Betrayal Knight’s Joyful Faith - Chapter 406



Only Noblemtl

The 406th episode of The Merry God of Betrayal

After finishing the conversation, Arendt sent Salem out as if she was going to rest.

Left alone in the room again, Arendt pulled the blanket up further and let out a short curse.

“Oh, man. I’m freezing, really.”

I felt a chill that made my body shiver, making the roaring firewood in the stove pale in comparison.

‘Is this the side effect that damn dragon warned me about?’

Although I no longer suffered internal injuries due to lack of magical power, my body, which had accepted the frosty touch too much, also lost its body temperature.

Arendt clicked her tongue inwardly and pulled the blanket closer to her.

‘More than that… … .’

Let’s leave that aside for now.

‘Why am I okay?’

Of course my physical condition was the worst, but my head was strangely clear.

He was prepared to suffer even more severely than before when he broke the statue.

Moreover, before leaving, the saint even placed a curse in Chernion’s name.

‘In most cases like this, there is some kind of aftershock… … .’

Not only was I not suffering, I was also sleeping soundly.

Of course it was a pleasant thing, but there was a part of me that felt uneasy.

‘There is a place that catches my eye, though.’

Touching the statue of Nereid standing in the temple corridor.

It didn’t seem to be a coincidence.

It may have had something to do with the fact that I was able to get a good night’s sleep for the first time in a long time.

‘It seems like you interfere every chance you get.’

It was the same in the temple of the Elven kingdom of Nereis, and it was the same this time.

It seemed that Nereus also had business with him.

‘For now, it’s fortunate that there is no sense of hostility.’

Chernion was gnashing his teeth trying to get rid of himself, while Luce was at a loss for what to do with herself, enjoying watching the impudent brat.

In the midst of all this, another being follows me.

It wasn’t something I could be particularly happy about unless I knew the exact purpose.

Arendt moved slowly and dug deeper into the blanket, but did not lose focus on her thoughts.

‘If the script had fallen into the hands of the saint… … .’

Since Chernion handed over the fragment he was holding to Iris, Iris must have keenly realized why they had failed so far.

Her refined bearing, voice, and every gesture betrayed no emotion.

But in the last curse she uttered, Arendt could clearly sense the hatred directed at her.

‘Malicious, that’s it.’

Iris, who smiled gently and turned her back to the truth, felt more threatening than Nikepor, who declared that he would cover everything up under history and create a world of his own.

Since he is the one who made a promise with Luce, Iris will not be able to harm him directly.

So it was clear that they would continue to pressure him to get out on his own.

‘Life might get a little more difficult.’

Yet there was certainly hope.

The hint was the words the saint recited while praising God.

Iris said that the reason the gods do not intervene directly is to protect the world.

He is worried that if he uses his power recklessly, the weaker beings will be destroyed without a trace, so he wages war with his followers at the forefront.

Maybe Iris truly believed that.

But Arendt didn’t think so.

‘There must be a limit to their authority.’

The Chernion we encountered at the temple was in a considerably damaged state, unlike Luce.

If that is the price of defeat in war and great loss of faith… … .

Perhaps they were the ones who could not survive without faith.

‘The myth Iris spoke of may not be trustworthy from beginning to end.’

In the end, she too will just believe and follow the story she was told by God.

Arendt, whose thoughts had reached that point, suddenly remembered a word Iris had whispered in passing.

‘The more affection you give, the more weaknesses you have, ra… … .’

My eyelids were getting heavier and heavier.

‘That’s funny.’

I never thought of considering those monsters as weaknesses.

But one problem that has arisen recently is… … .

‘It wasn’t me who gave my affection… … .’

But Arendt could not continue her thoughts.

It was because my eyes kept closing.

A while later, when Lyos and Llewelyn entered the room, Arendt was fast asleep, completely buried in the blanket.

* * *

Somehow, I felt like my body was floating.

