The Tin Knight-Chapter 87: The Tin Knight and The City of Struggle (6)

The quality of the lodging was excellent. This was true even for the temporary lodging in the preliminary area before entering the main area of the special district.

Since they would have to move again anyway, the party unpacked minimally and started planning their next course of action without rest. They were truly an impatient bunch. Comparable to tuna that would die if they couldn’t swim.

“First, we need to find money. Is there a Halder Company branch in this city? It would also be good to get supplies and a new carriage.”

Dorothea focused on securing funds and supplies.

“I’d like to visit bookstores and taverns. We should be able to get useful information about the surrounding situation and the champion.”

Sophia was on information gathering.

“Ah, I need to get a new sword fitted, too. The armor as well—they were badly damaged during the fights in the Garden.”

Adelaide was on equipment repair and renewal.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ insists on registering for the martial arts tournament!]

As always, the Tin Knight stuck to his usual antics.

At the Tin Knight’s words, Dorothea’s eyebrow twitched.

If that expression were to be put into words, it could be described as “Really?”

“The martial arts tournament doesn’t start for another two weeks. Are you saying we should stay put here until then?”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ argues that it’s unthinkable to skip the main event of a new map after arriving!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ shouts that such large events usually come with hefty rewards!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ passionately argues that Adel is also burning with the will to win, even exchanging her weapon!]

“What?”

Adelaide, who was next to them, compressed her reaction of “What did I just hear?” into one word, but of course, the Tin Knight wasn’t one to care about such trivial matters.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that a teacher and pupil facing off in a tournament is one of the classic scenarios!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ boldly expresses his ambition to be Adel’s trial, pushing his pupil to the extreme as the ultimate challenger!]

“The more you talk, the more that pupil’s face is turning blue in real-time.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says don’t we have to snatch the belt from the champion, anyway?]

“And how does that relate to participating in the martial arts tournament?”

Dorothea leaned back on the sofa, crossing her legs.

Her arms were folded, supporting under her chest, and her chin was slightly raised.

Unaware that the Tin Knight, Adelaide, and Sophia were simultaneously thinking, “She looks like a female executive of an evil organization,” the Big Sis of the Iron Stake Mercenary Company continued speaking.

“Let’s say the champion possesses one of the kingdom’s sacred treasures. If we beat that guy in the martial arts tournament, do you think he’ll just hand over the belt saying, ‘Ah, this sacred treasure has finally met its true owner!’? No, we’ll have to negotiate with the champion personally to get the belt, anyway. It has nothing to do with the tournament.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ insists that in such cases, it usually develops into a ‘You want the belt? Then defeat me first!’ scenario!]

“That’s nonsense. Why would someone give a gift to someone who humiliated them? If anything, they’d more likely grit their teeth and swear revenge.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ argues that only martial artists understand the world of martial arts!]

“I’m not a martial artist so I might not know that field well, but I think most martial artists would be offended to be treated the same as you.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ suggests making a bet!]

“A bet?”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ proposes to be allowed to participate in the martial arts tournament if things go as he predicted when meeting the champion!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ declares that if Dorothea can get the belt through negotiation without participating in the tournament, he’ll behave quietly while in this city!]

“So you were aware that you’re not usually well-behaved. That makes it even more annoying.”

Though she grumbled, Dorothea’s expression brightened as if she thought it wasn’t a bad proposal.

Her blue eyes gleamed as she spoke, “Alright, let’s do it. The bet.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ shouts that the star of victory is on his side!]

Adelaide, who had been listening to the two’s conversation, opened her mouth with a bit of hesitation, “Then... are we going to use the compass right away to find where this champion person is?”

“That would be too rash, even for us.”

Dorothea answered clearly, “We don’t know how the negotiation will go. To begin with, even if we know the location of someone who’s the champion symbolizing this city, it’s questionable whether we can meet them. We need to finish the preliminary preparations first so we can leave immediately, if necessary.”

