“…Thank goodness you’re here. Please tell them to charge the expenses to .”
When Salem cautiously entered the room, Arendt was lying on the bed, talking to soone through the communication port.
-Yes, I understand. Please take good care of yourself. I’m glad you’re safe, but every ti sothing like this happens, this old man’s heart nearly gives out.
Arendt glanced at Salem and nodded at him, indicating that he should take a seat.
“Don’t worry. I have no intention of dying until I’ve spent all the money I entrusted you, Lord Neumann.”
-Of course that’s what you should do. By the way, if sothing unfortunate happens to you, Sir Arendt, most of your assets will be inherited by Count Eckhart.
“…”
Arendt was about to say sothing, but pressed his lips shut. Not wanting to miss the mont, Neumann quickly continued.
-So, please take care of yourself. Please. I will make sure to take care of everything you asked. Please rest for now.
With those last words, Neumann was the first to hang up.
“Why is everyone nagging so much more as ti goes by? Is the Lord getting older too?”
Arendt grumbled in bewildernt, staring at the darkened communication port. Salem, who had been silent for a mont, asked in surprise.
“…I know it’s a bit much to ask right after seeing you, but where on earth did you get that communication device?”
His sword, the communication device, and the Frosty Touch were confiscated by Laius. He knew Arendt would co looking for them as soon as he opened his eyes, ready to do his job.
In the end, Laius’ guess turned out to be exactly right…
“I slipped so money to the servant who ca to put in the firewood and asked him. Honestly, what a bunch of clumsy fools.”
In the end, it seed that they had failed to stop Arendt.
Salem couldn’t help but pull a displeased face at his shaless response.
“Still…”
But that only lasted for a mont, as Salem muttered and lowered his gaze.
“I’m glad you’re safe. I was really worried. Truly.”
He looked like a very dejected child, with his hands on his knees and unable to even make eye contact.
“In the end, I wasn’t any help at all. I feel like I only got in the way by stepping in for no good reason…”
Arendt didn’t respond, just staring blankly at him. Unaware of their master’s intentions, the two spirits simply fluttered innocently around the room.
“I should have just stayed in the camp with Prince Llewellyn, as Sir Arendt had said at first…”
Salem, who had been silent for a mont, lowered his head even more.
“Sorry.”
Even after Salem finished speaking, Arendt did not respond.
A heavy silence fell over the room.
The only sound was the occasional crackling of firewood in the fireplace, which kept burning hotly.
“So, I…”
Finally, unable to overco the silence, Salem raised his head and t the golden eyes staring at him.
“…Why, why are you looking at like that?”
Arendt, resting his chin on his hand, replied indifferently.
“I was just watching to see how far the little one could dig into the ground. Haven’t you already dug enough to bury soone your size?”
“Huh? No, I’m speaking seriously…”
“Or what, do you want to bury ?”
Salem protested, but Arendt responded sullenly, scratching his hear.
“It’s unfortunate, but as you can see, I’m still alive and well, so you don’t have to think about burying just yet. Did you hate training that much? Even though you begged to teach you.”
“Are you really making that kind of joke right now?”
Salem finally exploded in frustration.
The startled spirits flew up and settled on Salem’s shoulders again.
But Arendt remained as brazen as ever.
“It ca out really well.”
“…”
Salem was left speechless. Arendt clicked his tongue as he watched him stare blankly into space.
“That’s pathetic. Hey. Did I teach you that?”
“Yes?”
Salem asked back in a dazed voice.
“I’ll only say it once. Listen carefully.”
Arendt leaned back against the pillow supporting his back and spoke:
“If it goes well, it’s because of . If it doesn’t, it’s soone else’s fault.”
“…”
“I don’t know about you naive elves, but these are basic virtues you need to have to survive in the human world.”
Is that sothing you should say as a knight?
Salem’s empty gaze wandered into space. Arendt just shrugged shalessly.
“I never expected much from a kid in the first place. After all the trouble of calling you over, it’s more of a nuisance to have you fumbling around alone, apologizing and whatnot. It’s just a waste of ti.”
“Ah…”
Hearing that, Salem quickly hung his head low once more.
“Yes… I’m sorry.”
“Did you even hear what I just said?”
Arendt let out a deep sigh, irritated.
“Co to think of it, the servant who ran the errand for earlier…”
At the slightly softened voice, Salem quietly lifted his gaze. Arendt, his hair hanging ssily, was casting an indifferent look in his direction.
“I heard the Royal Knights are looking for soone.”
“Yes?”
As Salem asked blankly, Arendt tilted his head.
“In the chaos where no one could even look after the person next to them, soone treated the injured. Thanks to that, there were quite a few lives saved.”
“…”
Arendt looked him straight in the eyes.
“Just as the battle was drawing to a close, they suddenly lost consciousness. When they woke up, soone had already carried the wounded to safety and administered first aid. Do you know anything about this?”
“…”
As he continued, Salem’s eyes grew wider. Without waiting for a response, Arendt added bluntly.
“That was foolish. How can you afford to worry about others on a battlefield where you can’t even predict what’s going to happen next? But…”
A voice, seemingly indifferent yet strangely compelling, continued clearly and distinctly.
“Thanks to that, many lives were saved. It would have been impossible if no one had been there.”
“…”
Salem blinked several tis with a blank expression.
