(Continued)

Isaac simply looked at them without replying. Sensing something off in his gaze beneath the hood, the merchants quickly shut their mouths.

But they hadn’t approached Isaac out of simple charity.

When new dishes were placed on the table and Isaac resumed eating, the merchants started talking again.

“Actually, some strange people have been gathering at Odryf Port recently. You don’t seem like an ordinary person either. Could you tell us who called you here?”

Isaac hesitated for a moment before speaking nonchalantly.

“Leonora Bessia.”

It wasn’t a lie.

After all, he was here because of her.

The merchants exchanged glances filled with shock and disbelief. There was no way someone summoned by the most likely heir of the merchant guild could be ordinary. Hadn’t they also said that Shalok, the mercenary captain, was a talent discovered by Leonora?

“Could it be that you’re the big shot hired to deal with the Holy Grail Knight…?”

One of the merchants muttered in surprise, but the other merchant next to him quickly jabbed his side with an elbow.

“No, that can’t be! The rumor said it was a tall swordmaster from Elil. This guy is too young and too small, isn’t he?”

Isaac wasn’t particularly tall by the standards of this era. In Rougeberg, he had even been able to pass for a woman.

‘A swordmaster from Elil? Could it be…?’

Isaac was intrigued by the mention of this swordmaster, but the merchant next to him immediately rebutted.

“The Holy Grail Knight is a great warrior chosen by Elil. A single swordmaster couldn’t be enough. Of course, they must have hired people from all over the place. I even heard they hired human hunters from Wallachia!”

Isaac nearly choked on his food and almost spat it out.

The merchants hurriedly handed him a glass of water, which he barely managed to swallow down. But he couldn’t understand why Wallachian human hunters were being mentioned here.

“You seem surprised. Well, we still can’t quite believe it either. But there are rumors that vampires were spotted near that disaster of a theater run by Captain Shalok.”

Shalok had tried to capture Isaac by bribing orcs, bandits, and nobles. The human hunters of the Red Chalice would be no exception. Who could be better at hunting humans than human hunters?

“And there’s been an increase in ravens around the cathedral. Some are saying that they might have even bribed an Inquisitor.”

“No way! How could they bribe an Inquisitor?”

“If the Golden Idol Guild is determined enough, what can’t they do? They wouldn’t need to bribe an Inquisitor directly; they could just bribe a corrupt bishop or priest above them.”

“Well, I’ll be damned. The world’s going to hell, and all sorts of things are happening.”

“…”

Isaac carefully pieced together their conversation.

So, it seemed Leonora Bessia might have hired mercenaries from the Golden Idol Guild, a swordmaster from Elil, human hunters from Wallachia, and even an Inquisitor from the Codex of Light to stop him.

The last part was dubious, but if there had indeed been an increase in ravens, it was worth considering.

And Isaac added one more thing to the list.

The Reaper from the Immortal Order was likely finishing his restoration and would be tracking Isaac soon.

‘The charm of the Nephilim is unavoidable, but this is a bit too much popularity to handle.’

The merchants, noticing Isaac’s interest in their conversation, kept a close eye on him. He’d said that Leonora had called him, so he certainly wasn’t an ordinary person, but they still couldn’t discern his true identity.

“No matter how powerful the Holy Grail Knight is, he’s going to get crushed for daring to stand in the way of the Golden Idol Guild’s carriages.”

“Right, so what kind of person are you? With all these legendary figures gathering to capture the Holy Grail Knight, you must be quite the skilled individual yourself, right?”

“Oh, yes. In fact, I am that Holy Grail Knight.”

The merchants stared blankly for a moment, not quite understanding what he meant.

Isaac, deciding he had heard enough, stood up. It was only then that the merchants noticed his face beneath the hood, and their mouths fell open in shock.

Placing payment for the meal on the table, Isaac asked one of the merchants.

“So, where is this theater of Shalok’s? I’d like to go and get crushed to death.”

***

“Oh, Laante, have you been hiding your true identity from me all this time…?”

“No, put more emotion into it!”

In Shalok’s theater, which had no audience, Shalok was enthusiastically engrossed in his distasteful hobby of creating a terrible play late into the night. With the money he’d received from his latest commission and his previous experience, he had come up with the idea for a new play.

He was already thinking of Leonora’s commission as a near-failure. Hiring the swordmaster from Elil was more for show than anything else. Whether it succeeded or failed didn’t matter. He had time to kill, so he decided to indulge in his hobby and blow through some money.

But the actors, unable to endure the abysmal script, finally snapped.

“How am I supposed to convey emotion with a line like this?”

Other actors were also complaining. They weren’t happy with the play for various reasons.

However, Shalok, determined to keep the newly hired actors in line, remained firm and pressed them even harder.

“Why can’t you? You were paid to do it, weren’t you? The female lead has just spent her first night with the beautiful Nephilim male lead, only to discover he is actually a hybrid—part octopus and part angel! Isn’t that heartbreaking? And as for Laante’s role, you should make your performance more… fluid…”

Whoosh. Just then, a sudden gust of wind blew, extinguishing the lights on the stage. Annoyed by the interruption while already dissatisfied with the actors’ performance, Shalok declared a break.

He sat down and started reading his own script, imagining the scenes in his head.

“Oh, Laante, have you been hiding your true identi—”

“What identity?”

As soon as he entered his office, a blade pressed against Shalok’s throat. A rough, saw-like blade was held under his chin.

Shalok, realizing immediately who the hidden figure in the dark was, whispered without any hint of surprise.

“Sir Holy Grail Knight, I knew you would come!”