WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Order

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◈ Paladin of a Ruined Order

Chapter 95

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Goddess of Burning Curiosity

"I didn't picture you like that, Archbishop... You were genuinely terrifying."

At Matilda's joke, Elbridge made an awkward expression.

"Sometimes I am."

"Something I learned raising my kids: when you're really angry, deep breathing helps. Three slow breaths and your mind settles down a lot."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Matilda's advice came because of a rumor that had recently spread through Solenion.

A rumor that a misunderstanding had arisen between Elbridge and Cowin, and that Elbridge had killed Cowin a little too hastily.

In the end, the rumor settled into a story where Elbridge apologized politely, and the Order of the Bloodstained Spear graciously accepted the apology.

That was the result of the leadership of each combat church coordinating their story.

In many respects, the rumor didn't match the facts.

But Elbridge thought that letting the story settle that way was the best outcome. A direction that kept relations with the other combat churches intact and preserved fighting strength.

'This was the wisest response.'

Thanks to that rumor, Elbridge gained an unintended benefit. Public attention on him had died down considerably.

The logic went that the "Silent Paladin" was a legendary hero of old and therefore had to be flawless, and since Elbridge wasn't flawless, he couldn't be the Silent Paladin.

It was a logic full of holes if you picked at it, but at a glance it sounded almost plausible.

Unlike Elbridge, though, the Goddess of the Rusted Shield had grown a little gloomy.

- Elbridge.

"Yes, Goddess. Please speak."

- It pains my heart that believers seem to be dwindling these days.

The church's believers wanted Elbridge, their central figure, to be a flawless hero.

But once the rumor spread that Elbridge had made a mistake and even apologized, no small number of disappointed believers left the church.

On the other hand, some people were drawn in by the rumor that Elbridge had cut Cowin down in a single stroke and joined the church because of it. But those numbers couldn't outweigh the defectors.

"An old sage once said the tide comes in, and the tide goes out. A great flood tide came in, so perhaps this is simply the ebb that follows. I believe the tide will rise again before long."

- Yes. It surely will.

The goddess's voice grew a little more at ease.

- The sun is setting now. Your goddess will rest a while, so follow your goddess's example and go to bed early too. Faithful Archbishop Elbridge.

"I will do so."

The oracle cut off.

But once his prayer ended, Elbridge's eyes were full of irreverent suspicion.

'Suspicious.'

After the matter in Dickens Viscounty had wrapped up, the Goddess of the Rusted Shield had started delivering oracles to Elbridge only during the day.

That was fairly welcome news for Elbridge. He'd always wished the Goddess of the Rusted Shield would go to bed early.

It wasn't simply a wish that she'd keep proper hours out of general concern.

If the Goddess of the Rusted Shield kept a different sleep pattern from the other gods, it meant Elbridge couldn't fight in step with the paladins of the other combat churches.

Fortunately, Elbridge himself hadn't run into any real problems from it yet. But someone else had. The church's second believer, Sir Walter.

Not long ago, while traveling together for the business in Dickens Viscounty, Walter had brought it up with Elbridge.

"Sir Elbridge. There's something I want to ask."

"Please, go ahead."

"I haven't served many gods, so I don't really know... does the goddess follow some kind of rule when granting divine power?"

"What do you mean, rule?"

Walter answered a little haltingly.

"I'm not a paladin, but I can still receive a bit of divine power. Only, sometimes the goddess grants it and sometimes she doesn't, and it's left me a bit confused."

"..."

Not sure how to read Elbridge's silence, Walter hurriedly waved his hands.

"Of course I'm not complaining about the Goddess of the Rusted Shield. Her divine power is genuinely strong. When she grants it, I can block even a demonic beast the size of a house with my shield. Power that can turn the tide of a battle. It's just, not knowing whether she'll grant it or not weighs on me."

Walter was one of the figures the Goddess of the Rusted Shield kept an eye on. There was really only one reason Walter might not have received her power. Oversleeping.

That was one of the reasons Elbridge had prayed to the Goddess of the Rusted Shield, begging her to normalize her sleep schedule.

