Paladin of a Fallen Order (Novel) - Chapter 110 - Sentinel
Chapter 110 – Sentinel
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Translated by Pratt
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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Leaving on a journey late at night without any preparation was out of the question.
Elbridge’s party returned to the corner inn and gathered in Sonya’s room.
“….”
However, no one was the first to speak.
Sonya, Rombel, and Elbridge were all deep in their own thoughts.
Marcus, out of habit, scanned the party’s reactions.
And Marcus noticed that Elbridge was feeling even more down than usual.
There was only one reason for Elbridge to act like that now. Marcus spoke, intending to somehow get the conversation flowing.
“Sir Elbridge. If you were going to get this gloomy, why did you kill Gareth?”
The answer came a little late.
“I thought that was for the best.”
“For the best? For whose best?”
Elbridge answered vaguely.
“In the past, Sir Leonhardt once told me. If it is hard to be an upright person who can reject all compromise, then be a flexible person. But Gareth was neither upright nor flexible.”
In the world, there are a tiny minority of upright people, and a swaying majority.
A perfectly upright person does not waver under any circumstances.
Since they would rather die than commit a wrong, they have no need to forgive themselves.
On the other hand, those who sway and bend commit countless wrongs.
However, they know how to forgive themselves. Although whether they will keep committing wrongs or strive to make up for them differs for each individual, they can shake off their guilt as time passes.
And there are those who belong to neither category.
Those who are neither upright nor flexible.
Because they are not upright, they commit wrongs. But because they cannot easily bend, they cannot forgive themselves either. All that remains for them is the guilt that eats away at them until the day they die.
Gareth was such a person.
A man suffering from guilt so deep that he could not even meet the eyes of the crowd who knew nothing.
A man who showed a relieved expression instead upon hearing Selene’s words that she would kill him.
A man who could not ask for just one more chance in front of the final opportunity Elbridge gave him.
However, because Elbridge did not lay out all the details in full length, Marcus did not accurately understand the meaning behind Elbridge’s words.
“I don’t think I’m slow-witted… but I don’t really know what you’re trying to say.”
Should he offer further explanation, or not?
While Elbridge was contemplating, Rombel spoke.
“Marcus. There is no need to perfectly understand someone else’s thoughts. Judgments differ from person to person. But one thing is for sure.”
“What is for sure?”
“When Elbridge asked Gareth if he had any last words. If that guy had asked for a chance to make up for his mistakes, Elbridge would have spared him nine times out of ten. Elbridge pretends to be resolute, but he is secretly a softie.”
At that moment, a new voice came from the direction of the window.
“Even if you guys had spared Gareth, nothing would have changed. Because he would have died by my hand anyway.”
The elf Selene was perched on the window frame.
Selene said as she stepped into the room.
“As soon as Gareth woke up, I told him I was going to kill him. The option of sparing him did not exist from the very beginning.”
“My, how resolute you are.”
At Marcus’s response, Selene replied sharply.
“Of course I must be resolute. Because he did not fulfill his role as a watchman, countless elves died. The motive for committing such a massive deed was merely people’s recognition and respect? How can we forgive a fellow who failed to do his duty for such a trivial reason? Commission can be a crime, but omission can be a crime as well.”
“Did that many elves die?”
“More elves have died from last spring until now than the number of elves who died in the past two hundred years.”
An elf’s life is long. The sense of loss and the empty space left behind when they die are as long as their lifespan.
That is why elves do not forget revenge.
“If the watchman had failed to notice the danger… that, I could forgive. Since anyone can make mistakes. But keeping silent despite noticing the danger is unforgivable. From that point on, it belongs to the realm of intention.”
Marcus understood the meaning behind Rombel’s words that there was no need to perfectly understand someone else’s thoughts.
Everyone’s situation is different, the points of emphasis are different, the standards are different, and the conclusions are different as well. It was not a problem with a single correct answer from the beginning. It was merely a difference in choice.
Marcus let out a tiny sigh.
“By the way, why did you come here? Even though you’ve finished the job, instead of returning to the Forest of Thorns.”
“What do you mean the job is finished? It’s only the beginning. Anyway, I came because there is something I wanted to ask you guys.”
“What is it that you’re curious about?”
“What do you guys plan to do from now on?”
Rombel turned his head away, Elbridge was still deep in thought, and Sonya stared intently at Marcus.
Marcus answered as if pushed into it.
“Well. Maybe search for the Central Mage Tower Lord…?”
However, there was no confidence in Marcus’s voice.
For very rarely, hadn’t the God of the Sunshower sent down an oracle warning of danger?
Even if they did seek out the Central Mage Tower Lord, the picture of what came after was not cleanly drawn.
Neither Elbridge, Marcus, nor Rombel knew much about the Central Mage Tower Lord. Since their meeting in Middlemarch last time was all they had.
However, there was exactly one person who knew a lot about the Central Mage Tower Lord. Sonya.
Marcus asked Sonya.
“Sonya. What are you going to do?”
“What do you mean, what am I going to do?”
“The Central Mage Tower Lord. Are you just going to leave him be? Or are you going to seek revenge?”
“It’s true that I respected the Tower Lord… no, the Central Mage Tower Lord. But I have no intention of making him an exception to my revenge. I will look for an opportunity to get revenge.”
