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Translator/Editor: Order

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◈ Paladin of a Ruined Order

Chapter 1

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Prologue

A single thin beam of light cut diagonally through the darkness of the underground stone chamber.

That darkness and that beam of light were the only scenery allowed to Paladin Elbridge.

He had to endure an unimaginably long time without moving a single inch, unable even to turn his head.

For well over a hundred years, there had been only two things Elbridge could do.

Watch the dust drifting through the shaft of light, or sink inward and turn over thought after thought.

Because of that, by the angle and brightness of the narrow beam, Elbridge had learned to judge with near accuracy roughly what time it was, and when the sun rose and set.

The span of years Elbridge had endured like that had long since surpassed a hundred.

The reason the exact span could not be stated, even though he had nothing else to do, was that after counting days for nearly a hundred years, Elbridge had given up trying to gauge the passage of time.

The reason the young and promising, no, once young and promising Paladin Elbridge had ended up in that state was simple. Long ago, when he had sealed the Archdemon, Elbridge had taken on the crucial role of the Seal Core.

In other words, Elbridge had been sealed together with the Archdemon in order to maintain the seal.

From time to time, Elbridge recalled the voice of the middle-aged paladin who had led the expedition.

"I have an impertinent request... Elbridge. Could you become the Seal Core? All the mages who were supposed to finish the seal have died, so someone has to take that role directly."

Because the seal had been cobbled together as a half-baked stopgap measure, there was no way to know what would happen to the person sealed together with the Archdemon.

Would they age inside the seal, or would they have to fight the Archdemon endlessly within it? No one knew.

That was why the expedition leader had chosen Elbridge after taking as many variables as possible into account.

There was no need to question his skill, and at the same time, Elbridge was the youngest paladin in the expedition.

In other words, he was almost certainly the one most likely to endure the longest.

To the expedition leader's apology-filled request, the Elbridge of the past had answered confidently.

"Fine, I'll do it."

He had even accepted the request to become the Seal Core with a fairly happy heart.

Back then, Elbridge had thought that if he could raise the name of the Goddess of the Rusted Shield in front of the paladins of other orders, and if he could carve his own name into history, he could overcome any hardship.

A reckless judgment, just like any other young paladin might make.

Of course, Elbridge had regretted that judgment countless times.

'It was the bravest choice I ever made in my life, but also the stupidest.'

As Elbridge was mulling over old memories as usual that day, something strange happened.

He smelled something.

'What is this?'

It was only the stale smell of dust in the underground chamber. But to Elbridge, it was an unbearably vivid sensation.

Ever since the day he had become the Seal Core, Elbridge had been unable to feel anything except for his limited sight.

Then a storm of sensations wrapped around Elbridge.

The chill underground air and the hard texture of the floor. The faint humming sound of wind seeping into the chamber...

'Is this a hallucination?'

He had no proper basis for it, but Elbridge was certain this wasn't a hallucination.

At almost the same moment, Elbridge judged the situation.

'The reason is unknown. But the seal has been broken.'

Had the Archdemon escaped? Or had it been unable to withstand the seal and vanished?

Elbridge had no way to know the exact situation. But that was not very important to him right then.

'Even if something went wrong, it isn't my fault. I did everything I could.'

Freed from the seal, Elbridge took a deep breath.

Suuup-

Then he moved his legs, stiff as pieces of wood, and approached the faint beam of light shining down into the stone chamber.

Elbridge looked up. A gap about the width of two finger joints existed in the ceiling of the underground chamber.

Through that gap, he could see a deep blue sky. How long had it been since he had seen blue?

'Sky...'

Elbridge's heart pounded wildly.

His mind grew restless.

After groping through the darkness for a long while, Elbridge found the stairs leading up to the surface.

Then he slipped outside through the hidden entrance.

A forest came into view. The stone chamber that had sealed the Archdemon lay underground in the middle of a deep forest.

The fresh, damp forest air, the chirping of an unknown bird, the strong smell of earth.

Every sensation, all of it now utterly unfamiliar, wrapped around Elbridge.

Elbridge knelt before a birch tree and prayed to the Goddess of the Rusted Shield.

"Goddess, thank you. At last, I have been released from that hellish seal..."

And before Elbridge's prayer had even ended, a voice reached his ear.

- Elbridge, Paladin Elbridge. You have suffered a great deal.

Elbridge was shocked.

Unlike most people, who went their whole lives without ever hearing the goddess's voice, Elbridge had heard it twice before.

And the voice he had just heard was unmistakably that of the Goddess of the Rusted Shield.

Elbridge clasped his hands more tightly and prayed again.

"Goddess, how many years have passed since the day I was sealed with the Archdemon?"

A merciful yet strong woman's voice said.

- More than two hundred years have passed.

More than two hundred years. For a paladin who had been in his mid-twenties, it was an absurdly long span of time.

Elbridge wondered whether he was still a young man in his mid-twenties or an old man who had already lived more than two hundred years.

Fortunately, he did not seem to have turned into a wrinkled old man.

His clasped hands had become thin and gaunt compared to before, but they were not covered in many wrinkles.

'That's a relief, at least.'

Elbridge had many things he wanted to ask the goddess.

What had happened to the seal and the Archdemon, and how many seats had the goddess gained in the Heavenly Council thanks to his efforts...

But he pushed those countless questions aside and asked the goddess something very direct.

"Goddess of the Rusted Shield. Am I being hailed as a saint in the order?"

Elbridge was sure that had to be the case.

Wasn't he the one in the expedition of paladins from many orders, lords' knights, and mages from the Magic Tower who had taken on the heaviest duty?

Judging only by how memorable it had been, Elbridge thought his devotion would have been more impressive than that of the fallen.

The priests and believers of the Order of the Rusted Shield must surely have sung of Paladin Elbridge's devotion, if only to save face before the followers of other orders...

A short silence passed.

- ...Elbridge, my most cherished child, I am worried that you will be greatly shocked by what I have to tell you.

"I'm fine, so please don't worry."

Elbridge was confident he could face whatever he heard without flinching.

There was nothing that could be more shocking than being freed from the seal after more than two hundred years, or than hearing the goddess's voice.

But the goddess's next words were enough to shock him completely.

- Our order has fallen.

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