The Tin Knight-Chapter 22: The Tin Knight and The Lions Bloodline (5)

Seeing the same thing didn’t necessarily mean feeling the same impression.

While Dorothea was gritting her teeth in frustration at the cityscape visible from the high hill, Adelaide was shedding tears of joy at the exact same view.

I-I’m alive...!

It was a truly, truly grueling journey.

Although Adelaide had experienced her fair share of harsh experiences through Colombo’s Special Slave Travel Plan, complete with randomized elements, forced participation, no voluntary withdrawal, and one’s life as collateral for the participation fee, she had to admit that those trials paled in comparison to what she had faced in the past two weeks. Compared to her recent ordeal, those earlier events, while mentally taxing, had been physically tranquil.

Adelaide’s violet eyes became hazy as she began to recall the past.

***I must absolutely, under no circumstances, be a burden!

When starting the journey, Adelaide had steeled herself for many things.

No one had forced her on this journey—she had followed of her own accord.

It was she who had begged to be allowed to stay by their side, even if it meant being treated as a servant.

Clinging to them, saying she would be reborn as a dignified warrior and heir rather than the immature young lady of a noble family, she was prepared to endure and bear any treatment.

“We’ll eat dried meat and dried fruit. Any complaints?”

“No! None at all!”

“We’ll sleep roughly in the carriage’s luggage compartment. If you want to set up a separate tent or the like, do it yourself.”

“The luggage compartment is enough!”

“Tell me when you need to wash or do laundry. I can make things clean with magic. But it’s not free. I’ll give you a list of catalysts needed for the magic, and you’ll have to get at least one set from the list each time you use it. The same price applies for insect repellent magic or cold removal.”

“Understood!”

By the second day of travel, Adelaide thought.

Huh? Isn’t this easier than I expected?

Of course, objectively speaking, it wasn’t a “comfortable” journey.

Meals were all portable preserved food, she had to sleep in the carriage’s luggage compartment, and she couldn’t even dream of a leisurely bath.

But that was all.

To be more specific, Dorothea didn’t order or demand anything from Adelaide.

Of course, she did charge a certain price every time she used magic, but even that was just for things like specific types of grass or stones that could be found nearby if one tried.

When Adelaide cautiously asked about this, Dorothea answered with an expression that seemed to say, “Why are you asking such a thing?”

“I can take care of myself, you know? I have arms and legs, why should I make others do it?”

It was a truly shocking statement for Adelaide, who had lived a life where it was natural for servants to cling to her even when changing clothes.

Sitting in the luggage compartment all day, eating, sleeping, and occasionally gathering ingredients listed in the memo Dorothea gave her.

To Adelaide, who was anxious wondering if this arrangement was okay, the Tin Knight’s offer to oversee her training seemed like a timely lifeline.

The opportunity to receive one-on-one instruction from a skilled knight was worth its weight in gold for an aspiring warrior.

Although she didn’t properly understand this when her father was alive and often skipped or half-heartedly did training, Adelaide had resolved to change.

[The 'Tin Knight' states his teaching is very strict!]

[The 'Tin Knight' warns that he won’t tolerate weak excuses once you become his pupil!]

[The 'Tin Knight' asks if Adel is prepared to follow through!]

Despite the Tin Knight’s repeated warnings, Adelaide felt more expectation than anxiety.

Although she was slightly concerned about Dorothea’s subtle gaze from the side, she carelessly dismissed it, believing it to be a part of her unreadable nature.

Unaware that it was the same gaze one would have as they watched a small animal walk into a trap of its own accord.

“Yes! I’ll follow! Please teach me!”

And so, the gates of hell swung open.

[The 'Tin Knight' demands running!]

[The 'Tin Knight' demands strength training!]

[The 'Tin Knight' demands a reflex test!]

The start was orthodox and ordinary.

Checking basic physical strength and body abilities.

Although Adelaide could hardly say she had been training diligently even as a white lie, her innate constitution was so blessed that her physical abilities were quite high.

