WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Order

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Chapter 149: Lion's Citadel

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After the God of Fox Rain vanished, silence fell over the spacious room.

How much time passed as each of them sank into their thoughts? Elbridge finally spoke.

"I'll meet the king."

Murvach's heart grew heavy.

From the brief oracle the Goddess of the Rusted Shield had delivered earlier, Murvach could tell how dearly she cherished Elbridge.

To Murvach, theirs was no ordinary relationship between a goddess and a Paladin. The relationship between the goddess and Elbridge went beyond service and affection. They had come to depend on each other. Neither the Goddess of the Rusted Shield nor Elbridge himself seemed to realize it.

'The Goddess of the Rusted Shield won't allow Sir Elbridge to put himself in danger.'

The fact that the goddess depended on Elbridge meant that the moment he was in danger, she would choose the safest option.

The instant the demon interfered with Elbridge's mind, the Goddess of the Rusted Shield would deliver an oracle without hesitation. She would tell him to cut down the king.

Then Elbridge would faithfully follow her judgment.

'So things are going to unfold as the God of Fox Rain's oracle said after all.'

It was the surest and safest choice.

But it also ruled out the best possible outcome: driving out the demon without taking the king's life.

'...But this must be what the God of Fox Rain considers best. The king has to die for me to take the throne.'

Murvach would ascend to the throne, and through him, the God of Fox Rain would wield influence across the western region.

It was the flow of events most beneficial to the God of Fox Rain and Murvach alike. Yet Murvach couldn't feel at ease.

'Is it really right to kill my nephew without considering anything else, just to take the throne? There's a good chance he's been consumed by a demon, but...'

Then Elbridge offered a prayer.

"Goddess. Please give me just one chance to speak with the king without cutting him down."

It was a prayer that went against the oracle delivered by the God of Fox Rain.

What was even more surprising was that the Goddess of the Rusted Shield answered favorably.

- I will, Elbridge.

Murvach looked around.

Marcus, Rombel, and Sonia reacted as though it were only natural. Murvach was the only one caught off guard.

Murvach asked Elbridge, "Sir Elbridge. Are you saying you'll avoid the safest path?"

"Yes."

"Why...?"

"I know the way the God of Fox Rain showed us is the safest. But if I intended to avoid every risk and make only safe choices... I wouldn't have become a Paladin."

Elbridge's voice was calm, as if this were the only natural conclusion.

"I learned to give up on the best possible outcome, compromise with reality, and step back. That's how one survives. But at the same time, I learned that I shouldn't give up on the best possible outcome too easily."

It was a lesson Leonhardt had taught Elbridge long ago.

Leonhardt was a Knight who refused to compromise, so he had taught Elbridge conviction rather than compromise.

"...Anyway, I think we should at least find out whether it's possible to save the king and drive out only the demon. No matter how things turn out, I'll feel more at ease if we do. The God of Fox Rain would probably call it a foolish choice."

Elbridge was taking on an unnecessary risk.

At the same time, Murvach's chances of becoming king had fallen, if only slightly.

Even so, Murvach thought it was the right decision.

Murvach said to Elbridge, "Sir Elbridge. I'll go with you. I don't know if I'll be any help... but at least I won't get in the way."

"All right."

Elbridge readily agreed.

* * *

"An ordinary noble would have to wait at least five days, perhaps ten, to meet His Majesty... Yet the appointment was arranged far sooner than expected."

Elbridge and Murvach's visit to the royal palace was scheduled for only two days later.

The widespread rumors surrounding Elbridge's group, the standing of House Hagenlot, and Murvach's blood ties to the king had all come together perfectly.

Two days later, as Elbridge and Murvach prepared to head to the royal palace, the God of Fox Rain delivered an oracle to Murvach.

- I showed you the easy path, yet you chose the difficult one anyway, Murvach.

"...I'm sorry."

Despite the grumbling tone, the God of Fox Rain didn't seem displeased by the situation.

Murvach couldn't guess why, but the god even seemed satisfied.

Once Elbridge and Murvach had finished preparing for the palace, a man with a neatly groomed beard arrived at House Hagenlot. He was a servant from the royal palace.

"Please follow me."

The servant led Elbridge and Murvach to a carriage waiting in front of the estate.

Once they climbed inside, the horses snorted, and the carriage began to move.

Rattle, rattle.

House Hagenlot and the royal palace weren't far apart, so they arrived quickly.

Elbridge rested one arm on the carriage window and looked around the palace grounds.

"It's much larger than it looked from outside."

The largest estate in Solenion, the Holy City and the largest city in the east, belonged to the Marquis of Solenion.

Elbridge had thought the Marquis of Solenion's estate was vast, but the royal palace grounds were several times larger.

No one but a king could have secured such an enormous space within the city.

As he looked around, he saw a garden overflowing with flowers.

It wouldn't have seemed strange in spring or summer, but it was late autumn now.

