Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 195

Llewellyn, who had been staring blankly, suddenly came to his senses.“Of course, there may have been someone who incited Jin, but we can’t be sure that it was one of the elves.”

“Why not? Just looking at the elder’s attitude earlier, the answer is obvious.”

Arendt shrugged.

“There were only four people who pursued Jin, including Captain Sylvian. On the other hand, all the warriors remained within the Elven Kingdom. It’s probably not because they’re wary of us.”

“Elder Altair is certain that there are enemies within. That is why they are being more cautious than necessary.”

Then Laius also said the same thing.

Arthur, who had been listening quietly, nodded.

“Are you saying that it was more urgent to crack down on the inside than to arrest Jin?”

“It would have been more important to retrieve the spirit stones than to kill Jin. And it would have been more important to find the spy inside than to get the spirit stones.”

Arendt responded in place of the captain.

Then this time, Richt opened his mouth.

“But even if we wanted to find the spy, there are no clues. Given the circumstances, they must have been immersed in the elven kingdom for a long time, so what can we, as outsiders, do…?”

“There’s that guy who’s well-informed about the Elf Kingdom.”

Arendt, who had cut off his speech, nodded his head and pointed to Llewellyn before adding:

“And then there’s me.”

“…It’s really annoying, but what’s even more frustrating is that I can’t deny it.”

Arthur sighed.

Arendt shrugged and continued.

“They were originally ordinary, but recently they betrayed the Elven Kingdom and seduced Jin… or they were part of the evil cult and were hiding their identity and infiltrated, and now they started to move. It seems to be one of the two.”

“The latter is more likely.”

“Why?”

When Laius answered with certainty, Richt asked curiously.

The captain answered calmly.

“Elf society is closed. It is difficult to see any recent intrusion by evil religions from outside.”

“Then the suspect would be… someone who has settled in the Elf Kingdom but has stayed outside of it for a relatively long time. Or someone who has had frequent contact with outsiders, or someone who has been living outside the Elf Kingdom and recently immigrated there.”

Elves did not necessarily live only within their own kingdom.

Although extremely rare, there were some who formed small villages and lived close to the human lands.

And among them, there were quite a few who gave up their outside life and returned to the elven kingdom.

Llewellyn, who had been thinking about something for a moment, started speaking again.

“…And they are probably inside the Second Kingdom. Right?”

“I can’t be sure, but given the circumstances, I think so.”

Llewellyn nodded slowly as Arendt responded.

“There are a few who fit the criteria. They’ll probably attend the banquet.”

It was the perfect opportunity to observe the elves.

Richt said seriously.

“If you try to do it clumsily, you’ll only arouse more suspicion.”

“As long as you don’t act awkwardly, it’ll be fine. So.”

Arendt opened his eyes and spoke firmly.

“Senior Richt and the captain should just answer the questions the elders ask.”

“…”

“Don’t try to do anything different. You’ll just get in the way. Just act like the taciturn knights you usually are.”

“…”

Richt and Laius shut their mouths tightly at the words they could not deny.

Arendt, who had silenced the two men, turned his gaze towards Llewellyn and Arthur this time.

“You keep the mood, and senior Arthur should chime in. The topic is the life of a righteous knight, Captain Laius. Your tone should be as innocent as possible. Got it?”

Llewellyn and Arthur nodded absentmindedly.

“Senior Richt and the captain are just the ones who can set the mood. When these two people open their mouths, the things they say will have some weight to it.”

“Uh uh…”

No one pointed out that he had used the expression ‘take and use’ to refer to the captain and his seniors.

Llewellyn, who had been answering like an idiot, suddenly asked.

“Then what about you?”

These were usually the things Arendt had been doing so far.

There was no one who gave orders to him.

That was only natural, because the person who was most adept at driving the mood was Arendt.

“Me?”

When asked the question, Arendt raised one finger and pointed upward.

