Paladin of a Ruined Order - Chapter 14

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Order

Chapter 14: Crow (1)

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Of course, even to Elbridge, the heavyset paladin's way of fighting was quite impressive. He offered up an enormous amount of gold to gain tremendous power for a brief moment, then fought with a weight ordinary knights and paladins could never match.

Watching that scene, he almost wondered if that build had been deliberately cultivated.

But for all its bold, forceful style, the flaws were obvious too.

Elbridge casually asked the itinerant knight Richard, "Sir Richard. Are there only five paladins in the Order of the Golden Tray?"

"Of course not. There are several groups like this just in the eastern region alone. There were five or six groups that set out before us... One senior paladin is traveling around with paladins who have never fought before and teaching them."

The first problem was that no matter how rich the Order of the Golden Tray was, it probably could not offer up that much gold in every battle.

The second problem was that the Order of the Golden Tray paladin did not look like someone who had chosen not to dodge the lizard demonic beast's attack. He looked like someone who had been unable to dodge it.

As proof, blood was flowing from the forearm of the paladin who had just killed the beast. Of course, it was not a deep wound. But it was clearly an unnecessary one.

'The way he fought was so flashy that it hid it... If he had been an experienced paladin, that attack would have been easy to avoid. If his goal was to teach inexperienced paladins, he should have dodged even more. That paladin acting as an instructor also looks like he has almost no combat experience.'

The third problem followed from the second.

'If they fought like that, they would have a hard time surviving a battle with demons.'

Of course, dealing with demons still required plenty of power. But if someone fought relying only on brute force, the odds of dying were very high.

'The leadership of the Order of the Golden Tray must have taken demons into account... Why?'

The answer was easy enough to see. The problem was inexperience.

Every demon had different abilities and behavior patterns.

Advice from senior paladins or the oracles of a combat church could not fully prepare anyone for battle with demons.

If even the seasoned combat churches of the past could not do it, there was no way the leadership of the Order of the Golden Tray, which was not used to fighting, could properly prepare for demon battles. The same would have been true even with oracles added into the mix.

'They only prepared ahead of time. Handling it skillfully from the start had been impossible.'

Looking back, even in the old days there had only ever been one way to become a seasoned paladin.

Survive many battles and build up experience.

* * *

On the third day since the request began, the Order of the Golden Tray's demonic beast hunt was continuing smoothly.

They met up with the person who had found the beast and confirmed its location. The paladin whose turn it was offered up a heap of gold, then bludgeoned the beast to death with immense divinity and divine power. That was all there was to it.

In that way, four of the five paladins took turns hunting one beast each. The final turn belonged to the youngest paladin in the group, Charlie.

"Sir Richard. Is hunting demonic beasts like this really the right choice?"

The other paladins of the Order of the Golden Tray had a strange arrogance ingrained in them, so they treated Marcus and Elbridge, and even the two itinerant knights, as if they were invisible.

They only gave orders with a tilt of the chin when they wanted some odd job done.

Charlie was different. As a young man barely twenty years old, curiosity came before arrogance, and he had an equally strong desire to improve.

Sir Richard replied, "Sir Charlie. Is something worrying you?"

"Hunting demonic beasts is a rare opportunity, isn't it? In a situation like this, all we do is receive divine power and show off strength, so... I don't think wasting the chance like this is a good judgment."

"There is no need to rush. Becoming familiar with demonic beasts is the first step, isn't it?"

"But I want to become a better paladin than my seniors. Someone who would not lose to the paladins of the combat churches either."

"That is not an easy goal."

"But it is worth trying. Even with only divinity and divine power, if I could fight as well as the paladins of the combat churches, it would be incredible."

Charlie knew very well that the paladins of his own order enjoyed powerful divine authority, but their ability as knights was nothing special.

Because of that, Charlie often came to the two itinerant knights, as well as Marcus and Elbridge, to ask for their opinions.

Sir Richard and the other itinerant knight withheld their advice so as not to offend their employer, but Marcus was a little different.

"Come to think of it, Sir Elbridge said something similar yesterday."

"Sir Elbridge? Wasn't he a mercenary?"

"He is a paladin. A remarkable one at that. I spent nearly fifteen years as a mercenary, and of all the knights and paladins I have seen so far, Sir Elbridge was easily the most skilled. I have never even seen a knight on a similar level."

