.’ At first glance, it merely looks like a worn bag half-filled with some random grains, but in fact, it is a magical item that never empties no matter how much you take out from it. And it’s also one of the eight treasures you are gathering. I will give you this. So—”

“No thanks.”

Dorothea cut off Alingd’s words with her reply.

Her attitude clearly indicated that she didn’t even feel the need to hear more.

Alingd stared at Dorothea with a blank expression.

“Are you saying you don’t need the treasure?”

“I do need it. But you do too, don’t you?”

“It’s a request from the Kingdom. If fulfilled, it could be useful in various ways. However, in this case, this task is simply more important.”

“Then that just makes it easier to refuse.”

“And the reason?”

Dorothea took a moment to ponder what to respond.

Do I look suspicious and untrustworthy? Didn’t you just say that Sophia is more important than the Kingdom’s treasures?

Am I supposed to sell out my comrades… Nah, that’s too corny, and Sophia would probably laugh at that.

Just then, the Tin Knight’s gaze met Dorothea’s.

[‘Tin Knight’ argues that it’s just about not wanting her to feel uncomfortable, so why does she need a reason!]

A hollow laugh escaped Dorothea’s lips.

That was so typically Tin Knight-like. There was absolutely no logical basis in that statement.

But…

‘I like it.’

So, Dorothea replied.

“Just.”

“…?”

With her expression still unchanging.

But as if tilted her head in confusion, Dorothea declared toward Alingd.

“I simply don’t want to. I’m not interested in your proposal, so just disappear.”

This time it was Alingd’s turn to fall silent.

She looked back at Dorothea as if it was difficult to understand.

“I’m the apprentice of the South Witch, and my master is the pinnacle of the Empire’s mages, a ceremonial mage. Moreover, you are currently facing murder charges for the Schwarz Branch director. Although the charges themselves are just a formality, depending on the situation, they could become real at any moment. Regardless of whether they are justifiable, if those in power decide to act, then that’s the end of the matter. In other words, by rejecting this proposal, you might find yourselves branded as criminals of the Empire and become hunted.”

“Took quite a roundabout way to say you’ll squash us with power if we don’t comply, huh?”

“Presuming from the timing of the labyrinth incident, your time together has only been about half a year, or even less than that, around three months. That’s a ridiculously short time to build bonds of life and death.”

“True that. I have no intention of sharing life and death with these guys either.”

“Then, after confirming all these conditions, I’ll ask you again. Do you see fit to risk becoming branded as criminals of the Empire for such a weak bond?”

“No, the problem is you can’t seem to understand what no means. I’ve said it’s a no, so why do you keep poking around? Is your face muscle not the only thing that’s lacking in capability?”

Her open insult caused the knights around them to shift in color.

Yet, even with such blatant disrespect, their lack of any response or display of power demonstrated just how well-trained they were.

It was a scene that the young master and his entourage needed to learn from, though the actual parties involved seemed completely unaware of what they ought to learn.

“Hmmm. I see. Understood.”

The one who received the abuse didn’t react much at all and simply nodded.

As Alingd rose from her seat, her companions, excluding the Tin Knight, braced themselves for a fight. The Tin Knight, on the other hand, was bubbling with excitement.

And Alingd spoke.

“Then, I bid you farewell.”

“Excuse me?”

Dorothea looked quite taken aback.

In fact, it wasn’t just her—most people around were similarly bewildered.

“What’s going on? If you were expecting a send-off, I’m afraid you’ll have to give that up. I’m not that generous to send you off after hearing that kind of abuse.”

“No, it’s not about that. You’re just letting us leave? In this situation?”

“Hm. Indeed.”

In response to Dorothea’s inquiry, Alingd reacted faintly.

She nodded a few times, as if she understood the situation, before speaking.

“We are civilized folk. Dorothea Aschengard. If negotiations don’t go well, it’s rather barbaric to immediately resort to violence, don’t you think?”

