Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 411: The place where forgotten beings go

Lexion didn’t show up until almost a week later.His appearance was no different from usual, but his complexion was quite dismal. It seemed to be impossible for him to fully recover from his injuries in such a short period of time.

Arendt looked him up and down and spoke.

“The great dragon looks quite presentable.”

“You’re surprisingly still alive. I honestly thought you’d die for sure this time.”

As the two exchanged friendly greetings, the onlookers couldn’t help but turn pale.

Llewellyn muttered incredulously.

“That bastard can still say something like that after seeing the city in ruins?”

“He’s the one who treats all beings equally. It’s possible because he’s Arendt.”

Arthur answered from the side with a tired expression.

The elf captains who came out to greet Lexion upon hearing the news of his return did not react much differently from them.

Zakar, Ragnald, Shekhinah, and Salem all watched Arendt with a displeased look.

In the midst of all this, only one person remained calm: Laius.

“I’m glad you’re safe, Lord Lexion. I was worried.”

“You’re worrying out of turn. I did return quickly since I couldn’t predict what they’d do, but still…”

Lexion, who was facing Laius, subtly shifted just his eyes to glance at Arendt.

“Looking at how well organized it is, I guess it would have been okay even if I had delayed a bit more.”

“Yes. Somebody didn’t know how to handle things properly and ruined the city, so everyone was busy one way or another.”

The apprentice knight’s careless words once again caused people’s faces to turn pale.

Lexion said calmly.

“Can’t you lock that kid up somewhere? He seems to be having a huge negative impact on your morale.”

“…”

He couldn’t deny it.

His stomach was starting to ache again, so Laius looked into the sky for a moment to calm his mind.

Looking at that sight, Lexion sighed deeply.

“What should I do with these idiots?”

No matter how he looked at them, they didn’t seem like people who had just come out of a rough fight.

Of course, it was a hundred times better than them panicking, but it was also surprising how consistent they acted.

These guys weren’t this bad from the start, so the root of all evil was…

Lexion’s gaze naturally turned to Arendt.

“Hey.”

“What.”

His shameless reply wasn’t surprising anymore.

Aside from the elves wearing expressions like they were in utter agony.

Lexion nodded.

“Follow me for a moment. No, lead me to your room. That’ll be quicker.”

“Is something wrong?”

The polite question had come from Laius.

Lexion replied annoyedly.

“Looking at his appearance, it seems he used too much magic again. The aftereffects from the Frosty Touch still linger, so we need to do something about that first.”

“But Lord Lexion, you are also injured…”

This time, when Llewellyn intervened, Lexion had no choice but to respond irritably.

“You seem to be under the mistaken impression that I’m a weak species like you. It would be quicker for that bastard to cut off my hands and feet from frostbite than for me to die from this simple injury.”

“Anyway, please stop talking nonsense. Follow me.”

Arendt shrugged and naturally took the lead.

As soon as the door closed, Lexion snapped his fingers and cast a sound blocking spell.

“What happened?”

“What are you talking about?”

Arendt responded sarcastically to the sudden, subjectless question. Lexion didn’t bother to suppress his growing irritation.

“You know what I’m talking about. What happened while I was away for a moment?”

He felt a clear aura of water from Arendt.

Although She wasn’t as powerful as the gods Luce or Chernion, She seemed to want to free him from the gaze of the two gods, even if only a little.

“Lexion, you probably know it without me having to say anything. You said you could sense some kind of presence or touch, didn’t you?”

At the sullen response, Lexion pressed his hand to his forehead and sighed deeply.

“The more I look at you, the more I can’t understand you.”

“I honestly don’t know the reason either. But since She showed goodwill, I won’t refuse.”

Arendt took the pearl Nereid had given him from his pocket and showed it to Lexion.

Lexion stared at him for a long time in bewilderment at his calm voice.

“…Ha. I thought She was interested. So this is how it ended up.”

“Is there a problem? Even if She’s a god, She’s not much different from a little elf.”

Lexion fell silent at the words Arendt spoke while holding the small relic.

It was because he had no idea where to start correcting this disrespectful bastard right in front of him.

‘No, more than that…’

Seeing his expression as if he genuinely didn’t know what the problem was, his heart started to feel heavy.

“Hey. Now listen carefully to what I say.”

“I’ll hear you out and then think it over.”

In the end, Lexion clenched his fist and hit Arendt hard on the back of his head.

Arendt, grabbing the spot that had been hit by the sudden attack, lost his temper.

“Ugh, seriously! Why are you hitting me?”

“You are an ordinary human being.”

Lexion interjected before he could complain any further.

“I don’t know if you are fully aware of how alien you are.”

“I don’t think it’s something to make such a fuss about.”

Arendt snapped angrily, rubbing the back of his head.

He never belonged here in the first place, so it was ridiculous to talk about him being alien now.

“I know your personality doesn’t depend on others, but in your case, that’s more of a problem. It would be fine if you followed them or feared them, but you don’t even know how to protect yourself.”

Lexion stared directly at Arendt and continued, speaking as if to make sure the words stuck.

