The Eastern part of the Continent. Kingdom of Ionia.

Marquis William Hemming, leader of the old nobility faction and now a key figure in the royalist faction, was in the middle of reporting to the king.

“Thus, the Witch of the East’s apprentice and her companions are currently staying in the Locrian Federation, and they plan to move to find the next sacred treasure as soon as they finish regrouping.”

William, who finished speaking with a truly noble bearing that was respectful yet not servile, glanced at the king’s reaction.

“Excellent! Truly excellent! It seems not even half a year has passed, yet they’ve already gathered half of the eight sacred treasures!”

The king was beaming with joy.

The king’s appearance was quite strange.

It wasn’t that his looks were terrible. Rather, in terms of face alone, he could be described as handsome without exaggeration.

The problem was his attire.

From neck to toe. Where originally splendid formal wear should have covered, silver full-body armor was in its place instead.

He wore a helmet instead of a crown on his head, and if it weren’t for the raised face cover, one wouldn’t even be able to see his face properly.

Befitting something worn by a country’s king, the armor was extremely ornate.

But at the same time, it wasn’t just gaudy, but also had sufficient practicality.

One could glimpse the blood and sweat the craftsmen must have shed to simultaneously realize these two elements that were difficult to coexist.

Marquis William Hemming thought.

No matter when I see it, the appearance is quite impressive.

With his already tall and handsome looks, and now wearing this stylish armor, he created a picture-like scene just by sitting there.

He could understand why young people, ignorant of the ways of the world, would be enthusiastic about the king.

Although materialistic, originally outstanding appearance alone could become one of the virtues of a ruler.

The problem is that only the appearance is impressive.

William inwardly sighed.

Starting with that attire itself was a problem.

A king wearing armor? That itself could be sufficiently plausible.

If this were during a special event like a military morale-boosting visit or a knighting ceremony, even traditional nobles, which included William himself, would show respect rather than harbor complaints.

But it was a different story to wear armor like everyday clothes when there wasn’t any particular event.

Good heavens, a king who doesn’t take off his armor even during document approval, court meetings, and even meal times?

“The kingdom continues to struggle to regain its former glory. Originally, a commander should not relax his mind during wartime.”

Some zealous royalist retainers expressed admiration for this appearance of the king, calling it the very model of a knight, but to William, it was just insanity. The word “eccentricity” couldn’t be more fitting.

Looking with gloomy eyes at the cavalry lance placed diagonally next to the throne, William lamented his situation.

If only he hadn’t carelessly meddled with the witch’s apprentice that day, he wouldn’t have needed to become a political partner with such a king.

“It’s truly amazing. And also regrettable. If only the Kingdom of Heaven had come when I was a prince, before ascending to the throne as king. If only I had a compass that could locate the sacred treasures, I would have gone out to retrieve them myself.”

“…Is that so?”

Although William usually disagreed with the king, at this moment he agreed with the king’s opinion.

Thinking that if the king in his youth had gone out to find the sacred treasures and died abroad, he wouldn’t have to suffer from this stomach pain now.

“By the way, the witch’s apprentice, hmm… What was her name again? Dorothea? What was her family name?”

“Dorothea Aschengard, Your Majesty.”

“Aschengard. An old-fashioned name. It used to appear often in fairy tales and old folk tales. Nowadays, it feels like it’s become rather rare.”

“It’s probably because it’s such a common surname in the east that many people are changing to different names.”

“Hahaha, it’s interesting that because everyone pursues something new and unique, the most old-fashioned thing has become the rarest.”

The king, laughing as if amused, shook the report in his hand as if somewhat troubled.

“Anyway, about this Dorothea, while it’s good that the retrieval work is fast, it’s regrettable that the report is too sloppy. Even this one, excluding the trivial etiquette and greetings, the main point ends with ‘Retrieved what was hidden on a remote island.’”

“…That’s right.”

William couldn’t bring himself to say, “The original message that arrived was even shorter than that, without even etiquette or greetings.”

Especially since his role was to edit Dorothea’s perfunctory reports to a level that could be presented to the king.

“When the kingdom regains its former glory in the future, the process of retrieving the sacred treasures will also become an epic poem passed down for generations. But if the content is poor, it would be regrettable in many ways.”

“Couldn’t we just hear the story directly from the witch after all the retrieval work is done?”

William, feeling an instinctive sense of foreboding, tried to change the topic, but as always, the king didn’t move according to his intentions.

“Of course I intend to do that, but human memory is inherently unstable, so we can’t rely on that alone, can we? It’s my wish to have more detailed records.”

“I, as your subject, cannot dare to fathom Your Majesty’s wisdom in preparing for the future. However, wouldn’t the responsibility be too heavy if we impose a new task on someone who is already excellently fulfilling their original duties?”

Although his tone was respectful, William was desperate.

Considering the witch’s temperament that he had directly experienced, it was hard to imagine what kind of backlash would come if they added unnecessary work.

“Hmm, that’s true. Then how about this? We send someone from our side to follow them. If we take full responsibility for the recording on our side, it shouldn’t be much of a burden for them. Ah, it wouldn’t be bad to send a royal minstrel!”

William thought.

Isn’t this okay?

“That’s a good idea… but it doesn’t seem so, Your Majesty!”

It’s not okay. It’s not okay at all.

Feeling a creepy sensation as if webs were growing between his fingers, William hurriedly corrected the words he was about to say.

The king asked, puzzled, “Even this is not allowed?”

William thought.

What words should I say to make this obtuse king give up?

