Lexion’s face, watching the training ground, was a mixture of half interest and half bewildernt.
Arendt glanced at him and spoke.
“Is it fun?”
“I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.”
Lexion answered simply.
It was natural.
Because the shadow elves, who rarely left their territory, were being treated harshly under Laius’ watchful eyes.
“Ugh…!”
The elf scread after being hit in the side with a wooden sword.
But Laius had no rcy.
“Concentrate. Even if the bow is your main weapon, you must not be weak in close combat.”
As they were a species with good resilience, the wounds they had received had faded considerably, but new bruises were forming in real ti.
Lexion, who was watching Laius stepping on the elves under the pretext of training, suddenly opened his mouth.
“I don’t know if you know, but humans can’t usually beat elves. Their natural physical conditions are different.”
“Look carefully. Is that an ordinary human being?”
Arendt gestured indifferently at Laius.
At that ti, he mobilized his other seniors just in case, but he later realized that in reality, just Laius and Zakar would have been enough.
There was another person who caught the two people’s attention.
Salem was swinging his sword clumsily, sweating profusely in the corner of the training ground.
“Why is the little shaman doing that?”
“There is no one in this world he can trust, so he must protect himself.”
It was a realization he had after being deceived by Arendt and even by the elf warriors he had brought as subordinates.
Arendt grumbled, putting his hands in his pockets.
“I think that guy has a bit of a weird personality, but it’s better than being depressed and locked up in his room.”
“I never thought you’d say sothing like that. Of all the beings I know on this earth, you’re the most bizarre.”
“Thank you for the complint.”
“Did that sound like a complint?”
Lexion asked back in an absurd tone, but Arendt just ignored him.
“Anyway, I got a call from the Fourth Kingdom.”
“It looks like they were quite anxious.”
An indifferent response ca back.
It was an attitude that seed to have expected it.
Arendt’s eyes moved silently to look at Lexion.
‘Is a dragon a dragon?’
Arendt never once explained the situation to him in any detail.
But it seed that Lexion already knew everything that had happened in the palace.
He had a rough idea of what was going on when he suddenly stord into the training grounds to watch the elves being beaten up by Laius.
‘He must have seen and heard everything.’
It was actually convenient because he didn’t have to explain everything in detail.
Arendt answered leisurely.
“His Highness the Crown Prince’s excellent diplomacy has shone through.”
Although Cantares insisted that it was diplomacy and negotiation until the end, to Arendt, it was little different from blackmail and extortion.
“From now on, the Fourth Kingdom will beco very strong allies of the Caerleon Empire. And I have also roughly grasped the contents of the docunt that the saintess handed over.”
“People these days are truly unknowable.”
Lexion muttered tiredly, but Arendt pretended not to notice this either.
“It was more incredible than I thought. It was a record left by a shadow race elf shaman who was a mber of the Chernion Order at the ti. There was even a blood-written signature along with an oath to dedicate the artifact to the Order as a holy relic.”
“And?”
“I think you already know this.”
A lukewarm reply ca back from the apprentice knight.
“When God Luce chose Hero Khan and bestowed upon him a powerful holy sword, in order to counter him, each mber of the cult gathered their strength to create a holy relic, or artifact, and offered it to God Chernion… that was the story. What the Shadow Race elves created was the Unquenchable Heart.
The na was truly remarkable, no matter how many tis it was said.
It would have been better if they had known the creators of the other artifacts as well, but unfortunately, the only one ntioned in detail in the records was the Unquenchable Heart.
“Putting aside the long and ardent praises of the Chernion god, the nas of several vile individuals who must be dealt with using the holy relics were ntioned…”
Arendt’s eyes moved silently toward Lexion.
Lexion noticed the gaze and muttered a short curse.
“Shit.”
“It seems like you were having quite an noisy ti, weren’t you?”
“Be quiet.”
Lexion snapped angrily.
On the contrary, Arendt had a rather satisfied look on his face.
“If you talk too loudly here, the elves will hear you. Is that okay?”
“…”
Lexion snapped his fingers, his expression filled with annoyance.
His magical power fluctuated slightly, and a sound barrier appeared around the two people.
At that, Arendt, as if waiting for the mont, grinned slyly and began to taunt him.
“That’s amazing. You said you didn’t like either god, and yet you played an active role as a comrade of the hero Khan?”
“Stop teasing . I’ll kill you for real.”
Lexion growled, but Arendt paid no attention.
“Wow, the elders of the Fourth Kingdom would faint if they knew. The archmage who was Hero Khan’s comrade was actually a dragon, and now that dragon is in the Caerleon Empire.”
“…”
“As a citizen of the Caerleon Empire, there is no greater glory than this.”
“Just stop. I feel like I’m going to throw up.”
Even though Lexion warned him irritably, the faint, teasing smile on Arendt’s lips did not disappear.
“You should have used an alias. His Highness the Crown Prince and the captain seed quite surprised. For now, I’ll keep quiet. We’ve agreed that only the three of us should know.”
“Wow, that’s quite a favor.”
The grumbling Lexion looked genuinely upset.
Arendt changed the subject at the right mont, as it looked as if he would explode if teased any further.
“Can I ask you a few more questions?”
“No.”
“Then can I spread rumors here and there? First, among our seniors.”
