WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Order

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Chapter 11: Hillside Slums (2)

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By the time Elbridge had been sealed away, the Goddess of the Rusted Shield was a heavyweight who held as many as twenty-two seats in the Heavenly Council.

And now, from a shrine of the Goddess of the Rusted Shield that held only two seats, they were talking about some heavyweight from the Hillside Slums? It was ridiculous.

"···."

But Elbridge could not bring himself to say what he was thinking.

Was it because the current Goddess of the Rusted Shield held not a single seat?

No.

The real issue was that even two hundred years ago, when the Order of the Rusted Shield was at the height of its influence, the Order of the Bloodstained Spear was more powerful.

At the time, the God of the Bloodstained Spear held nearly forty seats. This deity was, quite literally, a giant among giants.

As far as Elbridge knew, the Goddess of the Rusted Shield had never once beaten the God of the Bloodstained Spear.

The young paladin continued his pitch.

"I'm not forcing you. But while we're at it, you should also reconsider things from scratch. Do you plan to spend the rest of your life cleaning temple dust by yourself?"

Before Elbridge could answer, the goddess delivered an oracle in a trembling voice.

- Elbridge. Hearing such outrageous talk makes your goddess's heart ache. Give me a sharp retort and make your goddess happy.

Elbridge, as a faithful paladin, obeyed the goddess's oracle.

"If I were going to serve another god, I would have gone to a major order like the Order of the Golden Tray or the Order of the Olive Tree Goddess. Why would I go to the Order of the Bloodstained Spear, which is like a fragile rowboat?"

Then the unnamed paladin replied in a deeply serious voice.

"Even if I had boarded a fragile rowboat, if I found a shipwreck, I would naturally rescue the survivors."

Elbridge was left speechless.

But the one most shocked by that statement was clearly not Elbridge, but the Goddess of the Rusted Shield.

After being full of energy and showing off her presence the moment they arrived at the temple, the goddess had, for the first time, lost her words.

Elbridge called out to her in a tiny voice.

"···Goddess? Goddess?"

- Elbridge. Wait a moment. I shall go and lodge a stern protest with the God of the Bloodstained Spear this very instant...!

The goddess's presence vanished.

The paladin of the Bloodstained Spear continued speaking, still unaware of what he had done.

"And in my opinion, you don't look like someone who would go to the Order of the Golden Tray or the Order of the Olive Tree Goddess."

"Why?"

"Those two orders have temples everywhere. If you had intended to go, you would have gone long ago."

"That's just your opinion."

"What matters more are the calluses and scars on your hands. Those are not marks left on an ordinary person's hands. They're the traces of someone who treats sword and spear as extensions of the body."

Elbridge's eyebrow twitched slightly.

He checked Elbridge's hands in the middle of all this. He had sharp eyes.

"It isn't even the level of someone who trained for a year or two. You... what were you doing before? When I first saw you, I thought you were a mercenary, but your air is different from a mercenary's. And a mercenary would have no reason to serve the Goddess of the Rusted Shield."

"I'm a paladin."

Until now, whenever Elbridge claimed to be a paladin, people either did not believe him or laughed.

But the paladin in front of him was different. His expression only grew more serious.

"I'm confident in my eye for people. You're not some husk who bought a rank with offerings. You're a rare, genuine paladin. A paladin like that has no reason to go to the Order of the Golden Tray. If you're looking for a new order to join, the Order of the Bloodstained Spear would suit you best."

After saying that, the young paladin held out his hand to Elbridge.

"I'm Felix. What's your name?"

"Elbridge."

"That's a grand name."

"Do you know what my name means?"

"Sir Elbridge, the Silent Paladin. The paladin who fought the Archdemon two hundred years ago and took on the heaviest duty."

Elbridge's opinion of Felix rose quite a bit.

Felix even went one step further.

"···Even the Order of the Rusted Shield, then. Are you connected to the Silent Paladin somehow?"

The urge to tell the truth slowly rose within him.

The Elbridge you're talking about, the Silent Paladin, is standing right here after crossing two hundred years of time.

If he said that, Felix might throw himself flat on the floor in reverence.

But the oracle he had heard a moment ago was the problem.

Hadn't the goddess just told him not to reveal his identity carelessly?

'What should I say? Should I tell him it's just a coincidence that the names match?'

No. That would be hard to sell, since Elbridge was not a common name.

Then a thought flashed through Elbridge's mind.

"Sir Elbridge, the Silent Paladin, is my ancestor. Six generations back... no, seven."

Felix answered calmly.

"A distinguished family, then. I understand now why you've remained in the Order of the Rusted Shield until now."

The corner of Elbridge's mouth lifted slightly. Even if the Goddess of the Rusted Shield represented hidden honor, wasn't it all right to enjoy this much...?

Felix said, "Elbridge. Your family must have kept the faith through the generations. At least for two hundred years."

"Yes."

"I don't know the policy in detail, but someone like you would definitely qualify for the maximum transfer benefits. That's certain."

"···."

Sure enough, the proselytizing started again.

Felix raised his right hand and showed the gauntlet covering the back of his hand and forearm. An emblem symbolizing the God of the Bloodstained Spear was engraved on it.

