Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 203

Llewellyn, who was walking quickly, turned his head absentmindedly at the loud noise that erupted.“Huh?”

“What’s the fuss?”

Arthur also turned his head in question.

Before they knew it, the two had arrived at the elf training ground.

The person standing in the middle of the crowded crowd was, of course, Arendt.

On the other side, Sakhalin was venting his frustration after being toyed with by him the whole way here.

The two stopped walking.

“It seems like they’re sparring.”

“I know.”

Llewellyn nodded at Arthur’s words.

Even though they were quite a distance away, Arendt’s silver hair stood out.

Llewellyn grumbled.

“He’s really unnecessarily handsome. How could he not be pushed aside even among elves?”

“Well, it’s usually like this.”

Arthur also expressed his discontent.

It may have started out as a serious fight, but it wasn’t like that anymore.

The young elf who was officiating couldn’t hold back his laughter, bending over and trembling uncontrollably.

The elves who were watching also burst into laughter and applauded.

Arendt was seen speaking to Sakhalin with a smug look on his face.

Nearby, traces of the Frosty Touch remained intact.

‘I told you he’s a weird guy.’

Arthur’s eyes, looking at the noisy smokescreen, were filled with anxiety.

Although he himself never laughed out loud, he was good at clowning around.

There was no need to mention his talent for manipulating people with just a few words.

Arthur let out a sigh.

“That’s too bad. If he fought calmly, I don’t think he couldn’t beat Arendt.”

“That’s the problem. How many people can keep their composure when dealing with that guy?”

“Yeah.”

Arthur was convinced by Llewellyn’s words.

Even Richt, who rarely showed agitation, had gradually started falling apart, and became severely affected by Arendt.

The two people let out a deep sigh at the same time and started walking again.

There was a brief silence before Llewellyn brought up the topic again.

“That thing Elder Polaris brought. What is it?”

“Well, maybe it’s another artifact. I wonder how it ended up in the hands of dwarven merchants.”

“Yes, and the question is whether the dwarves actually knew the identity of the ‘God of Darkness’.”

Llewellyn nodded vaguely at Arthur’s answer.

If dwarves got involved, things would definitely get out of control.

The two people were silent for a moment, their hearts complicated.

After a while, Llewellyn opened his mouth, pretending to be cheerful.

“There’s no way we’ll come up with an answer even if we rack our brains now. Well, let’s just ask the person in question later.”

“That would be ideal.”

What they had just witnessed was more important.

They soon reached a house located in a quiet place in the forest.

Like other houses, it was a square building.

The warriors standing guard in front recognized Llewellyn and bowed their heads.

“Lord Llewellyn, what brings you here?”

“Hello! I would like to meet Elder Helio. I heard he was badly injured. How is he?”

Llewellyn smiled amiably and greeted them.

In stark contrast to his bright voice, the elves exchanged glances and frowned, looking troubled.

Llewellyn, who noticed this, asked curiously.

“What’s wrong? Is something wrong? Or is the elder not feeling well? The Grand Elder said he was recovering well…”

“That is…”

The elf was unable to answer readily and trailed off.

Llewellyn and Arthur were left wondering.

The elves, who had been looking at each other, soon opened their mouths heavily.

“The elder is not in a position to meet anyone right now. It is unfortunate that you have come in vain…”

“…What’s wrong with him?”

Llewellyn, sensing something was wrong, asked with a stern face.

But the elves remained silent.

Arthur and Llewellyn exchanged a glance.

“Just a moment!”

“Stop!”

The two men pushed past the elf warriors and ran into the elder’s house.

“I told you to stop immediately!”

The elf guards shouted desperately and tried to grab the two, but in the end they could only wave their empty hands in the air.

Llewellyn took the lead and threw open the door.

“Elder, are you there? Excuse me for suddenly interrupting! Elder!”

Llewellyn shouted into the dark house.

But there was no answer.

“…Elder?”

He had a bad feeling.

As expected, Sakhalin was indeed an easy person to tease.

Finally, when Sakhalin threw his sword down and began to stomp in anger, the onlookers burst into loud laughter as if they were dying of amusement.

“Hey, you bastard, aren’t you taking this seriously?”

“What do you mean by that? Isn’t it you, Sakhalin, who is falling for the provocations too easily?”

Arendt clicked his tongue with a puzzled look on his face.

“Well, I guess you must have been training leisurely in a place with good water and air… I guess there’s nothing you can do.”

“What is that strange magic? I can’t get close to it!”

“This? It’s not my magic, it’s a trophy.”

As Sakhalin shouted in anger, Arendt held out his gloved hands as if to show off.

“I stole it from some idiots, but it’s pretty useful, right?”

“Where would you use something like that in a sparring match?”

“Why? You’re facing a little human and can’t even let this slide? A warrior can’t be so petty. If that’s really how you feel, I’ll even allow you to use a bow. If you really want to win that badly, I guess I have no choice.”

“Kwaaah!”

Sakhalin, who didn’t even recover from the previous loss, eventually started to go crazy and tear out his hair.

Then, from here and there, the elves started throwing in their comments laced with laughter.

“Sir! Are you going to continue struggling against that brat?”

“Please don’t ruin the honour of the Fog Forest Guard!”