“…”
That doesn’t an he stopped teasing.
Lexion’s expression distorted in real ti as he stood next to the apprentice knight who was gently provoking him.
Arendt gave the dragon his characteristically mischievous smile.
“Let’s make a deal like usual. I’ll keep my mouth shut for the ti being, and you, Lexion, will answer my questions.”
“Okay, once things are sorted out, I’ll kill you first.”
“You’ve said that many tis before. Why don’t you prepare a different line next ti?”
As expected, Arendt was soone who wouldn’t back down with a single word.
“Anyway, enough with the jokes.”
“You started it first, you little shit.”
Lexion snapped at him in an irritated tone, but Arendt just ignored him and said what he wanted to say.
“What made you change your mind? During the war, weren’t you truly devoted to serving God Luce?”
“I don’t know who you’re trying to label as an apostate, but I’ve always been like this. I never changed my mind. That being said, I also have no intention of committing blasphemy as casually as you do.”
Then or now, relying on God and praying was not to his liking.
“But there must have been a reason why you lost trust in God Luce. Even though you were distant, I think you had so sense of trust in Him until then.”
“…”
Lexion, who had been silent for quite so ti, spoke briefly.
“Do I really need to say anything? You can probably guess just by looking at the way things are going now.”
“That’s true. Can I ask you a more direct question? I would appreciate it if you could answer without suddenly dying from divine punishnt.”
“…”
He really didn’t know where to start, but one thing was certain.
That he had no veto right now.
“Haa… what a clever little brat.”
Lexion let out a deep sigh.
Just as the Fourth Kingdom did not want anyone to know that their ancestors were part of the Chernion cult, so did Lexion.
There was no one who did not know that dragons were great beings.
If even such a dragon submitted to God, Luce’s na would shine even brighter.
Lexion never wanted that to happen.
And Lexion wasn’t sure Arendt wouldn’t go around bragging about it.
It was because he knew full well that that guy was the one who was going to use everything he had.
“Ask.”
“What was the relationship between Hero Khan and God Luce?”
Lexion’s face crumpled at the question that ca out.
“…It’s coming on strong from the start.”
After a brief pause, a sowhat irritated reply ca back.
“Doesn’t the fact that you are asking that an that you already have an idea?”
“There’s a difference between guessing and hearing it directly from the person involved. But if you find it difficult to answer, then that’s fine. I can get a general idea just from your reaction.”
Arendt’s tone was carefree.
“It seems like it wasn’t as good as it was made out to be to the public, right?”
“…”
Lexion was silent.
That was essentially a confirmation.
Without giving him a glance, Arendt muttered casually.
“For example, it was ruined because of religious beliefs.”
“…Although he was a bit weak in receiving God’s grace, he still did a great job.”
Lexion, who had been silent for a while, answered.
“Even though it was a bit of a ss, he was able to defeat the evil cult and establish an Empire… he definitely achieved results, but he himself wasn’t very happy.”
Lexion nodded with a displeased expression at Arendt’s words.
“You understand it well.”
“Was he satisfied with the results?
“Well, I couldn’t stay with him till the end.”
A shadow fell slightly on Lexion’s red eyes.
“From what I’ve seen, it seems that way. But he was not the type of person to get intoxicated by the elation of being a hero like most people think.”
“Then I guess he was satisfied that it was him who was sacrificed and not soone else.”
This ti too, Lexion remained silent in his agreent.
Arendt, who had been silent for a mont, burst into open ridicule.
“Wow, that’s heroic.”
It was also tragic at the sa ti.
“They say it’s a cody when seen from afar, but a tragedy when seen up close.”
The voice mumbling to himself had beco cold and detached.
Looking at that sight, Lexion felt a strange sense of discomfort.
A fleeting, indescribable light flashed in the golden eyes that silently gazed at Laius.
‘What?’
It seed subtly different from when he had been spouting an things just a mont ago.
But he couldn’t really explain what the difference was.
But the feeling of discomfort quickly disappeared.
Arendt felt Lexion’s gaze, turned his head, and furrowed his eyebrows.
At the mont when Lexion flinched as their eyes t by surprise, Arendt spoke.
“What are you looking at?”
“…I’m genuinely starting to wonder where the source of your rudeness cos from.”
“Well, maybe it’s because of my good looks.”
Lexion forgot his worries for a mont at the shaless reply.
“You’re really crazy…”
Arendt changed the subject after seeing Lexion sighing and pressing his temples.
“Anyway, the Evil Cult was wary of the holy sword to the point of creating artifacts to combat it. It’s probably the sa now.”
Moreover, several artifacts were now missing, so of which were even in the hands of the Imperial Knights.
“Considering all the circumstances…”
Arendt paused for a mont before adding:
“I can kind of see what kind of scenario they want.”
“I see.”
Lexion answered calmly, crossing his arms.
“For your information, I will not help you.”
“Are you going to be so cruel now?”
“I’ve been acting like a fool up until now, just for this mont. If you die too early, there would be no point in watching you.”
Lexion, who had been silent for a mont, spoke.
“Survive as cleverly as you can. Then you’ll be able to prove sothing or do sothing.”
“What a heartless dragon.”
Arendt responded similarly indifferently.
“Make sure you are prepared to pay the price.”
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