Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 350

“Ah… Captain?”Laius answered calmly to Arthur’s bewildered voice.

“Thank you for your hard work, Arthur.”

“My hard work… for what…?”

Arthur, who had been muttering absentmindedly, soon realized the meaning of those words.

He found Arendt coming out of his room in the middle of the night, treated his wounds, and then threw a strange drinking party, causing him to pass out.

After that, somehow feeling that he shouldn’t be left alone, he stayed by Arendt’s side and fell asleep there, and as a result, he was the first to notice Arendt’s strangeness and managed to calm him down.

Laius watched the whole process from a distance.

Arthur felt a little embarrassed, feeling like he had made a fool of himself.

“No, if you were watching, you should have come out. Since you weren’t in your room, I thought you might have gone out on business…”

“If I interfered, things probably wouldn’t have been so comfortable.”

Laius, who had answered calmly, effortlessly lifted the limp Arendt into his arms.

“Let’s go to my room first. You come along too.”

“…”

Arthur hesitated for a moment, then pressed his lips together and nodded.

After laying Arendt down on the wide sofa and carefully arranging the pillow and blanket, Laius served Arthur some warm tea that he had made himself.

“Drink. You must have been pretty shaken too.”

“Thank you.”

Arthur couldn’t take his eyes off Arendt as he mumbled his answer. After hesitating for a moment, Arthur asked.

“Is that guy okay?”

“He’s okay. He’s just asleep now.”

Arthur was finally able to pick up his teacup after hearing Laius’ definitive answer. The intoxication and drowsiness from the commotion just now had long since disappeared, but his pounding heart showed no sign of calming down.

“How long have you been there exactly?”

“From the beginning.”

Laius, sitting at the head of the sofa, answered.

“I hid myself because I thought I needed to observe Arendt’s behavior. After that, I just watched because I thought you handled it appropriately. I’m sorry.”

It wasn’t something Laius needed to apologize for, but Arthur felt a little annoyed for some reason.

“Observed? Did you plan to just keep watching? You must have noticed Arendt’s situation before we did.”

“I was afraid that if I approached him rashly, Arendt would become even more cautious.”

Laius responded calmly to Arthur’s grumbles.

“I was wondering what to do. For now, I’ve secured a private house where he can go to relax anytime, though.”

“…”

Arthur stayed silent. As expected, Laius was not someone to be taken lightly. After a moment of silence, Arthur asked.

“Did you really intend to do it? You weren’t just threatening him?”

“Of course.”

Laius’ blue eyes were extremely serious.

Arendt, who was lying on the sofa opposite, groaned and rolled over, wrapping him in the blanket. It seemed as if he sensed an eerie aura.

Just as the ominous feeling began to grow that Arendt, who had finally fallen asleep, might have another nightmare, fortunately, Laius changed the subject first.

“I couldn’t think of any other way. You guys really are better than me after all.”

Arthur hesitated for a moment at those words, then asked cautiously.

“…Do you happen to know why Arendt is acting like this?”

It was not normal to see him scratching and picking at his neck to the point of drawing blood, and struggling to breathe.

Besides, looking at his appearance, it seemed like he had been suffering from strange symptoms for more than a day or two.

It might not have been this bad at first, but it probably got worse as the sleepless nights continued.

It was a vicious cycle.

Laius remained silent for a while in response, as he was at a loss as to how to respond.

Before Laius could make a decision, Arthur’s voice pierced his ear again.

“Is there any connection between God Luce and the Evil God?”

“What?”

Laius paused.

Arthur continued speaking slowly, looking at the Captain’s surprised face.

“I was there that day when Arendt destroyed the statue of Luce. Lexion was also there with us.”

Arthur lowered his gaze and fiddled with his teacup for no reason.

“…Why is Lord Lexion assisting the blasphemous Arendt instead of the Captain who was chosen by the Holy Sword? Lord Lexion has personally witnessed the Great War.”

Arthur, after a moment of silence, spoke again.

“Why can’t Nikephoros kill Arendt? Although Arendt’s life was saved thanks to Lord Luce, he doesn’t really believe in Him, does he?”

“…Arthur.”

Laius called out to him calmly, but Arthur didn’t hear him.

“Since when has Arendt been wary of Lord Luce? Around the time Lord Lexion joined? No, maybe even before that? When he said he couldn’t believe in gods, was that what he meant?”

Arthur’s voice grew increasingly agitated.

“Arendt clearly received Lord Luce’s grace. Captain Laius, you also had the honor of being chosen by the Holy Sword. Come to think of it, Arendt began to hate gods even more around that time, whether it was Lord Luce or the Evil God. Captain, do you happen to know the reason why?”

“Arthur.”

Laius called Arthur’s name again, but this time his voice did not reach Arthur.

“Captain, did you take up the Holy Sword knowing all of this? What on earth is Arendt…?”

Arthur swallowed hard and barely managed to add.

“What on earth is he fighting against?”

“…”

At some point, a hint of fear began to creep into Arthur’s voice.

An eerie silence flowed through the room. Arthur looked at Laius with wavering eyes. It was as if he was clinging to something.

