Lupona crossed her arms. She had been wearing a dissatisfied expression since arriving here.
It couldn't be helped. While others had volunteered to fight and rescue Neo, she had been brought along almost by force.
That's why Lupona shot Osian a disgruntled look. It wasn't outright hostility, but her gaze clearly showed her displeasure.
"Aren't you a knight too?"
"I never said I would become a knight, you know?"
Had she practiced speaking quite a bit during their time apart? Lupona's speech was much more fluent than before. Of course, she still had childish, naive aspects, but that was likely due to her personality.
Even if she had grown, her mental age was still low. That's why she didn't hide her emotions. She simply didn't feel the need to.
Seeing Lupona like this, the knights stepped forward to persuade her.
"Ms. Lupona. This is truly an honorable task."
"That's right. We're going to rescue a comrade. Of course we should step up.""Not just a comrade. A friend! A friend!"
But Lupona's response was cold.
"Your friend, not mine."
She snorted and shook her head. Her snow-white hair swayed accordingly.
"I'm not interested, so I'm leaving."
"Are you sure that's okay? I heard this directly from Ena."
Lupona's footsteps, as she was turning to leave, faltered. Osian spoke casually to her.
"If you leave without saying anything, Ena would be quite disappointed."
"Ena wouldn't be like that!"
Lupona shouted in an outburst. She couldn't tolerate Osian bringing up Ena of all things.
"Are you sure about that?"
"Ena wouldn't think badly of me just for refusing a request! Because Ena is kind!"
Despite being brought by Osian, someone with Lupona's personality wouldn't have come this far. The reason she followed along despite her complaints was because of Ena's request.
After hearing about Neo's situation and the whole story, Ena had said she wanted to help too but Osian refused. Given that they were facing a major corporation, he couldn't guarantee Ena's safety if a fight broke out.
Her abilities were especially unsuited for combat but Ena wouldn't back down from her stance.
The reason was that she had received help from Osian.
When she sought asylum in Tirna. Osian said it was because of a request, but he fought to protect Ena even at dangerous moments he could have abandoned her. He was the first one who didn't give up on her despite knowing she was a witch.
What was embedded in that action was honor and dedication to others.
Ena thought that was admirable. Like a lantern giving warmth to others in a harsh world. To the extent that she herself wanted to help someone in trouble someday.
And then the opportunity arrived. This upcoming fight would be challenging even for Osian. After all, they were facing a major corporation in Tirna.
Ena was not a native of Tirna. She was still in the process of adapting to this city but she clearly understood the status that major corporations held in this place.
Ena firmly believed that now was the time to repay her debt to Osian.
One wanting to go, one trying to stop her. Lupona overheard the two arguing like this.
Lupona, who had become Ena's familiar, didn't want her to go to a dangerous place. So Lupona tried to persuade Ena to listen to Osian, but just then, Ena came up with a solution.
-Then, at least take Lupona with you. She can help instead of me.
-That works.
-Huh?
Through this process, Lupona, who had been trying to stop both of them, was suddenly dragged along by Osian.
"This is invalid! I never agreed to this! I had no say in it!"
"But you'll do it. Because Ena wants it. Isn't what she wants what you want too?"
"That's...!"
Lupona, who was about to burst in anger, couldn't finish her sentence. Although her speech and behavior were childlike, she possessed very sharp instincts and sensibilities. She realized that the reason Ena sent her wasn't simply to fulfill personal selfish desires.
"Lupona. How long have you been staying in Tirna?"
"I don't know!"
"It's certainly not a short period. But during that time, you've barely done anything. Except for being Ena's escort when she goes shopping."
Lupona was truly like a wild wolf. A wolf that serves only one master, Ena Grunt.
"Even someone like you must know that you need money in this city."
"...I don't do luxurious things."
"Whose money do you think pays for the food Ena makes for you? The clothes she makes for you? Even if she saves and economizes as much as possible, it's still Ena's money."
Even though the money spent on Lupona isn't that much, and even though Ena does it all willingly, it's an undeniable fact that her money is being drained.
"For Ena's sake, shouldn't you do something? You can't just keep eating her food forever."
"Eek!"
Knowing this, Lupona couldn't make any effective counterargument.
"Above all, the reason Ena recommended you is because she hopes you'll build bonds with others, even a little. Do you intend to betray that?"
Tirna is a cold city. No matter how strong Lupona is, there's a limit to what she can do alone.
During Dorothy's attack last time, she would have been seriously injured if Martinez hadn't helped.
It's hard to trust people in this city, but that's why the way to survive here is through bonds with others.
The real reason Ena recommended Lupona was because she wanted her to maintain good relationships with other people. Like these knights. So they could share courage with each other.
Lupona eventually sighed deeply and roughly scratched her head.
"Fine! I'll do it!"
If nothing else, Lupona couldn't refuse because Ena wanted it.
"Good. You made the right choice. What's so bad about being a fellow knight."
"I told you I'm not a knight!"
Osian nodded with a satisfied smile but Lupona couldn't deny it. Even if her power had been reversed, her origin was still that of a knight. No matter how poor her relationship with Osian was, she couldn't deny that much.
"You can get what you want here too. Are you going to wear a steam suit?"
"I don't need something like that!"
If nothing else, Lupona could certainly wear armor. Lupona glared as if to say don't compare her to those naive apprentices.
"Then can you pick a war horse?"
"...!"
At Osian's sudden question, Lupona was at a loss for words. That reaction was enough.
"Mobility is the most important thing for this mission. We need to strike the enemy territory and pull out quickly. If you run on your own two legs, your stamina will hold you back later. You need to get at least something similar."
