WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Order

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◈ Paladin of a Ruined Order

Chapter 19

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Order of Spring Rain and Moss

Before Elbridge left, Rombel opened the storeroom.

"Elbridge. Pick whichever one you like and wear it."

Inside the storeroom, Magic Tower-made suits of armor with self-repair functions were on display.

Of course, Elbridge had not come to buy a ready-made suit of armor.

It would take about fifteen days for the order to be completed, so he was only borrowing armor he could use in the meantime. For free, too.

"Does the Magic Tower usually do this kind of thing?"

"That's the Magic Tower's sales policy. They have to show some sincerity to customers buying expensive goods."

It did not seem to be a service the Magic Tower offered out of simple kindness.

If you looked at it cynically, wasn't it just lending unsold stock to wealthy customers who had come to buy expensive armor? If luck held and even one or two sold, the Magic Tower profited.

Still, since it was free, he had no intention of refusing.

While Elbridge carefully chose between a cuirass and gauntlets, Rombel said, "As a rule, I should only lend you the same parts you ordered... but just take the whole set."

"Is that okay? Won't that cause you trouble?"

"I'll handle that myself."

"I'd be happy to, but... are you really sure?"

"It's not just a gift. I'm repaying a debt."

Elbridge narrowed his eyes and glanced at Rombel.

"A debt? You ever owed me one? I don't really remember."

"Everyone in this age owes you a debt. No exceptions."

Elbridge stopped moving.

He realized that was a somewhat blunt way of expressing gratitude.

After waking from the seal, Elbridge had met people who knew his name.

Walter, the knight of Riverford Barony, knew Elbridge's name. Felix, the paladin of the Order of the Bloodstained Spear, knew it too.

But this was the first time anyone had thanked him.

And that gratitude left a deep impression on Elbridge.

"···I see."

Men rarely thanked each other. That was even more true when they were close.

As soon as Elbridge finished choosing his armor, Walter shoved him out the door.

"All right. If you've picked everything, get going. Come back in fifteen days."

"Understood."

Unlike when he had entered the Magic Tower, Elbridge left wearing shining armor. The armor's solid weight pleased him.

And the Goddess of the Rusted Shield was even more satisfied than Elbridge was.

- Elbridge. It's only a loaned set, but it suits you well.

"Thank you, Goddess."

His body had become a little heavier because of the armor, but Elbridge felt lighter in spirit.

'Is it because Rombel thanked me?'

No. It was a similar feeling, but not quite that.

After waking from the seal, Elbridge had subtly felt a distance whenever he met people. He was an old-timer, unlike them.

But Rombel was different. Rombel was an old-timer who could understand Elbridge completely.

That was why he had made the remark about age.

It was the kind of joke you could only make with someone you were completely at ease with.

'···But was that really a joke? How am I supposed to deal with other people?'

Elbridge still did not know how old he was, or what kind of person he was.

He had not gone through so little that he could claim to be well over two hundred, yet he had lived too long to call himself twenty-six.

Rombel, who was close to three hundred, could be treated like a friend, but he could not treat a seventy-year-old human elder like a friend. That gap left Elbridge confused.

And in cases like this, most people arrived at something close to the same conclusion.

'···Well, what else can I do? Just live the way I feel like.'

Elbridge was not the only one thinking hard because of Rombel.

As Elbridge climbed the sloping road leading to the hillside slums, the goddess delivered an oracle full of regret.

- What a pity. If that dwarf named Rombel had become the third believer of our church, he would surely have been a huge help to both the church and you. He seemed on the verge of coming over, but never quite did.

"The third believer? Who was the second?"

The Goddess of the Rusted Shield answered with some pride.

- Walter, the knight of Riverford Barony. He prayed to me for the first time last night. I wanted to deliver an oracle immediately and welcome his conversion, but... I was afraid Walter might notice that there were only two believers, so I could not send one.

A contradictory feeling rose in Elbridge's chest.

The joy of expanding the church for the first time, and the regret that the goddess's gaze might turn elsewhere.

The goddess seemed to sense what he was thinking.

- Do not worry, Elbridge. I do not think I will be delivering oracles to Walter from now on either... Other gods, except in very unusual cases, only deliver oracles to their archbishops, did they not? My archbishop is only you.

"I wasn't worried."

Elbridge lied with deliberate calm.

For some reason, though, he felt as if the goddess up in heaven was smiling.

- Then that is a relief. Since our number of believers doubled at once, that is thanks to your efforts. Well done, Elbridge.

Sir Walter was already secured, so Elbridge's thoughts turned to the one that had slipped away.

Rombel, whom he had just met.

'Still, why did Rombel go into the Magic Tower?'

When Elbridge had asked Rombel why he was here, Rombel had answered that the world had become one where warriors were no longer needed, so he had become a blacksmith.

But that was only the reason Rombel became a blacksmith, not the reason he had entered the Magic Tower.

The Magic Tower was a place utterly unlike an ordinary smithy.

There were three kinds of people who possessed strength beyond that of ordinary humans.

Paladins.

Knights.

Mages.

Paladins served the gods, strengthening their bodies with divinity.

Knights also served the gods, but they handled mana rather than divinity.

Mages, like knights, handled mana.

But there was one crucial difference between mages and knights. Most mages did not serve the gods.

Mages could in turn be divided into three groups.

Those who sought to escape the gods' interference, those who wanted to ascend by becoming gods themselves, or the small minority of mages who served a god.

