Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 494

In his dim consciousness, he heard the crackling of firewood in the fireplace. The scent of herbs and warmth accompanied it.Arendt blinked blankly several times and realized he was lying under an unfamiliar ceiling.

As he unconsciously tried to lift his upper body, he heard a blunt voice from next to him.

“Don’t move.”

“…”

Arendt barely managed to turn his head to see who it was. Beneath the flickering candlelight, he saw Laius, perched on a chair. Beside him, Arthur was slumped against the wall, completely asleep.

“…How did it go? Seeing you here, it seems like things went smoothly.”

A cracked voice spoke. Laius nodded slightly.

“Roger is dead. His body was frozen by the Frosty Touch.”

Laius said calmly.

“I could see the artifact’s power spreading from the wound. But the man, who had lost his sense of pain, didn’t seem to notice.”

If it were Roger, he would have been able to suppress the power of the Frosty Touch to some extent with his magic.

After all, the Frosty Touch and the Blessing of Karma had opposing powers.

Just as Arendt was able to counter the burn, Roger was able to offset the cold.

If Roger had realized his condition even a little sooner, the outcome might have been different.

In the end, Roger’s defeat was due to the divine power that eliminated pain.

“Hah…”

A long sigh escaped Arendt’s lips. His torn, split lips formed a faint curve.

“Serves him right.”

Laius continued.

“This is the city guard building. Arthur brought you here. The Imperial Palace is guarded by the Second Knight Order, and we’ve set up a temporary base here for now.”

“What about the Great Temple?”

Arendt asked in a voice that was much clearer than before.

“It’s just as you guessed. While we were fighting, the Great Temple was completely taken. Fighting also broke out outside the palace, tying down the elf forces waiting outside.”

“…As expected.”

Arendt frowned and forced himself to sit up. Laius reached out to help, though he frowned as well.

“I told you not to move.”

“Never mind that. Any word from Lord Lexion yet?”

At Arendt’s blunt question, Laius let out a deep sigh.

“…After the battle was over, I checked near the barrier. So far, there’s been no significant change.”

“That damn dragon… seriously…”

Arendt grumbled as he loosened his stiff body. The mages had treated him as best they could, and his deeper wounds had been somewhat healed.

“Can you move?”

“I have to.”

Arendt responded calmly to Laius’ brief question. Laius’ expression became complicated, but he said nothing more. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on N0veI.Fiɾe.net

Instead, he paused for a while and then changed the subject.

“I have something I want to show you.”

“Huh?”

When Arendt looked at him curiously, Laius took something out of his pocket and handed it to him.

.

A neatly strung rosary gleamed under the dim candlelight, producing a clear, ringing sound.

Arendt blinked a few times and soon realized what it was. Laius confirmed Arendt’s guess.

“It’s an artifact. I believe it’s called the Blessing of Karma. It was recovered from Roger’s body.”

“…Why are you showing this to me?”

Arendt looked up at Laius with a suspicious look. Meeting his gaze, Laius spoke calmly.

“I would like to ask your opinion first on how to dispose of this.”

“So why? Just handle it however you see fit. It wasn’t me who took care of that guy, it was you, Captain.”

“No.”

Laius’ firm answer made Arendt press his lips together.

“You were the one who dealt with Roger, not me.”

“…”

“No one knows I have this in my possession. I haven’t even reported it to His Majesty or His Highness yet.”

Should the ‘Blessing of Karma’ be utilized in war, or should it be allowed to fade into the annals of history? Laius left the choice to Arendt.

Arendt remained silent for a long time, running various calculations in his head.

Laius seemed to have a rough idea of what the apprentice knight would decide. But after a while…

“…I think we should hand it over to the elves. I don’t know about the others, but I think someone like Instructor Zakar could handle it.”

The answer that came back was beyond Laius’ expectations.

“To Instructor Zakar?”

“Right now, it’s better to have at least one more power. We should at least tell him to be careful with this artifact, since it’s a self-consuming artifact.”

Roger’s burns were proof of that. They were the scars he had to endure to wield the artifact so freely.

Suddenly, Arendt realized that Laius was looking at him with strange eyes.

The apprentice knight’s brow furrowed.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…Nothing. I agree with your reasoning, but I expected you to say it would be better to destroy it.”

After a moment of silence, Laius answered honestly.

“It was the same when we got our hands on Vincent’s artifact before.”

“That item was too dangerous. Besides, there was no one to hand it over to at the time.”

When Arendt responded bluntly, Laius nodded vaguely.

“…I see.”

And after a while, Laius nodded with a faint smile.

“Then, after dawn, I will ask Instructor Zakar for his opinion.”

“Do whatever you want. It wasn’t even my authority to begin with… ouch, ouch.”

Arendt, who had tried to shrug, grimaced and touched the wound. Laius clicked his tongue and then gently pushed Arendt back down into a lying position.

“Just sleep for now. You won’t be able to rest properly otherwise.”

“No, it’s not that.”

Arendt, lying on the bed with a pouty face, shot Laius a glance.

“Are you okay, Captain? You must have fought that guy to the death.”

“What?”

This time, a dumbfounded sound finally escaped Laius’ lips. Arendt looked him up and down with an impertinent gaze.