At the moment when everyone was about to be bewildered by the meaningless gesture, he blurted out:

“I’m going to target the highest-ranking person.”

“What?”

Everyone was momentarily taken aback by that calm and composed response.

These were the things that naturally came to mind when knights heard the word banquet.

Therefore, when a large fire was lit in front of the elves’ hall, the knights had no choice but to be taken aback.

It was a scene closer to a festival than a banquet.

Following this, people began to bring in ingredients and cooks gathered in groups of three or four began preparing them.

Large fish caught off the coast also arrived in large quantities.

As Elder Altair had said, the main dish seemed to be fish, which Llewellyn liked.

Only after the sun had completely set and large jugs of wine had been brought in did the banquet really begin.

“Try this, Captain. It’s a drink made from fruit grown deep in the forest.”

“Thank you.”

Laius hesitated as he accepted the drink offered by the young elder.

It was because the strong smell of alcohol rose from the fruit wine clinking in the glass.

Laius closed his eyes tightly and drank his wine as the elder stared at him, urging him on.

In an instant, he felt the inside of his throat become hot.

“Cough!”

Arthur, who happened to be nearby, started coughing loudly.

Another elf next to him burst into laughter.

“Oh, is it too strong? But I guarantee it tastes good.”

“Cough, yes, cough… so fragrant.”

Arthur forced a smile and then met Laius’ eyes, who was looking at him.

“…”

When he winked urgently, Laius nodded slightly.

Llewellyn, who was nearby, also had a puzzled expression on his face after tasting the alcohol.

It seemed as if the elves had deliberately brought out some strong alcohol.

It would not be easy for knights who have trained their bodies their entire lives to be defeated.

However, elves were physically different from humans from the beginning.

It was crazy to compete with them in drinking capacity.

He was convinced that if he just accepted this and drank it, he would get into trouble.

“…Cluck!”

Even Arendt, who was usually quite unperturbed, was covering his mouth and coughing.

In front of him was an elf elder who was also smiling broadly.

‘It won’t be easy.’

Laius looked down at his glass with complicated eyes.

It was an unexpected turn of events.

Moreover, the surrounding elves were gulping down this poisonous liquor with indifferent faces.

Altair, who had climbed up onto the platform in the square, raised his cup high and declared gently.

“We are delighted to have a visit from outsiders. It has been a while since we last had a banquet, so please enjoy yourselves.”

It was difficult to refuse a drink due to the excessive hospitality.

As much as the knights were plotting, the elves seemed determined as well.

And in a very lethal way.

At least on the surface, the banquet was ripe with joy and excitement.

Instead of chairs, they sat on logs and ate food and drink spread out on large leaves.

In the unusually clear sky, countless stars twinkled, and the heat of a large bonfire radiated through the slightly chilly air.

There couldn’t be a better day to host an outdoor banquet.

“At that moment when everyone had given up, Captain Laius stepped forward…!”

And Llewellyn, slightly drunk, began to tell tales of Laius’s exploits.

The arduous journey he took to become the Captain of the Knights, and his achievements after becoming the Captain.

“This is why we have no choice but to follow you, Captain, and risk our lives.”

The atmosphere gradually heated up as Arthur joined in.

Although Laius seemed a little uncomfortable with the exaggerated story, he didn’t bother to get involved.

“…Even I have never fought 50 enemies at once.”

“Still, if you face them, you should be able to handle it, right, Captain?”

The few humble words spoken by Laius, who could no longer bear it any longer, added weight to the story spoken by Llewellyn and Arthur.

Arthur burst into laughter and joked.

“It was the same back then. When we invaded Rebecca’s castle. You said that the enemy, who was so strong, fled as soon as he saw your face?”

What naturally caught the elves’ curiosity the most was the story of slaughtering the ghouls.

When the topic of the evil cult came up, even the relatively older elders naturally joined the conversation.

“It seems the situation was more serious than expected.”

