The Tin Knight-Chapter 42: The Tin Knight and The City of Clockwork (1)

“Oh, dear.”

William Heming, a marquis from a prestigious noble household in the Kingdom of Ionia, couldn’t help but sigh at the sight of his reflection in the mirror.

His eyes were sunken, his skin dry, and the mustache he had been secretly proud of had lost its luster.

He knew other nobles and servants in the mansion were whispering behind his back, but he hadn’t realized it was this serious.

“...If it weren’t for that witch!!”

William gritted his teeth.

A few months ago, upon hearing the king’s so-called “Great Kingdom Revival Plan,” he had tried to subtly interfere, fearing the entire nation would be destroyed.

William’s plan to either recruit—or, at the very least, eliminate—the witch, who was the key figure in the king’s proposed plan, had failed miserably. Worse, he had been forced into an unfair contract.

The terms included not harming or interfering with the witch, informing her if there were signs of betrayal from the king or nobles, and explaining the witch’s independent actions to the king and surrounding nobles on her behalf.

If this had been a simple written contract, William could have laughed it off, but cruelly and terrifyingly, this was a magical contract.

At first, William had tried to minimize his own responsibility by claiming the witch had ignored their “goodwill” and acted as she pleased, but then the unthinkable happened.

The moment the court meeting concluded, “We can’t leave such a willful witch unchecked, we must capture her again and retrieve the compass,” William had the horrifying experience of webbing sprouting between his fingers like a frog.

His unfavorable testimony against the witch, which had swayed public opinion, was considered a violation of the contract clause prohibiting interference.

Terrified, William had to desperately defend the witch by taking back his words or claiming, “That’s not what I meant,” and somehow try to cancel the treasure retrieval plan. The king, displeased with the nobles’ intentions to cancel the plan, sided with William, resulting in the cancellation of the order to capture the witch.

William recovered his human hands, but his reputation did not recover.

Already receiving unfavorable glances for failing to properly handle the witch, and now siding with the “unreasonable” king—albeit unavoidably—he couldn’t expect to be well-regarded among the nobles.

To think that he, once a key figure among the noble faction, was now treated as a leading supporter of the pro-king faction!

And for that bomb-king with grandiose dreams and not a speck of realism!

William silently screamed, clutching his head.

“Damn that witch, what’s with ‘inform me if you see signs of the king or nobles trying to backstab’? If you’re going to make people spy, at least let them know your whereabouts...! How am I supposed to send news when I don’t even know where you are?!”

William was afraid.

The witch had left without escort, claiming she would find the treasures alone, and there had been no news for months. While the nobles were secretly rejoicing, believing the witch must have given up, the king’s mood was worsening by the day.

What if the enraged king reissues the retrieval of the compass?

And what if I am considered to have violated the contract for not informing the witch, even while I am unable to?

Rationally speaking, in this case, he couldn’t be considered in violation of the contract since he couldn’t send news due to not knowing her location even if he wanted to, but who knew?

That wicked contract might arbitrarily judge William and turn him into a frog.

Living each day in anxiety, he couldn’t taste his food even when eating, and couldn’t smell the aroma of fine tea even when it was right in front of him.

Just when he thought he might waste away completely, one day...

“A, a letter from the witch has arrived?!”

“Yes! It’s a carrier... well, not a live bird, but some kind of dead bird flew through the sky.”

“Bring it to me immediately! Now!!”

William was desperate.

The guard knight seemed quite reluctant about the letter delivered by a dead bird, but William couldn’t care less about such things.

When his remaining life hung in the balance between living as a human or a frog, what did it matter if the letter was delivered by a dead bird or a flying spaghetti monster?

“Here it is.”

Whoosh!

William snatched the letter with a swiftness uncharacteristic of a noble who had never handled a sword beyond basic etiquette.

As he quickly scanned the contents, his face contorted grotesquely.

“’...Successfully retrieved the Key of Opium and the Chalice of Tuberose. However, the Chalice of Tuberose has been absorbed by an unidentified woman. Don’t complain later after all the treasures are recovered, if you think this will cause problems, say so now. No complaints will be accepted afterward. Return the reply to the bird that brought this letter...’

“What nonsense is this again! Arghhhh!”

Hearing his master’s death-like shriek, the guard knight shook his head.

That afternoon.

A copy of the letter, carefully “edited” by William, was delivered to the king. Delighted that two of the eight secret treasures had been recovered, the king sent a reply saying, “I won’t worry about minor issues, just continue as you are.”

As a bonus, William, who had excellently performed his role as “intermediary with the witch”, further solidified his position as the king’s confidant.

Though it was entirely against his wishes.

***Some time later.

The Tin Knight’s party had gathered in a forest in the northern part of the Empire.

“Well then, I’ll open it.”

At Dorothea’s words, someone audibly gulped.

The Tin Knight, Adelaide, and Sophia were staring intently at the letter Dorothea was holding.

“Hmm, hmmm.”

Dorothea’s eyes flicked left and right as she read the letter.

And finally.

“─Alright, he says there’s no problem. Whether it’s a person or a treasure, just bring it back. In other words, we continue our journey.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ lets out a silent cheer!]

“Kyaaah! Thank goodness. I’m so relieved! I was so worried that our journey might end here...!”

“I’m glad to see everyone so happy. Fufu.”

Dorothea’s face showed exasperation.

She spoke to Sophia, “The tin can and Adel aside—why are you, of all people, happy about this? The kingdom is openly saying they want to have you.”

“Is that a problem?”

Sophia tilted her head.

“What do you mean, ‘Is that a problem’? You’re being treated like an object right now.”

