CIATB Chapter 497: A fair deal isn’t bad either.
Chapter 497: A fair deal isn’t bad either.
“What?”An arrow carrying a letter flew in front of the Chernion priests guarding the Great Temple.
The priests who casually opened it and read it were immediately astonished and their mouths fell open.
“…Is this guy really in his right mind?”
At the end of the letter, which was filled with all sorts of provocative phrases, was the signature of a mere apprentice knight, not even Laius, the leader of the enemies.
The letter was delivered straight to the Saintess.
“I expected him to be rude, but I never thought he’d act like this….”
Iris, who heard the news from the priest, also burst into laughter.
“What do you think, High Priest?”
Iris, sitting at the head of the table, asked Lumiel, sitting across from her.
“This guy seems to want to put High Priest Lumiel on the gambling table. If this is how it’s going to be, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to cut off one of your fingers and send him away.”
Iris stroked her chin with a thin, white hand.
“But the last part is a bit of a hassle.”
“Are you asking for my opinion?”
Lumiel answered calmly.
“I agree with most of you, Saintess. The Great Temple is practically under siege. And I understand it’s not in a position to withstand an all-out attack.”
“You are correct.”
Iris nodded readily. An amused smile spread across her lips.
“Then, High Priest Lumiel, would you mind writing a letter asking for help? That would convince them that you’re still safe and that we’re a suitable trading partner.”
“Honestly, I don’t really feel like it, but if the Saintess wishes, I must do it. After all, I’m being held hostage. And Sir Arendt would probably want it too.”
“I agree.”
Iris slowly leaned back on the sofa. Her long hair, seemingly endless, cascaded down with her movements.
“It seems like they’re trying to buy some time for now… What do you think?”
“Saintess, didn’t you not have any intention of sparing us anyway? As Sir Arendt said, this deal was impossible from the start.”
Even as she spoke of her own death, Lumiel remained infinitely calm.
“I don’t think the Imperial Allied Forces are unaware of this fact. If so, then Sir Arendt’s request is justified. There must be a reason why the Saintess chose this method.”
Lumiel, who had been silent for a moment, added meaningfully.
“…Your intentions, of course, this ignorant old woman cannot know.”
“I don’t think so, High Priest. You are wiser and more insightful than anyone else. So I won’t let my guard down against you.”
Iris answered nonchalantly.
“I’ll give you a piece of paper. Please write a letter to Sir Arendt. Of course, I’ll personally verify the contents, so you’d better not do anything frivolous.”
“…You have a point.”
Laius, who had been quietly listening to Arendt’s story, nodded.
“I was just thinking the same thing. Why would they take such an approach?”
“Because it’s the most effective way to maximize results with minimal resources.”
They were deliberately making a fuss, seizing the initiative, and taking hostages to pressure them. And surely the news reached the civilians that were fleeing.
Thanks to this, people’s fear of the Chernion Cult must have reached its peak.
This was a tactic that Arendt often employed, even when he had no allies and believed he had none.
That made it all the easier to understand.
“Another report has come in. A number of refugees are missing. There appears to be evidence that they have joined an enemy sect.”
“That’s right. After all, it’s not just anywhere, they’ve taken over the Great Temple.”
For the common people, unaware of the details, there could be no greater fear. Following the appearance of a homunculus resembling God Chernion, it would have seemed as if even the Great Temple was no longer under the protection of God Luce.
“We’ve also consulted with those responsible for refugees. We’ve decided not to conduct search or rescue operations for those who go missing during the journey.”
In fact, it was a decision made after judging that the chances of their survival were low.
“Most of them probably died as ghoul material. It’s not particularly heartbreaking, since they brought their own deaths upon themselves…”
Arendt said it sarcastically.
“Thanks to them, we’re increasing the enemy’s numbers. That’s a real shame.”
“So I told the people in charge of refugees: If the number of missing people keeps increasing. I’ll have to have a lengthy, one-on-one interview with you after your death.”
“…”
“They said they’d be careful.”
At those words, which were so serious, Arendt gazed off into the distant mountains.
‘Should I be proud of myself for acting this well?’
Or perhaps he felt regretful that the captain had become so completely unhinged. Arendt remained silent for a moment, then simply changed the subject.
“Count Stadler will be here as soon as possible. He’ll probably arrive late at night or tomorrow morning.”
“Still no word from Stellar and Warren?”
“I was going to tell you this, but it’s really bad news.”
Arendt said sullenly, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.
“I checked for a while, but there wasn’t much to report. Then, just a few hours ago, something unusual happened.”
“Unusual?”
