20demayo Chapter 255: A Glorious Life
Chapter 255: A Glorious Life
Arthur, who suddenly visited Arendt’s room, paused for a moment at the sight before his eyes.“…You look well?”
The apprentice knight, who was finally enjoying some free time in his own room, was lying on the sofa like a full cat, flipping through documents and smiling contentedly.
Maybe that’s why the answers to questions he would normally ignore came out so easily.
“It looks like I’ll be scooping up money with a rake.”
“Come to think of it, I heard that Lord Neumann and the leader of the East Merchant Group made a bet.”
Arthur nodded, convinced.
Thanks to this, Arendt was able to get his hands on an East Merchant Group’s successful business.
Even if he paid Neumann a sufficient fee to run the business on his behalf, the monthly income he received was so great that it made the meager salary of an apprentice knight seem ridiculous.
“And with the money I made, I made some investments, and I heard news that some Count somewhere was so upset he grabbed the back of his neck.”
It was Arendt who purchased the store through an agent and then deliberately sent someone to Count Eckhart’s side to spy on him.
Thanks to that, he was able to hear the very amusing news that the short letter he had sent as a joke was torn to shreds and thrown away.
The Count never revealed his feelings directly in front of the nobles, even when he was estranged from his son.
Arendt couldn’t help but feel delighted that he had torn up the letter himself.
“I should have seen it myself. It’s a shame.”
“You really are something. If it were me, I wouldn’t get involved anymore, even if it was because it’s dirty.”
“Senior, didn’t I say something similar before?”
Arthur replied grumpily as Arendt put the paper down and started to speak.
“What, you little brat.”
“You say you’re avoiding it because it’s dirty, but it’s actually more troublesome than you think. Look at this time, too. Who started the trouble first? So…”
A characteristically ill-tempered smile appeared on Arendt’s lips.
“The easiest way is to step on them once and then be the dirty one first. The other person will figure out how to avoid you.”
“…”
For quite some time now, Arthur had stopped thinking about whether this guy was really a good knight.
But he couldn’t help but feel depressed every time this happened.
‘A kid who’s so consistent that it’s disgusting.’
But there was nothing wrong with what Arendt said.
At least for the time being, Count Eckhart would live in silence.
No, maybe he won’t even turn his head to where his second son was, because he’d been through such an awful thing.
From the beginning, the Khan Union was under the protection of the Crown Prince, so it was not a fight that the Count and the East Merchant Group could win.
They could have simply settled it quietly, but the fact that they went to such lengths to cause trouble only left a feeling of persistent malice.
‘Is this also what you’d call upright?’
Just as Arthur was about to give up on the thought and stare into space, Arendt spoke:
“Okay, now that this side is all sorted out… we should get ready to welcome the next guest.”
“Guest?”
Arendt shrugged his shoulders in response to Arthur’s question.
“It’s surprising that you’ve waited so quietly until now. I thought you’d come storming in earlier.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a strong wave of magical power.
Arthur was so surprised that he instinctively grabbed his sword when a familiar voice sounded.
“You knew that and you still delayed.”
“…!”
Arthur turned his head in the direction of the voice and found himself staring straight at a pair of bright red eyes just a few steps away.
“Ahh!”
A loud scream burst from Arthur’s mouth.
Lexion clicked his tongue as he watched him suddenly step back.
“You lack courage.”
“Well, of course I’m surprised when you show up like that!”
Arthur screamed in frustration.
Meanwhile, Arendt, who was leaning calmly on the sofa, waved his hand.
“I never invited you. Don’t you know how serious a crime it is to trespass into the Imperial Knights’ quarters?”
“Your bad habit of speaking is still there. Do you want to be turned to dust along with the building?”
For a first meeting in a while, some harsh words were exchanged.
Only then did Arthur calm his pounding heart and ask with difficulty.
“Lex, Lexion? Why are you here…”
“I’ll tell you in advance that I had no intention of getting involved with you guys. That brat dragged me into it.”
Lexion nodded at Arendt.
“Anyway, didn’t I personally leave a message? What kind of nerve do you have to go around doing this?”
“Humans have human circumstances. And you sorted it out as quickly as possible? You could have played more.”
Arendt waved his hand while leaning back on the sofa.
“And since I knew that you were watching, I thought you’d be able to respond to whatever happened. You’re a dragon after all.”
“…”
It had been a while since he had spoken to someone, and he was starting to feel a little irritated, but Lexion simply pressed his temples to suppress his irritation.
“You really don’t lose a word, you damn brat.”
“…You’re amazing. If I were you, I would have hit him.”
Lexion glanced at Arthur, who was muttering in a tired voice, and answered plainly.
“If your judgment is distorted, it is difficult to control your strength.”
“Yes?”
“It means that he can’t hit me because he’s afraid I’ll break after he hits me once.”
When Arthur asked blankly, Arendt interpreted it for him.
Arthur was at a loss for words. Arendt turned to Lexion and asked him a question.
“Where have you been?”
“Do I have to report that? Our deal conditions haven’t been fulfilled yet.”
Lexion responded coldly.
But that doesn’t mean Arendt would blink an eye.
“You don’t have to be so embarrassed. After all, you came all the way here to tell me something. Are you unexpectedly the shy type?”
“Do you really want to die?”
“If you’d like, why don’t you give it a try?”
Caught between a dragon growling fiercely and his junior babbling endlessly, Arthur felt a strong urge to run away.
“Can I leave? Can’t you two just figure it out?”
“Do you know what I’m going to do?”