Arendt blinked slowly and realized that she was sinking into deep water.

‘ocean?’

The light that shattered upon impact with the water was rippling and dyeing the sea blue.

I felt refreshed in the clear water without a speck of dust.

It felt a little cold, but the gentle waves rippled and caressed his body, giving him warmth.

How long has it been since I had a break?

My body was sinking lower and lower, but I didn’t really feel like struggling.

I just gave in to this languor and waited to fall asleep again.

“… … .”

Without fighting the drowsiness that was creeping upon him, he closed his eyes again.

Then someone’s gentle hand gently stroked my forehead.

At that moment, when I was about to lose consciousness again.

‘uh?’

Suddenly I came to my senses.

Because of the surprise, all the oxygen that had been gathered in my lungs escaped at once.

Arendt instinctively pushed away the sound she felt at the bedside and quickly got up.

No, I tried to wake him up.

But it wasn’t easy to quickly regain balance in the water.

After struggling for a moment and barely able to straighten his posture, he soon discovered an elf child not far away.

‘What is this?’

I felt a bit dizzy.

The elf child stared at him with a surprised expression.

Arendt took a moment to try to make sense of the situation.

The child in front of him was only about ten years old in human years, and he looked much younger than Salem.

Like Luce and Chernion, he had an androgynous appearance, but he seemed to be closer to a girl.

Her blue hair, like waves, swayed with the waves, almost blending in with the sunlight-kissed sea water.

The white cloth covering its small body moved like fins, and the skin revealed underneath was covered in scales.

It was a familiar sight.

‘Nereis?’

Arendt, who was about to speak out without thinking, stopped. It was because she realized that she was underwater.

But that seemed to be enough for Nereis.

Nereis nodded vigorously, then began gesturing vigorously with his webbed and scaled hands.

‘Can’t you make a sound?’

Arendt somehow straightened her posture and faced Nereis.

Nereus still stared at him without saying anything.

Arendt, who was briefly looking at Nereis, suddenly realized that Nereis was a sea god, a water god.

Most things that live in water do not make sounds.

And even if it were to cry, it would be a sound closer to a sound wave, so the human body would not be able to hear it.

‘What do you want?’

Although she was increasingly out of breath, Arendt tried to concentrate on the person in front of her.

Nereis, who had been blankly staring at Arendt, suddenly looked startled and quickly waved his hand.

‘Leave quickly?’

Nereis nodded again and began to rub his back with his small hands.

A look of worry was evident on his young face.

Arendt, too, felt that she was gradually reaching her limit.

‘I can’t breathe.’

But Arendt stubbornly persisted.

I couldn’t miss this rare opportunity.

Arendt, who had been struggling for a moment, suddenly reached out and grabbed Nereis’ shoulder.

‘Tell me what the matter is.’

Nereis, who had read Arendt’s meaning, made a tired expression.

But realizing that he couldn’t delay any longer, he moved away from him and began to hurriedly search his arms.

After a while, Nereus took something out from between his flowing clothes and put it in my hand.

It was just a small pearl, nothing special.

“… … ?”

Arendt accepted the pearl without thinking.

Then, as if his business was now over, Nereis began to push him back to the surface.

Arendt also didn’t bother to hold out any longer, because she felt like she would drown if she stayed there any longer.

But even that didn’t work out.

I tried to swim upward a little, but the distance to the surface did not get any closer.

It seemed that this was not a real sea, but a space created by the combination of Arendt’s dreams and Nereis’ power.

“… … !”

Nereus made a face of regret.

Arendt was left dumbfounded.

‘What is this stupid god?’

The way he acted somehow resembled that of an elf kid somewhere.

Oh, were all children originally the same?

Even while I was having such useless thoughts, my breathing was reaching its limit.

‘I’m going crazy.’

Arendt covered her mouth and nose with her hands.

It seemed like a buzzing sound was coming from somewhere.

“……float!”

