After arriving in Justitia, Dorothea declared to the party, “Three days. I won’t ask you to do anything during that time, so rest as you see fit. We’ll start our main activities after that.”

This was truly exceptional.

Quick and decisive. As if embodying the idiom of “swift as a sword and clear as a bell,” most of the party’s journey had been extremely tight.

It wasn’t that there was no free time at all, but it was more like “There’s an event A happening in a week, so wait until then,” which meant they couldn’t completely let go of tension in a corner of their minds.

It was the first time they were investing a few days solely for rest, without any restrictions or preconditions.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ wonders what wind is blowing!]

“There’s no particularly grand reason. We’ve accomplished quite a big task, so it’s okay to indulge in this much luxury, right?” Dorothea answered nonchalantly.

It felt like she was honestly revealing her true feelings, not trying to gloss over something with excuses.

It also meant that she took the fight with the Witch of the West that seriously.

As if to prove her words, Dorothea shut herself in her room, saying she needed to sleep as soon as the work of setting up barriers in the lodging was finished.

This was while the sun was still high in the sky.

“This is unusual behavior for Dorothea. She wasn’t particularly fond of sleeping much usually.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that sleep is originally one of the best forms of rest!]

“Well, it’s not unreasonable since we hardly had time to rest properly, even after the fight with the witch. Why don’t you get some sleep too, Adel?”

“No, I’m fine!”

It wasn’t bravado; Adelaide truly didn’t feel that much fatigue.

She was originally quicker to recover than others, but this tendency had become even stronger after the martial arts tournament.

At first, she thought it was because she was wearing the Belt of Amaryllis, but recently she had developed a different suspicion.

— …you’re different. Originally born with almost all abilities in abundance, but recently there are even traces of those abilities being strengthened once more. It’s amazing, truly interesting.

Those words left by the Witch of the West.

While there was no way to confirm the truth of this claim now that the witch herself was dead, it didn’t seem likely that such a formidable person would have uttered words without any meaning.

After the fight with the Witch of the West ended, she had consulted with her companions, but the others didn’t seem to have any particular guesses either.

Franka’s words that she would let her know if she saw anything plausible while cleaning up the witch’s legacy was currently the only clue.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks if Adel doesn’t want to sleep, how about eating!]

At the Tin Knight’s suggestion, Adelaide and Sophia nodded.

Justitia, located near the end of the southwestern part of the continent, was an incredibly lively city.

Numerous ships were docked at the port or setting sail with unfurled sails, and the attire of people walking the streets felt different from what the party had seen so far.

Adelaide, who had been curiously observing brown-skinned women with exposed navels or shoulders, and men wearing unique hats that looked like they were wrapped in white cloth, suddenly examined the faces of her two companions.

Sophia had an expression immersed in nostalgia, as if reminiscing about something.

Since her old hometown was in a similar location to the current Locrian Federation, perhaps she had found something that reminded her of the past.

On the contrary, the Tin Knight had a rather indifferent attitude.

While his facial expression was literally iron-plated to begin with, so there was no change to speak of, he didn’t even show signs of looking around, seeming uninterested in the foreign culture. Or it looked like he was already familiar with it and found nothing particularly worth seeing.

Come to think of it, I haven’t heard much about the others’ pasts.

This, too, was one of the drawbacks of having such a busy journey.

As they invested every bit of free time they got into training, there wasn’t much time for leisurely conversation. Even when moving by carriage, Adelaide was usually running on her own two feet, so even more so.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ suggests that store looks good!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ claims that by the seaside, one should eat seafood!]

“Due to freshness issues, it’s harder to taste in inland regions. Does Adel have any experience?”

“I’ve eaten dried fish a few times, but I haven’t had any proper experience.”

Although the party had stopped by a port city to reach the Witch of the West’s island, they had to resolve matters so quickly and decisively then that there was no opportunity to leisurely enjoy culinary delights.

To be honest, Adelaide couldn’t even remember the name of the city they had stopped at then.

The store the Tin Knight pointed out was a tower-shaped restaurant with over five floors, and its appearance was quite luxurious.

As they entered the store entrance, a waiter greeted them with a deep bow, “Hehe, welcome, my lords. What dish are you looking for?”

The Tin Knight tilted his head at the customer service attitude that existed somewhere between servility and kindness, and the huge mole on the waiter’s face.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ wonders if the genre has changed somehow!]

A question mark also appeared above Adelaide’s head as she heard those words, but since there was no further explanation, she didn’t bother to ask. To accompany the Tin Knight, one also needed the skill to let nonsense slide to some extent.

Instead of the teacher and pupil, it was Sophia who opened her mouth, “What’s delicious here?”

“Everything is delicious, but the specialties are rice dishes using squid ink and fried cod and sardines pickled in vinegar. It’s also good to have steamed vongole with wine.”

“Then we’ll have that, please.”

“Yes, please come this way!”

The party was guided to a window seat on the third floor.

“They seem to be quite attentive.”

“Is that so?”

“Usually in these seaside restaurants, seats with a view of the sea are considered higher class. It’s good treatment for walk-in customers.”

Sophia pointed alternately to her eyes and hair, saying, “I think I know the reason, too.”

Adelaide also realized the meaning.

“It’s because of my eye and hair color.”

“There’s a Lennart dojo in this city, right? The influence of the Lion Duke’s bloodline must be stronger here compared to other places.”

At Sophia’s words, Adelaide felt somewhat complicated feelings.

Perhaps it was even more so because she had heard the secret of the blood flowing in her body from the Witch of the West.

“I wonder… if they know about this at home?”

“Who knows?  Whether they know or not, it’s better not to talk about it too much. It’s not a story that’s good to be widely known.”

