“… Let’s confront them head on?”

When Richt asked after a long silence, frowning, Arendt shrugged.

“There’s nothing else we can do.”

“Wait a minute. Let’s say we do that. What if these people get involved?”

“If we sort out the situation upstairs, they’ll come right back here.”

Although Rider argued in a slightly agitated tone, Arendt continued speaking calmly.

“If they see that we have made the prison like this, they will know at once that they are not capable of handling us on their own. If they take those people hostage, we will be helpless as well.”

They still thought of them as just some prodigal young masters out to play with a group of ordinary mercenaries.

The enemies probably never thought that they could break down a wall with their bare hands, so they left them alone without even setting up proper surveillance.

The apprentice knight’s eyes slowly scanned his group.

He himself and eight others. If he included Saif, there were nine people in total who could fight.

“And there are twelve pieces of luggage…”

“Mouth, mouth!”

Arthur growled and threw a punch at the back of his head, but Arendt easily dodged the blow by ducking down as he had done before.

“It’s probably chaos outside by now, so if we go with that, something will work out.”

Arendt took a step back and turned his gaze towards the victims. Those who met his golden eyes flinched.

Ssss, his beautiful lips curved into a smile. Arthur and Richt noticed this and stepped back as if they had seen something they shouldn’t have seen.

That was a sign that the kid was about to cause an accident.

“Now that it’s come to this, let’s fuck over those hated guys.”

“Fuck… over?”

As the boy holding his younger sister muttered along with him as if possessed, Arendt added lightly.

“Later, I’ll let you hit the back of your loan shark father’s head.”

The boy’s eyes, which had been dark until just now, began to gradually heat up.

“Brother, is that true?”

The same was true for other people. Those who had been lying around listlessly gradually regained their energy, with just those few words.

Arendt nodded in satisfaction as he saw the people’s morale returning.

“Then, since we’ve already started this commotion, let’s make it even louder, so that our colleagues outside can hear it.”

“…Haa. Okay, let’s do it.”

Glenn sighed deeply, wiping his face and gritting his teeth.

“What can’t be done now that things have come to this!”

“I’ll just smash them to pieces!”

Saif couldn’t help but tremble as he watched from afar the knights who were possessed by evil and gaining momentum.

Who said that madness is contagious? He had a strong feeling that maybe he was seeing that phenomenon right now.

Arendt’s instructions continued.

“Let’s split into three groups and move. One team will escape first. The rest of us will stall here for some more time.”

“What? Our power is already low, so wouldn’t it be bad if we spread out even more here?”

“If we rush in like a crowd in this situation, it will be more noticeable. Besides, some our faces are already known, and we will be caught and surrounded right away. Can you break through the encirclement with all these people?”

That also made sense.

Arendt, who had been thinking for a moment, opened his mouth again.

“Senior Richt, take Saif and these people outside.”

“Outside?”

When Richt asked with a slight frown, Arendt answered simply.

“When Senior Rider, Senior Glenn, and I stand in the middle of the gambling house and draw attention, you move during that gap. If we hit, break things, and cause a scene, the customers will definitely get scared and try to run away, so you can blend in with that group.”

“I thought the exit would be blocked.”

“Just break through it, what’s the problem? You’re not saying that you can’t deal with a few mercenaries in a place like this, are you?”

“…”

Richt, who was about to refute, groaned and closed his mouth.

“Once you break through, you’ll take the people and run to where the leader is. Saif will know the shortcut to get out of the territory.”

Arendt’s gaze scanned the people carefully.

“The rest of us are going to investigate the basement. If we search every room, we’ll probably find something useful.”

“What… what should I look for?”

The man who had been listening silently raised one hand and asked. Then, an unfriendly response came back.

“Anything that goes out into the world that will work against them.”

“Yes?”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a ledger, slush funds, or a famous person with a known face who was sitting in a gambling house.”

In short:

“Find something to catch and threaten them with. Anything will do.”

“…”

The knights’ expressions instantly turned pale at the words that came out without any hesitation.

At that moment, the boy raised his hand.

“Yeah, you. Do you have something to say?”

“I know that Merlin’s office is somewhere underground.”

“That’s great information. You’re much better than those guys.”

As Arendt chuckled, the boy abruptly got up from his seat.

“Please let me help you too. I’ve forced myself to help out a few times, so I know the general directions. I don’t know exactly where the office is, but…”

“That’s enough. Then you take the lead. Can you do it?”

“Yes, I can. My body is also quite fast. Can you send my younger sibling out first?”

“Alright, we’ll do that.”

Arendt nodded slightly and looked around at everyone.

“There’s no problem, right?”

“It’s been a mess from beginning to end.”

