[The ‘Tin Knight’ expresses amazement, saying that after having a long dream, his contractor has become a goddess!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says he knew mountains could change in ten years, but he didn’t know a new faith could be born in less than a week!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ questions if he should call her Crow Goddess from now on!]

Kwang!

A sound heavier and more destructive than usual rang out, and the Tin Knight, hit by Dorothea’s staff, became a □□□ Knight and fell backwards.

“Shut up. If you don’t shut up, I’ll hit you,” Dorothea muttered with a face full of gloom, resentment, and various other negative emotions.

Adelaide inwardly thought.

Shouldn’t you say that before hitting him, Miss Witch?

Naturally, she didn’t voice such thoughts.

She was a clever lion who could distinguish between words that would kill her if spoken and words that wouldn’t.

In fact, seeing the Tin Knight who didn’t lower his thumbs-up even while falling, it was a waste of manpower and mental energy to provide any defense for him.

After glaring at the Tin Knight rolling on the floor with eyes that would make sub-zero temperatures look like a nice spring day, Dorothea turned her head with a hmph.

Then, she spoke with her usual crooked eyes, “…So, the underground general with future prediction ability and the heavenly angel laid out a strategy to resurrect using your body, Sophia. You were almost replaced by them using the power of the Chalice of Tuberose and the flute that traveler had, but thanks to this tin can blocking them, their plan failed, and you, Sophia, were able to wake up safely. Right?”

“That’s the general flow. There’s more to explain in detail, but…”

“If it’s not immediately necessary, do it later. Haa..” Dorothea sighed.

Her tone was harsh, but it was proof that she in her own way was worried about Sophia and the Tin Knight.

Although she intervened in various ways from the outside through the Game Book, it was impossible to grasp in detail what was happening inside. From the middle, even that was almost blocked due to severe interference.

However, this didn’t mean Dorothea’s merits were small at all.

It was thanks to her skills that the mental erosion, which originally was close to a “phenomenon” that couldn’t be physically beaten, could be turned into a form of “enemy” that could be beaten.

Preparing a space where the two unconscious people could rest safely by pressuring Marquis William Hemming, and managing public sentiment to prevent unnecessary riots from occurring were in the same context.

Anyway, public sentiment management, which was supposed to be “Just eat this and be quiet!” evolved into a transcendent level of “The Crow Goddess makes grenades out of pine cones!” making Dorothea hold her head in anguish. The saying “everything in moderation” wasn’t just empty words.

If asked whether Adelaide was idle, that wasn’t the case either.

After Sophia and the Tin Knight fell into a long sleep, as if taking their place, the former lord’s wife woke up from her long unconscious state.

— M-Madam!? Madam, are you conscious?!

— Ronnie…? Where is thi—ugh.

— You mustn’t overexert yourself! Your body must be weakened from lying down for so long. Please wait a moment. I’ll call Lady Adelaide!

Adelaide, who was hunting in the nearby forest to secure food, returned almost flying as soon as she heard the news, and seeing her mother who had regained consciousness, she threw herself into her arms with tears in her eyes.

The lady, who unconsciously embraced her daughter, who had thrown herself into her arms, was inwardly surprised to see her daughter’s appearance, which was similar to but different from her memory.

Her height had subtly increased, and her body had become a bit more robust.

Considering the characteristically slow growth rate of the Lion Duke’s bloodline, this was a change that couldn’t occur in just a few months, even if Adelaide was in her growth period.

Afterwards, mother and daughter had many conversations.

The fall of Friedel, the incident of Adelaide’s kidnapping and meeting her companions, the journey to find the sacred treasures, the conspiracy regarding the lord’s death, revenge against the Tower of Control and the Lennart main family, and finally, the triumphant return.

The lady was saddened, angered, surprised, and felt admiration and joy.

The content was so vast and large-scale, it was hard to believe at first, but after seeing the members of the main family with golden hair and violet eyes coming to escort the “new lord’s mother” at one call from her daughter, it was meaningless to doubt.

While she was unconscious and unable to help, her daughter, whom she had only seen as young and cute, had grown up surprisingly before she knew it.

She felt sorry and guilty about that, but on the other hand, she was proud of her daughter, who had accomplished great achievements so admirably.

Few parents would dislike their child’s success, especially when it was achieved honorably rather than through dishonorable means.

However, even the lady had one worry.

— So about Sir Knight…

— Sir Knight stood right in front and…

— Sir Knight can be mischievous at times, but when it really matters, he’s truly reliable…

Sir Knight this, Sir Knight that, it was all Sir Knight.

The lady wasn’t so insensitive as to not notice the signs when seeing her daughter repeatedly talking about a certain someone with sparkling eyes and seeming joy.

In fact, listening to her daughter’s stories, it would be stranger not to have such feelings for such a person.

A benefactor who saved her from the crisis of almost being sold as a slave. A teacher who stuck by her side throughout the journey, guiding her in every detail. A reliable companion who always appeared at moments of crisis to defeat enemies.

