WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Order

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Chapter 139: Trademark Rights

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Elbridge's thoughts grew tangled.

'Why is there a temple of our Order here...?'

Of course, the Order of the Rusted Shield didn't have temples only in Solenion. The one in Solenion was merely the Order's main temple.

Like any other order, temples of the Order of the Rusted Shield were scattered throughout the land.

Still, Elbridge knew the location of every temple.

That knowledge was two hundred years old, but he hadn't thought any temples he didn't know about could have appeared. After Elbridge was sealed away, the Order had gradually declined until its lineage was cut off.

And as far as Elbridge remembered, there had been no temple of the Order of the Rusted Shield in Royal Capital Leodel.

He wanted to inspect the temple immediately, but this wasn't a situation where he could act alone. More than twenty people, exhausted from their long journey, were traveling with him.

'I'll come back later.'

After memorizing the temple's location, Elbridge resumed walking as though nothing had happened.

He had paused only briefly, so Marcus was the only one who noticed.

Marcus sidled up to him and asked,

"Is the Goddess asking for another snack offering?"

Elbridge made up an excuse.

"That's right. Though it isn't the Goddess of the Rusted Shield who wants one. The Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss asked through her..."

"Ah, of course she did."

Elbridge looked around.

The temple wasn't particularly large, and the area around it was so crowded that he was the only one who had spotted it.

Sonia's guess that Murvach was a great noble proved correct.

Murvach passed the smaller mansions and headed toward one of the five largest estates in all of Holy City Leodel. With only a little exaggeration, its garden was as large as the entire Riverford Barony.

'I couldn't buy this mansion even if I sold the Riverford Barony.'

There were more than twenty people carrying Weapons in their group.

The guards tried to stop them, but upon recognizing Murvach, they stepped aside.

Murvach said,

"This is House Hagenlot. My younger brother, Garmon Hagenlot, leads the family. You'll probably meet him soon."

"Don't you have a separate territory outside the city?"

"Of course we do. But since the estate borders Royal Capital Leodel, the family tends to stay here rather than there."

Before long, a man with paler skin and a slimmer face than Murvach appeared.

He was the complete opposite of the rough, sun-tanned Murvach.

Still, the resemblance in their features made it easy to recognize the man as Murvach's younger brother, Garmon Hagenlot.

Marquis Garmon Hagenlot said to Murvach,

"It's been a long time."

"I had something to take care of, so I stopped by."

"I understand. Please make yourself comfortable while you're here."

Garmon Hagenlot and Murvach seemed somewhat distant.

Still, that was only natural. Murvach had said it had been twenty years since his last visit to the estate.

Guided by the household servants, the group split up and went their separate ways. The mansion was so large that it had more than enough room for twenty people.

A servant asked Elbridge,

"Would you like your meal brought to your room, or would you prefer to dine in the dining hall?"

"Thank you, but I'll skip the meal. I'm not hungry."

That was a lie. Something far more important than food filled Elbridge's mind, so he changed into ordinary clothes and immediately left House Hagenlot.

The Goddess of the Rusted Shield seemed to interpret his actions in her own way and sent down an oracle.

- How devout you are, Elbridge. The Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss will be very pleased.

Elbridge pushed through the crowd and made his way through unfamiliar streets.

- Your Goddess remembers the way, so there's no need to worry about getting lost. Elbridge, turn left!

Elbridge merely nodded and continued walking.

A short while later, he reached a street crowded with countless stalls. The Goddess's voice grew more excited.

- Elbridge. It would be wise to offer freshly grilled skewers rather than those old, shriveled ones. The Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss doesn't like cold food.

The Goddess of the Rusted Shield pointed out foods he should buy at once. Elbridge casually passed the stalls and stopped in front of the temple.

Just as he had thought, the temple bore the emblem of the Order of the Rusted Shield. He could also glimpse a statue of the Goddess of the Rusted Shield inside.

Several priests belonged to the temple, along with a number of devotees wandering through it.

The Goddess's oracle stopped. Yet he could still feel her presence, so the Goddess of the Rusted Shield was clearly watching the situation unfold.

Elbridge spoke in a subdued voice.

"Goddess. Didn't you tell me, on the day I was released from the seal, that I was the Order's only remaining believer...?"

Elbridge was the Archbishop, Cardinal, and High Paladin who should have wished for the Order's revival.

If he unexpectedly found a temple of the Order and its believers wherever he went, he should have been happy.

Yet for some reason, Elbridge felt hurt.

"Goddess. Just as you cared for me when I was young and immature, I have always devoted myself to the Order and to you. Even if you hadn't lied by saying I was the only believer left, I would have done everything in my power for the Order."

People often thought that voicing their thoughts would make them feel relieved, that it would calm their emotions at least a little.

Usually, that was true. Yet the human heart was fickle, and sometimes it worked in the opposite way. The more Elbridge complained, the more stifled he felt.

"Why didn't you just tell me the truth? You were all I had, but you had people besides me..."

Confused, Elbridge spoke every thought that came to mind without filtering it, expecting the flustered Goddess to offer some excuse. The Goddess of the Rusted Shield did send down an oracle in a panic.

Her panic, though, was directed somewhere slightly different from what Elbridge expected.

- Uh... What is that?

"...?"

- Elbridge. Your Goddess is seeing this temple for the first time as well. I'll find out what's going on, so wait just a moment.

Feeling awkward, Elbridge stared at the temple for a moment before falling into thought again.

Had the Goddess of the Rusted Shield lied to get herself out of this situation?

No.

As far as Elbridge knew, the Goddess of the Rusted Shield wasn't skilled at lying.

Unlike other gods, she didn't speak in circles through her oracles, nor did she give vague messages.

