Paladin of a Fallen Order (Novel) - Chapter 100 - Mage Sonya
Chapter 100 – Mage Sonya
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Translated by Pratt
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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“I must go to the East Mage Tower.”
As Elbridge spoke, Sonya asked.
“You’re seeking out the East Mage Tower when you have me, a mage from the Central Mage Tower, right here? Are you doubting my skills just because I missed the cat once yesterday?”
Sonya’s confidence was not without grounds.
To put it coldly, the skills of mages belonging to the East Mage Tower were not very good. Even by the most generous estimation, they were below average.
On the other hand, the prowess of the Central Mage Tower was unrivaled. It was to the extent that, in the central region, the influence of the Mage Tower surpassed that of the religious orders.
Elbridge shook his head.
“That is not what I meant.”
“Then?”
“I intend to request inter-tower communication. I plan to explain the current situation to the Central Mage Tower Lord and ask for advice.”
Although they failed to catch the cat, the advice Sonya gave in the dream was certainly helpful. If so, wouldn’t the Central Mage Tower Lord be able to offer even greater advice?
“It seems it wasn’t a joke when you said you are acquainted with the Central Mage Tower Lord?”
“Of course.”
Sonya took a step closer.
“Take me with you.”
“Sonya. Inter-tower communication cannot be conducted by multiple people at the same time. I have to speak alone and listen alone.”
“Who doesn’t know that? I will surely be of help, so let’s go together.”
Although he didn’t know what kind of help she would be, it didn’t seem like he would lose anything at the very least.
Elbridge headed to the East Mage Tower, taking Sonya along.
Since there was no way there would be a waiting list for the expensive inter-tower communication service, the connection was established almost immediately.
From beyond the communication sphere, the voice of the Central Mage Tower Lord resounded.
“A black cat demon residing in a dream? I happen to know quite a lot about demons… but I’ve never heard of such a demon.”
“A way to catch a cat fleeing inside a dream? A few methods do come to mind… but it is not something that can be achieved through a simple explanation. You need the assistance of a highly skilled mage.”
“Sonya Dickens is over there? However, it will be difficult with Sonya’s skills. My standard for a highly skilled mage is quite high.”
Contrary to Elbridge’s expectations, the Central Mage Tower Lord could not offer a satisfying solution either.
When they emerged after finishing the brief communication, the mage in charge of inter-tower communication pointed to a complex fee table hanging on the wall. On the fee table, the billing standards for each mage tower were recorded.
Since the communication magic was conducted simultaneously at both mage towers, the calculation was made by summing the rates of both towers.
“You have confirmed it, correct?”
As Elbridge nodded, the mage flicked the abacus to calculate the fee.
Clack, clack-clack, clack.
The speed at which the mage flicked his fingers was faster than the speed at which an ordinary swordsman swung a sword.
“Communication time, four minutes and thirty seconds. The fee is forty-one gold coins and two silver coins. I will specially discount the two silver coins. Since Sir Elbridge is the hero of Solenion.”
And the result of the calculation was more terrifying than a demon’s wrath. Elbridge’s voice trembled slightly.
“Since you are discounting it anyway, could you cut it a little more? To about forty gold coins…”
The eyes of the mage and Elbridge met.
Elbridge thought that the mage was speaking with his eyes.
‘You are not quite that heroic yet.’
However, the words flowing from the mage’s mouth were different.
“I want to discount it further, but the East Mage Tower Lord is a cheapskate, so it can’t be helped. In fact, those two silver coins are also deducted from my salary.”
“Is that so…”
Meaning he had thrown away a vast sum of money without any gain. Elbridge’s mood turned gloomy.
Although it was far better than before, the financial state of the Order of the Rusty Shield was not affluent.
Failing to keep multiple resident priests and running the order solely with Matilda was for that reason.
While Elbridge was despondently counting the gold coins, Sonya stepped forward confidently.
“Here.”
Sonya placed a thin gold badge on the table, then slid it toward the billing mage.
A complex pattern was engraved on the gold badge.
The billing mage read the details written on the badge.