“Shut up! Or why don’t you try dealing with him yourselves!”

Sakhalin shouted, but the laughter only grew louder.

Looking at that sight, Arendt rested his sword on his shoulder.

‘It’s peaceful.’

Sakhalin was simple-minded, so he’ll give him that, but the other elves also didn’t seem to show any real sense of tension.

It seemed like there was nothing more to be gained from them.

The moment Arendt sheathed his sword and turned around to leave.

Then, suddenly, someone jumped into the middle of the martial arts field.

“Excuse me! Please let me fight too!”

“Huh?”

Arendt looked back in bewilderment.

Those who were watching also widened their eyes at the sudden situation.

He seemed to be a little over 15 years old.

A boy who looked about the same age as Seton stood in the middle of the training grounds, holding a wooden sword.

Sakhalin said, baffled.

“Hey, who are you fighting with? That’s ridiculous.”

“Captain! The instructor said, in sparring, learning is more important than winning or losing!”

But the boy did not back down and shouted loudly.

Looking around, he saw three or four young elves who seemed to be in the same group as the boy, gathered in groups and watching them.

Arendt chuckled and turned around again.

“Okay, I’ll show you the bitter taste of adulthood.”

“It won’t be easy.”

The boy shouted excitedly, holding the wooden sword tightly in his hand.

Sakhalin also gave a dissatisfied look, but quietly stepped aside.

The second round had now begun.

The servant brought tea, and the room was quiet with only three people there.

Altair looked at Laius with a composed face.

“As I said before, if there’s anything you need, please feel free to ask.”

“No, it’s okay.”

When Laius answered firmly, Altair asked in surprise.

“Why?”

“The Empire will resolve the matter on its own. I believe it has the capacity to do so. If we find the traitor, of course we will report it to you immediately. However, I will decline your assistance.”

“How…”

Altair had a look on his face that said he really didn’t know anything.

Laius faced him and answered calmly.

“Because I can’t trust you, Grand Elder.”

“…”

The Grand Elder’s face hardened for a moment.

Laius’ blue eyes looked straight at Altair.

“I’m sure you know why I’m telling you this.”

“…”

The Grand Elder did not answer.

Laius’ calm voice filled the office.

“Of course I understand that that was a decision for the sake of the race. However, you must also accept the price of choosing to preserve only the elven race.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Unfortunately, Grand Elder, my comrades and I have decided that you cannot be trusted. The reason is simple. You were the first to doubt and reject us, and you were willing to sacrifice humans for the preservation of the elves.”

As Laius continued speaking, Altair’s face hardened.

“…Who said that? That I was willing to sacrifice humans for elves.”

“This is my personal opinion. If we hadn’t accidentally discovered the spirit stones… no, if we hadn’t encountered the elven traitor, I’m sure that would have been the case.”

There was not a shred of emotion in Laius’ voice.

That’s why it sounded even colder.

“You said you would support the Empire. If it were me, I would have phrased it differently. “

“…”

“If you had said that from the beginning, the outcome would have been different. There would have been fewer civilian casualties within the Empire, and my men wouldn’t have had to risk their lives fighting her without any information.”

Richt, who was watching, exclaimed inwardly in admiration.

‘Before Arendt started to run wild, there were times when the captain was quite extreme.’

He was usually a very polite person, but once he started being stubborn, he never gave in.

There were many times when he was attacked politically for opposing influential nobles in an attempt to enforce his will.

Now, thanks to Arendt’s constant mishaps, he had to look for stomach medicine every day.

Altair, who had been silently listening to Laius’ words, had a sharp glint in his green eyes.

“So are you saying I should have made a different choice?”

“No, I don’t have the authority to say that. I’m not saying that you, Grand Elder, have made a mistake.”

But Laius remained calm.

“But I want to make my position clear. The Imperial Knights do not have the luxury of taking risks. If you, Grand Elder, do not step forward yourself, we will have no choice but to act on our own.”

“…”

“Furthermore, if any trouble arises in the future… the Caerleon Empire will not shed blood for the elves.”

Altair, who was about to say something more, bit his lip.

The Grand Elder’s hand holding the teacup was pale and tired.

Laius drove the wedge in.

“Even if the Elven Kingdom is attacked by the evil cult and becomes a sea of ​​fire, we will not step forward. The lives of my men are more important than those of untrustworthy colleagues.”

“…”

Richt, who had been watching quietly, let out an inaudible sigh.

If such a situation were to arise, it was clear that Laius would be the first to offer support.

That was Laius de Winfried.

Richt could tell.

The captain was not threatening the Grand Elder right now, but was trying to persuade him to change his mind so that that situation would not occur.

But it was uncertain whether Elder Altair would hear it that way.

Laius kept silent and waited quietly for Altair’s answer.

And after a while, the Grand Elder wiped his face and sighed deeply.

“Haaah… You’re a coward, Captain.”

“Yes?”

Laius frowned slightly at the unexpected remark.

The Grand Elder’s eyes, revealed once again, were filled with confusion.

“You said you had no intention of blaming me, yet you had an apprentice knight sent to criticize me.”

The face of Elder Altair, who spoke like that, was more serious than anyone else’s.

But Laius, who did not understand what was being said, ended up asking foolishly.

“…Yes?”