“Well, I suppose so.”

To begin with, it was questionable whether people would believe Adelaide’s words, and even if they did, that would be a problem in itself.

While her companions reacted as if it was no big deal whether she was a homunculus or not, not everyone in the world would react that way.

No, almost certainly, negative reactions would come back.

“Your meal is served. I hope you have a good time.”

As magnificent as the building, the quality of the food was excellent.

It was delicious enough to eat without much resistance, even though it was an unfamiliar taste being tried for the first time.

Adelaide, who was enjoying the taste of squid and rice chewing in her mouth, suddenly felt a sense of dissonance.

The Tin Knight, who would usually make all sorts of comments about how to eat this and that, was strangely quiet.

“Sir Knight?”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks what’s wrong!]

“No, I was just concerned that you were so quiet.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ confesses that he doesn’t have much to comment on as he’s not familiar with the taste!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks if it suits the two people’s tastes!]

“Um, yes. It’s delicious.”

“The ingredients seem fresh, and the cooking technique is good too. It’s a nice restaurant.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ proudly states that his eye for quality never fails!]

Only then did the Tin Knight start happily chattering about various things, and Adelaide and Sophia also joined the flow.

“But, if it’s rest, does that mean everything including visiting the Lennart dojo is forbidden?”

“I’m not sure. If you really want to, Dorothea probably wouldn’t stop you, but I’d like to recommend doing something else since it’s a rare bit of free time. We probably won’t have opportunities like this very often.”

“Something else…. What are you planning to do, Sophia?”

“I want to read books, of course. I’d like to keep physical copies if I could, but if it gets too bulky, Dorothea will get angry. I’m planning to store as much as possible in my head.”

“What about you, Sir Knight?”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ puffs out his chest saying having no plan is the plan!]

Adelaide inwardly chuckled.

The Tin Knight’s words were exactly the same as her thoughts.

If it were in the past, it wouldn’t have been like this.

If her father and brother were both still well, and her mother wasn’t in a coma.

Adelaide would have been overjoyed at the mention of free time. There would have been plenty of things she had to do or wanted to do.

But not now. Perplexity preceded joy, and anxiety was felt instead of leisure.

Perhaps because they had been so busy until now, she felt like she had caught a disease where she became anxious if she wasn’t constantly doing something diligently.

“Then, Sir Knight. Could you oversee my training? I still feel like I can’t properly use the power of the belt.”

This is right.

Adelaide thought.

She still needed to grow more, to work harder.

While Dorothea’s consideration was appreciated, she wanted to build up her skills even a little in preparation for the next dojo test rather than spending time uselessly.

Since her teacher also said he had nothing to do, it seemed like good timing.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says he refuses!]

Maybe that was why.

Adelaide was so surprised by the unexpected answer from the Tin Knight that she unconsciously opened her mouth with a “Huh?”

“W-why?”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ claims that while it’s good for growing children to work hard and study well, they must also eat and sleep plenty!]

“Eh? Uh, eh!”

Adelaide raised her voice in protest.

While it was true that she was in her growth period, that was due to the Lion Duke bloodline’s characteristic late aging, not because she was young enough to be called a child.

Moreover, someone who had mercilessly driven her during training without even giving proper meals shouldn’t say such things.

“Heh, hehehe.”

“S-Sophia! This isn’t something to laugh about!”

“Haha, I’m sorry. The conversation between you two is just too cute.”

Sophia, who had been smiling broadly, continued in a gentle tone, “However, I think taking a break from training for a while is necessary. There might be injuries or fatigue built up without you realizing it. Not just physical, but mental, too.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that if one person doesn’t rest when told to rest, everyone else gets dragged along!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that if Adel is alone peeking at the dojo or swinging her sword, Dorothea might get stimulated by that and get absorbed into work again!]

“Hmm.”

With Sophia and the Tin Knight speaking one after another like this, Adelaide couldn’t insist any further.

“If you really want to do something, how about writing a letter to Friedel domain?”

“That’s not possible. If I show weakness, the domain residents will see me as a child they need to protect unchangingly.”

“Sending greetings to parents and friends waiting at home isn’t called ‘weak’. Don’t you have a lot to write about?”

“Hmm.”

Adelaide closed her mouth.

There certainly was a lot to write about. She wanted to boast to Ronnie and her mother waiting in the domain about all the amazing things she had experienced so far.

Quite some time had passed since she left the domain, so maybe her mother had regained consciousness.

“Leisure isn’t anything special. If you think ‘I want to do this,’ or ‘It might be okay to do this,’ that’s enough. The same goes for Sir Tin. If you don’t have anything in particular to do, I’d like to hear Sir Tin’s stories.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says he doesn’t like self-introduction time!]

“It doesn’t have to be your own story. Like books you’ve read in the past, plays you’ve seen, or information about other people you’ve heard as rumors.”

The Tin Knight was silent for a moment, then nodded.

Sophia smiled, having succeeded in persuading the teacher and pupil who didn’t know how to rest.

And so, just as a rare, peaceful conclusion was about to be drawn.

Crash!!!

Suddenly, the ceiling above the party collapsed.

“Kuhek!”

It wasn’t a sound made by one of the party members.

It was a groan that escaped from the mouth of a young man who fell through the collapsed ceiling.

The remaining dishes, still more than half full, ended their lives being crushed under the young man’s back.

Moreover, it didn’t stop there, as sounds of knife fights began to be heard from various parts of the restaurant.

Silence fell among the group.

It was an exquisite timing that couldn’t help but feel like some malice, saying peace was still premature for them.

The Tin Knight spoke out as if lamenting.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says he knew something was off the moment the waiter looked like a boy from a Chinese restaurant!]

***

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