Just one day later, Arendt was able to confirm that his expectations were not wrong.
“An ordinary robber… that’s what was said.
“Okay.”
Laius nodded calmly.
“He said they had no particular purpose, but simply wanted the treasure in the safe, so he formed a robbery team.”
“What about the credibility of the reason?”
“I decided there was none.”
Laius answered Arendt’s question without a moment’s hesitation.
“He is talking nonsense and is not in good condition. No one was seriously injured during the arrest process, and the poison he was holding in his mouth to commit suicide was taken away. He was made to stay in his seat all night without leaving.”
“… In just a few hours, the condition of all the intruders changed so much. In the end, there is nothing to be gained.”
“Well, I guess so.”
Arendt nodded half-heartedly.
Then Laius’ eyes changed slightly.
“Do you know something?”
“Roughly speaking. I also expected this to happen, but I couldn’t say anything because I wasn’t sure.”
He didn’t bother to deny it.
Laius gave a short order.
“Say it.”
“Actually, I couldn’t do anything about it. It wasn’t a problem that could be prevented.”
Arendt shrugged his shoulders as was his custom.
“Leader, do you know about memory manipulation magic?”
“That…”
Laius frowned at the sudden question.
After a brief pause, Laius opened his mouth again.
“Are you talking about ancient magic? I understand that it is now banned and completely gone.”
“It’s usually called an artifact, right? There is something like a relic that has been passed down through people’s hands since ancient times.”
Arendt looked away for a moment as if choosing his words. Then he raised his head again and looked at Laius.
“Unfortunately, they have some of them over there.”
Yeah, like the glove Arendt just stuffed into his pocket.
Laius, who was interested, drew one fact from Arendt’s story.
“One of those artifacts you mentioned has memory manipulation magic engraved on it?”
“Yes, that is also a very powerful magic. The current great magicians probably can’t even imitate it.”
Arendt waved his hand.
It was some kind of natural disaster. There may not be any way to stop it, but at least for now, it was impossible.
“Even if we had known it in advance, it would have been of no use. In the first place, it would have been scheduled to be activated within half a day if they were captured alive.”
“…”
Laius’ face hardened.
Arendt faced him with an indifferent face.
“Why? You don’t believe it because it comes from a traitor? Then there is nothing we can do.”
Actually, it wouldn’t be surprising if Laius thought that.
The robbers were just confused by the shock of being arrested, and the rebels Arendt spoke of never existed in the first place, and Arendt, who had just happened to get entangled with thieves, lied to save his own life…
It may have been a bit far-fetched, but it would be possible if Laius insisted on it. However, asking Arendt that question himself was a different matter.
Did you think of that, or do you just have a bad personality?’
Honestly, he thought it was the latter.
Laius, who was staring at Arendt with mixed eyes, soon slowly sighed.
“No, I believe it, because I saw it with my own eyes. If an organization was capable of administering an invisibility scroll to that number of people, then of course they were not ordinary people. This is something that not only I, but Sir Kendrick and Diana also agree with.”
“That’s what you should have thought. How much trouble have I gone through?”
“…Do you have a conscience?”
“Aren’t I alive and well?”
Laius was momentarily speechless at Arendt’s shameless reply and opened his mouth several times.
Arendt looked at his leader with a warm expression, saying, “What should I do?”
If they continued to argue, it would only be Laius who would lose strength.
Laius just changed the subject.
“…In any case, you are greatly credited with protecting East Safe, so you will never go back to prison.”
“This damn thing is mine for a while longer?”
Arendt raised his arm, his mouth pursed. A silver bracelet gleamed on his wrist. Laius showed his agreement by remaining silent.
Arendt rolled up his sleeves again and responded nonchalantly.
“Well, it doesn’t matter. There should be at least this. It seems like there are quite a few people who want to take my head directly, but since the leader has the authority to take immediate action, everyone seems to be holding back.”
Ironically, this monstrosity was both an execution tool and a sort of shield, and Laius knew this very well.
Laius looked away from the bracelet and continued to talk.
“I think it is safe to say that your life has now been proven worthy. So now, as a knight of the Caerleon Empire and as the sword of His Majesty the Emperor, show them the bare minimum of loyalty.”
“I don’t know much about having faith. But since this one life is precious, I’ll just do my best for now.”
At Arendt’s twisted answer, Laius let out a deep sigh for what must have been the umpteenth time. Then he pulled out the sword he had on his waist and threw it at Arendt.
Arendt reflexively grabbed it by the handle.
When he asked with his eyes what this was, Laius gave a simple answer.
“It’s yours. Take it.”
“Yes?”
At those words, Arendt looked again at the sword in his hand.
Now that he thought about it, it was a different sword from the one that Laius had been carrying around like his clone for a few days.
It was Arendt’s sword that had been confiscated when he was arrested.
Arendt blinked a few times and then looked at Laius once and then at the sword. Then, he chuckled and skillfully placed it on his waist.
“Thanks.”
“Now get out. Most of the restrictions that were placed on you have been lifted. However, leaving the imperial palace alone is still prohibited.”
“I didn’t have much expectations. Then I’ll go.”
Arendt bowed his head in goodbye, then quickly turned around and left the office.
At the sound of the door closing sharply, Laius shook his head.
“Nothing changed.”
The subtle hostility was still mixed into the tone of voice and there was the arrogant nose that seemed to be sky-high.
Even though he had been through a lot, Arendt von Eckhart seemed to never change.
‘Even if it doesn’t change…’
At least it would be nice if he didn’t keep his distance from people.
Laius stared at the door through which Arendt had exited with complicated eyes.
It was what he expected, but it wasn’t all that enjoyable.
Arendt sat up in bed and stared at the objects laid out in front of him.
A sword and leather gloves.
