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Translator/Editor: Order

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◈ Paladin of a Ruined Order

Chapter 94

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Cunning

Of everything Elbridge said in that short speech, the phrase that lodged most clearly in everyone's ears was two hundred years.

When Elbridge first appeared in Solenion, nobody had spared a glance for a skinny drifter.

The leadership of every church had felt the same way. Nobody imagined that someone sealed away two hundred years ago could still be alive today. Not even knowing he'd broken an archdemon's seal changed that.

But when Elbridge single-handedly subdued five opponents at the Grand Festival, the leadership of every combat church began to suspect who he really was.

When he faced the black giant, and further still, when the Order of the Rusted Shield claimed four seats in one stroke, suspicion hardened into certainty.

In other words, the leadership of every church had already privately concluded that Elbridge was the Silent Paladin.

But hearing it directly from the man himself carried a different weight entirely.

A faint clatter of metal rippled through the room as the High Paladins of each church straightened their postures, the same way they once had as fresh squires standing before a senior knight.

Even the paladin with the broken leg struggled to his feet and stood, balanced on one leg.

Only then did Elbridge sit back down and cross his legs.

"You all know I didn't call you here to apologize."

"...We know."

"Do you know why I gathered you here?"

Nobody answered.

But their thoughts ran along similar lines. Some demand, perhaps, or a threat built on leverage.

"One thing I want to ask. And two things I want to demand."

People nodded faintly. As expected.

"First, I'll ask. Who's behind this?"

"Behind what?"

"Someone approached Cowin. Someone talked him into it. I know that much."

No answer came.

A crease formed between Elbridge's brows.

"You're going to stay silent?"

Then the Archbishop of the Antlers Church spoke up.

"We're not trying to hide anything. We simply don't know. All we know is that Cowin started moving after he made contact with someone outside our churches. That's the extent of it."

"That's ridiculous. You worked alongside Cowin. You must have been given a role by whoever's behind this too."

The Archbishop of the Antlers Church shook their head.

"No. If I had to put it plainly... Cowin was the connection point. All the Antlers Church did was investigate our own church records at his request and tell him where each demon's seal was kept. We never met the person behind this. Never spoke with them."

"That sounds like an excuse."

"I'm not trying to deny what we did. We went along with it knowing full well what it might mean, and we're guilty for that. Other churches accepted the flow of things, and so did their gods, and I couldn't refuse the flow either. Call me a coward, or a sinner, if you like."

Elbridge pressed his fingers against his temples.

He had no intention of weighing out degrees of guilt. The real problem was that Cowin really had been the connecting thread.

If that thread was gone, then interrogating everyone gathered here wouldn't tell him who was behind it.

'Did I kill Cowin too fast?'

Fortunately, the Antlers Church Archbishop wasn't finished.

"But if you're trying to find who's behind this... there might be a way."

"Tell me."

"I've heard that similar plans are underway not just in the eastern continent, but in other regions too."

If the connection in the east had been severed, the mastermind could still be traced through a connection elsewhere.

A clue that had seemed cut off had shown itself again.

'I've got the most important information. Now what's left is the cleanup.'

The Archbishops and High Paladins still stood tense, watching Elbridge.

Elbridge tapped the armrest of his chair a few times, then spoke.

"First, if you follow my demands, I won't tell people what you did. Whether you claim I apologized, or spread some story about a misunderstanding, I won't care about that either. That's what you all want, isn't it?"

He'd scratched the itch that bothered them most first, and their expressions brightened.

Of course, that was only the opening. Elbridge pointed a finger at them.

"My first demand. Every Archbishop here hands over their position to a successor by the end of the year. Someone with no ties to this incident."

A harsh demand. But from the perspective of the churches as a whole, one they could live with.

Non-combat churches placed their god at the top and let the Archbishop stand alone beneath that god as the church's sole representative, a single-authority structure with the Archbishop at its peak.

But combat churches ran a dual structure, where the High Paladin's authority rivaled the Archbishop's own.

Replacing one of two leaders meant the burden was correspondingly lighter.

Still, it wasn't a welcome proposal for the Archbishops.

A lifetime devoted to the church, only to be told to step down by year's end.

The Archbishops hesitated, unable to answer easily, until Elbridge spoke again.

"If you don't like it, there's always dying right here. Though in that case, I won't be keeping your secrets."

The Archbishops bowed their heads low.

There had never been a real choice.

"...Understood. We'll step down by year's end."

Even so, the first demand was milder than expected.

Everyone gathered here had privately braced for bloodshed. That was part of why each church's High Paladin had come armed.

Now the High Paladins' faces turned serious.

Elbridge had said there were two demands. He'd given the Archbishops one. The other clearly belonged to them.

One of the High Paladins asked, "What do you want from us?"

Elbridge answered simply.

"Fulfill the duty given to you."

"Duty being..."

"Fight bravely against the enemy without fear, same as you've always done. But unlike before, don't collude with corrupt men. That's my demand."

The paladins' eyes widened.

Ordinarily, when someone commits a crime, everything they've built gets denied and devalued alongside it.

But Elbridge had said it clearly.

Same as you've always done.

That short phrase kept circling in the High Paladins' minds.

Even after such a foolish act, even knowing full well they were the ones who'd caused this, Elbridge hadn't denied that they had fought bravely.

