WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Order

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 120: Elbridge, Seventeen Years Old (4)

──────

Reto didn't show it in front of Elbridge, but he was growing more anxious by the minute.

The fact that Middlemarch's armed merchant caravan hadn't arrived meant there was trouble somewhere between the northern region and Middlemarch in the central region.

And the main temple of Reto's Order, the Order of the Third Hand, was in Middlemarch.

'Could something have happened to our Order?'

It wasn't likely. Still, the strength of one's anxiety had little to do with probability. Reto's steps quickened along with his anxious heart.

Before long, Reto realized something strange.

It was strange that Elbridge was following him without a word.

'Elbridge left the fortress because he hated being dragged into battles.'

If they headed south now, there was a high chance they would get caught up in a fight. Elbridge knew that well.

He had left the fortress to escape grueling battles, so wouldn't it be natural for him to refuse another fight now?

'Does he plan to help solve our Order's problem because he intends to rely on us?'

No. The assumption that Elbridge would rely on the Order of the Third Hand was wrong from the start.

Bluntly speaking, Elbridge had no reason to choose the Order of the Third Hand.

Elbridge was a special talent to the Order of the Third Hand.

But the Order of the Third Hand wasn't a special choice for Elbridge.

There would be too many combat churches to count that would welcome Elbridge with open arms, and the Order of the Third Hand was only one of them.

Reto hesitated before asking Elbridge why he was coming along.

Asking whether he had any reason to choose the Order of the Third Hand badly enough to go through another battle would only be asking for trouble.

What if the question made Elbridge think it over and he chose another Order? What if Reto couldn't bring him back to the Order?

'Then what would I have left?'

Only the label of someone who had deserted Hebron Fortress.

Reto didn't want to be known as that kind of fool.

Still, he pressed his temples hard.

'...Damn it. Don't be so petty, Reto.'

In the end, Reto spoke.

"Elbridge. If we head south from here, we'll almost certainly get caught up in a battle."

"Probably."

"To be honest, you don't have to come to the Order of the Third Hand. You could avoid the trouble and go east or west. There are churches that want you anywhere on the continent."

"..."

Elbridge must have understood why Reto was bringing this up.

The Elbridge Reto knew was fairly quick-witted.

After thinking for a moment, Elbridge said, "If I hadn't known, I might have gone somewhere else. But now that I know there's trouble in the south, I can't just pass by."

Reto was speechless for a moment.

That answer made him feel as if he had caught a glimpse of Elbridge's future.

Leaving the fortress wouldn't make Elbridge's life peaceful.

If he kept thinking that way, only the place where he worked would change. His life would surely be little different from his life at Hebron Fortress. At first, he would only take part in battles now and then. Before long, though, he would be dragged into every kind of battle.

Reto had only known Elbridge for a couple of months. It was far too soon to speak of loyalty.

Still, Reto clearly remembered Elbridge returning to the fortress in someone else's arms, with both legs torn off. He also remembered the other injuries, which had been just as horrific.

Even if it wasn't out of loyalty, Reto hoped out of pity that Elbridge wouldn't live that way.

"Elbridge. When I met you in the infirmary, Sir Leonhardt said something to Sir Brenic."

"What was it?"

"He said you have a habit of trying to prove that you have a purpose, that you're useful."

"..."

Elbridge didn't answer.

But judging by his expression, he wasn't unaware of it either.

"If you want to live the life you want, you'll need to break that habit first. Don't try to prove your worth to other people. You don't need others to recognize your worth in order to live. Don't try to do everything you can. You need to learn how to close your eyes or look the other way sometimes."

"But..."

Elbridge tried to say something, but Reto cut him off.

"That isn't cowardly. It's how everyone gets through life. It's something you have to learn if you want to become an adult."

Once he had said everything that sounded like either a lecture or a sermon, Reto felt relieved.

At the same time, he regretted it. Had his idiotic meddling just thrown away his chance to earn some credit? What if Elbridge really left for another Order?

"..."

Fortunately or unfortunately, Elbridge simply walked silently beside Reto.

