Thud, thud, thud.

As Isaac was finishing his third bowl of soup, prepared by the village chief’s daughter, a commotion erupted at the entrance of the dining hall. Isaac glanced over to see a middle-aged man, dressed in a flamboyant cape and adorned with peacock feathers on his hat, sprawled across the floor.

“Wait, wait, wait! There’s no need to be so rough! I said I’d walk on my own!”

Regardless of his protests, Hesabel pointed her feathered, knife-like wings at him.

Thunk.

A feather shot out, narrowly embedding itself between the man’s fingers.

Hesabel coldly remarked, “If someone points a blade at you, you should be ready to lose a finger before you start talking.”

‘She’s got a point.’

Isaac agreed inwardly, so he didn’t bother stopping her. The man had kept him from getting any sleep, and Isaac had no intention of engaging in a conversation on equal terms. Starting by cutting something off didn’t seem like a bad idea.

“Hold on! If you’re going to cut something, take the ring finger!”

It was common to choose the pinky when threatening to cut off a finger, so Hesabel was surprised by his choice. She hadn’t planned on giving him a say, but her curiosity got the better of her.

“Why the ring finger?”

“Sometimes absence holds more meaning than presence. The single point of your blade will linger far longer than the five rings that once graced my finger. By receiving your cut, I shall leave my love eternally empty.”

Isaac almost spat out his soup at the unexpected nonsense that came out of the man’s mouth.

However, it seemed that Hesabel was somewhat pleased with his answer.

“Hah, I never expected to hear something so romantic from someone in the realm of the Codex of Light. To say you’d bind yourself to one person is foolish. But you still only know half the story.”

“You think I’m missing something?”

“Having an affair with your married partner is the most thrilling—”

Isaac intervened quickly before Hesabel’s madness could further damage the reputation of the Issacrea Dawn Army.

“I didn’t expect such lunacy would spread to those around you. Shalok.”

“You are….”

The man called Shalok looked up at Isaac and promptly shut his mouth.

The captured man was someone Isaac knew well.

***

Shalok. A mercenary captain of the Golden Idol Guild and a playwright.

Though he usually worked as a playwright, his poor skills constantly led him to squander his family’s fortune.

However, Shalok had talents outside of writing plays—he was an outstanding bounty hunter and mercenary.

Thus, Shalok lived a cycle of making a quick fortune as a mercenary, squandering it on his plays, and then returning to mercenary work once more.

The nonsense he spewed to Hesabel had no particular meaning; it was just words pouring out of his mouth.

“I’m not sure who you are, but…”

“Not recognizing Isaac Issacrea when you see the famous Paladin and his lady with blood-red wings? Which finger should I cut off, Isaac?”

“The tip of his right ring finger.”

Without hesitation, Hesabel pinned Shalok’s right hand to the table and swiftly sliced off the nail of his ring finger with a feather. The shrill scream that escaped was not what one would expect from a seasoned mercenary captain.

Isaac sighed and dragged a chair over.

“Next time, there will be blood. Keep that in mind, playwright.”

“Ow, ow… Huh? You didn’t actually cut it off? Truly merciful, Sir Holy Grail Knight…”

“No. If you’re uncooperative, I won’t bother myself. I’ll just hand you over to the orc back there who’s desperately waiting for his turn.”

Shalok’s gaze shifted behind Isaac to Uchiura, the White Tiger Captain, who was glaring furiously at him.

Seeing Uchiura’s mangled state, Shalok drew a sharp breath.

Isaac wouldn’t hesitate to put Shalok in a similar condition. The only reason Isaac kept him alive was because of his connection to Leonora and the Golden Idol Guild.

“You’ve been tracking me, haven’t you?”

“What do you—Oh, yes, yes! It was me! I found you!”

As the tip of Hesabel’s wing hovered over his finger, Shalok’s words quickened.

This time, Hesabel asked, “How?”

“Shalok has a talent for seeing the ‘value’ of people. It’s a skill that determines whether someone is worth the money. He can even perceive those who aren’t physically present as faint halos. He uses this skill in his bounty hunting.”

Knowing that Shalok would try to hide this, Isaac answered in his stead.

Shalok’s mouth gaped open.

Of course, it did. He had never disclosed his ability to anyone.

While Leonora’s talent judged the overall value, considering future potential, Shalok’s ability was more akin to seeing a ‘price tag.’

In the game, when recruited as an ally, Shalok’s ability allowed the player to see a ‘price’ above the heads of other characters. The higher the price, the more elaborate and noticeable it became, even to the extent of pinpointing their locations.

Isaac revealed this information to crush Shalok’s spirit.

“So, how much is the bounty on my head?”

In Shalok’s eyes, Isaac’s ‘value’ would be visible.

Shalok hesitated for a moment before responding.

“…A hundred thousand gold coins.”

Uchiura suddenly leapt from his seat, shouting angrily. He seemed on the verge of lunging at Shalok but was too terrified of Isaac to do more than raise his voice.

“Why’s he so upset?”

“I told him there was a bounty of twenty thousand coins on you. I said we’d split it fifty-fifty if we succeeded in capturing you.”

So Shalok had planned to pocket 90,000 coins for himself after the partnership. Truly fitting behavior for a mercenary of the Golden Idol Guild.

But Shalok shrugged indifferently.

“Not that it matters; those idiots would never have succeeded anyway. And even if they had, they wouldn’t have split it with me. They’d have cut me down and kept the 20,000 coins for themselves.”

“You negotiated my head so easily? Sure. Weren’t you scared, going after a target worth 100,000 coins?”