Arendt simply nodded in response to Laius’ question.
“They say the wild animals in that area are behaving strangely. They’re acting more alert than usual, and some groups have even broken away and moved to new habitats.”
The beasts began to notice the dragon’s presence.
“And Stellar and Warren have also begun to sense Nikephoros’ presence. It seems certain he’s nearby. We haven’t yet located the ghouls’ main nest though.”
Laius’ eyes grew cold.
“Is it about time for him to open his eyes?”
“Most likely.”
In contrast, Lexion remained silent. Arendt frowned slightly.
“According to Stellar, it’s probably a state similar to a very short hibernation. They’re minimizing their vital activity and focusing solely on recovery. Nikephoros isn’t fully awake yet, so he probably didn’t notice the two of them nearby.”
“That’s fortunate.”
“If he wakes up, Stellar and Warren will teleport away. So I don’t think we need to worry about their safety…”
At that time, Arendt trailed off.
They heard the sound of hurried footsteps rushing toward them from outside. Both people raised their heads simultaneously.
! Someone knocked rather roughly on the door. Arthur’s voice followed.
“Captain! We have a reply from the enemy!”
The letter returned tied to an arrow, just as it had been sent. Laius opened it at a hastily convened meeting. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novelhall.com
One of the two letters had a concise phrase inscribed in a familiar script.
The signature below proved that it was Lumiel who wrote it.
“…They’re really going to return it like this?”
Llewellyn muttered in amazement. The others shared his sentiments.
Except for one person.
“Seems like someone wants to play a dull little farce a bit longer.”
Arendt spoke calmly. Arthur turned his head slightly to look at him, and paused.
“I’m going to go crazy, damn.”
A short sigh escaped his lips. He’d noticed his damned junior’s smile.
“If it’s the notarization of High Priest Lumiel, then it’s trustworthy. What does the accompanying letter say?”
“Haa…”
Laius sighed deeply at the remark, which was remarkably calm. He had a lot to say, but he felt that nagging further would only harm his mental health.
Laius, who had suppressed all the words that were about to burst out, opened the following letter.
“…”
Laius’ eyebrows furrowed as he confirmed the contents. Diana asked curiously.
“Is there a problem?”
“…No. There is no problem.”
Laius raised his head and spread the letter out for everyone to see.
Once again, it contained only a few brutally concise sentences:
The expressions of those who read the meaningful phrase were split evenly. Some, like Laius, expressed their discomfort, while others tilted their heads in bewilderment, unable to grasp its meaning.
Salem, who had read the ominous atmosphere, asked Llewellyn next to him.
“What does that mean?”
“Well…”
Llewellyn frowned slightly.
“It means that if we refuse to accept their offer, it’s time to negotiate. How many priests is the life of one Arendt worth?”
“Excuse me?”
“They want to blame me.”
Salem still looked confused, so Arendt added casually:
“If I had just gone ahead without any further fuss, they might have released the High Priest and all the priests… But now that it’s come to this, they’re going to seriously weigh the options. They’re just sarcastically questioning whether my life is worth trading for the entire Great Temple’s Priesthood.”
“…”
“To put it simply, from now on, if someone dies, it’s all my fault.”
Salem’s face hardened belatedly. But Arendt remained calm, simply rubbing the back of his neck a few times.
“This really…”
Everyone watched the apprentice knight tensely. Arendt paused for a moment, then smiled bitterly.
“It’s become fun.”
His golden eyes began to radiate a terrifying chill. Arendt swept back the hair slipping over his forehead and spoke coldly.
“Of course it’s okay if I write the reply, right? It looks like the letter was addressed to me.”
Laius, who had been silent for a moment, gave instructions.
“Bring me the paper.”
“Yes!”
The security guard who had been waiting dashed off.
Soon after, he returned with a pen and paper. Arendt wrote a concise reply without much hesitation.
Arendt spoke plainly to the astonished knights.
“As the saying goes, when in doubt, the best strategy is to strike first. Let’s twist the back of their necks.”
“…”
They couldn’t even bring themselves to say anything.
“Seriously, this idiot.”
Arthur, barely able to regain his composure, muttered a short curse. Could there be another madman on earth who would compare hostages, including the High Priest, to pebbles? The situation was dire, but Arendt’s antics kept making his head spin.
“Llewellyn, tie it to an arrow and send it to them like you did before.”
Arendt spoke simply, glancing at Salem.
“And, Salem.”
“Yes yes?”
Salem, who had been spacing out, suddenly answered in surprise. Arendt tilted his head slightly, his face expressionless.
“Let me borrow your thick head.”