Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 349: We’ve got no choice but to go to them.

“Wow, shit…”The one who broke the long silence was none other than Glenn. Glenn, who had been sitting on the floor, moved to splay out on the floor.

“It’s really hard to put a kid to sleep. Ugh, I’m dying.”

“So… ugh, the alcohol is coming up.”

Rider also covered his mouth and sat down next to Glenn. Glenn was lying down, waving his arms in the air and exclaiming in admiration.

“Wow, but Senior Richt’s alcohol is really… amazing…”

“That’s right. It tastes good, but it also makes you really drunk.”

Arthur sat down unsteadily next to Arendt, his face red and flushed, and Richt answered with a look of deep regret.

“Of course. One bottle costs the same as your monthly salary.”

They drank more than six bottles of that.

The wine that Arthur had first brought from Glenn had long since completely evaporated. In addition, several bottles of the poisonous wine from the Elven Kingdom that Llewellyn had brought had also been emptied.

So, no matter how strong the knights were at holding their liquor, there was no way they would be okay.

“Arthur, you little punk… you buy me some food, next time….”

When one of the seniors groaned, Arthur grumbled back.

“Why me? Ugh, I got hit by this out of nowhere in the middle of the night too, you know.”

After finally crawling into bed following a busy day, no one would look kindly on a junior who suddenly wakes them up in the middle of the night for a drinking session.

But the reason they couldn’t refuse the sudden invitation was because of something Arthur said as he suddenly opened the door and came in.

“Arendt, that bastard, isn’t sleeping again so help me get him to sleep by getting him drunk or something.”

They couldn’t just sit still after hearing that.

Eventually, everyone who was staying in the dormitory got out of bed and joined this ridiculous drinking party.

However, that didn’t mean they could enjoy drinking with peace of mind.

They had to pour alcohol, talk nonsense constantly, and try not to lose their minds from the liquor, while constantly keeping an eye on Arendt.

Arthur glanced at his seniors and complained.

“That guy, it’s a good thing he’s sleep deprived and dull… otherwise, he would have noticed it right away. What are you doing?”

“Shut up, you bastard. You should be grateful that your seniors are doing this for you.”

Arthur responded with a grunt as Rider responded with a loud voice.

“I wonder if he’d be grateful, given his personality. I’d be grateful if he didn’t nag us and say it was unnecessary interference.”

“…”

It was a statement that could not be refuted. Glenn, who had been silent for a moment, changed the subject.

“Well you should pay me back for stealing the alcohol later. It’s something money can’t buy.”

“That’s not something you should be saying, Glenn.”

But he ended up staying quiet after hearing Richt’s cold voice. Glenn, who had been struggling to get up, knelt down.

“…I was wrong. Please, just don’t take my salary.”

“I’ll let it slide just this once since there was a reason. So you should let it go too.”

Richt nodded towards Arendt.

Glenn, too, didn’t seem to have seriously intended to take the money, as he silently nodded in agreement.

When the situation was more or less settled, Richt gave brief instructions.

“Leave the cleaning up to the servants tomorrow. It’s late, so let’s go to bed now.”

“What about Arendt?”

“Just leave him there. He’s so sensitive that he’ll wake the moment we try to move him,” Richt answered.

Judging from the fact that he hadn’t woken up yet even though they were having this long conversation right next to him, he must have been quite tired.

“Ugh, I’m going to have a really bad hangover tomorrow…”

“I work the early morning shift. I wonder if I can wake up…”

The knights, who had risen from their seats, mumbled similar greetings such as “good night,” and began to return to their rooms one by one.

Their drunken gaits were quite comical, but he didn’t feel like laughing at it that much as he watched someone bring a blanket from somewhere and cover Arendt with it.

After most of the knights had entered the room, Richt asked Arthur, the last one left.

“Arthur. Aren’t you going in?”

“Ah, I’ll stay a bit longer before heading in. It’s a bit warm because of the alcohol.”

At Arthur’s answer, Richt nodded without questioning further.

His gaze fell on a corner of the living room shrouded in darkness.

Even though everyone in the Third Knights’ dormitory was out and about making a fuss, there was one person who had not yet shown up.

‘There’s no way the Captain wouldn’t know.’

Since the incident at the Great Temple, Laius had been reacting somewhat sharply whenever it came to anything involving Arendt.

There must have been a reason why he didn’t show up even with this much commotion.

‘Did he think everyone would have a hard time if he was here?’

After a brief moment of thought, Richt spoke to Arthur one last time.

“Get some rest.”

“Yes. Goodnight.”

Richt, who waved lightly at Arthur, also returned to his room.

The lights that had been brightly lit went out one by one, leaving only a lamp on the table where bottles of alcohol were rolling around.

After a brief hesitation, Arthur turned the dimming lamp’s light up a little brighter.

Then he sat down next to Arendt, leaning back, being careful not to make any noise.

‘…Is this right?’

Although they succeeded in making Arendt fall asleep, he was still at a loss.

Because they still hadn’t figured out what the fundamental problem was that troubled Arendt.

‘Is it true that the problem started in the Nephele Kingdom?’

Arthur fell into thought.

