Paladin of the Dead God
chapter-127

Chapter 127. The Ancient Future (3)

“Lord Isaac!”

It’s unclear how the news spread, but as Isaac’s ship headed towards the Norden Harbor, the ships carrying Hyanis and Yencos approached. They were quicker than anyone else to board Eidan’s ship and welcomed Isaac’s return.

“You’re safe!”

“It’s a relief that you’re unharmed. We’re preparing a welcome event at the port. Soon…”

“No welcome event.”

Isaac refused sternly.

He is, after all, a paladin of the Codex of Light. It was good that he resolved the issues of the Salt Council with a heart of compassion and service. It was also good that the Salt Council prostrated themselves before Isaac as a result.

However, it was problematic that his involvement in the ritual and his return from the afterlife, being designated as ‘the Dreamer,’ became blatantly exposed.

‘The inquisitors are already keen on finding my faults.’

Isolde, who should have been monitoring Isaac, left for the Issacrea estate to report and has not returned since. It would be nice if her report was so well received that the Inquisition decided there was no need for further surveillance, but that seemed unlikely. It was more probable that Isolde, who had been ‘persuaded’ by Isaac, had been transferred elsewhere.

Isaac still needed to be cautious.

He judged that it was enough for these three people to know that he had entered and exited Urbansus to subjugate the Salt Council.

“Let’s talk for a moment.”

***

Isaac told the priests of the Salt Council about what happened in Urbansus.

The Salt Desert and the boatman, the fallen city of Miarma, the encounter with Amundalas, the reality of Urbansus.

He couldn’t confirm specifically how heaven and hell existed within it, but conceptually, as an infinite space, it seemed not impossible.

The subject of their interest was, of course, Amundalas, presumed to be an angel of the Salt Council.

“Amundalas? Who is Amundalas?”

With so many records lost, the Salt Council naturally had no remaining records of the angels. In a state where communication was impossible, every record of the afterlife was precious.

“He’s the captain who decided not to take Luadin aboard.”

At Isaac’s response, the captains were turned upside down again. From the perspective of the Salt Council, he was a traitor who had caused their current downfall.

However, they couldn’t help feeling conflicted that she still maintained the status of a distinguished angel and had acted only according to God’s command.

After all, the hardships they were enduring meant that God had dug his own grave.

But what was immediately important was not Amundalas.

“You’re going to designate the Holy Grail Knight as… the Dreamer?”

Yencos’s eyes shook greatly.

Only Eidan nodded vigorously, as if he was the only one who knew this would happen.

The one to break the seal trapped in the Salt Desert and awaken God. Essentially, it was like choosing the second prophet from among the heretical believers.

Isaac planned to pour out curses on Amundalas if they doubted or refused to acknowledge this. After all, it was as if they had sent ‘undeniable evidence’ and then passed the responsibility of persuasion onto him.

“It’s shocking. But…”

“Well, it’s not unprecedented.”

They accepted it more calmly than expected. They were not merely fanatical believers but also archaeologists well-versed in history and literature. They knew how many ‘exceptions’ like Isaac had existed throughout the history of faith.

Yencos asked Isaac with a subtle expression.

“But I don’t think Amundalas would have sent you without any evidence. Perhaps…?”

Her interest was more towards the evidence that Isaac might have brought, rather than doubting whether he was truly ‘the Dreamer.’

It could be a treasure beyond the destroyed Fisher King’s net.

“I might disappoint you.”

Isaac took out the relic he had, ‘Homeland of the Drifter,’ in front of Yencos.

It was filled with salty white seawater, but its true identity was the water from the afterlife. Yencos carefully accepted Homeland of the Drifter.

“Eidan has the same thing.”

The two Drifter’s Homelands were facing each other. They were the only ones in this world who had this seawater. It could be a mark to find each other wherever they go, but there were already many miracles for finding people or estimating locations.

It was somewhat modest as a mark proving a prophet.

Yencos looked into the two Drifter’s Homelands and activated some miracle. It was unclear what kind of miracle it was, but soon after, Yencos turned pale and stood up abruptly.

“Uh… what? This is…”

“Why? Is there some kind of great miracle?”

“No. This is… just ordinary seawater.”

“…”

At Isaac’s silence, Yencos quickly shook her head.

“No, no. The problem is that it’s ordinary seawater! The miracle I just activated can measure how old something is, and this is, well…”

“Is it an artifact from a thousand years ago?”

“No.”

Yencos answered with a blank expression.

“It’s seawater that will fill the Salt Desert three years from now.”

***

The fact that it was an object from the future, three years later, was more shocking than if it had been water from the afterlife. It was a definitive object of proof rather than an ambiguous prophecy.

Even more so, it was the seawater that they longed for, which would fill the now dried-up Salt Desert.

Of course, whether it could really be evidence of awakening God is unknown.

But if Amundalas really did travel through time via Urbansus to fetch the water?

There could be no clearer evidence that Isaac was a prophet.

In the end, it seemed that Yencos, Hyanis, and Eidan had no doubt in believing Isaac.

“The evidence, which also serves as the homeland of the drifter, was decided to be kept by Eidan and Isaac, each holding one, both belonging to the Salt Council.

This will serve as a medium that the Salt Council will inevitably have to rely on Isaac for a long time.

‘He handed over the evidence in quite an impressive way.’

‘Homeland of the Drifter’ contained a message more powerful than any sacred relic or prophecy with plausible power.

