I Became a Tin Knight
Chapter 107: The Little Lion and The Dark Red Monster (1)

The night before the finals, Dorothea’s party held a banquet.

It wasn’t something they had planned in advance.

The Halder Company offered to treat them to dinner, renting out an entire restaurant and inviting the party. The Tin Knight said having four people occupy such a large restaurant was too empty and gathered other people. Dorothea, who had been in a dead sleep until just before dinner time, couldn’t stop this from happening.

Dorothea was disgusted by the chaos that included the Iron Stake Mercenary Company, Halder Company employees, Kumara’s party, and even Peter, but no matter how much she hit the Tin Knight’s head with her staff, she couldn’t undo what had already started.

“Haa, really. Anyone watching would think the match was already over. Having a party the night before the finals? Aren’t you getting a little ahead of yourself? There’s a limit to how excessive one can be.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ points out that while Dorothea’s mouth is saying one thing, her hand reaching for bread is honest!]

“Shut up.”

Despite her grumbling, Dorothea kept stuffing food into her mouth.

It was an unusual sight for someone who normally ate so little.

Then again, she had spent the last several days sustaining herself with quick meals, and today, she hadn’t eaten anything due to sleeping the day away. It wasn’t strange for her appetite to be larger than usual.

“Hahaha.”

Watching Dorothea and the Tin Knight bicker, Adelaide laughed happily.

She knew that, as Dorothea said, it might look like they were getting ahead of themselves, but Adelaide still enjoyed this time.

In the face of her upcoming fight against a formidable opponent, she had been very tense, but now she felt that tension loosening.

Adelaide suddenly glanced around the restaurant.

“Honestly, we really did our best. You know that, right?”

“I get it, so stop grumbling. You have a surprisingly persistent side, you know?”

Peter, back to his usual way of speaking, was indulging Kumara’s complaints, his face red from alcohol.

Seeing that he deliberately didn’t take the few chances he had to speak to Sophia, it seemed he was trying to treat the vampire incident as a thing of the past

“So, you see, our Iron Stake Mercenary Company, completely captivated by Big Sis’ amazing charisma, will become the hands and feet of her and her companions, freely roaming this city—“

“Hmm, certainly we do need new personnel after removing many of the existing branch members, but—“

Hindley and the mercenary captain could be seen eagerly explaining to Lorentz Halder, packaging the incidents they had with Dorothea’s party with appropriate distortion and exaggeration.

It seemed they were trying hard to find new employment through this opportunity, but they didn’t seem to realize that Lorentz had already seen through this and was thinking of using it as a bargaining chip.

The sound of noisy chatter.

Toast rang out one after the other.

Lively, familiar music played.

Without a drop of alcohol touching her lips, Adelaide somehow felt drunk.

It’s been a while since I’ve been to a banquet like this.

Long ago, when the Friedel domain was intact, and her father was alive, if there was cause for celebration for the entire domain, like the extermination of a monster’s nest, victory in domain wars, or the formal knighting of Adelaide’s older brother, Wilfried von Lennart, the lord’s family, vassals, and all the knights would often gather for banquets.

Adelaide’s father, the Lord of Friedel, was a very taciturn and solemn person, and Wilfried, while receiving knight training following his father, had a gentle personality that disliked conflict and loved learning.

Therefore, it was always the role of the cute youngest daughter, that was, Adelaide, to liven up the atmosphere of the banquet.

It wasn’t particularly difficult.

People cheered even for Adelaide’s light dances, and burst into laughter at trivial stories.

…Thinking about it now, it feels like they exaggerated their reactions to some extent.

After all, when the lord’s precious daughter was trying to make people laugh with her cuteness, there weren’t many people brave enough to show a lukewarm reaction by saying it wasn’t funny.

So the enthusiastic reactions at that time were not purely due to Adelaide’s ability, but also because of her status.

Adelaide let out a bitter smile.

