Chapter 97: The Tin Knight and the Martial Arts Tournament (4) + Group Concept Art

[The ‘Tin Knight’ insists that he, too, wants a spectacular entrance scene!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ declares his ambition to go beyond just leaping from the stands, vowing to be dropped from the sky like a bomb!]

“What is this lunatic talking about?”

After the individual preliminary rounds concluded amidst the Tin Knight’s nonsense.

The team matches held the next day didn’t boast the same fiery scale as the individual matches.

For one, the total number of participants was smaller than in the individual matches, and with the rule of three members per team, the actual number of teams was even lower.

It was manageable enough for the organizers to run it as a tournament from the start, rather than using a deathmatch format.

Of course, the number of teams wasn’t a perfect fit, creating the problem of some fighting more and others less, but the organizers resolved this issue with ease.

A lottery? No.

Seeding based on fame? Also no.

“If you’re poor, you fight more. If you’re rich, you can fight less!”

This wasn’t some gossip from busybodies. It was the tournament’s official stance.

Positions weren’t determined by bribes from the participants (not because the lord wasn’t greedy, but because assigning spots based on payment amounts was too much of a hassle). Instead, they offered prize money to participants who volunteered for the spots that required more fighting.

The wealthy participants weren’t tempted by such prize money. In a tournament that demanded consecutive matches day after day, fighting even one more or one less time was a major factor affecting one’s condition.

Even between teams of equal skill, if one had just fought two consecutive matches while the other had rested comfortably after a bye, the latter would have an overwhelming advantage.

Inevitably, those who volunteered were either in dire financial straits—

[The ‘Tin Knight’ insists that the standard procedure is to grind out as much experience as possible!]

—or just strange freaks who enjoyed fighting for its own sake.

“Fine, whatever. Do as you please.”

Surprisingly, on this matter, even Dorothea didn’t stop the Tin Knight.

The reason why was revealed by the commentators watching their match.

“Team Dorothea! They’ve sent only their familiar, a single magic doll, to the front, while the other two members remain in the rear! Are they planning to provide magical support?”

“Oh, what is this! It’s a mat! Both of them have spread a mat on the ground and sat down! Is this a declaration that one of them is enough to take on the three of you!? Faced with an act of either supreme confidence or sheer arrogance, the opposing team’s Ioku is flushing red with anger!”

“A shield bash from the magic doll! Ioku’s head snaps back! His teammates try to help their leader, but it’s too late! A decisive body blow silences the other two, securing the victory for Team Dorothea! An overwhelming performance without even drawing a sword!”

One, the Tin Knight steps forward.
Two, Dorothea and Sophia watch from the back.
Three, the Tin Knight beats down all three opponents, and the match is over.

Some opposing teams tried to ignore the Tin Knight and target Dorothea or Sophia, but not a single attempt ever succeeded.

This was also why Dorothea didn’t bother stopping the Tin Knight from wanting to fight his way up from the bottom. After all, the Tin Knight was doing all the fighting anyway.

Besides simple laziness, there was also a more desperate reason.

“You want me to use my magic in front of hundreds, thousands of people?”

Dorothea’s magic, for the most part, was not visually pleasant.

Putting aside the spells that directly used corpses, the black poison mist created with catalysts, the mud, and the sight of faintly shimmering vengeful spirits were all just as shocking.

Firing a condensed curse was fine, as it just looked like a black magic bullet, but her other spells were problematic in many ways.

Sophia’s holy magic was a similar story.

First, users of holy magic were extremely rare, which would attract more unwanted attention than necessary. Second, she couldn’t possibly reveal the absurd spectacle of herself bursting into flames due to her own holy magic in broad daylight.

As a result, Dorothea and Sophia dedicated themselves to spectating, and the Tin Knight, whose share of the work had increased, was thrilled.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ lets out a roar of victory!]

Team Dorothea.
Advanced to the round of 16 in the team matches.

*

Clang!

The moment their swords clashed, the man was stunned.

‘What is this… power…!’

They had only exchanged a single blow, yet his hands were already tingling with the shock.

One might think it was natural, since his opponent wielded a two-handed sword while he used a one-handed one, but considering the person he was facing was a head shorter than him, the result was truly astonishing.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The golden-haired girl swung her two-handed sword in succession.

Deciding he couldn’t hold on like this, the man changed his grip, holding the sword with both hands.

When the man parried her sword forcefully, the girl’s whirlwind-like assault faltered for a moment.

‘Now!’

The man thrust his sword without hesitation.

His leisurely resolve to avoid attacking her face had long since vanished.

Swoosh!

The thrust, aimed to pierce the space between her eyes, failed to find its mark.

It was because the girl had ducked low. However, she hadn’t bowed her head.

Staring straight at the sword that had grazed past her head, she bent her legs deeply.

Then, as if using the recoil, she sprang up.

Grab!

The girl’s left hand seized the man’s left shoulder.

Using that hand as a pivot, her body spun around.

Her head went toward the ground, her legs toward the sky.

Unfurling her body like an acrobat, she slammed both knees into the back of the man’s head.

Thwack!

“Gah!”

Stars flashed before the man’s eyes, and a cry escaped his lips.

This time, the girl grabbed the man’s shoulders with both hands, kicked the back of his head hard with the soles of her boots, and used the momentum to do a backflip.

The man fell flat on his face with a thud.