[The 'Tin Knight' says the basics seem to be there, so let's move on to practical training!]

“Huh? Oh, okay!”

Adelaide tilted her head.

Having observed the rigorous training regime of the Friedel Knights, Adelaide knew that knights invested years of time just to build proper bodies.

Therefore, Adelaide herself expected to invest a considerable amount of time in physical training, but the Tin Knight shattered that expectation.

...Come to think of it, I only have a year time limit. It would be difficult to progress step by step like others.

However, for normal trainees, practical training was far more engaging than monotonous drills.

There was no reason to refuse when he was offering to progress faster rather than slower.

“In that case, shall we start with wooden swords... What? We’re using iron swords? It’s okay because there’s no edge?”

[The 'Tin Knight' says he'll yield the first move!]

“Uh, well. Okay!”

By this point, she started to feel a bit uneasy, but thinking that a knight with excellent skills must have deep thoughts behind his actions, she let it slide.

Clang!

The sharp sound of metal rang out as Adelaide’s sword soared through the air.

Although Adelaide quickly tried to regain her posture, seeing the Tin Knight’s sword already pointed at her throat, she raised her hands in surrender.

“I lost.”

The Tin Knight withdrew his sword.

[The 'Tin Knight' suggests trying again!]

“Yes!”

Adelaide quickly retrieved the sword that had flown away and charged at the Tin Knight again.

Clang!

[The 'Tin Knight' suggests trying again!]

Clang!

[The 'Tin Knight' suggests trying again!]

Clang!

[The 'Tin Knight' suggests try—]

“P-please, wait a mo—haah—ment, let me catch my, huff—kyaa!?”

Gasping for air, Adelaide screamed and rolled her body in panic as the knight’s blade swung towards her face.

Her heart, which had been pounding as if it would burst, suddenly felt chilled as if hit by cold water.

Whether knowing Adelaide’s feelings or not, the Tin Knight gave a thumbs up.

[The 'Tin Knight' praises the roll as an excellent evasive maneuver!]

[The 'Tin Knight' says at this level, he doesn't need to yield the first attack anymore!]

[The 'Tin Knight' declares an increase in difficulty!]

“No, wait, just a moment—kyaaaa!!”

Adelaide had no memory of how she collapsed that night.

She could only guess that she desperately dodged the Tin Knight’s sword flying at her with terrifying momentum, dodging and evading until at some point she fainted.

[The 'Tin Knight' suggests running beside the carriage!]

[The 'Tin Knight' says the more stamina, the better!]

[The 'Tin Knight' praises Adel for running well!]

[The 'Tin Knight' encourages Adel, saying she's almost there!]

[The 'Tin Knight' claims Adel is almost there!]

[The 'Tin Knight' claims Adel is almost there—lying by the sheen of his visor!]

During the day, she had to keep running beside the carriage or train her body in the luggage compartment.

When night fell, she had to drag her screaming body to face the Tin Knight’s menacing blade.

No matter how much Adelaide screamed and pleaded, the Tin Knight never went easy on her.

What was even more terrifying was that despite abusing her body to such extremes, she faced no particular issues moving the next day.

How could she even describe it?

It felt as if there were gauges like stamina, willpower, or endurance displayed next to Adelaide’s head, and he was squeezing them to the limit without letting them go into the negative.

As a training instructor, the Tin Knight was first-class, but for a trainee, his training was nothing short of sheer terror.

To mentally survive, Adelaide had to desperately come up with excuses.

“S-Sir Knight! Wait! Just a moment!”

[The 'Tin Knight' declares there's no retreat in battle!]

“That’s not it! I’m too hungry to move!”

At Adelaide’s resentful cry, the Tin Knight’s movement paused for the first time.

In fact, Adelaide’s demand was reasonable.

It might be fine when focusing solely on travel without much activity, but with most of the day invested in training, there was no way the body could endure on just dried meat and dried fruit alone.