Since there was no doubt trouble would come of it, Elbridge quietly turned his head away.

But Charlie immediately came over to him and asked, "Sir Elbridge, are you really a paladin?"

Elbridge had intended to say he was a mercenary and that Marcus had been joking. But the goddess's oracle came down at once.

- Elbridge. You are the child I cherish most. Even in a situation like this, there is no need to lower yourself with a lie.

The Goddess of the Rusted Shield had once told Elbridge not to reveal his identity.

But at the same time, the Goddess of the Rusted Shield wanted to see her only paladin get the recognition he deserved.

"...I am a paladin of the Order of the Rusted Shield. Not some amazing paladin like Mr. Marcus said."

Then Charlie lowered his voice and whispered, "Still, you're better than the seniors in our order, right? Aren't you?"

"Well..."

"I can hear, you know. I know the paladins of our order are not all that impressive."

"There is no need to be swayed by rumors. Take pride in the order you belong to."

"Rumors? I'm living proof. I became a paladin after only three months of training. If our order hadn't had over sixty seats, Sir Rob wouldn't have been able to hunt demonic beasts either."

Rob was the name of the fat paladin who acted as instructor for the Order of the Golden Tray's paladins.

Anyway, every once in a while there were people like Charlie.

Instead of getting swept along, they looked at themselves coolly and went looking for a better road.

Charlie asked Elbridge again, "Sir Elbridge, what should I do to become a better paladin?"

"Set a goal just a little higher than everyone else."

"What kind of goal would that be?"

"...How about trying to avoid a demonic beast's attack?"

The paladins of the Order of the Golden Tray fought the same way Rob had demonstrated earlier.

They knew that even if a demonic beast attacked them, it would probably only end in a minor injury, so they did not even think about dodging. They simply trusted in their overwhelming divinity and divine power and pushed forward with brute force.

As a result, they cut demonic beasts down in an instant, but never without taking a hit.

"Avoid the attack... All right. I'll try it."

Before even half a day had passed after that, it was Charlie's turn to hunt a demonic beast at last.

The beast they found this time resembled a deer. It was at least three or four times larger than an ordinary deer, and although it had no antlers, a pair of long fangs had grown from its mouth.

Even though those fangs looked to be nearly a handspan long, it did not feel especially threatening. Its appearance was too deer-like.

Charlie muttered, "No antlers and blunt claws, so it will definitely attack with those fangs... I just need to avoid the fangs."

Maybe the fangs were not the only thing to worry about, but they were certainly the main threat. What other way could a deer with no antlers or sharp claws attack Charlie?

Charlie muttered fangs, fangs... to himself several times, then finished preparing to fight just like his senior paladins.

"I offer this gold to the Goddess!"

The gold vanished like smoke, and white mist rose from Charlie's body.

Charlie dashed toward the beast with all his strength.

Beast-type demonic beasts that had only recently begun to mutate still retained the instincts they had once had.

If they spotted an animal running toward them, they would usually flee at once or lower their stance and prepare to fight.

But the demonic beast Charlie faced now was different.

"Keek!"

The deer-like demonic beast let out a shriek that did not suit it, then looked at Charlie with black eyes no one could read.

And then it started running straight at Charlie in return.

Elbridge watched Charlie. Charlie's gaze was still fixed on the beast's fangs. He must have been waiting for the deer demonic beast to open its mouth wide and bite down on him.

But the deer demonic beast's behavior went against everyone's expectations.

Instead of opening its jaws and biting Charlie, it kept charging him until the very last moment, as if it had no plan whatsoever.

Even taking into account that it was a demonic beast, it was a truly reckless move, but paradoxically it worked rather well on Charlie.

Charlie, who had lost the timing to dodge the attack, also lost the timing to swing his weapon or step aside.

The deer demonic beast and Charlie slammed into each other with a loud crash.

Bang!

The deer demonic beast and Charlie were both flung back.

Charlie staggered to his feet, then brought the iron club down on the deer demonic beast, which was still sprawled on the ground and rigid as a board.

Bang, bang, bang!

In the end, Charlie subdued the deer demonic beast.

But the result was far from satisfying. Leaving aside how ugly it looked, Charlie's left arm had swollen so badly that anyone could tell something was wrong.