“Third-class mage of the Central Mage Tower, Miss Sonya Dickens… Hmph.”
The mage flicked the abacus again.
“Ten percent mage discount on the East Mage Tower rate. Another ten percent on the Central Mage Tower rate… No, since you are a third-class mage, I should apply the employee discount. Half-price discount.”
The billing mage asked Sonya.
“If you transfer your affiliation to the East Mage Tower, we will cut the communication fees billed by the East Mage Tower in half for a year. How about it?”
“I’ll pass on that.”
Sonya refused flatly.
Gods could not harm believers who changed their religious order. However, mage towers were different. If one completed training and transferred their affiliation, there would be repercussions.
“It is twenty-seven gold coins.”
Elbridge felt a thrilling joy.
Sonya’s claim that she would surely be of help was no empty boast. Had she not saved him fourteen gold coins by her mere existence?
Feeling somehow as though he had earned money, Elbridge paid the fee with a much lighter touch and stepped out of the Mage Tower.
Elbridge expressed his polite gratitude toward Sonya.
“Thank you, Sonya. I received great help. Please forgive me for doubting you.”
“It’s fine. But… doesn’t the Order of the Rusty Shield hold four seats? Judging by your reaction, it seems slightly more impoverished than I thought.”
“Correct. Our order’s circumstances are not affluent yet.”
“Why on earth?”
“First of all, the biggest issue is that recovering the four seats only happened this year.”
Unlike other religious orders that had filled their granaries for a long time, the Order of the Rusty Shield had only a short period to gather funds.
On the other hand, the places where money had to be spent were still countless. Rebuilding the temple was out of the question, and they hadn’t even finished internal repairs.
“The fact that nearly half of our order’s believers are not in Solenion, and that we are in no position to demand donations from them, is also significant.”
More than forty percent of the believers in Solenion were the dwarfs of the Mountain City Barkuntol.
The journey to collect donations from the dwarfs was no simple feat. The problem was also that if they demanded donations from the dwarfs, there was a high possibility they would leave the order in droves. The defectors could return to the God of the Steel Anvil, or move to the Order of the Sunshower.
“Lastly… the fact that our order is a combat order is also a problem.”
“Why is that?”
“Because there aren’t many wealthy believers in a combat order, the average donation per believer is low.”
Giant non-combat orders like the Order of the Olive Tree or the Golden Platter run their orders with vast donation revenues.
And the majority of those donations are from the wealthy. The wealthy expect even stronger divine authority.
The order increases believers by bestowing the money earned that way upon the impoverished, and the increased believers guarantee more seats and stronger divine authority.
As a result, the wealthy believers increase donations further in expectation of even stronger divine authority, allowing a positive cycle to continue.
But combat orders are different.
Knights are not very wealthy despite their glamorous appearance, and the pocket circumstances of mercenaries are pitiful. Ordinary people who are not even mercenaries go without saying.
“Then, must the Order of the Rusty Shield continue to stay impoverished in the future?”
“If we economize as we do now, we can gather money little by little. And combat orders have their way of hitting the jackpot.”
“A jackpot?”
Elbridge recalled the time they subjugated the black giant at the end of last year.
Countless people. Even those who were not believers flocked in to drop silver and copper coins, and sometimes even gold coins, into the donation box.
There were so many people wishing to donate that Elbridge had to empty the donation box six times a day at the time.
On the other hand, Matilda was the only priest who had to be paid a performance bonus.
Explosive donations, low expenditure.
Thanks to the black giant, the past winter for the Order of the Rusty Shield was warm.
Whether this year would be just as warm was unknown.
Elbridge spoke with firm resolve.
“We must catch that black cat. This time will be an even bigger deal than the last.”
In the past, Elbridge accepted battles with demons as a pure paladin’s duty.
However, it was different now. Elbridge also had to weigh the realistic, practical benefits that battles with demons would bring. He was the chief paladin, but at the same time, the archbishop.
Elbridge put his hand into his pocket and toyed with a silver coin.
It was no ordinary silver coin. It was a silver coin engraved with the profile of the elf Niseras.
It was an object provided by Niseras, who told him to call if he ever needed help.