Unlike the oracles of other gods, there was no need to rack his brains trying to guess the hidden meaning behind hers.

It was a somewhat irreverent thought, but Elbridge didn't think the Goddess of the Rusted Shield was that clever.

Perhaps it would have been different if it were the Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss, the God of the Golden Tray, or the God of Fox Rain.

"..."

Awkwardly, Elbridge looked around.

He glanced at the temple that had somehow appeared here, then checked whether any of the snacks sold at the stalls would suit the Goddess's taste.

After some time passed, an oracle came down.

- It is true that, since the beginning of this year, people in the west have gradually begun offering prayers.

Thanks to the Order's strong showing in last year's year-end vote, its name had become known again. It was natural for people to begin sporadically praying to the Goddess of the Rusted Shield.

- But the number of people offering prayers is extremely small, and they aren't concentrated in Royal Capital Leodel.

If that temple was legitimate, even its few believers should have been concentrated in this city. The situation seemed strange, so Elbridge offered a prayer to the Goddess of the Rusted Shield.

"...Goddess. I offered an irreverent prayer."

- No. I was flustered too, so it would be stranger if you weren't. And I wasn't particularly hurt. If anything, I was a little... Ahem.

The Goddess of the Rusted Shield cleared her throat and stopped speaking before sending down another oracle.

- What's important now is finding out how that temple came to be. Elbridge.

"I shall heed your oracle."

The quickest way to learn what was happening was to confront it directly.

Elbridge took a deep breath to calm himself, then headed into the temple.

Since he was dressed in ordinary clothes, no one found Elbridge suspicious.

'There are at least four priests in sight...'

Even at the main temple in Solenion, Matilda had been the only full-time priest.

Matilda, overwhelmed by work, might have recruited a few more priests by now, but as far as Elbridge knew, this temple had more priests.

Elbridge looked at the statue of the Goddess of the Rusted Shield in the center of the temple.

It depicted the Goddess in armor, raising a sword, and its features were identical to those of the Goddess Elbridge knew.

But similar appearances didn't make every statue a true divine statue.

- The form is convincing, but it doesn't seem to have ever been anointed with oil.

If a divine statue was to possess divinity and become a god's eyes, watching over believers, more than simple sculpting was required.

The most important step was thoroughly wiping the statue with oil.

Any priest would know that such a procedure existed.

In other words, completing the statue without anointing it with oil meant they didn't want it to become the god's eyes.

'This is...'

As Elbridge stared at the statue, one of the priests approached him.

"I don't believe I've seen you before. Is this your first visit?"

"Uh... yes."

"May I ask what brought you to the temple?"

Elbridge said the first thing that came to mind.

"I was passing by and noticed the statue, so I came in."

"It is a beautiful divine statue, enough to draw anyone's eye."

- They don't seem as bad as I thought, Elbridge.

The Goddess of the Rusted Shield suddenly gave the priest a generous assessment, but Elbridge let it go in one ear and out the other.

"Since fate has brought you here, would you like a cup of tea?"

Offering tea to a stranger at a temple was a way of asking whether they intended to join the Order. Elbridge nodded for the moment.

"I'd gratefully accept."

"Very well. Please wait over there for a moment."

Elbridge sat down. The priest brought over a teapot filled with warm tea, plain teacups, and some documents, then sat across from him.

The priest poured Elbridge a cup of tea and handed over the papers.

As Elbridge took a sip, the priest began to explain.

"You know that the Order of the Rusted Shield had no heavenly seats until last year, and that it secured four heavenly seats all at once this year, correct?"

"Ah, yes. I've heard of it."

"Even two hundred years ago, the Order of the Rusted Shield was one of the largest combat churches. The west is relatively peaceful, but I've heard other regions are a complete mess these days. In times of chaos like this, it's only natural that people would rely on the Order of the Rusted Shield."

"...I see."

The priest continued smoothly.

"If no one in your family belongs to the Order of the Rusted Shield, I would recommend that at least one person join. That way, you can receive help in an emergency. Ah, you only need to fill out the parts I've marked on the membership form."

Elbridge took up the quill and slowly filled in the blanks as he asked,

"Help...?"

"The brave Paladins of the Order of the Rusted Shield are active across the continent. Of course, they devote themselves without selfish motives, but people naturally favor those close to them. They can't help but look after fellow believers first."

The phrase "brave Paladins" stuck in Elbridge's ears.

Hiding his bewilderment, he asked,

"It seems the Order of the Rusted Shield has many Paladins."

"Of course it does. It's a combat church with four heavenly seats, after all. It has to have many Paladins. For example, Sir Elbridge..."

The priest trailed off after noticing Elbridge's name on the form he was filling out.

"...You happen to share the same name as Sir Elbridge. In any case, his reputation is widespread in the east. People in the west will learn of him soon enough."

Fortunately or unfortunately, the priest gave no sign of realizing this Elbridge was that Elbridge.

Elbridge answered awkwardly.

"To hear that I share a name with such a famous knight makes me feel oddly close to him..."

"You could call it fate, or the Goddess's arrangement. Anyway, once you've finished the form, please pay the admission fee over there."

...An admission fee?

It was a term Elbridge had never heard before, so he turned his head.

There were three large, heavily locked boxes where the priest pointed.

The first was labeled [Admission Fee], the second [Autumn Offering], and the third [Voluntary Offering].

The phrase autumn offering implied that offerings had been collected in spring and summer as well, and that there would surely be a winter offering too.

Likewise, the phrase voluntary offering implied that admission fees and seasonal offerings weren't particularly voluntary.

There were countless problems with this situation, but one mattered more than the rest.

Elbridge was only learning of these offerings now.

Where had all the silver coins filling those large offering boxes gone?

Elbridge narrowed his eyes.

"...I see."

Footnotes:

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