“Then, I guess we should go to the company first,”

Having reached a conclusion, the group began to act.

***“The Halder Company, you say? I know it well.”

There was no need to search for the store through inquiries.

When they asked Hindler, who was waiting like a statue near the entrance of the lodging, if he knew anything, he immediately answered.

He moved his mouth eagerly, as if eager to prove his usefulness.

“Originally, it wasn’t such a particularly famous company around here, but thanks to a new product they started selling recently, it’s become quite well-known by word of mouth. They sell a pill processed through a special method, and its effects are amazing.”

“A pill?”

Dorothea momentarily looked puzzled, but thinking she’d find out when they arrived at the store, she urged him to guide them without further comment.

Buzz buzz.

Hindler’s words about it becoming well known by word of mouth weren’t just empty talk, as the area around the store was quite bustling.

Two stalls were set up in front of the store, one of which displayed various products useful for travel, such as dried fruits and jerky.

The problem was the other stall.

This one was piled high with several bite-sized black pills, and the employee’s explanation was truly a sight to behold.

“Come on! Come on! Take a look at the Halder Company’s special, the Witch’s Elixir!”

Dorothea’s body flinched violently at what she heard.

The gazes of the Tin Knight, Adelaide, and Sophia briefly turned towards Dorothea, then back to the front.

“Just one pill and fatigue disappears from your body, two pills and your limp lower body stands straight, three pills and it even awakens hidden potential abilities in your body! This miraculous pill! Here is the mysterious pill made by a legendary witch using a special method! You’ll lose out if you don’t buy it now!”

Dorothea’s lips trembled in rage.

Some onlookers watching the employee’s solicitation opened their mouths.

“Is that medicine really that effective?”

“But a legendary witch? Who exactly are they talking about?”

To the onlooker’s question, the employee skillfully answered, “Hehe, you ask if it’s effective? Don’t speak if you haven’t tried it! And about the identity of the witch, I can hardly speak of it myself. That person wanted to hide their identity. However, it’s someone you all probably know well! Hahaha!”

“Is it the Witch of the West?”

“The Halder Company’s headquarters is in the southeast, so it must be the East or South.”

“Come on, isn’t the South the Empire’s top mage? Would they have time to make something like this?”

“Then it must be the East, but is there something strange mixed into the medicine-“

“Now, now! Today’s sales volume is only what’s on this stand! Once it’s sold out, you won’t be able to get it even if you want to!”

“Give me one!”

“I’ll take three!”

“Alright! Alright! Form a line! Line up!”

Watching the pills selling like hotcakes, Adelaide whispered to the Tin Knight, “Um, wasn’t the medicine the Witch gave to the Halder Company for horses? It doesn’t seem like something people should eat.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that merchants are people who can put chalk in milk for money!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says if people can eat mercury, there’s no reason they can’t eat horse feed!]

“No, even so...”

At that moment, Dorothea stepped forward.

“Give me one.”

“Welcome, customer!”

Dorothea, who received the pill, crushed it on her palm instead of putting it in her mouth.

As she checked the scent, and texture of the pill, Dorothea’s eyes grew cold.

It seemed she would have a lot to discuss with the owner of this store.

***The Halder Company’s Thracus branch was not originally a branch that received much expectation.

This was because the Halder Company’s main sphere of influence was in the southeastern part of the Empire, while Thracus was located in the northwestern part of the continent.

Just because they were part of the same company didn’t mean they had to be clustered in similar areas, but being closer was generally advantageous in terms of coordination between branches.

Therefore, the reason for the existence of the Halder Company’s Thracus branch was not sales.

It was a bridgehead for the Halder Company to one day become a company renowned throughout the Empire.

A reconnaissance base to gather information about the northern and western parts of the continent.

And Joseph, the branch manager of Thracus, was a man very dissatisfied with this situation.