“Hahaha, that’s up to me to decide, no? Given the ability of the Chalice of Tuberose, couldn’t I easily pass myself off as a prophet with some plausible words? As a prophet supported by the royal family, wouldn’t I receive excellent treatment as a living treasure?”

“Pretending to be a prophet...”

“I’ve tried imitating one before, and it’s quite easy. The important things are ‘phrasing things in vague ways with multiple interpretations’ and ‘commonalities that everyone has one or two of’.”

Sophia smiled leisurely.

“Besides, we’re not going to the kingdom right away, are we? There are still six treasures left, and Adelaide has four more challenges she needs to face. Now that I’ve finally been released from my seal, there’s nothing wrong with thoroughly enjoying the culture and knowledge of this new era before settling down in one place.”

“...Well, if you’re fine with it, who am I to argue”

Dorothea shook her head.

She addressed the party, “Anyway, there’s no change in plans, so we’ll continue heading north in the Empire. Our destination is the city of ‘clockwork’, Tik-Tok. However, this time our goal isn’t to retrieve a treasure.”

Dorothea pointed her staff at the Tin Knight.

“The main objective is to overhaul this centuries-old scrap heap, and if possible, upgrade him to the latest model. We need to strengthen our forces in advance to prepare for the monster-class enemies that might appear in the future.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ sheds tears of joy at the unexpected possibility of a power-up!]

Ignoring the Tin Knight who started dancing a strange dance with his creaking steel body.

Dorothea pointed at Adelaide.

“Adel. You go and do your little dojo challenges or whatever too. This is just a bonus though.”

“Yes, I’ll do my best!”

Finally, Dorothea pointed at Sophia.

“And you.”

“Yes. I’ll diligently explore modern culture.”

“That’s not it!!” Dorothea yelled.

“Prove that you’re useful! Useful! You’re not helping this party at all right now!!”

It took a few days to send the zombie carrier pigeon to the kingdom and receive a reply.

During that time, following Dorothea’s argument, “If we have to keep you as a companion anyway, you should be useful for something,” Sophia was assigned to various tasks.

The results were disastrous.

“What kind of vampire can’t even properly hold a sword? Aren’t you guys supposed to be a race with superhuman strength!?”

“Well, I’m a case that succeeded by experimenting with this and that, and before I knew it, oops. I might be a bit different from typical vampires.”

“Then you should at least be useful for housework including cooking, but you can’t even do that!”

“I’m still a bit anemic, so it’s a bit hard for me to move... After being drained for hundreds of years, a few drops in my mouth doesn’t make much difference.”

“You can’t even fight properly! You don’t know how to use magic! The only seemingly useful holy magic burns you up the more you use it! What exactly is your purpose? Is your job just to sit around and breathe all day!? No one would notice if I pulled out a scarecrow from a field and stuck you there instead!”

“Oh, that sounds nice. Gazing at a field while being lost in thought would be an enjoyable experience too.”

Adelaide stared blankly at Dorothea, who was clutching her head.

Our Miss Witch.

She seemed a lot cooler before... or was she ever cool in the first place?

Adelaide briefly recalled Dorothea’s past behavior.

Dorothea beating the Tin Knight with her staff whenever he did something stupid.

Dorothea recklessly smashing a random inn in pursuit of vengeance against the witch who had threatened her life.

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Dorothea grabbing Sophia’s collar and shaking her whenever she teased her with a carefree laugh, unable to beat her as she did with the Tin Knight.

...Come to think of it, maybe she was always like this.

The cold and cruel image of a witch, and the current emotional and hot-tempered young woman.

Which one is the real Dorothea?

As Adelaide pondered this, the witch’s sharp gaze turned towards her.

“What? Do you have something to say?”

“Ah, no! It’s nothing! I’ll go start the fire!”

Adelaide shrank in an instant and started preparing a campfire in the corner.

The way she rubbed two sticks together with both hands looked highly professional for a noble young lady, but none of the people here were sensible enough to question it.

After watching her for a moment, Dorothea turned her gaze back to Sophia and snapped, “Anyway, if you want to be recognized as a member of this party, find something you can do. If you’re really useless, I’ll get a coffin and carry you around in it!”

“Hmm.”

Sophia let out a thoughtful sound.

However, the faint smile on her lips made it seem like she found the current situation amusing.

“I understand. Then, if you don’t mind, could you lend me some money? The more, the better.”

“What?”

“It’s easier to have some funds when starting various projects. Ah, if you can’t trust me, it’s fine if you don’t give me any.”

Dorothea’s eyes narrowed.

She took out two small leather pouches from her personal bundle in the carriage and handed them to Sophia.

Clink, clink.

The heavy weight felt from the pouches proved the witch’s expectations contained within.

Or perhaps it was a provocation disguised as expectation.

“If you insist that much, give it a try. But let me warn you, you know what will happen if you try to run away, right?”

“I have not the slightest intention of becoming your enemy. Both you, Miss Witch, and the Tin Knight over there are terribly frightening. Ah, but Adelaide is adorable.”

And so, a wager was established between the two.

About a day later.

The party arrived at their target city.

“Wow.”

Adelaide let out an exclamation of admiration at the scene that unfolded as soon as they entered the city gates.

Lights glittered all over the city.

Smoke and steam rose high into the sky.

Metal-bodied familiars patrolled the streets in place of guards.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ admires the steampunk atmosphere invading the fantasy setting!]

This was Tik-Tok, the City of Clockwork.

It was a place boasting the cutting edge of the Empire’s magic engineering and the largest producer of magic dolls on the continent.