* * *

After traveling for two more days, Elbridge and Reto spotted a group of knights at the entrance to a village.

When some sort of trouble arose, knights and Paladins from nearby areas would gather to discuss a solution. This village seemed to have taken on that role this time.

As Reto and Elbridge approached, one knight stood and looked Reto up and down.

"I don't recognize you. Who are you?"

Reto examined the knight's armor as well. It bore the crest of a noble house rather than an Order's symbol.

When trouble occurred in a particular area, the people most troubled weren't the churches but the nearby lords. It was only natural for ordinary knights to actively help solve the problem.

"I'm Reto, a Paladin of the Order of the Third Hand."

"I thought the Third Hand was an Order active around Middlemarch. Why are you coming from the north?"

"I'm returning from Hebron Fortress."

"Hebron?"

The knight's brow twitched. The suspicion was obvious.

Hebron Fortress was practically a symbol of knights whose skill had been recognized. Even knights and Paladins who didn't wish to be assigned there held a quiet admiration for it.

The problem was that Reto and Elbridge were far too young.

The suspicion was understandable. There were fewer than five Paladins at Hebron Fortress younger than Reto, and not a single knight younger than Elbridge.

It was hard for the knight to believe, and at the same time, hard to want to believe.

Those little brats are far above me?

Reto let out a small sigh after reading that expression.

Just then, someone came strolling out of the village. It was even a Paladin Reto knew.

"Sir Jansen?"

Paladin Jansen recognized Reto and threw both arms into the air.

"What? Isn't that Reto? I heard you went to Hebron Fortress."

The knight Reto had been speaking to quietly stepped back.

Jansen had appeared at the perfect time, allowing Reto to avoid an annoying situation.

"Something came up, so I was on my way back to the Order."

"Haha! Is there something more important than a mission at Hebron Fortress?"

"Elbridge hopes to join the Order of the Third Hand."

"So this fellow's name is Elbridge?"

Paladin Jansen's gaze lingered on Elbridge's face before moving downward.

"Uh..."

Jansen's eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at the symbol engraved on Elbridge's armor.

"I'm not sure whether that's the Order symbol I think it is..."

"It probably is."

"I'm Elbridge of the Order of the Rusted Shield."

When Elbridge held out his hand, Jansen grinned broadly and clasped it.

"I've heard there was a knight in the Order of the Rusted Shield who was young enough to be called a child. So that was you... Since this is fate, would you care for a cup of tea inside?"

"Sounds good."

Jansen naturally led Elbridge and Reto into the village.

Yet the first thing they saw inside was a group of around forty knights and Paladins.

Their curious eyes turned toward Reto and Elbridge.

From the looks of it, they had gathered to respond to the trouble in the area.

Reto looked at Jansen. Jansen carefully avoided Reto's gaze.

'...This was deliberate. Were they in the middle of a meeting?'

Now that they had shown their faces, it would be hard to pull out.

Backing away here would tarnish the Order's honor.

At least neither Elbridge nor Reto had any intention of avoiding a battle.

That didn't mean Reto could let it slide. He quietly pinched Jansen's upper arm, hard enough to leave a bruise.

"..."

Jansen endured the pain silently without letting out even a small groan.

* * *

What was even more surprising was that the knights began moving as soon as Elbridge and Reto finished their tea.

Contrary to Reto's expectations, the knights hadn't gathered for a meeting.

"You two appeared just as we finished preparing to depart. This, too, must be the arrangement of the Goddess of the Rusted Shield and the God of the Third Hand!"

Jansen paced around Elbridge and Reto, chattering excitedly.

At first, Reto thought Jansen was teasing them, but there was sincerity in Jansen's voice.

The other knights reacted similarly.

"Two helpers arriving right before departure, and not just any random people. Two helpers from Hebron Fortress! Our luck is incredible. This mission is practically guaranteed to succeed."

"You know, I applied for an assignment to Hebron Fortress once, too. Got rejected outright, though. Hahaha!"

The knights invariably brought up Hebron Fortress.

Reto felt strangely conflicted.

Who would have thought that staying at Hebron Fortress for only a few months would inspire this much trust?

