The Tin Knight-Chapter 34: The Tin Knight and The Mysterious Underground Labyrinth (3)

The next morning.

The Tin Knight, Dorothea, and Adelaide were able to enter the labyrinth with Lorentz’s guarantee.

“The guild staff had uncomfortable expressions until the end. Did they dislike the idea of us entering that much?”

While pulling the cart through the narrow passage, Adelaide tilted her head.

Despite the cart being quite large, she showed no sign of struggle, likely a result of the physical training she had endured.

The first floor was completely empty, so there was no one to question why a noble young lady was pulling a cart in the first place.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ argues that if someone dislikes you for no reason, you should give them one!]

“Uh, no, I don’t think that’s necessary.”

Adelaide tried to laugh off the Tin Knight’s response with an ambiguous reaction.

It was too extreme a theory for her to consider.

However, Adelaide wasn’t the only one who heard the Tin Knight’s remark.

“Not bad. It’s certainly more rational to be hated for a reason than to be hated for no reason. You’re making sense for once.”

Dorothea seemed to like the Tin Knight’s suggestion very much.

Or rather, it seemed she had been thinking along those lines from the beginning, even if the Tin Knight hadn’t said it.

Usually, balance was maintained when Dorothea smacked some sense into the reckless Tin Knight, but when these two agreed, Adelaide had no way to stop them.

She carefully asked, “So, um, what exactly are you planning to do?”

“We’re going to sweep up all the treasures in this labyrinth,” Dorothea answered nonchalantly.

“Won’t that take too long? There are only three of us, and since we’re not affiliated with the other adventurers, it seems like it would be difficult to gather information...” Adelaide spoke hesitantly while reading the atmosphere, but Dorothea unexpectedly nodded in agreement.

“It would certainly be difficult without information.”

Dorothea raised her wooden staff with her right hand.

It was a masterpiece she had crafted while cooped up in the carriage’s cargo compartment for several days, using high-quality wood purchased with the compensation extracted from Franka.

“So, I’m going to call a guide.”

Tap.

As the tip of the staff struck the floor, something like a black wave spread out around them.

Tap, tap, tap.

Like creating ripples by dipping a hand in and out of a puddle, Dorothea’s mana spread throughout the labyrinth each time the staff hit the floor.

This continued for about 10 seconds.

From the ceiling, the walls, the ground.

Something like black sludge began to seep out.

The sight of the sludge approaching the party while writhing its amorphous body with a squelching sound evoked an instinctive anxiety in those watching.

At that moment, Dorothea raised her left hand.

As if swinging something, she rotated it counterclockwise twice.

In the blink of an eye, the chain ring on Dorothea’s hand transformed into a birdcage.

While holding the birdcage with her thumb and middle finger, Dorothea lightly tapped it with her index finger.

– Boom

Although it didn’t seem like she had tapped it particularly hard, the resulting shockwave spread as if a giant bell had been struck.

It was no mere sound, but a vibration that seemed to resonate deep within.

As the sludge touched by the impact simultaneously stopped moving, Dorothea opened her mouth.

“Any of you who pride yourself on knowing this labyrinth inside and out, come into this cage. The payment will be mana and pacification.”

The sludge writhed.

Unlike earlier when it instinctively evoked disgust, now it seemed to be reacting as if confused by the current situation.

“Not interested? Then stay trapped in this labyrinth forever. Let me tell you in advance, the fact that you’ve regained even basic cognitive abilities now is thanks to my mana and the power of this cage. Without it, you’ll return to your original state. If you want to become beings that just blindly cling to living people, not knowing who you were or what you want as if you were drunk on sleep, be my guest.”

Some of the sludge stepped forward and writhed.

Adelaide watched the scene with half-closed eyes.

Why is it?

The sludge, which until just now had been somewhat frightening and instinctively alarming, now seemed like disgruntled workers protesting an unfair contract.

And then, the evil boss—no—Dorothea declared, “Five.”

The movement of the sludge stopped all at once.

Question marks appeared above their heads.

“Four.”

Regardless, Dorothea calmly continued the countdown.

As if finally realizing the meaning, the sludge collectively started convulsing.

“Three.”

The sludge tried to urgently approach the cage, but their writhing sludge bodies were endlessly slow.

“Two.”

Finally, the souls discarded the dark and murky parts that formed their bodies and became translucent will-o’-wisp-like forms that soared into the air.

Without anyone needing to go first, they all rushed to throw themselves into Dorothea’s cage.

“One.”

Click.

The cage door closed.

The souls that had been struggling inside the narrow cage soon merged into one and became the shape of a human skull.

The skull sang.

《O’ Great Witch! Ask anything! Anything at all! Witch! O’ Great and Mighty Witch!》

Ignoring the stunned Adelaide, the Tin Knight nodded his head up and down.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ admires the Great and Mighty Witch’s vicious business tactics!]

“Silence. Various thoughts are all mixed up, so I have to use a somewhat docile one as the center, or it’s troublesome to handle, you know? It’s not about my preference, but necessity,” Dorothea replied sharply.

Judging by her voice, she seemed to feel a bit embarrassed herself.

Adelaide stuttered a question, “Um, e-excuse me. You gathered the souls or something that was in the labyrinth, right? They’ve all become one, is that okay?”

“I’ve already cleansed the accumulated resentment and curses, and the souls will automatically separate when the cage’s effect ends, so it’s fine. Once we’re done with our business, I’ll release them under the sunlight, and that’s the end of the contract. They’ll all go their separate ways after enjoying some sunbathing.”

After answering like that, Dorothea took out something like a large wrapping cloth and covered the area around the cage with it.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks what that’s for!]

Dorothea spoke, frowning as if being asked about something obvious, “There will be lots of other adventurers in this ruin, right? What do you think people would say if we walked around carrying a cage with a skull in it?”