"...Do they have such things here?"
What good would a vehicle be in a place for obtaining weapons? It was Lupona's somewhat timid rebuttal, but Shaloni immediately answered the question.
"Yes, we do. Please look this way."
Shaloni, guiding Lupona, approached another part of the container and opened its entrance. Beyond the door that opened with a clank was a single bike.
"Since this will take place in the downtown area, this will probably be the most suitable."
Jet-black paint that didn't reflect light even under bright white illumination. A design that was both rugged and sophisticated, crafted with the designer's utmost care. It was a supermoto bike, modified from an enduro off-road bike to be used on regular roads as well.
Of course, as it was individually manufactured by Antique Gear, its functions differed from those of ordinary bikes. With its excellent performance came a high price. No, since this wasn't something sold on the market, it was difficult to put a price on it.
"How is it? Do you like it?"
Despite Shaloni’s question, Lupona didn't answer. Her gaze remained fixed on that jet-black bike, unwavering.
Perhaps it was the instinct of a knight whispering to her. To ride it soon. To tame that mount and roam the world.
"It seems she's satisfied. Well, the performance certainly won't betray your expectations."
David, who was watching the scene from the side, asked:
"By any chance, do you also have cars? High-performance ones, I mean."
David had driven a muscle car in District 49, but he couldn't bring it outside.
He had been feeling somewhat regretful about this, and now an opportunity had presented itself. He judged that if Antique Gear could produce such a super bike, they must surely have cars of comparable quality.
"Yes. Of course we do."
And David's judgment was spot on. Inside the container that Shaloni newly guided them to was a muscle car. The body was painted in a navy blue color that resembled the night sky just after sunset.
"It's a high-powered muscle car with a V8 engine that uses ether water as fuel. I can proudly say it has more horsepower than any vehicle on the market. It has various other functions as well."
Osian, who had been quietly listening from the side, asked:
"Does Antique Gear make these things too? I thought they only manufactured automatons."
"If we make weapons, there's nothing we can't make about vehicles. They're all machines in the end. To wedge ourselves into the existing industry, we're competing with products that satisfy a small number of enthusiasts like this."
Shaloni lightly stroked the car's hood with her hand and added an explanation:
"However, this is a symbol of that attempt, so its performance is excessively high. It's so powerful that it's difficult to drive for most people. Despite its excellent performance, it's become a white elephant due to its low practicality."
"This wonderful thing?"
"It's truly foolish. We invested an enormous amount in it, and this is the result. The development team insisted on including certain features, but I can't understand why."
"No, I fully understand their intentions."
David answered decisively to Shaloni, who was asking with her eyes what he meant.
"Because it's cool."
The passionate emotion of the developers felt the moment one looks at this muscle car. Yes. It was a man's dream.
"...Anyway, it ended up unused and stuffed away here."
"That's truly sad."
David thought it was utterly absurd. Keeping such a work of art stored in a corner container was nothing short of a national loss.
While the hot roads of District 49 were quite attractive, they were ultimately limited because vehicles had to be modified according to available parts.
But this one was different. This was made directly by a major corporation with more than enough funding and parts.
If one were to compare, if the muscle cars of District 49 were like children who grew up eating whatever they could find because they had nothing to eat, this one was fed only the highest quality supplements from birth until growth.
Objectively speaking, it was the most ideal car. But the most ideal wasn't necessarily the most suitable.
Because it had such excessive output, it was at the mercy of the driver's skills, and ordinary people couldn't even properly control the steering wheel.
David sat in the driver's seat and gripped the steering wheel. It was certainly stiff to turn from the start. It was like an untamed wild horse.
"This is the best. I'll take this."
"Well, if that's what you prefer."
Shaloni didn't mind. After all, the items stored here were like stepchildren to Antique Gear—too awkward to sell but too valuable to discard.
If they could be used for an important operation, that was good enough.
"Ah, Mr. Don Quixote."
Shaloni finally approached Don Quixote and said:
"I heard you purchased a suit from Battle Trench and modified it for use? I heard you performed quite well with it in District 49."
"That's right."
"I'm not criticizing. Of course, the general perception is that Battle Trench is superior when it comes to combat-exclusive suits. But here, I can show you that our Antique Gear is no less capable."
When she pressed a button, the floor split and a small tube emerged. Inside the tube, which was just the right size for one person to enter, was a steam suit.
Unlike the prototype suits that other knights would wear, it was blatantly designed to resemble a knight's armor.
From its design to its color, it looked exactly like a fairy tale knight from stories. It was in a form closer to the original story than Don Quixote's suit, which he had purchased and modified on his own.
"The code name is [La Mancha]."
"This is..."
"Yes. It's our masterpiece, made solely for you."
"Why are you giving this to me?"
"Let's just say it's for customer acquisition. So, will you use it?"
It's a steam suit with much better specifications than what he was currently using. Moreover, it's a made-to-order piece specially designed for him. There was no reason to refuse.
"I will."
"Good. Please go wild with it."
Shaloni smiled with satisfaction.
And so all preparations were complete.
Shaloni watched as the knights bustled about, preparing for the upcoming battle.
At that moment, Osian approached her.
"Osian, do you not need anything else?"
"I already have everything I need."
"I see. That's a shame, I wanted to give you something you'd like too."
"I appreciate the thought. The favor from the owner's family is more than enough."
"...You knew?"
Shaloni turned to look at Osian. Her full name, which she hadn't completely introduced, was Shaloni Shelby. She was the granddaughter of Lewis Shelby, the chairman of Antique Gear.