Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 269

It took some time for Cantares to calm down.But that was nothing compared to the reaction of the representatives of the Elven Kingdom who came into the office and confronted Lexion.

“That, really, that…”

“Is that a dragon?”

Arendt kindly continued the story for Zakar, whose mouth was gaping open.

Zakar’s face turned even paler when he heard the word dragon.

Zakar, who was able to speak, was in slightly better condition.

The other three were frozen in place as if they had been touched by the Frosty Touch.

Lexion, who had been watching the elves with crossed arms, slowly nodded his head.

“That’s right, this is normal. Instead of threatening or saying ‘come find me if you have something to say’ or ‘go ahead, kill me if you can,’ you should be like them.”

“I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

“…”

The dragon, the Crown Prince, the knight captain, and even the Crown Prince’s aide looked at Arendt with reproach for speaking so shamelessly.

Regardless, Arendt spoke to the dazed elves.

“First of all, Instructor Zakar, and everyone I’m meeting for the first time…”

Just one sentence was enough to get the elves’ attention.

With everyone in the room looking at him, Arendt raised one finger.

“It’s forbidden to gush with praise like ‘It is an honor to meet the revered Dragon’ and the like.”

“…”

The impertinent apprentice knight continued, counting on his fingers one by one.

“No kneeling, no praying to your gods, whether they be Luce or Nereid. Do that later. I don’t want to waste time, and it probably won’t be a very pleasant sight.”

The elves flinched as their true intentions were revealed.

Arendt added nonchalantly.

“Well, he is a great being, but at least for now, let’s just have him be an old, extremely strong, and extremely ill-tempered ally. Don’t you think that would be more efficient?”

“I don’t want to hear you call me ill-tempered. And who decided that I’m your ally?”

Lexion’s remark was naturally ignored.

Cantares, whose head was hurting, sighed deeply and began to speak.

“Haa… I’m sorry. It’s sudden, but Lord Lexion will be staying at the palace for a while. Since Captain Laius has also returned, I thought it would be better to familiarize yourselves with each other, so I brought him here for a moment.”

He briefly considered adding that they shouldn’t be too surprised, but he stopped because it would be meaningless to the people who were already freaking out.

After a long time, Zakar was the first to come to his senses and nodded.

“…Yes, I understand. For now.”

“It’s a bit overwhelming, but it’s fine. My goodness, to meet a dragon in this way.”

The calm-looking female elf standing next to Zakar also tried hard to hide her embarrassment as she answered.

Arendt could easily recognize her.

It was thanks to Llewellyn who had given him the information in advance.

Like the Fog Forest race, she had bright blonde hair, but her eyes were a deep, profound blue.

Her blue eyes, which had a similar color to glaciers submerged in the deep sea, were the symbol of the Silver Lake Tribe of the First Kingdom.

‘Wasn’t she an advisor and mage belonging to the Silver Lake Royal Guard of the First Kingdom?’

Her name was Shekhinah.

She was an elf who had learned protective and healing magic, which were more useful in the rear rather than combat magic.

Llewellyn said that that didn’t mean they could ignore her fighting prowess.

Arendt turned his gaze towards the two remaining elves.

One of them was a man as tall as Kendrick.

‘And this is Ragnald.’

He was the vice captain of the Third Kingdom’s Royal Guard.

Sleek, flowing gray hair, silver eyes, and skin so pale it almost looked bluish were the characteristics of the Birch Forest Tribe of the Third Kingdom.

He remembered Llewellyn adding that although his cool, sunken eyes seemed cold at first glance, he was actually a very gentle person.

‘Finally that guy…’

Arendt’s gaze fell on the elf wearing a robe pulled down over their head.

Due to the robe, their face couldn’t be seen clearly, but it seemed that this person was likely the representative sent from the Shadow Tribe.

Judging by their small stature and the youthful jawline visible under their robe, they were not yet an adult.

‘Among the influential people Llewellyn told me about, there was never a child this young.’

As he was lost in thought for a moment, he suddenly heard Zakar muttering.

“Now that I think about it, I think I heard the word ‘threat.’”

“As I mentioned earlier, I’ve never done such a thing. I just suggested having a conversation from an equal position as an intelligent being.”

When Arendt shrugged, Zakar was left completely speechless.

The same was true for the other elves.

Cantares rubbed his face once, feeling as if the situation was only getting worse.

“Please think of Lexion as a guest of the Empire. I will explain the circumstances later. And that bastard, no, Sir Arendt, is just that kind of person, so you don’t have to worry about him.”

“…It’s okay. I already heard from Zakar on the way here. He told me several times that I shouldn’t panic because his personality is quite unique, and I understand now.”

Shekhinah, who had been staring blankly, answered with an ambiguous smile.

Ragnald and the young elf also nodded silently.

Only then did Cantares breathe a sigh of relief and change the subject.

“Let me introduce you. This is Captain Laius de Winfried of the Third Imperial Knights. And this is Lady Shekhinah of the First Kingdom, Lord Ragnald of the Third Kingdom, and Lord Salem of the Fourth Kingdom.”

Laius and the elves nodded their heads slightly in greeting.

Arendt looked at the group again, remembering the name of the young elf boy, Salem.

All the elves of the four kingdoms were gathered together, and there was even a dragon.