“...”

The Tin Knight, Adelaide, and even the skull acting as a temporary guide all had the same thought.

Hadn’t we already passed that level of concern long ago?

The witch’s standards were as skewed as ever.

***Adelaide was a girl who loved books.

While she mainly read romance novels, she had also read quite a few adventure stories due to her brother’s influence.

Among them were books about labyrinths, which detailed the difficulties of labyrinth exploration.

The protagonists constantly got lost, fell into traps, and suffered from the threats of approaching magic beasts and the exhaustion of their stamina and mana.

Therefore, when she heard that their next destination was inside a labyrinth, Adelaide was quite nervous.

Yes, she had been nervous.

《You need to go right here! The other paths are dead ends or full of traps!》

《If you look at the crevice in this wall, there’s a mechanism that leads to a hidden room! The treasure itself has already been looted, but it’s a good space to rest comfortably!》

《The monsters that appear on this level are weak to bright light. It would be good to have a magic tool with a flash spell, but since it’s expensive, people usually substitute it by carrying multiple torches!》

《There’s nothing special here! There used to be some magic beasts roaming around, but adventurers conducted a large-scale sweep operation last time! Just pass through comfortably—》

[Kee-shaaaa!]

Slash!

[Keck!]

《..》

“...Didn’t you just say to pass through comfortably?”

《Long live the Witch! All hail the Great Witch Dorothea!》

Watching the magic beast that was crushed by the Tin Knight’s hand as soon as it attempted a sneak attack, and the skull desperately flattering to avoid the witch’s sharp gaze, Adelaide thought.

Um, this is certainly different from what I expected.

Sure, it’s convenient, but is this really how a labyrinth exploration should be conducted?

[The ‘Tin Knight’ admires that it’s like an experiential attraction!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ evaluates that if it were developed as a tourist spot, many people would flock to it!]

Moving according to the information provided by the skull meant there was no need to get lost, Dorothea solved the issue of light to illuminate their vision with magic, and the Tin Knight mercilessly fell the occasional appearing magic beasts.

All Adelaide had to do was pull the cart and follow the two. There wasn’t even a need to draw her weapon.

Of course, the souls weren’t omniscient, so there were occasional gaps in their knowledge, but even this wasn’t a serious issue.

“There are a few more around here too.”

Occasionally, when Dorothea stopped and tapped the ground with her staff, new souls would appear in response.

There were souls like the dark and murky sludge they had seen at first, and there were also souls that emitted a relatively bright light.

Dorothea offered contracts to them as well, and the skull, absorbing new souls, became increasingly distinct in its presence and began providing increasingly detailed and accurate information.

How far had they advanced like this?

“The structure of this floor is quite simple.”

The floor, shaped like a small dome, contained three main features.

Stairs going up.

Stairs going down.

And a large door in front.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ evaluates that it looks like a boss room!]

Adelaide, now somewhat accustomed to the Tin Knight’s bizarre terminology, nodded in agreement.

In the books she had read, when such a meaningful space appeared in a labyrinth, it usually contained a powerful enemy threatening the protagonists or a hidden treasure vault.

Beside the main door stood a lone stone tablet. It was written in a bizarre language that Adelaide couldn’t understand.

“Miss Witch, can you read it?”

“I can’t.”

After answering, Dorothea shook the cage left and right.

The skull quickly opened its mouth.

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《’Those who seekth treasure, prove thy valor by offering the giant centipede’s venomous claw, the black knight’s sword, and fairy wing powder before the stone tablet.’ That’s what it says, Witch!》

“You know well.”

《An archaeologist dispatched from the guild made an interpretation and spread it among the guild members, Witch!》

“But there’s no sign of the door being opened or closed?”

《Adventurers exploring the labyrinth did find those magic beasts, but the party that defeated the giant centipede and the party that defeated the black knight refused to cooperate due to preexisting affairs! Fairies haven’t even been discovered in the currently explored levels! So no one has been able to open it, Witch!》

“How petty. Are there doors like this on other floors too?”

《There’s one every five floors! A few were lucky enough to gather the materials and secure the contents inside the room, but more than half couldn’t be opened, Witch!》

“I see.”

A wicked smile appeared on Dorothea’s face.

She approached the main door and caressed its surface.

“I can definitely feel mana. Well, if it’s a structure that responds to specific materials to open the door, it’s only natural.”

Dorothea took out the “Key of Opium” from her pocket.

Seeing the key about the size of a finger, Adelaide expressed doubt, “Are you going to open it with that? But there’s no keyhole or anything.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ve been analyzing it while carrying it around, and this isn’t meant to be used that way in the first place.

“This is how you use it,” Dorothea said as she touched the key to the door.

Surprisingly, the key trembled and then floated in the air.

Around the key, various geometric patterns appeared.

The patterns, which were like tangled threads, became increasingly easier to recognize as time passed, and at the moment when all the patterns were organized.

Rumble rumble rumble.

With a sound like moving a heavy rock, the sealed door opened wide, revealing the scene beyond.

A solemn chamber.

One treasure chest placed at its center.

While Adelaide was speechless at the glitter, Dorothea spoke mockingly, “These labyrinths are really bizarre when you think about it. They prepare traps and magic beasts for visitors who might never come, yet they also prepare rewards for those same visitors. I don’t understand the purpose.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ claims that dungeons are just like that!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ asserts that this is a principle of fantasy worlds!]

“You sure like talking about world principles. People always resort to principles or God’s will when they’re trying to gloss over something they don’t understand well. This structure must have its reasons, whether it’s the creator’s perverse tastes or some necessity. Well, that’s not what’s important right now.”

Dorothea looked at Adelaide, or more precisely, the cart Adelaide was pulling, and said, “Load it up.”