“Don’t get used to it. Their interference in this world is no ordinary occurrence, and being a conduit for it is extremely dangerous.”

The pupils of Lexion’s red eyes had become sharp like those of a reptile.

Arendt, who was about to say something in response, closed his mouth again.

“…You’re being unusually thorough with your nagging. It’s different from usual.”

Arendt looked straight up at Lexion.

“Didn’t you agree not to interfere in that regard? Dragons are a species close to the gods, so they can’t directly confront those great beings. That’s why they can’t become heroes.”

“…”

This time it was Lexion’s turn to stay silent.

“Even so, you, Lexion, didn’t want to see the world fall into the hands of one side. But you didn’t want to side with that damned God of Light, let alone support the hero.”

That’s why he decided to join hands with the arrogant Arendt.

“But since you can’t directly confront the gods, I’m doing it in your place. It’s possible because you are a dragon and I’m human. That’s why I believe you haven’t bothered to intervene until now…”

Arendt tilted his head.

“Did you get a head injury during the fight? Or did something unpleasant come to mind? Why are you suddenly so genuinely worried about me?”

“…”

Lexion, who had been looking down at him with an irritated expression, sighed deeply again.

“Honestly, what am I supposed to do with this incredibly insolent guy?”

But, to his frustration, that wasn’t entirely wrong either.

There was a complex look in his eyes as he stared at Arendt.

He remembered an old friend who had suffered from anxiety his entire life and couldn’t put down his sword even when he was sleeping.

Khan became obsessed with the title of Hero rather than Human for the sake of the world.

In the end, he slowly decayed away, carrying out the duties of a hero as he had wished, and was praised.

‘It must have been difficult to even put it into words.’

What Nikephoros had said came to mind again.

‘My ignorance is a burden…’

It rested on the shoulders of Arendt von Eckhart.

Even as he focused on recovering in his lair, Lexion repeated those words over and over again.

But the guy who actually carried the load was just looking up at him with arrogant eyes.

“…Have you met that woman?”

“I can’t say.”

“It looks like you’ve met. And it seems like you even made some kind of promise.”

As Lexion’s face hardened, Arendt shrugged.

“If you want to know more, ask Captain Laius. He asked something similar.”

“…Didn’t you just say you couldn’t say?”

“I didn’t say anything, but I can’t stop them from making their own guesses.”

Well, he wasn’t the type of guy to keep his mouth shut.

Lexion, who had been rubbing his temples for a moment, sighed deeply.

“What a crazy kid.”

“By the way, I have a question.”

Arendt changed the subject nonchalantly.

“It’s the same here, and it was the same in the Nephele Kingdom. You didn’t even know such a thing existed, did you, Lexion?”

“Tsk. Correct.”

Lexion nodded slightly.

“It’s probably something from the previous era. If you count by human standards, the gap between the era I lived in and the previous generation’s era is quite large.”

“You must have already heard about the ruins from Stellar.”

Arendt tapped his foot on the floor.

“Do you know what kind of place the underground temple is, Lexion?”

“As I said, I don’t know. I’ve heard very little from my ancestors.”

Lexion replied briefly.

If so, then by the time of Lexion’s generation, the temple had already been closed.

Except for some older dragons or elves, they probably didn’t even know it existed.

That is, Lexion was born after the gods decided to appoint a leader.

Lexion’s heyday was probably around the time when either Luce or Chernion began to rule the world.

“…As I said before, please answer just enough so that you don’t suddenly die from divine punishment. I will do the same.”

Arendt, who had been silent for a moment, began to speak again.

“Lexion, do you remember Chernion, who was not the Evil God?”

He brought up a similar topic before, but Lexion avoided answering it back then.

This would probably be the case again, so it would be inevitable to exchange questions and answers like playing the Twenty Questions game.

Arendt certainly thought so.

“Yes.”

But unexpectedly, the answer came right away.

Arendt raised his head without realizing it and looked at Lexion.

“…What? Is it really okay to answer so straightforwardly?”

“Unbelieveable. Where did you learn to be so rude, asking a question and then reacting like that?”

Lexion answered as if he found Arendt’s reaction absurd.

“No, I thought you were going to beat around the bush like you usually do.”

“Thanks to you, I think even the most blasphemous things won’t reach them anymore. Are you dissatisfied?”

Arendt blinked blankly at the curt answer.

But that was only for a moment.

“There’s no way I’m dissatisfied. I’m glad all that damn hard work paid off.”

Arendt chuckled and shrugged.

“Then let’s talk about the old days. As I said before, it would be just enough so that you don’t suddenly die from divine punishment.”

“Now that you’ve met that woman, I think you know more than I do.”

Lexion said, clicking his tongue in disapproval.

The way she bullied this kid was evident.

“What are you curious about?”

“It’s a story about the other gods.”

Arendt asked readily. Lexion, who had expected the topic of Luce or Chernion to come up, frowned.

“What?”

“I’m curious about the stories of the other gods besides Chernion and Luce.”

Arendt repeated what he had just said.

“Those whose names are now completely forgotten.”