“Anyway, I heard that Captain Edgar is looking for that person. Since everyone passed out, they don’t even know who their savior is, and the entire Order is upset about it.”
Arendt said indifferently.
“Seeing as even a re servant is asking questions, it seems like there’s quite a bit of chaos… I can tell without even looking. You were so depressed you just stayed in your room, right? So how could you possibly know what was going on?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
The subsequent blow brought Salem back to his senses. Then Arendt frowned.
“I told you not to apologize. It’s a waste of ti. Where on earth did you hear otherwise?”
“Oh, that, sorry…”
Startled, Salem stamred out of habit, then quickly pressed his lips shut.
“Anyway, you didn’t do anything wrong. Or are you blaming for dragging you here when you’ve only just begun learning swordsmanship and spirit magic?”
“Oh, no! That’s not possible.”
Salem let out a shocked gasp.
Arendt, arms crossed, said sullenly.
“Of course. I don’t make mistakes. I didn’t do anything wrong, so you didn’t do anything wrong either. Do you understand?”
As expected from soone like Arendt, it was a very shaless and arrogant statent.
Still, as he listened, it felt like the lump that had been clogging a corner of his heart was slowly dissolving.
As Salem nodded awkwardly, Arendt popped a snack into his mouth with a satisfied look on his face.
“Alright, let’s get back to the main point. How much do you rember? Senior Rider seed to know nothing. You stayed silent about it too?”
“…I vividly rember the ti I t you, Sir Arendt.”
Salem hesitated for a mont before speaking.
“I was accompanying that woman… I was heading to Sir Arendt, but from that mont on, my mory was cut off.”
“Why didn’t you report it?”
Salem hesitated for a mont before answering Arendt’s question.
“Well… I felt like I had to do that. I don’t even know what happened to Sir Arendt after that. Sir Rider doesn’t even seem to rember that person being with .”
“Hmm.”
Arendt nodded.
The leader of the Evil Cult, the Saintess, who had been hidden behind a veil until now, had appeared in person.
anwhile, Salem had an intuition that he shouldn’t talk carelessly.
It was a decision Arendt quite liked.
“Tell what happened inside the palace, from beginning to end. Tell in as much detail as possible.”
Salem nodded quickly at the command.
Arendt sat quietly for a while listening to Salem’s story.
When Salem finished speaking, Arendt frowned and was briefly lost in thought.
“…Is there a problem?”
“No. That’s not it.”
When Salem asked cautiously, Arendt answered briefly.
After a mont of silence, Salem, who had been hesitating, spoke again.
“…Why did Luna and Ray follow that person so much?”
As Arendt raised his head, Salem continued speaking slowly.
“Spirits are pure beings, so they don’t get close to anything impure or evil. But that person…”
“It makes no sense for spirits to follow them since they are evil beings?”
Salem nodded with a slightly surprised look on his face.
“Yes.”
“It would be sothing that falls outside the definition of what you call unclean and evil.”
Arendt answered indifferently without looking at him.
“Even if people die from natural disasters, we don’t call that evil.”
“…”
“Besides, that woman has never directly hard anyone.”
The spirits avoid beings with a strong scent of blood, but in the end, it was not Iris who wielded the sword, but the Sword of the Broken Heart that followed her.
‘Iris’ hands would never get dirty.’
In this damn world, God was nothing but nature itself.
It was not strange that the spirits, who were beings of nature, followed Iris, who had beco closely related to the gods through several lives.
Salem looked down and muttered.
“Is that so…”
Crucially, Iris and Chernion could not be called absolute evil, just as Luce was by no ans a just being.
Since Chernion and Iris were also part of the fabric of this world, the innocent spirits would not consider them evil.
But he had no intention of telling that to this troubled child.
Having a complicated mind was enough for him alone.
“They hate those guys, but they like Captain Laius. Maybe it’s because he carries the scent of a god.”
Arendt spoke decisively and then changed the subject.
“By the way… that’s how things turned out. Have you t Prince Llewellyn?”
“Yes. He has been eagerly waiting for Sir Arendt to wake up. The others feel the sa way.”
Salem nodded bewilderedly.
Everyone was curious about what was happening inside.
“What about Captain Laius?”
“I don’t know for sure, but… I heard he warned everyone not to trouble Sir Arendt and that he still needs to rest.”
“Honestly, what ddlers.”
Arendt grumbled briefly and then fell into a light-hearted thought again.
‘I think there needs to be so kind of explanation.’
Salem was silent for a mont, but he couldn’t hide his curiosity.
Since it was such a large-scale accident, it could not be passed over with just a passing remark.
Furthermore…
He had no intention of going along with their sches.
Arendt, having reached a conclusion, spoke again.
“Just stay quiet for the ti being…”
“Yes?”
“Just say you don’t rember anything right now. Later, when the ti is right, just blurt out sothing. I’ll take care of it.”
Salem, who had been dazed for a mont, suddenly sat up in shock.
“No, I don’t want to leave it all up to you, Sir Arendt! That’s not possible….”
“I ant don’t interfere, idiot.”
But Arendt cut him off mid-sentence.
“I have a funny idea.”
His golden eyes sparkled softly.
Even the corners of his mouth, which had been expressionless all along, subtly curved into a playful smile.
“Kid, just stay out of it. The adults will take care of the rest.”
“…”
Salem, who was about to say sothing, just stayed silent.
It was because he had a gut feeling that if he interfered, he would get into big trouble.
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