“Do you have any clues?”
“Of course.”
Arendt shrugged his shoulders in response to Llewellyn’s question.
“It seems to be more or less certain that the spy is not the Great Elder or Elder Polaris. In fact, Elder Helio was also a suspect…”
“It’s impossible in his current condition.”
“That’s right.”
Arendt nodded as Arthur spoke.
“Of course, it is possible that he was influenced by an artifact, but given the nature of the Elven Kingdom, I think the probability of that is low, so let’s leave that out for now.”
Elder Helio was a man who lived his entire life near the elven kingdom.
He was suspected because he had the most contact with Jiklin, but given the current situation, he was more likely a victim of a bolt from the blue.
Arthur frowned slightly.
“It seems that the other elven elders have a strong aversion to the Evil God. In that case, should we consider the elves other than the elders as suspects? …Then the scope will be too broad.”
“That’s not true, Captain Sylvian.”
Sylvian flinched when her na was suddenly called.
“Why is that?”
“I heard from the kids that Jin followed the captain a lot.”
Sylvian’s expression visibly clouded at Arendt’s question.
“…That’s what happened.”
“Why are you suddenly asking that?”
When Zakar asked sowhat sharply, Arendt gave him a pitiful look.
“You’re being overprotective. I’m not specifically blaming or suspecting Captain Sylvian. What kind of a traitor would that naive person be?”
“…”
It was fortunate that she wasn’t suspected, but she felt complicated.
Sylvian made a strange expression, but Arendt ignored her and asked the next question.
“One more thing. Do the kids usually follow you around well?”
“…No.”
“Then Jin, no. When did Jiklin start following you, Captain?”
Although puzzled by the unexpected question, Sylvian answered obediently.
“Well, co to think of it, it seems like it was right after I was appointed captain of the Fog Forest Guard… ah.”
Having said that, Sylvian suddenly closed her mouth.
It was because she guessed what had happened next.
Richt, who had been silent, stepped forward.
“Do you an that she pretended to follow Captain Sylvian because she had a purpose?”
“That is highly likely.”
“…But what did she have to gain by following ?”
When Sylvian, who had been staring blankly, asked, Laius answered.
“There are countless things that can be found out, such as the guard’s patrol tis, routes, escort schedules, Captain Sylvian’s movents, and lifestyle habits. Each and every one of them is a critical elent that must not be exposed to the enemy. At that ti, Jiklin would have been a child, so the captain would not have been too cautious.”
“…”
Sylvian said nothing.
When the elves seed convinced, Arendt continued speaking.
“Anyway, let’s assu this guess is correct. Then, from that point on, Jiklin already had contact with the Evil Cult. With this, we can narrow down the suspects.”
“At that ti, were there people who had contact with Jin, and among them, people who frequently traveled outside the kingdom?”
Arendt nodded at Llewellyn’s words.
“Yes. Who were they?”
“…Jiklin’s parents, who were in charge of education.”
After a brief silence, Zakar gave his answer.
“Except for Elder Helio. His wife has also lived her entire life within the Elven Kingdom. So it couldn’t be those two.”
“That’s right, as I said before, let’s exclude those two. Then what’s left are the educational elves and Jiklin’s neighbors. And anyone among them who has had contact with the outside world in the past 100 years. That should drastically reduce the number of suspects.”
It was as Arendt said.
Zakar, who had been thinking for a mont, opened his mouth again.
“There are about four people that co to mind. When on earth did you end up digging that far?”
“I wasn’t just playing around either.”
Arendt, who was responding naturally, was t with quiet, reproachful gazes.
Arthur spoke on behalf of everyone.
“Yeah, you must have been busy. While you were drunk, you were irritating the Grand Elder, picking a fight with the instructor, and harassing Sir Sakhalin.”
“It was very rewarding.”
But there was no way that would have worked.
Arendt answered shalessly and changed the subject.
“Let’s stop here for now. We have to get moving as soon as the sun rises.”
“Are we arresting and interrogating suspicious people?”
Sylvian thought of the first thod that ca to mind.
But the knights could not agree to that.
Laius answered on behalf of the group.
“Those cultists will never open their mouths even after being questioned. They would rather commit suicide. And they might be under the influence of an amnestic artifact. If so, the mont they are arrested, they will forget that they ever followed the Evil God.”
And then they’ll end up in prison, crying out that they’ve been wronged, without even knowing anything.
So it didn’t make sense to do that.
Arendt nodded and added.
“So, we need to talk a little more.”
The apprentice knight’s golden eyes scanned the people in the reception room.
Everyone flinched involuntarily at that ominous gaze.
Even Elder Polaris took a step back.
“I’ll keep quiet about today, so I’ll take my leave now…”
“Where are you going, Elder? If you go ho like this, who knows what kind of humiliation your dear son will face? And you know that you are also sowhat responsible for this situation.”
But it was impossible to escape from Arendt.
Eventually, Elder Polaris gave up, turned back and sighed deeply.
In Act 1, the Grand Elder’s mask was removed, so now it was ti for Act 2 to begin.
The main characters were the knights, Llewellyn, and three elves.
To this extent, it was a pretty good casting.
The next day, a commotion broke out in the quiet Second Elven Kingdom.
Elder Polaris invaded the house of Elder Helio, where he had been living in seclusion for a long ti.
Elder Polaris dragged Elder Helio, who had been imprisoned for a long ti, out into the sunlight.
The guards tried to stop him, but it was no use.