Elbridge clicked his tongue.

'...A fracture.'

Rob, the paladin acting as instructor, stormed over to Charlie and shouted, "Charlie! Why didn't you do what I taught you!"

"The... the beast reacted differently from what I expected, so I missed my timing. I'm sorry."

"Predicting how the beast will react is meaningless! A demonic beast is not an ordinary animal!"

Rob kept scolding Charlie for quite some time after that, then walked over to the two itinerant knights as if he had suddenly realized something.

"Charlie would not have done something like that for no reason. You two. Did you say something strange to Charlie?"

"Nothing of the sort."

"I saw Charlie with you two several times, didn't I?"

"If it isn't a lie, don't make wild guesses."

Rob glared at the two itinerant knights, then eventually walked over to Marcus as well.

"Then was it you?"

Instead of saying it was not his fault, Marcus only fidgeted awkwardly. He did not seem to have any intention of blaming Elbridge.

In the end, Elbridge stepped forward.

"It was me."

"You?"

"I told Sir Charlie to try avoiding a demonic beast's attack. Sir Charlie tried to avoid that beast's attack, and the situation went wrong and he got hurt."

Rob clenched his teeth and glared at Elbridge with fury in his eyes.

'Is he about to throw a punch?'

An ordinary paladin might have done that. But Rob was a merchant before he was a paladin, so he did not hastily try to settle human problems with force.

"Elbridge, was it? I will make the responsibility for this clear. The reward we pay you will almost certainly go toward Charlie's medical expenses, and if the medical expenses go over five gold coins, we will charge the excess to you. If Charlie's family complains after that, you will have to deal with that too."

The goddess encouraged Elbridge.

- Elbridge. Do not worry about the words of that kind of man. Your goddess does not need even a drop of anointing oil.

It was encouraging. But oil was not what mattered right now.

Elbridge said to Rob, "I am sorry about that. But if you think about the long term, it would be better to make a mistake and get hurt now."

"Oh. So you want me to be grateful because his arm broke thanks to you? Let's see how far this nonsense goes..."

"It's a matter of survival odds. A habit of fighting while dodging an opponent's attacks gives you a better chance of surviving than a habit of fighting in the wrong way."

"You. Are you saying the way I teach paladins is wrong?"

Elbridge looked at Rob in silence for a moment, then answered calmly, "Yes."

Rob shouted, "Do you think I am some idiot who has never thought about this? Of course everyone knows that if you can fight while dodging, that's better. Even a three-year-old knows that! But that is not an easy path for the paladins of the Order of the Golden Tray to choose. If you have gained a hard body and great power through divinity and divine power, then making sure to use that is the safest way to get results!"

At first glance, it was a persuasive argument. But Elbridge still had one more question.

"Do you think the same thing when it comes time to face demons?"

"Demons, not demonic beasts? That will never happen, so do not stick your nose in where it does not belong!"

Elbridge let out a long sigh.

He had only just realized that the leadership of the Order of the Golden Tray had not told outsiders, or even their own paladins, anything about demons.

"...I understand."

* * *

After the argument between Rob and Elbridge, the mood among the party noticeably sank.

The only saving grace was that, with Charlie last, all five paladins had now hunted one demonic beast each.

The mission had more or less been completed, and now they only had to return to Holy City Solenion.

Marcus slipped over to Elbridge and poked his side with an elbow.

"Hey, Sir Elbridge. Don't take it too seriously."

"I'm not taking it seriously."

"Don't pretend. I will split off about two gold coins for you."

"...?"

"The last time, when you fought the wolf demonic beast, you saved my life once, didn't you? I can split about half of the reward for this mission with you."

It was unexpected. He had taken on a dangerous mission because he was blinded by the reward, and now he was offering to split that reward?

What was even more on his mind was something else.

"If you are splitting half the reward, should that not be two gold coins and ten silver coins?"

"Last time, I also fought alongside you and didn't run away, didn't I? I only fell off while riding over here... Still, that should have been worth ten silver coins, right? Isn't that so?"

Elbridge laughed before he knew it. The God of Fox Rain had a believer as impossible to predict as this.

"Forget it. Don't keep worrying about that."

"You are telling me not to repay the person who saved my life?"

