Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 321



Only Krnovel

Episode 321. Your Price (6)

Since Isaac had not sensed any movement at all, Hastel must have been ambushing in some strange form. Before anyone could do anything, Hastel wrapped a thin red thread around Leonora’s neck. It was so sharp that blood flowed out as soon as the thread touched her.

‘Are you trying to take a hostage?’

Isaac looked at Hastel in disbelief.

Leonora’s rescue was a surprise, but it was only a surprise. Isaac had no relationship with Leonora, so he was no match for a hostage situation.

Above all, Isaac does not negotiate with the hostage takers.

And Hastel knew that fact well.

She shouted as if to make sure everyone around her heard, not just Isaac.

“Leonora Becia will take me. Prepare the top of the Golden Idol, Hesabel, the Split Rite, and the Grail Knight’s neck before sunrise. I will return when I am ready.”

As soon as Leonora finished her declaration, she blew out a thick fog of blood. Those who arrived late tried to push through the fog, but there was already no one inside.

The soldiers who had lost their escort right before their eyes looked at each other with pale expressions.

And then those gazes turned to Isaac.

***

“This is ridiculous.”

Isaac was astonished at Hastel’s cunning intimidation.

The hostage situation doesn’t work on Isaac. Leonora and Isaac were enemies to begin with. However, Hastel threatened the Golden Idol Caravan, not Isaac. Instead of taking on the burden of dealing with Isaac himself, he wanted to move the entire city of Odrif, the headquarters of the Golden Idol Caravan.

The idea that one should not support the hostage crisis was not an option. If Leonora, the powerful next-generation leader, died suddenly, there would be more than a few collaborators who would end up on the streets. For the Golden Idol Alliance, and for those whose livelihoods were at stake, justification was not an important issue.

“Sir, Holy Grail Knight. We must rescue the Lord of the Upper Division.”

The man who followed Leonora spoke urgently with a pale face. He was the coachman who had escorted Leonora before.

It didn’t seem like he was thinking, ‘Let’s kill the Grail Knight and fulfill his demands, like Hastel said.’ But as the sun rises, he’ll start to consider that option.

“Excuse me, but does the division ceremony and Hesabel refer to the holy relic of the Red Grail and the women of the Red Grail that the Knights of the Holy Grail carry around?”

“right.”

The coachman spoke cautiously, as if he was feeling impatient.

“I’m sorry, but I heard that there was a problem between the kidnapper and the Grail Knight. I don’t think it’s something that should involve our company, so could you please compromise?”

Isaac did not argue, saying, “You mercenary leader is the one who brought in the human hunters.” As long as the Splitting Ceremony and Hesabel were in Isaac’s hands, Hastel Gulmar would have chased Isaac sooner or later. Shallok was simply used.

Still, Isaac was annoyed by the brazen attitude of those on top of the golden idol.

“Your Golden Idol Group hired mercenaries and assassins to attack and threaten me. And now you want me to give up my possessions to rescue the wounded leader? How shameless.”

“But didn’t Lady Leonora just help Isaac?”

“There is no reason for me to cater to Leonora’s whims.”

Isaac knew that too. But Isaac still couldn’t understand why Leonora had pushed him so hard and now came to save him.

A simple whim? A change of heart? I couldn’t figure it out. If I couldn’t figure out why I was acting that way, I might change my mind again.

Isaac wanted to avoid a situation where he would be unilaterally swayed by the other person’s feelings.

Just when the atmosphere was about to turn tense, a round of applause rang out.

“Oh my, oh my… I thought I was going to die from running so fast. I’m not late, am I?”

It was Sherlock. A large number of mercenaries were rushing behind him. It was not yet clear whether they were there to help Isaac or to subdue him.

Isaac first explained the situation.

“Leonora has been kidnapped.”

“Yes? Who… … Ah, Duke Gulmar?”

“Yes. He told me to bring the division ceremony, Hesabel, and my head before sunrise.”

