Paladin of a Fallen Order (Novel) - Chapter 118 - Elbridge, Seventeen Years Old (Part 2)

Chapter 118 – Elbridge, Seventeen Years Old (Part 2)

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Translated by Pratt

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Leto slipped quietly into the infirmary.

There was no one to stop him. Even if it was called an infirmary, it wasn’t a particularly grand space.

It was a barracks assigned to a combat order with the authority of healing. The space set aside in a corner of that barracks was called the infirmary.

He saw several paladins and priests surrounding El.

‘As expected, was it a false rumor?’

Leto had heard a strange rumor once. A rumor that the Order of the Rusty Shield possessed a powerful authority of healing.

However, the ones in charge of the treatment right now were the Order of Spring Rain and Moss. If the Order of the Rusty Shield truly possessed the authority of healing, they would not have asked the Order of Spring Rain and Moss for help.

Leto took a few more steps closer. A halo of light harboring the authority of healing was covering El’s lower body.

Inside the halo of light, bones, muscles, and skin squirmed and filled out.

It was a necessary process, but it was not a very pleasant sight to see.

‘It must hurt a lot.’

In the past, Leto had been treated after his right arm was crushed while fighting a magic beast.

Receiving treatment with the authority of healing did not mean the pain vanished immediately. During the treatment, the pain actually grew worse.

Perhaps El was also in pain, as he endured it with his eyes closed and his teeth clenched tightly. It did not seem like he had outstanding endurance, but rather that he had simply grown accustomed to it.

The problems did not cleanly disappear even after the treatment was over.

Even after his treatment ended, Leto used to feel a strange sensation of a foreign body in his right arm. To make matters worse, sometimes the pain from when he was injured would return.

“Ugh…”

El let out a low groan. The priest who was treating him wiped the sweat that had gathered on El’s forehead.

“El. Even if it is hard, let us endure it a little longer.”

Even if it was painful, it was best to finish the treatment all at once.

Because if they stopped pouring in the authority of healing midway, the severed surface of the wound would close up.

If the severed surface closed up before the treatment was complete—for instance, with the leg recovered only up to the knee—they would have to create a new wound to regenerate the leg below the knee.

The most commonly used method was to re-amputate the closed surface. Naturally, that was not a very pleasant experience.

“…”

Leto watched the treatment in silence before turning away.

Just as he was about to slip out of the treatment room, a low voice drifted in from the hallway.

“We cannot keep shoving El here. El is still a child.”

Leto stopped in his tracks and peeked outside.

The two paladins who had returned with El earlier were having a conversation in the hallway. The paladin with blonde hair and green eyes, and the paladin with a harsh expression.

The paladin with the harsh expression replied.

“Leonhardt. You were the one who brought El here, so why are you telling me that?”

For a moment, Leto felt as if his breath had stopped.

Leonhardt. The Leonhardt of the Order of the Rusty Shield.

He felt sorry for Sir Jester, but Sir Leonhardt was a man so famous that he could not even be compared to Sir Jester.

Leonhardt said to the paladin with the harsh expression.

“I did not bring El to Fort Hebron to send him into battle. Since I am the person El trusts and follows the most… I only intended to keep him by my side a little longer and teach him this and that.”

“Listen to yourself. You know what kind of place this is. Did you think El would live with his eyes closed and ears blocked, only listening to your stories? If you stay here, whether you like it or not, you end up becoming the same kind of bastard.”

“Brenick. I know I was short-sighted. But…”

Another famous name popped up. Brenick, the Chief Paladin of the Order of the Rusty Shield.

Leto thought that his respect for Sir Jester seemed to shrink a bit. It was inevitable since there were too many giants around him.

At any rate, Brenick cut Leonhardt off.

“Leonhardt. Do not treat El like a child. The days when El was truly a child have already passed. Right now, El is somehow getting closer to becoming an adult.”

“…”

“And no one forced El into battle. El followed us into battle on his own.”

