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Translator/Editor: Order

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◈ Paladin of a Ruined Order

Chapter 30

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Gatekeeper

Elbridge marveled.

"Rombel. You truly have quite an admirable character. What on earth did you do to get abandoned by the God of the Iron Anvil, even as a dwarf?"

Marcus had not said anything, but he also seemed to strongly agree with Elbridge's comment.

The God of the Iron Anvil was central to dwarf identity. There was a reason more than 99.8 percent of dwarves were said to serve the God of the Iron Anvil.

The God of the Iron Anvil was famous for holding on to three fortress-like seats on the strength of the dwarves' unwavering support. That had been true two hundred years ago, it was true now, and it would be true in the future as well.

To end up among that remaining 0.2 percent abandoned by such a god was nearly impossible under normal circumstances.

And yet, disgustingly enough, Rombel wore the expression of someone who had been wronged by the whole world.

"Just so you know in advance, I wasn't at fault at all for getting excommunicated. I can explain everything."

"Go on, then. Explain yourself."

"Where should I start...? Right. Elbridge. We talked about my faith at the Magic Tower not long ago."

Elbridge recalled the conversation he had once had with Rombel.

"Rombel. You know your problem isn't your skill. The problem isn't you, it's your church."

"You know your faith wasn't that deep. I also remember that you secretly admired the paladins of the combat churches."

Back then, Elbridge had thought Rombel's talent was a waste.

Rombel's aptitude was among the very best of the dwarf warriors. If he had belonged to a combat church, he would surely have gone along to the battle to seal the Archdemon.

But Rombel had not taken part in that battle. His faith had held him back. The divine power granted by the God of the Iron Anvil was not especially useful in battle.

Rombel said, "Honestly, every dwarf warrior thought the church was holding them back. Very few said it out loud, or actually switched churches."

The Goddess of the Rusted Shield said, "Elbridge. If your most cherished paladin wanted it, your goddess would not be disappointed even if the church had two paladins."

Elbridge felt the same way as the goddess.

If an unskilled paladin joined the order and received divine power, the order's combat strength might weaken. But if someone as capable as Rombel joined, it would be a tremendous help.

So Elbridge said to Rombel, "Rombel. For someone like you, who admired the combat churches, there would be no better order than the Order of the Rusted Shield. The membership benefits I mentioned last time are still in place. The moment you join, you will be appointed cardinal immediately, and..."

But Rombel did not listen to Elbridge at all.

"Of course, I had no intention of believing in any god other than the God of the Iron Anvil. I thought dwarves naturally had to serve the God of the Iron Anvil. But not all dwarf warriors thought the same."

"Hmm. So?"

"When your life teeters back and forth a few times, and when you go through a few situations where someone dies next to you because there isn't enough strength, you start looking at greater power. The first thing that comes to mind is obviously the divine power granted by a god. Most people only think about it and never act on it, but one dwarf woman warrior actually joined the Chain and Axe Church."

Elbridge had also heard that dwarf woman's story through another route.

There was a dwarf woman warrior in the Chain and Axe Church who handled an axe magnificently despite her small frame.

"I fought alongside her, fell in love, and married her with another paladin as witness. Then the God of the Iron Anvil expelled me from the order. That's the whole story."

Elbridge and Marcus were left stunned.

The story that had seemed like it would go on much longer had suddenly ended.

"Mr. Rombel. It feels like a lot was left out. Didn't you also join the Chain and Axe Church to follow your wife?"

At Marcus's question, Rombel answered flatly.

"I told you, I didn't."

"Just because his wife believed in another god, they threw their best warrior out of the church?"

"Yes."

Rombel spat.

"You know what? I have never once seen a dwarf in the Red Mountains who did not believe in the God of the Iron Anvil."

"Isn't it famous that dwarves serve the God of the Iron Anvil?"

"Like you said, more than 99.8 percent of dwarves serve the God of the Iron Anvil. But if you turn that around, it means one or two out of every thousand dwarves don't. That's not many, but I should have run into a few by now."

"Th-that makes sense, I guess."

"Even so, I have never once seen a dwarf in the Red Mountains who served another god. Why do you think that is?"

Marcus glanced at the crushed corpse.

"The God of the Iron Anvil stopped it."

"That's right. The God of the Iron Anvil strictly forbids followers from interacting with dwarves who believe in other gods."

Elbridge, who had been listening quietly, cut in.

"Honestly, I don't really get it. The other gods don't care about that sort of thing."

"The situation is different from the other gods."

"In what way?"

"The God of the Iron Anvil maintains three seats solely on the overwhelming support of dwarves. There is almost no room to expand the faith, and maintaining the status quo is practically the best option. If that's the state the God of the Iron Anvil wants to preserve, what do you think has to be done?"

Elbridge thought about it and answered.

"Keep things tightly controlled inside. So apostates can't appear."

"Exactly. Next question. What's the strongest way to keep a group under control?"

This time Marcus answered.

"Punish the dwarves who believe in other gods, I suppose."

It was a fairly plausible answer, but Rombel shook his head.

"No."

"Then what is it?"

"The strongest form of control is to never show dwarves who believe in other gods. Keep them from even realizing such dwarves exist. Don't even let them realize that the right to choose a god exists."

Elbridge and Marcus were impressed.

If Rombel's story was true, then the God of the Iron Anvil treated dwarves who served other gods like rotten fruit. Rotten fruit that would make the other fruit rot if it was kept in the same box.

To the God of the Iron Anvil, Rombel's wife was already rotten fruit, and Rombel was fruit that would rot soon enough.

The god judged that such fruit should be thrown out of the box.