Sherlock heard that and figured out the strange war of nerves between Isaac and the soldiers on top of the Golden Idol. Sherlock tilted his head as if it wasn’t a difficult problem.

“Then you should go rescue them?”

Isaac did not answer. Then Sherlock said to the coachman, as if he was puzzled.

“Did Lady Leonora by any chance cancel the order to subdue the Grail Knights?”

“I was caught before I could say that. But I saw you personally dispel the shadow of death that had fallen over the Grail Knight.”

“So does that mean you have no intention of subduing the Grail Knight? That the order has been canceled?”

“I didn’t say that explicitly… … .”

“You’re the kind of guy who’ll only do business as written in the contract. Is that important now? Don’t you know anything about business?”

While the coachman was silent, Sherlock smiled and turned to Isaac.

“The Golden Idol Group will not be hostile to the Grail Knights. I vouch for this in the name of the mercenary leader, Sherlock. So, is that a solution?”

Isaac saw that Sherlock was quick to sort things out and gave him a slightly higher evaluation.

In his words, Isaac ‘had to save’ Leonora.

Because the harvesters did not completely disappear.

Leonora only became ‘not today’ when she paid the ‘death penalty’. In order to fully settle the tax, she had to meet Leonora and find out the identity of the tax. Asking about Angela would come later.

One way or another, Isaac has no choice but to save Leonora.

It was just difficult to move with those who were hostile towards you behind you. But fortunately, it was resolved smoothly thanks to Sherlock’s traffic control.

“But you know where Leonora is and you’re going to rescue her?”

At those words, Sherlock chuckled.

“Do you think the human hunters hired them just because they look pretty? We hired them because we couldn’t let them run wild in Odrif. At least if we kept them in one place, it would be easier to monitor and control them. Of course, we know where they’re hiding.”

***

The night wind made an eerie sound as it flowed through the cracks in the wall.

Leonora knew where this was. It was an abandoned lighthouse on the outskirts of Port Odrif. As soon as Hastel arrived at the lighthouse, he left Leonora in a corner and left her there.

That didn’t mean she was free to run away. The red thread was still wrapped around her neck, ready to rip off her head if she moved faster than crawling.

Hastel didn’t forget to warn either.

“The miracle of the Red Grail can heal wounds very quickly. Do you know what I mean?”

“It means that if necessary, you can cut off my limbs and imprison me.”

Leonora answered nonchalantly.

Hastel scoffed at her boast, but Leonora was not nervous at all. This was not the first time she had been threatened by the Duke of Walaika.

The top of the Golden Idol is also traded with the Immortal Cult.

That means, of course, that we also do business with the Walaika Kingdom.

Even the Walaika kingdom, as befitting a religion of those who could not give up physical pleasures, was sensitive to all kinds of luxury, pleasure, spices, and fashion. They were precious VIP customers to the golden idol merchants.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“what?”

“I am very close to Queen Sage Roanoke of the Kingdom of Walaika. I advise Her Majesty on quarterly fashion designs. I have also been invited to Duke Luetta Ere’s banquet.”

Having a lot of money means being very close to the upper class of society who covet that money. And Leonora, although she had no intention of doing it because it was not profitable for her business, was able to purchase the Gulmar Duchess’ house with just the slush funds she had created.

It was a miracle that no other religion could achieve, something only the golden idol could do with money.

Hastel’s expression hardened as she hinted that it would be no fun to mess with her. As an assassin, she was keenly aware of whether Leonora was lying.

It didn’t seem like a bluff.

Leonora tilted her head and looked at Hastel.

“This is my first time meeting the famous Duke Gulmar. I’ve always wanted to meet him, but I’ve heard he’s a shut-in in the castle. He doesn’t attend banquets, balls, or tea parties. What fun does he have?”

“… … You can have a lot of fun at home without having to go out.”

Hastel shuddered at the mere mention of banquets and balls.

“It’s better to do something constructive than to waste time on such useless things.”

