Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 168

“Hey! Over here, over here!”On the other side of the road, there was a young man, Llewellyn, waving his hand in his direction with a rather cheerful expression on his face.

In contrast, Arendt, who was receiving enthusiastic greetings, simply clicked his tongue as if he was annoyed.

“What a noisy guy.”

“Isn’t that annoyance too obvious, huh? Don’t you think of hiding it a little?”

“Why? Would I benefit from that?”

Llewellyn complained, but Arendt, of course, paid no attention. Arthur, who had been looking at the two people who were bickering as soon as they met, nodded his head in greeting toward Llewellyn’s group.

“I’m sorry. That bastard has no manners…”

“No. It’s true that our leader is a troublesome person. I apologize for bothering you.”

The other two men accompanying Llewellyn also bowed their heads with embarrassed expressions. Regardless, Arendt and Llewellyn were still arguing in the middle of the street.

“Get off. It’s annoying. Don’t stick to me.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, aren’t you happy? Why are you so cruel? We agreed to be friends, right? Is this how you treat friends? Huh?”

Llewellyn, who had been harassing Arendt and hanging on his arm, was finally silenced when Arendt jabbed him in the side with his elbow..

Llewellyn was sitting on the street, shivering, and Arendt was straightening his disheveled clothes with a cold face.

“…Ha.”

The group, who had been looking back and forth between the two strangely contrasting people, all sighed.

Although no one said it out loud, everyone was thinking the same thing.

It didn’t seem like this journey would be easy.

Llewellyn, who had regained his spirits, walked along the road, chattering away at unasked questions.

“I haven’t heard any stories about dragons around here. But it’s more believable because there are no groundless rumors. I’ll have to look into those books again when I get back. Who knows what else might come up?”

He was constantly talking and anyone who saw him could tell he was very excited.

“A dragon, a real dragon!”

“…Please calm down for now. We are not in a friendly position either.”

“But isn’t it cool? Since ancient times, humans have been creatures who cannot help but fantasize about strong creatures!”

Finally, Richt, who couldn’t stand to watch anymore, opened his mouth, but Llewellyn paid no attention.

The explorers, accustomed to such commotion, ignored their leader and turned their attention to Arendt.

“By the way, are you the apprentice knight who gave this guy this ridiculous order to find the dragon?”

“You look a lot younger than I imagined. How did you meet the captain?”

Llewellyn, who had heard the conversation, looked back with a stinging look.

Even after entering the Nephele Kingdom, it seemed that the two people did not know the identity of their leader, as he had kept his identity well hidden.

Arendt glanced at Llewellyn, who had an anxious look on his face, and smiled faintly.

“Well, I guess everyone has their own circumstances.”

“Are you a group of knights from the royal family? I heard you’re here on personal business, but it seems like the knights are on close terms.”

This time, Arthur and Richt’s expressions soured.

“Ken! Roderick! Stop prying into the employer’s personal matters.”

“Why? They’re friends with the boss, right? I heard this young knight is also close with Warren?”

Llewellyn spoke, but the man called Ken paid no attention. Warren responded with a look of deep regret on his face.

“We’re not close. If anything, we’re on bad terms.”

“As you can see, we are very close friends.”

“Hey, what!”

“Where’s that dog barking from?”

Ken and Roderick burst into laughter as they looked back and forth between Arendt, who was acting innocent, and Llewelyn, who was grumbling like a child.

To the two of them, it might have seemed like the young guys were getting along well, but Arthur and Richt, who had a junior who was constantly taunting the prince of a country, were in a slightly different situation.

“…Is this really alright?”

“Well… he did insist on calling them friends…”

Arthur whispered softly and Richt nodded his head tremblingly. The prince himself seemed completely unfazed.

‘Rather, it seems like he’s satisfied.’

After a brief hesitation, the knights decided it was better for their mental health to just ignore the situation.

As they approached the edge of the Calvino Mountains, the road narrowed and the air grew colder. They put on the coats they had brought earlier and hurried their pace, when Llewellyn made a suggestion.

“Once we enter the mountain path, it will be difficult to ride a horse. Let’s leave the horses at a nearby village and set out again tomorrow morning.”

As the sun set, the group arrived at a quiet, simple village nestled in the barren land at the foot of a mountain range.

As it was located on a rocky mountain where not a single blade of grass grew, the street was simply quiet.

As dusk approached and they entered the village, they noticed white smoke rising from the chimneys just in time for dinner.

Enjoying the leisurely atmosphere melting into the cold air, the group entered the only inn in the village.

“Is there anyone?”

“Huh? Oh my, welcome! What a surprise to have an out-of-town guest at this hour.”

When the owner, who was leisurely reading a book at the table, suddenly sat up, Llewellyn smiled broadly and spoke jokingly.

“Pretty lady, are there rooms for us to stay in today?”

“Hohoho, of course! Do you need food?”

“Please prepare the most delicious ones! A lot, you know?”

“Okay, okay! Just wait a minute!”

She went inside and immediately handed them the room keys. After unpacking their luggage, they went back down to the restaurant on the first floor, where there was a table full of steaming meat dishes.

In the meantime, other guests who had arrived also showed interest in them as they appeared from the guest room.

“Oh, why are all these outsiders here? I was wondering why there was such good meat.”

“You really have strange tastes, coming all the way here. Are you a tourist? Or is someone looking for you?”

“We are…”

“We like to wander around. We heard that the mountains here are really beautiful, and they really are!”