Only then did Elbridge realize Rombel's situation was strange.

Rombel had achieved deeds worthy of becoming a hero of his race.

Was there even a single reason he would not have returned to his homeland?

There wasn't.

If Rombel had not gone back home, then it had to have been by force, not by choice.

Elbridge asked, "Rombel. You knew you couldn't cross that valley, didn't you?"

"I had my suspicions."

"Then why did you come all the way here?"

Rombel crossed his arms, closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again.

"First. To show the dwarves that an unbeliever like me could solve the problem the God of the Iron Anvil couldn't."

That wasn't just a desire to show off or to be recognized.

Rombel wanted to shake dwarf society. More than that, he wanted to create cracks in the Order of the Iron Anvil and bring it down.

A believer abandoned by a god usually became frustrated and suffered.

But instead of suffering, Rombel had chosen the path of swinging an axe at the god. He was a warrior, after all.

"Do you have a second reason too?"

"I came to see my wife after two hundred years."

Elbridge shook his head.

Marcus, however, did not understand Rombel's story.

"Mr. Rombel. You said your wife served another god. How did you get into the valley?"

"Anyone can go in."

"But just now, you said the valley..."

"Only that nobody can get back out."

Rombel used his axe like a cane and pointed at the valley with his short fingers.

At a spot a little deeper in than the crushed corpse.

"That valley is my wife's grave."

Rombel's circumstances were understood. But the most important problem still remained.

Elbridge asked Rombel, "Rombel. What are you going to do now? You can't go into that valley. Are you planning to climb the cliff?"

Marcus looked at the sheer cliff beside the valley.

A person as unusual as Elbridge or Rombel might be able to crawl up it.

But Marcus could not even imagine climbing that cliff. That was true even though, over the past few days, he had built up a little divine power by hunting demonic beasts with Elbridge and Rombel's help.

Rombel answered, "No. I'm going to walk into the valley with my head held high."

"I'll respect your opinion. The condition is that you lead the way."

"Of course I planned to, so don't worry."

"Oh, really? When are you planning to go in?"

"If we wait a little..."

Rombel was still speaking when he looked to the side.

"...Good. They came at the right time."

A group made up of human knights and mercenaries was approaching Elbridge's party.

"You two stay here and wait."

Rombel called out to the approaching people.

"Good day. Where have you come from?"

The knight answered confidently.

"We came from Hugen County. We received a request to help the dwarves of the Red Mountains."

Elbridge did not know exactly where Hugen County was, but judging by the direction, it seemed to be in the southern part of the continent.

Come to think of it, this was a matter involving the fate of a race, so they could not have asked for help only from Holy City Solenion.

"Where is the dwarf who went to place the request?"

"He suddenly collapsed and died."

"Ah, yes. Of course."

Rombel scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed look.

"Sir Knight. Thank you for coming to help. But an unexpected problem came up."

"A problem?"

"Have you heard of the valley in the Red Mountains?"

"Of course. They say you'll die if you don't go through it together with a dwarf. I heard that if you set this firework off in front of the valley, they would send a guide."

The knight took out a long firework and showed it to Rombel. So they had something like that.

Rombel kept a straight face and made up an excuse.

"I am that guide. Given the situation, I was waiting in advance."

"What kind of situation?"

"I'll show you."

Rombel crept toward the valley.

And when Rombel reached the side of the corpse,

Rumble.

As expected, the valley started moving.

Rombel quickly flung himself away and jumped out beyond the valley. But the innocent corpse was crushed once again.

The knight looked fairly flustered.

"What is this? I heard it would be fine if we passed through with a dwarf."

"The valley's acting strange. It seems something has gone wrong with the God of the Iron Anvil."

The knight looked unconvinced.

"A problem with that lofty god up in the sky?"

"It is true. For some time now, the God of the Iron Anvil has not been answering dwarves' prayers."

Rombel looked up at the sky and shouted loudly.

"God of the Iron Anvil! Open the valley!"

Rombel once again crept toward the valley.

Rumble-

As expected, the moment Rombel reached that same spot, the valley moved as if it had been waiting and blocked the way.

Rombel shook his fist at the sky and started hurling curses.

"God of the Iron Anvil, you son of a bitch! Learn how to manage a valley properly!"

The knight's eyes went wide.

Could there be such direct blasphemy? This was the clearest proof yet that something had gone wrong with the God of the Iron Anvil.

Rombel bowed and said, "As you can see, the God of the Iron Anvil is not responding at all. If the God of the Iron Anvil would at least get angry, that would be nice..."

"Hmm, I see."

"At any rate, this makes it impossible to go into the valley. The reward for the request is just as uncertain. I have unintentionally sent you on a wasted trip. Here, please add this little bit of money to your travel expenses..."

As Rombel reached into his pocket, the knight waved him off.

"How could I accept travel money when it wasn't your fault? On the contrary, thank you for warning us before something serious happened. We almost ended up like that corpse."

"That is only proper."

"That's unfortunate. May the dwarves have the protection of their god."

The knight left with the mercenaries.

After their figures disappeared, Rombel's attitude, which had been deferential only moments earlier, instantly turned proud.

Elbridge narrowed his eyes.

"...Rombel. Aren't you afraid of what comes afterward?"

Rombel snorted.

"What comes afterward? There isn't a single person here who serves the God of the Iron Anvil. No matter what happens, the God of the Iron Anvil won't have any way of knowing."

Then Rombel gave a meaningful smile.

"I'm going to send back every single person who comes to help. Let's see whether this bastard can keep me out."

Rombel had started the first entrance blockade in the history of the Red Mountains.

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