WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Order

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Chapter 39: The One Who Went Up and the One Who Came Down (2)

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When Baldrek gestured toward the outside, his secretary brought in a large shield and set it on the table.

Elbridge studied every inch of it.

The inner arm brace and the plain pattern on the outside. It was definitely the Shield of Sir Leonhardt, the former High Paladin.

Elbridge asked in a slightly stiff voice.

"Mayor Baldrek. Why is the Shield of Sir Leonhardt here?"

The Red Mountains had been closed off even in ancient times, and outsiders were accepted only rarely.

Why would the Shield of Sir Leonhardt, the High Paladin of the Order of the Rusted Shield, be stored here?

However, Mayor Baldrek's answer was fairly reasonable.

"Sir Leonhardt came all the way to the foot of the Red Mountains and asked the previous mayor for repairs. I heard the human blacksmiths had given up on fixing it. And of course they had. There was no way human blacksmiths could repair a shield made by dwarves from Red Mountains alloy."

Elbridge felt a little embarrassed.

So it was made by dwarves.

"Ah, is that so."

But Mayor Baldrek's story did not end there.

"We carefully repaired it and waited to request payment, but even after several years, Sir Leonhardt never came back. In the end, the previous mayor looked into Sir Leonhardt's whereabouts and only then learned that he had ascended."

"···."

Leonhardt was unmarried and had no family.

If a client like that ascended, how was the deal supposed to be settled?

"With no other choice, they contacted the Order of the Rusted Shield, and the reply was that they would come collect the shield once the payment was ready. Not long after that, I took office as mayor, and while sorting through the items in the First Vault, I found this shield."

Elbridge could guess the rest without hearing it.

"I tried contacting the Order of the Rusted Shield again, but the order had gone bankrupt... No. Getting in touch with them was not easy. So this shield had been kept in Mountain City Barquntol until now."

The debtor had vanished without family, and the affiliated order had gone bankrupt.

If the debtor had died, they would have sold the shield and recovered the repair cost, but since the debtor had become a god, even disposing of the shield felt awkward.

That was the history of two hundred years of dead inventory.

Elbridge said in a slightly smaller voice.

"The order's finances are still tight. But its influence is recovering quickly, so if you can give us a little more time..."

"I didn't bring it up to tell you to repay the debt."

"Yes? Then why did you bring it up?"

"Why? Sir Elbridge, you asked why this shield was here, didn't you?"

"Oh, right. I did."

Mayor Baldrek tapped the shield and laughed.

"Anyway, Sir Elbridge, you can take this shield along with the reward for the job. I won't charge you for the repairs."

Elbridge's eyes sparkled.

the Shield of Sir Leonhardt had been coveted by many people even in the past.

Some wanted it because it had belonged to Leonhardt, who had been counted among the greatest paladins of his age, but even more wanted it for practical reasons.

"Are you sure that's all right?"

"Like the other dwarves, I dislike owing debts. One item from the First Vault is not enough to fully cover the cost of this job, so I am simply adding this shield to make things even."

Rombel, who had been listening, and the mayor's secretary both nodded.

Marcus, however, reacted a little differently.

"Mayor. By any chance, could I get one more thing too? I fought alongside Sir Elbridge as well."

The mayor's expression turned businesslike.

"To be frank, Mr. Marcus, your contribution was not quite at that level."

"...I was just asking in case."

Elbridge gave a small laugh and slid his left arm into the shield's arm brace.

It balanced well, and the weight felt right.

"Excuse me for a moment."

Elbridge struck the wall with the shield.

Even though it was not a shield enchanted by a mage, its shock absorption was astonishingly good.

But the real value of this shield lay elsewhere. It had never been pierced, not once.

Of course, that did not mean the shield protected its user perfectly.

When it took too strong a blow, Leonhardt's left arm or left shoulder had broken before, and the shield itself had dented a few times.

But as far as Elbridge knew, this shield had never once been pierced.

"I'll make good use of it."

"Now that the item has found its owner again, I finally feel at ease. If it ever needs repairs, come back to the mountain city. And..."

