The Tin Knight-Chapter 55: The Tin Knight and The City of Clockwork — Act 2 (4)

In this world, there were many stories of people being possessed by ghosts.

The protagonists in these stories often shared some similar characteristics, one of which was that many of them were in a psychologically unstable state.

Whether it was due to extreme stress, fatigue from a difficult daily life, or anger and frustration from human relationships, it was said that people were more susceptible to being possessed by ghosts when they were in various “difficult” states.

And in this world, there existed a liquid that could make even a sane person’s mind unsound, yet when shared with others, instead of being scolded or arrested, one received gratitude and praise—it was called alcohol. Disclaimer: this excluded cases where it was forcibly received at company dinners.

Therefore, as the witch said, “First, we’ll make them drunk and half-asleep, and then have the souls do the actual work. The body is healthy and new and the skills are those of experienced workers.”

It was a wicked plan to use people’s bodies without their consent, but Dorothea didn’t care.

She reasoned that the workers would eat well, drink well, and earn money without difficult memories—the souls get to feel the world through living bodies after so long, and Dorothea achieved her goal. So, wasn’t it a win-win for everyone involved?

It was fortunate that Dorothea’s greed for wealth wasn’t that strong.

Otherwise, the heartless evil capitalist of the century might have been born.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ points out that it costs a lot of money and the preparation process is troublesome!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ wonders why they can’t just raise skeletons to do the work!]

“Haa.”

At the Tin Knight’s words, Dorothea sighed openly and shook her head.

“How do you expect a pile of bones to handle precision work? Could you move if only your bones were left?”

For a rare moment, the Tin Knight was left speechless.

Well, Dorothea had a point, but was it okay for a necromancer to say that? Wasn’t this denying some fundamental law of the world?

“What people typically think of as a ‘necromancer’s army of the dead’ is quite inefficient. Unless it’s right after death when all the muscles and everything are still intact, then how would they move if only bones are left? I’ll tell you how. It’ll all be fueled by mana.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks if a quantity strategy with skeletons is impossible!]

“If we’re talking about whether it’s possible or impossible, it’s not impossible. Souls with intense negative emotions like resentment spew out mana on their own, so the burden on the necromancer is less. But these guys are full of hostility towards the living, and radiate curses just by existing. Try making them do construction work. The day after moving in, the residents will either be carried out sick or become new earthbound spirits.”

Dorothea continued, “Moreover, this isn’t some remote mountain village, are you suggesting we use skeletons for construction in the middle of the city? Do you want fully armed guards to come to exterminate us within 10 minutes of starting construction? Even if we somehow get past that, rumors would spread, and the new business would only attract flies. Above all, my image would be ruined. It’s absolutely out of the question.”

No matter how one looked at it, the things mentioned earlier seemed to be mere afterthoughts, and the last bit about image seemed to be the genuine issue.

The Tin Knight held back from asking why a young lady who was so concerned about public perception dressed like that.

Criticizing the fashion sense of others, especially when they believed it was “cool”, was the cruelest thing one could do.

And besides, he had no complaints—her current outfit was far more pleasing to the eye than if she were all wrapped up. Who could resist the charm of the outfit of an evil organization female executive?

“So just hiring people and having souls possess them is the most efficient and stable method. There’s no need to worry about surrounding gazes either.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks if there are any side effects!]

“There will be some side effects from the possession, and the people’s energy and physical strength will rapidly drain as a result of moving beyond their original capabilities. But that’s why we fed them well. I put in plenty of specially blended herbs, so there won’t be any problems for about a week. Beyond that, there might be aftereffects.”

Dorothea and the Tin Knight looked ahead.

With expert technicians who could dominate a workshop alone, competing with each other and working tirelessly, the workshop was taking shape at a terrifying pace.

It was a truly satisfying sight—hard, fulfilling labor at its finest.

However, if there was one complaint Dorothea had...

“Hohoho. So necromancy can be used like this too. How fascinating, how fascinating.”

“Hey.”

“My name isn’t ‘hey’, it’s Gale, Dorothea.”

“Never mind that. Why are you hanging around here?”

At Dorothea’s words, Gale sipped her tea.

In her hand was a long cylindrical cup with various strange characters engraved on its surface.

Interpreting Dorothea’s gaze somehow, Gale casually shook the cup in her hand.

“Would you like me to make one for you? It has the effect of preserving the temperature of the liquid inside, so it’s convenient in many ways.”

At Gale’s words, the Tin Knight was startled.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ is astonished to see a tumbler here!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ raises an objection about the setting’s time period!]

Gale couldn’t hear the Tin Knight’s fuss, and Dorothea ignored it as usual.

“I don’t need it.”

“It’s a gift of goodwill, so I won’t charge for it.”

“Stop changing the subject and answer why you’re here.”

“I’m also interested in the Geppetto siblings’ techniques.”

Gale flicked her wrist and swept her gaze across the surrounding city with a nod.

Dorothea’s eyes narrowed.

This girl called Gale Elilaz looked like a princess straight out of a fairy tale, but somehow her actions were strangely plebeian.

Charitably speaking, she was friendly without formality; viewed a bit more critically, she was like a street ruffian.

Both her appearance and behavior were in stark contrast to Franka Aglaia, who was and looked like a rich, naive young lady.

Whether aware of Dorothea’s silent impressions or not, Gale freely shared information that wasn’t even asked for.

“One of the reasons I came here in the first place was because I once saw a magic doll made by Pollen Geppetto when he was alive. It was such a masterpiece that it was hard to believe it was made by a doll maker from the Empire.”