"Our order gives this gauntlet to those who qualify as paladins. Among the faithful, it's something people long for. But you're different. You could receive not just a gauntlet, but full plate armor. That would definitely be possible for Sir Elbridge's descendant. What do you think?"

"Hmm···."

"No, maybe I'm putting too much pressure on you. Forget all that. Let's just talk for a bit at our order's temple. Come over like a neighbor from the Hillside Slums dropping by for tea. If you say you're Sir Elbridge's descendant, everyone will be delighted."

Then the goddess's urgent voice came again.

- Elbridge. Do not forget that just as you endured two hundred years within the seal, your goddess also endured an endless wait. And since you stand at the very top of the pyramid that is the Order of the Rusted Shield, if our influence expands in the future, you will have authority that cannot be compared with anyone else's... .

Elbridge turned his head so Felix could not see and whispered softly.

"Goddess, my faith has not wavered in the slightest. I was only interested because I needed to be."

- What need are you talking about?

"I need to know what benefits other orders offer so I can gather believers too. You could call it keeping tabs on the industry."

However, the Goddess of the Rusted Shield could not shake off her unease.

- Elbridge. It is best not to let vile things into your ears at all. Impure things are like stains; they do not wash off easily, and they spread little by little to what surrounds them...

Because the goddess reacted so strongly, Elbridge could not go to the Order of the Bloodstained Spear.

But ending the conversation with Felix here would have been foolish. Information had to be squeezed out while it could still be obtained.

"Felix. I have a question."

"Ask anything. We're neighbors, aren't we? Neighbors who might even become family before long."

"You said the God of the Bloodstained Spear was the biggest heavyweight among the orders on the upper hill, right?"

Since ancient times, many combat-related orders had been concentrated on the upper hill.

By contrast, most of the orders on the lower hill had nothing to do with combat. That was partly because their influence had been weaker at the time, and partly because the lower hill made it easier to interact with ordinary people in Holy City Solenion.

Felix shrugged.

"To be honest, I wouldn't call it unmatched. They have a rival."

"Where?"

"The Order of the Laurel Wreath. They have as many as three seats. But our order isn't exactly behind. We go back and forth every year."

"I see... Anyway, what I want to ask is this. There were countless combat orders that once flourished and then fell into decline. How did the Order of the Bloodstained Spear and the Order of the Laurel Wreath survive until now and keep their seats?"

Felix fell into thought for a moment.

Not only Elbridge, but the Goddess of the Rusted Shield also listened closely to Felix's answer.

"I think they survived because they were active in demonic beast hunting."

"Demonic beast hunting? Demonic beasts only show up once in a while."

Felix shook his head.

"If you widen your view from just part of the eastern continent to the entire eastern continent, and then to the whole continent, the appearance rate is much higher. Our order and the Order of the Laurel Wreath sent paladins every time a demonic beast appeared and drove it off. In return, we secured promises of five years, or even ten years, of support from nearby residents."

"···!"

At that point, it was less a matter of faith than a matter of trade.

But a method this direct and obvious for securing seats probably was not common.

"What about the paladins of the other major orders?"

Felix snorted.

"Golden Tray? Olive Tree? Brass Cup? Those money-grubbing orders are full of fakes who bought their posts with offerings. How much experience do you think they had fighting demonic beasts? Rather than go out and hunt demonic beasts just to embarrass themselves, they dumped demonic beast response on us."

"···I see."

Elbridge's hand idly touched the hilt of his sword.

Three demonic beasts near Riverford Barony. And the report from Dickens Viscounty, where every last territory resident had vanished like smoke.

He had delivered a letter containing all of that information to the Order of the Golden Tray that very day, and the world still did not know that demons had returned.

'But in the end, they'll have to notice.'

When demons disappeared and demonic beasts dwindled, the combat orders declined.

Conversely, when demons returned and demonic beasts increased, it was inevitable that the combat orders would seize the chance.

When that happened, the Hillside Slums would once again become the heart of Holy City Solenion.

On that day, which order's paladins would stand in the lead?

The wealthy order's paladins, appointed after paying offerings?

The paladins of the Order of the Bloodstained Spear, who hunted demonic beasts for the wealthy order?

Or... the paladin who had survived dozens of battles with demons and had finally sealed the Archdemon?

The answer was obvious.

The Goddess of the Rusted Shield said in a worried voice,

- Elbridge. My dearest child. Your goddess hopes you will not walk a dangerous road. You have already done more than enough to fulfill a paladin's duty. Now is the time to leave everything to others, step back, and enjoy a peaceful life. Do not worry about seats. It is fine if there are none.

Elbridge whispered to the goddess.

"Goddess of the Rusted Shield, I'm still too young to retire."

He had thought more than once that he had done enough.

But he could never forget his hatred for demons, so Elbridge always picked up his sword again and returned to the battlefield.

In the end, fighting was his fate.

If that was the case, there was no need to refuse the glory that would naturally come to him.

The more glory he had, the more divine power and strength it would bring.

Elbridge said, feigning playfulness,

"You waited a full two hundred years, Goddess. You should enjoy yourself a little too."

Footnotes:

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