“So, um, either we need to eat proper meals, or at least—“

Adelaide’s following words, asking to reduce the training a little, didn’t get to finish.

[The 'Tin Knight' says he'll prepare meals from now on!]

[The 'Tin Knight' apologizes for realizing this late!]

Seeing the Tin Knight suddenly bow his head, Adelaide’s heart softened.

Thinking about it, it wasn’t just Adelaide who was investing most of the day in training, but also the Tin Knight managing it from the side.

The Tin Knight was helping her without receiving any compensation, and it felt wrong to resent him just because her body was tired.

“No, Sir Knight, you have nothing to apologize for. Um, I’ll help with meal preparation too.”

The Tin Knight shook his head left and right.

[The 'Tin Knight' claims that creating an environment where the pupil can focus on training is also the master's responsibility!]

“Sir Knight...!”

Adelaide was moved once again.

She failed to notice Dorothea looking at her with a pitying gaze that seemed to say, “There she goes again, getting fooled once again.”

And that evening.

Adelaide received a huge chunk of meat.

“...”

For the first time in her life, Adelaide learned that something as mouthwatering delicious-looking as roasted meat could taste so foul.

Even the hard, dried jerky could be called gourmet food compared to this.

Is he deliberately playing a trick on me?

Distrust and doubt sprouted in Adelaide’s heart.

The Tin Knight’s teaching ability was truly great, having imparted worldly wisdom to a sheltered greenhouse young lady whose head was full of flowers.

“I can’t bear to pay witness to this any longer.”

Dorothea, who had been smoking some of the meat the Tin Knight had hunted, let out a deep sigh and then said to Adelaide, “You had cooking utensils among the luggage you brought from the domain, yes or no?”

“Yes. Ronnie said they were essential for long-term travel, so I prepared them.”

“Bring them. I’ll count it as the same price as one spell and put it on your tab.”

The skill Dorothea displayed after that was truly amazing.

She just roughly moved her hands, tossing ingredients into a pot and boiling them, but in about 15 minutes, a proper soup was whipped up.

Tasting the soup rich with mushrooms, unknown herbs, and plenty of meat untouched by the Tin Knight, Adelaide made an ecstatic expression.

Perhaps because she had just eaten food waste that tasted like a sewer, the feast of flavors stimulating her taste buds felt even more sweet.

Without exaggeration or flattery, she could assert that it was the best food she had eaten so far.

[The 'Tin Knight' asks if they can do this from now on!]

“It’s a lot of work.”

[The 'Tin Knight' argues that delicious food is also an essential element of travel!]

“You can’t even eat anyway.”

[The 'Tin Knight' argues that vicarious satisfaction is important in mukbang!]

[The 'Tin Knight' encourages Dorothea to show off her skills since they have a guest!]

[The 'Tin Knight' argues that if Dorothea teaches now, she might be served in return later!]

“You want me to teach her cooking just because she wants to eat? When would I... Haa. Fine. I’ll stop talking.”

Dorothea grumbled, but by this point, even Adelaide could roughly understand.

Her cooking wouldn’t be a one-time miracle.

It’s warm. Delicious. I’m full.

Happiness she hadn’t felt in a long time gently embraced Adelaide.

Her whole body felt languid and drowsy as if she could have the best sleep if she closed her eyes right now.

[The 'Tin Knight' shows enthusiasm, saying that now that nutrition is taken care of, he'll try harder too!]

It was a declaration more chilling than saying he would come find her in the middle of the night and kill her.

Adelaide, trembling, looked at Dorothea with a pleading gaze.

She had saved Adelaide from hellish food, so maybe this time too...!

“Hmm? Well, he warned you beforehand, and you still agreed to it. If you form a contract, you have the responsibility to see it through to the end.”

There was no second lifeline.

Although she could be kind sometimes, a witch was still a witch.

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Until they reached their destination, Adelaide had to struggle to survive at the hands of a crazy magic doll without a human heart.