He couldn’t help but be a truly grateful person.

If only he weren’t unconscious due to some unknown situation, she would want to express her gratitude immediately.

Still, marriage to a magic doll is a bit…

While secretly worrying about her daughter’s love life, the lady didn’t voice it out to sprinkle ashes on her excited daughter’s face.

She was an understanding mother.

If the lady had known about the detailed training content with which the Tin Knight had rolled Adelaide, she would have rushed to tear off the frame hanging on the wall to strike the Tin Knight’s head, regardless of her frail body or a noble lady’s dignity, but fortunately, Adelaide glossed over that part.

If Mother hears about it, she might be a bit shocked.

Adelaide was also aware that the training she had undergone might be somewhat problematic in the eyes of others.

The fact that she passed it off as “somewhat” showed that she too was seriously tin-contaminated.

In this way, while talking with her mother, hunting for food supply, and calling direct bloodline members including Maris to come and escort her mother, Sophia and the Tin Knight woke up, so her daily life could also be evaluated as very busy.

***

A few days after the Tin Knight and Sophia woke up.

Marquis William expressed his gratitude to Dorothea, who was about to leave for a new destination again.

“Thanks to you, we survived.”

The relationship between Dorothea and Marquis William Hemming was difficult to call friendly even in empty words.

An assassination target and the person who ordered that assassination.

A witch who bound the other with a curse and threats, and her victim.

To be honest, William was afraid of and uncomfortable with Dorothea.

However, he wasn’t foolish enough not to know how stupid it would be to antagonize Dorothea and her companions now.

With such capable and powerful individuals, even if they couldn’t become allies, at least not making them enemies would make life peaceful.

“With the grains you’ve piled up in the warehouse, and the rat problem solved, the precarious situation of the territory will have some breathing room for a while.”

“For a while?”

“The checks from surrounding territories won’t end. But well, that too will be temporary. I’ve also made up my mind after this incident.”

Until now, William had been called the king’s favorite while still maintaining ties with the nobles, but after experiencing this incident, he realized that he could no longer survive with an ambiguous attitude.

It was by no means an easy decision to go all-in on that eccentric and unpredictable king, but with the noble faction striking first with a knife, he had no other choice.

Of course, Dorothea wasn’t interested in this content.

More importantly, it was crucial to escape from this territory as soon as possible, avoiding the people who constantly expressed gratitude and respect whenever she went out on the street.

“Well, do your best. Somehow calm down those fools talking about goddesses or whatever.”

“That doesn’t seem like a problem I can solve no matter what I do… but I’ll try.”

William spoke as if he suddenly remembered, “Come to think of it, did you say you’re going further east from here?”

“The response for the next sacred treasure is coming from there. Why?”

“If you don’t particularly change your route, you’ll reach Count Lumière’s territory. Uh, I hope you don’t misunderstand, but please don’t cause any trouble.”

“What?”

“Count Lumière’s territory is a county, but in ancient times, it was an independent kingdom. As such, it’s quite large and powerful among the territories within the kingdom.”

“What does that have to do with us?”

“Count Lumière’s territory belongs to the neutral faction within the kingdom. But, I hear the count’s only son is looking for a bride now. They say he’s holding some kind of ball to find bride candidates there, and because of that, various nobles in the kingdom are now desperately trying to fill that bride position with their own people. I’m saying this because you might get unnecessarily involved if you go there.”

Dorothea snorted, “What an idle game. Don’t worry, we won’t get involved.”

The Tin Knight, watching from behind, said.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that no matter how you look at it, it seems like some kind of flag has been raised!]

Adelaide answered, “But if it’s related to a ball, wouldn’t it be a relatively peaceful event?”

Sophia continued, “Something will happen wherever we go anyway, so it might be more convenient to go knowing roughly what’s going on.”

Dorothea screamed, “You! There’s too much chatter!”

***

Once upon a time, long ago.

Actually, not so long ago.

There was a pitiful girl who lost her mother at a young age.

The girl’s father took a new wife, but the stepmother and her two daughters, despite their pretty faces, had wicked hearts.

They tormented the girl and made her do household chores and errands.

The girl had to live covered in ashes, suffering from hard labor every day.

The girl made a wish under the hazel tree where her mother was buried.

“Witch, o’ witch, Wicked Witch of the East. Please grant me power. The power to bring divine punishment upon my foul-tempered stepmother and sisters, and my wishy-washy father who pretends to care in front of others but actually turns a blind eye knowing I’m being bullied…!

“If it’s difficult to grant me power directly, at least give me a chance to be involved with a prince. Once I gain power, I’ll handle the rest myself…!

“I beg you, I beg you. I beg the great Queen of the Dead…!”

On the girl’s─Cinderella—finger, the ring, a keepsake from her mother, emitted a strange glow.

Just a little more time was needed until the somewhat unusual Cinderella met her fairy godmother… or rather, godmothers, four times over.

***

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