The girl who introduced herself as Gale looked at Dorothea with sparkling eyes.
The white knight beside her was silently standing guard as if following the will of such a master.
At least it doesn’t seem like they intend to be hostile right away.
Dorothea pondered for a moment.
Right now, Dorothea and Gale were just customers who happened to meet in front of the shop.
There was no further relationship between them, and Gale’s sudden self-introduction was, objectively speaking, nothing more than “peculiar behavior”.
So there would be no problem if Dorothea ignored Gale or brushed her off here.
...It’s not like I’ve committed a crime, so is there any need to run away or hide my identity?
The conclusion was reached.
Therefore, Dorothea boldly opened her mouth, “I’m Dorothea, apprentice of the Witch of the East.”
“Thank you for acknowledging my greeting. I was anxious about whether my intuition was right or not. If it had been a misunderstanding, I would have looked like a peculiar person, right?”
“So, what’s your business?”
Dorothea coldly cut off Gale’s attempt at small talk.
For Dorothea, who was ready to immediately enter combat if necessary, even if she hadn’t raised her staff yet, Gale’s chatter was the least of her concerns.
Even though she should have felt embarrassed, Gale just smiled brightly without showing any sign of being upset.
“I wanted to greet you. We’re rivals competing for the same goal, aren’t we?”
Gale stretched her right hand, and the white knight beside her held out a bag.
A hand covered in white lace gloves rummaged through the bag and pulled out something like a small disc.
Gale showed it happily and said, “This, this. You have one too, right, Dorothea?”
“Don’t call me so familiarly.”
“Huh? But we look about the same age. I don’t like adding ‘Miss’ or ‘Lady’ because it feels too distant, I simply don’t like it.
Dorothea was dumbfounded.
It was funny enough that she was babbling about not liking to feel distance when they had just met, but it was also absurd how she was showing off the compass, which was the key to finding the secret treasures, as if boasting about a new bag.
“I don’t think we’re in a relationship to get along well.”
“What do you mean, why not? There are many people after the treasures, but the treasures are limited. We have no choice but to push each other out, right? Do I have to explain even this to you?”
“Come on, that’s just a matter of perspective. In other words, the four of us are people trying to gather the eight secret treasures ‘in one place’ anyway, right? Isn’t it more efficient to collect them by dividing the work rather than searching for eight scattered ones alone? In that sense, we could even be called comrades! No, rather friends?”
Dorothea unconsciously gaped.
This level of nonsense was almost worth listening to for its novelty.
Her head is a complete flower garden.
Dorothea shook her head.
Watching her continue to spout such nonsensical words, it was starting to feel foolish to have been seriously on guard.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ advises to be careful because often those with such a carefree attitude are the strongest characters!]
It was coincidental, but the timing was as if he had read her inner thoughts.
Realizing that she had been unconsciously looking down on her opponent, Dorothea rebuilt her collapsed vigilance.
After exhaling shortly with a “Hoo,” Dorothea opened her mouth with her usual grumpy expression, “Then we should do that ‘efficient work division’ right now. If I take all the secret treasures you’ve collected, wouldn’t that be the great work division you were talking about?”
At Dorothea’s words, Gale curled her lips.
“Are you going to try? I’m fine with that! Although I wanted to face the Wizard of the South the most, the Necromancer of the East seems interesting too—with all the bizarre techniques and all.”
Spirits and curses gathered around Dorothea, and mysterious letters floated around Gale.
The Tin Knight excitedly raised his sword and shield, and the white knight silently drew out his spear and shield.
Just as the two pairs were about to clash.
“Um, excuse me, everyone? If you do that in front of the shop, it’ll interfere with the business...”
At Sync’s words, who had slightly opened the front door and peeked her head through the gap, everyone at the scene froze.
Dorothea and Gale quickly exchanged gazes.
If they continued , the two would transform from mysterious witches into nuisance customers causing trouble regardless of place.
The wise witches who knew how to maintain dignity finished their silent agreement and simultaneously withdrew their magic.
Gale clapped her hands.
“Well, the journey is still in its early stages! We don’t need to be hasty yet, at least not until all the secret treasures are in the hands of us witches. Let’s enjoy the duel later!”
Dorothea grumbled, “Dueling between witches, what nonsense...”
Gale entered the shop, and Dorothea stepped out onto the street.
There were no farewell greetings, no promises to meet again.
But both were certain that they would encounter each other again soon, as long as they stayed in this city.
***“So that happened...”
Adelaide couldn’t help but be amazed and shocked at the news Dorothea conveyed.
No matter how she looked at it, the sheer number of things that happened in such a short amount of time was both strange and surprising.
Is Dorothea the type to attract incidents, or is the Tin Knight the cause—perhaps both?
“Um, then should I go to the dojo alone? Since Sir Knight will have to protect you, Miss Witch.”
Adelaide recalled what happened in Lowefelt.
While the Tin Knight was away from Dorothea’s side, there had been an ambush by another witch, and because of that, Dorothea had to overcome a life-or-death crisis.
If there was another witch in this city, the Tin Knight should stay by Dorothea’s side to prepare for ambushes like last time.
“It’s fine. Just take him with you.”
But Dorothea shook her head at Adelaide’s words.
Adelaide asked back in surprise, “Ah, but—“
“That one is probably not the type to do ambushes like Franka. If anything, she’s more the type to enjoy head-on battles despite being a mage.”