“Judging by the look of it, you seem fine. In that case, I’ll go back to sleep.”

“…”

Laius remained silent until he turned over and covered himself again with the blanket. Arendt, who had become a lump of blanket in an instant, added:

“Don’t just sit there staring blankly at the window. Go get some shut-eye. And while you’re at it, take that idiot senior over there with you. He’s driving me crazy.”

“…You really have a temper.”

Laius finally chuckled, despite himself.

‘I don’t like this situation, but…’

He was a guy who couldn’t trust others, so he destroyed powerful artifacts, and instead of expressing his concerns, he would just snap at them.

Such behavior probably stemmed from a habit of keeping people at a distance.

‘But…’

He, too, seemed to be changing.

Just as Arendt transformed others, and even the Caerleon Empire.

The senior officials staying inside and outside the palace gathered at the temporary camp where the Third Knights were.

The purpose was to share the current damage situation and plan for the future.

As soon as all the captains were gathered, Laius put into action the conversation he had had with Arendt at dawn.

He handed over the ‘Blessing of Karma’ to Zakar.

“…Are you sure it’s alright for me to receive this?”

Zakar, faced with the Blessing of Karma, asked in bewilderment. Laius nodded.

“If it’s alright with you, Instructor Zakar. And if the other elves have no objections, please take responsibility for it.”

“Of course we wouldn’t oppose it. And we agree that among us, only Instructor Zakar is capable of handling such a thing.”

Shekhinah said with a puzzled look on her face.

“But, truly… are you certain it’s safe to entrust this to the elves?”

After hesitating for a long time, Shekhinah finally spoke honestly.

Although the elves and humans were on friendly terms now, the history between them had been filled with tension and discord.

“I understand this is a very powerful artifact. So wouldn’t it be better to reconsider it?”

Shekhinah’s gaze fell on Arendt, who was standing behind Laius.

The apprentice knight, covered in bandages, just stood there with his arms crossed, watching them indifferently.

It was Arendt who took advantage of the weaknesses of the Grand Elder of the Second Kingdom and threatened them, ultimately creating the opportunity for all elves to cooperate with the Caerleon Empire.

But he acted as if he had nothing to do with all of this.

Llewellyn, noticing Arendt’s detached stance, interjected.

“I heard that Arendt was the first to propose it. So there’s no need to overthink it. It seems like they simply hope you’ll contribute to this war without any selfish motives.”

“Is that so…?”

Zakar looked slightly surprised. But that was only for a moment, as he nodded seriously.

“If that’s the case, I will accept it for the time being. After the war, I will return it to the Caerleon Empire’s Imperial Family.”

“Thank you.”

The ‘Blessing of Karma’ was thus entrusted to Zakar. Zakar immediately wrapped the rosary a few times around his arm and wore it like a bracelet.

“I will become familiar with it as quickly as possible.”

“Since it is a dangerous object, please take care to ensure your own safety while using it, Instructor Zakar.”

Laius, speaking with his usual courtesy, glanced around the room.

Diana and the elf captains, and even Llewellyn and Salem. All the personnel who would be key to the remaining battle were gathered in the modest meeting room of the security forces.

“Now that His Majesty and His Highness have safely evacuated, we will vacate the Imperial Palace and use this location as a temporary command post for the time being. Are there any objections?”

No one voiced an objection. Laius nodded briefly and began leading the meeting in earnest.

“Then let us start with a status report.”

“First of all, we are doing our best to evacuate civilians as soon as the sun rises.”

Zakar was the first to speak.

“We’ve decided that evacuating the survivors takes priority over everything else. The areas under Shekhinah and Ragnald are also prioritizing civilian evacuation.”

“The supplies needed by the refugees will be provided by the Neumann Merchant Group.”

Arendt, who was standing behind Laius, suddenly intervened.

“The Neumann and East Merchant Groups are taking the lead, and allied merchant groups from both sides will each handle their share of the support.”

“And just before I came here, I received a call from my brother.”

Llewellyn raised one hand and added:

“They say the allied forces of each nation have coordinated to prepare for receiving refugees. If we disperse the people and hand them over, they’ll handle the rest. After all, they’ve suffered less damage than the Imperial Capital.”

“Understood. We will proceed as you suggest.”

As Zakar nodded, Salem, who had been listening quietly, let out an exclamation.

“I always think about it, but it’s really amazing how well we work together…”

“Then, for now, it seems safe to divert some attention from the situation outside the palace.”

Diana added.

“Captain Kendrick is on standby, ready to respond immediately, whenever and wherever an incident occurs. Should Allied Forces or refugees be attacked, the First Knight Order is ready to respond.”

“Then the crucial issue right now is this: The Great Temple has been seized, and we don’t know when or where those bastards will pop up next.”

Arendt, who had been silent until now, finally spoke. Naturally, all eyes in the room turned toward him.

“On top of that, there’s been no word from those who went after Nikephoros.”

As usual, he spoke in a calm yet clear voice.

“Looking at the situation, it seems like all the priests, including the High Priest, have been taken hostage…”

His golden eyes shifted to Laius.

“Let’s think about how we can destroy those damn fanatic bastards.”