The Third Knights, who had been waiting nearby, soon arrived at the garden.

Laius, who was running towards the mine under the guidance of Count Stadler, came face to face with three people coming up the stairs in a tattered state.

“That…”

Laius stuttered unresponsively.

It was a natural reaction. Where there were neat knights from when they set off, now they appeared as beggars before his eyes.

Their hair and faces were a mess, caked with dirt, their robes were half-torn, and their uniform underneath was also covered in dirt.

There were many things he wanted to hear from them, but looking at the appearance of his subordinates, he couldn’t bring himself to say such business-like words.

Eventually, Laius put his hand on his forehead and let out a deep sigh.

“…It seems like the situation is over, so go wash up for now.”

Count Stadler pointed quietly towards the garden’s construction site.

The three of them walked in silence towards the direction the Count had indicated.

Before walking away fully, like usual, Arendt blurted out some sentences without any sincerity.

“Don’t be too surprised when you see the remains of golems scattered inside the stairs.”

“What? Golems?”

“And then Marquis Grieg died.”

At those words, Laius’ expression hardened.

“…I understand.”

“I checked again just in case, and he was already dead. I think he died instantly. You, Captain, will take care of the recovery.”

With that, Arendt left the place without any regrets.

After staring at his back for a while, Laius soon shook his head and turned towards the entrance leading into the mine.

“Let’s go. We need to investigate first.”

“Yes!”

The knights who had been standing blankly suddenly came to their senses and answered loudly.

The work in the ‘garden’ was halted immediately.

The knights, who had been sending away the bewildered laborers who were unaware of the situation, entered the basement and had no choice but to exclaim in surprise upon seeing the golem remains that filled the stairs.

The sight of long arms and legs, and a head with eyes that still sparkled and never lost their luster rolling around was enough to send a chill down their spines.

Still, knights were knights.

As expected from a knight order comprised of the best swordsmen, a few more golems were discovered inside the tunnel, but they were cleaned up without difficulty, and Marquis Grieg’s body was also recovered without a hitch.

As time passed and Count Stadler regained some composure and joined in examining the ruins, Arendt and the other knights reappeared, looking somewhat more normal.

Arendt grumbled, shaking his drenched hair.

“I really thought I was going to die. Seniors, you guys are really lucky. If it weren’t for me, you guys would’ve been crushed to death by the golems.”

“I think I might be a little more grateful if you didn’t say things like that.”

“Agreed.”

Arthur nodded his head in annoyance at Richt’s weak muttering.

Count Stadler, who was investigating the room, heard their chatter and immediately raised his head.

“You’ve come back? Are all three of you hurt anywhere?”

“There are no injuries. If we got hurt by that guy, we’d be disqualified as knights.”

When Arthur smiled kindly, Count Stadler finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness, and Lord Arendt.”

“Yes?”

Count Stadler suddenly bowed deeply as Arendt turned his head towards him.

“Thank you so much for saving me. If it weren’t for Lord Arendt, I would have died.”

“You’re doing this over something so trivial. If the Count dies, it will be more difficult for us.”

The response he received was lukewarm, but Count Stadler paid no attention and smiled.

“I’m not saying this just because of this incident. If I hadn’t talked to Lord Arendt on the day of the banquet… I would have met the same fate as Marquis Grieg. I would have been branded a villain.”

Only then did Arendt turn his gaze to face Count Stadler.

The Count smiled brightly and spoke again.

“Thank you.”

“…”

Arendt scratched the back of his head a few times and glanced around him.

He never thought he’d hear something like that from this character of “The Blue Knight of the Holy Sword”.

Arendt, who had been imagining the Count laughing among the bloody ghouls, stared blankly at the frail Count Stadler before him.

Count Stadler still had a smile on his pale face.

Arendt raised the corners of his mouth.

“It was nothing.”

Count Stadler looked momentarily dumbfounded.

Arendt turned around and strode into the hidden room.

Because it was surrounded by magic stones, the air in the entire space was so clear that it was hard to believe it was located underground.

This space was even more comfortable.

Arendt soon discovered a large magic stone embedded in the ceiling, which seemed to act as an air purifier for the space.

Count Stadler, who had followed him hurriedly, began to explain what he found.

“I took a quick look around, and it looks like it was used by an ancient archmage. It looks like he used this entire mine as his living space.”

“Living space?”

“Yes, the large cave outside that became the center of the tunnel also seemed to have been created a long time ago. I guess it was created by the owner of this room.”

When Arendt asked briefly, Count Stadler provided an answer right away.

In the room, not only the magic books, but also the various household items, clothes, and simple furniture were left intact. Thanks to the magic stone, there was almost no dust, so it was hard to imagine that it had been left unattended for hundreds of years.

“The stairs leading to the exit seem to have been made by the guys while developing the mine. Other than that, there doesn’t seem to be any other passageway. For now, the other knights are investigating.”

“If there is no passage, how did the owner come and go?”

“Perhaps they used teleportation magic. Now that magic is not practiced on a large scale, it has become impossible, but in ancient times, there must have been great wizards who could cast teleportation magic.”

Count Stadler’s voice became even more excited as he spoke up to that point.

