Paladin of a Ruined Order - Chapter 128

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Translator/Editor: Order

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Chapter 128: Parent of the Elves (5)

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Orion's sudden remark made Elbridge wary as he asked,

"What is this request?"

Orion looked at Sonia.

"Where should I start...? Sonia, did you tell them that story?"

There was only one story Orion could mean.

The story of Jin, Bella, and the Goddess of Thornbush's past.

Marcus glanced at Sonia.

'Did Sonia promise Orion that she'd tell us that story?'

Yet judging by Sonia's bewildered expression, they hadn't discussed anything of the sort.

Playing innocent, Marcus asked Sonia,

"Sonia, what story is Orion talking about? That you two spent the day together? Or was there something else?"

Thanks to Marcus's casual question, Sonia regained her composure. She crossed her arms, pursed her lips, and shot Orion a sidelong look.

"Orion, I'm not that loose-lipped. How disappointing."

"I'm sorry, Sonia. It wasn't because I doubted you. I thought it would be easier to explain the request if they knew the details. And the Goddess of Thornbush said she was certain you'd already told your companions that story..."

It was quite a bold thing to say.

To defend themself to Sonia, Orion had thrown the Goddess of Thornbush under the bus.

'...How long has it even been since Orion met Sonia for Orion to react like that?'

Sonia's charm might have been more powerful than expected.

No, at this point, wasn't it closer to brainwashing than charm?

"Good grief."

Sonia let out a teasing sigh, as though Orion was impossible to deal with.

"I'll let it slide this time. Anyway, you want me to tell them that story?"

"That's right."

"All right, everyone, listen up. This is how the Goddess of Thornbush ascended to heaven..."

Sonia told Jin and Bella's story again, while Elbridge and the others listened as if hearing it for the first time.

After hearing the story a second time, Rombel wiped away tears as though he had been moved.

"It's a beautiful story. The love and bond between parent and child ran that deep."

Orion nodded.

"Certainly. That was what I thought as well when Jin and Bella first told me the story."

Interest flickered across Elbridge's face. That meant Orion thought differently now.

"Orion, is there anything in that story that isn't true?"

Orion shook their head.

"No. The Goddess of Thornbush said there wasn't a single lie in it. Some parts were simply left out. And there are problems that arose as time passed."

"Such as?"

"Well... First, Jin and Bella were just over a hundred years old when the Goddess of Thornbush was born."

Sonia and Marcus showed little reaction.

Elbridge and Rombel, though, were somewhat taken aback. Both knew a little about elves.

A hundred-year-old human and a hundred-year-old elf were entirely different things.

If an ordinary human lived to be a hundred, they had lived a full life.

But an elf at a hundred was still barely old enough to be considered an adult.

Given that, elves generally had children only after reaching two or three hundred years of age.

"...It seems the two of them matured a little early."

Unlike most elves who settled down in one place, Jin and Bella had wandered the world.

Elbridge thought he understood why.

Maybe they had simply been going through a rebellious phase.

"And there's something else I only learned a little while ago. The Goddess of Thornbush ascended to heaven around three thousand years ago."

"That certainly was a long time ago. But is that a problem?"

Orion looked a little troubled.

"Well... A long life is, of course, a blessing. Children naturally wish for their parents to live long lives. But sometimes it can become a problem. For example, when a child can't escape their parents' interference for three thousand years."

"..."

Most people became independent and left their parents' care once they reached adulthood.

Still, overly concerned parents sometimes treated their grown children like infants. They refused to accept their child's independence, as though they wanted to keep them close for their entire lives.

It might have been a twisted kind of love, but it was still parental love.

For the child receiving it, though, that love could become an unbearable form of oppression. Especially when it lasted not for a few years, but three thousand.

"The Goddess of Thornbush granted Jin and Bella the divine power of longevity to repay the love they had given her. She probably thought that after a few hundred or perhaps a thousand years, they would naturally conclude their lives and return to the cycle, ending this life and entering the next one... Something like that. But two problems arose."

Elbridge picked up Orion's explanation.

"The first problem was that Jin and Bella had no intention of ending their lives."

"Exactly."

Orion clapped, and Elbridge asked,

"Then what's the second problem?"

"It's a problem with divine power."

"Divine power?"

"As you all know, the Goddess of Thornbush doesn't possess many heavenly seats."

The Goddess of Thornbush had always possessed only one heavenly seat. That was because there were so few elves.

Thinking back, elves had complained even two hundred years ago that the system for determining the number of heavenly seats was unfair.

Their argument was that since elves lived ten times longer than humans, they should receive ten times as many voting rights for it to be fair. They said the Goddess of Thornbush should be assigned at least ten heavenly seats.