And in fact, the Goddess of the Rusted Shield had answered that she would normalize her schedule.

As a result, the Goddess of the Rusted Shield stopped delivering oracles to Elbridge after sundown. Elbridge thought he'd set down every worry on the matter.

But it wasn't long before Elbridge noticed something strange.

'These days the goddess goes to bed early. Naturally she doesn't answer my prayers late at night. But she still doesn't deliver oracles in the morning, either.'

That suggested two possibilities.

First, the Goddess of the Rusted Shield's sleeping hours had grown much longer than before.

Second, the Goddess of the Rusted Shield was only pretending to go to bed early.

There was no way the Goddess of the Rusted Shield would lie to Elbridge, her Archbishop and High Paladin, so the first possibility had to be correct.

And yet Elbridge's instincts kept telling him not to dismiss the second.

"..."

If a demonic army attacked Solenion in the early morning, something irreversible might happen.

Just as he was about to clasp his hands together and pray to the Goddess of the Rusted Shield, a thought crossed his mind.

'No matter how much of an Archbishop I am, isn't it irreverent to nag the goddess about the same thing over and over?'

His clasped hands slowly came apart.

'What should I do?'

Fortunately, there was someone he could ask for advice.

The next morning, early. As soon as Matilda arrived for work, Elbridge asked her.

"Priest Matilda."

"Yes? What is it?"

"How many children do you have at home?"

"Two sons, one daughter. All three take turns causing trouble, so my hands are always full. Just as lovable, though."

Elbridge lowered his voice.

"Trouble, hm... Matilda. Has it ever happened that a child wouldn't go to bed until very late?"

"Of course it has. There's hardly a parent who hasn't gone through that."

"Is there any way to get a child to go to bed quickly?"

At the question, Matilda's eyes lit up.

"Sir Elbridge. Do you have a secret child somewhere?"

"...That's not it."

"You can tell me. I'm more tight-lipped than I look."

"Really, that's not it. Someone I know has been struggling with this."

"Hmm. Someone you know... It can't be Rombel, and Marcus isn't married either, so it's not him. Then who could it be...?"

Elbridge kept a calm expression.

When Elbridge didn't fall for the leading questions, Matilda reluctantly moved on.

"Anyway, this someone is worried because a child won't sleep until late?"

"That's right. Not my child, of course."

"Oh, who said anything? So how did this person you know handle it? Try to force the child to sleep?"

"Something like that."

"I bet it didn't work."

"Yes. Precisely."

Matilda laughed.

"Of course it didn't. The child surely has some reason for staying up so late, and nagging alone was never going to fix it."

"Then what should be done?"

"First you have to find out the reason. My eldest stayed up because he wanted to go out and play with friends at night, and my youngest couldn't sleep at night because she napped too much during the day. I let my eldest go out with friends for a few days and after that he slept fine, and cutting back my youngest's naps fixed her problem too."

Looking back, Elbridge realized he'd never once thought about that part of it.

Why was the goddess staying awake into the night?

'What reason could there possibly be...'

Suddenly he remembered that the gods of the other combat churches had once schemed behind the Goddess of the Rusted Shield's back, leaving her out.

'Could it be the power struggles in heaven? Is the goddess unable to fall asleep early because she's worrying over something?'

The god most likely to have a good grasp on heavenly affairs was the God of Fox Rain.

A god who was also well-disposed toward Elbridge.

Elbridge immediately set off to find Marcus at the Mercenary Guild, but stopped in his tracks.

He'd realized there was a god watching the Goddess of the Rusted Shield from even closer by.

Elbridge arrived at the temple of the Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss.

Bibeka, who had just finished training, recognized him.

"Oh, Elbridge. What brings you here?"

Elbridge asked right away.

"Is the Archbishop in?"

"Yeah. What's going on?"

"Something important."

Maybe because of the seriousness on Elbridge's face, Bibeka didn't press further.

Elbridge spoke calmly in front of the Archbishop's chamber.