Sophia, who had been quiet, interjected, “Still, isn’t that just your assumption? The opponent might be acting deliberately to make us let our guard down.”
“That possibility exists too. I don’t think I’ve figured out everything about her at first glance.”
Dorothea readily acknowledged Sophia’s point.
“But that one. She’s from the Magic Country. While a duel might be one thing, if she were to commit terrorism at an inn like Franka did, she’d be in jail immediately.”
“Oh my. Are the Magic Country and the Empire on very bad terms?”
“They do anything short of war. Actually, even war isn’t off the table—it’s just not openly all-out, but they’re fighting locally. Then when they get tired, they shake hands again and talk about peace and such.”
“Ah, I see. It’s a battle of nerves.”
“Anyway, with things as they are, there’s almost no worry about me being ambushed. I’ve properly prepared defensive magic this time, and above all, I can just use you as a shield if necessary.”
“Isn’t it too much to use a comrade as a shield?”
“Be grateful I found a use for you as a shield.”
Watching the scene of Dorothea one-sidedly snapping at Sophia, which was more than just bickering, Adelaide blinked her eyes.
The Tin Knight patted Adelaide’s shoulder.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ suggests heading off to the next dojo challenge!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ strongly insists that he wants to fight too while they’re at it!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ is outraged upon realizing the event that he thought would be a test for his post-power-up capabilities was a mere teaser for strong enemies!]
“C-calm down, Sir Knight. You’re throwing out too many strange terms—I get the gist but it’s hard to make sense of the last part.”
It was only for a moment that she was dumbfounded by the unexpected situation.
Realizing that the Tin Knight would accompany her, Adelaide’s expression also became excited.
The Lennart dojo was a kind of test site for Adelaide, and in some sense, enemy territory.
Going there alone versus going with a reliable teacher.
It was needless to say which would be more comfortable.
“Then shall we go! To the dojo here in Tik-Tok!”
***With energetic steps, the two headed toward the dojo.
As Adelaide stepped into the dojo, filled with resolute determination, what greeted her was...
“Welcome! To Lennart Land, full of hopes and dreams!”
...an amusement park.
Adelaide rubbed her eyes.
To use a metaphor from the books Adelaide liked to read, it was like eagerly reading heroes entering a cave to subjugate a dragon, but suddenly on the next page, the dragon transforms into a beautiful woman confessing her love to the hero, and the saint who was the hero’s companion bit her handkerchief in bitter jealously while vowing revenge.
The genre was collapsing somewhere unknown.
I must be seeing hallucinations from being too nervous.
After placing her hand on her chest and taking a few deep breaths, Adelaide slowly began to open her eyes.
This time for sure, she would see a dojo building full of dignity. An instructor with a muscular, blade-like atmosphere. The sight of disciples dedicating themselves to training day by day, dripping with sweat.
Adelaide’s violet eyes opened completely.
“Welcome! To Lennart Land, full of hopes and dreams!”
“Why isn’t this a dream??”
Towards Adelaide who unconsciously opened her mouth, the dojo’s gatekeeper, no, receptionist continued explaining with a smiling face, “Oh my! You seem to be a customer visiting our Lennart Land for the first time. Do you have any questions?”
“Um, well. I came to take the ‘test’ of the Lennart dojo. Did I perhaps come to the wrong place?”
“No! You’ve come to the right one!”
Adelaide looked around.
At first, she was too flustered to properly observe her surroundings, but looking again, she could see disciples repeating sparring sessions here and there.
However, their sparring partners were not people.
“Good, I’m sufficiently familiar with the basic difficulty now. Increase the difficulty!”
《Confirmed. Initiating mock battle at intermediate difficulty.》
“Haah, ha, haah, ha. Damn. As expected, it’s tricky to close the distance against an opponent with a spear. Let’s take a break for now!”
《Confirmed. Entering standby mode.》
《Confirmed. Evaluating attack score. Impact score: 45 points.》
There was a doll made entirely of wood engaging in hand-to-hand combat with a disciple.
There was a doll holding a blunt-ended spear, showing off elegant spear skills.
There was a doll with a huge body, holding an equally giant shield, one-sidedly receiving attacks and evaluating scores.
Adelaide muttered blankly. “Are magic dolls... acting as instructors?”
“This is Tik-Tok, after all.”
The receptionist answered Adelaide’s words, “If you’re facing a person, there are various restrictions like having to control your strength when attacking, or considering the other person’s condition, but if your opponent is a magic doll, you don’t need to worry about such things. One of the many instructors at the Tik-Tok dojo saw potential in this, ordered a large number of magic dolls, and created a training system centered around those dolls.”
That was an explanation Adelaide could empathize with.
After all, Adelaide herself had learned how to fight by being trained by the Tin Knight.
“There were instructors and disciples who opposed this, saying it was tarnishing the honor of the Lion Duke’s bloodline, but even they couldn’t hold out for long. The disciples liked being able to learn martial arts from obedient and capable dolls instead of instructors shouting about mental discipline, and the instructors liked having more time for personal training as the dolls took over managing the disciples. The tide turned quickly, and the instructor who created the training system using magic dolls became the dojo’s chief.”
The receptionist, wearing a tall cap with a visor, slightly raised the visor of his cap and stared at Adelaide.
His hair was golden, and his eyes were violet.
“Welcome to the dojo I have newly created, my distant relative, Adelaide von Lennart. Please, enjoy yourself to the fullest.”