WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Order
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Chapter 165: Season of Campaigning
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As election season approached, it snowed in Solenion nearly every day.
Elbridge sat in the temple, watching the snow pile up as he sank into thought.
Marcus had left, but what he had said lingered in Elbridge's mind for a long time.
'There are three reasons the gods of heaven don't readily give oracles. They're afraid of growing close to their believers, they don't want to waste divine power, and they want to maintain an air of mystery.'
Elbridge wondered whether the Goddess of the Rusted Shield hid information about heaven for the same reasons.
'For one thing, I don't think she's hiding anything from me because she's afraid of growing close to a believer.'
Elbridge's relationship with the Goddess was unusual. There had rarely been, and likely never would be, a god and believer closer than they were.
The only exception might be the Goddess of Thornbush, whose relationship with her believers was that of parent and child.
'And she wouldn't be reluctant to spend divine power, either.'
Perhaps that had been true in the past, but the Goddess of the Rusted Shield was now a mid-ranking deity with no fewer than four seats. The divine power spent on an oracle would be insignificant.
'The only possibility is that she wants to maintain an air of mystery.'
That was the only plausible explanation.
Still, she wouldn't hide important information merely to preserve an air of mystery.
Elbridge agonized over it for a moment before deciding to ask the Goddess directly.
"Goddess."
- Speak, Elbridge.
As expected, an oracle came immediately. Elbridge phrased his question carefully.
"Is everything I know about Sir Leonhardt and the Master of the Central Magic Tower the same as what you know?"
In other words, he was asking whether she had told him everything she knew.
Naturally, the Goddess of the Rusted Shield denied it.
- No, my most precious child.
"Goddess, I wish to ask you something. Is the reason you cannot tell me about Sir Leonhardt or the Master of the Central Magic Tower the rules of heaven?"
It was a somewhat irreverent question. Still, the Goddess of the Rusted Shield did not grow angry.
- Of course, Elbridge. If the rules of heaven did not restrict me, I would have told you everything I know. Of course, your Goddess does not know everything about them either...
What kind of rules could those be?
As if she knew exactly what he was wondering, the Goddess of the Rusted Shield continued.
- Elbridge. Heaven has something called the Privacy Protection Act.
"...What is that?"
It was not difficult to guess what a protection act meant.
Yet the phrase personal information was unfamiliar. Though it was not a complicated combination of words, it still sounded strange.
- Long ago, a great dispute broke out in heaven.
"Surely there wasn't a war in heaven?"
- No. It was a dispute in the literal sense. Just a rather heated one... The cause of it was an oracle. While giving an oracle to their Archbishop, one god started badmouthing another god.
It was rare to hear stories about heaven, so Elbridge listened closely.
Still, the beginning of the incident seemed a little petty.
- It would have been fine if the Archbishop had kept the contents of the oracle to themself, but that wasn't what happened. The Archbishop spread its contents everywhere. When the other god learned that the insults about them had spread, they became furious.
Elbridge could roughly imagine what happened next. Things like this occasionally happened between nobles and Knights, after all.
With a grave expression, he said, "Then a bloody duel must have broken out between the two gods."
- No. There was no duel. Neither god was skilled in combat...
It seemed less like a dispute between nobles and Knights and more like a fight between ordinary townspeople.
Naturally, ordinary people rarely settled arguments through duels.
- Still, the two gods shouted at each other and fought viciously for ten days and nights, with no sign of the situation being resolved. If anything, it only grew worse.
As he listened, Elbridge began to worry. He wondered whether the Goddess was overexerting herself just to satisfy his curiosity.
"Goddess, is it really all right for you to tell me such secret history?"
The Goddess of the Rusted Shield answered readily.
- There is no need to worry. It is an incident that theologians on earth already know well.
If anything, she seemed slightly excited to have a story to tell. That put Elbridge at ease.
- As time passed, the rift between them deepened, and armed clashes broke out between the churches on earth as well. More importantly, the dispute divided even the gods of heaven into two sides. The gods watching the situation began fiercely debating which god was more at fault.
"Wouldn't the god who carelessly gave the oracle be more to blame?"
- The situation was not that simple. The other god did not have a particularly good reputation... I cannot tell you that part, so I will skip over it. In any case, when the situation became serious, the Chief God intervened.
"So the Chief God mediated the matter."
- Of course. Furthermore, the Chief God did not want such a dispute to happen again, so after observing another dimension, the Chief God personally introduced a bill under executive authority and put it to a vote. It was an unusual situation.
Elbridge could guess the rest without hearing it. How many gods would dare oppose a bill proposed directly by the Chief God? The Privacy Protection Act must have passed without difficulty.
"Then what does the Privacy Protection Act say?"
- Unless consent has been obtained in advance, a god must not relay information about other gods when giving oracles on earth. Naturally, no god would agree to such a thing without considerable trust between them.
"Ah..."
Without the Privacy Protection Act, history and Elbridge's current situation might have been completely different.
Then another question suddenly came to him.
"I understand why you cannot tell me about the Master of the Central Magic Tower, but can you not tell me about Sir Leonhardt either? Sir Leonhardt served you, Goddess. I would think he would have gladly consented..."
The Goddess of the Rusted Shield answered bitterly.
- No. He did not consent. To be precise, there was never a situation where I could ask for his consent. Your Goddess has many shortcomings, Elbridge.
"No. How could that possibly be your fault, Goddess?"