"Archbishop. This is Elbridge, High Paladin and Archbishop of the Order of the Rusted Shield."

A calm voice came from inside.

"Come in."

Inside the Archbishop's chamber sat a woman with brown hair.

And Elbridge realized something. The Archbishop of the Order of Spring Rain and Moss looked strikingly like Bibeka.

'...So Bibeka's mother is the Archbishop.'

The Archbishop spoke.

"I am Abina, Archbishop of the Order of Spring Rain and Moss. Have a seat there, Sir Elbridge."

"Thank you."

"This is our first time meeting in person. What brings you here? Is it about Bibeka, perhaps?"

When Elbridge shook his head, a faint trace of disappointment crossed Abina's face.

He had no idea what she could possibly be disappointed about.

"Archbishop Abina. There's something I'd like to ask the Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss."

"You're free to ask. Though I can't promise she'll grant an oracle. The Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss only delivers oracles about once a month, and only when something important is at stake..."

Once a month was actually a fairly frequent rate for oracles.

The Goddess of the Rusted Shield delivered oracles almost daily, but that was better understood as the Order of the Rusted Shield being an unusual case.

"That's fine. Could you offer the goddess a single prayer?"

"That's not a difficult thing to do. What would you like to ask?"

"I'd like to ask whether the Goddess of the Rusted Shield has been going to bed early these days."

"..."

Abina looked at Elbridge with a strange expression. It seemed hard for her to tell whether he was joking.

Elbridge felt his face heating up. How did I end up saying something like this out loud?

He fumbled through an explanation.

"I know this sounds a little strange, but it's a matter of real importance to the Order of the Rusted Shield. As you know, a god's divine power is only granted while the god is awake. And lately the need for that power has been growing more and more frequent..."

"It seems like it'd be better for you to just pray to her directly about that... but very well, I understand."

Abina straightened her robes and prepared to pray.

But Abina never got the chance to offer her prayer to the Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss. The oracle came down before she could even begin.

Abina blinked in mild surprise, eyes going wide.

"The Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss says: 'The Goddess of the Rusted Shield does go to bed early, but she falls asleep very late, which is a cause for concern in many respects.'"

Good thing he'd come to the Order of Spring Rain and Moss after all.

Elbridge lowered his voice as far as it would go.

"Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss. I would like to ask whether the Goddess of the Rusted Shield has been caught up in some power struggle in heaven."

"The Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss says: 'Matters of heaven cannot be shared carelessly with the earth below. But there is no need for concern.'"

Meaning nothing serious was going on. Then why wasn't the Goddess of the Rusted Shield falling asleep at a proper hour?

Elbridge thought back to what Matilda had told him.

"Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss. Then what is it that the Goddess of the Rusted Shield is worrying over, such that she cannot easily fall asleep?"

"The goddess says: 'The reason one struggles to fall asleep isn't always worry or concern. Curiosity can be a reason too.'"

A cryptic oracle came down. Curiosity.

"I am foolish and did not understand."

"The goddess says: 'Faithful knight. Do you know that a heavenly god can share the sight of their believer?'"

A well-known fact. Elbridge nodded.

"I do."

Abina received the next oracle.

But unlike before, this time Abina hesitated, unable to relay the next words easily. Her discomfort was plain.

"Archbishop Abina. What oracle came down, that you hesitate so?"

Archbishop Abina turned her head slightly aside, avoiding Elbridge's gaze as she delivered the oracle.

"The goddess says: 'It would be good if the young married couples of the church blew out the candle by their bedside before retiring for the night.'"

Elbridge buried his face in both hands.

But he couldn't hide the way his ears had gone bright red.

"...Thank you, Goddess."

The oracle ended.

A heavy silence and an awkward air settled over the Archbishop's chamber of the Order of Spring Rain and Moss.

"..."

How long did that silence last?

Archbishop Abina spoke.

"I'll keep today's oracle a secret."

Still covering his face with both hands, Elbridge only nodded in reply.

- Wishing you a good day today as well, Elbridge.

Four days later, that morning. The goddess's sleep pattern had returned to normal.

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