She felt like she had just realized why none of the people of the Friedel domain truly relied on her.

This was probably just the tip of the iceberg, and in reality, there were likely many more reasons.

It wasn’t that Adelaide was particularly disliked in the domain. Rather, there were more people who held goodwill towards her.

However, no one truly saw her as someone capable of saving the domain in times of crisis.

I wonder how it is now?

The Adelaide of today compared to the Adelaide who had set off from Friedel domain.

She knew there was an enormous gap between the two.

The girl who had been helplessly captured by mere bandits and sold as a slave had now gained enough strength to easily repel ordinary bandits.

She had obtained proof from two of the five dojos, earned the grand title of representative instructor, and was now aiming for victory in a renowned tournament known throughout the continent.

If it’s this much…

If she had this much skill.

If she had this much achievement.

…Will the people of the Friedel domain acknowledge me?

Would they see her not as the cute and lovable but unreliable youngest lady, but as the rightful heir who could revitalize the domain?

Would Ronnie’s eyes widen at the sight of her changed lady, and would her mother, awakening from her long sleep, be able to escape the sorrow of losing her husband and son, using Adelaide’s growth as strength?

Of course, it might not be enough.

She sought strength and fame because that was all she could immediately prove, but the qualities of a lord required more than just that.

But still, it could be one indicator for gaining acknowledgment.

If I win this time and if I collected all the remaining tokens during the remaining time.

Not stopping there, if she accumulated other achievements in between her journey.

At this moment, for the first time since participating in this tournament, Adelaide craved victory from the very depths of her heart.

Instead of the vague goal of becoming strong someday, instead of following along bewildered as the Tin Knight swung his sword, for the very first time, she demanded the victory right before her eyes with her own will.

“Adel? You’ve been spacing out for a while. If you’re tired, it might be good to turn in early for the night.”

“That’s right. Don’t worry about this guy’s feelings and just rest if you want to. There’s nothing more foolish than ruining your condition by trying to go along with the flow of those around you.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ complains that it’s unfair to treat him like a department head forcing people to go to a second round of drinking!]

Adelaide blinked before letting out a bright smile, “Haha, I’m fine! I’m planning to rest a little later. For now, there’s still plenty I want to eat.”

Answering like that, Adelaide bit into a nearby piece of bread with a chomp.

Seeing her chewing happily, the other members shrugged and went back to their own business.

Swallowing the bread, Adelaide quietly opened her eyes.

Her violet eyes were flickering like flames.

***

The next day.

[Ladies and gentlemen! The martial arts tournament that has been heating up this City of Struggle for a long time is now approaching its finale! It’s truly regrettable! It’s truly sorrowful! But fear not, everyone! The largest and grandest flame that will ignite your passion is about to begin!]

Wooooaaah!

[In the blue corner! A warrior who wears the legendary belt, clad in the armor of beasts, and wields an oversized greatsword! While no one in this city knows their face, there is also no one who doesn’t know their reputation! Warrior of warriors! Fighter of fighters! The strongest champion! Kaaaaaalidaaaaaaaaaahs!]

“Kyaah! Please win, Kalidahs!!”

“Blow away that little girl who rolled in from who knows where in one go!”

“Win easily, like you always do! I bet my entire fortune on you!”

[In the red corner! Golden hair fluttering brilliantly under the sun, violet eyes gazing mysteriously at her surroundings! There is no one in the Empire who doesn’t know the Lion Duke’s bloodline! Although small in stature, her two-handed sword is like a fierce beast biting its prey! The rising sacred light! Adelaaaaaaaaide voooon Lennaaaaaaaart!]

“Go for it, little miss!”

“Life is all about risks! Let’s go for the underdog!”

“I’m sick of the unchanging champion! It’s time for a fresh wind to blow!!”

[Amidst explosive cheers, the challenger and champion face each other! The long two-handed sword and the heavy greatsword point at each other! Ah, the referee signals the start! The final match begins!]