The company head is too timid, that’s the problem. Every time we try to do something, he hesitates about the reactions of surrounding companies and the continent’s political situation, slowing the company’s growth. Sometimes you need to act boldly to make big gains.

Joseph was the younger brother of Lorentz Halder’s wife, the head of the Halder Company, and although he had risen to the position of branch manager thanks to that connection, he always resented Lorentz.

The reason was that after recruiting a talent like himself, Lorentz should have given him proper treatment, but instead, he was stuck in this remote part of the Empire and expected to be grateful.

He had the mindset of considering what he received as natural and what he didn’t receive as a loss, truly possessing excellent qualities of an unscrupulous merchant.

Due to the long distance, the company headquarters’ control over the Thracus branch was not very strong—which was also why Lorentz had dispatched a relative as the branch manager, though it ultimately failed—and Joseph actively used this to turn the Thracus branch into his own turf and continued his arbitrary actions.

The ‘Witch’s Elixir’ being sold at the Thracus branch was also one of these “arbitrary” actions.

Replacing expensive herbs with cheaper ones of a similar type.

Adding only 10% of effective herbs and filling the remaining 90% with grains and weeds.

Completely ignoring the original instruction to use it only for horses and selling it as a medicine for human consumption.

Creating fabricated legends based on eyewitness accounts of the mysterious group from whom Lorentz received the recipe.

It was a vicious business practice that would have left Mr. Stromboli, the philanthropist of Tik-Tok, speechless with shock if he had seen it.

Despite engaging in such dangerous acts that could potentially spread infamy for the Halder Company in the northwestern part of the Empire, Joseph felt no hesitation at all.

After all, it was making good money.

Occasionally, there were people who collapsed clutching their hearts after taking the medicine, but Joseph thought that wasn’t because the medicine was bad, but because the customer’s body was weak.

Even if the number of people complaining about side effects increased later, he figured he could just grease some palms higher up and they would take care of it.

Joseph had it all planned out.

“Branch Manager. Some customers who say they want to collect money have come.”

“Huh?”

Well, that was until now.

Hearing his subordinate’s report, Joseph frowned.

“Are there people who started loan sharking in our branch without my knowledge?”

“No.”

“Then why are they coming to us for money?”

“You know, that order that came down directly from the company head at headquarters before. The one that said not to mistreat them at all and to pay all the money possible within our means.”

“Huh? Ah.”

Only then did Joseph recall that such an order had come down a few months ago.

“How much was the total amount again?”

“It’s impossible to pay the full amount, but if we use all the branch’s spare funds, we could probably pay about 30%.”

“Fuck, are you crazy? You want to just give that away?”

“The headquarters said they’d reimburse us with interest if we submit a cost claim, so it’s not like we’re losing money, but...”

“In the meantime, our warehouse will be empty. Besides, wasn’t that deal done in the south? Why are they crawling all the way here to make a fuss? Forget it, just chase them away.”

“Judging by their appearance, they seem to be exactly the people the company head mentioned. Is it okay?”

“There’s no particular proof or certificate anyway, so we can just say we didn’t give it because it seemed suspicious. So—um, wait, just a moment.”

Joseph’s eyes flashed, and a sly smile formed on his lips.

“Those travelers and the company head, they’re not in frequent contact, right? And the witch thing was just guessed from the surrounding circumstances, not an actual introduction.”

“It seems so.”

“What if, let’s say, we gave money to that group and let’s say we claim that amount from the headquarters? If we recover the money we handed over through ‘appropriate’ methods... wouldn’t our funds double? The headquarters wouldn’t have any way to find out either.”

“...Branch Manager?”

“Moreover, didn’t they say that witch knows a lot of useful knowledge? If we’re making this much money with just one horse-only herb, if we could get other things, how much could our company grow? Hmm?”

The subordinate briefly made a sour face, but soon a sly smile similar to Joseph’s appeared on his face as well.

“I’ll prepare to welcome the guests.”

“Yes, please do so.”