WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Order

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Paladin of a Ruined Order

Chapter 73

──────

Lake of Eternity

Unlike usual, the sun had not yet begun to set when Isalvius made a suggestion to Elbridge.

"Why don't we rest here for today?"

"How much farther to the Lake of Eternity?"

"We should arrive before tomorrow evening."

"Understood. Let's rest, then."

Elbridge nodded, and the group set down their packs and settled onto the ground.

Marcus, though, didn't sit. He clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention.

"All right, dinner time. Everyone come here."

The people of the Order of the God of Flowing Water handed their food supplies over to Marcus.

Tree fruit gathered bit by bit along the road, hard salted meat, small animals caught on the way, bird eggs, a little leftover grain...

Food wasn't all they'd brought. Among their baggage were several large pots.

Pots were valuable property, and essential for a long journey.

Marcus hung three sizable pots over the fire, set water to boil, and unpacked his things.

Like most mercenaries, Marcus carried a sack slung diagonally across his back like a bag.

A mercenary's belongings varied person to person. In Marcus's case, he always kept seasonings tucked in one corner of that sack. Cheap ones like parsley, sage, mustard seed, and rock salt, alongside prized spices like cinnamon and cloves.

"Let's see..."

With the most serious expression in the world, Marcus divided the ingredients among the three pots, then tasted and added seasoning again and again.

Before long, a savory, appetizing smell spread through the camp.

Marcus announced the evening's menu like a chef at a fine restaurant.

"Tonight we've got two kinds of stew, beans stewed in seasoning, and a little roasted meat. There's not much meat, just enough to taste, but... better than nothing."

Elbridge breathed in the smell of the stew and marveled.

"No matter how I look at it, Marcus should've been a cook, not a mercenary."

Rombel agreed enthusiastically.

"Those fruits and herbs, you can't even find them in the east. How does he make food out of ingredients he's never even seen before?"

Marcus had a hidden talent.

The talent of using whatever ingredients were on hand to make food better than what most inns charged money for.

Marcus puffed up with pride.

"Rombel-ssi, you're overcomplicating cooking. Don't aim for something fancy, just aim for something decent enough to eat, and it's not as hard as you'd think. Stews especially."

"Decent enough to eat... that's the hard part."

"You just need to keep a few basics. Season it right. Cover up the gamey smell as much as you can. Fill in whatever flavor's missing with seasoning... Keep three or four flavors from clashing, and you're done."

Maybe because they'd traveled together so long now, Marcus no longer spoke to Rombel and Elbridge with the same stiff formality he once had.

He'd started slipping into an easy half-formal speech a few days back, and it wouldn't be long before he dropped the formality entirely, the way Elbridge and Rombel already had with each other.

When people brought over their carved wooden bowls, Marcus ladled out the stew with a big scoop.

"My mouth thanks you. Thanks again today, Marcus-ssi."

"You're the ones who brought the ingredients. It's not like I did anything fancy."

Even as he said it, Marcus couldn't quite hide how pleased he looked. Having your effort and skill recognized felt good to anyone.

The reason Marcus had been putting so much extra care into meals lately was for the sake of the Order of the God of Flowing Water's people.

There were three things a person needed to recover from a hard ordeal.

Keep moving instead of falling apart. Talk with people who shared the same pain. And good food.

Thanks to Marcus's thoughtfulness, the priests and paladins of the Order of the God of Flowing Water managed to steady their hearts a little.

After finishing a rather good meal, Elbridge quietly sat down beside Isalvius.

"Isalvius-ssi. What kind of place is the Lake of Eternity? You said before it's a place where time doesn't flow."

"A clear, transparent lake. And whatever sinks beneath the Lake of Eternity doesn't easily decay, no matter how much time passes."

"Hm."

Elbridge had actually suspected that the Master of the Central Magic Tower's real intent lay less in the Lake of Eternity itself and more in the road leading there.

Maybe the Master of the Central Magic Tower had wanted Elbridge to see the state of the south on the way to the lake, and beyond that, to see what it looked like when the God of Flowing Water turned into a demon.

'...Does the Master of the Central Magic Tower think Sir Leonhardt became a demon?'

But Isalvius's explanation didn't end there.

"It's not just objects that don't decay. In the Lake of Eternity, the things that should have flowed away don't disappear. They remain."

"The things that should have flowed away?"

"Yes. The Lake of Eternity shows old memories. And wishes."

The following evening, as it drew close to dusk, the group spotted a city.