Mayor Baldrek looked over Elbridge's party and said,

"Everyone, follow me. Let's go to the First Vault."

* * *

The First Vault held all kinds of goods, from weapons and armor to crafts, precious metals, and even raw ore.

But the total number of items was not great.

Only about one item worthy of being added to the First Vault was made every few years.

After much thought, the three of them each picked one item they needed.

'Outside the mountain city, I couldn't get anything like this. Choosing the thing I need most is the right call.'

Elbridge chose a Fauld and Tasset to protect his thighs.

These were the kind of gear people tended to overlook, so many underestimated how important they were.

But from Elbridge's experience, more paladins died from a damaged femoral artery than from a heart pierced through. Their practicality might even exceed that of a cuirass.

And there was one more decisive reason Elbridge had chosen the Fauld and Tasset.

"That is the masterpiece of Barnok, the craftsman who made the Shield of Sir Leonhardt."

That was because, according to Mayor Baldrek's explanation, the craftsman who made the Shield of Sir Leonhardt had also made this Fauld and Tasset.

The moment he heard that explanation, a collector's urge he had never felt before quietly stirred in Elbridge's chest.

Rombel also gave a simple assessment of Elbridge's choice.

"You picked something practical. Your eye for quality is impressive."

Then Rombel chose the chainmail worn under a cuirass and appraised his own choice.

"Decent chainmail is common enough, but you would never see chainmail this well made anywhere else. It was crafted with painstaking care, link by link. And this weight... it's as light as most leather armor. I don't even know what it's made of. It's an incredible piece."

Finally, Marcus picked a splendid sword. The patterns engraved on the blade and hilt were so intricate that they were hard to make out even with narrowed eyes.

However, Rombel sharply criticized Marcus's choice.

"...Marcus. That is the lowest-grade item in this vault. How about choosing something else, even now?"

Of course, since it was kept in the First Vault, the sword Marcus chose was still clearly an excellent blade.

But Rombel judged that the maker had focused on aesthetics rather than practicality.

Marcus then answered boldly.

"You two can't even show off your gear anywhere, can you?"

"...Show off?"

"Of course I should pick the most impressive item, the one that's best for bragging about."

"Marcus. Do you wear armor to brag about it, and choose a sword to brag about it too?"

"Not entirely, but that matters too. I don't know about knights or paladins, but mercenaries quietly size each other up by checking their gear. Besides, this sword will probably fetch the highest price if I sell it."

Since ancient times, swords had symbolized lofty authority and tradition, so there was no famous family without at least one famous blade passed down as an heirloom. Naturally, its trading value was also bound to be the highest.

A sword this ornate would be even more valuable.

"How jealous do you think the bastards who used to look down on me will be when they see this sword?"

"Have you never heard stories about people who got their hands on something beyond their station and were then swept away by misfortune?"

Marcus gave a dark grin.

"Anyway, I'm going to keep following Sir Elbridge around for now. Who could hurt me while I'm beside Sir Elbridge?"

"You plan to follow Elbridge forever?"

"When I retire, I'll sell this sword and buy a grand mansion. It may not be the finest item in the vault, but it's definitely the thing that will make my life happiest."

It wasn't wrong, just a different standard, so Rombel and Elbridge could not argue with Marcus's choice.

* * *

The three of them decided not to linger and leave the dwarven city.

The funeral for the dwarves who had died in the previous battle was underway, but many dwarves came along to see Elbridge's party off.

The road out of the mountain city passed through a valley.

Mayor Baldrek stood in front of Elbridge's party, and countless dwarves followed behind them.

It was to see the three of them off, and to ease the party's unease.

Fortunately, the valley in the Red Mountains remained completely still.

At last, the three of them and the dwarves left the valley.

Elbridge looked at the dwarves who had come to see them off.

'···.'

Without this incident, most of them probably would never have taken even a single step outside the Red Mountains.

But now the dwarves had taken a few steps beyond the mountain city, beyond the Red Mountains.

The first step is half the battle.

Now the dwarves would move out into the world, one step at a time.