Elbridge continued.

"I know all of this happened because of your own foolishness. Just as none of you could protest when I took Cowin's head, I wouldn't feel a shred of guilt taking any of yours either."

"..."

"But the flow has already begun, and the world has already changed. Look only forward. What you can do, what you need to do, is already prepared for you. The role you so desperately wanted has been given to you."

Over the past few days, Elbridge had thought about it.

Were the paladins of this era simply more corrupt at heart than the paladins of old?

Was that why wicked men rose to become Archbishops and High Paladins? Was that why they'd committed their crimes?

Elbridge didn't think so.

They led their churches, yes, but underneath that, they were ordinary people.

They'd feared a life with nothing to show for it, dreaded an endless cycle with no way out.

Foolish, desperate men who'd fallen for a foolish temptation.

"The era you dreamed of has arrived. Run all the way to the finish line and claim what you set out to achieve. Don't shy from the most dangerous battles. Stand at the very front. Seize your honor even if it costs you your life."

It sounded sweet enough, at first.

But the phrase most dangerous battles snagged in the High Paladins' minds.

Most dangerous battle could mean two things.

A battle of real importance, or a battle used as cover to dispose of the guilty.

If it was the former, fine. But the latter was nothing more than execution dressed up as honor.

Better than a disgraceful execution, certainly, but unsettling all the same.

Elbridge smiled faintly.

"Worried, are you?"

"No."

"It's written all over your faces, don't bother denying it... Still, I'll promise you one thing."

"What is it?"

"I won't force any of you into a battle I don't stand in myself."

The High Paladins' eyes lit up. If they fought alongside Elbridge, it wouldn't be a mere execution dressed as combat.

No, this might actually be an opportunity.

"As I said, I won't expose your crimes to the world. Your names won't be tarnished by what you've done. But."

Elbridge steadied his breath and spoke with weight.

"Whether your names get remembered in history is entirely up to you. Don't forget that."

Words from someone who'd already left his name in history.

The High Paladins clenched their jaws. Something rose in their chests, sharp and unmistakable.

They'd wanted a role, wanted honor, and that was exactly why they hadn't been able to refuse the foolish proposal in the first place.

And instead of punishing them, Elbridge had handed them an opportunity. Not the small honor they'd once hoped for, but the chance to seize the greatest honor of all.

The clatter of metal rang out across the room.

One by one, the High Paladins of each church dropped to one knee.

"We'll make our names beside you, my lord."

The High Paladins and Archbishops of each church left, and the onlookers who'd gathered to watch it all unfold scattered with them. Elbridge turned in early for the night.

And in the darkness, two people had watched the entire exchange between Elbridge and the church leadership.

Marcus and Rombel. Neither of them had any intention of missing a show like that.

"...He's got a better way with words than he looks like he would."

"Elbridge? He doesn't have that slick, oiled kind of eloquence. But he's got a knack for controlling a room."

Marcus listened quietly. He could feel a subtle undercurrent of excitement in the air.

The High Paladins probably wouldn't say much, but the Archbishops would surely dress up whatever happened inside that temple. Something like Elbridge apologized, maybe.

And privately, Marcus found himself impressed.

'It doesn't matter if he turns every combat church into an enemy. Before long, they'll all be on their knees in front of him, begging for help.'

Back when the God of Fox Rain had delivered that oracle, Elbridge hadn't turned a single combat church into an enemy. Nobody had knelt before him then.

No matter how divine an oracle might be, surely not every word of it could come true. That's what Marcus had thought.

But the oracle the God of Fox Rain gave had become reality. The combat churches really had knelt before Elbridge.

'I should stop second-guessing oracles from now on.'

With that thought, Marcus said, "Still, Sir Elbridge's response was gentler than I expected. Almost too soft, if anything."

"Soft?"

"Wasn't it?"

"Not at all. He replaced every Archbishop, and he killed every High Paladin."

"...Killed them?"

"Elbridge talked the High Paladins into forming his own personal execution squad, loyal to him. He probably doesn't think of it that way himself, but..."

Rombel laughed.

"Whoever got sent on missions with the Order of the Rusted Shield back in the day were usually men guilty of serious crimes. Fled from the enemy, attacked their own comrades, that sort of thing. Survive a couple missions with the Order of the Rusted Shield, and you'd usually get pardoned."

Marcus's expression soured.

"...Hold on. Didn't you say you fought alongside Elbridge back in the day too?"

"What do you take me for? Sure, Elbridge came to reinforce my side of a battle a few times, and we fought together. But I never once went to reinforce Elbridge. I'm a decent man."

"So the High Paladins really will all die?"

"Probably. Elbridge might not have meant it that way, but he's not blind to how things will play out. He didn't make that offer out of forgiveness."

Marcus thought about it quietly.

High Paladins fighting fiercely at Elbridge's side. High Paladins dying one by one.

Which church would the believers who watched those battles turn to?

...Hard to say for certain, but there was a good chance the Order of the Rusted Shield would gain seats next year.

There was one problem. If he wasn't careful, Marcus himself might end up mixed in among those High Paladins.

'I should avoid joining any battle the High Paladins fight in, if I can help it.'

Just then, an oracle reached Marcus's ears.

- Don't try to be clever.

Marcus's mood sank a little.

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