Isalvius wore a bitter expression.

"We're finally back."

Too big to be called a village, a little too small to be called a city.

And it had a few things different from other cities in the south.

"No walls."

"Demonic beasts don't come near this area, that's why. The land's somewhat barren, and the place is quite remote, but... as long as there are no demonic beasts, it's livable enough."

"Is that lake over there the Lake of Eternity?"

Elbridge pointed to the large lake beside the city. Isalvius shook his head.

"No. The Lake of Eternity is further inside. I'll guide you there shortly."

As if they'd known the group would arrive, a few people had come out to meet them.

Among them, the oldest-looking elder approached Isalvius.

"Isalvius."

"It's been a while, Marcelus-nim."

But to Elbridge's eye, the relationship between Isalvius and Marcelus looked distant. The same went for the others.

'I think I know what kind of mood this is...'

Elbridge recognized the mood.

Parents who'd left home to earn money and returned years later, and children who'd grown up unrecognizably in their absence.

That awkward atmosphere that tended to hang between such parents and children.

'The situation actually fits pretty well.'

The priests and paladins of the Order of the God of Flowing Water had stayed in various southern cities, offering Healing Authority, and used the money they earned to help the people of their hometown.

Not so different from parents who'd left to earn a living.

The elder named Marcelus looked over Elbridge's group and asked Isalvius, "Who are these people?"

"They've helped us greatly. Many people are alive today because of them."

"Alive? Sounds like something happened..."

Marcelus extended his right hand to Elbridge.

"I'm Marcelus, the gatekeeper. I'm something like the mayor of this city."

"Pleased to meet you, Marcelus-nim."

"Good, good. Rest well while you're here. By the way, Isalvius. Why did everyone come back? Does it have anything to do with the God of Flowing Water not sending down oracles lately?"

It seemed the people of this city didn't even know for certain that the God of Flowing Water had vanished.

"...I'll explain that over there. Neria. Would you guide these people?"

Isalvius disappeared along with Marcelus.

The other priests and paladins filed into the city too, looking somewhat subdued.

And as Isalvius had instructed, a priestess named Neria took charge of guiding Elbridge's group.

"You wanted to see the Lake of Eternity, right?"

"That's right."

"This way, please."

The group followed Neria.

The city's children, curious about the newcomers, trailed after them at first, but scattered the moment Neria waved a hand.

They walked about halfway around the edge of the large lake, and then a large pond appeared deep in the woods.

"This is the Lake of Eternity. A bit small to be called a lake, isn't it?"

The Lake of Eternity looked a transparent green thanks to the water moss.

Even with a light breeze blowing, the surface showed no ripples at all, and that stillness felt unnatural.

"As you probably already know, the Lake of Eternity shows wishes and memories. Decide which of the two you want to see, and touch the surface."

"Can I see someone else's memories, by any chance?"

Neria shook her head at Elbridge's question.

"That's not possible. But if you're carrying someone else's belongings, you can look back at the memories held within that item."

"I see. Thank you."

Neria left right away.

Only the three of them remained around the lake now.

'Isalvius has the demon's core...'

Unlike Elbridge, who'd come to the Lake of Eternity with a clear purpose, Marcus and Rombel seemed to have no particular thoughts on the matter. If anything, they wore faces of quiet excitement, expecting something entertaining to happen.

"Who's going first?"

"Elbridge. Shouldn't you go first?"

Elbridge fell into thought.

'The Master of the Central Magic Tower seemed to think Sir Leonhardt became a demon. But going straight for Sir Leonhardt's memory the moment we arrive would look suspicious. For now...'

Elbridge knelt at the edge of the lake and spoke.

"Show me my wish."

The moment Elbridge dipped a hand into the lake, an image formed on the surface.

Rombel made a fuss at the sight.

"It's coming! It's coming!"

The shape of the temple in Solenion.

A little cleaner and more spacious than the real one, with more people coming and going than usual.

But the image was very faint, and it faded away before long.

Marcus was thoroughly disappointed.

"That's it? Calling it the Lake of Eternity, with such a grand name, and all it gives is..."

Rombel nudged Elbridge aside.

"Elbridge, move. Let me try this time."

Rombel took his place before the lake, and Marcus guessed aloud.

"If it's Rombel-ssi's wish... it'll probably show ascending to heaven and becoming a god, right?"

"Might show me slapping the God of the Iron Anvil across the face. Just imagining it makes me giddy... Watch closely now. Lake. Show me my wish!"

