Paladin of the Dead God
chapter-79

“What did you say to Sir Isaac?”

Juan frowned and asked again.

“His Majesty the Emperor can reclaim the territory and then grant it to Sir Isaac. Then, we would accept the construction of a monastery here to honor the achievements of the Holy Grail Knight. I will take care of the debt.”

Delia said with triumphant confidence. Juan hesitated for a moment, unable to understand her attitude. It seemed like a no-loss proposition for the Order. The Empire would handle the debt, and they would get to build a monastery, plus Isaac would have a solid foundation with the land?

Then, it suddenly dawned on him.

The Emperor granting a territory to Isaac meant that he was granting him a title.

In other words, Isaac was becoming a noble of the Empire.

“What is this…!”

“And I’ve heard rumors about elevating Sir Isaac to sainthood.”

Juan clenched his mouth shut. Delia boldly continued, undaunted.

“You surely wouldn’t cancel the elevation to sainthood just because he’s a noble sworn to loyalty to His Majesty, would you?”

This was Delia’s intention.

Given Isaac’s clear achievement in driving away the angel, Juan had intended to elevate Isaac to sainthood. However, if Isaac became a noble with a territory from the Emperor, it would be like handing over the Order’s influence to the Emperor, especially when the balance of power was already tense.

In the end, Juan had no choice but to grit his teeth and say,

“…Elevation to sainthood isn’t that simple. I can’t decide on my own, and the evaluation of his achievements needs to be more precise.”

Essentially, this was canceling Isaac’s elevation to sainthood.

Normally, being a noble sworn to the Emperor wouldn’t prevent someone from becoming a saint. More often than not, it’s just that saints are usually chosen posthumously.

Becoming a noble wouldn’t negate Isaac’s achievements, but it couldn’t grant him the symbolic status of sainthood.

Juan tried to find a way out of Delia’s logic, but ultimately, the disposal rights of the Hendrak territory belonged to Kyle. Therefore, Juan had to consider the wishes of the creditors who had the right to dispose of Kyle’s territory, especially the central nobles who had invested the most.

Juan thought it might be better to go along with Delia’s proposal under the circumstances.

‘After all, Isaac is undoubtedly a faithful Holy Grail Knight. It’s regrettable that we can’t promote such a promising Holy Grail Knight as the new face of the Order, but the symbolic aspect is just that—a symbol. Practically speaking, this situation could mean new territory for the Order.’

Juan looked at Isaac with a subtle expression.

A great Holy Grail Knight like Isaac wouldn’t settle down to govern the land himself, but would request a replacement abbot to be sent. In a way, it was a slightly roundabout means of acquiring new territory for the Order. The Order was always starving for donations, so there was no reason to refuse such a stable income from a monastic territory. Even if he stayed in the territory, the lord would inevitably be under the strong influence of the Order.

‘Look at that.’

Isaac, meeting Juan’s gaze, saw right through what he was thinking.

Clearly, he was thinking, ‘On second thought, it’s not a bad deal. If we give up the pretext, we gain the benefit.’

Of course, Isaac’s actual thoughts were the opposite.

Isaac intended to tap into the Codex of Light through this territory.

“…The thoughts of our Holy Grail Knight are most important. What do you think, Sir Isaac?”

Finally, the ball was in Isaac’s court. A noble, clean, and shiningly faithful Holy Grail Knight.

He was a great gray area where nobles supportive of the Emperor and priests of the Law of Light could meet without any burden.

However, he couldn’t immediately accept. After several refusals and displays of humility, Isaac reluctantly pretended to accept the offer.

“I am grateful for your trust. I will strive to ensure that the will of God is fully realized in this land.”

Isaac lied effortlessly.

***

“Now you’re a noble. Congratulations.”

When Isaac was looking down at his new territory from atop the walls, Delia approached him. Delia looked much more relieved than when they first met.

Isaac had become a noble of the Empire because he now had a territory. Since the Emperor couldn’t grant it directly, the process was carried out in the form of Delia, a duke, granting the territory on his behalf. The Emperor couldn’t personally receive loyalty oaths from thousands of nobles within the Empire, so such proxies were common.

Isaac was granted the position of Baron.

“To be a noble, that’s quite an honor beyond my station.”

