Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 152: Blessings are frozen to death

“…Count. Are you okay?”As soon as Arthur saw Count Stadler coming out to greet him, he couldn’t help but ask nervously.

Count Stadler asked in bewilderment, his face looking suspicious to anyone.

“Yes? I’m in perfect health as usual. There’s nothing wrong with me. Why?”

“No… It’s just.”

That was to be expected, as the hollow area under the Count’s eyes made him seem even more lifeless than a ghoul. Looking at the Count smiling half-heartedly with his half-unfocused eyes, he felt half pity and half eeriness.

It seemed like there were people who saw it the complete opposite way.

“You look good, Count.”

“That?”

“Isn’t it okay if he looks happy?”

Arthur asked back, but Arendt just answered naturally.

Count Stadler nodded with a bright smile.

“Good, good. Wow, these days, I really feel the value of life. Me and my assistants too. Hahaha! Come with me. I’ve been waiting.”

The Count, who had burst with energy, turned around and started to walk ahead, staggering forward.

Despite the fact that his face looked like it was about to die at any moment, his every movement was strangely powerful.

“I heard you recently stepped down from your position as advisor to the Imperial Magicians…”

“I bet you enjoy your work here. And most importantly, you’ll receive a lot of money from His Highness the Crown Prince.”

Arendt added to Arthur’s muttering.

First, the Count guided them to a place a little distance from the mine.

Compared to the last time they were there, there were several buildings in the space where the garden used to be, all of which were used as research spaces by Count Stadler.

“It has changed a lot, hasn’t it? Thanks to His Highness the Crown Prince’s support, the assistants are comfortable, and the research materials and data can be stored safely. I am confident that you will not find a better research facility than this one anywhere in the land.”

“Did the Count draw all the blueprints?”

“I discussed it with the architect introduced by Sir Neumann. Everything is going very smoothly!”

Arendt looked around, listening to the Count’s voice babbling unanswered questions.

It seemed that Cantares was keeping his promise to fully support him if he cooperated with him. The necessary supplies were also conveniently supplied by the Neumann Group, so this place would be like a paradise on earth for the Count.

As Arendt had originally intended, he felt proud to see with his own eyes that the Count had gone mad in a good way.

“We have prepared lodging for you as we expect you to stay overnight. You guys are free to look around the lab as much as you like.”

“What did you want to show me?”

“I’ll tell you more about that later tonight.”

The Count was excited the whole time, as if he was just happy that Arendt had come to his space.

He went on and on about how trustworthy and competent his assistants were and how the Crown Prince’s support money was being spent, but Arendt just listened and looked around.

The researchers he occasionally encountered had dark circles hanging down to the end of their chins and greeted him brightly, most of whom looked similar to the Count.

Arthur muttered in disgust.

“Is there some kind of contagious disease going around? They say madness is contagious too…”

“Why? It looks nice.”

“…”

The members who couldn’t even eat properly and were desperate to maintain the theater were in exactly that state.

This situation seemed a bit more extreme though.

Soon the Count led the two into a small conference room.

After waiting for a moment, a servant brought tea and snacks, and soon a female researcher came in.

“Let me introduce you to my capable assistant, Chloe.”

“Nice to meet you, Sir Arendt von Eckhart and Sir Arthur Norbert.”

She, too, was in poor condition.

The two responded with a silent nod to Chloe, who was holding a lot of documents in both arms and bowing her head in greeting with a faint smile.

Count Stadler began speaking.

“I heard about the Khan Union. Sir Henry, no, the Union Leader, contacted us to ask if we could lend a helping hand, so we decided to send Miss Chloe and a few others over there.”

“I will see you often in the future, and this is a report to be delivered to the royal family. I would be grateful if Lord Arendt could convey it to His Highness the Crown Prince.”

Thud.

As Chloe put down the stack of papers she was holding, a heavy sound resonated that was out of place among the stack of papers.

“Then I will see you again later, Count. I will return to my post.”

As Chloe left, Count Stadler threw out a topic.

“Miss Chloe is the second-in-command of this lab. She has access to the most information after me. Of course, I have already confirmed her identity and that she is trustworthy.”

“I suppose that’s the Count’s taste. I don’t particularly doubt it.”

“Thank you.”

A smile appeared on the Count’s face as Arendt answered nonchalantly.

“So, Chloe and I have been conducting research on the evil cult and dragons together recently. She has also been a great help in developing the video recorder.”

“Ah…”

The female voice Arendt heard when he first tried the video recorder seemed to be Chloe.

“Now to the main point. You said that a dragon seemed to have intervened in the affairs of the Nephele Kingdom and that he was impersonating the evil cult? That’s why I invited you here this time.”

The Count’s face became serious.

“I believe you wouldn’t, but does no one else besides His Highness the Crown Prince know that you two have come here?”

“I didn’t really go around bragging about it. Is there a problem?”

“Actually, a new space has been discovered within the ruins of the Magic Stone Mine. Chloe and I are the only ones who know about this.”

