Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 313: Dusty Remnants

“How are you feeling?”A gentle voice was heard from above the bowed head.

Roger answered, prostrating himself.

“Thanks to your care, Lord Nikephoros, this lowly life was saved. I am grateful.”

“Don’t say such things about being lowly.”

Nikephoros, who was lying on the sofa, scolded.

“One who serves Lord Chernion cannot be lowly. Moreover, Roger, you are an excellent messenger of His, so hold your head high with pride.”

Roger couldn’t respond for a long while.

Nikephoros stared at him as he hesitated.

Roger, unable to overcome those eyes, finally answered.

“…Thank you.”

In the final moments of the battle in the Great Temple, it was Nikephoros who saved Roger from Laius.

If he hadn’t intervened at that moment, Roger would no longer be of this world.

“Your life is not yours alone. Never forget that. It is the same for Jin and Ain.”

“Yes, I will definitely keep that in mind.”

Only after Roger answered seriously did Nikephoros smile with satisfaction.

“How’s your new arm? I heard Jin put a lot of thought into making one for you.”

Only then did Roger raise his head slightly.

“Thanks to your consideration, I was able to escape safely. I also received a great favor from Jin.”

“Its ugliness can’t be helped.”

A bitter smile appeared on Nikephoros’ beautiful face, resembling an elf from the Fog Forest tribe.

It was Nikephoros who saved Roger’s life when he was seriously injured, but even a dragon couldn’t put back an arm that had already been cut off.

So Roger had to get separate treatment from Jin.

“It’s all right. Just being able to wield my sword fully for Lord Chernion is a great blessing in itself.”

As he answered, Roger tried to move his new arm with strength.

With his newly acquired hideous arm, the five fingers bent and straightened as he intended.

The movement was natural, as if it had originally belonged to Roger.

The new arm was too thick and strong compared to Roger’s large torso.

Moreover, it was covered in stiff, thick hair, so it looked more like the arm of a transformed werewolf than a human.

“I heard that Jin encountered a werewolf during this battle. It seems that his strength impressed Jin quite a bit,” Nikephoros spoke as if to make excuses on Jin’s behalf.

Only then did a helpless smile appear on Roger’s lips.

“I have no complaints… but it was a bit difficult because she kept rushing at me saying, ‘How about remodeling your entire body?’”

“Oh, that must have been hard.”

Roger bowed his head once more to Nikephoros, who was jokingly responding, and continued speaking in a somewhat subdued voice.

“…I heard the news. In the end, it seems I didn’t accomplish anything.”

News that Arendt von Eckhart, who was thought to have been killed, had recovered safely and resumed his activities reached the Evil Cult.

Although he was unable to stop the resurrection of the Holy Sword, Roger found some comfort in the fact that he had at least dealt with the apprentice knight.

But even that failed.

“I just feel sorry towards Lord Chernion and the saintess.”

Roger lowered his gaze to the floor in anguish.

Then Nikephoros comforted him in a gentle tone.

“No. It was unavoidable. Lady Iris understands as well.”

“Ah…”

“It was beyond your control. It was the God of Light Himself who acted on a whim.”

Nikephoros cut Roger off with a firm tone.

“Unless it was before the Sword of Light was set in motion, perhaps things might have been different, but thinking you could have stopped it yourself is sheer recklessness.”

“…I’m sorry.”

After a long pause, Roger bowed his head even more deeply.

“So we must look ahead to what comes next. Lady Iris has no intention of reproaching you, so don’t be too hard on yourself. Knowing your nature, perhaps you’d feel more at ease if she did scold you, but taking good care of yourself is far more helpful to Lord Chernion.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

Unable to raise his gaze, Roger replied.

Nikephoros, who had been giving him a look full of pity, let out a short sigh.

A sigh-like soliloquy flowed from the golden dragon’s mouth.

“In the end, does everything flow according to the natural order…?”

He just wanted to avoid repeating past mistakes.

However, the hero chosen by God was unlikely to be easily dealt with this time either.

Laius de Winfried was officially recognized as the master of the Holy Sword.

From now on, he would block the path of the cult as a hero chosen by God Luce himself.

Moreover, even the dragon Lexion of the Hero Khan era awoke from his long slumber and joined the hero’s comrades, once again lending a helping hand.

‘And…’

Even the apprentice knight, who was the troublesome variable in this whole situation.

Nikephoros’ expression hardened as he thought of him.

Lexion seemed more conscious of the apprentice knight than of the new hero.

Roger, who had fought them directly several times, and Jin also reacted to him excessively.

He just thought of him as a follower of some common hero, but it seemed like he was more than that.

“…I guess I need to check it out myself at least once.”

“What are you talking about?”

Roger asked curiously, responding to Nikephoros’ muttering.

But Nikephoros waved his hand lightly.

“No, it’s nothing.”

“I said I would cooperate.”

Lexion’s irritated voice was heard.

“That being said, I never once said I would attend to you.”

“I, too, never once asked you to attend to me.”

