"Isn’t this getting a bit too involved?"

Cheryl offered a faint smile at Isaac’s question.

"Normally, yes. But this time is special. Father is going to completely disown him."

Isaac fell silent at her words.

’So it still comes down to this punishment...’

For the Nobility, marrying a son into another family is like marrying off a daughter. Whether or not you have your family’s backing makes all the difference.

Take my second brother, Remington, for example. If he had the Solomon Clan backing him, even just as a branch family, he’d still have some basic rights after marrying in. But now, he’ll be completely at the mercy of his new family.

Especially since he’s marrying into the Royal Family!

A Great Knight is nothing to them.

This meant Gaia was dead set on punishing him.

Isaac and his second brother weren’t particularly close. For years, Isaac hadn’t thought much of him, finding him rather foolish. Still, they were brothers. Blood was thicker than water, so he couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness.

Seeing Isaac’s somber mood, Cheryl explained with a sigh, "What he did this time was huge. Not even Caesar could protect him. After all, Father is still Viscount Solomon."

Isaac nodded. He understood that much.

Besides, when all was said and done, this was already a lenient punishment for Remington.

So he didn’t dwell on it.

"Oh, right. This lab seems to suit you, so I’m giving it to you. Once things stabilize here at the fortress, I’ll have the entire thing moved to your castle. The timing should be perfect—it’ll probably be done by the time you get back from the Imperial Capital," Cheryl said, glancing around the laboratory.

On one hand, she wanted to compensate Isaac a little more. On the other...

’There’s no way I’m using a lab Isaac has been in!’

’Who knows how many times he’s contacted Evil Gods in here?’

So, she decided to just gift the whole thing to Isaac. He’d have to build a Mage Tower eventually anyway, so he could definitely put it to use.

Isaac’s eyes lit up at her words. ’Seriously? What a windfall!’

It saved him the trouble of asking, and Mage Towers were notoriously expensive.

"Thank you, Sister."

"We’re family. Don’t mention it." Cheryl shook her head. Her eyes fell on the Liu Bei’s Document in Isaac’s hand, and after a moment’s thought, she added, "I have to go. You... try to exercise a little restraint." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

With that, a flash of blue-violet Arcane Radiance enveloped her, and she vanished.

"..." Isaac shook his head, speechless. He lay back down on the sofa and resumed his careful study with Shushu.

After Cheryl left, Caesar and Gaia both came by, one after the other. They both came to discuss the same matter. The difference was that Caesar left Isaac ten thousand Gold Coins, while Gaia gave him a document, a Token, and a small booklet.

The document stated that all future income from the three villages and one small town surrounding Isaac’s castle would now belong to him. The existing local administration would remain unchanged, still reporting directly to Solomon’s Domain.

However, Isaac would not hold ownership of these lands, though he was free to build whatever he wished on them without restriction.

This was clearly a clause designed to prevent Isaac from trading the land away to an Evil God.

The Token granted him ten Solomon Knights. Although they were only at the Quasi-Knight level, they were well-coordinated and talented, with a high probability of becoming full-fledged Knights in the future.

It wasn’t that the legion lacked anyone of Knight Level, but that those of Knight Level were a special case.

With the evolution of the knightly path, modern Knights no longer automatically received noble status as they once did. However, due to historical influence, they still retained certain privileges.

For example, the right to choose their own lord.

And frankly, no Knight who had been at the fortress recently would willingly choose to follow Isaac. Who knew when they might get devoured by an Evil God? Such a precarious life was far less reliable than staying on the battlefield to kill Black Orcs and earn merits.

In truth, Isaac wasn’t particularly keen on having them anyway...

’Ten Quasi-Knights... not only are they weaker than me, but they eat more than I do!’

’Besides, Knights are just brutes. They can’t help with my magic research. I’d rather have the cash!’

Unfortunately, Father didn’t agree. ’He’s probably run out of money...’

Shaking his head, Isaac opened the small booklet. It was the Empire’s merit-point catalog. Despite the huge gamble he took during the fortress’s defense, the results spoke for themselves. His contribution had been immense, even greater than Cheryl’s, who had controlled the Mage Tower. He was, without a doubt, number one.

Once the merits for this battle were tallied, he could start making exchanges. The calculations would surely be finished by the time he reached the Imperial Capital, allowing him to redeem whatever he wanted right there. In the meantime, he could browse the options during his journey.

"Let’s see... Holy shit!"

Isaac, who had been lounging on the sofa, shot to his feet, staring in shock at the first item on the first page of the booklet.

——

Emperor’s Decree: Summons the power of the Emperor of Terra. Within the Empire’s borders, it can kill any High-level Life form or below in a single strike! (In the event of a failed transaction with an Outer God, the Emperor can repel the Outer God, nullifying all consequences. The Emperor’s Decree is reclaimed after use.)

——

After confirming he hadn’t misread it, Isaac sucked in a sharp breath. Those two short lines of text revealed an astonishing amount of information!

The Emperor of the Empire was powerful enough to rival an Outer God!

As long as he held the Emperor’s Decree, it was like having a functional Immunity Token for any transaction with an Outer God!

But when he saw the long string of zeros in the redemption price below the entry for the Emperor’s Decree, his excitement quickly cooled. He didn’t know exactly how many merit points he would get, but he was sure it wouldn’t be enough.

’So I should just stick to slowly fleecing the Outer Gods with my Golden Finger. I shouldn’t try to go big, or I’ll just end up screwing myself over.’

Once he had calmed down, Isaac lay back and continued flipping through the booklet with relish, raising an eyebrow from time to time. While there were plenty of other High Level goods, he had to admit that after the mind-blowing reveal of the Emperor’s Decree, everything else seemed a little lackluster.

...

「The next day.」 Isaac rose early. He sat quietly inside a pumpkin carriage, reading a Magic Book while waiting for his second brother’s "dowry" to be loaded. After bidding farewell to Gaia, Caesar, and Cheryl, the long convoy set off for the Imperial Capital.

"Hm? Isaac, who’s that? I haven’t seen him before," Remington asked, riding his horse up to Isaac’s carriage window. He looked quizzically at the shifty-eyed coachman driving the pumpkin carriage.

Isaac’s eyes flickered up from his Magic Book for a moment. He glanced at the coachman and replied, "Oh, that’s Shushu. My Transformation Magic has improved, so I can turn animals into people now. He still can’t speak, but his learning ability is greatly enhanced. It’s good for Shushu."

"He’s a transformed mouse!" Remington’s eyes widened as he stared at Shushu, who looked no different from a real person. "But wasn’t Cinderella’s coachman a transformed goose?"

Isaac gave Remington a surprised look. "Is there a problem? Is Magic really so inflexible?"

With that, he went back to studying his Magic Book, closing the window as he did.