"If it bothers you, buy me a meal instead."

"A meal. Is that all?"

"If you can afford it, a bottle of anointing oil too would be nice."

"At first you said you didn't need anything, and now the things you want keep growing. Let's see how much longer it gets."

Elbridge and Marcus chuckled as they walked.

Rob occasionally shot Elbridge a glance, but Elbridge did not care.

* * *

While they were moving like that, the party's steps stopped almost at the same time.

"What is that?"

At one paladin's mutter, Rob answered, "Looks like a demonic beast... To find one without even needing a guide, we are lucky."

It was the first bird-type demonic beast the party had encountered. It was also smaller than the usual beast. At most, it was only a little smaller than an ordinary person.

But with four red eyes on each side of its head, it was easy to tell that it was not an ordinary crow.

The instructor paladin, Rob, shouted, "Now then, who will hunt one more demonic beast?"

The paladins of the Order of the Golden Tray all raised their hands at once. Elbridge's reaction was a little different.

Unlike the demonic beasts he had faced since waking from the seal, there was no metallic sheen on that crow's feathers.

'It is not an enhancement type. What type is it? No. Whatever it is, none of it is good. It looks like it can even fly, which makes it worse.'

What was even more ominous was its strangely small size.

In the early stages of demonic-beast transformation, the body always grew larger first. Some grew even bigger after the early stage passed, and some grew smaller.

One thing was certain, though. A demonic beast that small was not in the early stage of demonic-beast transformation.

'Midstage? Late stage? Or if not that... No. That does not seem right.'

There was no time to think it through at leisure. Elbridge spoke in a low voice so as not to provoke the beast.

"Do not approach it. It is dangerous."

His voice was not loud, but every paladin heard him.

But Instructor Rob brushed Elbridge's words aside.

"Charlie is injured, so he will sit out. Who will step up? Sir Abe? Or Sir Magnus?"

Elbridge said again, "I am not joking. It is dangerous. Step back."

The paladins of the Order of the Golden Tray had always been arrogant, and they did not pay attention to what anyone outside their own order said. After Charlie's arm had broken, that was even more true.

But the crow's strangely alien and ominous shape, the sincerity in Elbridge's voice, and instinct itself stopped the paladins in their tracks.

Instructor Rob glared at Elbridge.

He was the one in charge of guiding the other paladins. A teacher should not lose authority in front of those he taught.

Especially not over a remark from someone who was not even an itinerant knight.

A paladin who served some obscure god no one had ever heard of. A poor wretch who could not even afford a set of armor. An idiot who had given Charlie the opening that led to his arm breaking.

That was why Rob could not back down.

"If no one is confident, then I will simply have to show you once again. I offer this gold to the Goddess!"

Rob scattered even more gold into the air than before, then started running toward the crow. In his right hand was the familiar iron club.

"Stop!"

Elbridge's voice grew louder, but Rob drove his feet harder into the ground.

The crow-like demonic beast turned its head and looked at Rob.

Rob's eyes met the crow demonic beast's eight bright red eyes. Something about it was chilling.

'It looks a little ominous, but... it still does not seem like it is going to move. It does not look especially tough either, so if I just smack it once-'

The distance between the crow and Rob was now only about thirty paces.

Then,

Caw-

The crow pecked at empty air.

At the same moment, half of Rob's field of vision vanished.

"AAAAAAAH!"

A searing pain followed in his left eye. His sense of distance twisted out of shape.

Rob squeezed his left eye shut and looked at the crow with his right eye. The crow was holding an eyeball in its beak, though no one knew where it had come from.

Even so, the distance between Rob and the crow was still more than twenty paces.

The crow swallowed the eyeball it had been holding, then looked at Rob again with all eight of its eyes.

Rob thought the crow was mocking him. It was less like a guess or an imagination and more like certainty.

Caw-

And the crow pecked at empty air again.

Rob's world went dark.

...Crash!

Rob rolled across the ground. The crow swallowed the second eyeball.

When Rob managed to push himself up on trembling hands, his left eye socket was deeply caved in, and blood was flowing from both eye sockets.

The paladins who had been waiting for Rob's display, along with the two itinerant knights and Marcus, were all stunned.

"Instructor!"

"Y... your eyes! What happened!"