“Constructive? What would that be like?”

“Reading, chess, music, painting, sculpture, theater. Too many to mention.”

“Oh, you’re very knowledgeable about art! I thought you had a different, more intellectual and mature vibe from other people. That vibe came from your experience.”

“Huh, are you comparing me to those empty-headed bastards? Pleasure has always been about using the five senses to its fullest potential. The empty-headed nobles of Walaika focus only on their primal senses of sight and taste. But I can understand how they feel when they listen to a statue made of rough stone or an orchestra playing exotic music… … Why am I chatting with you!”

Hastel turned away from Leonora, shouting nervously. Leonora clicked her tongue in regret. She had finally managed to make a new customer.

“Talking to me won’t change anything. If something happens to me, it’ll happen to you too, Duke, so let’s just talk about what we were doing.”

“What are you talking about? I have nothing to say.”

“Even at large-scale banquets and balls, they handle a lot of goods and are valuable trade items. However, I think the ‘real’ luxury items are handled by Duke Gulmar’s hobby.”

“……what?”

“You dig stones from the desert where the undead roam to create beautiful statues, and you spend a fortune to buy musical instruments made by craftsmen hundreds of years ago. How about paintings by old painters who saw Elril and the dancers with their own eyes and captured them on canvas?”

Leonora leaned in towards Hastel, her eyes sparkling.

“Have you ever seen such ‘real’ works of art? When you see a master’s work of art in person, it makes your whole body tremble. But that’s only for those with discerning eyes… … I think there are only a handful of people in Walaika with such an eye.”

Hastel looked at Leonora silently.

Leonora couldn’t see Hastel’s expression hidden in the darkness, but she imagined that he was excited with anticipation. That would help sales more.

“If it is alright with you, Your Majesty, I would like to introduce you to some of the collections of the Golden Idols. If it is for sale to a discerning person, I can always introduce it at a good price.”

“… …Be quiet.”

Hastel commanded silence, but his tone was noticeably less cold than before.

Leonora decided to keep her mouth shut as she was told. For now, it was better to let Hastel stay in the stage of happy imagination and high expectations rather than pressuring her.

***

Isaac didn’t trust Sherlock.

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him, but I couldn’t believe that the Red Grail’s human hunters, masters of conspiracy and assassination, were being caught by mere mercenaries. This was a problem before trust.

But Isaac was able to solve that question easily.

“… … You remembered the bounty on Duke Gulmar.”

“I always make sure to memorize the names of important people.”

Sherlock whispered as he surrounded the old lighthouse on the outskirts of the city with his mercenaries. They couldn’t get close because the surrounding area was guarded by human hunters.

Walaika often goes out to the outside world to obtain blood that the kingdom lacks. Sometimes they do it through slave trade, but most of the time they do it through kidnapping. They are not called ‘human hunters’ for nothing. In fact, their most common mission is kidnapping rather than assassination.

Like most of the nobles of Walaika, Hastel Gulmar also had a bounty on his head. Sherlock had memorized the bounty and figured out where it was going.

Isaac was reminded of how fraudulent Sherlock’s talents were when used as a bounty hunter.

“Well, that’s all I can do. To be honest, I’m not sure if the young lady will be safe if I charge straight in.”

It was a hint to Isaac to step up instead. Isaac, who believed in Sherlock’s talent but not his ability, was planning to step up even without being told.

Isaac first gave instructions to Hesabel, who seemed a bit more spirited than before.

‘Hesabel, you go first and prepare to launch a surprise attack. Without being detected.’

‘yep.’

Isaac released the parasite-infected rat and sent it inside the lighthouse. The human hunters were very vigilant, but they weren’t sensitive enough to catch even a single rat. No, he would be grateful if they caught and ate it. He could control its brain.

However, the rat safely reached the lighthouse window and looked inside.

After a while, Isaac cautiously showed his will to Hesabel.

‘… … The atmosphere seems warmer than I thought?’

Paladin of the Dead God