The Tin Knight-Chapter 29: The Tin Knight and The Witchs Way of Greeting (4)

If one were to ask which was the largest and most luxurious accommodation in Lowefelt, citizens would unanimously recommend the Grisha Inn located in the western part of the city.

This inn, with its rare 5-story structure in the kingdom, was equipped with various cooling facilities, fully furnished bathrooms, and excellent chefs on standby for 18 hours. This made it one of Lowefelt’s landmarks. It was so famous that there were even rumors of Lowefelt’s lord lamenting, “This seems better than my mansion,” when he visited.

As it emphasized a luxury strategy, the cost of staying at the Grisha Inn was quite expensive.

Among the nobles who visited Lowefelt to form even a small connection with the Lennart ducal family, staying at the inn for longer than a week became a status symbol that divided them.

Some intellectuals clicked their tongues at this, calling it a pathetic act of distinguishing oneself by wealth, but Tom, the general manager of the Grisha Inn, disagreed.

So what if it was pathetic? Who cared if it appeared unsightly?

The more they splurged, the more Tom’s wallet grew and the more peaceful his household became!

Tom prided himself on never losing his smile towards the customers visiting the inn, and recently, that smile had grown even deeper.

This was because a certain guest who visited a week ago had rented out the entire inn.

The guest’s somewhat overbearing personality, or the unique appearance of their pets wasn’t a significant issue for Tom.

Even when the pets would run amok and cause accidents in the inn, the guest always compensated for the damages, so there were no complaints.

No, since the compensation far exceeded the original price of the broken items, he was even inwardly cheering for more to be broken.

So when the guest who had gone out for a while returned to the inn, Tom quickly rushed out and them with a bow.

“Welcome back, esteemed guest. The bath water and meal are prepared, so whichever you prefer first—“

“Move.”

A cold reply cut off Tom’s words which were wandering somewhere between flattery and service-mindedness.

Tom, who unconsciously examined the guest’s expression, froze in place.

The blood-red eyes were filled with an indescribable, unsettling emotion.

Tom quickly stepped aside.

Without even giving a glance to Tom, the guest strode towards their room.

Two golden monkeys followed behind the guest as if they were attendants.

The monkey with bat wings was fluttering around the guest, and its movements somehow gave off the impression as if it cautiously observing its master’s mood.

The other monkey was dragging a wheeled travel bag, and it seemed quite heavy as distinct wheel tracks were left on the carpet laid on the floor.

It seemed like something that even a decent merchant would find difficult to move, but the monkey moving it didn’t seem particularly burdened.

It was a creature boasting a size and musculature nearly two to three times that of the bat-winged monkey beside it, so it wasn’t particularly strange.

Due to its robust build, the small and puny insect wings on its back looked almost like decorations.

Tom thought.

Whatever it is, I should tell the employees to stay away from the guest as much as possible today.

Tom had seen his fair share of noble guests with deranged eyes taking out their frustration on innocent employees.

The guest’s eyes now looked as dangerous as those nobles in the past.

Soon, precautions were spread, and the employees couldn’t hide their tension.

“Come to think of it, when I went out to buy ingredients earlier, there was a strange rumor going around. They say there was a fight between a golden-furred magic beast and some knight in the middle of the street, and the magic beast side died... Boss, isn’t that about our guest’s pet?”

“The city guard and the disciples of the Lennart dojo were searching for a knight in plate armor and a golden-furred monkey-like magic beast.”

At the employees’ testimonies, Tom’s expression became serious.

“No one has come looking for us, right? If anyone has been blabbing about the guest around town, fess up now.”

“Come on, why would we risk losing a decent job? Of course, we kept our mouths shut.”

“In the first place, neither the guest nor the monkeys ever go out much, so people around wouldn’t know... Not yet at least.”

The words “not yet” struck at the heart of this matter.

If people didn’t suspect the inn now, it wouldn’t be long before they did.

When that happened, there was a risk that even the employees of the Grisha Inn might be implicated as accomplices in a strange incident.

“Why did you hide the culprit?” they might ask.

Tom pondered.