It was a special experience to have others rely on him, especially knights rather than ordinary people.

A proud smile formed on Reto's face.

Elbridge, on the other hand, didn't look very happy.

"Reto. Do you know why people look for something to rely on?"

"I'm not sure."

"Anxiety. They need something to rely on because they're anxious."

If the knights were anxious, it meant the threat ahead was just that severe.

Reto asked Jansen to explain the situation.

As expected, the answer wasn't welcome.

"Two extermination parties have failed in a row. We may not be as skilled as you two, but we're selected elites ourselves."

The number of failed exterminations could be seen as a measure of danger paid for in lives.

Whenever an extermination failed, they sent in people more skilled than the last group.

Only then did Reto understand everyone's reaction.

A mission more dangerous than usual. Anxiety that was hard to shake. Two people appearing at just the right moment, as if arranged by gods in heaven.

Could there be a more auspicious sign for them?

"Sir Jansen. What kind of demon is it?"

"It creates demonic beasts."

"Don't all demons do that?"

Jansen shook his head.

"Normally, demonic beasts are like byproducts of demons. They show up like scraps even when the demon doesn't intend for them to. But this demon is different. There have been reports that it deliberately creates and controls demonic beasts."

So the concern was quantity rather than quality. Should they be relieved or worried?

Then Elbridge, who had been leading the way, stopped walking. The other knights naturally stopped as well.

Reto lowered his voice.

"What is it?"

"Over there."

A typical central-region landscape stretched out before them.

Small forests were scattered here and there between open fields.

In the direction Elbridge pointed, a green bird was perched.

It was a little too small to be called a demonic beast. At most, it was as large as an adult man's forearm.

It didn't seem to be a rare or dangerous mutant. Its demonic-beast transformation simply hadn't progressed very far yet.

Still, it was unsettling that the first demonic beast they had found was one like that.

A small body, and green coloring that made it seem camouflaged.

It looked like a scout to anyone.

"Can anyone take down that demonic beast without making a sound?"

No one answered Elbridge's question.

Elbridge drew a dagger from inside his clothing and rolled it in his hand, sharpening his senses.

A moment later, he pulled his arm back and hurled the dagger with all his strength.

Thrown with the strength of a Paladin, far beyond that of an ordinary person, the dagger traced a strange path toward the demonic beast. It didn't just lodge in its target. It cleanly severed the demonic beast's neck.

"Oh..."

The Paladins marveled at the impressive skill.

"Let's go."

The group began moving again, slowly and quietly.

Reto whispered to Elbridge.

"Where did you learn to throw daggers like that?"

"I never learned."

"What, are you a natural genius? What a pain."

Reto laughed as he said it, but Elbridge shook his head.

"No. Given the trajectory I sent it along, it should have missed."

"Huh?"

"You saw the dagger suddenly curve, right? I didn't do that."

There were two beings that could intervene in a situation like this and exert their influence. A demon or a god.

The demon had no reason to intervene to kill a demonic beast that served as its hands and feet. That left only one possibility.

"The Goddess of the Rusted Shield helped you?"

"I think so."

"She helped without you even asking? The Goddess of the Rusted Shield must really want to keep you."

Elbridge shook his head.

"I don't think it's that simple."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because I felt discomfort and displeasure even before we encountered the demonic beast."

It was rare to feel a god's emotions.

Even Reto, whose skill had been recognized by his Order, had never experienced anything like it.

But Elbridge had said recently that he could feel the emotions held by the Goddess of the Rusted Shield.

Mostly negative emotions, at that.

"Has it gotten worse?"

"Yes. Since we joined those knights, I can feel her emotions much more clearly."

"Does the Goddess not want this expedition to end in victory?"

"...Maybe."

Reto's chest tightened.

When they needed every good sign they could get, they had a god's anger instead.

His thoughts grew tangled.

Should he tell the knights this and argue for retreat? Or should they keep moving forward?

He didn't know the answer. One thing was certain, though. He was worrying too late.

In the wind that blew past them, Reto caught the distinctive stench and rank animal smell of demonic beasts.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried