Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 297



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Episode 297. On the other side of the scale (4)

The carriage carrying Leonora was running so fast that dust was flying. As she watched the scenery passing by, she thought about the Grail Knight she had just seen.

‘There was never a person like that in my life.’

Leonora felt ecstatic again as she recalled Isaac’s face.

He was a handsome man with a handsome face, just as she had heard. But what caught Leonora’s eye was not such insignificant appearance.

She could make a line of handsome men just by throwing gold at them. But unless she was going to be sold as a prostitute, she had no interest in handsome men.

What she was interested in was ‘value’.

The value of treasure, the value of real estate, the value of business… … .

And Leonora had an instinctive talent for putting a price on everything she saw.

What others might see as trash can be worth its weight in gold to her, and what may seem like an ordinary haunted house can be a stunning piece of real estate to her.

Her ‘intuition’ is almost always right.

If the golden idol was a miracle to her, then it was a miracle; if it was an instinctive feeling, then it was a feeling; if it was just an illusion born of her good luck, then it was an illusion. But the golden idol protects its followers in a more obscure and ambiguous way than any other faith.

So Leonora believed that this talent was a miracle bestowed upon her.

Thanks to this, she was able to rise to prominence among the three sisters and gain overwhelming power. Many merchants believed that the future of the merchants should be entrusted to Leonora, rather than her sister who was honest and tactless and her younger sister who believed that anything could be solved by acting cute and acting cute.

Leonora believed so too. But today her faith was shaken.

‘That… I don’t know what to say.’

The moment Leonora saw Isaac, she felt gold moving.

I’m not saying that something like a golden statue can move.

Wherever Isaac touched, wherever he stepped, in each sigh he let out, the world seemed to turn gold, treasures rippled like waves, and rare dyes and spices were displayed.

‘If that Grail Knight had been born an orc, he would have become a Khan. If he had died, he would have sought the position of regent in the Undead Cult. If he had been born a merchant… … he would have become the object of control and control of all things.’

Leonora absentmindedly thought about it and then was startled.

In fact, Isaac had been granted the title of Elril’s Great Warrior in the Kingdom of Elril, and had even been granted the status of a saint in the Code of Light. It was even reported that he was wielding the Red Grail and the Salt Council.

Leonora believed she could be the one to lead the Golden Idol’s upper echelons. But now that belief has been shaken.

Talent, effort, and cunning are of no importance in the face of that overwhelming presence.

Whoever catches Isaac could become the target.

That’s why Leonora couldn’t face Isaac for long. She felt like she would be sucked into his charm if she looked at him any longer. If she stayed by his side, she would be drawn into the golden procession without realizing it and would quickly become an ‘asset’ of the Grail Knights.

‘That can’t be.’

Fortunately, Leonora recognized Isaac’s worth and was able to keep her distance.

Leonora didn’t want to be anyone’s property. She was the one who rolled the gold, not the gold.

Isaac was a must-have asset.

It didn’t matter that he was married. In a way, isn’t being married a sign of being verified? And it goes without saying that the verified person is a daughter of the Brandt family.

Those who fell in love with Isaac only because of his appearance will not realize his true value. Perhaps only he can move Isaac… … .

Kururur… Leonora’s thoughts were interrupted when the carriage suddenly began to slow down. Leonora opened the window facing the coachman’s seat. The carriage was stopped in front of a fork in the road.

“Why did you stop?”

“Miss, I think it would be better to take a detour towards Norden Port instead of Lenheim.”

The coachman said calmly.

Leonora had to hurry to Southern Odrif, so the coachman’s suggestion that she should take a major detour to the north was ridiculous. But Leonora did not listen to the coachman’s words.

“Is it a big threat?”

“You might die.”

The groom answered firmly.

The coachman was another worthy man that Leonora had found, one of the few people she could trust with her life.

He had a talent for sensing ‘threats’, similar to Leonora’s.

Leonora’s expression became serious at the coachman’s answer.

Not only the groom himself, but also the mercenaries guarding her were skilled enough to easily deal with a group of bandits. For him to say something like that meant that a truly serious threat was approaching.

Leonora’s gaze turned to Angela, the girl sitting on the other side of the carriage. Instead of the warm gaze of the Isacre estate, Leonora was looking at her with the glassy eyes of a merchant calculating value.

“It looks like there are saboteurs. Let’s do that.”

“Yes. Just in case, I will keep running without stopping even when it gets dark.”

The coachman changed the direction of the carriage as Leonora ordered.

***

However, the carriage could not run for long and eventually had to stop again.

As I opened the coachman’s window, I saw the coachman standing there with his sword drawn. This meant that it would be difficult to force an escape while pulling the carriage.

“I am a Knight of the Holy Grail, my lady.”

“Sir Isaac?”

Leonora couldn’t figure out how Isaac, who was obviously staying at the castle, had gotten there faster than she did. Was there a shortcut?

Leonora tried to get out of the carriage, but the coachman gestured to stop her. Only then did she realize the meaning of the sword he had pulled out.

‘The Holy Grail Knights are a threat?’

Although it was an embarrassing situation, Leonora, instead of being shaken, began to prepare what she could.

Meanwhile, Isaac, who had flown in on Nel, approached the carriage with a tired face. He had clearly thought it was going to Lenheim, but the carriage suddenly changed direction to the north, making him even more tired.

The coachman took out his sword, but sighed at the aura of ‘threat’ he felt from Isaac.

It was an opponent he couldn’t defeat even if he died and came back to life.

Isaac didn’t look nervous at all even though the clueless mercenaries surrounded him with their horses.

“What is a renowned Grail Knight doing like a thief in the middle of the night?”

The groom opened his mouth, hoping that the other party would act like the renowned Grail Knight. However, Isaac was more inclined towards the latter than the former.

“Is Angela in there?”

“I’m with Miss Leonora. We had planned to finish the conversation and send her back to her relatives, but you suddenly changed your mind? Even so, you shouldn’t act like a thief. This kind of thing… … .”

Isaac twisted his lips at the story of his relatives.

“As a relative, Angela is not her real name to begin with. The only thing that is clear is that she is a descendant of the Selmon merchant. But what clues did you get from there to find her relative?”

“Enough. Let me explain.”

Leonora, who had somehow finished preparing, opened the carriage door and got out. The coachman stood in a position where he could jump in at any time in case of an emergency.

Leonora felt ecstatic again when she saw Isaac again under the moonlight.

How could this man have the talent to drag around gold and silver treasures even in such a wasteland? However, it was a shame that the gold and silver treasures he was after were already in Leonora’s hands.

“Doubt has sprouted in your heart, Holy Grail Knight. It seems you have given your child a lot of affection.”

“Tell me quickly what you know. Why did you want to take Angela away?”

“As you said, we still don’t know exactly about Angela’s identity. However, there aren’t many Selmon merchants. However, since they live together as a family, the investigation is quick. 10 years old, female, recently lost her parents, her base is Siraxa, and she has recently been to and from the Black Empire. With these clues, we can almost pinpoint her.”

Leonora answered nonchalantly. Even Isaac, who had come running, was embarrassed, as he was sure that there was something in her straightforward answer.

“According to the investigation, the child’s father’s name is Tamil, and his mother’s name is Osha. I don’t know the names, but I remember that Tamil’s eldest sister has a nephew. Even if I’m wrong, the Selmon merchants are a small blood relative. If you ask around, you can eventually find relatives.”

Isaac was speechless.

Leonora answered without hesitation, as if she had expected Isaac to be suspicious. Now, Isaac’s only basis for suspecting Leonora was based on the game’s premise: ‘You’re a sociopath created by capitalism.’

A young girl who has lost her parents is taken to a safe place behind the scenes, to her relatives’ house.

Leonora’s words had both sufficient basis and justification.

For Isaac, the only thing he can do is force.

“Let me take it myself.”