Should he ask the guest about the situation? Or is it better to inform the city guard or the dojo without saying anything? If the inn gets a reputation for selling out its guests without hesitation, wouldn’t other nobles avoid this place in the future?

The guest had been holed up in their room since returning, not even eating dinner.

If Tom were going to make a decision, now was the opportunity to do so.

The employees’ gazes focused on Tom.

It was a chance for Tom’s ability as the inn’s manager to be tested.

“Hey, wait, everyone look at that. What’s that?”

“Huh?”

Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately—Tom didn’t get to properly take the test.

As one female employee pointed outside the window with a pale face, Tom and the employees’ gazes turned in the same direction.

And they froze.

A pale-faced woman was staring at Tom and the employees from beyond the window.

In the dead of night with the only nearby light coming from inside, the outside scenery should have been indiscernible, yet the woman’s figure was unnervingly clear.

Her disheveled black hair hung loosely, her eye sockets were deeply sunken, and her eyes were bloodshot.

Swish.

The woman moved forward.

The solid window and stone wall offered no obstacle, allowing the woman’s intrusion without resistance.

Despite there being no wind, the white dress the woman wore fluttered gently.

Everyone opened their mouths but couldn’t make a sound.

In the midst of this, the woman’s expressionless face suddenly twisted into a smile.

Grin.

That corner of her mouth tore to an extent impossible in human anatomy, reaching all the way to her ears.

Blood dripped from the torn corners of her mouth, staining the woman’s white dress bright red.

《Kyahahahahahaha!!》

The woman—no—the evil spirit burst into maniacal laughter.

Several of the employees fainted on the spot.

The remaining employees and Tom tried to flee in panic, but as new evil spirits swarmed in from all directions, blocking their escape routes, they too eventually succumbed to fear and lost consciousness.

The evil spirits, as if having fulfilled their role, disappeared one by one, scattering like mist.

In the silent first floor of the inn.

Opening the closed main entrance, a small shadow stealthily crept through.

The shadow quickly looked around, then hid in a corner.

And a moment later.

[Ooh-ki?]

The golden monkey with bat wings appeared from the direction of the stairs.

The golden monkey, after confirming the fallen employees, looked around warily.

And towards this monkey, something flew.

The monkey’s reaction to this sudden throwing attack was truly agile.

With a slight movement of its membrane-covered wings, the monkey’s body gracefully maneuvered through the air.

The stone that failed to reach its target hit the wall helplessly before falling.

The monkey tried to find the culprit, but there was no need.

The person in question had already revealed themselves of their own accord.

The girl with bright golden hair and clear violet eyes pointed her sword at the monkey and declared, “Um, ahem! Mr. Monkey! I challenge you to a duel!”

[...Ooh-ki?]

A question mark appeared on the monkey’s face.

If that expression were to be translated into human language, it would roughly be, “What is this kid yapping about?”

Match-up 1: Adelaide von Lennart VS Bat-Winged Golden Monkey

***The alchemist, who was sharing the monkey’s vision, felt just as bewildered by the sudden duel declaration.

She had strengthened her defenses as soon as she felt traces of mana in the surroundings, but the expected offensive spell never came.

From the scene on the first floor and the residual traces of mana in the surroundings, she could only guess that some necromancy-related magic had been activated.

Did they knock out the employees to prevent them from causing a commotion or getting involved?

The alchemist felt displeasure at the hypothesis that popped into her head.

For such a trivial reason, they let slip the perfect opportunity to launch a preemptive strike? And against me of all people?

After taking my precious child-like creation so ruthlessly from me?

Blood rushed to her head.

If it were her usual self, she would have noticed the unnaturalness in the series of situations, but the burning anger stripped the alchemist of rational judgment.

At the very moment the alchemist was about to order the golden-haired kid on the first floor to be torn to shreds, it happened.

The golden monkey with insect wings beside the alchemist urgently threw its body to embrace her.

Crash!

The window and part of the wall flew off entirely, and the debris rained down inside.

The perpetrator of this incident rushed towards the monkey and the alchemist with hawk-like swiftness.

A sword filled with sword energy left a large gash on the monkey’s right upper arm.

[■■■■!!]

The monkey roared.

