Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 54



Only Noblemtl

Episode 54. I accept your debt (2)

‘You recovered faster than expected.’

Isaac thought as he looked down from his lodgings at the Soeur Market, which was quickly starting to come alive.

It was a commercial center to begin with, and most of the damage was offset by the Golden Idol, providing a foundation for merchants to make a comeback. Of course, the top of the Golden Idol suffered quite a painful loss, but since it was an insider’s fault, they could not blame anyone.

And at the center of the rumor was Isaac.

Many people saw what happened in the market as Isaac pursued Yukhar on the night the Lorecus crash began. Although people did not know what Isaac did specifically, rumors spread widely that he had caught the ‘evil’ black market merchants who were encouraging the skyrocketing price of Lorecus, and that he had rescued merchants who were about to go bankrupt.

Moreover, the rumors did not stop there.

There were even rumors going around secretly that an ancient god had been resurrected or that a vampire from the Red Grail Club had appeared. Of course, it sounded like such a far-fetched story that it made those who heard it sneeze, but it was packaged as a fairly believable rumor because it was the ‘Holy Grail Knight’ and not just anyone else.

Because it was a difficult time, we needed a fun story.

‘From the merchants’ point of view, it would have been more attractive to have been freed from brainwashing with the help of the noble Holy Grail Knight rather than to have been blinded by excessive greed.’

He chose to forget his shameful memories and become one with the Holy Grail Knight in the story. Although it was an attempt to avoid responsibility, it was not a bad thing for Isaac. Now they will spread across the continent and tell the story of Isaac’s heroism.

“hmm?”

At that time, Isaac saw something in his eyes. A well-dressed nobleman was passing through the market with a group of people on horseback. Isaac smiled as he saw him heading to the top of the golden idol.

‘It seems the time has finally come.’

Isaac sent his will to Hesabel, who was waiting somewhere while packing his things.

Soon, the wooden panel on the ceiling opened and Hesabel appeared upside down. She looked half-asleep, as if she had just woken up.

“Are you always sleeping there?”

“This is the only place where people don’t come and go and the sun doesn’t shine… … .”

Hesabel, a vampire, lived a life where day and night were alternated as much as possible. It is not impossible to be active during the day like the Walaika hunters, and you can move around if you cover yourself appropriately, but it is true that your movement is still significantly restricted.

“Is there something you would like to order? “As far as the church’s affairs are concerned, things are progressing smoothly.”

Hesabel usually wandered around at night, focusing on managing the nameless Chaos Church that had begun to emerge and looking into rumors.

Along with Isaac’s fame, the ‘Cult’ was spreading fairly quickly through word of mouth. As expected from the nameless Order of Chaos, it had no name.

‘Now it may be considered just a wave of the Code of Light… … .’

I had no intention of revealing my identity anyway.

Isaac planned to keep this church as a hidden faith in the Code of Light until the end. There are many such examples in real-life religions. Religions that diverge due to slightly different interpretations of doctrine.

How many branches are there in the largest religions, Christianity or Islam?

“There is nothing to order, just pack your bags. “I’ll be leaving here soon.”

“at las.”

Hesabel put her head back into the ceiling without asking why. For some reason she felt quite uneasy about being in Soeur for some time. The reason is that she is satisfied with just leaving this place anyway.

smart.

Not long after, the person I had been waiting for arrived.

“Isaac, if you don’t mind being rude, I have a very important request to make… … .”

Catelyn made a strange expression when she saw Isaac, who had already packed his bags and even put on his armor. Isaac responded with a truly sad look on his face.

“Hmm, I guess it would be rude. “I was just thinking of leaving Soeur.”

***

Of course, Isaac had no intention of leaving.

However, Catelyn, who did not know the circumstances, barely managed to beg Isaac and brought him to the store.

In the business meeting room, there was a noble man who passed by Isaac earlier when he was looking down at the market. He looked nervous when he saw Isaac, whom even the branch leader at the top of the Golden Idol had brought to him with difficulty.

In the end, the nobleman came first and greeted Isaac.

“This is Count Coven Lehart. Glory and blessings to you on your journey. Paladin.”

“This is Isaac.”

Isaac was satisfied with the Count’s attitude.

‘I think we’ve taken the lead to some extent.’

The relationship between nobles and paladins is delicate. The Gertonian Empire, which uses the Code of Light as its state religion, has a powerful religious order, but at the same time, the power of the emperor is also considerable.

