Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 324



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Episode 324. Your Price (9)

[The ‘Division Ceremony’ relic has been returned to the Red Grail Club.]

[The dancer blesses your sublime journey.]

[Regeneration ability greatly increases.]

[Physical abilities greatly increase.]

Isaac turned his head at the message that suddenly appeared.

‘The division ceremony has been returned. It looks like Hesabel has chosen Plan B.’

It wasn’t surprising. Plan A was for Hesabel to eat Hastel, but if that didn’t work out, they had already talked about using the split ceremony as a bait. Since they were going to return the split ceremony anyway, there was nothing to regret.

Of course, the division ceremony is a useful relic in many ways. However, in return, Hesabel also received something worthy. The amount of ‘blood of the red grail’ that would not be strange for him to aim for the position of duke right away.

And Isaac also gained quite a bit.

[The dancer is watching you.]

[The ‘Red Petition’ is strengthened.]

[You can now prey on your opponents using the ‘Red Petition’.]

Isaac recalled the past when Heinkel Gulmar had melted the human hunters under his command into a mist of blood and then sucked their blood. It must have felt similar.

‘… … I’m gaining increasingly inhuman abilities.’

But Isaac was surprised to learn that the Red Grail had ‘officially’ granted him the miracle.

Until now, returning a sacred object only granted physical, mental, and religious strengthening effects. Sometimes, a blessing was also bestowed upon the sacred object.

But allowing a miracle was another matter entirely.

Because miracles were only given to believers.

‘You said you would accept me as your collaborator and share in the hardships and rewards, right? Is this part of that?’

Isaac was fine, after all. The red petition was a good miracle in itself, and I don’t know how powerful the predation using the red petition would be, but that was something to check later.

Because there were more important things to do right now.

Isaac and Leonora stood at the pier, surrounded by waves.

Sunrise is just around the corner. The other side of the sea is already glowing blue.

“The reprieve will soon end. We cannot hold the Harvesters back for long.”

And when the harvester is released, Leonora will pay the taxes. Isaac still couldn’t figure out how Leonora could pay his taxes. He couldn’t do it, and only Leonora could.

But Leonora still didn’t seem to have any intention of explaining.

“The curse of ‘taxes and death are inevitable’ is powerful, but not omnipotent. If it were so omnipotent, the heads of other religious orders would have all been blown off.”

“I guess so.”

Isaac also knows the limitations of the curse. It must have caused clear harm to the Undead Church, it can only judge the target by killing them, and it can offer a tax that can replace death.

And there is another limitation.

“And objects that are impossible for the harvester to ‘harvest’ from the beginning cannot be established as curses in the first place. That’s why curses do not activate on beings protected by powerful angels or gods.”

This is a simple matter of strength versus strength, no matter how powerful the Harvester is. Of course, Isaac is also protected by a powerful god, but there is a clear limit to how much of that power can be revealed to the world.

But Leonora explained a new drawback to it.

“Taxes must be presented as something that the subject can afford to pay. At the same time, they cannot designate something of higher value than the subject. Death must be fair.”

This was also a story that was difficult to call a new shortcoming, perhaps even an obvious one. The saying that taxes and death cannot be avoided is based on the belief that a fair price is paid for everything in the world. It is impossible to go against that fundamental doctrine.

Isaac thought about what he could pay for but was worth less than himself. At the same time, Sherlock said it was a person, and Leonora said Isaac could not pay. The prerequisite of ‘being able to pay’ and Leonora’s statement do not match.

What this means is that even if Isaac knows the truth about the tax, he won’t pay it.

“… … What is the identity of tax?”

The sea breeze blew hard, tossing Leonora’s hair. Then the sun rose and covered her in sunlight. Isaac couldn’t see Leonora’s face properly in the strong backlight.

“Shall we start talking about trade now, Holy Grail Knight?”

***

Isaac nodded.

He also did not think that the price for removing the Harvester’s Curse would be free. But he did not intend to unilaterally sway others as if his life was mortgaged.

“What’s the price? By the way, I can’t compromise on Angela.”

“… … I am so happy that the Grail Knight reached out to me, relied on me, and risked his life to ask me for a favor. It is too much to bear.”

Instead of answering, Leonora said something nonsensical.

Isaac frowned.

“But after this deal is over, we will have no relationship whatsoever, right? The Holy Grail Knight might forget about my existence or ignore me.”

“… …Tell me what the price is.”

Leonora said with a long sigh.

“Becoming a special relationship.”

Isaac managed to utter a few awkward words after a brief silence.

“I’m married.”

“Ha, what are you talking about? I don’t really care about that. Do I look like a shallow woman who would want something like that? A woman who would bow down at the feet of a man while yearning for love and affection?”

Leonora turned around and strode closer. Leonora’s figure quickly grew larger, getting close enough that I could see her pupils.

Crack, crack. Then, a sound like something splitting open echoed through the air. Isaac saw the space breaking apart in the pouring sunlight, and a pale scythe emerging from the gap.

A tension appeared on his face.

But Leonora snapped at Isaac as if she hadn’t heard any of that.

“Lovers? Husband and wife? We can’t be defined by such shallow relationships made up of illusions, confusion, and misunderstandings. We have to be much stronger and more solid than that.”

Isaac shouted as the reaper’s scythe began to pierce the invisible restraints and reveal itself.

“What on earth do you want?!”

“fellow trader!”

At the same time, Leonora shouted back, her eyes burning with intense ambition.

