Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 193

‘Let’s not be tense.’Arthur repeated this to himself over and over again.

Elves were a race with much more developed senses than humans.

So, if by any chance a mistake was made, these many warriors would react sensitively.

The moment anyone drew their weapons, this icy peace would be over.

Even at first glance, the atmosphere did not seem friendly.

Arthur groaned, groaning internally.

Now he could understand why Arendt was trying to run away.

‘…I can tell just by looking at the momentum flowing out.’

Each and every one of the elf warriors was too strong to be ignored.

Honestly, when he thought of confronting them head on, he wasn’t sure he could win.

Arendt said that

In fact, it was to the point where he started doubting the claim that they could just barely escape now. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel fire.net

‘The security is this tight, how can we escape?’

A hollow laugh escaped.

Come to think of it, he only heard that we could run away, but he never heard that we could get out with all our limbs intact.

‘Let’s put our heads together.’

Arendt’s phase of, “enemy territory,” was very accurate.

Arthur glanced at his junior walking right next to him with a slightly stiff gaze.

And…

“Oh, it’s marble.”

He could see the face of the guy who was calmly looking around.

“…”

Arthur desperately tried to smooth out his brow, which was about to wrinkle in frustration.

Arendt looked around leisurely at his surroundings.

“It’s a unique architectural style. It’s a form I’ve never seen before in the Empire.”

“You’re looking at it now…?”

“If not now, then when?”

Finally, Arthur, unable to stand it any longer, began to whisper and scold him.

But, as always, all he got in return was the same calm response as usual.

“…”

Arthur gave up and turned his gaze forward again.

It was certainly a strange and unusual sight.

Before they knew it, the group had reached a street lined with white buildings of a shape they had never seen before.

Trees of unusual shapes were growing between the square marble buildings.

The leaves, which had grown wide like a fan, swayed in the sea breeze.

The sight of the marble building below sparkling in the sunlight was quite a fantastic sight.

Even the shoulders and heads of ordinary elves who came out to watch them had strange animals perched on them.

A bird they had never seen before was sitting on its owner’s arm without any restraints, and a monkey with a strange fur color was being held like a child.

It felt like they were walking through a forest because they could hear the cries of wild birds everywhere.

As Arthur was unknowingly captivated by the exotic scenery, he heard an annoying voice from the side.

“It catches your eye quite well, right?”

“It’s noisy.”

Arthur, who felt embarrassed for no reason, let out a brief grunt.

Arendt smiled faintly and looked straight ahead again.

“I have a concern, senior.”

“What, you little brat.”

“There are several options, and I’m wondering which one would be better.”

Arthur’s brow furrowed at the sound of vague nonsense.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“The result is the same either way, but the process is also important.”

But as always, Arendt just said what he wanted to say.

Arendt’s golden eyes, which had been absorbed in looking around just a moment ago, were now immersed in light thought.

Arthur kept his mouth shut for a while.

A phrase that Arendt blurted out in passing lingered particularly in his ears.

‘The result will be the same either way…’

It was an arrogance that was only possible because it was Arendt.

‘No.’

Arthur soon changed his mind.

Arendt had proven his abilities countless times so far.

So it would be more correct to call it confidence rather than arrogance.

Arthur glanced at his junior, who was just looking straight ahead with an indifferent expression, and spoke bluntly.

“…I can hear the sound of your brain working.”

“Because it’s actually working.”

Arendt offered a blunt response.

“What are you up to now?”

“I’m thinking about it.”

Arendt glanced at the elves surrounding them.

They were emitting a fierce aura and were only looking at the spirit stone box that Laius was holding.

The apprentice knight, who had paused, added:

“Let’s try to match these people’s tastes first.”

This time Arthur frowned at the unknown words, but didn’t ask any further questions.

Arendt’s gaze turned to Llewellyn and then to Laius’ back, who was walking ahead.

Although they didn’t have a very good relationship in the original work, the two now trusted each other quite a bit.

So, it wouldn’t be difficult to get them to harmonize together on stage.

‘Let’s leave it to those two for now.’

The two people who were bound together by a sense of responsibility would have stepped forward on their own without anyone pushing them to do so.

The group soon arrived in front of a simple yet majestic white building.

While Arendt was momentarily distracted by the open square and beautiful fountain, Zakar spoke first.

“This is the assembly hall where the Council of Elders meets. If I were to borrow a phrase, it would be the palace of the Second Kingdom. The elders reside here and take care of state affairs. Please go in. The elders are waiting for you.”

All the elven warriors lined up in front of the hall.

It seemed like they couldn’t follow them all the way inside.

The same was true for Sakhalin and Sylvian’s men, and Sylvian remained by Laius’ side.

As Zakar looked at her with cold eyes, Sylvian answered calmly.

“I will go in and personally confess my sins.”

“…As you wish.”

At her unwavering words, Zakar also turned around without saying anything further.

As Zakar himself opened the huge door, the interior of the hall slowly came into view.