Leonora’s lips twitched.

“That is… … difficult, Holy Grail Knight.”

“okay.”

As soon as Leonora answered, Isaac pulled out Cachulain. If Leonora had answered, “Do so,” he planned to apologize and let her go.

But her answer gave Isaac confidence.

It was something I kept suspecting, but couldn’t be sure of.

“Does Angela know where the Hand of Midas is located?”

Leonora’s expression, which had been calm throughout, broke for the first time.

***

I kept doubting.

Why did Angela’s parents, who belonged to the upper ranks of the Golden Idol, risk their lives to go all the way to the Holy Land, Lua?

What to look for there?

Most people can’t easily answer that question. But Isaac, who saw the ending at the top of the Golden Idol, was able to guess the answer.

Because somewhere there is the golden idol’s greatest relic, the Hand of Midas.

The ‘Hand of Midas’ is the victory declaration condition at the top of the Golden Idol.

Isaac’s last ending in Nameless Chaos was the hardest and most complicated ending. The reason why the Hand of Midas victory is difficult is not because of any particular meaning, but because the power of the Golden Idol’s upper group is weak and it is difficult to expect a large religious buff.

This is a collection of achievements for people who deliberately play as shit characters, nothing more, nothing less.

And the ending was to dye the entire world in gold. What kind of bad taste was that? It might make sense if you look into it, but Isaac wasn’t interested in it at the moment.

The important thing is that the Hand of Midas is in the Holy Land, Lua.

However, the Hand of Midas is not a relic that can be seen, but rather exists in the form of an ambiguous concept. This is because it is a kind of anomalous entity that appeared when the immortal emperor Beshek destroyed the boundary between the earth and the heaven.

To anchor it in reality, special procedures must be followed.

Because of this, Isaac believed that it was likely that Angela and her family had figured out how to find the Hand of Midas.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. The Hand of Midas?”

Leonora forcefully suppressed her voice as she refuted. It was only natural that few people knew about the Hand of Midas. In fact, even the mercenaries, including the coachman, shared curious glances.

“Even if you pretend not to know, I already know everything. The touch of Midas… … .”

Just as he was about to say that the Golden Idol Top was the only way to turn this situation around and win, Leonora raised her hand in a hurry.

“Wait, wait. Okay, so stop talking. If you keep talking about that, I’ll have to kill all my people here.”

The mercenaries’ eyes flashed in shock at her words. And only the groom, who was likely to be the executioner, readjusted his sword.

Leonora winked at the mercenaries and said.

“The escort mission is over, so go to Lenheim first and wait.”

The mercenaries turned their horses and left without a word. Isaac felt bold at the sight of them reducing their security force, but it was a wise move since even a few mercenaries were unlikely to cause any problems anyway. Leonora, who saw that the mercenaries were far enough away, turned her gaze back to Isaac and opened her mouth.

“… … That’s right. The Hand of Midas is in the Holy Land, Lua. And the merchants of Selmon, among them, spent a lot of time and effort to find out its exact location.”

“But Angela was the first one to come up with something resembling a clue.”

“It was a surprising result. I don’t know why I returned to Siraxa instead of Odrif.”

“Why would that be?”

Isaac looked at Leonora coldly and said.

“I guess that’s because I know you’re the kind of person who would tear a child’s head off to find out.”

Even the priest of the monastery suggested that Angela risk her idiothood and use the holy relic to remove the protective doctrine. Leonora could have gone even further in order to get accurate information.

Leonora did not deny or get angry at Isaac’s words. She just smiled sadly and coolly.

Isaac felt his anger rising at the sight of that smile.

“Is gold that important? Why do you want the hand that makes gold so badly that you search the child’s head?”

“… … Making gold? Why would you need something like that?”

Leonora’s face showed a look of bewilderment. Isaac wondered if she was acting strange again, but Leonora was staring at him with a subtle expression.

Soon she smiled brightly as if she had noticed something.

“Aha, the Grail Knight doesn’t know what the Hand of Midas is!”