The blatant regional discrimination in her words didn’t particularly bother Dorothea.

To begin with, it was a well-known fact that the Empire’s magic doll technology lagged behind that of the Magic Country.

“Isn’t that rumor extremely late? I heard that old man died over a decade ago.”

“I thought there would still be something left in the same city. But the result was the worst. At best, people with only apprentice-level skills were strutting around calling themselves masters. The only ones worth seeing were those siblings, but even they couldn’t show their full skills due to their working conditions. So what could I do? I had to create an environment that matches their skills. Originally, I was going to return Pollen’s workshop to them, but the current owner turned out to be more of a trash than I expected!”

Gale pointed at Dorothea with the hand not holding the long cylindrical cup, or in Tin Knight terms, the tumbler.

While Dorothea felt a violent impulse to snap her finger in half, Gale, oblivious, continued, “Meanwhile, Dorothea. I saw what you were doing. It’s an excellent strategy. A truly excellent idea. Of course, new models are better than old ones. If there isn’t one, make a new one. I decided to gladly participate, as well.”

“Who asked you to join? You keep sticking to me like we’re friends or something. I have absolutely no intention of becoming friends with you, so get lost.”

“There’s no need to be so shy.”

Dorothea thought.

Should I just fight her? I’m not sure if she has the kingdom’s sacred treasure right now or not, but if I eliminate her, I can remove one competitor, so wouldn’t it be beneficial in the long run?

[The ‘Tin Knight’ shouts, just give the order, captain!]

Ironically, what calmed Dorothea’s fighting spirit was the sight of the Tin Knight beside her, practically begging to be called into action.

As a rational and intellectual witch, the self-restraint of not wanting to fall to the same level as that madman suppressed Dorothea.

“Besides, just as you received a request from the older brother of the siblings, I also received a request from the younger sister. Aren’t we equal in terms of qualifications?”

“What good are qualifications without results? I’m going to build the entire workshop.”

“Even if that’s true for the building, isn’t there a limit to the equipment that can be used in the workshop with the current method? To make tool A, you need component B, and to make component B, you need facility C. Even if the souls remember their skills from when they were alive, that alone isn’t enough to prepare everything.”

At this point, Gale placed her hand on her chest.

“This is where my rune magic comes into play. Although I might be slightly lacking compared to professional alchemists, I have my own expertise in this field. In other words, if I’m here, we can make better equipment, and as the quality of the workshop improves, your doll and my Sig can receive better maintenance. Isn’t this beneficial for both of us?”

“...”

The furrow between Dorothea’s brows deepened, showing her contemplation.

***Charles Stromboli couldn’t comprehend the current situation.

“Didn’t I clearly tell you to contact our people?”

“Yes, Master. We did.”

“Then which bastard had the audacity to ignore my words and side with those guys?”

“None, Master. Not a single skilled workers ignored your words. Those mobilized for their construction are all drifters without proper skills or steady jobs.”

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“Is that so? Then riddle me this.”

On a hill overlooking the northwest part of the city.

Pointing at the new workshop being built in the center, Charles raised his voice with veins popping on his neck, “How is that building being built so properly over there?! The exterior was practically finished in a single day!”

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a mere day but a day and a half, but no one dared to point that out in front of a boss who was already bad-tempered and seemed to be in a foul mood.

“W-well, it seems they’re working about twenty people in three shifts, working 24 hours without rest.”

“No, no. That alone doesn’t explain the impossible work speed!”

In the mind of Charles, the evil capitalist, workers were inherently lazy beings.

One gave them wages for eight hours of work? Then the hired workers would slack off for eight hours while sneakily watching their surroundings.

Since they got paid as long as they filled eight hours, there was no reason to work hard.

The wise—in his own opinion—Charles observed such people, and either kicked them out saying there was no money to pay because they didn’t work properly, or increased work efficiency by attaching supervisors to provide continuous motivation, which the public called verbal abuse, violence, and threats.

But even with such “sophisticated” techniques, that work speed didn’t make sense.

Moreover, they weren’t even skilled workers—they were just a bunch of riffraff with no expertise!

“They weren’t simple drifters. They had excellent skills but deliberately acted incompetent...!”

Charles shuddered.

What he dismissed as the last struggle of back alley beggars turned out to be some grand scheme.

Had they been preparing for this moment for years?

“Now that I think of it, for the city’s best doll craftsman, it was too little, even without Pollen’s assets. He must have hidden his assets somewhere, and that rat Smith discovered it. Damn, he’s been acting like a beggar while secretly building his forces? That cunning bastard!”

It was a delusion that would have made Smith ask if he had taken some especially potent drugs.

“Do you think I’ll go down easily? You’ve made quite a bold move, but I’ll show you that this industry is ultimately a battle of capital!”

Charles, with his eyes bulging, ordered his subordinates.

“Hire every single worker—no, hidden craftsman—currently employed on that project. Hire them all for our company. Give them top-tier treatment. No, give them whatever they ask for. They must have quite strong loyalty or friendship, so they won’t submit easily.”

“If we try to bring in all those people with such treatment, it will consume considerable funds...”

“They’re not only highly skilled, but also thorough enough to deceive a city for years. This is where investments should be made. Now stop whining and make it happen!”

Charles let out a sinister laugh.

“I can’t wait to see the look on that bastard’s face when he loses all the connections he’s secretly built for nearly a decade! Hahahahaha!”

***The worker Dolton and his colleagues clinked their glasses and shouted, “To another day of hard work—cheers!!”

““Cheers!!””