From high in the heavens, the mages' aims would have seemed insolent beyond measure, so almost every god disliked mages and the Magic Tower.

If demons had not appeared and forced everyone into a corner, exchanges between paladins and mages would probably still be forbidden.

'But what was allowed was only interaction...'

In general, interaction with mages meant cooperation to deal with demons.

Somewhat more tolerant gods would even allow private interactions between paladins and mages, but no god allowed a believer to be affiliated with the Magic Tower.

Elbridge asked the goddess, "Goddess."

- What is it? My most precious child.

"If I said I was going to become a mage in the Magic Tower, how would you take that?"

The Goddess of the Rusted Shield answered a little sadly.

- If that is what you wish, then do so.

That was a reaction Elbridge had not expected.

"Are you serious? If I went to the Magic Tower, I would no longer be your paladin."

- Elbridge. It is true that you are my only paladin, but I do not cherish you because you are my only paladin. That is only one of the many reasons I value you. Still, I am curious. Elbridge, why do you want to rely on the Magic Tower?

The goddess's response was more serious than he had expected, so Elbridge hurriedly answered.

"Goddess. I have no intention of relying on the Magic Tower at all. That question just came out because I was thinking about Rombel. I am sorry."

- That is a relief, Elbridge. Remember that, if possible, your goddess would rather have you stay at her side.

...As far as Elbridge knew, the Goddess of the Rusted Shield had become the only goddess who allowed a believer to enter the Magic Tower.

But the God of the Iron Anvil did not seem likely to do the same.

Not much was known about the gods of the heavens, but the fact that the God of the Iron Anvil was far from generous and was a rigid god was famous enough.

'What on earth happened to Rombel?'

Elbridge thought about it for a long time, but he could not come up with a proper answer.

For the next three days, whenever he had time, Elbridge walked the streets of Solenion after heading down from the hillside slums.

He was not doing it just to pass the time. He only wanted to learn the advanced methods other churches used to spread their faith.

The Goddess of the Rusted Shield also carefully watched how the other churches spread their teachings.

- As expected, giving and serving is the most common method.

There were no longer any starving people in Solenion. If even someone gaunt appeared, priests from each church would rush over in a panic and hand over food, so starving was not easy.

If Elbridge had still been as gaunt as he had been when he first woke from the seal, he would surely have been showered with food as well.

But since he had recovered a fair amount of his build in a short time, no priest was handing him food.

Among the many methods of proselytizing, the most striking of all were the consultation offices of each church in the center of Solenion's busiest district.

On the street lined with consultation offices, priests from each church were working their sales pitch with enthusiasm.

"If there is a sick person in your family, come with them to the Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss! Their condition will visibly improve within fifteen days! A miraculous effect proven by countless cases!"

"If your home is not at peace, or if you are lacking material or spiritual abundance, don't hesitate, come to the Order of the Olive Tree Goddess, the symbol of abundance! Just listen to the conversion stories of our senior believers and receive generous gifts..."

That was relatively normal.

There were also churches that offered far more direct and extreme conditions.

"The Order of the Golden Tray does not require long-term membership! Join the Order of the Golden Tray for just five days at the end of the year, cast your vote, and you will receive at least three months of wealth luck afterward!"

Elbridge quietly sighed.

That chaos was proof enough that religion had entered the realm of commerce rather than faith.

Still, it looked far too difficult to compete with people like that and win, so Elbridge trudged on toward the hillside slums.

'As expected, the surest way is to hunt demonic beasts while spreading the faith. But...'

Elbridge looked up at the sky and asked the Goddess of the Rusted Shield, "Goddess. What benefits could someone who joins the Order of the Rusted Shield receive? I mean benefits unrelated to combat."

- Your goddess can give her believers the strength not to collapse mentally when they face the hardest moments in life.

Even to Elbridge, the archbishop and chief priest, that was not exactly an enticing offer.

A church that helped people endure hardship was less attractive than one that helped them avoid it.

Elbridge arrived at the Rusted Shield temple feeling a little down.

Then he sensed someone inside the temple.

'Did Felix come? Is he going to take me to the Temple of the God of the Bloodstained Spear?'

No. The person in the Rusted Shield temple was not Felix.

It was not even a man. It was a woman with brown hair, round eyes, and a firm mouth.

Elbridge moved with startling speed and approached her.

"Good day. Welcome to the temple of the Goddess of the Rusted Shield. Are you hoping to join the church?"

The brown-haired woman answered.

"···No. I came looking for the Grand Warrior."

What an abrupt thing to say.

"Did you come to the wrong place? The Order of the Bloodstained Spear is right next door, and the Order of the Laurel Wreath is over there."

The woman shook her head.

"No. I came to the Order of the Rusted Shield. I heard that the Order of the Rusted Shield would provide a Grand Warrior."

She was as brazen as a creditor coming to collect from a debtor.

But Elbridge had never owed anyone a debt, so his attitude naturally turned a little sharp.

"Who told you that?"

Then the brown-haired woman answered.

"An oracle came down. The goddess told us to ask the Order of the Rusted Shield for help."

One memory surfaced.

Elbridge had never owed anyone a debt, but the Goddess of the Rusted Shield had owed another goddess one. Not long ago.

For some reason, his right arm felt itchy.

"Which church are you from?"

"I came from the temple of the Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss."

...It was time to repay a debt.

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