The 10G achievement for sparing the Nailsmith after he forges the Pure Nail, sending him to live with Sheo in Greenpath.
Happy Couple is the achievement for not killing the Nailsmith. Per the wiki, "after having him forge the Pure Nail, the Nailsmith steps outside and asks the Knight to cut him down. Obliging him sends him plummeting down to the waters below and awards the Purity achievement... When not granting his request to cut him down and leaving the area, he can be found with Sheo in his hut in Greenpath."
According to the wiki, the achievement name spells out the relationship. "The achievement name, Happy Couple, implies Sheo and the Nailsmith are in a romantic relationship." This is the canonical reading; Team Cherry chose the name to confirm the pairing rather than leaving it ambiguous.
The wiki specifies the mutual exclusivity. "These achievements are mutually exclusive on a single save as the game autosaves immediately after killing the Nailsmith." Players who want both achievements need two separate save files; the killing-Nailsmith decision is permanent on any given run.
This guide covers the Pure Nail forge requirement (4 Pale Ore total), the Great Slash gating from Nailmaster Sheo, the bench-and-Stagway trigger to move the Nailsmith to Sheo's hut, the post-move dialogue confirming the painting and modelling activities, and the Pantheon Junk Pit corpse easter egg.
10G achievement, awarded when the Nailsmith finds a new calling at Sheo's hut.
Forge Pure Nail, decline to cut down the Nailsmith, visit Sheo, listen to the Nailsmith dialogue.
Great Slash from Sheo, required before the Nailsmith moves to Sheo's hut.
Purity achievement, killing the Nailsmith with the Pure Nail. Mutually exclusive per save file.Happy Couple is a 10G achievement on Steam and 30G on Xbox, awarded for choosing mercy over the Purity ending of the Nailsmith's arc. Per the wiki, the achievement text reads "Allow the Nailsmith to find a new calling." The trigger is listening to the Nailsmith speak in Sheo's hut after he relocates there.
According to the wiki, the lore arc behind the achievement is the Nailsmith's reinvention. Before the move, he is "driven by his craft and working in seclusion" in his City of Tears forge. After the move he becomes Sheo's muse: "Sheo is a master of many arts, and has promised to teach me what he can. I think I'll be quite happy here."
The wiki specifies the romantic framing. "The achievement name, Happy Couple, implies Sheo and the Nailsmith are in a romantic relationship." Team Cherry chose the title; the Nailsmith's dialogue at Sheo's hut ("In all the dark of Hallownest, who'd have thought I'd meet such an inspiring soul") supports the reading without making it explicit.
Happy Couple requires the Pure Nail to be forged first. Per the wiki, the Nailsmith only asks to be cut down after the Pure Nail is forged. The Pure Nail is the final nail upgrade after Sharpened, Channelled, and Coiled, requiring four Pale Ore total across the upgrades.
According to the wiki, the Pale Ore progression is: 0 ore for Sharpened (Geo only), 1 ore for Channelled, 2 ore for Coiled, 3 ore for Pure. Players need 4 Pale Ore (one piece is lost if "you only have one Pale Ore and pay for Channelled" doesn't come back). Pale Ore is found across Crystal Peak, Greenpath, Deepnest, Hunter Journal completion, and the Seer reward at 1500 Essence.
The wiki specifies the Great Slash gate. "The Nailsmith does not move to Sheo's hut if the Knight has not acquired Great Slash." Great Slash is one of three Nail Arts taught by Nailmaster Sheo in Greenpath. The Knight needs to visit Sheo and learn Great Slash before sparing the Nailsmith for the move to trigger.
The sparing moment is the achievement-critical decision. Per the wiki, "after having him forge the Pure Nail, the Nailsmith steps outside and asks the Knight to cut him down." His dialogue at the cliff edge: "I beg you, cut me down. As my final moment in life, I want to taste the blade's exquisite edge."
According to the wiki, the choice is binary. Attacking with the Pure Nail kills him and triggers the Purity achievement; walking away (leave the room) preserves the Happy Couple path. The wiki confirms autosave on kill: "the game autosaves immediately after killing the Nailsmith." No going back from the Purity choice on that save.
The wiki notes the brief disappearance. "He disappears after being spared and only appears in Sheo's hut after the Knight has gained the ability and rested on a Bench or used the Stagways afterward." The Nailsmith is gone from his City of Tears forge after the spare; the move-trigger is a bench rest or Stagway use, not just exploration.
Per the wiki, the bench-or-Stagway trigger is the easy-to-miss step. After sparing the Nailsmith, the Knight has to either rest at a bench OR use a Stag Station for the move script to run. Walking from the cliff straight to Sheo's hut without resting first leaves the hut empty. In actual play, the easiest fix is to rest at any nearby bench (the City of Tears entrance bench works) immediately after the spare.
The Nailsmith moves to Sheo's hut in Greenpath after the spare. Per the wiki, "when not granting his request to cut him down and leaving the area, he can be found with Sheo in his hut in Greenpath. Listening to the Nailsmith awards the Happy Couple achievement."
According to the wiki, the post-move dialogue establishes the new arrangement. "Hmm? Oh, hello traveller. How strange that we should meet again in a world as vast as this. I must thank you for not killing me when I asked you to. I was irritated at first, but I had some time to think up there and I soon saw the wisdom in your decision." He has accepted the spare retrospectively.
The wiki specifies the two activities. First, painting: "I'm afraid I can't speak at length. If I move too much, Sheo's masterwork will be ruined and I'd hate to see him upset." Second, sculpting: "We're building a full suite of the Kingdom's Knights. In their time, I barely ever paid them attention, but Sheo keenly remembers each." Painting and sculpting together is the new shared hobby.
The wiki notes the dialogue softening. The Nailsmith says of Sheo: "Though he may seem imposing, in truth he's a delicate sort. In all the dark of Hallownest, who'd have thought I'd meet such an inspiring soul." Across multiple readings this is the closest the game gets to confirming the romantic relationship without saying it outright.
Happy Couple and Purity cannot coexist on one save. Per the wiki, "these achievements are mutually exclusive on a single save as the game autosaves immediately after killing the Nailsmith." The autosave triggers the moment the Pure Nail strike connects.
According to the wiki, the standard 112% completionist run does Happy Couple, not Purity. Killing the Nailsmith locks out the Happy Couple ending dialogue at Sheo's hut, which is one of the few NPC-relocation easter eggs in the game. Most players spare on the first run and use a second save for the Purity achievement.
The wiki specifies the Pantheon Junk Pit corpse. "His corpse can be found in the Junk Pit after completing two Pantheons and speaking to the Godseeker." The Junk Pit corpse appears on every save regardless of whether the Nailsmith was killed or spared in the main game; the Junk Pit is a Godhome-dream artifact, not a primary-world casualty.
Happy Couple ties into the Nailsmith's questline, the Nailmaster Sheo Nail Arts gate, and the broader Achievements list. These spokes pick up the threads.
Game data and screenshots adapted from hollowknight.fandom.com, used under CC BY-SA 3.0. Original content remains the property of the wiki contributors and Team Cherry.