Llewellyn stepped forward, smiling brightly, while covering Richt’s mouth, who was reflexively about to speak the truth.

“Really? It looks so bleak to me. It’s amazing that there are young people who like places like this.”

“Where are you from? You seem to be nobles. The young man has a peculiar way of speaking. Are you not from the Empire?”

As soon as the conversation got going, the guests started asking questions as if they had been waiting for them. Llewellyn answered each question one by one and chatted away.

“I am from another country, and he is a noble young master living in the Imperial Palace. It just so happened that we became friends.”

“Hahaha, the young master over there doesn’t look that happy?”

“What do you mean by just so happened? That guy just unilaterally got involved.”

Even Arendt, who had been sipping his drink in silence, waved his hand and joined in, causing a loud burst of laughter.

Before they knew it, Llewellyn had joined another table with his glass in hand, and Arendt, who had been sitting quietly concentrating on his meal, joined in from time to time to continue the conversation.

“They get along really well.”

“I agree.”

Richt and Warren, huddled in a corner, grumbled quietly.

It was said that this was a village of herbalists, that they mainly made a living by collecting herbs and that they sometimes hunted, and that someone’s daughter was so old and that she was going to get married soon.

As the place had a good mood and the innkeeper brought out more venison, Llewellyn quietly brought up the main topic.

“By the way, sir, are there any dragon stories handed down around here?”

“Dragon? Hey, what are you talking about? There’s no way something so scary could be in a remote place like this.”

“Isn’t that an old tale from the Dragon Tale? I remember hearing it from my mother when I was little.”

“That guy is interested in dragons. What about other legends?”

Arendt, who had been sipping his drink and pretending not to care, intervened, but the herbalist only narrowed his eyes and tilted his head.

“To begin with, this isn’t a very old town. Aren’t there only places with deep history that have folk tales?”

“I heard that if you climb up the mountain from here, there’s a lake. I heard that there used to be a mine nearby.”

The moment he casually said that, the inn suddenly became quiet.

“…”

“…”

The men who had been chatting excitedly until just a moment ago shut their mouths tightly, and even the innkeeper who had been serving more drinks stopped.

Llewellyn and Arendt’s eyes met for a moment in midair, then drifted apart again as if nothing had happened.

“I heard the lake there is really pretty. It’s a really spectacular view. Do you go there when you go to pick herbs?”

“Oh, oh? Oh no… That lake must have already dried up. You know, it hasn’t rained much lately. There probably won’t be much to see.”

The herbalist awkwardly waved his hand at Llewellyn’s words, pretending not to notice and smiled.

“You guys, are you going to the lake?”

“We were just stopping by to take a look. I think it would be fun to look around the abandoned mining town.”

The innkeeper, who had set down a heavy tray next to Arendt, who continued talking nonchalantly, furrowed her eyebrows.

“The road is very dangerous, so it would be better to just go around the area near the mountain.”

“We’ve been through a lot, so it’s okay. If you have the fun of taking risks while you’re young, wouldn’t you be able to live the rest of your long life without getting bored?”

“Don’t be reckless, you should be aware that it’s dangerous.”

But the innkeeper raised her eyes menacingly and warned them again. Then the guests at the other tables awkwardly nodded and agreed.

“Yes, the owner is right. The mountain is not to be taken lightly.”

“Especially in a season like today when it doesn’t rain and it’s cold, it’s very likely that you’ll lose your life. That’s right.”

“Hmm… If you say so.”

Arendt nodded to Llewellyn, his voice trailing off.

The prince, who realized what it meant, sighed.

“It’s a shame. I wanted to go there once, but if the lake is dry, there’s no reason to go through the rough road.”

“Oh, right! Good idea.”

The herbalist nodded hurriedly and held out a glass to Llewellyn.

“It’s better not to do anything dangerous. Just drink it first. I’ll buy it.”

“Ah, if you buy it for me, of course I won’t refuse.”

When Llewellyn accepted the glass with a smile, the frozen air thawed for a moment. Arendt, who had been watching the scene for a moment, sat up.

“I drank too much. I’m going to go for a walk.”

Richt and Arthur, who had been keeping an eye on the situation, naturally followed Arendt out of the inn.

As soon as he left the stuffy room, the cold night air of the mountains brushed his cheek.

“It’s clear that there’s something there.”

“But it didn’t seem like a lie when he said that he knew nothing about dragons.”

Arthur frowned slightly at the words Richt had spoken. Arendt looked up at the sky, listening to the conversation between the two.

In the pitch-black night sky, unusually bright stars were twinkling coldly like pieces of ice.

“It’s not some old story… It’s something that happened very recently. Those people want to hide it.”

The residents, who had not shown much reaction to anything Llewellyn said, changed their expressions as soon as the story of the lakeside village came up.

“And it’s probably still happening now.”

Lexion’s intentions were starting to become apparent.

He led Arendt and his group here, asking them to take care of the problems he could not handle.

Then, he could guess what was behind the people’s suspicious reactions.

‘It’s them.’

The Chernion Cult.

Arthur and Richt’s expressions hardened slightly as if they had the same thought. But that was only for a moment, as Arendt continued on as if nothing had happened.

“Before we think about this and that, let’s catch that incompetent spy first. I think he has something to tell us.”

“What?”

Their gaze naturally turned to where the apprentice knight had nodded.

The little boy who had been hiding behind the inn’s wall started to run away in surprise when his eyes met theirs.

“Have a nice trip.”

“…Rude bastard.”

Arthur muttered a curse and ran out at Arendt’s words.