Dorothea swallowed hard. Adele’s eyes widened. The Tin Knight created a ruckus, shouting something about ‘that’s utterly ridiculous!’.

Sophia managed to look impressed, as if she was taken aback by the whole situation, which was the best counterattack the group could muster.

Having put three people in a groggy state with a single blow, Alingd continued calmly.

“I’m not saying I will abandon my goal. However, if we were to fight here, the martial arts tournament would surely be ruined. That is not something I desire either. After all, the chance to freely wander outside like this is quite rare.”

Finally recovering from the shock, Dorothea spoke.

“So, you’re saying that you won’t fight because you don’t want to ruin the tournament? That you want to enjoy a bit more sightseeing?”

“You have good comprehension. Additionally, while I mentioned the possibility of you becoming criminals of the Empire earlier, the actual likelihood is low. Even though high-ranking officials come up with justifications when dealing with lower ranks, it would be rather excessive to brand you as murderers for an incident that occurred in the southern part of the Empire while you’re in the northern part. Let alone with the inclusion of the Lion Duke’s Bloodline.”

As she withdrew Lilium’s Pouch, Alingd added,

“Of course, monopolizing this mission is only limited to this city. After leaving Trakus, the hunt will surely resume. As long as this pouch exists, there’s a chance you might come at me. Well, considering all of this, I suppose it will become clear during the tournament.”

“…Franka and Gale, both seem like they’re anything but normal.”

Dorothea complained, to which Alingd replied.

“If they were, they wouldn’t be able to be the apprentices of witches, would they? Including yourself, of course.”

***

The confrontation between Alingd and Dorothea’s group did not unfold.

It was uncertain whether they could secure Lilium’s Pouch right away, and if they were to engage in an all-out battle with Alingd, they would have to scrap the original plan of catching the champion and heading to the West Witch.

After returning to their lodging and thoroughly establishing all forms of magical soundproofing, wiretapping, and ambush countermeasures, only then could they finally rest.

“Phew! I thought I was going to die from the nerves! Every knight around was giving off such an intimidating aura…!”

[‘Tin Knight’ asserts that to become an elite, you must surpass the elites!]

[‘Tin Knight’ believes that experiencing extreme chaos will allow you to be more relaxed in future battles!]

“That might be true, but, umm.”

“Don’t get carried away by his nonsense. Don’t fall for it.”

After taking sufficient measures to pull Adele away from the Tin Knight’s temptations, Dorothea spoke.

“Sophia.”

“Yes?”

“Have any guesses as to why we’re being targeted?”

As always, Dorothea’s words pierced right to the heart of the matter.

Sophia replied with a gentle smile, “Well, I’m not quite sure?”

“I’m not in the mood for wordplay.”

“I’m not jesting either. It’s just that, right now, there are too few clues to discern why they’re targeting me.”

“Hmm.”

Dorothea nodded after contemplating for a moment.

She concluded that Sophia was not entirely incorrect.

“However, one thing is certain: they don’t know that you absorbed Tuberosum’s Chalice.”

“That would be the case. If they had known, they wouldn’t have offered one of the eight treasures as compensation.”

Dorothea’s goal was to reclaim the eight treasures.

Even if she managed to recover ‘Lilium’s Pouch’ that Alingd possessed, handing Sophia over to them would yield effectively no benefit.

The very fact that Alingd proposed the treasure as a bargain demonstrated that she viewed ‘Sophia’ and ‘the eight treasures’ as separate matters.

[‘Tin Knight’ asks what the plan is moving forward!]

“Not much will change. We’ll win the tournament, reclaim the belt from the champion, and head towards the West Witch. But as predicted, there’s a high chance we’ll clash with Alingd during the tournament.”

After stating that, Dorothea added,

“Don’t let your guard down. According to my master, the southern witch is the most proficient in pure combat among the four witches. That apprentice of hers won’t be easy either.”

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