Arthur, who had been silent, spoke frankly and honestly, with a lot of sincerity.

“It’s good to let the people leave, but what about the fugitives that will arise in the process?”

“It’s impossible to sweep them all up here, and the leaders won’t be able to escape. Unless they figure out our true identity.”

“That’s the point.”

Arthur clicked his tongue.

Hiding their identity. That was the most important thing.

“Even if we do, what about these people? No one looks like a mercenary or a customer at a gambling house.”

“There’s a way to do that too. We did something similar last time.”

But this time, Arendt only shrugged his shoulders.

Eyes full of suspicion focused on him.

“Damn, you haven’t found anything yet?”

Merlin was swearing at the employees. His eye socket was swollen and bloodshot from having been hit hard by the silver-haired brat, but that wasn’t what was important right now.

“Damn, you fucking brat, once this thing is resolved I’ll throw you to the hunting dogs!”

In front of him, who was running wild, the employees bowed their heads and moved their hands faster.

The customers’ complaints already were sky-high.

“What the hell is this? Why won’t you let me leave?”

“I’m sorry. Please wait a moment…”

“Do you know how much my time costs?”

The waiter kept bowing to the drunken, swearing customer.

Merlin clicked his tongue at the sight. He was somehow trying to buy time by appeasing him with alcohol and food, but even that was reaching its limit.

While they were having fun, this situation occurred. Except for the bare minimum of personnel, everyone who was working at the time came out and started checking the money one by one.

“What kind of trick is this! Why are you trying to rob someone else of their money?”

“I’ll just take a quick look and return it to you right away. I’m so sorry!”

This kind of commotion broke out here and there because they had to check each customer’s money one by one.

Merlin gritted his teeth.

“It’s hard to tell the difference. Look at it carefully!”

“Yes!”

But he couldn’t explain the situation to the guests because that would mean he was admitting his mistake.

If this continued, the guests would lose trust in the gambling house…

‘I’m fucked!’

It was Merlin himself who brought that little brat here, thinking he was a big shot.

Who would have thought that he was some crazy guy who mixed fake coins with gold!

At that moment, when he was out of his mind, a mercenary came running up from the lower floor and shouted.

“I’m sorry, but there’s a problem downstairs!”

“Problem? What problem?”

“That…”

When Merlin asked nervously, the mercenary hesitated for a moment when answering.

That was enough for him to get the idea. Obviously, that bunch of kids were causing a ruckus.

“Go down with the few guys guarding the entrance! Damn it, you incompetents can’t even stop one of them. If they make any noise, just knock them out! You can even break their arms and legs.”

“Yes!”

The other mercenaries, having received Merlin’s signal, rushed down into the basement.

Fortunately, everything was quiet after that. Merlin started biting his nails again as he watched the gambling hall turn into a mess.

They haven’t found a single counterfeit coin yet. While they were taking out all the coins and touching and examining them one by one, the casino was thrown into complete chaos.

Among them, there were even some who tried to steal, and several violent incidents occurred.

It was all because of that silver-haired brat.

“I will kill that brat with my own hands…!”

“Can you do that?”

At that moment, a cold voice rang in his ear. It was the beautiful voice of a young man.

His blood ran cold.

Merlin barely managed to turn his stiff neck to check his opponent’s face. Sure enough, the face of a man who would be so disgusting that he couldn’t even chew him up was right in front of him.

Arendt took a step back from Merlin, whose mouth dropped open, and smirked.

“You, you, you…! How?”

“The security is really lax. I don’t know how they can brag about being mercenaries when they can’t even defeat one young master.”

He, who had been provoking to the fullest, put the sword he was holding on his shoulder as if he was showing it off.

Merlin recognized it at a glance.

That sword didn’t match his fancy clothes at all. It was clearly given to mercenaries employed at the gambling house.

That meant only one thing.

Merlin’s chin began to tremble.

“Surely not… you defeated all of them?”

“Those rascals? I took care of them. Of course, I didn’t do it alone.”

Arendt nodded slightly behind him. There were two large mercenaries glaring at him with sinister eyes.

Although they clearly had their weapons taken, they were all still holding the swords that had originally belonged to the mercenaries of the gambling house.

Arendt tilted his head slightly, his face expressionless.

“How’s the treasure hunt going? It looks like you’re having a hard time. Should I help you?”

“This…”

Merlin’s face turned bright red in an instant, and a scream that shook the entire gambling hall erupted.

“You idiots. What are you doing! Catch those bastards right now!”

“Yes?”

The mercenaries and employees who had been desperately searching through coin pouches reflexively raised their heads.

Merlin swore at them.

“Catch that silver-haired brat! If you let that brat go, you’re dead!”