“Brenick. You know it too. That is just how El’s personality is. He obsessively tries to prove his utility and value. And when I was not around, you should have held El back. You were the one who let him follow along into battle so easily.”

“Hey. Do you think I am just playing around in the fortress? And when El first followed us into battle, I was not in the fortress either. I was out on a mission.”

The two bickered back and forth a bit harshly.

However, rather than arguing out of malice, it felt more like they were so close that they laid everything out without walking on eggshells around each other.

“…Anyway, we must send El away.”

“Not right now. Leonhardt, you know our order’s situation all too well. Decker died not too long ago as well. If we lose El here too, we will only have four paladins left. Just wait until new members arrive.”

Hearing that, Leonhardt grumbled in annoyance.

“Hey. How long has it been since they said they would recruit new members, and yet…”

“You know very well that recruiting half-wits who do not even have the skill to fill the vacancies is utterly useless. Bastards like that will drop dead as soon as we recruit them.”

“Then, you are going to keep holding El in the fortress?”

“There is no other way. If we send El away, the guys filling El’s empty spot will drop dead one after another, and El would not want that situation either. Besides, it is not like El said he wanted to leave with his own mouth.”

“…”

“I know you feel responsible for El, but please understand my position too. I have to consider the practical side of things first.”

After that, a long and quiet argument continued.

However, the situation was simple.

Both Leonhardt and Brenick felt sorry for El just the same.

There was only one difference. Leonhardt argued that El should be sent back outside Fort Hebron, while Brenick argued that El should remain at the fortress.

Perhaps they had been arguing over a similar topic for a quite long time, as the conversation jumped from one point to another.

The fact that they had been bickering over the same topic all this time, yet El still remained at Fort Hebron, meant that Brenick had won most of the arguments so far. And this time was no exception.

“…I got it for now.”

“Yeah. I am sorry, Leonhardt.”

“You should be sorry to El, not me.”

Perhaps the treatment had finished in the meantime, as the paladins and priests of the Order of Spring Rain and Moss began to move.

Leonhardt and Brenick waved their hands at El and left the infirmary as if nothing had happened. Suddenly, only El and Leto were left in the infirmary.

El, looking a bit pale, asked Leto.

“What? Are you injured too?”

“No, it is not that… Just, you looked like you were severely injured.”

“You said you were Leto, right?”

“Yeah.”

Leto hesitated for a moment before going over to sit by El’s side. It was because he felt that El wanted someone to talk to.

That feeling was not wrong; unlike the previous time when El had been prickly, he took the initiative in leading the conversation.

“If you are from the Order of the Third Hand… you must have come from the Central region.”

“That is right. But I was born in the East. I lived in the East all through my childhood.”

“I am also from the East. Where from? Solenion?”

At El’s question, Leto shook his head.

“No. It is a tiny town you would not know even if you heard it. A place called Wickmere…”

El cut Leto off and interjected.

“Wickmere? The lakeside village?”

“What? You know Wickmere?”

“Of course. Do you know what my name is?”

“It is El.”

“That is a nickname. My name is Elbridge.”

Elbridge. It was a town name Leto knew.

In the East, there was a small river with no particular name that swelled significantly whenever it rained.

Whenever it rained, people had trouble crossing the river, so an old carpenter built a bridge spanning across it.

Every time it rained, people gathered around the bridge to cross the river, and as time passed, a village was naturally formed.

For that reason, people called that village Elbridge. That was, “the old man’s bridge.”

“They said the person who built that bridge was my ancestor.”

“I have been to Elbridge several times… I might have met you before.”

“Now that you mention it, I feel like I might have seen you too.”

Leto and Elbridge’s conversation flowed quite well.

It was because of the bond of coming from nearby regions, and also because of their age.

Although not as much as Elbridge, Leto was also among the youngest in Fort Hebron. To the point where it would not be strange to call them brothers, or friends with a slight age gap.

*

About two months had passed since then.

Fort Hebron was a place where many incidents occurred, so all sorts of things happened over those two months.