The only ones who agreed were the dwarves and the God of the Iron Anvil.

Elbridge asked,

"I know that, but what's the problem with having few heavenly seats?"

"Unlike most divine powers, which are expended once and then finished, the divine power of longevity consumes divine power continuously."

It was just as Elbridge had expected.

Otherwise, every elf would have lived forever.

"And the reason there are only three Sentinels is that if the divine power of longevity is divided among three people, the Goddess of Thornbush has no divine power left to grant."

Rombel offered his opinion.

"It's an incredibly powerful divine power. Isn't that only natural?"

"That's right. The problem is that Jin and Bella use two-thirds of the divine power assigned to the Goddess of Thornbush. I use the remaining third, of course... And because of the nature of elves, another problem arises."

"What nature?"

"Elves rarely leave the forest."

"Why is that a problem?"

Orion answered Rombel's question in a serious voice.

"Having no divine power remaining and having believers who never leave the forest means... that for the past three thousand years, all the Goddess of Thornbush has been able to do is watch the elves in the forest to pass the time. If nothing changes, that's what she'll have to keep doing."

Elbridge trembled.

Spending two hundred years blankly trapped in a seal had been hard enough to endure. The Goddess of Thornbush had spent more than three thousand years doing nothing but watching a forest.

Unlike Elbridge, who had been released from his seal, the Goddess of Thornbush was still in much the same situation. There was no promise that she would ever be freed.

Marcus looked at Orion.

"So what does the Goddess of Thornbush want from us? She isn't asking us to kill Jin and Bella... No, she can't be asking us to get rid of them."

There were ethical issues, as well as practical ones.

Jin and Bella were far too strong for Elbridge's group to subdue. It might be possible with Orion's help, but they had no desire to take such a risk.

Orion answered,

"By any means necessary, please help them give up their positions as Sentinels and their immortality."

If Jin and Bella stepped down as Sentinels, no new Sentinels would be selected. If they were, their lifespans would be limited.

"Since it's divine power the goddess granted them, can't she take it back herself?"

"Apparently, that's impossible. Since it was granted by mutual agreement, it can't be taken back unilaterally."

Marcus still looked unconvinced.

"I don't think it's wise for outsiders like us to get involved in this. Wouldn't it be best for the Goddess of Thornbush to speak honestly with the people involved through an oracle?"

"Of course, the Goddess of Thornbush has tried that as well. But they won't even listen..."

If they could be persuaded that easily, there would have been no reason for this concern.

Still, Marcus asked again,

"Wouldn't it be better to try talking to them once more? They say no parent can beat their child."

Orion shook their head.

"That saying is wrong. There are at least two parents who can beat their child."

"...That's unfortunate."

Marcus fell into deep thought.

He had accepted all manner of strange requests during his more than ten years as a Mercenary, but this was the strangest one yet. A request from a god in heaven. Worse still, the request itself was bizarre.

Then a question crossed Elbridge's mind.

Like Jin and Bella, wasn't Orion also a Sentinel granted a long life?

"Orion, why are you telling us this?"

"Pardon?"

"If Jin and Bella give up their immortality, it seems obvious that you'll be next. I don't see why you would take the Goddess of Thornbush's side."

It was a rather bold question.

The Goddess of Thornbush, who was almost certainly listening to this conversation, might become angry.

But Elbridge trusted the Goddess of the Rusted Shield.

The Goddess of the Rusted Shield possessed four heavenly seats. Surely she could overwhelm the Goddess of Thornbush.

Orion hesitated before answering.

"...To be honest, even if I have to give up my own immortality, I think it would be better for Jin and Bella to retire."

Elbridge was inwardly impressed. Was Orion's loyalty to the Goddess of Thornbush truly that great?

But Orion's explanation went in a slightly different direction.

"Since the previous Sentinel resigned, I've spent six hundred years as Jin and Bella's lackey... No, their subordinate. Rather than live like this forever, I'd rather live a short but fulfilling life. The Goddess of Thornbush said she would guarantee me another thousand years of life if I handle this matter well."

A hierarchy built on age had one cruel feature.

The ranks could never change.

'An eternally living senior... That sounds horrifying.'

Should they accept this request, or refuse it?

Elbridge didn't know which choice was right.

Neither the Goddess of the Rusted Shield nor the God of Fox Rain, who were surely watching this situation, said anything.

It likely meant they would respect whichever choice he made.

Then Elbridge realized he still had one card left to turn over.

"If we accept this request, what reward will the Goddess of Thornbush offer?"

Orion answered Elbridge's question.

"She promised her full support for the next hundred years."

The Goddess of Thornbush's promise of full support would likely lead to the support of the entire elven race.