It was as good as getting an answer to the question ‘When will the deity return?’ with ‘It will return within three years.’

Of course, Isaac was left wondering whether Amundalas really knew about the future.

‘Well, whether it was a scam or real… Anyway, I have to make this real.’

Isaac smirked bitterly as he looked at Homeland of the Drifter.

He had succeeded in subjugating the Salt Council, going beyond the goal of making them friendly, but this collusion had to remain a secret for the time being.

It was fine to be friendly with the Salt Council. However, if anyone started talking about awakening the caller, it would displease more than a few people in the Codex of Light.

The one who created the Salt Desert was none other than ‘that Luadin,’ and to say that the Salt Desert would be filled with seawater again could seem like denying his achievements.

‘By the way, Bishop Juan was also involved in this matter, wasn’t he? I forgot to ask what happened afterward.’

Since he was nowhere to be seen, it was clear that he had been dropped off at Norden Port or a nearby port. However, since the entire Salt Council had been looking for Isaac afterward, he thought they wouldn’t know what happened to a single bishop.

Isaac recalled the moment he finished off the Drowned King. It was clear that the radiant wings that appeared on him were the work of Bishop Juan. Without him, he might have devoured the Drowned King in a tentacled monster state.

‘That’s appreciated, but… when you think about it, isn’t it thanks to me that the miracle was revived?’

Isaac harbored a begrudging expectation of how the revived Bishop Juan would treat him. It seemed like he had been planning to raise him as a successor or something, so now he might even propose to adopt him.

At that moment, Isaac began to see land.

It was Norden Harbor.

Just as he was about to rejoice at the sight of land after a long time, Isaac noticed an unusually unfamiliar ship docked among the large and small boats in the port.

The ships of the Salt Council were mostly fast and narrow. However, the docked ship was a warship. The imperial flag was fluttering above it.

And right below it, another familiar flag was fluttering.

‘Where have I seen that flag?’

The coat of arms with a lion facing away from the sun.

Isaac suddenly remembered where he had seen that coat of arms. It was the one he found when Isolde was sick in the monastery. Isaac finally realized the identity of the ship.

‘Why is the ship of the Brant ducal family here?’

The sudden appearance of the warship startled him, but the sailors of the Salt Council handled it skillfully. They surrounded the ship of the Brant ducal family, pretending to be fishing or just returning home normally. The versatile sailors of the Salt Council usually acted as merchants or fishermen, but they could also become pirates when necessary.

However, Isaac stopped such movements through Eidan.

‘Tell them not to cause unnecessary misunderstandings.’

Isaac speculated why the Brant ducal family had suddenly appeared here but couldn’t think of any other reason.

‘Does the Codex of Light also know that I have returned?’

It would be called an overinflated ego, but he couldn’t think of any other reason why a big shot like Duke Brant would suddenly appear with a warship.

The warship was so tall compared to Eidan’s ship that it had to be looked up at. Already, a considerable number of soldiers were lined up on the deck, looking down. Isaac deliberately raised his head so that his face could be seen well.

Then someone who looked like a knight hastily poked his head over the railing.

‘Excuse me! Are you Sir Isaac Issacrea?’

‘Yes.’

As soon as Isaac’s answer was heard, a commotion broke out on the deck. Shouts erupted to hurry and call someone or prepare something. Amidst the bustling commotion, the knight looking down at Isaac hurriedly said.

‘I’m sorry, Mr. Isaac! Unfortunately, it seems you won’t be able to go to Norden Harbor!’

***

Isaac set foot on the warship of the Brant ducal family.

Fortunately, the knight’s words did not mean ‘You can’t pass any further’ or ‘You’ll never set foot on land again,’ but rather a polite invitation to the ship.

‘I need to improve my vocabulary a bit.’

The knight blushed and couldn’t say a word. It was embarrassing enough that words could slip out, but it was a moment when the ships in the port could all turn into pirate ships if not careful.

Isaac followed the knight’s guidance to the VIP room. There was already one person waiting for Isaac.

Despite his expectations, Isaac couldn’t help but brace himself at the sight of the big shot in the VIP room.

‘Ah… Thank you for responding to the sudden invitation, Sir Issacrea.’

Duke Dietrich Brant.

The cousin of Emperor Waltzemer and the leading contributor to the civil war. At the same time, he proved to be the most faithful believer in the Codex of Light with generous donations.

One of the biggest shots, who ruled the wealthiest and largest territory after the royal family, was in front of Isaac.

He was also the father of the heretic inquisitor Isolde, but that was hardly relevant.

‘May the Light shine upon your path. You are Duke Dietrich Brant.’

The first impression was that he was quite plain for someone who was the next biggest shot after the emperor and the pope in the empire. The pope had a halo over his head, and the emperor had horns, but even considering that, Dietrich Brant had a very plain impression.

‘Oh, have we met before?’

‘How could I not know the most faithful believer known to all?’

He was quite important in the game, so it was impossible not to know. Dietrich Brant also plays the role of a quasi-supreme commander in the Dawn Army.

Isaac was surprised that Dietrich recognized him.

‘It’s surprising that you know me, Duke. How did you hear about me? Was it Bishop Juan? Or Duke Lyon? I’m worried I might disappoint you if you’ve heard rumors.’

‘Ah, it’s nothing.’

Isaac tried to show a humble appearance with a social smile.

But his expression broke at Dietrich’s next answer.

‘My daughter says you are a very lovely person. So I really wanted to meet you.’”