I Became a Tin Knight
Chapter 97: The Tin Knight and The Martial Arts Tournament (4)

[The ‘Tin Knight’ insists that he wants to film such a flashy entrance scene too!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ expresses his ambition to be dropped from the sky like a bomb, going beyond just jumping from the audience seats!]

“What is this madman saying?”

After the individual preliminary rounds ended with the Tin Knight’s nonsense…

The team matches that unfolded the next day didn’t boast as intense a scale as the individual matches.

First of all, the total number of participants was less than in the individual matches, and with the rule of three people forming a team, the actual number of teams was even smaller.

It was within the range that the organizers could manage even if they proceeded in a tournament format from the beginning, without necessarily using a deathmatch format.

Of course, since the number of teams didn’t match up perfectly, there was an issue of some fighting more and some fighting less, but the organizers solved this lightly as well.

Drawing lots? No.

“If you don’t have money, you fight a lot, if you have a lot of money, you can fight less!”

This wasn’t just gossip from enthusiasts.

It was the official stance of the tournament.

It wasn’t that slots were determined by bribes from participants—not because the lord wasn’t greedy for money, but because allocating slots according to amounts was troublesome—but rather, it was a system that paid additional compensation to those who volunteered for slots that required more fighting.

Wealthy participants weren’t tempted by such compensation. Given the tournament format of continuous battles day after day, fighting even one more extra match was a factor that greatly affected condition.

Even with teams of the same skill, if one side fought two consecutive matches and the other side rested with a bye, the latter would have an overwhelming advantage.

Inevitably, those who volunteered for this were either economically disadvantaged or—

[The ‘Tin Knight’ insists that maximizing EXP to the extreme is the standard!]

—just weird guys who enjoy fighting itself.

“Well, do as you please.”

Surprisingly, for this matter alone, Dorothea didn’t stop the Tin Knight.

The reason was revealed by the commentary watching their match.

“Team Dorothea! They’ve sent out only one magic doll familiar while the remaining two are taking up the rear! Is their intention to support with magic?

“Oh, what’s this! Mats! Both of them have sat down on mats spread on the floor! Does this mean they’re confident enough to face you 3-on-1!? Is this sheer confidence or arrogance? Just look at the face of the opposing team’s leader, Ioku, turning red!

“The magic doll’s shield attack! Ioku’s head is thrown back greatly! His teammates try to help their leader, but it’s too late! A well-aimed body blow silences the other two, and Team Dorothea’s victory is confirmed! An overwhelming performance without even drawing a sword!”

One, the Tin Knight stepped forward.

Two, Dorothea and Sophia watched from behind.

Three, the Tin Knight knocked down three enemies, and the match ended.

Among the opposing teams, there were those who ignored the Tin Knight and aimed for Dorothea or Sophia, but not once did these attempts succeed.

This was also why Dorothea didn’t stop the Tin Knight who insisted on starting from the bottom. After all, the Tin Knight did all the fighting, anyway.

In addition to simple annoyance, there was also a desperate circumstance:

“Use my magic in front of hundreds or thousands of people?”

Dorothea’s magic mostly belonged to the category with poor visuals.

Setting aside spells that directly used corpses, even the black poison mist using catalysts, mud, or the faintly wavering appearance of vengeful spirits were equally shocking.

While shooting concentrated curses looked just like black magic bullets on the outside, so it wasn’t a big problem, the others were problematic in many ways.

Sophia’s holy magic was in a similar situation.

To begin with, holy magic users themselves were extremely rare, so it would draw unnecessary attention, and she couldn’t publicly reveal that amazing sight of herself burning due to her holy magic in broad daylight.

As a result, Dorothea and Sophia devoted themselves to watching, and the Tin Knight, whose share increased, was excited.

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

Team Dorothea.

Advanced to the top 16 in team matches.

***

Clang!

The moment the swords clashed, the man was shocked.

What power…!

Just one exchange, and his hand was tingling painfully.

One might think it was natural since the opponent wielded a two-handed sword and the man wielded a one-handed sword, but considering that the opponent clashing swords with the man had a stature a head shorter than him, it was truly shocking.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

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

Judging it difficult to endure like this, the man adjusted his grip and firmly held his sword with both hands.

When the man strongly deflected the sword, the girl’s movements, which had been coming like a whirlwind, faltered a bit.

Now!

The man thrust his sword without hesitation.

The leisurely resolve to avoid attacking places like the face had long since disappeared.

Swoosh!

The thrust, which seemed about to pierce between the eyebrows, failed to achieve its goal.

The girl had ducked low—yet she hadn’t lowered her head.

While staring straight at the sword that had grazed above her head, she bent her two legs with all her might and, as if using that rebound, she jumped up.

Grab!

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

Using that hand as a pivot, the girl’s body spun mid-air.

Head towards the ground, two legs towards the sky.

The girl, who had spread her body as if performing acrobatics, struck down on the man’s back of the head with both knees.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Stars flashed before the man’s eyes, and a scream escaped his mouth.

Unrelenting, the girl grasped the man’s shoulders with both hands, and while kicking the back of his head hard with the sole of her boot, she did a backflip using that rebound.

