Paladin of a Ruined Order - Chapter 24

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Order

◈ Paladin of a Ruined Order

Chapter 24

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Five

A crowd of people taking on one person clearly had the advantage.

But a large group that had never worked together could not simply rush one person and expect an effective pincer attack.

The paladins hired by the Order of the God of Flowing Water wanted to use their numbers to overpower Elbridge.

There was one problem. Even the advantage they had won by throwing away their pride was not enough to close the gap with Elbridge.

"···."

The five paladins hired by the Order of the God of Flowing Water took in the result of the first clash and lost the will to keep fighting.

If five of them could not subdue their opponent, there was no way three could handle their opponent.

It was not even three against one.

And now four paladins from the Order of Spring Rain and Moss stood behind them, so the numbers had become five against three.

The situation was clear.

'There is no chance of winning.'

The paladin at the front braced themself on the ground with an iron club and said, "I admit defeat."

Then the paladin let go of the club. It clattered loudly and rolled weakly across the arena.

The priest serving the Order of the God of Flowing Water was also watching from below the stage.

Since the hired paladins had not fulfilled the contract to the end, reason said the priest should protest.

But the priest could not. Even the priest could see how one-sided the match was.

Clap, clap, clap-

The audience applauded all the paladins on stage.

It was not the fierce, drawn-out clash they had expected.

But this was the first match of the Main Round. If you thought of it as a meal, it was just an appetizer.

This was enough, and then some. No, they had set the bar so high that it was almost becoming a problem.

The crowd shouted at the top of their lungs.

"Spring Rain and Moss! Spring Rain and Moss!"

Some chanted for the Order of Spring Rain and Moss, some for Elbridge, and some for the Order of the Rusted Shield.

The roar filled the arena like a swarm of bees buzzing in flight.

Elbridge gave the crowd a brief bow, stepped down from the stage, and returned to the waiting room.

All the paladins waiting in the room focused their attention on Elbridge.

"Sir Elbridge of the Order of the Rusted Shield. That was a splendid match. I am Eivor of the Order of the Laurel Wreath."

Several paladins approached and introduced themselves.

Of course, Elbridge could not memorize everyone's names and faces.

But that was not a major issue. They probably did not expect Elbridge to remember them all that clearly, either.

The paladins from the Order of Spring Rain and Moss waited until the others had scattered before coming over to Elbridge a little later.

The dwarf-like paladin Hakon said to Elbridge, "Winning one match in the Main Round. That ties our church's best result ever. You also gave the Order of the God of Flowing Water a bloody nose... A perfect result. It was all thanks to you."

"I was lucky."

"Haha! Just how lucky would you have to be to show that kind of skill by luck alone?"

Hakon laughed heartily. Team captain Scarlet and the slender Arvid also looked excited.

But one person, Bibeka, did not look especially bright.

"Bibeka. Is something wrong?"

"No···. I just feel a little strange."

Bibeka's words trailed off.

Elbridge thought she probably had more she wanted to say, so he waited quietly for the rest.

Bibeka let out a small sigh and continued.

"We set an incredible record and solved our biggest worry. But I didn't do anything in the process, did I? In the preliminaries, I only swung my weapon a few times, and during the Main Round I was basically just watching."

Then Scarlet, the red-haired paladin listening to the story, poked Bibeka in the side.

"Hey now. You don't need to say things like that."

But Elbridge answered Bibeka.

"Thinking about it, I can see why you would feel disappointed. I am sorry."

Bibeka shook her head.

"I am not trying to blame Sir Elbridge. Of course, I do want to leave my mark on the Grand Festival and in the church's history, but I know I am not at that level yet. If our team's strength had really depended on my performance··· we would have been knocked out in the preliminaries."

Elbridge did not bother to argue. Empty comfort was sometimes worse than saying nothing.

Bibeka shrugged and smiled.

"Right now, it's only a little awkward, but if we had fallen in the preliminaries or lost to the Order of the God of Flowing Water in the Main Round, it would have been truly miserable. Thanks to you, Sir Elbridge, we avoided that. Thank you. Truly."

Bibeka's story ended.

