Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 132: Whats My Name?

“…Shouldn’t this kid be a conman, not a knight?”It was a single sentence that Arthur managed to utter while listening to the situation through the communication port.

To be honest, he was skeptical at first.

It seemed like Arendt had planned this from the beginning, and he asked the royal magician to engrave an illusion magic that would allow him to change his appearance on the magic stone he usually carried.

Of course, they could change their appearance, but it was only by changing their hair color. They thought that it was impossible to completely hide their identity with just that.

No, that would actually be impossible.

If the person who is doing this crazy thing was not Arendt von Eckhart.

The innocent voice coming from beyond the crystal ball connected to the communication was so creepy that it gave him goosebumps.

How could such a gentle tone come from a mouth that only spews out venomous words and mean words that make people angry whenever something happens?

Richt responded in a complicated manner.

“No. Rather, it’s a good thing that he became a knight.”

Because he could use that mysterious talent for the public good.

If that guy had been released into society, he would have grown into a conman and created hundreds of victims every year.

That talent of changing faces and becoming a completely different person was always amazing to see.

The knights gathered together and let out a deep sigh.

Although he gave results every time, the same question always lingered in their heads.

Really… was this okay?

At this point, they felt sorry for the police chief who had been treating him so kindly.

Laius , who had been rubbing his forehead to relieve his migraine, opened his mouth.

“Let’s move to our positions.”

While Arendt was active, they also had work to do.

The concept this time was ‘a sincere and harmless young man’. The motif was the innocent and naive young priests he saw while visiting the temple several times.

He simply referenced the Bible of the God Luce, which he had recently been reading.

He played characters who prayed earnestly many times before, so it wasn’t difficult.

On the way in, guided by the chief of police, he took a quick look at the city.

The statue that was said to have been destroyed was covered with a large cloth.

Originally, it was left as it was in a state of disrepair as it was a city rarely visited by outsiders, but it seemed that it was belatedly repaired after Declan’s sudden visit.

‘Still, it seems like he still has some sanity left.’

Arendt moved and activated the video recording stone that he had placed in his bosom along with the communication device.

As he was looking around absentmindedly, the police chief who introduced himself as Scott came and brought me some warm tea.

“How do you feel?”

“I’m okay. Thank you for your concern.”

Arendt nodded with a meek smile that would have horrified his colleagues.

The police chief who handed him the teacup sat down across from me and began to speak seriously.

“So what’s the situation now? Oh, and by the way, I didn’t even ask your name.”

“For now, please call me Ren. It is the rule not to reveal your real name within the church.”

“I see. Somehow, the person you called the priest didn’t tell me his name directly.”

Scott nodded seriously.

“Have you met anyone else besides that priest?”

“Anyone else?”

“Yes, someone who came separately.”

“Oh, there was. I didn’t hear the details, but I heard he were a very high-ranking person in the church.”

Scott let out a gasp as he briefly recalled his memories.

“He only stayed for a few hours, but he still prayed for us. I couldn’t see him in person because his face was covered, but his voice was truly beautiful.”

The mercenaries under Rebecca’s command also told similar stories.

They said that he baptized them while covering their faces and bodies with black robes and prayed for them.

“I envy you for hearing his prayers directly.”

“Yes, it was a wonderful experience. The moment he touched my shoulder, I felt a warm energy enveloping me for a moment.”

The way they were talking excitedly made it seem like they had no intention of suspecting anything anymore.

Arendt nodded moderately and thought to himself.

‘It’s a warm feeling.’

It must be an artifact effect.

An unidentified priest who used the Breath of Mnemosyne… It had been confirmed for quite some time that he existed, but there were still few clues related to him.

He decided to probe a little further, thinking he might be able to dig up some more useful information.

“Did you get baptized alone?”

“No, some of my subordinates who help me with my work received it together. He said it was a token of our service to Lord Chernion. Didn’t you receive it too?”

“I’m embarrassed to say this, but I’m still young. I heard that I’ll be given it when the time comes.”

A police chief and several of his men.

At least it didn’t seem like the whole city was affected. Well, he said he only stayed for a few hours, so he probably didn’t have time for that.

Arendt scratched his cheek shyly and naturally changed the subject.

“By the way… Are your preparations for the operation going well? I’m a little worried because things have turned out this way.”

“The preparations went very smoothly. I prepared as the priest instructed, so I was able to gather supplies without any problems.”

It seemed that he had learned the trick of purchasing weapons and grains without much suspicion until now by dispersing supplies from various superiors from that ghoul.

‘Somehow.’

The ending was quite awkward though.

“Wow, that’s amazing. As expected, Chief Scott is very capable.”

“To this extent. Of course, it’s something I should do.”

After giving him a round of applause, the chief of police’s nose seemed to be as high as the sky.

But that was only for a moment, as Scott suddenly came to his senses and his face hardened with seriousness again.

“By the way, have things become urgent now?”

“Yes, that’s right. You know, chief, that the entire empire has been put on alert, right?”

“I know, because several official documents came down.”

But still, he said he fell for the bastard’s trick.

‘This is the problem after all’

It was impossible to instill a sense of alarm even with a warning.