However, it was words that would have no effect on Arendt.

Caught in the middle of the sudden standoff between the dragon and the apprentice knight in the Crown Prince’s exclusive training grounds, Salem had no choice but to be on high alert.

“I just need you to confirm. Do you know him or not?”

“That, Sir Arendt.”

Salem, unable to listen any longer, cautiously intervened.

“That… is the person that Sir Arendt is referring to…”

“A dragon.”

“…”

Salem’s mouth snapped shut.

Then he just quietly slipped out from between the two and started swinging his sword away from them.

That meant that he wanted to leave this conversation.

“Why are you talking about the mine all of a sudden? I translated all the documents you guys found.”

“Not all of them. And there are a few more magical barriers that cannot be broken by human power. That’s why Count Stadler said before that he would like you to come and see it for yourself at least once.”

Arendt added a brief explanation.

The topic of conversation between the two people was the magic stone mine where Count Stadler’s research lab was currently located.

There was a dragon hideout discovered by Count Stadler.

Although it is a bit small to be called a lair, there were clear traces of a dragon living there, and even the urns of the dragon’s confidants who served the owner of the place remained.

“Stadler… that weird count.”

Lexion’s face instantly turned pale.

If Lexion was to choose the strangest beings that he encountered in the palace, the first would be Arendt, and the second would be Count Stadler.

“I think now would be a good time to go. Right now, we don’t have much to do in the palace.”

Arendt nodded.

All attention in the palace was now focused on Laius.

As the master of the Holy Sword, Laius was busy being called here and there.

Of course, he wasn’t very willing, but he had no choice but to accept most of the invitations under Arendt’s nagging.

The reason was that now was the opportunity to make a name for himself as a hero.

“Well, it’s almost like a festival atmosphere. It’s a natural result of the birth of a new hero.”

The entire social circle was buzzing, and tea parties, networking events, and celebratory parties were taking place every day.

Because of that, the other captains, Llewellyn, and the other elf representatives, except for the young Salem, were in a similar situation.

Because Laius and them were the center of attention at the banquet, they were caught up in the excitement and were called around to various places.

Of course, the elves showed resistance at first.

“We can’t afford to be complacent when we don’t know when the fighting will start again.”

This was Ragnald’s reaction to Arendt’s words that .

Shekhinah and Zakar seemed to have similar thoughts, but Arendt immediately suppressed their complaints.

“War isn’t just about fighting. You have to make the best impression possible to attract sponsors so that it’s easier later on. Don’t you know that? And it’s better to stay relaxed than to let the mood stagnate.”

It was an extremely annoying tone, but as always, he wasn’t wrong.

“It’s not good to let your guard down, but it’s not good to be too nervous either. People tend to make mistakes they shouldn’t if they’re too nervous.”

The more people who could support them in both material and spiritual ways, the better.

In that sense, it wasn’t a bad idea for those who fought directly on the battlefield to be active in social circles.

Since this was a battle between factions with faith at stake, it would be possible to prevent their allies from defecting to the Chernion Cult to some extent.

In the end, the elves were also convinced by that logic.

“Come to think of it, why are you still hanging around?”

“My period of suspension was extended. Although, this is something I requested from the captain.” Follow current novels on Nov3lFɪre.ɴet

Suddenly, Arendt gave a simple answer to Lexion’s question.

The spirits passed by, flapping their wings leisurely, near the two.

Lexion waved his hands as if chasing away the spirits..

“It’s quite funny that you’re asking for suspension, but the captain has also been completely caught in the crossfire.”

“What can he do? If he feels wronged, he should have moved more quickly.”

Arendt shrugged his shoulders shamelessly.

At this point, Lexion was starting to feel sympathy for Laius.

This was especially after seeing the captain swallow several stomach medicines with a pale face after the banquet.

It was too shabby of a sight to be called that of a newly born great hero.

Lexion clicked his tongue and continued speaking.

“Well, fine. I’m not particularly thrilled about it, but we have something to talk about.”

Lexion, his voice slightly muffled, glanced towards Salem.

The palace had too many listening ears for private conversations.

He could have used magic to create a separate space, but since it was a place where knights and elves with highly developed senses were swarming, Lexion didn’t feel like doing even that.

“Then let’s move this evening. I will tell Count Stadler the same.”

Arendt nodded and swept away the spirits that kept lingering nearby with his hand.

The startled spirits quickly turned back towards Salem.

“Hey, kid. Did you hear that? Lexion and I will be gone for a day or two. Make sure to train properly. Don’t go messing around trying to do things on your own and end up getting hurt. If you need anything, go see Senior Arthur.”

Salem, who had stopped moving, answered hesitantly.

“…I’m not sure if you’re being rude or just worried about me, but could you just pick one? Or are you mocking me for being clumsy?”

“It is quite unfortunate that you are misunderstanding my kindness.”

“…”

Salem simply remained silent in response.

In this way, it was decided that Arendt and Lexion would conduct research in the Magic Stone Mine.