This time, Elbridge asked her.

"Bibeka. You said the Order of Spring Rain and Moss once made it to the Main Round two years ago. Were you in that match as well?"

"Yes."

Sometimes a face and a look conveyed more than words ever could.

In Bibeka's brown eyes as she looked back on two years ago, Elbridge saw clear delight and exhilaration. That was surely the happiest moment in Bibeka's life.

"Back then, our church had gone nearly ten years without reaching the Main Round. So when we finally made it there, the faithful were so happy... They were so excited they even tried to force their way into this waiting room."

"That was only natural."

"That wasn't the end of it. On the way back to the church, we were practically carried by the faithful. We ruined the mood the next day by getting cleanly knocked out in the first Main Round match, though···."

Bibeka said that and gave a pale smile. A smile without any lingering regret.

"···Even though we lost so badly, I wasn't disappointed at all. In fact, I was so excited that I couldn't sleep that night. I had a new goal. Sir Elbridge, do you know what place our Order of Spring Rain and Moss's best result in the Grand Festival was?"

He had heard that in passing before.

"If winning one match in the Main Round was the best record, then... it must have been the quarterfinals."

"That's right. It was set thirty years ago, before I was even born. The one and only record. Two years ago, the day we lost in the first Main Round match, that was the goal I set for myself. Win once in the Main Round, and get our church back into the quarterfinals."

Unlike the other three paladins who had come to the Grand Festival with her, Bibeka had sturdy arms and rough hands. Proof of serious training.

Bibeka looked a little more suited to a proper combat order than to the Order of Spring Rain and Moss.

And now the reason was clear. Bibeka's devotion to training was surely tied to that goal she had set two years ago.

"But I never thought that dream would be realized like this, outside my control and without anything to do with me. That's why I feel strange. I had no idea this would happen when I went to ask Sir Elbridge for help."

A dream coming true?

No. To Elbridge, Bibeka's expression looked more like that of someone whose dream had been taken away. Bibeka herself seemed not to have realized that yet.

"Hey now!"

The dwarf-like Hakon jumped into the conversation with a ridiculous shake of his shoulders.

"Now isn't the time to celebrate, so let's save that story for later. Since we've heard Bibeka's story, how about hearing Sir Elbridge's this time?"

"···What would you like to hear about?"

Hakon asked in an extremely shameless tone.

"I heard you agreed the moment Bibeka asked you to join the Grand Festival. What made you accept her request so quickly?"

"As I said, it was because I had received the grace of the Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss."

When Elbridge answered that way, Bibeka gave a catlike little smile.

Hakon looked as if he was not satisfied with Elbridge's answer.

"Is that all? Nothing else? Isn't there something a little more··· interesting? Don't be shy···!"

Elbridge thought for a moment and then answered.

"It was because I wanted to make the name of the Order of the Rusted Shield known."

"···Hmm."

"Many combat orders have disappeared from people's memories. No one comes to them, and their temples are thick with dust. And the dust on the Order of the Rusted Shield is thicker than that of any other order."

Elbridge glanced toward the audience seats.

There were so many people seated there that they were impossible to count.

"I want to brush away all the dust piled up in people's memories."

Even now, Hakon still did not seem satisfied with Elbridge's answer.

"···Anything else? A slightly more embarrassing reason would be nice too."

Hakon never got the answer he had been hoping for.

"I knew it would turn out like this, but... what terrible luck with the bracket."

"There is nothing we can do about it."

The Order of Spring Rain and Moss's next opponent was one of the strongest favorites to win this Grand Festival, the Order of the Bloodstained Spear.

Five people, including Elbridge, climbed onto the stage.

As if they had been waiting for this, the audience shouted.

"Ooooooooh!"

"I bet on you! You have to win!"

The cheers were even more intense than in the first Main Round match, enough to make their ears ring.

The paladins of the Order of the Bloodstained Spear came up on the opposite side of the stage. The cheers grew even louder.

Among the paladins of the Order of the Bloodstained Spear was one face Elbridge knew.