The man fell face-first onto the ground with a thud.

The girl quickly stood on his back and put her blade to the side of the man’s neck.

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

“Haa, I acknowledge my defeat.”

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

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

Then she extended her hand to the man.

“Good work!”

Whether to take the winner’s greeting as humiliation or respect differed from person to person.

The man was the latter.

He smiled bitterly and grasped Adelaide’s hand to stand up.

There are more calluses on her hand than I expected. No, given those movements, it’s natural.

The skilled warrior intuitively realized that despite her somewhat naive and innocent-looking appearance, Adelaide had overcome a great deal of hardship.

As the loser of this bout, that was something he could accept with dignity.

It was easier to acknowledge an opponent who had become strong through sufficient effort rather than one who was “just” of special lineage.

“I didn’t expect to be defeated right from the start after finally making it to the finals. If possible, please win. That way I can boast proudly about losing to the champion wherever I go.”

At the man’s words, Adelaide made a flustered expression, then soon answered with a strangely tearful face, “I-I’ll do my best! Somehow…! No, well, it might be difficult, but still, I’ll try hard…”

“No, you don’t need to feel that burdened.”

The man hurriedly comforted Adelaide.

She was still a little lion—strong yet lacking in experience compared to her strength.

Adelaide.

Advanced to the top 16 in individual matches.

***

That evening, the party, having returned to their lodgings, gathered at a restaurant in the special district for dinner.

On the table decorated with a snow-white tablecloth.

“It’s nice and quiet, we should eat here from now on,” after swallowing pasta full of mushrooms, Dorothea said. “The restaurants outside the special district are crowded wherever you go. Well, it can’t be helped since the city itself is suffering from tourists.”

While eating a salad without even dressing, Sophia added, “I was really surprised when people rushed in after we entered a restaurant without thinking.”

Adelaide agreed with the two. There were 3 large steaks piled on her plate.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ points out that the proper way to eat pasta is to roll it up and put it in your mouth all at once!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ wonders what taste there is in salad without dressing!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ praises Adel’s eating habits, declaring meat to always be the right choice!]

And one knight constantly chattering beside them, offering impressions and comments on the food.

Dorothea sighed, “I take back what I said about it being quiet. There’s never a quiet moment anywhere because of this guy.”

“Haha…. Well, it can’t be helped. Sir Knight would be bored just watching. It would be nice if Sir Knight could eat something, too. I wonder if such technology hasn’t come out yet?”

“Hmm, I wonder? Technology is basically invented out of necessity. If you think about how many people would ‘need’ to feed food to a magic doll, the possibility doesn’t seem very high.”

“Is that so?”

Thinking she had said something unnecessary, Adelaide looked at the Tin Knight with a slightly dejected expression.

The Tin Knight lightly patted Adelaide’s head.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ insists that mukbang is originally about vicarious satisfaction just by watching!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says it’s enough if you eat his favorite menu items deliciously!]

“Ah, yes! I’ll eat hard! Tell me anything!”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ requests to order this and this and this and this!]

“No, well, I’ll eat hard, but no matter what, that amount is a bit…!”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ shouts ‘no retreat’!]

Watching the Tin Knight excitedly urging orders and Adelaide flusteredly placing additional orders, unable to resist that momentum, Dorothea shook her head.

Thinking he was a guy not worth worrying about, she suddenly pondered the Tin Knight’s words.

Vicarious satisfaction. So the desire to eat itself is true.

Well, in a way, it was natural.

Unlike ordinary artificial souls that had never eaten anything, what was inside the Tin Knight was a human soul.

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

Dorothea began to seriously consider that theme.

A soul possessing a living person’s body can feel those sensations. Should I take him out for a moment and put him in someone else? No, no. It would be troublesome if he couldn’t return to the doll’s body for some reason. Even with a cage, I can’t keep a soul forever. Then, as Adel said, we need to make it possible to eat or taste something while inside the magic doll. Is there a technician who might be interested in such an eccentric technology…?

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

A mage in a white dress and a white knight as white as her master.

Gale Elilaz. That person might somehow be interested in this kind of thing. No, wait, even if she’s interested, how do I get her to cooperate? Ask for help because I need to feed a tin can? That’s ridiculous. No, is it? If I say it’s for familiar morale management, it might not be such an embarrassing or strange thing—

“Dorothea?”

“Huh?”

At Sophia’s voice calling her, Dorothea emerged from her deep contemplation.

Only then did Dorothea realize that the other party members were staring at her.

She also noticed that a waiter had approached at some point and was watching nervously.

Instead of making excuses, Dorothea spoke honestly, “Sorry, I was lost in thought for a moment and didn’t hear. What’s wrong?”

“A guest said they wanted to meet after the meal was over.”

Saying this, Sophia handed Dorothea a letter, or rather, a memo with a brief greeting written on it.

I have something I’d like to discuss briefly about the series of events that occurred in the Taros Labyrinth.

– Algind Goodwitch

Deep wrinkles formed between Dorothea’s eyebrows.

***

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