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Translator/Editor: Order

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◈ Paladin of a Ruined Order

Chapter 82

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Silent Paladin

Until the day Elbridge left the village and returned to the Holy City of Solenion, he couldn't be sure whether Rombel's plan had been serious or a joke.

First, because Rombel often talked nonsense. Second, because the method was so extreme. Frame the Order of the Golden Tray to solve their own problem?

But Rombel was a man who showed remarkable decisiveness and follow-through at the strangest moments.

Just like when he'd blocked the entrance to Mountain City Barquntol and spun that whole lie.

About ten days after returning to the Holy City of Solenion.

Matilda, the freelance administrative priest, spoke up.

"Sir Elbridge. Have you heard the rumor?"

An opening like that was always followed by something interesting.

"What rumor would that be?"

"There's talk going around that someone deliberately released a demon into the world. You know, since the Silent Paladin was sealed away with the archdemon..."

Matilda happily relayed every detail of the story.

'...Rombel. You actually went through with it.'

If the rumor had reached Matilda's ears, there was a hundred percent chance it had already reached the Order of the Golden Tray.

'A visitor's coming.'

Elbridge's prediction turned out exactly right.

That very afternoon, Vice Bishop Heinz of the Order of the Golden Tray came to see Elbridge.

Vice Bishop Heinz spoke with a grave expression.

"Archbishop Elbridge. I trust you know why I've come."

He'd used the title Archbishop Elbridge, not Sir Elbridge.

As the head of one church speaking to the head of another, that meant he wanted to discuss something uncomfortable.

"I have some idea, but... it might be better to start from the beginning so we don't talk in circles."

"A grim rumor has been going around lately, so I traced it back to its source over the past few days. Rombel the dwarf's name came up."

"Well, that's Rombel for you."

Elbridge played dumb.

Not that it meant anything, of course.

"The problem is, your name came up alongside his in that rumor."

"That is quite the coincidence."

Vice Bishop Heinz's eyes narrowed.

"Archbishop Elbridge. Let me ask you something. Did you stir up this whole thing on purpose, right before the by-election?"

The Order of the Rusted Shield had never paid much attention to the southern by-election. Its followers were concentrated in eastern Solenion and Mountain City Barquntol.

There was no chance the Order of the Rusted Shield would claim the seat freed up by the by-election.

But the Order of the Golden Tray was different.

The Order of the Golden Tray was a massive church with influence across the entire continent, and one of the churches most likely to claim the seat left behind by the God of Flowing Water.

The Order of the Golden Tray had poured everything into this by-election, so they couldn't afford to shrug off an unsettling rumor spreading right before the vote.

Even without the election, the Order of the Golden Tray would have taken the rumor seriously. The content alone was serious enough.

Elbridge said firmly, "I swear on the Goddess of the Rusted Shield, that isn't true. And stirred it up, you say? You make it sound like I'm hostile toward the Order of the Golden Tray."

"If it came across that way, I apologize. But given the timing and the absurdity of the rumor, with your name attached to it, I needed to confirm things."

"It's true that Rombel and I tracked down that incident together. As you know, the Silent Paladin is my ancestor, and a saint of the Order of the Rusted Shield. But I never spread the rumor myself."

"And should I take that to mean you had no idea this rumor would spread at all?"

A sharp question.

"Yes. I had no idea."

Elbridge lied with a straight face. Truth wasn't exactly a value the Order of the Rusted Shield prioritized above all else.

Vice Bishop Heinz knew that too, so he pressed for an answer again.

"Can you say that with confidence before the Goddess of the Rusted Shield herself?"

At that, the Goddess of the Rusted Shield delivered an oracle at once.

- Elbridge. You may invoke your goddess's name and honor.

The devout paladin Elbridge followed the goddess's oracle faithfully.

"Yes. On the goddess's honor. I never expected this at all."

Even an ordinary believer wouldn't lie easily before a god's name. For an Archbishop like Elbridge to invoke a god's honor was no small thing.

So Vice Bishop Heinz took Elbridge's words as truth, and apologized for his rudeness.

"I'm sorry. I apologize for doubting you so rashly. Both to you, and to the Goddess of the Rusted Shield."

"It's fine. I'm sure the Goddess of the Rusted Shield will forgive you too, Vice Bishop Heinz."

Heinz let out a deep sigh and asked Elbridge, "Archbishop Elbridge. Could you explain how this situation came about?"

Elbridge shrugged, then spoke vaguely.

"I found it suspicious that demons suddenly started appearing, so I've spent the past year wandering the continent investigating. I met the Master of the Central Magic Tower in Middlemarch, and a sage in the southern continent... and eventually, I got a lead."

"A lead?"

"Yes. The location where my ancestor, Sir Elbridge, was sealed away with the archdemon. And the fact that someone had broken that seal."

"Who told you this?"

"I can't reveal my source. I hope you understand."

Vice Bishop Heinz was a man who knew when to back off.

Since Elbridge had already invoked the goddess's honor once, Heinz couldn't press further.

"In any case, I went to the place where my ancestor was sealed with the archdemon. Sure enough, there were traces the seal had been broken. I traced those traces to look for a suspect, and found that someone wearing the priest robes of the Order of the Golden Tray had orchestrated it."

Vice Bishop Heinz was aghast.

"That's absurd. What benefit would our church possibly gain from releasing a demon?"

"I know. That's exactly why Rombel and I never suspected the Order of the Golden Tray. In any case, no further clues remained to track the culprit, so we had to end our investigation there and come back. That's everything I know."

Heinz still couldn't hide his indignation.

"Then what grudge could Rombel possibly have had, to spread a rumor that our church broke the archdemon's seal?"

Elbridge thought it over.

'No. There's no way Rombel said it like that.'

Rombel wasn't a fool, and he could be surprisingly cunning at times.

Especially in situations where he might have to take responsibility for something.

How would Rombel have phrased it?

"Vice Bishop Heinz. Did Rombel actually say the Order of the Golden Tray was the culprit?"

Heinz hesitated.

'Just as I thought.'

Elbridge shook his head.

"That Rombel. He must have been drunk and not thought it through at all. He probably didn't even consider that the Order of the Golden Tray might be misunderstood, and just blurted out whatever he'd learned to anyone who'd listen."

Heinz might think Rombel was trash for it. But Elbridge didn't mind much.

The direction was different, sure, but wasn't there at least a grain of truth to it...

"Ugh..."

"By any chance, where is Rombel right now?"

"He's away."

Meaning he'd stirred up the mess and quietly slipped off.

Heinz's expression looked utterly lost.

"The by-election is right around the corner. We need to put this rumor to rest somehow..."

"If people ask me, I'll tell them the Order of the Golden Tray did nothing wrong."

Of course, that alone wouldn't be enough to settle the rumor.

Heinz thought the same.

"Thank you. But that won't be enough to put the rumor to rest. False rumors spread easily but are hard to correct."

Elbridge knew exactly what he needed to say next.

"Vice Bishop Heinz. Why not take a more proactive approach?"

"Proactive?"

"Yes. The Order of the Golden Tray steps forward to find the real culprit. That kind of visible action is what it'll take for people to respond. And of course, I'll join the Order of the Golden Tray in this."

The descendant of the hero who sealed the archdemon, joining the Order of the Golden Tray to hunt down the true culprit.

Not a perfect solution, but no better solution existed.

"Would you really do that for us?"

"Yes. When you think about it, I'm not entirely unconnected to this either. And with the Order of the Golden Tray stepping forward for the greater good, I can't very well sit still. Consider it atoning for my friend's mistake..."

"Thank you. Truly, thank you."

Watching Vice Bishop Heinz grip his hand tightly, eyes welling up, Elbridge felt a faint prick of conscience.

Framing innocent people, dumping the work on them, and then accepting gratitude on top of it while acting magnanimous.

But separate from that, there was no denying that the picture Rombel had painted was a masterpiece.

'It's not like I'm doing this for my own gain. Besides, Vice Bishop Heinz and I are both grateful to each other now, so in the end, isn't this good for everyone...'

Vice Bishop Heinz left a word of thanks and departed.

Elbridge went into the prayer room and offered a prayer of gratitude to the Goddess of the Rusted Shield.

"Goddess. Thank you. Because you allowed me to invoke your honor, I got through a difficult situation."

An oracle came down at once.

- Don't worry, Elbridge. As long as you don't get caught, your goddess's honor never tarnishes.

The Goddess of the Rusted Shield held a rather practical stance on matters like this.

- Honestly, I felt a bit proud too. A goddess sacrificing herself for her one and only paladin. Isn't that splendid...

Elbridge decided to pretend he hadn't heard that last oracle.

- In the end, it seems Rombel's judgment was the wise one. Elbridge.

"I don't know if it was right, but I'd say it was effective."

The Order of the Golden Tray launched a massive investigation.

To prove their own innocence, they went about it on an even grander, more public scale.

Notices went up everywhere asking for information related to the incident, and the Order of the Golden Tray's investigators fanned out in every direction. It wasn't confined to Solenion, either. The investigation spread through the eastern continent and beyond, into other regions as well.

Along the way, people grew anxious, and all sorts of wild rumors spread.

"Someone deliberately released a demon, they're saying?"

"That's what I heard. You think a demon's servants are mixed in among us?"

"Could be."

"Ugh. What's this world coming to..."

There were side effects, big and small, but progress was remarkably fast.

Proof enough in how Deter, the one who'd introduced the job to the innkeeper's son, was caught within days.

When Elbridge met Deter, the man complained bitterly, feeling wronged.

"What in the world is going on here? What did Ned and his friends even do?"

"They were used to break a demon's seal."

Deter's face went white.

This wasn't the level of problem where he'd simply connected a green mercenary with an unreliable client.

"I had no idea about any of that. I swear! If I'd known the client was like that, I never would have introduced them. Even if it cost me my head!"

"Don't worry. It doesn't seem like the Order of the Golden Tray suspects you of that. All you can do now is cooperate with the investigation."

Some time after that.

Around the time Rombel, who'd vanished without a trace, quietly resurfaced, and the by-election drew close.

Elbridge noticed a noticeable increase in visitors to the temple of the Order of the Rusted Shield, and people glancing at him more than before.

He'd been drawing attention ever since the last Grand Festival, but... lately it had gotten much worse.

'What's going on?'

Eventually, Elbridge asked Matilda for the reason.

Matilda's eyes went wide.

"You don't know why people are acting like that?"

"Of course I don't. I don't get out much. Is there some strange rumor going around?"

"Not quite a rumor, but... there's been talk going around for a while now."

Matilda looked straight at Elbridge and said, "If the seal broke and the archdemon was set free. Where is the Silent Paladin who was sealed alongside it?"

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