Originally, the emperor was treated as an agent who had been given temporal power from God ‘for a while’, but this is because the current emperor is already a blessed sacrament.

Is the Eucharist given a mission by God superior, or is a group of priests who borrow God’s power superior?

This was a delicate issue.

Thanks to this, there was bound to be a subtle war of wits between the nobles, a military group loyal to the emperor, and the paladins, who were loyal to the church.

But in any case, now it has become a painting that Lehardt managed to persuade the ‘Holy Grail Knight who was trying to resume his noble journey’ and brought to him with difficulty. The Count didn’t realize it, but he had no choice but to bow down to Isaac.

‘It’s okay to bow down a little, but it also sucks to bow down to someone who was just born with a spoon in their mouth.’

And this kind of positioning can determine the upper hand when ‘negotiating’ the price.

Lehart, a nobleman with a handsome mustache, opened his mouth first as if to start a story.

“I have heard about the feats of the Holy Grail Knight. “He immediately put to rest the current of madness that had recently been swirling around Soeur.”

“I just followed the path God led me to.”

To be exact, it is a status window, but it is not wrong to say that it is also God’s guidance.

“That is a humble thing to say. However, according to the stories I heard on the way here, it seems that it is not simply a pilgrim’s walk along the road.”

Isaac just listened for a moment, wondering what Lehart was saying. Soon, the rumors about Isaac that poured out of Lehart’s mouth embarrassed him.

The shadow of the crazy ghost god who ruled Soeur… … Innocent citizens were deceived and driven into madness… … When merchants were mentally controlled and bought the ‘drug’ Lorecus as if they were zombies, and no one paid attention to spring crops, a catastrophe caused by hunger was predicted.

Suddenly, a Holy Grail Knight appeared to exorcise an evil ghost.

Eventually, the Holy Grail Knight shattered the evil plot with a heroic battle, and the evil ghost made his last effort to taint Soeur with madness and fear. But then the Holy Grail Knight appeared with a halo that shattered the night and scolded them.

“… … The story goes that the merchants came to their senses, bowed, and finally defeated the evil ghost. In addition, he generously helped those who were impoverished and suffering by releasing his assets.”

“… … .”

Isaac looked into the distance for a moment and pretended like nothing had happened. In fact, if you look at the big picture, he wasn’t really wrong.

The problem is that the Holy Grail Knight in the story exorcised the evil god to make money by investing in futures rather than for a noble purpose, the enemies he faced were red-faced scoundrels and debtors obsessed with high points, and the assets that were released were Yukhar’s from the beginning. .

And that he was the one who benefited the most from this incident.

‘Well, that’s the inside story. Anyway, as long as the result is good, that’s fine.’

While Isaac was distracted, Lehart carefully clasped his hands together, as if accepting the silence as a sign of humility and positivity.

“yes. I also know that there are a lot of exaggerated and false stories circulating among merchants. It’s a shame, but I also suffered a loss while trying to make some money during this incident. So I didn’t want to believe even half of it, but the more I heard, the more it seemed like it wasn’t a lie.”

“I just did what I had to do.”

Isaac barely conveyed his humility. However, it seemed like Lehardt’s praise would continue after that, so to change the topic, I immediately asked about his business.

“But may I know what brought you to me? “I don’t think it was to praise me.”

“Hmm, as expected of a faithful Grail Knight. In fact, I would like to support the journey of the Holy Grail Knight… … “There is one thing I would like to ask you.”

Lehart spoke cautiously.

“My neighbor has an estate called Hendlock. Although the mountain is rugged, it used to be a place where mining was developed. “I have been collaborating for a long time with the ancestral lord there, Viscount Rishen Hendrak.”

‘Hendlock!’

Isaac was surprised by the unexpected name, but did not show it.

Hendlock Manor was at the top of his list of places he would one day visit.

Currently, it is an unsightly mountain valley village with nothing special to see, but due to the Lorecus incident, it has become an even more unsightly and shabby ruin.

However, its true value is revealed two years later, around the time when Yeomyeonggun begins.

This was because the opportunity to trigger the Dawn Army occurred there, making it a very important strategic point in many ways. Isaac had always wanted to settle down somewhere close to that place or make it his hometown, and it just so happened that he got involved like this.

‘But the lord of the village next door, not Lord Hendrak, came to visit…? … .’

Lehart continued speaking without understanding Isaac’s intentions.

“However, not long ago, Viscount Lishen Hendlock died from an unidentified illness, and his son, Kyle Hendlock, inherited the title of lord. I decided to continue my relationship of friendship and fellowship with his son. But Kyle Hendlock… … “I became obsessed with a woman and started playing for money.”