By the same token, non-dwarven races might one day enter the mountain city and settle there.

When that time came, what kind of lives would the dwarves lead?

It was impossible to know yet.

But Elbridge hoped that a second God of the Iron Anvil would never be born.

* * *

During their stay in Mountain City Barquntol, every last trace of summer disappeared, and autumn fully set in.

The wildflowers that had bloomed in summer had slowly faded and swayed in the autumn wind, and the moist soil unique to summer had shed its dampness and grown even softer.

Along with spring, it was one of the best seasons for walking.

Since all of them had gained a great deal from the Red Mountains, the three of them walked leisurely, almost as if they were out on a picnic.

As Elbridge walked, he whispered to the goddess.

"Goddess. I have a question."

"Ask me anything, Elbridge. Your goddess is ready to answer anything for the world's greatest paladin..."

For the past few days, the Goddess of the Rusted Shield had been in high spirits.

At the start of the year, she had been a pitiful god with not a single believer, but in less than a year she was now on the verge of entering the Heavenly Council.

There was only one thing the Goddess of the Rusted Shield cared about now.

Would she get one seat, or two?

Compared with not long ago, it was a truly happy dilemma.

Elbridge asked.

"How is Sir Leonhardt doing now? Is he at your side, or is he serving you?"

The Goddess of the Rusted Shield hesitated.

"Elbridge. Your goddess wants nothing more than to tell her one and only paladin everything. But not everything that happens in heaven can be revealed on earth. That is decided by the lofty Chief God..."

People on earth often prided themselves on knowing everything that happened in heaven. The names of all the gods, decisions made in the Heavenly Council, the seats, rumors quietly spread about the gods' personalities, and so on.

But in truth, not much about heaven was known. More precisely, only a few things were clearly known, while the rest had to be treated as secret.

"Could I at least learn Sir Leonhardt's divine name?"

"I can't tell you."

The goddess hesitated a little, then added one more thing.

"But, Elbridge. His situation might be a little different from what you think. For now, that's all I can say."

Elbridge did not press further. The Goddess of the Rusted Shield had probably tried to give him as much information as she could.

Elbridge fiddled with the shield's handle and asked,

"Can you tell me how ascension happens? Or what kind of person gets to ascend?"

This was a question about Leonhardt, the former High Paladin, and it was also for Rombel.

"The most important thing is a feat worthy of reaching heaven. But a feat is not everything."

"Then what else is needed?"

"First, you need the gods' approval. If someone wants to rise to heaven, they need the support of more than half the seats, and getting that approval has become harder and harder."

"Why is that?"

"Because they guard their turf. Just like humans on earth, older gods like to say things like, 'When I was on earth, that much wouldn't have been a big deal.' There are also many gods who dislike the idea of beings from earth rising to heaven. A new god is a potential rival, after all..."

"···."

"There are several other requirements too. But that kind of information can't be made public on earth, so if your time ever comes, Elbridge, you'll learn naturally."

"I understand, Goddess."

Elbridge wanted to know many things about Leonhardt, the former High Paladin.

Even though they were not blood relatives, Elbridge had regarded Leonhardt like a father.

It was not just a matter of simple closeness.

In Elbridge's view, Leonhardt was fundamentally someone different.

It was as if he did not belong either in heaven or on earth.

Rombel asked Elbridge,

"Elbridge. Why do you look so serious?"

"I was wondering if there was any way to get information about Sir Leonhardt."

"How about praying for an oracle from the Goddess of the Rusted Shield? You are a paladin now, but you're also an Archbishop, so your prayer should reach heaven."

When Elbridge shook his head, Rombel shrugged.

"Well, heavenly information is hard to get even through an oracle. But it's not as if there are no methods at all."

"There is a way?"

"If a god in heaven can't pass along heaven's information, wouldn't you get it from someone on earth instead?"

How many people could get news from heaven more easily than Elbridge could?

When Elbridge stared at Rombel, Rombel lowered his voice and said,

"I told you. I was going to meet the Master of the Central Magic Tower to find a way to ascend."

Footnotes:

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