Laius didn’t shy away from the gaze and met it silently.

“First, calm down, Arthur. You were quite shaken too.”

“…”

Arthur suddenly came to his senses at the calm, soothing voice.

After a while, his face turned pale. It was because he realized that he had said things he shouldn’t have.

It was absurd to speak of doubting God Luce in front of Laius, the master of the Holy Sword.

“No, Captain, what I mean is…”

Arthur tried to make an excuse, but Laius was quicker to speak.

“It was my will to take up the Holy Sword. I thought it was my duty.”

“Huh?”

Arthur let out a dumbfounded sound at the sudden words. Laius stared at Arthur with his unusually bright blue eyes and continued speaking slowly.

“Even if I knew more, or if I didn’t know at all, my choice wouldn’t have been different.”

“…For the Empire and Lord Luce?”

Arthur hesitated for a moment and then brought up Laius’ habitual saying. But surprisingly, Laius shook his head.

“No. For myself.”

“Yes?”

“I may have made excuses like that before. But I don’t want to lie to you who trust and follow me.”

Laius articulated each word clearly, as if carving them with care.

“I don’t want to lose anyone. That’s why I accepted Lord Luce’s offer and became the master of the Holy Sword. That’s all.”

“…”

It was a rather significant statement, saying that faith had nothing whatsoever to do with taking up the Holy Sword.

“And Arendt would be no different.”

Laius said seriously.

“Arthur, I think you understand what I mean.”

In the end, the reason why Laius and Arendt took up their swords and went to the front lines was the same.

It was easy to tell what the two ultimately desired without having to think too deeply about it.

Arthur remained silent, lowering his gaze.

“I can’t answer your question, shamefully, because I don’t know much. And I don’t want to impose my opinion on your judgment. It might be a huge burden on your life.”

Laius’ calm voice continued.

“Just…. don’t doubt what you see, hear, experience, and judge. No one will blame you for your choice. And in the end, the path you choose will be the right one for you. I just want you to know one thing.”

“…”

“Unconditional kindness is an illusion. The binary of good and evil, eternal peace, and perhaps even absolute justice may not exist.”

Laius was now reciting the words that Arendt habitually uttered.

Arthur clenched his fists without realizing it. Laius added calmly.

“Even I, who was called a hero, am like this, so maybe it’s only natural.”

“…”

Arthur still couldn’t answer. He felt like his head might explode if he said the wrong thing.

Although it was a bit of a roundabout way of speaking, the captain essentially gave Arthur the answer to all of his questions.

Arthur knew all too well that even the vague and frustrating words were meant to protect him.

Arendt and Laius were already in that kind of a swamp, and perhaps Arendt was wandering in an even deeper swamp than Laius.

Laius gave Arthur one more chance to avoid stepping into the dangerous swamp.

It seemed as if Nikephoros’ curse was echoing from somewhere.

“…”

While Arthur remained silent, Laius didn’t rush him and waited patiently. Meanwhile, quite some time must have passed, as the sky outside the window began to faintly brighten.

Even the tea that was barely touched had cooled down.

And just as Arthur was about to open his mouth, barely calming down his racing mind.

“Ugh…”

Arendt, who had been passed out, uttered a groan.

Arthur and Laius reflexively jumped to their feet.

They were worried that he might have another seizure, but fortunately, there were no signs of that.

Arendt, who had been tossing and turning, slowly opened his eyes. Still half-dazed and staring blankly at the ceiling, Laius gently spoke to him.

“How are you feeling?”

“…Not very good.”

Arendt paused for a moment before responding. His tone was not much different from usual. Only then did Arthur let out a deep sigh of relief, release the tension in his body.

“Ha…”

“Ugh, my head.”

Arendt pressed his forehead repeatedly with his hand before sitting up.

“You can sleep some more. I’ll give you the day off today, so just rest.”

“That’s enough. This much is sufficient.”

Arendt, having rejected Laius’ offer, even threw off the blanket that was covering him.

Still, his headache did not seem to have completely gone away, and he continued to frown and press his temples.

“…More than that, senior.”

“Huh?”

Arthur, who was suddenly called, answered absentmindedly. Arendt, who had taken his hand away, raised his head and glanced at Arthur.

“You dare hit me in the face. Are you prepared for the consequences?”

It was a cold voice. Arthur, who had been momentarily stunned, suddenly snapped back to his senses and protested indignantly.

“Hey, that’s because you looked like you would suffocate at any moment…!”

“No matter what, how can you lay a hand on this handsome face? What will you do if you leave a scar?”

The room, once filled with a tense atmosphere, quickly became chaotic with the two of them arguing.

“Do you think you’re the type to get scarred from something like that? You don’t even make a sound no matter how much you get hit during a fight, so why make such a fuss only now?”

“I can understand getting hit during work, but I don’t have a hobby of getting beaten up in private.”

Laius quietly placed his hand on his forehead as he watched Arthur arguing with Arendt, completely forgetting the serious worries he had just moments ago.

Whether it was Arendt babbling nonsense the moment he came to his senses, or Arthur taking provocations at face value, both were equally troublesome brats.