Perhaps it would be safe to say that it was the entire property of an apprentice knight named Arendt.
Arendt folded his arms and sat down, lost in thought.
“… As expected, the rest almost all fell into their hands.”
The artifact that destroys memories, the Breath of Mnemosyne.
It was certain that the rebels had it. Then it seemed right to assume that they also had the other artifacts as well.
‘I thought there would be one or two of them gathered in the same place…’
Among Baron Porta’s items, there was nothing on the same level as ‘Frosty Touch’. Most of the other items were artifacts, but they couldn’t even be compared to those bloody things.
“Ugh, I guess I should be thankful that I at least salvaged this.”
Arendt groaned and picked up his gloves. A cold sensation, as if holding ice, slowly began to seep from his skin that was in contact with the gloves.
‘I don’t know if this is a good thing to do.’
Because he had to live first.
What he said to Laius earlier wasn’t a joke. It wasn’t just the enemy that was threatening their lives right now.
He took a slow deep breath and put the gloves on his hands.
At that moment, a chill ran down his spine. Arendt groaned and shivered without realizing it, and opened his eyes again.
“Uh?”
Arendt’s eyes widened and he spread his hands without realizing it.
When seen with the naked eye, it looked a bit big, but soon the gloves had changed into a perfect fit, as if they had been made for him from the beginning.
The tattered leather became smooth and shiny again. At some point, he couldn’t even feel the magical power that had been flowing out to a hideous degree. It seemed like it was absorbed into the body as soon as it was worn.
“Wow… This is amazing. Who would say this isn’t a fantasy world?”
Arendt muttered in a dazed manner and clenched and unclenched his fists several times. The coldness he had initially felt had disappeared.
Arendt stretched out his hand in front of him, closed his eyes again, and concentrated his mind.
Magical power.
First, it was necessary to master the abstract concept.
In this world, magic sensitivity influenced many things. If you knew how to use magical power, even a commoner could rise in social status.
As a knight of the imperial family, Arendt also had talent, as he easily recognized the artifact in the safe, the ability must have been completely absorbed into his body.
‘To perfectly fulfill the role of Arendt von Eckhart.’
And in order to protect himself from this mess, he had to make it completely his own.
The sense of heterogeneity he felt from the artifact; something similar to that certainly exists in the body.
Arendt slowly came to his senses.
Once the conscious mind had a clear will, the body naturally responded and the senses slowly began to become more open. Then, his sensitive nerves sensed something else mixed in the air surrounding him.
Arendt tried to perceive the ‘feeling’ visually with his eyes closed.
An unknown light flickered behind his closed eyelids.
This was it.
Arendt focused his attention a little more on it.
Magic revealed its presence here and there.
Arendt moved the presence toward his body and guided the magical power into his body along with continuing to breathe in the same way.
After a while, instead of escaping along with the carbon dioxide, the magic power flowing in from outside joined the magic power staying in Arendt’s body.
Arendt’s eyes sparkled.
Once he started to become aware of it, the magical power moved like water according to his will. Soon, white frost froze on the black gloves.
He raised his hand and grabbed the porcelain cup that was placed on the bedside table.
“…!”
The surface made of porcelain froze white in the blink of an eye. Unable to withstand the sudden cold, the surface of the porcelain vibrated slightly.
And after a while.
Clink!
The frozen cup broke and turned into ice cubes.
Arendt stared blankly at the pieces pouring out of his grasp.
“Ah…”
Frozen white pieces rolled around the floor in a miserable state.
Arendt looked back and forth between the traces of destruction and his own hands, then fell backwards and collapsed on the bed.
“Ugh, ugh, ugh!”
A loud breath burst out from his mouth, aimed at the ceiling.
His golden eyes were shaking wildly.
What? Freeze a village at once? Make someone freeze?
“…I’m going to die first even before I fight?”
He only used it for a short while, but he was in a cold sweat. He was out of breath as if he had run several laps around the playground at full speed.
Of course, the destructive power was tremendous.
If he could break a cup with just a touch, he could easily destroy a human body, which has a softer surface than porcelain and is full of water.
But the problem was physical strength and magical power. In that short period of time, it felt like half of the magical power in his body had been drained. It was only after a long time that he could barely catch his breath.
Of course, he wasn’t hoping for a huge effect from the beginning. In the first place, the rebel who originally used the ‘Frosty Touch’ was a much stronger person than Arendt.
Ultimately, the results varied depending on the capabilities of the person using it.
Especially the amount of magic power.
“Haaaa…”
Arendt took a deep breath to catch his breath, then glanced at the sword that had been carelessly thrown down next to him as he lay there.
“It’s this way after all.”
It was clear what he had to do to utilize the gloves properly.
He had to increase his magic power and physical strength.
In that case, swinging a sword could be said to be a very suitable and quick way to achieve those two things.
The most basic step was to first sense and accumulate magical power. The next step was to choose a path that suited his aptitude, whether it was magic or swordsmanship, and devote himself to training.
During the training process, more and more magical energy would accumulate in the body.
Arendt, a knight, was already in perfect physical condition as a swordsman. So, in order to increase his magical power, it was natural for him to sharpen his swordsmanship as he had been doing.
Of course, he didn’t know anything about swords. However, since he was able to use his magical power without difficulty, it might also be possible to bring out his familiar swordsmanship.
He had to hang on the sword and increase his magical power… It was a very funny thing to say. Still, in order to perfectly perform the role of a knight, it was essential to learn the sword.
In a dangerous situation, it would be good to have at least one more means of protecting himself.
“Okay, well… you have to try this to know.”
The worries didn’t last long.
Arendt grabbed his sword and jumped up. Then he walked out of the room, holding his sword in one hand and his coat in the other.
Thud.
The door closed, leaving only silence in the room.