As he followed behind Laius, Arendt looked around.

In the spacious lobby, no luxuries or ornate decorations were visible.

Certainly, looking at its appearance, it was a bit misleading to call it a palace.

‘I’d rather call it a temple or shrine.’

The tiles that decorated the floor created a unique pattern, and the ceiling was painted with a ceiling painting depicting a clear sky.

And there were pillars carved with gods.

That was all the decorations that were immediately visible.

The interior was quite plain considering its large size.

Arendt focused on the statue of a pillar.

‘God Luce…’

The thickest and tallest pillar depicted the familiar god Luce.

On the pillars next to it were various other gods worshipped by the elves.

In this world, there were quite a few gods besides Luce.

It was simply difficult for other gods to make their presence felt in the human world centered around the Caerleon Empire.

Judging from the fact that god Luce was the largest and most ornately carved, it seemed that the God of Light was the highest ranking here as well.

‘I’m curious.’

When the evil god and god Luce were fighting bloodily, where were the other gods?

In the records of the Caerleon Empire, it seems that they sided with god Luce and fought together against the evil god.

However, this was ultimately a story of a union between religious believers, and did not pertain to ‘God’ itself.

What did the gods want to do?

In the dark temple underground, why did Chernion speak to him?

Arendt, who had been lost in thought for a while, raised his head at the new noise.

Three elves were walking down the stairs extending upward from the lobby.

Their attire was different from that of the warriors or the elves outside.

The sleeves and front of the white robe, which extended to their feet, were embroidered with jewels.

‘It’s them.’

Arendt intuitively felt that these three people were the elders.

“I greet the elders.”

Zakar came forward first, knelt on one knee and bowed.

Sylvian, who was standing behind him, also followed Zakar.

“…Captain Sylvian of the Fog Forest Guard, returned home in disgrace.”

“Get up, both of you. And Captain Sylvian, I will talk to you later. We have guests right now.”

The elf who came forward first gave a soft command with a bitter smile.

Only after Zakar and Sylvian got up did he turn to Laius.

“Greetings, guests from the Holy Empire. I am Altair, the elder of the Forest Clan.”

The elder, who introduced himself as Altair, appeared to be just reaching middle age.

He certainly looked young to be calling himself the highest leader of the clan.

Laius placed his hand on his chest and bent his upper body.

“I am Laius de Winfried, the Captain of the Third Order of the Imperial Knights of the Caerleon Empire. I am not yet familiar with the laws of the elves, so if my men and I are being rude, please offer us some guidance.”

“No. Elves don’t like empty formalities. Just conveying your heart is enough.”

Altair smiled softly.

The atmosphere that had been tense until just now became incredibly friendly.

But the two people standing on either side of him still had sharp eyes that were directed at Laius.

Although he could have expressed his displeasure, Laius calmly lifted the box he had brought and showed it to the elders.

“These are the recovered spirit stones. We came to return them to you. I apologize belatedly for visiting without asking for your prior permission.”

It was an attitude that was extremely polite, but not overly humble, the epitome of uprightness.

“Additionally, His Majesty the Emperor of the Caerleon Empire personally wrote a letter and His Highness the Crown Prince requested that a small token of respect be delivered.”

“We are grateful to His Majesty the Emperor for his generous understanding of our circumstances. I have heard that Lord Llewellyn accompanied you as your guide.”

“Yes. It’s been a while, Elder Altair.”

Llewellyn smiled broadly and bowed his head.

The elder nodded in response and took a slight step back.

“It is not right to leave our distinguished guests standing here, so please go inside. I have prepared tea and refreshments. Zakar and Captain Sylvian. You may wait outside for a moment.”

“Thank you for your kindness.”

Without responding to Laius’ greeting, Altair turned around first and began to slowly climb the stairs.

Before following him, Laius glanced at the knights.

Llewellyn, whose eyes met with Laius’, also slightly hardened his smiling face.

It had to be like that.

That elder must have been the one who sent dozens of armed warriors to the port.

Even though he had dragged the group here in such a high-handed manner, he himself was smiling gently.

So, it couldn’t help but be astonishing.

‘He’s a skilled player.’

Arendt’s gaze followed the backs of the elders as they climbed the stairs.

It was clear that their intention was to pressure the group and gain the upper hand in the negotiations.

Of course, since their opponent was Laius, it wouldn’t have much effect.

Arendt scratched the back of his head and followed Laius.

When he turned around halfway up the stairs, he saw Sylvian and Zakar left alone in the lobby, facing each other.

Zakar still looked at Sylvian with an expressionless face.

At that, Sylvian’s face, which was trying hard to appear calm, suddenly became clouded.

But that was it.

He couldn’t hear anything about what they were talking about.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“…”

At Arthur’s urging, Arendt naturally looked away from the two elves.

“No, nothing.”

That was a lie.

Because ultimately, there was no such thing as an insignificant element.

The short answer, spat out dryly, lingered in his mouth, leaving a strange aftertaste.