“No matter what you do, I don’t think I can stop Lexion. He should die alone. I don’t want to get myself involved.”
This time, it was Lexion’s turn to fall silent.
Lexion’s gaze toward Arthur was filled with bewilderment.
“Is there no one in this Order in their right mind?”
“Lexion, if you spend every day face-to-face with that kid, you’ll understand my feelings a little.”
“…”
When Lexion was silent for a moment, Arendt asked bluntly.
“Huh? Why did you suddenly give him a look of sympathy?”
“…Back to the main topic.”
It hadn’t been that long since he got here, but he already felt like he was losing all his energy.
Lexion furrowed his brow and changed the subject.
“We have confirmed that some of the cult’s troops have moved outside the Empire. We are not entirely sure where they settled, but we have a rough idea of their direction, so track them down on your own.”
“They probably didn’t move suddenly. They’ve been slowly siphoning off forces to the outside, right? And that operation has only just been completed recently.”
“Yes.”
Lexion nodded in agreement with Arendt’s words.
“I also tried to find out where they settled, but failed due to interference.”
“Interference?”
“I told you, that guy moved.”
A grim answer came back.
Arendt briefly fell silent, then asked as if to confirm.
“So… you’re talking about the dragon on the Evil Cult’s side?”
“Yes.”
Arendt frowned slightly at the plain affirmation.
If the dragon had left, it would have been understandable that they had not been able to track its destination.
“A while ago, the ghoul trap from the Great War was suddenly activated. And an abnormal phenomenon was observed in the Until Dragonborn Artifact that was handed over to Prince Llewellyn. Is the interference that you mentioned related to that?”
“Yeah, that guy who was quiet suddenly used his magic powers. They’re both that guy’s work.”
The answer he got back was roughly what he expected.
Arendt nodded with an ambiguous expression.
“Do you know why the dragon had been quiet until now?”
“How would I know? I have a few ideas, but nothing is certain until I see the guy with my own eyes.”
Lexion grumbled in annoyance.
“That guy was on the side of the Evil Cult during the Great War. I thought that guy was dead a long time ago… it seems that guy somehow managed to survive by holding on tenaciously to life.”
“It seems like you’re acquainted with that dragon.”
“It can’t be helped, I suppose. Anyway, since that guy’s suddenly started wandering around, we need to find that guy as soon as possible.”
Lexion, who spoke gruffly, took something out of his chest pocket and tossed it to Arendt.
Arendt grabbed it from the air and confirmed that it had fallen into his hand.
It was a scale that gleamed black, like finely crafted obsidian.
Arendt looked up at Lexion.
“What is this?”
“If you have it, you can find out where Stellar is. Be careful, it disappears once you use it.”
The dragon’s sharp pupils were fixed directly at Arendt.
“You’d better get moving right away.”
“…”
Arendt’s eyes darkened for a moment at Lexion’s indifferent addition.
“Signs of summoning from the Western Plains…?”
Cantares, who had been listening quietly, muttered.
Arendt nodded with an indifferent expression.
“Lexion said so. And I presume that the Evil Cult that escaped the Empire are likely to have settled near the Everan Kingdom and the Lucain Kingdom. We will have to verify this as well.”
If they went by the directions that Lexion gave them, that was the most likely candidate.
Diana shook her head, rubbing her forehead.
“I get scared whenever that guy calls a meeting now.”
“That’s understandable. Just seeing Lord Arendt’s face makes my liver tremble.”
Kendrick nodded quietly.
Because everything he brought were major accidents.
But the person who actually brought the shocking news just shamelessly responded.
“I am pretty handsome.”
“…”
The captains and the Crown Prince could only sigh deeply.
Even in the midst of all this, Laius, who did not lose his composure, brought the conversation to the original topic.
“What do you mean by signs of summoning?”
“What else could it mean? It probably means those annoying monsters are going to start pouring out again.”
Arendt said indifferently.
“Right now, Stellar… that is, Lexion’s subordinate, is guarding that place alone. However, if something happens, he can’t handle it alone. Lexion seems to be preoccupied with chasing the dragon from the Evil Cult.”
“…I see.”
Laius nodded with a stern face.
He had crossed swords with Stellar in the Nephele Kingdom.
That’s why he knew very well that Stellar was not someone to be taken lightly.
If it was on a scale that Stellar couldn’t handle, it wasn’t going to be easy to solve.
Cantares, who had been thinking for a while, opened his mouth.
“Captain Laius.”
“Please give your order.”
“Once the preparations are complete, deploy with the Third Knight Division. Do you think you can handle it?”
Laius bowed solemnly.
“I will obey your command.”
“Captain Kendrick, Captain Diana, you must track down the Evil Cult’s forces that have left the Empire.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Kendrick and Diana also answered.
“The elven warriors will soon arrive in the Empire, so we should prepare for battle in earnest. We should also contact the Everan Kingdom and the Lucain Kingdom…”
Cantares, who had been muttering to himself, looked at Arendt.
Arendt met the Crown Prince’s eyes and asked with a defiant tone.
“What?”
“It may be an unrelated matter, and I don’t think anyone is aware of it, so I’m just pointing it out.”
Cantares said while pressing his temples.
“The Western Plains. It’s very close to Count Eckhart’s territory.”
“…”
The captains seemed to have not considered that and froze in place.
Cantares looked straight at Arendt, who was just blinking blankly, and added a sentence.
“I think I have some idea why they chose that place to summon the monsters.”
After a brief silence, a loud exclamation burst from Arendt’s lips.
“Ah.”