Rombel put a hand into the lake, and a new image rose to the surface.

"Oh!"

But it wasn't Rombel ascending to heaven. What surfaced was the face of a female dwarf.

Unlike the faint temple that had appeared before, the female dwarf's face was as vivid and clear as reality, brimming with life.

No, it went beyond simply being lifelike.

"It's moving?"

The female dwarf beckoned, and Rombel's own figure appeared in one corner of the lake.

Rombel and the female dwarf embraced each other tightly, then smiled the happiest smiles in the world.

Rombel watched the scene with wide, unblinking eyes.

Rombel's strongest wish wasn't becoming a god, and it wasn't slapping the God of the Iron Anvil either.

His dead wife, that was Rombel's most powerful wish.

The Rombel and his wife on the surface seemed to talk and laugh together, then walked off somewhere together, hand in hand.

Rombel stared at the Lake of Eternity for a long while, his eyes reddening at the rims.

Then he cleared his throat once or twice and said, in a lowered voice, "...That's something. Worth coming all the way to the south for."

The Lake of Eternity had shown Rombel's wish exactly as it was. It was just a shame it was a wish that could never come true.

Rombel sniffed a little, then spoke cheerfully as if nothing had happened.

"Marcus. Your turn."

"I've got no idea what'll come up... Lake! Show me my wish!"

Marcus put a hand in the water, and a woman's back came into view.

"That's... the girl next door I had a crush on as a kid."

Elbridge and Rombel weighed in on Marcus's wish.

"Your strongest wish being a childhood crush. More innocent than you look."

"Tell me about it. I figured we'd see you rolling in wealth and glory or something."

Just then, the woman turned around.

But something was a little strange.

"Her face is weirdly blurry. Hard to make out at all."

Yet unlike the face, one part was unusually vivid and full of life.

The woman's upper body. More specifically, the area around her unusually generous chest.

"..."

"Ah, ah, no! Something's wrong with this lake..."

But the real scene was only just beginning.

The woman on the surface started unbuttoning her blouse.

"Whoa, whoa!"

Marcus yanked his hand out of the lake in a panic, and the image on the surface vanished.

"This lake's broken!"

There wasn't much conviction behind that claim.

Elbridge and Rombel looked at Marcus with clear contempt, and a touch of disappointment.

"Marcus. If you think it's broken, try again later..."

Rombel suggested, and Marcus, after a moment of thought, gave a small nod.

"...Guess I should. Probably."

"All right. Should we head off to rest, then?"

Rombel stretched, and Elbridge feigned innocence.

"No. There's something I want to see."

"Elbridge says he wants to look again. Marcus, put your hand back in."

"Ah. Coming right up."

"...That's not it. Not a wish. I want to see a memory."

Elbridge said as he dipped the Shield of Sir Leonhardt into the lake.

"Lake. Show me this shield's memory."

Instantly, the goddess sent down an oracle.

- Don't do it. Elbridge!

But it was already too late.

The lake glowed brightly, and a vivid image appeared.

A man with a shield strapped to his left arm, looking up at the sky.

Golden hair, green eyes. Leonhardt.

Then a staircase leading up into the sky appeared before Leonhardt.

The moment Leonhardt set foot on the stairs, a pillar of light wrapped around him.

Leonhardt walked, step by step. Not a fast pace, but in an instant, he reached the sky.

And the moment Leonhardt passed even the clouds and rose to "somewhere," the image on the lake's surface abruptly twisted and vanished.

As though whatever came after wasn't permitted to be seen.

All three fell silent.

"Just now, that..."

None of them had ever seen anything like it before, but none of them were unsure what it had been either.

Leonhardt's ascension.

"Goodness."

Even Elbridge was quite taken aback. He hadn't expected the lake to show something like this.

Rombel's and Elbridge's faces held a mix of awe and confusion in equal measure.

Marcus, though, was a little different.

A quiet sense of relief, and an expression somewhat more shameless than before.

"So everything this lake showed us was a lie. Guess it makes sense, no way my greatest lifelong wish was really the girl next door's chest."

Rombel asked back, "Why do you say it's a lie?"

"Remember what the mayor said back in the mountain city of Barquntol? That Sir Leonhardt left his shield to be repaired and ascended, stiffing the repair bill. That's how this shield ended up in Sir Elbridge's hands... So if that's true, doesn't it not make sense for this shield to hold a memory of his ascension?"

---

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried