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◈ Paladin of a Ruined Order

Chapter 8

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Forepaw

There was once a joke, now forgotten.

If you wanted to become a glorious paladin, serve the God of the Laurel Wreath.

If you wanted to become a paladin and hunt demons and demonic beasts, follow the God of the Bloodstained Spear.

If you wanted to die before becoming a paladin, go to the Goddess of the Rusted Shield.

Because the paladins of the Order of the Rusted Shield took 'a little' rougher assignments than the paladins of other churches, their survival rate was also 'a little' lower.

When other churches of similar size had around two hundred paladins, the Order of the Rusted Shield never had more than ten.

Yet the paladins of the other churches never asked, "Why did the Order of the Rusted Shield never even have ten paladins?"
Instead, they asked, "How did the Order of the Rusted Shield's paladins keep from dying out when they lived as if they had thrown their lives away?"

As Elbridge saw it, the secret came down to three things.

First, anyone who lacked even a little ability was never chosen as an apprentice paladin.

Second, anyone who was not tough enough died off during their apprentice knight days.

Third, once they barely managed to stay alive, the Goddess of the Rusted Shield would save them by any means necessary.

If the paladins of the Order of the Rusted Shield were the shield protecting the world, the Goddess of the Rusted Shield was the shield protecting her own paladins.

That was why Elbridge firmly believed she would solve this obstacle too.

As Elbridge was wrapped in a halo of light, the bleeding from his tattered arm soon stopped, the broken bone was set, and fresh flesh began to grow over the wound.

Not long after the beam of light that had been pouring down from heaven faded, Elbridge's healing was already complete.

Elbridge slowly moved his shoulder and checked the state of his right arm.

'It still feels a little stiff, but it should be fine.'

But Elbridge was not in a situation where recovering his body was enough.

He also had to restore the divinity that had withered away while he was sealed away. In that sense, this battle had yielded at least some result.

The heart that held the most of the evil god's fragments had been taken by the god, but in the process of killing the demonic beast, Elbridge had been covered in its blood.

The evil god fragment in the demonic beast's blood was also a form of divinity, so Elbridge could once again gather divinity into his body for the first time in a long while.

Elbridge clenched his fist. He still was not at the level of an ordinary paladin or knight, but he was clearly stronger than he had been a moment ago.

Yet instead of being satisfied, Elbridge felt an even greater thirst. This amount of divinity was nothing more than a drizzle on parched ground.

Elbridge steadied himself.

'...Let's not get impatient. For now, I should be grateful even for this.'

When Elbridge finished checking his condition, Walter said with admiration, "I have never seen such direct, intense grace from a god in my entire life. It feels almost as if the power the goddess should have shared with every believer is being bestowed only on you..."

"That, too, must be the goddess's grace."

Marcus's reaction, on the other hand, was a little hard to read.

He had ridden here risking his life to create the decisive opening, yet Marcus still fidgeted like a puppy with an upset stomach.

"...Elbridge. Were you really a paladin?"

He seemed bothered by the fact that he had taken Elbridge for a liar when they first met. Elbridge said calmly, "You do not need to feel sorry. I would not have believed it either. You did not exactly look like a normal beggar, either."

"Hmm. Still..."

"If it really bothers you, just lend me one spare outfit."

The goddess had healed Elbridge's body, but she had not been able to restore his clothes. Thanks to that, Elbridge's outer garment had become a ragged mess below the shoulders.

"I can spare you clothes. Wait here."

While Elbridge took off his shirt, Marcus dug around and took out an extra set of clothes, thinking, 'The situation is a little awkward, but this is probably the right time to ask where the temple to the Goddess of the Rusted Shield is. If I mention Sir Elbridge as the one who referred me, that should also serve as a decent apology...'

Thinking that, Marcus turned around.

He saw Elbridge's scar-covered upper body. Marcus was left speechless.

"..."

Scars were medals for paladins, knights, and mercenaries.

But even to Marcus, a mercenary, Elbridge had far too many scars.

It was not just the number. Judging by their positions and sizes alone, there were plenty that looked like fatal wounds.

So Marcus's reaction was not, "Elbridge is a seasoned paladin who survived many battles!" It was closer to, "How is that guy still alive?"

"What kind of fate does the Goddess of the Rusted Shield give her believers?"

Marcus neatly abandoned the thought of converting.

'...I'll just serve the God of Fox Rain even more faithfully.'

Unlike Marcus, though, Walter looked at Elbridge's upper body and was amazed.

"Remarkable. Those scars... I shall definitely make my support for the Goddess of the Rusted Shield known before the year ends."

Elbridge's eyes widened.

The election that decided which seats the gods would occupy in the Heavenly Council was held during the final five days of every year.

To declare support for the Goddess of the Rusted Shield at year's end was, in effect, a declaration of conversion.

"Are you sure about that?"

"The Goddess of the Rusted Shield saved my life through you. What is the big deal about serving her?"

"You said you had a lot of family to support. You said you wanted to let your wife live in comfort, too..."

"My children are all grown now, and I have already earned more money than I need. Do not worry."

If the conversation had ended there, it would have been warm and nice, but Walter's story started touching on a slightly more practical point again.

"If I happen to meet a priest of the Order of the Rusted Shield someday, I will remember to mention you as my referrer. I did change faith once in the middle, but I served the Goddess of the Golden Tray without wavering for more than thirty years. You should be able to receive a fair reward."

Elbridge had thought this before, but Walter seemed unusually focused on referrers.

Was the referral benefit that impressive, or was Walter just the kind of person who was careful with everything related to faith?

"...Thank you. But you do not need to worry about the referrer part. As far as I know, my church has not even introduced that system yet."

"There is no church in this day and age that does not have such a system. You should look into it properly. And... Sir Elbridge. How would you like to come with me to Riverford Barony?"

Elbridge shook his head.

"...I am sorry. I have to go to the Holy City of Solenion now."

Walter laughed.

"I am not asking you to settle in Riverford Barony forever. You have had a rough time, so I am just asking you to stop by, eat a meal, and catch your breath for a day or two. Riverford Barony may be small, but it is prosperous. And the baron is a good man."

He was probably sincere about wanting to host Elbridge, but Walter also seemed to need a witness.

A witness who could say that only two people, or three if Marcus was generously included, had defeated the demonic beast.

For the baron's reward?

No. An old knight needed something to brag about, a new glory. Not a memory that had been chewed over hundreds of times until it had gone pale and ragged, but a fresh boast.

"Hmm..."

Still, Elbridge did not like the proposal much. To go to Riverford Barony, he would have to retrace a little of the road he had already come.

Just as Elbridge was about to refuse again, Walter said, "As a sign of thanks, I will also give you a horse you can ride on the way to Solenion. It is a little old, but strong and gentle."

"...!"

Horses were very expensive animals.

All at once, Elbridge felt that dumping Walter, who had even gone so far as to declare his conversion, and heading straight to Solenion would be the sort of thing only someone with a serious character flaw would do.

Besides, Walter was one of only two followers of the Goddess of the Rusted Shield in the world, if Elbridge counted himself as the other prospective believer.

And in terms of church rank, Walter was easily around cardinal level. Walter himself was unaware of that, of course.

"Of course I will go. We fought for our lives together, after all."

"Excellent. Marcus. Will you come with me to Riverford Barony as well?"

"Could I get a horse too? Even a packhorse would be fine..."

"That is a bit much."

At Walter's firm answer, Marcus looked visibly disappointed.

"In that case, it would be hard. I need to go back to the Mercenary Guild and report the situation."

"Would it be all right to delay the report a little? You did plenty, so I would like to give you at least a small reward."

"I cannot follow you right away. If things go badly, I might end up being branded as a mercenary who abandoned his mission and ran off... If there is anything you need to send me, just leave it with the Mercenary Guild under the name Marcus."

Marcus wrapped up the conversation plainly and left.

In the end, Elbridge and Walter headed to Riverford Barony alone.

By the evening of the following day, the two of them had arrived in Riverford Barony.

Riverford Barony was a tiny city. A windmill on a hill turning at its own pace, as if it did not care what happened in the world, left a particularly strong impression.

The locals' bright expressions were pleasant to see.

The mood of a domain usually followed the lord's character. Walter's story that Baron Riverford was a good man did not seem like an exaggeration.

'It might also just be because this is a peaceful age.'

Walter said to Elbridge in front of the modest lord's manor, "I am going to report the mission result. Please wait here for a bit."

"Understood."

Before Elbridge had even finished looking around the manor, Walter came back out in a flash and said, "Sir Elbridge. Our lord would like to treat you to dinner... would that be all right?"

"That is fine."

Elbridge entered the lord's manor with Walter and looked around.

Calling it a lord's manor was generous. It was little more than a stone mansion with a large courtyard attached.

'The domain is prosperous, but the lord's manor is this modest... Baron Riverford does not seem like the type who enjoys luxury.'

True to its modest size, once they crossed the parade ground and walked only a little farther, a dining room that doubled as a reception room came into view.

It was a highly practical way to host guests.

Even if a guest had been invited for a meal, it was normal to talk a little first and then move to the dining room.

Walter introduced Elbridge to the lord.

"My lord. I have brought Sir Elbridge."

The lord was a middle-aged man with a slightly balding head and a round, kindly face.

Beside the lord sat a boy who looked somewhat like him. He must have been the lord's son.

Elbridge felt a little pressured by the bright-eyed father and son.

Before Elbridge could even exchange proper courtesies, the baron said a little excitedly, "I am not fond of stiff atmospheres either, so make yourself comfortable, as if you were in your own home. Sir Elbridge, I hear you are a remarkable paladin?"

"You flatter me."

"Too modest. I have watched Sir Walter since he was a child, and this is the first time I have ever seen him talk about someone else with such excitement."

Walter, hearing the lord's words, replied with an awkward expression.

"...Sir Elbridge is the first paladin I have ever seen who was so skilled."

"It is not easy to see Sir Walter this surprised!"

"There was plenty to be surprised about. The power of healing was just as remarkable as Sir Elbridge's skill. I have read countless texts on the gods of heaven, but I have never heard that the Goddess of the Rusted Shield possessed healing power... I think it may be comparable to the healing power attributed to the Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss."

Walter's knowledge was accurate in many ways.

The Goddess of the Rusted Shield could delay death so a paladin did not lose his life, but she did not have the power to heal wounds.

So what was the power that had healed Elbridge?

The answer was surprisingly simple. It was not the Goddess of the Rusted Shield, but the healing power granted by the Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss.

The Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss was the goddess with the strongest healing and recovery powers.

At the same time, she was also known as the goddess closest to the Goddess of the Rusted Shield. They were, so to speak, best friends.

Thanks to that close friendship, the Goddess of the Rusted Shield had acquired a power very similar to healing. It was the power to pester the Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss until she healed her paladins.

That was a power never recorded in any text, but paladins who served the Goddess of the Rusted Shield knew very well that it existed.

Once Elbridge thought that far, he grew a little worried.

For the Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss, healing Elbridge's arm in exchange for one demonic beast heart would not have been a fair deal.

He had heard that when a god granted power to a believer from another church, it took far more effort than usual, and that only made it worse.

'Even if the two goddesses are close, she must have added something extra on top of it...'

But Elbridge had no way to know what kind of deal had been struck in heaven right now. Even if he did know, there was no way he could help.

In the end, Elbridge decided to focus on the meal.

'This tastes like it could send my mind flying.'

The lord's food did not use especially luxurious ingredients, but it tasted good and there was plenty of it. It had the two most important virtues food could have.

"So, at that time I stabbed the bastard's eye with my spear..."

"Oh!"

Midway through the warm meal, with Walter's tales of valor still going strong, Baron Riverford's butler entered the dining room and reception room and said, "My lord. Sir Eberhard and Sir Oswald have arrived."

Those were the names Walter and the runaway merchant had mentioned earlier.

The wolf demonic beast had appeared in Dickens Viscounty, and Baron Riverford had sent two knights to support Viscount Dickens.

'Since the wolf demonic beast was taken care of by Sir Walter and me, those two must have come back empty-handed.'

The lord replied kindly, "Perfect timing. Tell them to join us for dinner. It will give me a chance to introduce Sir Elbridge as well."

A moment later, Sir Eberhard and Sir Oswald entered the reception room. Their chests were puffed out, and they looked extremely pleased with themselves.

One of the knights, though, was carrying a large sack that did not fit the room at all.

The two knights greeted him together.

"We greet you, my lord."

"You have worked hard. Sit over there. Ah, this is Sir Elbridge. He is a paladin of remarkable skill."

The two knights glanced at Elbridge, then gave a very slight snort of amusement.

That was the extent of their reaction to Elbridge.

"..."

It was a somewhat rude gesture, but the baron did not seem to have noticed it.

Elbridge had no intention of calling them out on their rudeness either. His appearance was still a little shabby.

What drew Elbridge's attention instead was something else entirely.

The faint smell of blood and wet fur that had been hanging in the air ever since the two men came in.

One of the knights, Elbridge could not tell whether it was Eberhard or Oswald, knelt on one knee before the lord.

Then he said, "This is the spoils of battle. I present a token of valor to you, my lord."

As he spoke, the knight opened the sack.

Inside was the forepaw of an animal that had to be at least two handspans long.

The sharp claws, sharper than an ordinary dagger, were especially striking.

And the shape of that forepaw looked oddly familiar.

The lord asked the knight, "What is this?"

The knight replied, "It is the forepaw of the wolf demonic beast we defeated together with the knights of Viscount Dickens."

The atmosphere in the dining room turned a little cold.

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