El frequently went out to the battlefield and occasionally returned half-dead, and Leto also participated in battles quite a few times.

Then, one day.

“I want to go to my hometown.”

Elbridge replied to Leto’s casual remark.

“Me too.”

It was a conversation that they had frequently exchanged.

But today, an extra word was added to Elbridge’s reply. Was it because he had returned a bit more battered than usual today?

“No. It does not matter if it is not my hometown. As long as it is not here, I think anything would be fine.”

“Really?”

“I am sick of it now. I want to quit soon. I want to go to the rear support too.”

Leto let out a chuckle.

“Is there even a rear support in the Order of the Rusty Shield?”

“…There is, but it is worse than here.”

The Order of the Rusty Shield had an extremely small number of members.

Although there were paladins staying in regions other than the North, the range they had to cover was far wider than the North.

Since it was an everyday occurrence for them to carry out missions alone, their burden was by no means small.

Elbridge asked Leto.

“Leto. Doesn’t the Order of the Third Hand need a paladin?”

“…Huh?”

“His skills are somewhat usable, and he is willing to go into battle occasionally. A guy who probably won’t have any complaints as long as his livelihood is guaranteed in exchange.”

A remark that left him unsure whether it was a joke or not. But as Leto saw it, Elbridge’s expression was quite serious.

“…Are you serious?”

“Probably.”

Recruiting a paladin of the Order of the Rusty Shield.

This might be an opportunity to establish an immense achievement.

However, Leto recalled the conversation between the other two paladins of the Order of the Rusty Shield, Leonhardt and Brenick.

Was it the right choice to lead Elbridge out of Fort Hebron? When he did not even know how many knights substituting for Elbridge would die?

Elbridge muttered.

“Actually, the situation lately is unusual. I feel like I might die soon.”

“Why so suddenly?”

“I feel like the Goddess of the Rusty Shield dislikes me. Every time I receive her authority, how should I put it… I feel a strange discomfort and uneasiness. A feeling that she is reluctantly granting the authority. Do you know what I mean?”

“…I have absolutely no idea.”

“Anyway, there is something like that. If this goes on, at the moment I need the authority, if the authority comes down a bit late, or comes down insufficiently… I will die that day.”

Leto could not reply and simply stared at Elbridge.

If he felt that way himself, there was not much to say.

Elbridge said with a slightly hardened expression.

“I haven’t lived in the Order of the Rusty Shield for very long, you see. Even including my time spent outside Hebron, it has been about four years? But, honestly… I think I have done enough.”

A meaningful remark. Leto lowered his voice without realizing it.

“…So what are you planning to do?”

“I am thinking of leaving Fort Hebron.”

“Would Sir Brenick permit it?”

“Well. If he is not likely to permit it… I will just run away.”

Leto stared at Elbridge.

And he realized. Lately, he had come to think of Elbridge only as a brave knight, a paladin worthy of respect.

But looking at Elbridge again now, he was so young.

Just like the day he first saw Elbridge, when he naturally assumed Elbridge was a squire.

If one abandoned their duty and fled from the battlefield, harsh punishment would follow.

But even if Elbridge fled, would there be anyone who could punish him?

Who in the world could point a finger at this young fellow and condemn him, saying he had failed to fulfill his duty?

Elbridge’s eyes sparkled.

“Actually, I don’t think there is a need to get permission. If, by some chance, I get caught by Sir Brenick and have to remain in Fort Hebron forever from now on, I won’t be able to endure it. I would either die or go mad. It is better to just disappear without a word.”

“If Sir Leonhardt puts in some effort for you, you might be able to get permission. It would be better to at least talk to him…”

“If I were able to get permission… he will clean up after me even if I disappear in secret.”

Elbridge stood up from his seat. A single sword in Elbridge’s hand was all he had.

But Elbridge did not need anything more. Because now, hope for a new life had arisen in Elbridge’s heart.

Elbridge asked.

“What will you do?”

Leto let out a deep sigh.

“Fuck it, let’s go. We will make it somehow.”