Arendt’s eyes sparkled at the Count’s lowered voice.

“Are you saying there was a hidden place?”

“Yes, during the process of releasing the barrier, an entrance that had been hidden by magic appeared. Originally, it would have been a space that could only be accessed by teleportation magic.”

The owner did not return for a long time, and with the passage of time and Count Stadler’s constant exploration, the dragon’s secret space was finally revealed.

“There were several rooms inside, and a few old books, furniture, and an empty space were found. But all of them…”

“It was a huge discovery?”

“Yes!”

When Arthur, who could not stand to hear this, added his words, the Count shouted as if he was about to jump with excitement.

Arendt covered one ear and waved his hand.

“Please continue talking.”

“One book was in a language I had never seen before, so I couldn’t translate it, but I left it in manuscript for now. I will give one to Arendt, too. I was able to analyze some sentences in other books…”

The Count selected a few pages from the documents Chloe had brought and held them out in front of the two.

The articles were full of unreadable letters and scribbles that filled the paper.

Frowning, Arendt tried to read it, and soon discovered familiar letters.

“…May the glory of God be with you?”

Although it was written in ancient language, it was a sentence that had become familiar to his eyes while reading the Bible recently.

“That’s right. And look below that. It’s a sentence from the same book.”

It was a series of letters he had never seen before.

As Arthur and Arendt frowned slightly, the Count himself translated it for them.

“The world has become a sea of ​​fire.”

“…”

“I guess it’s a record from the Great War era. There are several similar stories in other books.”

“First of all… is it certain that this place was owned by a dragon?”

“Yes, that has been confirmed as well. I’ll show you that later.”

Arthur, who had been absentmindedly staring at the ground, finally opened his mouth to ask a question. Count Stadler lowered his voice even further, as if he was afraid that someone might hear him.

“Our opinion is this. This place seems to have been used as a refuge by dragons who left the lair during the war. Perhaps the dragons here did not want to get involved in the war.”

… Just looking at this sentence, it could be predicted.

The owner of this space watched the world burning with a heavy heart.

“And the books that were discovered are probably records he left behind while staying here, and the books that are completely unanalyzable are probably written in verb form.”

“What is the verb form?”

“It’s a unique language that only dragons use. Although, there’s almost no evidence to confirm its existence yet.”

The Count, who had answered Arthur’s question this time, continued speaking quickly.

“If the books found outside were written in verbs, it was understandable that they have not been translated until now. There are almost no precedents for them being found in the human world.”

The fact that books written in an ancient language were also discovered suggested that the dragons that lived here may have been quite friendly or interested in humans.

“Oh, dear. It’s time. Should we go? There’s something you absolutely must see.”

Count Stadler glanced at the time and got up.

Before they knew it, the sun had set and it was getting dark outside.

The Count led the two men into the mine.

The mine was also quite different from what they remembered. The entrance was well-maintained, and there was a rest area for the workers nearby.

“This way.”

In a room inside the mine, a large bookshelf was pushed aside to reveal a hidden entrance.

“It was originally blocked off with several layers of magic. When I first investigated, I searched the room thoroughly, but I couldn’t find any traces. Then, I accidentally touched the barrier and discovered the entrance.”

Continuing his explanation, the Count stepped into the hallway first.

“The wind is blowing from inside?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Arthur looked around and said something.

The old hallway was under the influence of a cleansing spell, so not a single speck of dust had accumulated. The thick carpets and silk wallpapers on the walls were only slightly discolored, but they were simply clean.

His body felt lighter thanks to the clean air filled with magical energy.

After walking for a while, a small house-like living space appeared.

A few silver candlesticks stood on a table in the large drawing room, and beside them stood some old books of which the Count had spoken.

“Is it a dragon…? …It looks like a human living space?”

“It seems that they transformed into a species with a small body like humans, and lived as polymorphs. However, the inside is a little different.”

After passing a few rooms, the Count stopped before a large door.

The Count took a deep breath, checked the time once more, and grabbed the doorknob.

Arthur and Arendt also tensed up slightly.

As the Count tightened his grip, the large door slid open silently, filling the room with cool air.

And at the sight that was revealed, a short exclamation burst from Arendt’s mouth.

“Oh…”

Unlike the cute little space that had been there until just now, there was a huge cavity. The wall, which was made of exposed rock, curved up to the ceiling, forming a dome shape.

It was about three times as wide and tall as the reception room where the dragon’s remains were displayed.

“It seems to be the space where the dragon rests in its true form. And the important part is from now on. Look at the ceiling.”

Arthur and Arendt looked up and noticed a small hole in the ceiling.

“It’s a ventilation shaft that leads to the ground, but I couldn’t see it at all from the outside. …Ah, it looks like the moon has risen.”

The moment the Count spoke, silvery moonlight began to seep into the dragon’s resting place from the ventilation shaft.

And at the following view, Arthur was left speechless.

“Wow…”

Even from Arendt’s lips came a rare expression of pure admiration.