The situation became clear again.
If he wanted to know anything about the Master of the Central Magic Tower or Sir Leonhardt, he would have to search for clues and investigate himself.
Elbridge gathered his resolve and rose from his seat.
* * *
As the weather grew colder and the year-end election drew near, more people passed through the area around the temples.
Unlike last year, the area above the Hillside Slums was now just as crowded as the area below them.
Of course, quite a few people had considered combat churches last year as well, but not nearly this many.
Only people sensitive to trends, the small number whose interests aligned with combat churches, or those moved by the battle against the black giant within Solenion had sought them out.
But perhaps because combat churches had made such gains last year, far more people considered joining them this year.
The priests of those churches believed they had to strike while the iron was hot, so they set up tables right in front of the temples and actively recruited believers.
"The Order of the Bloodstained Spear, a traditional powerhouse, awaits you!"
"The God of the Laurel Wreath, who symbolizes glory and victory, watches over you. Those who join today will receive a small gift..."
"Who could speak of tradition, history, and enduring strength before the Blind Guardian church? The Blind Guardian church, which has produced the gods of countless combat churches, welcomes you..."
Unlike last year, the Order of the Rusted Shield was also actively recruiting this time.
The five priests Matilda had brought in were especially enthusiastic. All five had already become addicted to performance bonuses.
This year's slogan for the Order of the Rusted Shield was [The Order of the Rusted Shield, Promised Because It Has Proven Itself].
A huge banner bearing those words fluttered before the temple.
"..."
What made things even more difficult was that Elbridge had a role in this recruiting effort as well.
A priest who had apparently recently graduated from the Priest Academy approached Elbridge with a request. Elbridge thought the priest's name was Henry.
"We need the Archbishop's help."
Perhaps because Henry was still young, Henry seemed full of enthusiasm.
"Priest Henry, what should I do?"
"It's not difficult. I polished the Archbishop's armor to a shine yesterday, so all you need to do is put it on and stand somewhere visible."
Other combat churches did this as a matter of course.
Some churches even put armor on priests who were not Paladins. Looking as though they had many Paladins was probably better for recruitment.
Still, Elbridge answered reluctantly.
"Will that really make a difference? Unlike other churches with dozens of Paladins, I'm the only Paladin in our Order. We may even lose out because our numbers are so low."
"It will be more than enough. The Archbishop's name carries far more weight than any ordinary Paladin's."
The problem was that he could not easily make use of that reputation.
Elbridge lowered his voice.
"Priest Henry. I have certain circumstances, so I feel a little uncomfortable putting myself forward."
It was because of the so-called Elbridge the Silent Knight theory.
Matilda said the truth had essentially already come out, but Elbridge still had not admitted it in front of others. Naturally, he intended to feign ignorance even before new priests like Henry.
Even though he knew it was already too late, Elbridge rattled off excuses.
"Priest Henry, you know there have been strange rumors about me lately, don't you? If I step forward too boldly, it could lead to unnecessary misunderstandings..."
But Henry's response differed from what he expected.
"Archbishop, you don't need to hide it even from us. Whenever the Goddess gives an oracle, she subtly boasts about the Archbishop and lets things slip."
Elbridge sighed silently. Goddess, you couldn't hold it in after all.
He had wondered why the new priests did not seem curious about those rumors. So that was why.
Henry continued.
"Although they have not heard it as directly as we have, it would not be an exaggeration to say that everyone else in Solenion knows about the Archbishop as well."
"I know. Matilda said the same thing."
"Why not take this opportunity to reveal everything openly before everyone? It would be a huge help. We could surely gain a few more seats."
But Elbridge firmly refused.
"No. Whether I admit it or not makes all the difference. The Goddess would not consider it desirable, either."
"Why not? Isn't it already an almost completely revealed fact? Even if you hide behind a single thin sheet of paper, the truth will not be concealed."
"When I was first released from the seal, the Goddess told me that if my identity became known, people would surely resent me. I have no intention of admitting my identity."
Henry voiced doubts.
"Why would anyone resent you? You would be revered as a hero who sealed an Archdemon. Of course, that is not to say you are not already a hero... Besides, you have done nothing wrong. That was true in the old records, and it is true now that you have been released from the seal."
"The Goddess told me that resentment and rumors do not arise only when someone has done something wrong. She said overcoming people's suspicions was more difficult than I thought..."
Elbridge thought the Goddess must have experienced something similar herself.
"It doesn't matter if it is only a thin deception. Having it and not having it are different in many ways."
Henry seemed unable to understand Elbridge's reasoning. Henry did not seem to agree, either.
Still, Henry could not go against Elbridge's wishes. Falling out of the Archbishop's favor could create serious problems when performance bonuses were distributed.
Elbridge stayed where people would not easily notice him, then spent his time walking the streets after sunset.
One night, while wandering through the streets, Elbridge spotted a man limping through the crowd.
The man's face was familiar, too.
'That person is...'
Last winter, there had been a group that gathered Solenion residents who had not voted and negotiated with churches.
In other words, the man was one of the leaders of the white hands.
They were not close. They had never even spoken directly. Elbridge could have just glanced at him and moved on.
But a small curiosity began to creep in.
'Where is he going? Is he planning to do the same thing again this year?'
He did not have anything urgent to do, and returning to the temple would probably feel like sitting on pins and needles.
'Should I follow him?'
He did not deliberate for long. Elbridge quietly followed him.
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