Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 264

He woke up vaguely to the strange sound of wood crackling.Did he sleep with the TV on?

As he was absentmindedly thinking about that, he felt someone approaching.

He wanted to see who the other person was, but his eyes didn’t open easily.

He tried several times to shake off the drowsiness, but soon everything became a bother.

His whole body ached as if he had been beaten.

The cold air that penetrated deep into his bones was also unpleasant.

As he pulled the blanket over him and curled up even more, a hand suddenly appeared and touched his forehead.

The cool hand lingered for a while, cooling his hot forehead to a lukewarm temperature before leaving.

A worried voice was heard from the bedside.

“His fever shows no signs of going down.”

“Shall I put a little more wood in the fireplace?”

Another man asked a question.

Then a young man with a lighter tone responded.

“Still, it seems a little better than before. I told you that he was groaning in pain because of the cold.”

“Don’t worry too much. The internal injuries originally inflicted by magical power will be healed in this way.”

The voice closest to him brought out a blunt consolation.

Then a curt reply came back.

“I didn’t worry about anything.”

“But you’ve been here since last night. Didn’t you say you got kicked out by the healer?”

The young man replied with a pout to the teasing remark.

“The senior who said that also kept coming in and out.”

Only then did he barely open his eyes.

What came into his blurry vision was not a moldy single room.

In a splendid room that looked as if a Shakespeare play would be performed at any moment, three men in stage costumes were vaguely visible.

Although they were wearing ornate uniforms, strangely enough, all three had bandages wrapped here and there.

He was just blinking blankly, unable to grasp the situation, when his eyes met with the youngest of the three.

The mischievously looking young man’s eyes widened.

“Oh, you’re awake?”

The other two men also turned around.

It seemed like they hadn’t even noticed that he was awake yet.

His eyes rolled around and he looked at the three people one by one.

It wasn’t a movement that he made with any particular conscious intention.

He was so out of it that he still couldn’t figure out what was going on.

But one thing was certain: he didn’t particularly like the look on their faces that were dripping with worry.

“…”

After thinking for a moment, he made the most annoyed expression he could muster.

He pulled the soft blanket closer to himself, wrapped tighter, and opened his parched mouth to let out an irritated grumble.

“If you’re going to be noisy… and babble, all three of you should get out…”

The words were spoken with a very hoarse voice, but the meaning was conveyed.

The three dumbfounded people soon burst into laughter.

“You really have a bad temper.”

Arthur’s grin mixed with laughter was quite satisfying.

Laius and Richt also raised their eyebrows, their expressions looking both bewildered and relieved.

Only then did Arendt relax.

His deliberate frown eased and his eyes closed again.

His sight was blocked and the surroundings became quiet.

.

The sound of crackling wood, buried in the conversation between the three people, was heard again.

He waited for a while, but there was no sign of anyone leaving the room.

‘…I think I had a shitty dream.’

Still, it seemed like he would be able to sleep comfortably from now on.

“No wonder the dream was so brutal.”

Those were the first words he said when he realized that he was in Arendt’s room.

The overly spacious room was filled with all sorts of luxurious furniture and decorations.

Considering that the dorm room he was currently using was filled with only the bare minimum of items, it was an overly distracting environment.

Arthur, sitting on the sofa, chimed in.

“I used to wonder why a young kid would collect so many jewels, but now that I think about it, it must be even more disappointing to not have any. But why did you sell everything you bought?”

“I realized that money is the best.”

Arendt answered vaguely, stirring the soup in front of him with a spoon.

Arthur frowned at the sight.

“Okay, then eat.”

“I don’t want to eat.”

“Are you a child?”

Arendt grumbled at his urging and held the spoon properly.

But he didn’t start eating right away.

“What about the Everan and Lucain Kingdoms?”

“Oh, dammit. There’s nothing wrong yet! If you’re a patient, eat and sleep like a patient!”

Then Arendt nodded and shoveled the tasteless broth into his mouth.

‘Well, it’s still too early for anything to happen.’

They had already dealt with the ghouls and homunculi the day after they arrived at Count Eckhart’s estate, so it had only been three days since they arrived here.

They may not have even reached the kingdoms yet.

Arendt, whose thoughts had reached that point, finally began to eat.

Only then did Arthur let out a deep sigh and lean back on the sofa.

“How are you feeling?”

“It seems like I’m on the verge of death.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t feel well, but his body was shivering and his joints were aching, as if he had a bad flu.

Moreover, the wounds he received while fighting the homunculus were starting to hurt belatedly.

It was a dizzying situation when his wounds were recovering slowly because his magic power was not normal.

Arthur’s face hardened and he expressed his worries seriously.

“Take care of yourself, you punk. You keep criticizing us for risking our lives for nothing, but why do you keep acting like this?”

But Arendt, as always, did not give in.

“What can I do? I’m so great.”

“I’m not joking.”

“I’m not joking either, am I? And I never risked my life. Look, I’m not dead.”

“…Yes, you’re not dead. You had a fever for two days straight and it was enough to make people lose their cool. Even now, you can barely keep your eyes open, so if you’re going to keep talking about how you’re not okay, then at least be quiet!”