“Partner in a world-building business! That’s what I want! You grab the world as you wish, and I’ll help you do it. In return, I want the position of partner.”

Isaac felt a sense of bewilderment at Leonora’s words.

Partners?

But Isaac only then realized that what she wanted was not Isaac as an individual, but Isaac’s value.

Leonora actually has no interest in Isaac.

I don’t care what he eats or what he likes.

The important thing is what Isaac has and what he can achieve. And how can you figure out what Isaac lacks and fill it in? And how can you achieve victory?

That was all that interested Leonora.

Because only Isaac can be the tool to achieve her ambitions.

If Isaac were to become weak and lose his value, she would not even pay attention to him.

But as long as Isaac is of value, he will never be betrayed.

As Leonora said, such a relationship cannot be defined as a romantic relationship.

She reached out to Isaac with burning eyes.

Isaac took her hand.

“The deal has been done.”

Leonora turned around with a white smile.

The reaper’s scythe, now completely free of its restraints, gleamed eerily in the morning sunlight as it flew toward Isaac, and Leonora was right in its path.

Leonora looked back and said.

“You asked what the true nature of taxes is, Grail Knight?”

Leonora muttered as she strode toward the flying scythe.

“The correct answer is ‘the person you love.’”

Isaac’s mind flashed. It was a very traditional and malicious tax that required the destruction of a loved one in order to avoid the curse of death.

Even if you survive, it will be difficult to live sanely.

But at the same time, another confusion arose.

‘Then how is Leonora going to pay for it?’

Isaac thought it was impossible, and tried to run away reflexively. But at that moment, the reaper’s scythe was already sweeping Leonora. A strong gust of wind turned the dock upside down. While the mast was fluttering wildly, Isaac stood there in a state of confusion, neither running nor walking.

Like the harvester’s scythe stopping right in front of Leonora’s nose.

Leonora stared into the air, completely fearless, as the Harvester’s scythe sliced ​​through buildings and people alike.

She glared sharply at the invisible harvester.

“Please check Article 4, Paragraph 6 of the Special Provisions of the Insurance Contract with the Immortal Emperor Beshek.”

The reaper made no reply. But it didn’t seem like the stopped scythe would move again. Leonora folded her arms and waited for the reaper to respond, and soon a grim answer came from the air.

[Insured Leonora Becia. The soul’s tax exemption privilege is recognized in accordance with Article 4, Paragraph 6 of the Special Provisions. Accordingly, the harvester’s claim is suspended with immediate effect.]

“thank you.”

The two exchanged polite greetings and then immediately turned away. The harvester turned into dust in the sunlight, and Leonora calmly turned away and approached Isaac.

Isaac muttered with a dumbfounded look on his face.

“Were you the policyholder of life insurance?”

“If I don’t join, I won’t be able to do business with the Undead Cult. And because of the special contract I made with the Undead Emperor, the Undead Cult can’t kill me until I die of natural causes. It’s a kind of tax exemption, you could say?”

Isaac realized once again the order of the world.

Taxes and death are inevitable.

Except for the rich, though.

***

Isaac wondered how Leonora could become his tax, even though he said, “Lovers are taxes.”

No matter how much I thought about it, the emotions I felt when looking at Leonora were roughly 10% disgust, 20% confusion, and 40% fear.

The remaining 30% was just gratitude.

The answer was simple.

“Oh, well, it’s not ‘the person Isaac loves,’ it’s ‘the person who loves Isaac.’”

Leonora answered calmly.

“Love comes in many forms. Just as the love for money, the love for parents, and the love for a lover are all different, it would be difficult to find someone who would willingly give up their life for the person they love.”

Leonora’s overly arrogant attitude is because she is one of the few who can do it. Of course, she was confident that she would not die.

‘If you have a lot of money, you can even buy your life.’

You can seduce Duke Gulmar and even the Immortal Emperor.

Considering that the Golden Idol Group spends more money on the Baekje side, they are probably also protected by the Church of the Code of Light. In that sense, Leonora may actually be the safest person in the world.

‘… … Well, that’s the advantage of the Golden Idol’s upper ranks. Instead of having knights or priests, you can use other faiths as mercenaries.’

It is natural that Leonora, who is at the top, flaunts the ‘power of money’. Most of the key figures of the Bessia family are probably receiving such protection.

If you are rich but cannot avoid taxes and death, consider whether you do not have enough money.

“By the way, would you like some tea? These are expensive tea leaves from across the ocean.”

“hmm.”

Isaac nodded while looking at the teacup that he couldn’t even bring himself to drink. The place he was now was the Bessia Mansion. It was the first destination of the Isacrea Dawn Army that he had raised.

Originally, I was going to press Bellman Bessia to press Leonora, but the shape turned out strangely.

Isaac had barely taken a sip of tea when the door to the reception room opened and a cold-looking man with a gray beard appeared.

The top lord of the Golden Idol, the one with the most gold on the continent.

It was Bellman Bessia.

Isaac stood up and saluted, but Bellman looked him up and down with a cold gaze as soon as he entered.

‘… … Was the atmosphere this sharp?’

The Bellman that Isaac saw and talked to in the game was a more friendly and gentle character. At least, he tried to be that way in appearance.

Because that’s a good way to make your trading partners let their guard down.

But now, he felt a murderous intent as if he was going to stab Isaac with a knife at any moment. The moment Isaac was about to greet her politely, Bellman suddenly opened his mouth.

“Are you the married man who seduced my daughter?”