It was Felix, the paladin who had tried to proselytize Elbridge at the Order of the Rusted Shield and had talked about a shipwreck, leaving an unforgivable wound on the goddess's heart.

Felix subtly lifted his right hand to greet Elbridge.

Once ten people were on the stage, the announcer began introducing the competitors.

"···Paladin Felix of the Order of the Bloodstained Spear! And the opposing side is the paladins of the Order of Spring Rain and Moss, Scarlet, Hakon···!"

But the announcer's introduction was drowned out by the crowd's cheers and could hardly be heard.

Still, an introduction was not really necessary. The audience already knew exactly who the ten people on stage were.

"Arvid! Bibeka! And the paladin of the Order of the Rusted Shield, El-bridge!"

The cheering grew a little louder.

Until the introduction ended, the paladins of the Order of the Bloodstained Spear had their eyes fixed on one person alone, Elbridge.

Elbridge also looked back at the paladins of the Order of the Bloodstained Spear.

As expected of an order whose main weapon was the spear, the paladins of the Order of the Bloodstained Spear each carried one long spear and one short spear.

Bibeka's story kept circling in Elbridge's mind.

How winning one match in the Main Round had been her dream. The slight regret in her voice. And at the same time, her gratitude toward Elbridge.

"The maaaatch will now begiiiiin!"

Elbridge closed his eyes.

Behind his eyelids, a snow-covered field spread out.

Elbridge looked to the side.

Apart from the spot where he stood, only one footprint marked that vast field.

The footprint the Order of Spring Rain and Moss had left there thirty years ago. That footprint was beside Elbridge.

If Bibeka worked herself to the bone, maybe she could leave a new footprint beside Elbridge.

But would Bibeka be able to take the next step after that?

'I don't know.'

Unlike Bibeka, if Elbridge wanted to, he could go all the way to the end of that snow-covered field.

But he did not think it was right for him to be the first to leave his footprint there.

This was not a field for Elbridge. It was the snowfield of the Order of Spring Rain and Moss, prepared for Bibeka.

For the glory waiting at the end of the snow-covered field, was it right to leave a new footprint here?

After winning in Bibeka's place and handing it over to her with a flat expression, would that have been the wise choice?

Would the goddess want glory like that?

'No, probably not.'

But Elbridge could not turn his eyes away from the church's glory, from the goal of drawing in new believers.

Fortunately, Elbridge had one way. A way to seize glory without leaving a footprint in this pure white snowfield.

Elbridge opened his eyes.

Then he turned around.

"Everyone."

Hakon answered.

"Why is that?"

"May I ask a favor?"

"Say whatever you like."

"Would it be all right if I fought this match alone?"

Elbridge was not volunteering to go first. He was saying he would fight alone.

Hakon laughed loudly.

"You brought us this far. Why are you asking for our permission?"

Hakon set down his weapon.

It was a sign that he was giving up the fight.

Hakon said to Elbridge, "I think I know what you are trying to do. Victory and glory are not the same thing, are they?"

"You're quick on the uptake."

"Win or lose, this will make a legend. Go ahead and sweep away the dust piled up in the temple."

Hakon stepped down from the stage.

Team captain Scarlet and the slender Arvid also understood Elbridge's intention, lowered their weapons, and went down from the stage.

The only one who did not fully understand what was happening was Bibeka. But even Bibeka was swept along by the atmosphere and stepped down from the stage.

Elbridge looked ahead. Across from him, the paladins of the Order of the Bloodstained Spear were still there.

They did not consider the Order of Spring Rain and Moss's actions rude. They had seen Elbridge's skill in the previous match.

Having seen Elbridge's first Main Round match, the chief paladin of the Order of the Bloodstained Spear could understand Elbridge's intention.

That was why the chief paladin asked Elbridge.

"Paladin Elbridge. One, or five?"

That was not a question asking whether he would face one person or five people in a row.

It was asking how many he would face at the same time.

The chief paladin of the Order of the Bloodstained Spear believed Elbridge had both the right and the skill for it.

The goddess read the paladin's heart, and the paladin understood the goddess's will.

So Elbridge's answer and the goddess's oracle came together.

"Five."

- Five.