When Arthur fired back with a harsh rebuke, Arendt pretended to cover his ears.

“It’s so noisy. How many times do I have to tell you to move first if you have any complaints?”

“…”

Arthur clenched and unclenched his fist.

Arendt changed the subject as if he didn’t want to bother talking any further.

“What about the spirit stones?”

Arthur responded with a reluctant expression.

“Tsk, we retrieved them. They’re both fine. Since Instructor Zakar and his party just arrived at the palace, we’ll hand them over as soon as we get back.”

Although they had lost a lot of strength due to being overworked, they would slowly regain their strength if they return to the Elven Forest.

Unlike magic stones, spirit stones were living beings.

“But I don’t get it. Was it really okay to waste what they stole like this? Now, there’s only one spirit stone left over there.”

“Maybe they were willing to make that kind of investment just to bury both the captain and me.”

Arendt, who had been sipping his soup, quietly put down his spoon.

“Or maybe they’re not necessary anymore, since they could now duplicate spirit stones. Maybe it’s both.”

“Ah.”

A short exclamation escaped Arthur’s lips.

“I don’t think the dull-witted senior noticed it, but the monsters’ movements were a bit strange. It seems like they failed to completely control their ego.”

“Don’t call me dull, you punk.”

Arthur snapped annoyed.

“But I guess it’s understandable. Last time, Jin ran away before being ordered to retreat, and the dragon homunculus also gave up resistance at the end.”

“Jin was an elf, so she was able to control it to that extent. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have even tried. The longer the suppression lasted, the more the spirit stone began to rebel.”

Arthur thought for a moment and then asked.

“Is the Count analyzing the fake spirit stone?”

“Yes, the palace couldn’t handle it, so he took it to the lab. But it seems like there haven’t been any significant results yet.”

It was clear that the dragon had taken measures to prevent humans from easily analyzing it.

Arendt continued, seeming annoyed.

“So, when I had the chance, I wanted to ask Lexion for help… I didn’t have time to, so things turned out this way. I don’t know what happened to him.”

It bothered him that Stellar had left so suddenly.

Lexion said he was going to find the Chernion Cult’s dragon, so it was clear that he had something to ask.

Arthur, who had been watching him be lost in thought, let out a deep sigh.

“I received a call from Prince Llewellyn while you were sleeping.”

“What, why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

Arthur became upset when Arendt raised his eyebrows.

“The captain gave me a gag order not to say anything, you punk. But if I keep my mouth shut, it’s obvious that you won’t stay quiet later, so I’m telling you anyway. So…”

Arthur growled fiercely after saying that.

“Eat that quickly. I won’t tell you anything until you finish eating. I saw you sneakily push the soup aside.”

“Tch.”

“You’re such a hassle.”

Arthur grumbled briefly and leaned back on the sofa with his arms crossed.

Arendt had no choice but to finish his meal with a discontented look on his face.

Only then did Arthur speak again.

“It was two days ago. There was suddenly a large earthquake in the northern mountain range beyond the border of the Everan Kingdom.”

“An earthquake?”

“Uh huh. There happened to be some explorers exploring the ruins nearby, and they reported to the prince that something seemed unusual.”

For a moment, light returned to Arendt’s eyes, which had been dazed by the fever.

“Tell me more.”

“Tsk, I heard that they were exploring the ruins when a strong earthquake suddenly occurred and they had to evacuate. But it lasted too long for it to be a normal earthquake, so they thought it was strange…”

Arthur frowned slightly as he recalled what Llewelyn had told him.

“After it became quiet, they said that the mountainside had collapsed. The nearby flora and fauna were also dead, and the surviving animals and monsters had all fled the mountain, so there were none left.”

“Huh?”

“After exploring a bit more, it seems that there was a cave underneath the mountain that had not yet been discovered. However, the entrance and the inside had collapsed, so they said they could not investigate further.”

It was a situation where he could easily guess what had happened.

Arendt clicked his tongue and scratched his head.

“It looks like the dragons had a huge fight.”

“That’s right. And last night, there was a sudden thunderstorm off the coast of the Everan Kingdom. It was so severe that all the nearby fishing boats had to evacuate.”

Arendt, who had been silent for a moment, muttered in bewilderment.

“…What the hell is that crazy dragon doing?”

“I don’t think Lexion wants to hear that from you.”

Arthur continued speaking after saying a few words.

“It seems that the dragon is in the Everan Kingdom, so Prince Llewellyn is keeping an eye on it.”

That was the best they could do for now, because humans cannot interfere in a dragons’ fight.

Arendt nodded, frowning.

“Well… so that means I have nothing to do for the time being.”

“That’s right. So please go to sleep. Don’t bother people.”

“Who told you to stay here? Why are you sitting here like that and making a fuss?”

Arthur snapped back at the irritating response.

“The captain told me to keep an eye on you, so what can I do? Why didn’t you build up some trust beforehand?”

“What did I do?”

“Don’t you have a conscience?”

The one-sided argument that Arthur had become completely accustomed to, began again.

It was the moment when the room, which had been quiet, finally became noisy.