Unlike its two brothers, it was a cry closer to a tiger than a monkey.

The beast’s arm filled with bulging muscles and the knight’s arm made of cold metal moved according to their respective purposes.

Every time the ferocious claws and sharp curved sword clashed, red and blue sparks bloomed like flowers.

The Tin Knight’s kick directly hit the monkey’s body.

At the impact, much heavier than it looked, the monkey’s large body was sent flying through the wall.

As the Tin Knight unhesitatingly chased after and brought down his sword, the ground collapsed, and the Tin Knight and the monkey fell together.

Match-up 2: Tin Knight VS Insect-Winged Golden Monkey

***In front of the alchemist left alone.

Cutting through the dust cloud created by the rampage of the two monsters, someone revealed themselves.

It was a witch with jet-black hair tied and draped over one of her shoulders, wearing clothes that exuded a sense of mystique.

In her right hand, which would usually be holding a large wooden staff, something unidentifiable wrapped in cloth was firmly grasped.

“I owe you one from earlier.”

At those words, the alchemist, the disciple of the Wicked Witch of the West, “Franka Aglaia”, smirked.

“Owe me? I thought that much was just a light greeting. Was it too early for an eastern bumpkin?”

“Not particularly. That’s why I came to return the greeting like this, isn’t it?”

“Ha.”

It was an overt sneer.

It was also Franka’s expression of anger in her own way.

“So? Did you think you could handle me alone somehow since I moved all my children elsewhere? That an alchemist without homunculi is powerless? Don’t be mistaken.”

Beside Franka.

The large wheeled bag opened by itself without anyone touching it.

From within, golden block-like things crept out and rolled on the floor.

If the Tin Knight had been present, he might have caused a commotion saying they looked like some Le-something toy.

The golden blocks assembled themselves arbitrarily into various forms.

A catapult with a large hammer attached instead of a stone-holding base.

A wheel moving erratically, with many saw blades attached.

Even the large ballista that had attacked the Tin Knight.

These were all weapons more than capable enough to kill a single person.

As if showing off this firepower, Franka said, “The tricks a necromancer can use are predictable. Petty curses or hallucinations and auditory illusions using evil spirits. It might work on ordinary people, but did you think such things would work against another mage?”

Despite the insulting words, Dorothea didn’t get angry.

She merely shrugged.

“Well, that’s true. Whether it’s necromancy or witch’s spells, they’re not particularly useful for direct combat.”

Dorothea continued in a sly tone, “However, if there’s a corpse, then it’s a different story. Surely you didn’t think I came all this way without preparing one?”

“What are you talking about? Where would such a thing—“

Franka’s words stopped.

Her wide-open red eyes were directed at the bundle of cloth Dorothea was holding.

As if finding that reaction amusing, Dorothea giggled.

It was truly a laugh befitting the title of witch.

Yet her eyes didn’t hold a speck of amusement.

“If you dared aim for someone’s life, you should have been prepared for the consequences.”

Dorothea threw what she was holding into the air.

As the bundle of cloth unraveled, it revealed what it had been concealing.

It was a severed monkey arm, shining with a brilliant golden light.

Dorothea clenched her fist towards the air.

With a crack, the monkey’s arm burst, and the blood that spurted out painted the air.

《Ahahahaha!!》

《Hehehehehehe!!》

《Kyarururururuk!!》

Evil spirits emerged from thin air and swarmed toward that blood.

As if trying to fill in the missing body parts, the blood that seeped from the monkey’s arm greedily devoured the evil spirits and Dorothea’s mana.

Strong limbs, thick fur, bird-like wings, and the form of a monkey.

All of these were recreated in dark red blood clots.

“You alchemists consider homunculi like your own children, don’t you?”

Dorothea’s blue eyes curved into a crescent moon shape.

“Enjoy a touching reunion with the child you killed with your own hands, Alchemist.”

Something snapped in Franka’s mind.

Responding to her screaming anger, the assembly blocks became golden weapons and pounced on Dorothea.

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

The undead in the form of a winged monkey countered by swinging its arm like a whip.

Match-up 3: Dorothea Aschengard VS Franka Aglaia