It was meaningless to speak of political matters such as power struggles over which talent to dispatch, or diplomatic relations with other countries.

If the king were the type of person to care about such things, he wouldn’t have tried to implement the delusion of reviving the kingdom with just eight magic tools in the first place.

To persuade this knight-king who seemed born in the wrong era, spouting nonsense like, “Always on the battlefield,” and clad in armor even in daily life, it was necessary to match his level.

“—Your Majesty, can an apprentice knight honing his skills alone in the training ground be the same as an apprentice knight displaying his martial arts in front of the knight commander?”

“Hmm, that wouldn’t be the case. He would be more tense, wouldn’t he?”

“It’s the same. People tend to get nervous when being watched, even while doing things they usually do without thinking, and more so if the observer is in a high position. Just as the mindset of an apprentice knight watched by the knight commander is different from one focusing on his own work alone, if Your Majesty sends your eyes and ears to document their every move, they will surely not be able to display their full capabilities.”

“Hmm. But still.”

“Moreover, the famous knights of old times did not move expecting their deeds to be known to others. If one only shouts about honor and does good when someone is watching, how can that be true honor and true justice? It’s merely a materialistic action conscious of the fame and rights that will return. I fear that by monitoring their actions, Your Majesty might cause the task on which the kingdom’s honor and future depend to degrade into mere show-like theater.”

“Oh!”

The king, as if greatly impressed, rose from his throne, strode over, and grasped William’s hand.

William was startled, but the guard knights and attendants just watched with faces as if they had already given up on everything in the world.

“Lord William, you have given me great enlightenment! Your words ring true. If those carrying out the glorious mission were to act unnaturally, conscious of me as an audience, the value of this journey would be damaged. I cannot sully the first steps of the glorious kingdom myself. You have spoken very well!”

“…I’m glad if it was helpful.”

A faint smile appeared on William’s lips.

Of course, it wasn’t because he was happy about the king’s words of gratitude, but because he realized that the webs between his fingers had disappeared.

Marquis William Hemming enjoyed a brief sense of victory and happiness until he learned the next day that rumors spread of him being a favorite minister so cherished by the king that he even held his hand while expressing gratitude, making him even more shunned by the nobles.

***

Clop clop.

Clatter clatter.

Along with the sound of horse hooves touching the ground, the carriage wheels rolled incessantly.

From a corner of the coachman’s seat, the Tin Knight asked Sophia, who was skillfully moving her pen and writing something diligently even on the shaking seat.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ is curious about what Sophia is writing so earnestly!]

“Ah, this? I’m writing down and organizing things like our journey, or information we’ve learned so far.”

The Tin Knight tilted his head.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks if Sophia, who doesn’t forget most things, really needs something like memos!]

“Information is meaningless if you just keep it to yourself. I’ve refrained from doing this until now because we couldn’t carelessly increase our luggage, but now there’s no need for that.”

Sophia had weak physical abilities. She couldn’t properly carry heavy bags, so even if she made records, she had to store them elsewhere, but she couldn’t ask Adelaide or the Tin Knight to carry them for her either.

And piling them up in the carriage lacked stability because the Tin Knight’s party was using carriages as consumables, half voluntarily and half involuntarily.

But now they could move while storing small luggage with the Gloves of Haider, so there was no need to refrain from creating luggage like before.

Of course, since the act of putting in and taking out items itself consumed mana, it shouldn’t be excessive, but Dorothea wouldn’t be too picky about a few books.

The Tin Knight watched with an excited look as Sophia wrote incessantly in a thick book.

What she was using was a pen that converted mana into ink, which was also the only item Sophia had requested among the Witch of the West’s many treasures.

Despite writing at an incredible speed in a posture that couldn’t even be called stable by any stretch of the imagination, Sophia’s handwriting was very neat and beautiful.

However, it wasn’t writing that the Tin Knight could read.

Suddenly, the Tin Knight felt curious.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks if Sophia is interested in learning a new script!]

“A new script? Yes, of course, if you teach me.”

It was an immediate answer without even a second of hesitation.

Tired of just driving horses while sitting on the coachman’s seat, the Tin Knight started acting as an impromptu instructor.

“Hmm? Is this perhaps a script based on the structure of the human body? Interesting.”

Sophia’s learning speed was surprisingly fast.

In contrast to the Tin Knight, who was just unconsciously conversing using the translation effect of the brooch, she was even tracing back to the fundamentals from just a few words of the Tin Knight.

It was exceptional even considering that the brooch’s effect could convey the Tin Knight’s will itself.

Pronunciation, grammar, subtle nuances in translation. All the elements that would normally be obstacles in learning a new language were dismantled in an instant, and later she even grasped parts the Tin Knight hadn’t mentioned on her own.

In less than half a day, lines of writing that even the Tin Knight could read poured out.

Thus, the party that succeeded in subjugating the Witch of the West was moving towards a new destination.

‎

There were three main objectives. Replenishing resources consumed in the last battle and recovering from fatigue, obtaining the “golem in the form of a horse” mentioned by Franka Aglaia, and lastly, taking Adelaide von Lennart’s third dojo test.

‎

Fortunately, there was a city in the Locrian Federation suitable for simultaneously fulfilling these three objectives.

‎

“The lion’s left hind leg”, “One of the ten pillars supporting the federation” and “A place ruled by the most sophisticated yet barbaric laws”

‎

The City of Scales, Justitia. That was the party’s new destination.

***

https://ko-fi.com/genesisforsaken