Shalok glanced nervously at Hesabel.

“To be honest, I was more scared of her, so I decided to surrender.”

“…Hesabel? Why her?”

“There’s a bounty of 200,000 coins on her…”

“200,000? On Hesabel? Who put that up?”

“Duke Heinkel Gulmar of the Wallachia Kingdom…”

Hesabel let out a deep sigh.

There was no need to ask who Heinkel Gulmar was—he was her biological father. Although he hadn’t raised her, he was still a man she called father and followed. He had put a bounty on her head.

Isaac decided to see it positively.

“…Putting a bounty means he’s not planning to come in person.”

It was humiliating that Hesabel’s bounty was higher, but given that Wallachia saw her as a national traitor and a turncoat, it made sense.

“Anyway, playwright, let’s take a little walk.”

***

As soon as they stepped outside, Isaac draped an arm around Shalok’s shoulders, pulling him close. Shalok’s expression stiffened again, and Isaac whispered into his ear.

“Your mercenary unit has surrounded the village, hasn’t it? Tell them to stand down.”

“Oh, come on, what are you talking about?”

Even as Shalok said this, he subtly raised his hand, signaling something. Nothing visibly changed, but Isaac could sense the murderous intent around him subside.

The mercenaries directly hired by the Golden Idol Guild were not ordinary. Shalok’s mercenary group, known as the “Troupe,” was composed of individuals with unique talents.

In other words, Shalok hadn’t simply surrendered without a plan. He was a man who had ventured into the tiger’s den to catch a tiger.

No extraordinary individual could be captured by ordinary means.

“The Golden Idol Guild couldn’t openly place a bounty on a Holy Grail Knight within the Empire, so they outsourced it to you. So, our dear playwright, have you got a script ready to capture me?”

“Well… truth be told, with our hands tied, it’s a bit difficult.”

“With your hands tied?”

“Yes. If you were just another high-ranking noble, we’d take hostages, burn down your house, or bribe the church to socially isolate you. But we’re restricted; we can only go after you directly. That puts us at a disadvantage.”

“Sounds like you’re saying you’ve been holding back.”

“Isn’t that the case?”

“Idiot. Leonora’s doing this to save her own neck. What do you think will happen if I end up completely isolated with no societal constraints?”

Though Shalok was old enough to be Isaac’s father, Isaac’s scorn was merciless.

It was justified to treat a man who squandered his wealth on his so-called art and swapped wives like changing clothes as a fool. It was practically written in the Codex of Light itself.

“As long as you keep your limits, I’ll keep mine.”

“…Understood.”

Shalok’s response was less than convincing. He still seemed to think, ‘What could one Paladin possibly do against the entire Golden Idol Guild?’

“But what are you planning to do? Lady Leonora always gets what she wants. If she pushes Odryf through the Issacrea Dawn Army, she won’t hesitate to use any means. I know the Holy Grail Knight is not just some myth, but in the end, both sides will only end up hurt.”

“That’s why I need your cooperation, Shalok.”

“Me?”

Isaac nodded.

The reason he hadn’t killed Shalok on sight was to gain his cooperation. Threatening him was merely a way to gain leverage.

“Leonora is the likely candidate for the next head of the guild, right?”

Shalok hesitated at the sudden change in topic, but then nodded reluctantly.

“Yes, well, no one else has achieved what she has.”

Unlike other faiths, the Golden Idol Guild was monopolized by the Bessia family.

Originally, several families would gather to elect a leader, but a century ago, the Bessia family eliminated all their rivals, establishing their monopoly. They justified this by claiming that other leading families were aligning with rival faiths and nations, compromising the guild’s overall interests—an unmistakably Golden Idol Guild kind of decision.

This monopoly allowed the guild’s neutrality to endure to this day.

The Bessia family’s primary goal was to grow the guild’s total assets.

As long as this goal was met, no one cared if the Bessia siblings fought bloody battles amongst themselves for dominance.

“But Leonora’s actions are her own and not in line with the guild’s collective will, right?”

“…That’s true.”

“I plan to go to Odryf and confront the head of the guild, Belman Bessia, directly. I’ll warn him that Leonora is taking a dangerous gamble, and her reckless actions could diminish the guild’s profits.”

Shalok’s mouth hung open, searching for words. After a long pause, he finally managed to speak.

“If that’s possible, it would indeed be the best peaceful solution. But I heard the asset you hold is one of the Golden Idol Guild’s long-standing ambitions. The issue isn’t just about cost.”

“Cost is always an issue. It’s just a matter of whether it’s bearable.”

“Huh, I never expected to hear such sensible words from a Paladin. Fine, let’s say you can pull it off. So, what do you want from me?”

“Just keep doing what you’ve been doing.”

“Sorry?”

Isaac smiled and patted Shalok on the shoulder.

“Continue hiring mercenaries and bribing local nobles or bandits to attack me. Report that I’m wearing down, that I’m running out of steam. Keep it up until I reach Odryf.”

“…You’re bribing the mercenary captain of the Golden Idol Guild? Do you even know how much Leonora is paying me?”

Isaac wasn’t planning to threaten him over his life.

Shalok might believe he could escape from Isaac or even fight back.

Whether his plan was feasible didn’t matter. What mattered was that a living Shalok was far more useful in dismantling Leonora’s scheme than a dead one. Therefore, it was worth coaxing and flattering him just enough.

‘For a mercenary, money is the only master.’

“I’ll grant you the right to nominate the next head of the guild.”