WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Order

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◈ Paladin of a Ruined Order

Chapter 22

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Preliminaries

"Hey, who cheated?"

When the priest of the Order of the God of Flowing Water voiced the accusation, the paladins of the other churches lingering nearby took interest and came over.

Of course they did. Once a quarrel broke out between churches, it was only natural for people to get interested.

Seeing an opening, the priest of the Order of the God of Flowing Water explained to the crowd.

"Just now, an oracle came down. It said we'd gone a little too far... that we should take it easy. I suspect the Order of Spring Rain and Moss did something to cheat, and that the God of Flowing Water saw it and hurriedly sent down the oracle."

A murmur spread through the paladins in the waiting room like wildfire.

The paladins of the Order of Spring Rain and Moss looked troubled.

Then the short, stocky paladin standing beside Elbridge, the dwarf-like one, shouted sharply.

"Cheating? A thief only sees things to steal, they say... Say something that makes sense! How shameless!"

It was a rather blunt remark, but by then, there was no point in being polite anymore.

The priest of the Order of the God of Flowing Water did not back down either.

"Then you're saying the oracle came down for no reason? Don't try to cover up your dirty trick!"

Once someone invoked an oracle as proof, it was hard to argue back.

So instead of refuting the priest's claim, the dwarf-like paladin chose to turn the suspicion back on them.

"Everyone, look here! Anyone who follows rumors will know about the feud between the Order of the God of Flowing Water and our Order of Spring Rain and Moss. But the Order of the God of Flowing Water had been going around saying they were going to put our church in its place, and then they brought in all five paladins for the match from outside! They just slapped their own nameplate on the thing!"

"All five of them?"

Judging by the crowd's reaction, a team made entirely of outsiders was either extremely rare or unprecedented.

The crowd's gaze turned to the five paladins cooperating with the Order of the God of Flowing Water.

Many eyes could weigh a person down. The five hired paladins avoided the others' stares.

"I've never seen a church pull a stunt like this at the Grand Festival in my life! Do they not even know shame..."

As the dwarf-like paladin shouted with growing momentum, the priest of the Order of the God of Flowing Water shot back.

"It's not even against the rules. Why does it matter? And what I was talking about just now was the oracle aimed at you people..."

In an argument, the louder voice had the advantage. And the dwarf-like paladin was louder than the priest, so it wasn't hard to cut them off.

"An oracle? I can tell at a glance! The God of Flowing Water must have watched the situation, decided this was out of line, and sent down an oracle telling you to cut it out. Just so those so-called believers wouldn't stain their own god's name!"

Even the people waiting for the draw could be seen glancing this way.

There were few things more entertaining than watching a fight. All the more so when it was a fight between church officials, not some common street rabble.

The veins stood out in the priest's neck as they tried to refute the dwarf-like paladin.

"No, not me. He told you people to take it easy! Are you saying the oracle the God of Flowing Water sent down was wrong?"

"If the oracle wasn't wrong, then it's your ears that are wrong. Think about it logically! A church that scraped together five outsiders, a church that had no choice but to invite one young, inexperienced paladin just to make the numbers work. Which side do you think the god would be ashamed of?"

To Elbridge, the dwarf-like paladin had the makings of a rabble-rouser.

Their loud voice and crisp pronunciation stood out in particular, along with the way they boldly drove the other side into a corner.

Even the substance of the argument sounded fairly convincing, so the opinion of the other church officials began leaning toward the Order of Spring Rain and Moss.

"It's a bit much. The God of Flowing Water would have every reason to find it awkward."

"No, that meant the other church, not us..."

The priest of the Order of the God of Flowing Water complained in frustration, but once the mood had been set, it was not easy to reverse. Especially since they themselves knew they had done something dubious.

And so the argument seemed to be stumbling toward victory for one side. Elbridge whispered softly.

"Goddess. Are you listening?"

- Of course, Elbridge.

"Could it be... I wasn't supposed to take part in the Grand Festival?"

The goddess answered after a brief pause.

- Whatever choice you make, your goddess will always cherish you. Even if the day comes when you jump into children's ball games and go all out.

"Goddess. I turned twenty-six this year. Among the paladins here, there are hardly any younger than me."

- Four days ago, there was a paladin who said they were over two hundred years old, Elbridge.

"..."

- There is no need to be ashamed. To repay grace and keep faith, stepping forward even in an awkward situation is also a virtue of a paladin.

The Goddess of the Rusted Shield was gently teasing Elbridge.

But beyond the playful tone in her voice, Elbridge could sense a deep expectation.

Expectation for a new believer Elbridge would bring?

No. The Goddess of the Rusted Shield was hoping that her only paladin would cast off the burden in his heart and boldly show his skill before others.

When Elbridge answered with a faint smile instead, amusement crept into the goddess's voice as well.