The girl quickly scrambled onto his back and pressed the flat of her blade against his neck.

The man, who had reflexively tried to get up, went limp.

“Hah… I admit defeat.”

“That’s enough! The winner is Adelaide von Lennart!”

As the referee’s declaration of victory rang out, the golden-haired girl—Adel—hopped off the man’s back.

Then she extended a hand to the man.

“Good match!”

Whether one took the winner’s greeting as a humiliation or a sign of respect depended on the person.

The man was the latter. He gave a wry smile and took Adel’s hand to pull himself up.

‘Her hands have more calluses than I expected. No, with movements like that, I suppose it’s only natural.’

The man, a seasoned warrior, sensed that despite her somewhat dazed and innocent appearance, Adel had overcome countless hardships.

And as the loser, that was something he could readily accept.

It was always easier to accept a loss to an opponent who had grown strong through sufficient effort than to one who relied ‘only’ on a special bloodline.

“I finally made it to the main tournament, only to lose in the very first round. Do me a favor and win the whole thing. That way, I’ll have some bragging rights.”

At the man’s words, Adel looked flustered for a moment, then her expression strangely crumpled as she replied.

“I-I’ll do my best! Somehow! …No, I mean, it might be difficult, but I’ll still try hard….”

“Hey, no need to feel so pressured.” The man placated her, taken aback.

She was a little lion whose experience still didn’t match her strength.

Adelaide.
Advanced to the round of 16 in the individual matches.

*

That evening, after returning to their lodgings, the group gathered for dinner at a restaurant in the special district.

Atop a table decorated with a snow-white tablecloth.

“It’s nice and quiet. We should eat here from now on,” Dorothea said after swallowing a mouthful of pasta full of mushrooms.

“The restaurants outside the special district are packed everywhere you go. The city itself is groaning under the weight of all the tourists, so I suppose it can’t be helped,” Sophia added, eating a salad that didn’t even have dressing.

“I was so flustered when we walked into that restaurant without thinking and people started crowding around us,” Adelaide agreed with them. Three large steaks were piled on her plate.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ points out that the proper way to eat pasta is to twirl the noodles and eat them in one bite!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ wonders what’s the point of eating a salad without any dressing!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ declares that meat is always the right choice and praises Adelaide’s appetite!]

And next to them was a certain knight, chattering away nonstop with his commentary and critiques on the food.

Dorothea sighed. “I take back what I said about it being quiet. There’s never a quiet day with this one around.”

“Ha, haha… Well, it can’t be helped. Sir Knight must be bored just watching. It would be nice if he could eat something too. Hasn’t that kind of technology been invented yet?”

“Hmm, I wonder? Technology is fundamentally invented out of necessity. When you consider how many people would ‘need’ to feed a magic doll, the chances don’t seem very high.”

“Is that so.” Thinking she might have said the wrong thing, Adel looked a little crestfallen as she glanced at the Tin Knight.

The Tin Knight lightly patted Adel’s head.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ claims that the whole point of a mukbang [eating show] is to get vicarious satisfaction just from watching!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that as long as you enjoy the dishes he likes, that’s enough for him!]

“Oh, yes! I’ll eat my best! Just tell me what you want!”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ then requests that you order this, and this, and this, and this!]

“W-wait, I’ll eat my best, but even so, that amount is a little…!”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ declares, “No take-backs!”]

Watching the excited Tin Knight pressuring her to order and Adel giving in, flustered, as she placed the additional orders, Dorothea just shook her head.

As she thought about what a thankless creature he was to worry about, she suddenly mulled over the Tin Knight’s words.

‘Vicarious satisfaction, huh. So it’s true that he wants to eat.’

Then again, it was only natural. Unlike ordinary artificial souls who had never experienced eating, the one inside the Tin Knight was a human soul.

For a spirit with memories of its past life, it would be stranger if it had no such desires at all.

Dorothea began to ponder the subject quite seriously.

‘A soul possessing a living person’s body can feel their senses. Should I take him out for a bit and have him possess someone else? No, that’s not right. It would be a problem if he couldn’t return to the doll’s body. Even with the birdcage, I can’t store a soul indefinitely. Then, like Adel said, I’d have to make it so he can eat or taste things while inside the magic doll. Is there… a technician who would be interested in such a bizarre technology?’

At that moment, a certain eccentric master-servant pair she had met in Tik-Tok came to Dorothea’s mind.

The mage in the white dress and her white knight, who was as white as his master.

‘Gale Elilaz. She seems like the type who would be interested in something like this. No, wait, even if she is interested, how would I get her to cooperate? Ask her to help me feed a tin can? That’s ridiculous. Or… is it? If I frame it as managing my familiar’s morale, it might not be that embarrassing or strange—’

“Miss Dorothea?”

“Hm?”

Sophia’s voice pulled Dorothea from her deep thoughts.

Only then did Dorothea realize that the rest of the group was staring at her.

And that a waiter had approached at some point and was now cautiously observing her.

Instead of trying to bluff her way through, Dorothea answered honestly.

“Sorry, I was lost in thought and didn’t hear you. What’s up?”

“A guest asked me to tell you that they’d like to meet after your meal.”

As she spoke, Sophia handed Dorothea a letter—no, a memo with a concise message written on it.

“I have something I would like to discuss with you regarding the series of incidents in the Taros Labyrinth. —Algind Goodwitch—”

A deep furrow formed between Dorothea’s brows.

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