“Wait a minute, Elder! Stop! Elder Helio needs to rest!”
“Does this look like he’s resting to you? Get out of here, we’ll take care of it!”
The warriors flinched and retreated at the roar that fell over their heads.
After defeating the escorts, Elder Polaris carried Elder Helio to his ho.
It was a commotion that started in broad daylight.
Word quickly spread that Elder Polaris, carrying Elder Helio, was running down the street, yelling at his escorts.
In addition, rumors began to spread that Elder Helio, who was said to be recovering, had beco paralyzed and lost his mind.
Even during the commotion, soone who peeked into Elder Helio’s ho discovered the corpse of the elder’s beloved bird.
Public opinion among the young elves was instantly divided.
“They said he was recovering well… if I had known this would happen, I would have co to see him!”
“He is the father of a traitor, shouldn’t he be grateful that we healed him?”
“The elder is just a victim! Have you seen the elder’s appearance? How skinny he is, how much ntal anguish he must have suffered…”
“Then how should he pay for the cri of raising a traitor wrongly?”
“Are you done talking? Elder Helio has been so kind to you all this ti!”
Eventually, the atmosphere reached the point where a fight broke out.
So elves who already knew the situation kept their mouths shut for fear that they might be the ones affected.
If Zakar and Sylvian hadn’t stepped in to disperse them, there would have been fights here and there.
And Arendt, who heard the news from the children, comnted:
“It’s funny and it’s embarrassing. If just one person had looked into it, it wouldn’t have gotten to this point. Who’s blaming whom?”
“My brother also saw the elder. He said he was completely out of his mind.”
“I heard there’s chaos in front of Elder Polaris’ house right now.”
The elf children were chattering again beside him.
Arendt picked up one of the snacks the children had brought and said:
“Well, Elder Polaris has made a big decision. Elder Polaris disobeyed the Grand Elder’s orders.”
“Huh? Is that how it is?”
“Then, the Grand Elder said that no one should approach Elder Helio’s house. Don’t you know that disobeying orders is a grave sin? Well, you’re young, so you wouldn’t know.”
When the elf boy asked with wide eyes, Arendt waved his hand.
The angry boy jumped up and shouted.
“Don’t treat like a child. We’ve lived much longer than Lord Arendt!”
“Shut up. Whether it’s social status or fighting skills, I’m far superior. If you feel wronged, try to win at least once.”
“That…!”
The snack Arendt was holding was also the one the children had brought as paynt for their loss in yesterday’s ga.
Arendt, who had been tossing snacks into his mouth in front of the children who were trembling out of frustration, suddenly said sothing as if he just rembered it.
“Oh, right. If anyone else is going to challenge , please tell in advance. I’m planning on leaving in three days.”
“What?”
The children who had been gathered in groups widened their eyes.
“Why? Why are you leaving already? You only stayed for a few days!”
“I heard the Grand Elder told our leader to leave quickly? Well, I’m just an apprentice knight, so I don’t really know what happened.”
“Did you do sothing wrong to the Grand Elder?”
The children scread in shrill voices.
“I don’t really know. But I can guess why he’s doing that.”
“What is it? Why?”
Questions imdiately began to fly in like a machine gun.
Arendt picked up another snack and answered in passing.
“Yesterday, Llewellyn and one of our seniors went to visit Elder Helio. After returning, Llewellyn was worried because the elder seed very sick, so he asked Elder Polaris to look into it.”
“What? Really?”
It was a blatant lie, but Arendt nodded naturally.
“Oh, that’s a secret. Anyway, that’s probably why Elder Polaris suddenly ca to see Elder Helio today. But he must have gotten very angry when he saw that his condition was worse than expected.”
That was also a lie.
Elder Polaris was moved not because of such compassion, but because he had been kidnapped by his son the night before and then threatened.
But the children had no way of knowing that.
“I see… so that’s why the Grand Elder is angry?”
“Well I guess so? Three people, including Lord Llewellyn, our senior, and Elder Polaris, disobeyed the Elder’s orders.”
“But Elder Helio is very sick. Then shouldn’t we bring him out?”
A natural debate began to break out among the children.
Arendt, who had been watching quietly, suddenly intervened.
“That’s one thing… actually, there’s another reason.”
“What?”
As the children’s gaze naturally gathered, Arendt slightly bent over and lowered his voice.
“Do you know why we ca all the way to the kingdom?”
“Huh? Aren’t you here to return the spirit stones that Jiklin stole?”
“That’s true, but sothing even bigger happened outside the Elf Kingdom. I think the Elder was anxious because of that.”
Arendt, who had been talking up to that point, raised his hand, which he always wore half-gloved.
“You said that this was amazing, right?”
The young elves’ eyes began to sparkle.
Magic gloves that allow people to use ice magic.
The object that made even the captain of the Fog Forest Guard flustered was enough to pique the children’s curiosity.
At the sa ti, he was a natural storyteller who mixed in so tall tales, making him an unparalleled source of material for the audience.
Arendt let a faint smile appear on his indifferent face.
“You guys told you were curious about how I got this.”
And that day.
Along with the news of Elder Helio, the splendid adventures of the human knight Laius de Winfried, who fought bravely against the Evil Cult, were on the lips of the elves all night long.
Additionally, the story that the relationship between the human knights brought by Llewellyn and the Grand Elder had beco strained was quickly spread.
Everything Grand Elder Altair had tried to keep hidden was revealed in just a few hours.
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