The casting was overly luxurious.

In “The Blue Knight of the Holy Sword”, most of the elven reinforcements were from the Second Kingdom led by Zakar.

Among the elven warriors moving under Zakar, there were also those from other kingdoms.

But the powerful people of each race have never gathered together in one place.

‘It was worth all the hard work.’

Since each and every one of them would be as skilled as Zakar, the four of them gathered here were more than enough power.

Moreover, since Lexion would continue to focus on Nikephoros in the future, it seemed unlikely that Laius would struggle alone against strong enemies.

As if she was thinking about something similar, Shekhinah also opened her mouth.

“I felt this way since I was heading to the Holy Empire, but this is truly… a historic moment. It is extremely rare for people to gather like this even within the Elven Kingdom. And to think that even the Lord Dragon is in the Holy Empire…”

“This is all thanks to His Highness the Crown Prince’s virtue. I am happy to be able to join in the effort to eliminate the Evil Cult.”

As Ragnald opened his heavy mouth, Salem, who had been silent, quickly nodded.

“I think so too.”

A still young voice flowed out from under the robe.

Although these were quite heartwarming words, Cantares and Laius, who still had a conscience, could not readily answer confidently and say that they would defeat the Evil Cult together.

In fact, it wasn’t an alliance that was formed with such a good picture.

“Can I ask you one thing?”

Arendt, who had been listening quietly, blurted out.

“Have you heard about what happened in the Second Kingdom?”

“Of course. The knights of the Holy Empire who came to return the spirit stones even caught the spy from the Fog Forest tribe. Grand Elder Altair is very grateful for that.”

Shekhinah answered seriously.

“I even heard that you did not hold the kingdom accountable for the elf who stole the spirit stones and ran away. You simply spoke of cooperation. Our elders also admired the characters of Captain Laius, His Majesty the Emperor of the Holy Empire, and His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Ah.”

When Arendt glanced at Zakar, he quickly averted his gaze.

“…Well, you’ve packaged it pretty nicely.”

It seems that all the threats, tricks, and shameful behavior that took place in the meantime were covered up.

“Packaged?”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just talking to myself.”

Arendt waved his hand in response to Ragnald’s question.

‘It was a good choice.’

Although the provocation came from that side first, both the knights and Altair engaged in all sorts of political maneuvering and scheming, showing disgraceful behavior.

If that were reported to other kingdoms straight up, both the Caerleon Empire and Grand Elder Altair would be in considerable trouble.

Instead, it seemed that Altair chose to appeal to emotions, saying that since the knights had done them a favor, they should work together in the name of Luce and Nereid to punish the Evil God.

“Captain Laius has recovered two more spirit stones from this expedition.”

Before Arendt could say anything, Cantares quickly changed the subject.

Fortunately, the elves’ attention turned in that direction.

“That’s fortunate. It must have been painful for them, having their egos forced to awaken before they were even born.”

Laius answered Shekhinah’s words..

“They have lost a lot of strength, but they don’t seem to have any serious injuries. I will return them to the Fog Forest tribe as they are. Until they are sent to the kingdom, please have Instructor Zakar take care of them for now.”

“Yes, of course.”

When Zakar nodded as if he had been waiting for that, Laius nodded his thanks in return.

“And there’s one more thing I’d like to ask you. The enemy has started producing fake spirit stones, so I’d like the four of you to take a look at those as well.”

Salem muttered in a small voice.

“Fake spirit stones… I heard about it, but it turns out it’s true.”

Arendt glanced at Salem and shrugged.

“Before I returned, I also contacted Count Stadler. Since I was returning with Lexion, I asked him to bring the fake spirit stones to the palace. I was planning to show it to Lexion anyway.”

“Wait a minute. Why is my name suddenly coming out of there?”

“It seems like the dragon over there had been playing some tricks so that we can’t analyze them.”

Arendt replied indifferently as Lexion raised an eyebrow.

“I think you can release it. Since you’re here anyway, how about you cooperate? It’ll take a day to clear the training grounds and control the surrounding area anyway.”

“No matter how I look at it, this isn’t the attitude of someone who is asking for a favor. Can’t you at least pretend to be polite?”

“Is it your hobby to receive prostrations and for people to bow down to you? I cannot understand the tastes of noble people.”

The elves’ faces turned pale at the horrific atrocity unfolding before their eyes.

Eventually, Lexion, who had grown tired of arguing, ran his hand through his hair and snapped angrily.

“You’re a really annoying brat. Fine. I guess I’ll let it slide.”

“You should have done that a long time ago.”

Arendt nodded with satisfaction and looked back at the elves.

Arendt arched an eyebrow as the elves flinched at the sight of him.

“That’s strange. I haven’t said anything yet, but why do you look like you’ve encountered a mad dog on the street?”

The words ‘Are you asking because you don’t know?’ rose to the tip of her tongue, but Shekhinah answered calmly, making an effort to stay composed.

“It’s nothing. Why do you ask?”

“No, I didn’t look at you because I had something to say.”

Arendt looked toward Salem with indifferent eyes.

Salem straightened his small figure even more, as if he didn’t want to appear to be cowering.

Arendt added briefly, looking away from him.

“Just, I’m asking for your help.”