It was a familiar voice.

Not wanting to miss that moment, Nereis started shoving Arendt hard again. Arendt just shut her eyes tightly.

And the next moment.

“Open your eyes, you punk!”

A thunderous scream pierced into my dazed mind. At the same time, my breathing, which had been blocked, suddenly cleared and my vision became clear.

“… … !”

Arendt took a deep breath and jerked her upper body up. Arthur, who sensed the danger belatedly, opened his eyes wide, but there was no time to dodge.

Phaaaak!

The two heads collided head-on, releasing a thunderous noise.

“… … .”

Licht, who had tightly shut his eyes and opened them again, looked at the scene of the accident and made a tired expression.

Arthur and Arendt were shaking, each holding their foreheads.

“Ugh… … . You crazy bastard… … . Why are you suddenly up and making a fuss?”

“Ah, sir… … . Who told you to stick your head in there like that? I wonder if someone will call me an idiot. This hurts so much.”

Arthur, who was suddenly in trouble, suddenly lost his temper.

“You were sleeping soundly when you suddenly stopped breathing, that’s why! I finally woke you up from your sleep, and what? You idiot?”

“Then you call a stone head a stone head. What do you say? Be honest. Are you here to assassinate me?”

“If you were going to assassinate me, why not come with a knife and hit me in the head? You can’t just grab this and beat me!”

“If you can hit it, try it. If you’re confident, let’s have a go at the martial arts gym.”

“Okay, you little brat. Let’s go back to the palace and see.”

It wasn’t even funny to see them both meowing with their foreheads red.

Licht, who had been watching the scene pitifully, let out a deep sigh.

Richt, who had been pulling Arthur’s neck apart, spoke to Arendt.

“I’m glad you look okay.”

“Senior, aren’t your eyes swollen too? Does this look okay to you now?”

Arendt rubbed her forehead several times and replied irritably.

I absentmindedly checked my hand, but of course, there was nothing like a pearl in it.

‘What the heck, really?’

The image of Nereis opening his mouth with great effort was still vivid.

But it became clear that what he showed himself was purely out of kindness.

Even after the chaos, he was able to sleep quite deeply thanks to Nereis briefly hiding him from the gaze of Luce and Chernion.

“You slept for two full days. I was worried because you slept for quite some time. How is your health?”

“It’s not too bad.”

Arendt responded curtly to Richt’s question.

Perhaps because he had gotten some rest, the severe cold had subsided. His face had also become somewhat more flushed, and Richt felt a small sense of relief.

“Then I have a question for you. The Crown Prince and the Commander have been acting strangely since this morning. What on earth have they done?”

“Oh. Already?”

Arendt yawned and chuckled.

“As expected from Lord Neumann. He’s fast.”

“… … I don’t know when I started doing it. But it was quick.”

Arendt shrugged as Richt spoke sheepishly.

“I’m a bit better. Unlike you dullards.”

“… … .”

Licht’s gaze turned to space for a moment.

Although he was a bit pressed by the scissors at the end, he woke up with a face that looked like he had slept well and was acting all shabby, which made him even more annoying than usual.

“Tell them to bring my clothes. I can’t stay like this forever. My body aches from lying down for so long.”

“Are you okay?”

Arthur frowned and sat up, asking.

“Everyone is just waiting for you to open your mouth.”

The moment she returns, Arendt will be the center of attention, because she holds the key to the truth of the mystery.

however…….

The apprentice knight raised his head and spoke dully.

“Don’t you know who I am?”

Because of this, Arthur and Licht were left speechless for a moment.

He was Arendt von Eckhart.

Licht, who had been keeping his mouth shut for a while, let out a deep sigh.

“I can’t give it back to you since the Black Captain has it, but the uniform has already been repaired, so bring it over here. But before that… … .”

He looked straight at Arendt, trailing off and adding firmly.

“meal.”

“… … .”

“Eat first.”