Even if they were to be punished for treason, those words would not have been heard properly by those consumed by greed and despair.

‘That’s why we need examples’

If things had gone according to plan, this guy would have served as an ‘example’ by being executed on the main street of the castle.

The story was originally a novel without dreams or hope.

But Arendt didn’t like that.

That had its own charm, but it would be different if it were a real story. He much preferred a comical development to a bloody world.

“Then do you know the current situation in the Imperial City?”

“The Imperial Castle? No, but I recently heard from him, the one who gave the blessing, that the Imperial Knights are persecuting the Chernionists.”

“Yes, that’s right. He also said that there seemed to be a traitor there.”

This was an application of what Vincent and Blake had said, although the traitor they were talking about was none other than Arendt himself.

At those words, Scott’s face became more serious.

“Was that perhaps an apprentice knight of the Imperial Knights? The one who stole three sacred relics.”

“You know it very well, Chief.”

Arendt smiled brightly and nodded.

It was a sacred object, so it had a strange feel to it.

That’s what they call an artifact. If that’s the case, he thought that their bones might hurt more than he thought. In terms of the Luce Church, it would be like having something similar to a holy sword stolen.

‘The case is a little different, though.’

According to the novel, the Holy Sword was a crystallization of divine power and served as a direct link to the god Luce.

However, the artifacts that Scott called holy relics were focused on functionality rather than divine power.

“The information he released has exposed the sect’s core power. As you know, Chief of Police, it is not yet time to confront them head-on.”

Even as he racked his brain, Arendt continued delivering his seriously prepared lines.

“Already several of the key figures in the religious order have been defeated by the bastard, and now this place and the priest who visited here have become targets.”

“Damn, I should have told them to be careful with their words…!”

“The chief did his best. He also said that preparations were already complete.”

Arendt closed his eyes again and smiled kindly, trying to appease the clenched fist of the police chief.

“As long as you keep your numbers down before the pursuers arrive, nothing bad will happen.”

“Oh, yeah. When will the pursuit party arrive? You’ve gotten ahead of them, right?”

“Yes, we will arrive early, either late tomorrow afternoon or the morning after. The Chief of Police must behave himself.”

Arendt lowered his voice so that no one would hear and wiggled his fingers. It was a sign for the chief to come closer.

“In fact, you can’t trust all the city’s residents either. You never know who might be a spy.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Gulp.

The chief of police swallowed nervously.

Arendt continued speaking quietly, his gentle face covered with gloom.

“If anyone reports to the Imperial Knights, this city will be finished. And you, too. You will be severely punished.”

“Then what should we do?”

“You were preparing to rise up, right? Where was your target? The imperial city is too far from here.”

“I was thinking of going straight to the lord’s Castle.”

“So you’re aiming for the lord.”

“Yes, the royal family won’t listen to the words of people like us. We planned to use the lord as a hostage and convey our demands to the palace.”

“Okay.”

It was a truly grandiose yet complacent operation.

Arendt nodded seriously.

“It would be better to postpone the decision for a while.”

“Why? Wouldn’t it be better to leave right now?”

“If you do that and end up clashing head-on with the pursuers, it will be a problem. The elite of the Imperial Knights are coming. Can you fight them and win?”

It was absolutely impossible.

The face of the police chief turned pale as he imagined the knights charging forward, heavily armed and with a fierce aura.

“For now, it’s best to pretend like nothing happened. We need to destroy the evidence. First, let’s get rid of the Luce statue.”

“Yeah, that’s right. We have to destroy the evidence. But how should we do that?”

If the Imperial Knights were to notice, the entire city’s population would surely be accused of blasphemy.

As Scott nodded hastily, Arendt tilted his head as if he was thinking about something.

“I don’t think you can dispose of it right now… so I’ll use my power.”

“You’re using power?”

“Yes, it’s a bit embarrassing, but I too have been blessed by Master Chernion. I can do that kind of trick. Do you know where you stored the supplies?”

“Why is that?”

“When the pursuit party starts searching, they might feel suspicious when they see the weapons piled up. We have to take measures to avoid being discovered before then.”

“That means…”

The police chief, who had been muttering absentmindedly, asked as if confirming.

“You have the ability to hide that from them?”

“Yes, it’s not a power that I can brag about, but it will definitely be of help to you, Chief.”

The young man smiled kindly and gave the definitive answer.

The doubt that had disappeared tried to rise for a moment, but… it subsided in an instant when Scott saw the gaze of the young man who was looking at him with his innocent eyes.

Yes, he’d met all sorts of people while working as a police chief. He was proud to say that he had a good eye for people.

After all, he was just a kid, and he had been through a lot, so even if one kid like him started messing around, nothing big would happen.

Besides, he had already seen with his own eyes the people who served Chernion using their miraculous powers.

If a young man with such innocent eyes like a deer was lying so calmly, then that meant that the world was already at its end.

The police chief, who had been conflicted for a moment, completely let go of his suspicions.

Without realizing that he had stepped onto a shortcut to the abyss of hell.

And the next morning.

In exchange for his carelessness, the police chief found himself face to face with an empty warehouse and a completely destroyed statue.