Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 161

But as the priests were completely dumbfounded after being hit in an unexpected direction, Arendt’s words poured out like a flowing river.“Oh, I’ll just take care of the handover. The research and investigations we’ve been doing here… It’ll be quite helpful. Then there won’t be any major disruption to the schedule, right?”

“I… I…”

“Oh, we were overstepping our bounds. We should have handed over the investigation authority to the temple once we knew that they had used the name of the evil god, whether real or fake. We apologize.”

It was quite a sight to see him answer in a crooked manner with his arms crossed.

“According to His Excellency, this is the right direction. Am I wrong?”

Everyone who was watching was shocked.

Finally, the priest, unable to contain his anger, stood up from his seat.

“What are you talking about!”

“There will probably be some security personnel at the temple, or it might be a good idea to hire mercenaries with the temple budget. Or it might be a good idea to train a battle priest properly. With Luce’s divine power, it might be possible to use it in battle.”

But Arendt remained calm.

“Isn’t that what you’ve been saying so far? Let’s each do our own thing while keeping each other’s lines. And since protecting Lord Luce’s glory is solely the temple’s responsibility, listen to the temple’s advice… Or did I misunderstand?”

“How could it be so! I am already well aware of the hardships of His Majesty the Emperor, His Highness the Crown Prince, and the Imperial Knights. However, in this case, I am merely offering advice because I am concerned about the future situation.”

“If you want to do something about your concerns, you must first accurately understand the situation on the ground.”

The smiling face hardened, and the priest hesitated as he met his cold golden eyes directly.

“You’ve been just watching from the back until now, but now that you’ve taken care of everything, if you come out like this, it’s a bit difficult for me as the person who’s running around the scene.”

“It’s not that you didn’t have a hard time. But the words of the High Priest…”

“I am so grateful that you compliment me so much, I don’t know what to do with myself.”

“Lord Arendt!”

Eventually, the priest who had been arguing could no longer stand it any longer and shouted.

“You are too presumptuous to listen quietly. It is out of the question to be so rude in the presence of His Majesty the Emperor and the High Priest!”

“If that’s the case, don’t just keep repeating words like “insolent” and “rude”, but start with a proper rebuttal. I admit that my words were a bit harsh, but I didn’t say anything wrong.”

But quite the contrary, Arendt’s tone remained unchanged from beginning to end.

His dry eyes, devoid of any emotion whatsoever, slowly scanned the priests across from him.

“I believe that it is an abuse of authority for the High Priest to directly inspect and reject a petition written by the captains who are directly fighting the enemies on the ground.”

“…”

It was not yet widely known that the captains’ petition had been rejected.

As the nobles began to stir again, the place where the golden eyes finally landed was none other than the seat of High Priest Theodore.

“There have been many opportunities to talk before. However, if you take the attitude that you will only listen to what I have to say after His Majesty the Emperor himself steps forward, then I would like to tell you that I cannot help but be very offended. Your Excellency.”

“…”

The High Priest kept his mouth shut and did not answer. However, the wrinkled fists clenched tightly on the table gave a clear indication of how angry he was at the moment.

An old priest who could not stand to see that spoke instead.

“…Your Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince. Will you just sit by and watch that arrogant young man disrupt your position?”

“Haha. This place was created to exchange opinions, so it would be wrong to shut the mouths of young people.”

But the Emperor only smiled in embarrassment.

At this point, even the captains who could have stopped the apprentice knight simply remained silent, while the Crown Prince added with a slight frown.

“I apologize on his behalf. He may be a bit rude, but he is very discerning, so I would appreciate it if you could listen to him with moderation. Lord Arendt, you should be a little more selective with your words. It seems that the respectable priests are uncomfortable listening to you.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’ve heard voices expressing concern that I may not be fully aware of the current situation due to my long period of seclusion. Well, that’s true.”

When Arendt nodded dryly, the Emperor added with a playful smile.

“Since Arendt has been to the scene more often than anyone else, he would know the situation better. It would be a little more helpful for Arendt to speak than for me, who doesn’t know much.”

The priests’ faces turned pale.

It was a natural thing.

Because it meant that the irreverent conversation that had been shared some time ago had been completely heard by the person involved.

Kendrick, who had been quietly watching the scene, burst into laughter.

“His already fearsome speech has now gained wings.”

“Wasn’t it unnecessary for us to attend?”

Diana also whispered with a tired face.

The mouth of the guy with the Emperor on his right shoulder and the Crown Prince on his left shoulder was almost a disaster.

“But… To be honest, it feels refreshing, like ten years of stress has all gone away at once.”

“…”

She couldn’t deny it.

Diana glanced at Laius, who was sitting next to her.

His gaze, which was expressionless as usual but surprisingly easy to read, was staring at Arendt anxiously, as if he was looking at a child left on the water’s edge.

‘This guy is not normal either.’

How could you treat that monster like a child?