‘Should I use this now?’
However, Elbridge could not easily make the decision.
All magical tools had a limit on the number of uses. Since small-sized magical tools generally had fewer uses, this coin was highly likely to be a single-use item.
‘Let’s save it for now. We still have a few days of leeway.’
While Elbridge was trudging along, Sonya, who was walking beside him, patted Elbridge’s back.
“Just trust me. It’ll work out somehow.”
As Elbridge thought, that was no simple encouragement.
“Do you have a method?”
Even as he said so, Elbridge did not expect much from Sonya.
Since the Central Mage Tower Lord had said Sonya wouldn’t be of much help.
However, Sonya pulled her shoulders back and spoke proudly.
“You said the Tower Lord evaluated my skills lowly, right? That is because the Lord doesn’t know what kind of things I have gone through.”
Just as there was not a single factor determining a paladin’s skill, the factors determining a mage’s skill were also diverse.
The quantity of magic power, the agility and precision of magic power utilization, how theoretically sophisticated it was, magic power sensitivity, and so on.
And Sonya had made significant progress in one area.
“Flexibility of thought is one of the important elements in judging a mage’s skill. A mage repeatedly undergoing difficult and illogical experiences inside a dream is due to the flexibility of thought and senses.”
“Hmm.”
“I have gathered really many unfamiliar experiences over the past year. In terms of flexibility of thought, I have become a completely different person compared to a year ago.”
Sonya took a few steps forward, then turned back to look at Elbridge while boasting.
“And, I’ve raised a cat before.”
*
Night came. And without fail, the dream began.
Rombel and Sonya appeared by Elbridge’s side without any particular omen.
“Look at this.”
The Sonya in the dream took out a wooden box and showed it to Elbridge.
It was an ordinary object that appeared to be about a span and a half in length.
“What do you intend to use this for?”
“There is nothing like this for catching a cat. If a cat finds a tight space that fits its body perfectly, it cannot hold back from entering.”
People emerged onto the dark streets and were lingering about.
Unlike yesterday, both fear and a subtle anticipation could be caught from the faces of the people. Several people dressed in pretty and splendid clothes they had saved were also visible.
Not long after that, the music began.
– ♪♬
As if that music had granted courage to the people, they began to approach each other and dance.
Elbridge, Rombel, and Sonya moved a few steps in the direction from which the music resounded.
The world shifted. And just like yesterday, they discovered the black cat atop the small temple.
“Watch closely.”
Sonya set the box down and backed away slightly.
That expression was full of subtle confidence.
The black cat, which had been licking its forepaw, spoke as if it was dumbfounded.
– …Do you bastards think I am a real cat?
The cat lightly jumped down to the opposite side of the party. It was clear that the box Sonya prepared did not work at all.
‘…I didn’t even expect anything.’
However, at the very next moment, the black cat was sitting inside the wooden box.
Not only Elbridge and Rombel, but even the black cat was startled out of its wits.
– …!
The black cat immediately tried to escape the box and flee. However, after fleeing for a few steps, it was trapped inside the box again before it knew it.
Sonya said.
“This space is a dream dreamed by multiple people simultaneously. Just as you can ignore physical laws and manipulate this space, we who are dreaming together can also control this space.”
Sonya’s pupils gleamed insidiously.
“I thought about why we missed you yesterday. It turned out to be a simpler problem than I thought. The problem was that letting a cat go was a much more familiar flow than catching it. However, if we add a box that is hard for a cat to escape into our mental imagery… the story changes. A cat settling down inside a box is far more familiar than a cat escaping the box and fleeing.”
Sonya was not explaining simply to brag about her skills.
Humans can concretize their thoughts through words and communication rather than mere imagination.
Sonya’s explanation was a process to help Elbridge and Rombel, who were laymen in magic, concretize their thoughts. Because rather than a single person’s thoughts, the dream could be controlled much more strongly when the mental imagery of the three aligned.
Furthermore, the black cat would also be unconsciously drawn by Sonya’s words.
Sonya slowly lifted the box. The black cat still could not escape from the box.
Sonya said.
“Gotcha.”