“Nonsense. Who else but you deserves to sit in this position?”

Expelling a decadent lord, single-handedly quelling a knight’s rebellion that massacred neighboring lord’s soldiers, driving away a heretical angel, and even breaking the curse of that angel. It was a story worthy of a hero’s tale.

No one could deny Isaac’s right to this land.

In a society with a rigid caste system, acquiring a title like this wouldn’t have been easy. However, in this world, the power of the church was greater than that of the nobility, and with constant conflicts, social mobility was more flexible than one might expect.

“Honestly, I’m not that interested in the territory itself. Nobles prefer to just take the money, and the church had no particular interest to begin with. But it’s different for you.”

Delia smirked, meeting Isaac’s gaze.

“You’ve been granted this land because you wanted it the most.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t play coy. Didn’t you already express your intention to me? That there was something you had to do. You understood and manipulated the difference in positions between me and the church. You preferred the tangible benefits of a territory and a noble title over the empty honor of sainthood.”

Precisely, it was more about acquiring the land to avoid becoming a saint.

Of course, even if he had become a saint, he would have sought to acquire the land. However, Isaac had tried to hide that intention.

Delia keenly read Isaac’s desires and achieved her own objectives.

“There’s no need to be wary. I like ambitious and greedy people, especially those with the capability to back it up.”

Delia laughed heartily and slapped Isaac on the back.

“That’s probably why you’re wearing the guise of a Holy Grail Knight. With enough ability, it’s the fastest way to gain fame.”

She said this and then casually asked.

“Now that you have enough fame and a territory, do you have any plans to swear loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor and move to the center? Emperor Waltzemer is a warrior. He will surely value and use a strong knight like you.”

Surely, as she said, Waltzemer, always eyeing the reconquest of holy lands, wouldn’t ignore a powerful Holy Grail Knight.

Especially with the disappearance of Kalsen Miller, leaving a gap in their forces.

“Thank you for the offer, but I must decline.”

However, Isaac had no choice but to refuse.

Isaac’s achievements were not solely his own doing. If he had to watch his actions around the Emperor, unable to use the nameless powers of chaos, he wouldn’t be able to utilize even a quarter of his strength.

“You are an enigma. Clearly ambitious for success, yet you decline such opportunities.”

“Let’s just say I have bigger aspirations.”

At Isaac’s reply, Delia burst into laughter again.

“Fine. As long as your ambitions don’t go against His Majesty, desire and strive for whatever you wish. It’s quite refreshing to see such spirited youth. When you succeed, don’t forget Delia Lyon of the center.”

Isaac decided to remember her name. Her assistance had been significant in this affair, and there would surely be an opportunity to repay the debt.

“Didn’t this affair cause you a significant expense?”

At Isaac’s words, Delia nodded.

“Yes, it did. The empire has promised to repay, but since I proceeded without reporting to His Majesty, I had to dip into my personal funds… and the nobles didn’t recover their full principal either. Still, I should be grateful for salvaging half.”

One could imagine how Delia pressed and threatened the nobles. Essentially, she used her own wealth to cover the nobles’ debts, so there was no room for them to complain. As she said, they should be grateful for salvaging half instead of losing everything.

“At least it’s better than the church, which got nothing. They’ve decided to use the entire debt repayment to build a monastery here. It won’t cost much to convert the castle, but it’s still a significant amount.”

Essentially, the church’s share had ended up with Isaac. In the end, everyone except Isaac suffered significant losses. Among them, Delia suffered the most. Although she was heard to be the leader of the Emperor’s most loyal noble faction, not recovering the debts and incurring large expenses must have been a heavy burden.

Yet, she didn’t seem to regret it. She appeared satisfied with preventing Isaac’s elevation to sainthood. After all, the stronger the Emperor’s power, the greater the authority she could enjoy under him, so perhaps such expenses were trivial in comparison.

“The expenses were significant, but it’s fortunate that I came to know such an outstanding talent here. Moreover, since this talent has received a territory from me, the more you raise your fame, the more my name will also become known, won’t it?”

Isaac laughed.

Above is the sun that has already risen, the Emperor, and below is the rising star, the Grail Knight. Is that what this is?

Indeed, hearing it that way, Delia’s idea didn’t seem bad.