“…If you felt that way, then I was wrong. I apologize. But I made the suggestion out of genuine concern. Let me add one more thing: I know that you, Arendt, do not have faith, so it is understandable that you do not understand.”

“I have no faith, but His Majesty and His Highness have faith. The same goes for the leaders here and my seniors. It’s not just a matter of faith. It’s a matter of practicality.”

As the High Priest, who had barely managed to calm his anger, slowly opened his mouth, Arendt coldly retorted.

“The fact that the palace and the temple are operated separately is clearly to lead each other in the right direction. Therefore, the palace also has the full right to point out the High Priest’s mistakes.”

“Are you saying I was wrong just now?”

“Yes, because desk-bound theories that exclude practical circumstances are one of the worst mistakes.”

The tone of the High Priest, who had been barely able to suppress his emotions, began to show anger again.

“I did not rule out the Knights’ circumstances. Didn’t I say that they needed protection?”

“The fact that you keep repeating the same thing is unconvincing. I want to point that out first, but leaving that aside for now, you said that it would be even harder to deal with the enemy if they had a real body. That is an absurd claim.”

“Why do you say it is absurd?”

“Well, the enemy already has a physical form. Do you think the dragon remains displayed in the palace hall are just decorations?”

A voice, slightly annoyed but clear in its meaning, filled the entire conference room.

At that moment when everyone held their breath, Arendt took advantage of the gap and quickly continued speaking.

“Thousands of walking corpses, orcs, wyverns, and even dragon ghouls. Does this look like something a few eccentrics would create for fun?”

“…”

“Besides, you may have already heard about the riots that occurred in other countries. They occurred after Your Excellency the High Priest had already banned the investigation and distribution of information about the evil god.”

“…”

“In other words, the measures you have taken have been completely useless. Do you understand?”

The arrogant tone and teaching-like attitude that suited Arendt more than anyone else was enough to once again arouse the wrath of the elders.

“I, I, rude…!”

“Lord Arendt, please be careful with your tone. Your attitude of pouring out what you want to say without hiding anything is commendable.”

But the priests had no choice but to keep quiet again at the Emperor’s soft words that followed.

It was because they were stung by their past of talking about how the emperor gave such an order without knowing anything.

Arendt glanced at the quiet priests and apologized plainly, not showing any remorse at all.

“Sorry.”

“…”

Really, no one could keep up with him in provocations.

“But if you insist that something that already exists does not exist, what on earth should I say to you…”

“…”

“Would you like to go to the cave where the ghouls were discovered? It is filled with the stench of rotting corpses, and is a place that even Lord Luce’s grace cannot reach.”

“…”

The High Priest, with his fists clenched in an unseen place, surveyed the audience.

Unlike earlier when he had been taken aback by the young apprentice knight’s arrogant remarks, he now seemed to be listening intently to the bastard’s story.

It seemed that the Emperor and the Crown Prince had given him power.

“That…”

“But it’s impossible for Your Excellency to have not even considered such a thing. Was there another intention behind banning the investigation?”

“What kind of nonsense is that!”

He barely managed to open his mouth, but the words spilled out so abruptly that the High Priest lost his senses once again.

Those who were watching the situation also began to stir in confusion, and even the silent Priest Lumiel joined in.

“Lord Arendt, you speak too harshly.”

“I’m sorry, Priest Lumiel. But I think this is something we need to touch on at least once.”

Arendt apologized briefly and continued speaking, looking straight at the High Priest.

“As you said, I don’t know much about faith, so I can only think about practicality and profit. So I can’t help but wonder if your High Priest has other intentions.”

Bang!

The High Priest eventually got up from his seat and slammed the table.

“I have never seen such an impious young man in my life. What do you mean by ulterior motives? Are you saying that I sought some unfair advantage?”

“Your Excellency, it’s not good for your health if you get too excited. And it’s not good for your reputation either…”

“Your Majesty! Are you just going to watch? This is an insult!”

The High Priest shouted with veins bulging on his neck, but the Emperor did not answer.

Instead, Arendt added leisurely:

“I emphasize this again, but this is a matter that needs to be addressed at least once. As you said, is this brazen apprentice knight trying to insult the High Priest by talking nonsense…?”

His golden eyes moved silently, slowly scanning the crowd, and soon a pleasant smile appeared on the young man’s lips.

“Or maybe I really know something and that’s why I’m acting so arrogant. Then, Your Excellency, won’t you punish me or make excuses?”

The scandal of the High Priest, who should have been simply sacred and a sanctuary. There was nothing more entertaining to watch.

Those who gathered to discuss the pros and cons were already completely absorbed in Arendt’s one-man show and just stared at him with wide eyes.

Even among the priests on the same side, no one came forward.

And the High Priest was not so dull as to fail to notice such a trend.

The flow was already completely in Arendt von Eckhart’s hands.

As the wrinkled face of the High Priest suddenly became thoughtful, Arendt smiled and said a kind word.

“Your Excellency, you don’t need to be so angry. You can just smile at times like this. That way, you won’t feel as embarrassed later.”