“If we could find traces of such magic, it would be a truly great discovery. It would rewrite the history of magic in the Caerleon Empire!”

Arendt looked up at the ceiling again, listening to the story in its entirety.

He hadn’t noticed it before, but the old painting on the ceiling that looked like a celestial map was still intact, embodying the passage of time.

At that moment, Laius, who was cleaning the mine outside, came into the room.

“Count, can you help me? I need to disarm the barrier surrounding the entire mine.”

“Oh, yes! I understand.”

Count Stadler nodded quickly and went out. Now, the only ones left in the room were Laius, Arthur, Richt… and Arendt.

Laius was finally able to ask them about the situation.

“I heard the general situation from Count Stadler. What happened?”

“Well, this is just my guess.”

It was Arendt who took the initiative, as if he had been waiting for it.

“Wasn’t it their plan to empty this mine from the beginning?”

“Why do you think so?”

“It’s obvious. They abandoned the mine more easily than I thought. It’s also strange that there was only one person here. From the beginning, they were planning to take Count Stadler and escape.”

They had enough time to duplicate the magic book and all the experimental tools used by the previous owner. If they had obtained enough magic stones, there would be no problem in just taking the Count.

“They knew that Marquis Grieg had been caught in the act, but they brought him here because they were already ready to retreat. The person stationed here set up a golem trap at the entrance and we fell in it.”

It was the same as the banquet episode in the novel. They were discovered by Laius and disappeared, leaving behind only a corpse that was disguised as a suicide.

It seemed clear that Vincent had prepared to retreat in advance.

“Who was the person who killed Marquis Grieg?”

“We missed him. Sorry.”

“I told you, even if we chased after him, we wouldn’t have been able to catch him.”

Arendt added to Arthur’s sullen retort.

The moment Arendt saw the golems, he couldn’t help but know the person’s identity.

Vincent was a character who brought about a storm of blood every time he appeared.

Many civilians were massacred by the golems, which were built specifically for combat, and even the knights dispatched to stop them suffered great damage.

The golems were golems, but what puzzled the knights the most was the artifact he possessed.

In the novel, Vincent used artifacts to manipulate humans at will. The scenes of people who became his marionettes wailing and committing murders against their will were still vivid in his mind.

‘He didn’t have that artifact yet?’

If he had used that, it would have been quite a hassle.

It was Richt’s complicated voice that brought Arendt out of his thoughts.

“So in the end, we fell straight into their trap?”

“No, sir. We got what we wanted.”

Arendt stuffed his hands into his pockets.

“Why do you think they abandoned the mine? It’s because they are not ready to face the royal family yet.”

If they tried to protect this place since its location had already been discovered, they could have easily ended up destroying themselves.

“They’re running away like a scared dog with their tails between their legs, but they’re trying to make a fuss. Anyway, we just need to make good use of what they gave us.”

There were golem fragments, magic stones, ancient magic books, and research materials that remained. They were all too much to obtain in one expedition.

Richt, who had been listening to him silently, blurted out briefly.

“Arendt.”

“Yes?”

“Are you okay?”

Arendt blinked at the unexpected question. Arthur, who was right next to him, also clicked his tongue.

“That’s right. Who told you to jump out on your own?”

“Then my seniors should have moved more nimbly.”

Arendt, his face crumpled, blurted out.

Laius asked curiously.

“What does that mean?”

“That guy named Vincent declared war on Arendt before he left. He said he’d remember him.”

Arthur immediately spoke without missing a beat, and Laius’ face hardened.

“Is that true?”

“Yeah. There wasn’t much I could do.”

“Even if you worry about this kid…”

“Oh, everyone is talking a lot.”

Just as Arthur opened his mouth to say another word of reprimand, Arendt struck him first.

“If those guys aren’t stupid, they probably already had a feeling. Nothing will change now.”

He said he wouldn’t let them worry about anything unnecessary. There was nothing they could say to that.

Just as the subtle silence was about to continue, Arendt opened his mouth again.

“And you know what?”

“What?”

“The best defense is a preemptive strike.”

What kind of life had this kid lived? It was really unbelievable that such a person came from a place as big as Count Eckhart’s family.

The expressions of the three people, once filled with worry, turned to bewilderment.

“I’m not joking.”

“This isn’t a joke, you punk!”

Arthur, who had been very angry recently, shouted.

Well then, that’s right. The serious atmosphere in this place couldn’t last long with Arendt in it.

Laius let out a short sigh.

“Okay, thank you all for your hard work. Get back and get some rest.”

“You don’t have snacks? I’m hungry.”

Arendt turned around and started walking leisurely out of the mine.

At that very moment, his face that wasn’t in view of his colleagues suddenly became cold.

‘I’ll remember you…’

That was something he should be saying. What he said to Arthur was also sincere.

Now that he’d confirmed Vincent’s existence, he couldn’t just sit still. If he wanted to turn this story into a comedy, he’d have to get Vincent off the stage as quickly as possible.

‘There’s no need to look for him, he’ll find us first.’

Arendt’s pace quickened.

If his guess was correct, Vincent would reappear shortly, probably bringing that damned artifact with him.

He had to prepare before that.

There was a lot to do after returning to the palace.