Sonya answered without hesitation. It must have been the conclusion she reached after contemplating countless times over the past few weeks.
Indeed, seeing what Viscount Dickens had become was something that happened only a few months ago. It was far too short a period for hatred and anger to subside.
“In that case, Sonya. Is there any way for us to kill the Central Mage Tower Lord?”
“That is… well. I think it would be impossible if the Central Mage Tower Lord has noticed our intentions.”
The Central Mage Tower Lord resides at the very top of the Central Mage Tower, and the Central Mage Tower stands right at the center of the grand city of Middlemarch.
Would it even be possible to pierce through the countless people of Middlemarch, reach the Mage Tower, break through it, kill the Central Mage Tower Lord, and then escape?
‘…It seems difficult.’
Even if they gave up on escaping, the same applied. Could they even reach the Central Mage Tower Lord?
Even if they miraculously faced the Central Mage Tower Lord, would it be possible to eliminate him?
A great mage who had ascended to heaven, one who was once a god?
Marcus’s voice grew quieter.
“I’m telling you in advance, rather than killing the Central Mage Tower Lord and dying myself… I want to survive even if I can’t kill him.”
“What? What kind of weak talk is that?”
When Selene rebuked him, Marcus answered hesitantly.
“I haven’t really lost anything because of the Central Mage Tower Lord. My blending into this group is also more because of loyalty and the oracle rather than a sense of duty.”
Fortunately or unfortunately, Rombel had a similar reaction.
“If I could become a god by killing the Central Mage Tower Lord, I would have the confidence to risk death, but if not, I don’t want to bear too large a risk. I have to become a god.”
“The point is, the risk is too high compared to what we can get, so it’s burdensome, right?”
“That’s right.”
Ultimately, all choices are decided by weighing what is to be gained against what is to be lost.
The same went for stories about revenge and lives.
Selene proposed.
“In that case, why don’t you come with me to the Forest of Thorns?”
“You’re saying you’ll let us into the Forest of Thorns?”
“Yes.”
The Forest of Thorns was the residential area of the elves and their most sacred forest.
It was the only forest directly cared for by the Goddess of Thorns, where a sacred tree existed and a guardian protected it.
Access by non-elves was mostly refused. Even Elbridge, during the days he was active in the North in the past, had at most stepped foot on the outskirts of the Forest of Thorns. Rombel’s situation was not much different.
Selene stared intently at Elbridge.
“I thought your name sounded familiar for some reason. Elbridge, you are the paladin who was sealed away with the Great Demon, right?”
“Yes.”
“I remember seeing you when I was a child. The same goes for you, Rombel. The Sentinel will accept you if you are experts of your level. Though it’s a bit awkward to say this in front of outsiders… the situation in the Forest of Thorns these days isn’t very good.”
Sentinel meant guardian. Non-elves called them guardians or Sentinels, but elves did not use the title guardian.
At that moment, Marcus cut off Selene’s words and intervened.
“Hold on. I know it’s a bit presumptuous for a humble hanger-on like me to say this. But shouldn’t we weigh what we can get from entering the Forest of Thorns first, rather than whether you guys will let us in?”
It was a cold, sharp point.
However, Selene answered triumphantly.
“Of course there’s a lot to gain. You guys want to eliminate the Central Mage Tower Lord, don’t you? In that area, there is no one as reliable as the Sentinel.”
“Why?”
“The Central Mage Tower Lord is a fellow who was once a god, right? Among the Sentinels, there is one who received the calling of heaven in recognition of their great achievement in fighting against a god in the past.”
Fighting against a god.
Elbridge knew when that referred to.
A distant, ancient past. Even before the Heavenly Council was established.
An era when demons did not exist in the world. Those days when gods trampled upon earthly beings at their whim.
That Sentinel would be older than most average gods.
“And as far as I know, there is no elf wiser than the Sentinel. Not to mention teaching us a way to deal with the Central Mage Tower Lord, they might even know a way to lure the Central Mage Tower Lord out of the Mage Tower. Though it’s not for sure…”
A strangely uncertain tone. But even taking the lack of certainty into account, Selene’s story was tempting.
But there was no way such an extraordinary proposal would be given for free.
Elbridge spoke.
“What do you want from us?”
“I told you. The situation in the Forest of Thorns these days isn’t very good. But because the Sentinel cannot leave the Forest of Thorns, there’s a limit to resolving problems around the Forest of Thorns.”
Selene looked at Elbridge’s party.
“But you guys can freely go in and out of the Forest of Thorns. We’ll be able to give and receive help from each other. In this day and age, there are barely any people as skilled as you. And if you guys eliminate the Central Mage Tower Lord… that will definitely be of help to us as well.”
Elbridge weighed the gains and losses again.
A long contemplation was not needed.
The goal of the party and the elves lay in the same direction.
If they could receive help from the elves and the Sentinel, the things to be gained would increase, and the burden of risk would decrease even if by a little.
Elbridge looked around.
Rombel and Sonya gave slight nods. On the other hand, Marcus had a reluctant look. Since Marcus did not like getting entangled in big matters or incidents.
But just like usual, Marcus had no intention of particularly opposing Elbridge’s decision.
“…Since when did you ever make a decision based on my reactions? Do as you please.”
Elbridge replied.
“Alright. I will follow.”