- Elbridge. Don't worry about other people's eyes. Four years since you first picked up a sword at thirteen. Nine years since the day you became a formal paladin. And then another two hundred years. Even if the masses do not know of your devotion, your goddess does. There is no one who can point a finger at you for doing as you wish.

A childhood he never got to enjoy.

A youth that had never existed in the first place.

Elbridge's life, even now, was hard to tell where it was headed.

Even now, she was telling him to reclaim the life he had lost. That was what the goddess was saying to him.

"The first thing I thought when I was freed from the seal was exactly that. I don't know what happened or how, but I've done enough."

Elbridge wore the expression of a twenty-six-year-old man.

"What a shame. If only things had gone a little better, this could have ended right here!"

Bibeka sighed.

Just a moment ago, the Order of the God of Flowing Water had survived in Group 3 and advanced to the Main Round. That was the reason.

But, as Bibeka said, it had not been a close result. In a match where at least two people had to remain standing until the end, the Order of the God of Flowing Water had managed to keep three people standing to the very end.

"It must have taken some effort to gather people with this much skill."

"Still, they were probably confident they could get through the Preliminaries without much trouble, which is why they picked a fight with our church."

Elbridge leaned against the railing and watched the cleanup in the arena.

There were quite a few paladins who couldn't make it out of the arena on their own and had to be dragged out. They were unconscious or had broken something.

People from churches with Healing Authorities were also moving busily, treating the injured. Still, there were not many people bleeding.

"Lady Bibeka. I have a question."

"What is it?"

"Are swords not allowed at the Grand Festival?"

Most of the knights who had participated in the match used iron clubs as their weapons.

The knights who used weapons other than iron clubs also mostly carried bludgeons without edges.

Thanks to that, the preliminaries had been pretty intense.

Paladins several times stronger than ordinary humans, clad in armor, swinging bludgeons at one another with everything they had. He had never even imagined a sight like that.

"Not exactly. It's just that the rules make iron clubs more advantageous."

"What rules?"

"Sir Elbridge, didn't you read the rules posted on the way in?"

"I got swept in with the crowd, so I didn't even know there were any."

"You don't need to worry about the other rules. Just remember one thing. If you kill someone during the match, or inflict an injury so severe that their life is in danger, you're disqualified."

Bibeka explained that if someone in the melee accidentally swung a sword and cut into another person's vital area, they would be disqualified automatically, so using iron clubs was the norm to avoid unfair situations.

"...Actually, the bigger reason is that iron clubs are more advantageous than swords. Every participant is wearing thick armor, so subduing someone with a sword usually isn't easy, right? It's more effective to beat them down with an iron club or some other blunt weapon."

Most of the paladins wore armor that thoroughly protected every joint.

The plate armor was securely fastened with rings and clasps, and the places that had no choice but to expose a little bare skin were mostly covered with chainmail.

For example, the aventail, the chainmail that hung from under the helmet to protect the neck.

"Take it, Sir Elbridge."

Bibeka handed Elbridge an iron club.

"This is... mine?"

"I knew it would come to this. Who in the world comes to the Grand Festival carrying a sword? Hurry up and take it. My arm's getting tired."

Elbridge waved it away.

"I'll just use my sword."

"Swords won't work."

"This is more comfortable."

"Oh, don't be stubborn."

"I have to decline."

When Elbridge refused again, Bibeka looked at him with a sullen expression. There was nothing she could do if the person involved kept refusing.

"You'll definitely regret this later... If things get dangerous while you're fighting, run over to my side before it's too late. I can subdue most people. Understood?"

"Understood. I'll run over there as fast as I can."

Just then, a shout rang out telling the teams in Group 4 to get ready.

Bibeka straightened her shoulders and walked ahead of Elbridge with confidence.

Right before they went up on stage, the people helping run the match marked the chest and back of the paladins' armor with paint. It was a courtesy that let everyone identify each team at a glance during the melee.

"We're green. That feels lucky."

"What does that mean?"

"We were green when we made it to the Main Round two years ago, too. Was that the year we finally got through the Preliminaries after seven years? They said it had been quite a while since we'd advanced."

There were seven teams on the stage.

The Order of the God of the Brass Cup, the Order of the God of Vines and Knots, the Order of Spring Rain and Moss, and four teams formed by paladins from smaller churches.

No one paid any attention to the Order of the God of the Brass Cup. Since it was an order that valued thrift and community, it had no connection to battle. Bibeka felt the same.

"You don't need to worry about the Order of the God of the Brass Cup. It's an order that just shows up for the Grand Festival every year. They'll probably get swept out right away."

The Order of the God of Vines and Knots was not much different. It was the order favored by scholars, or by the small number of mages who had not turned their backs on the gods.

'Come to think of it, Sir Walter was from the Order of the God of Vines and Knots.'

The only teams really paying attention to one another were the remaining five.

Elbridge noticed people were glancing at him.

Of course, it wasn't because he seemed threatening. They were only interested because he was the only one who had brought a sword.

Ding-

With a heavy bell toll, the match began.