Playing with money… … Isaac touched his mouth to suppress laughter.

It was the story he had been waiting for.

***

The next story went exactly as Isaac had expected. A lord named Kyle Hendlock began dabbling in Lorecus, borrowing money here and there, and even reaching out to Lehart. But the results are blah blah blah.

The story ultimately led to bankruptcy.

However, Kyle Hendlock showed neither the ability nor the will to repay the money.

‘I thought there would be one or two nobles going bankrupt due to this incident.’

So Isaac anticipated two situations. Either a bankrupt noble comes to him in a hurry, or debtors who need to shake off the bankrupt noble come to him.

Either way, a justification is needed.

The justification of ‘punishing corrupt nobles who have dabbled in evil magic’ would be better than the justification of ‘going to collect stolen money’.

Conversely, a bankrupt nobleman must have Isaac by his side in order to appeal that he is irrelevant in this ‘evil situation’.

Then, debtors cannot openly blame the nobleman for going bankrupt.

Even when nobles are on the verge of bankruptcy, they value a cause more than money.

If you are looking for a chance to make a comeback, you must not collapse in an ugly manner.

So Isaac was planning to grab the flower playing card and take what he needed from whoever came first. The best thing about Hendrak’s territory was land, and the next best thing was to secretly steal the secrets of the territory that only Isaac knew.

‘But is it the debtor who has come? … .’

I thought the bankrupt side would be in more dire straits, but it was an unexpected result. Well, maybe even this nobleman named Lehardt would be in danger of going bankrupt if he doesn’t receive the money.

Anyway, Isaac decided to listen to the story some more.

“So you want me to attack Viscount Hendlock with you?”

At those words, Lehart opened his eyes wide and waved his hand.

“no. How could you ask me to do something so subversive? I never thought of treating the Holy Grail Knight as such a street bastard. And Kyle Hendlock is my friend’s son, anyway. “I have no intention of harming you.”

Lehardt raised his brows and spoke cautiously.

“Of course, we have to make people responsible for what they are responsible for. If we try to avoid this situation, the central nobles will do even bigger things. Besides, I think it’s because of the woman that the child is ruined like this, so I plan to scold him.”

Because of the woman.

Isaac pondered Lehart’s words.

It’s a common story about a successful man being ruined by a woman. In most cases, these stories are closer to excuses made up to exonerate men, rather than being caused by women.

However, if it had happened at Hendlock’s territory, there was a possibility that something had really intervened.

“Now that I think about it, you said you got into Lorecus because of a woman. “What kind of woman is she?”

“yes? Ah, this is a new maid brought in by the previous lord. I’ve never talked to her, but I’ve seen her from afar, and she’s a very attractive woman. But even so, she is a maid and she lives next to you all the time, so isn’t that ruining her habits?”

Lehart also seemed to have no evidence.

However, it is a man’s physiology to imagine something else when an attractive woman is next to him. People tend to have preconceived notions like, ‘I see a child doing something he doesn’t normally do, so it’s because of the woman.’

Isaac retorted sarcastically.

“Yes, well, since he is so attractive, he might be an angel who infiltrated the border to carry out the Red Grail’s evil plot. Don’t you know that she disguises herself as an ordinary maid to kill the lord and corrupts his son?”

“yes? I think that may have gone too far. Paladin. Why would you become an angel of the Red Grail and work as a maid for a border noble? “If it were me, I would corrupt the emperor or seduce the duke.”

However, to Lehart’s ears, the Grail Knight’s words seemed to amount to solemn concerns and reasoning. When he took it seriously, Isaac had nothing more to say.

Although I thought to myself,

‘The heir to the Red Grail Club’s ducal family also came here and became a debtor.’

***

“Are we leaving now, Isaac?”

Hesabel, the heir to the ducal family of the Red Grail Club and a former debt collector who was now Isaac’s henchman, was waiting in front of the lodgings. She had packed everything as Isaac instructed and was ready to leave at any time.

When Isaac stared at him without answering, Hesabel tilted her head.

“Why do you look at me like that, Isaac?”

“No, my thoughts just got complicated.”

This was all done by Hezabel. What can he do when he finds himself in the grave he dug?

Isaac said with a sigh.

“I’m going to Hendlock Manor.”

Finding holy relics is important, but suppressing evildoers is also important.

And even more so if the evil person has a lot of money.