Flowers didn't bloom much at this time of year, yet there were so many. The gardeners must have put in tremendous effort.

Knights moving through the palace grounds watched the carriage curiously.

Leodel's nobles were restricted in the number of troops they could keep, but the king was exempt.

Before long, the carriage stopped.

The servant got out first and led them to a reception room.

"Please wait here for a moment. I'll let you know when it's time."

The reception room floor was covered in a luxurious carpet so expensive that it felt burdensome even to ask its price.

Murvach sat down and wore an awkward expression.

"I wanted to tell you a few things on the way here, but it's been so long since I last came to the royal palace that my memory's hazy. So much has changed that I couldn't introduce anything properly."

"You said it had been about twenty years since you last returned to Leodel, didn't you?"

"That's right. Back when I was a little younger than Marcus..."

As Elbridge and Murvach chatted quietly, the Goddess of the Rusted Shield delivered an oracle.

- I still don't see anything strange. I thought servants of the demon might be hiding throughout the royal palace.

The Goddess of the Rusted Shield was even more tense than Elbridge.

They had no plans to kill the king for now, but no one knew how things would unfold if the situation went wrong.

If that happened, the Goddess of the Rusted Shield would have to awaken Elbridge, so she couldn't relax for even a moment.

- If I sense anything suspicious, I'll tell you immediately, Elbridge.

"Thank you, Goddess."

Elbridge decided to offer brief prayers to the Goddess of the Rusted Shield from time to time.

If the demon took control of his mind, they could infer when it had happened from the period during which his prayers stopped.

That wasn't the only precaution. Before they left for the royal palace, Sonia had cast a spell on Elbridge and Murvach.

Sonia said it was magic that would keep their minds clear. Even Sonia didn't seem sure how effective it would be.

'...It's better than nothing.'

Then someone knocked on the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

Elbridge rose from his seat.

"It looks like the servant has come."

"Let's go, Sir Elbridge."

The door opened, and the servant who had guided them to the royal palace appeared.

Just as Elbridge and Murvach stepped toward the servant, the servant quietly backed away.

"...?"

As the servant moved aside, another man came into view.

At first glance, Elbridge noticed black hair and brown eyes.

The man's clothes weren't particularly flashy, but they looked exceptionally fine. Murvach shrank back slightly.

That was enough to guess who the man was.

Murvach spoke.

"Your Majesty."

Elbridge was a little flustered.

'I thought they would take us to the king... The king came here himself?'

Elbridge had heard that staring directly at a king was rude. He shifted his gaze slightly and examined the king from the corner of his eye.

The king was Murvach's and the Marquis of Hagenlot's nephew, so he should have been younger than both of them. Yet he looked even younger than Elbridge had expected.

Elbridge didn't know his exact age, but he appeared to be in his mid-twenties.

'Stay alert.'

Elbridge sharpened his senses.

He couldn't let his guard down when the demon might interfere with his mind at any moment.

Step, step.

The king closed the door and entered the reception room alone. He perched on a chair and said to Murvach, "It's been about twenty years since we last met, so your face was a little hazy in my memory... But I still remembered it."

Murvach answered politely.

"Thank you for remembering me."

"Twenty years isn't a short time, but... looking at the one beside you makes twenty years feel brief. This is the first time we've met in two hundred years, isn't it?"

Elbridge doubted his ears.

'...Two hundred years?'

The king's tone went beyond informal. It was almost friendly.

Without realizing it, Elbridge raised his head and looked at the king again. The face seemed strangely familiar.

'Where have I seen him...?'

When Elbridge looked bewildered, the young king burst into laughter.

"Ha ha! You don't recognize me, Elbridge? I'm disappointed."

"Well..."

Unable to answer, Elbridge studied the king's face carefully.

It was definitely a face he had seen before.

The king grinned.

"Want a hint, Elbridge? What's the name of this city?"

"Leodel."

"That's right. The Lion's Citadel. Leodel."

Something stirred in Elbridge's chest. It felt as though he was about to remember something.

The next moment, it was as if lightning struck his mind. No. It couldn't be.

Smiling, the king raised a hand, briefly covered his eyes, then lowered it.

His brown eyes had turned green.

Elbridge remembered what the Marquis of Hagenlot had told him two days ago.

'...It was a record about His Majesty's eye and hair colors. Black hair and brown eyes. An impossible record. His Majesty had green eyes, as I remembered.'

At the time, Elbridge had thought little of it. But the green eyes the King of Leodel now showed him were the ones he remembered.

No, he could now clearly recall the king's entire face.

There was only one difference. The face before him was a little younger than the one in Elbridge's memory.

"Now you should recognize me more clearly, right?"

When the king tousled his hair, the jet-black hair turned a vivid gold like an autumn wheat field.

After taking a deep breath, Elbridge asked the king, "Sir Leonhardt. Why are you here?"

Footnotes:

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