‘Nikephoros said he couldn’t kill Arendt.’

Until recently, he thought that the reason Nikephoros couldn’t kill Arendt was because of Luce’s protection.

To Nikephoros, who served Chernion, the very existence of Arendt, whose life was saved by God Luce, must have felt repulsive.

But…

‘Maybe that’s not all.’

Arendt was not a believer in God Luce. That was why he was able to join hands with Lexion.

Moreover, Nikephoros called God Luce a “cruel and violent god” and even told Arendt to come with him if he wanted to escape from him.

At first glance, it seemed like the leader of the Chernion Cult was urging the followers of Luce to apostatize, but with a little thought, it was easy to see that that wasn’t the case.

‘Therefore…’

There may have been another reason why Nikephoros could not kill Arendt.

‘Arendt never prayed to Luce from the beginning.’

Rather, it might have been hatred.

No one knew exactly where that feeling came from.

He’d always wanted to ask questions out of curiosity, but he’d never been able to bring himself to ask.

Even if he asked, it was clear that it would just be dismissed with words that would provoke him.

‘It might have something to do with that part…’

But Arthur couldn’t continue his thoughts for long, because the intoxication and the drowsiness began to creep in.

Soon after, Arthur began to nod off on the sofa.

Arthur, who had been fast asleep, suddenly opened his eyes to the sound of heavy breathing right next to him.

“…Arendt?”

Arthur looked around absentmindedly and felt his drowsiness disappear in an instant.

Before he knew it, the lamp’s oil had run out and it had gone out completely.

And Arendt was gasping for breath, as if someone was strangling him.

Arthur, startled, grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him.

“Hey, hey! Wake up, what’s wrong?”

But Arendt couldn’t open his eyes. Eventually, he started scratching his neck with his fingernails.

“Ugh, huff, huff, gasp…”

“Arendt! Come to your senses, why are you doing this?”

Feeling anxious, Arthur grabbed Arendt with both hands and forced him upright. Only then did Arendt barely open his eyes.

“Are you okay? What are you suddenly…”

After a brief moment of relief, Arthur realized that Arendt’s gaze was strangely out of focus.

For a moment, Arendt’s face turned pale, then suddenly he pushed Arthur away with all his strength.

Arendt, as if trying to rush outside, got up but soon stumbled and collapsed heavily back onto the floor.

“Gasp, ugh…”

Curled up tightly, Arendt scratched at his own neck again, as if trying to tear off something horrible clinging to his body.

“Hey, can you hear me? Just calm down for now. I don’t know why you’re acting like this, but it’s okay, so calm down!”

Arthur, becoming anxious, grabbed Arendt’s shoulder and shook him.

But it seemed like he couldn’t even hear Arthur’s voice properly.

Arendt’s cold sweat dripped down onto the floor.

“Cough cough!”

Coughing repeatedly, Arendt finally vomited everything inside him. When scratches began to appear on the back of Arendt’s neck, Arthur grew even more anxious.

Eventually, Arthur practically grabbed Arendt by the collar and forced him to stand up.

And then, .

He slapped Arendt on the cheek with all his might.

“…”

The quiet lobby was filled only with the ragged breathing of two people.

Arendt blinked several times and slowly turned his head to look at Arthur. His face was blank, as if he still hadn’t figured out the situation.

“No, I, I’m sorry… I was in a hurry.”

Arthur met his gaze and apologized absentmindedly.

But there was no answer.

Arendt was too exhausted to even think about removing the tangled hair stuck to his face, struggling to catch his breath.

It was like someone who had been caught in an endless hell and barely escaped.

Arthur tried to remain as calm as possible and called out to him calmly.

“Arendt? Can you hear me?”

“…”

Only then did Arendt’s eyes begin to focus. Staring at Arthur, Arendt blankly looked around his surroundings.

It was as if he wanted to check where he was.

Arthur waited patiently and quietly.

Arendt looked around at the ceiling, the floor, and his surroundings, then touched the cheek where Arthur had hit him.

He felt a warm heat from his bright red, swollen cheek.

After a while, Arendt finally opened his mouth.

“…Senior.”

Though his voice was still strained, he seemed to have somewhat regained his composure.

“Yeah, you bastard. Are you coming to your senses now?”

Arthur answered, suppressing the anger that was welling up inside.

But instead of responding to those words, Arendt just stared blankly at Arthur.

After a while, Arendt burst into a weak, hollow laugh.

“…So that’s why you’ve been tormenting me like this.”

He was mumbling to himself, but soon became aware of Arthur’s presence and closed his mouth again. After a brief silence, Arendt spoke briefly.

“I’m going back inside to sleep some more. Damn it… what the hell is going on here?”

His voice was much clearer than before.

Leaving Arthur frozen there, Arendt turned and staggered towards his room.

Arthur anxiously watched Arendt’s unsteady figure from behind.

As expected, Arendt began to stagger violently before he could take even a few steps.

“Hey!”

Startled, Arthur was about to rush over immediately.

But a hand suddenly appeared from the shadows and grabbed Arendt, who was falling, before he could.

Laius had been quietly watching the situation unfold for some time now.