***

As soon as the match started, neither side rushed in.

With the ridiculously large greatsword resting on their shoulder, Kalidahs tilted their head.

《What, not coming? I thought speed was your specialty. If you stay rooted like that, you won’t stand a chance.》

Adelaide didn’t answer.

She just quietly observed Kalidahs’ appearance.

They’re relaxed.

Kalidahs’ attitude of casually speaking to her was completely different from the semi-finals where they remained silent and focused on the match until the decisive end.

Adelaide didn’t think of this as arrogance.

Arrogance was a word used when one held excessive confidence compared to their ability. Arrogance backed by ability was simply pride.

For example, actions like expecting treatment equal to Peter without even having the skills to match—that was arrogance.

A head-on battle is impossible. I should avoid even crossing swords if possible.

While the sword Adelaide wielded was also large compared to ordinary one-handed swords, Kalidahs’ greatsword was in a league of its own.

If the broadside of the blade cast its shade, Adelaide’s entire body could hide in it.

It would be nothing short of foolishness itself to engage in a battle of strength against an opponent who could move such a thing as if fanning with just a light flick of the wrist.

That was why Adelaide rushed straight ahead, in a direct line in front of Kalidahs.

The voice of the shocked commentator could be heard. Sighs and screams flowing from the audience seats could also be heard.

Adelaide thought.

There’s an excessive amount of unnecessary information.

Her senses were more than twice as keen as usual, but they weren’t being properly controlled.

All sorts of miscellaneous things around her were being felt haphazardly.

Frowning, Adelaide advanced forward, pressing her body close to the ground like the slithering of a snake.

It was a near-crawl-like rush. Above her, the greatsword imbued with terrifying power grazed past.

A shiver of fear stiffened the back of her neck, but such fear only focused her rampaging senses into a singular direction—uniting as one.

Adelaide continued sliding along the ground, swinging her sword with all her might towards Kalidahs’ heel.

Clang!

Even a failed attack could not stop her, using the recoil from the exchange, she rotated her body half a turn, and lunged to deliver an additional blow to the back of the neck.

Thud!

At the point when she finished her second attack, Kalidahs’ greatsword came sweeping in like a gale.

While avoiding that attack again, Adelaide contemplated Kalidahs’ mysterious toughness.

It wasn’t solely a result of the armor’s performance.

While the armor itself was excellent, the real contributor was the mana manipulation technique.

It’s exactly the same as what Sir Knight does.

It wasn’t just about simply reinforcing the body or armor with mana to strengthen it, but a technique of concentrating mana at the point of impact the very moment it was struck—increasing defense to an absurd degree.

Kalidahs was using this technique to cover the gaps inherent in wielding a greatsword, however—

It’s not as perfect as Sir Knight’s.

Perhaps because of the powerful physical abilities granted by the Belt of Amaryllis.

Whether wrapped in sword energy or not, Kalidahs’ greatsword demonstrated tremendous power through its sheer weight and the force behind its swings.

However, perhaps due to an overreliance on such crude methods, their mana manipulation wasn’t that outstanding.

If the Tin Knight’s mana distribution was like fine sand, this was at the level of pebbles.

Pat! Slash! Thud!

Perhaps annoyed by Adelaide’s attacks landing as she circled around, Kalidahs raised their greatsword high, bringing it crashing down on the arena.

Boom!

The arena floor cracked, and countless fragments flew up.

The once-smooth stone slabs were broken and tilted, forming small valleys, and dust clouds surged, obscuring vision.

Within that very dust, Kalidahs swung their greatsword once again.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

No, it wasn’t just once.

Again and again, like a miner with a pickaxe, Kalidahs smashed the arena as they swung down their greatsword.

The smooth ground gradually changed its appearance into a jagged mess.

Adelaide immediately realized their intention.

The space to avoid Kalidahs’ attacks was gradually decreasing.

Cold sweat ran down Adelaide’s cheek.

***

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