She had bought authority with money.

Isaac spoke to match Delia’s judgment.

“Speaking of which, this territory will need a new name now. Might you, Lady Delia, be willing to name it?”

“Eh? Well, following the family name… Ah, right. There’s no family name.”

Among the knights, many of whom were orphans, it was common to not have a family name. Therefore, knights often prided themselves more on their originating order or monastery than on their family name.

Thus, nobles of knightly origin might take their name from the monastery they grew up in, but Isaac did not have such affection for any monastery to do so.

“Do you know the place of your birth?”

“It’s far to the east from here.”

Isaac had South Korea in mind when he said this. Of course, given this was a game world, it wasn’t literally in the east, but emotionally, this place felt closer to Europe, so Isaac felt that way too. However, Delia seemed to have thought of a slightly different place.

She nodded and opened her mouth.

“Your name is Isaac, so how about the surname ‘Issacrea’ read in the Eastern style?”

‘So my name would be Isaac Issac?’

Isaac thought the naming sense was absurd, but he inwardly didn’t dislike it. Above all, he liked that the first syllable of ‘Issac,’ his original name, sounded similar. Isaac nodded.

“Good. Then this land is now the Issacrea territory.”

“Congratulations once again, Baron Isaac Issacrea.”

***

“Are the investigation results out?”

“Yes, District Head Ilya Dote. According to the interrogation of the knight who accompanied the Grail Knight, we’ve secured testimony that Isaac never used a miracle.”

In the outskirts of the forest of the land now known as Issacrea.

Men and women wearing deeply hooded cloaks gathered, speaking quietly. Their simple attire was marked by crow brooches on their cloaks, indicating their status.

They were inquisitors sent with Juan.

“A Grail Knight that doesn’t use miracles…”

Ilya Dote was an inquisitor overseeing the entire eastern region, one of the most challenging areas due to the proximity to the Immortal Order and the Red Chalice Club, with frequent incidents of apostasy and pagan infiltration, making her highly skilled as an inquisitor.

But this case was a bit unusual. Ilya Dote felt something off about Isaac from the start. However, after thoroughly searching the castle and investigating, they found no evidence of apostasy or heresy related to Isaac.

“Even when entering the cave, instead of the miracle of light, they used the Ruadin key to illuminate the surroundings. The accompanying knight felt nothing strange and was impressed by the Grail Knight, but it’s still odd.”

Lighting up darkness is one of the most basic miracles, learned right after the miracle of igniting a candle. The inquisitors looked at another who remained silent.

Isolde Brant nodded when their gaze turned to her.

“Yes. To my recollection, I also did not see him use any miracles. But at that time, it was before he had made a name as a knight, so it didn’t seem strange.”

“It could be understood if he were an ordinary knight with insufficient skills. But the issue is that he’s a Grail Knight who even defeated an angel.”

Illya looked back and forth between the two inquisitors.

“There are reports of the Grail Knight exhibiting a halo. That’s one thing. But is it possible for a knight who cannot perform other miracles to defeat an angel?”

“Unless it was Elil, who had reached the pinnacle of humanity through extreme training…”

And the mentioned Elil had ultimately become a deity, hence a being beyond humans.

Then Isolde spoke.

“Could the Grail Knight be a holy relic? If he is a holy relic, then his very body is a miracle.”

“That’s also a valid point. However, the issue is that there are no conspicuous proofs of being a holy relic…”

Illya didn’t want to hastily accuse or slander a Grail Knight gaining fame for exemplary behavior and achievements, where no sign of malice was visible. She felt trust but thought a bit more investigation was necessary.

“Isolde, you mentioned you’re acquainted with the Grail Knight. Observe him a bit closer.”

“Yes.”

“It might be unnecessary worry, but he was considered by the order for sainthood. He’s bound to gain more fame.”

As Ilya spoke, she seemed to recall someone, her face contorting as she muttered.

“We must ensure we don’t repeat the case of Kalsen Miller. We must verify.”

“Understood.”

***

“…And that’s why I ended up staying with Sir Isaac.”

Isaac looked at Isolde, who had candidly spilled everything about her discussions with the inquisitors, with an incredulous expression.

“Why would you tell me all that? Aren’t you supposed to pretend you don’t know and just quietly observe me?”