Elbridge was about to spring forward at once, but the dwarf-like paladin caught his forearm and held him back.

"Sir Elbridge. The important thing is to last until the end. Let's keep our formation tight enough that no one can get at us easily, and move slowly."

It was a reasonable judgment. But the teams formed from smaller churches had a somewhat different mood.

"Waaah-!"

The paladins on those teams had a goal similar to Elbridge's. They wanted to stand out at the Grand Festival and make a name for themselves and their churches.

They wanted to take down as many opponents as possible and show their skills to the crowd.

Thud-

With a heavy impact, the paladins collided.

As expected, the Order of the God of the Brass Cup and the Order of the God of Vines and Knots were being swept aside.

"Don't get excited, fall back!"

There were not many people targeting the Order of Spring Rain and Moss. Five people were huddled together as one, so no one wanted to pick a fight with them carelessly.

But that situation did not last long.

"You bastard, where do you think you're going!"

The dwarf-like paladin seemed to block an incoming attack, but in an instant they were swept up in the flow and vanished into the middle of the arena.

'...And they told everyone not to get excited.'

But that was how battle was.

Even on a battlefield where life and death hung in the balance, people fought with their eyes burning because of that excitement and heat.

Unless someone was very accustomed to combat, it was impossible to keep their wits in the heat of battle.

And if you couldn't keep your wits, then rather than retreating awkwardly, it was better to let yourself be carried by the flow.

'If they're lucky, they'll last until the end.'

Just then, someone rushed at Elbridge. The black paint on their chest stood out.

"Hup!"

Elbridge let the other person's iron club slide past, then kicked hard into their staggering back.

The paladin painted black staggered as if they might tumble out of bounds, but somehow stayed up and returned to the middle of the fight.

The problem was that in that short span, the elf-like paladin and the redhead beside Elbridge had disappeared.

'...Where did they go?'

The elf-like one was sprawled out unconscious, as if they had been struck in the back of the head, and the redhead was standing outside the arena, as if someone had shoved them out.

It was hard to believe they had somehow made it through the Preliminaries two years ago.

At that point, the only ones left were Elbridge, Bibeka, and the dwarf-like paladin, whose survival still couldn't be confirmed.

Once only Elbridge and Bibeka were left from the group, more and more paladins came after the two of them.

"Sir Elbridge! Hold out a little longer!"

Fortunately, Bibeka was holding out fairly steadily.

Come to think of it, she had to have that much skill, or she would never have been able to take part in the Grand Festival even as an apprentice paladin.

Then Elbridge's eyes met those of a paladin with yellow paint on their chest. The shape of the armor was familiar.

Elbridge remembered that paladin's armor because they had already knocked down four people.

That paladin was large and seemed to have accumulated a great deal of divine power, so whenever they clashed with others in terms of raw strength, they always managed to overpower the other side without much trouble.

That one was probably drawing the most attention from the crowd in this match.

And Elbridge was drawing attention in another way, as the idiot who had entered the arena with a sword.

"Hup!"

The paladin painted yellow took a deep breath, then charged at Elbridge like a bison. Their determination to make a fifth victim was obvious.

"Five!"

The paladin who had leaped off the ground pulled the iron club back behind them, then swung with all they had.

No, they had tried to swing with all they had.

Elbridge's sword, moving a beat ahead of the path the opponent's right wrist was about to take, blocked it, so the paladin could not bring the iron club down with full force.

Still, Elbridge's sword could not bite through the opponent's gauntlet either.

Kiiiiiik-

The gauntlet and the sword slid against each other, producing a grating metallic screech.

But that was enough. In that brief opening, Elbridge's eyes swept over the opponent's armor. As expected, no joint was exposed.

'If there isn't one, make one.'

Elbridge's gaze moved from top to bottom.

The cuirass protecting the chest.

The fauld protecting the hips and waist below it.

The tasset below that, protecting the thighs.

Below that, the poleyn protecting the knees.

Finally, the greave protecting the shins and feet. Where would be easiest to attack?

Elbridge's eyes settled on the clasp on the outside of the knee, the one that connected and fastened the poleyn and greave together.

The instant he judged it, Elbridge moved. His sword swung at once, and sparks flew from the clasp securing the poleyn and greave.

The clasp snapped, leaving a tiny gap at the opponent's knee. Barely half the width of a finger.

But that was more than enough for a sword to slip through. Elbridge's sword immediately drove into the opponent's knee.

From blocking the opponent's attack to snapping the clasp and driving his blade into the knee.

Everything happened in one breath.

"Aaahhhhhh-!"

Blood splashed, and a scream of pain rang through the arena.

Because it happened between the two people who had been drawing the crowd's attention in such different ways, many spectators saw it.

"What was that just now!"

Paradoxically, though, not many people understood what had happened between the two of them.

Elbridge pulled the blade from the knee, then lightly flicked the blood from his sword.

And said,

"Next."

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