“That’s right. Captain Laius’ achievements have been remarkable.”

Llewellyn, who was giggling with a glass in his hand, looked at Arthur.

“By the way, you mean the place where Elder Polaris lived when he was young? Wasn’t that a mountain near the Nephele Kingdom?”

“Ah, yes. I spent my childhood outside with my father. Then, I soon entered the kingdom with those I had been living with.”

“As I was passing through the Nephele Kingdom, Elder Polaris came to mind.”

“Haha, I see. That’s a good thing.”

As Elder Polaris burst into laughter, Arthur blinked at Llewellyn to show that he understood.

In this way, Llewellyn naturally revealed the suspect to Arthur.

Then Arthur would put the guy’s description and name into his head.

Richt and Laius were also surrounded by elves.

The two of them sipped the drinks the elves recommended to them as little as possible to adjust to the atmosphere.

Arthur and Llewellyn were able to avoid drinking to some extent thanks to their loud talking, but things were a little different for them.

“I hope you are enjoying your meal, Captain Laius.”

“…It smells good.”

Laius tried to suppress his embarrassment and answered.

“Then would you like another drink?”

The glass that was barely emptied was quickly filled again.

The elf just smiled brightly, not knowing whether he knew what the knight captain was thinking.

Laius pressed his temples.

He was the one who volunteered to receive all the drinks meant for Arthur and Llewellyn.

Even though Richt was there to help, he was still starting to feel dizzy.

‘I’m going to die.’

At this rate, rather than finding the spy, he was going to end up suffering from a hangover that he hadn’t had in a long time.

“…Wait a moment.”

The moment he had such a silly thought, a corner of his heart suddenly felt cold.

“Why are you doing this, Captain?”

“Where’s Arendt?”

At one word from Laius, Richt’s drunkenness disappeared in an instant.

Arthur and Llewellyn’s chatter also suddenly stopped.

“…Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen him in a while.”

Richt, who had been silent for a moment, barely managed to answer.

Arendt was near Llewellyn and Arthur until the banquet began.

As expected from a guy who enjoyed eating, he thought he was concentrating on his meal.

As Llewellyn’s story continued, Arendt’s name was naturally mentioned frequently.

He tried his best to avoid mentioning him, but he couldn’t help it.

Because he did so much.

As time passed, other elves also began to take interest in Arendt.

Arendt, noticing that everyone was looking at him, made a joke or two as usual and blended in naturally with the crowd.

And after that…

He didn’t remember.

He was so caught up in the atmosphere that he didn’t have time to pay attention.

Laius sat up straight without hesitation.

And soon he found a familiar back of the head.

“…”

Elves gathered around Arendt, who was perched on a log near the campfire.

Even the person sitting next to Arendt was Elder Altair.

Maybe it was just an ordinary appearance.

It was now quite a familiar sight to see people crowding around him like clouds.

But the group soon realized that Arendt seemed different than usual.

Richt, who had been observing him anxiously, frowned.

“…”

Arendt, who had been talking with the elder for a while, suddenly stopped talking and touched his forehead.

The sight of his upper body slightly leaning forward and shaking was quite dangerous.

“Are you okay? You look unwell.”

“…I’m okay.”

Arendt’s voice could be faintly heard responding to the elder’s affectionate question.

However, despite saying that he was fine, him pressing his temples firmly looked quite painful.

It seems that while they were distracted, the elves, led by the Elder, launched a concentrated attack.

“Well then, that’s good. There’s still a lot of alcohol left. Come on, drink.”

The elf sitting across from Arendt filled his glass again.

But Arendt held his head and could not raise it for a long time.

After a while, Arendt barely managed to raise his head.

The side of his face, glimpsed beneath the flickering fire, was flushed red.

“…”

The group was left speechless after seeing that sight.

After a long time, Richt licked his lips.

“…Isn’t this a big problem?”

Unfortunately, no one could deny that statement.