Paladin of a Fallen Order (Novel) - Chapter 12 - The Manpower Office and the Lucky Charm

Chapter 12 – The Manpower Office and the Lucky Charm

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Translated by Pratt

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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After his conversation with Felix, Elbridge fell into thought.

‘In the current situation, the thing I must care about first is, of course, the demons.’

However, all variables related to the demons lay beyond Elbridge’s hands.

Nobody could know when the demons would begin their activities in earnest.

The timing of when the public would learn about the connection between the incident in the Dickens Viscounty and the demons depended on the decision of the Golden Platter Order. After all, it was the Golden Platter Order that had received Baron Riverford’s letter.

But there was a separate, even greater problem.

The point was that even if a demon appeared right now, there was not much Elbridge could do with his current capabilities.

Demons and magic beasts were on completely different levels.

Even the strong paladins, knights, priests, and mages of old prepared themselves for death when facing demons. Of course, the same had been true for Elbridge.

If it was so back then, how much worse would it be now?

Ultimately, what Elbridge had to do was clear.

‘Raise my skills as much as possible until the demons rise to the surface.’

He did not even hope to surpass his past skills before the demons emerged.

However, he had to at least get close to those days to take the initiative in handling the situation.

The saving grace was that through his conversation with Felix, he had grasped a clue to raising his skills.

‘Magic beast hunting.’

If they hunted magic beasts like the Order of the Bloody Spear did, the Order of the Rusty Shield would also be able to gather believers little by little. Naturally, the authority the Goddess could arrange for Elbridge would increase gradually as well.

Conveniently, he might also accumulate divine power through the fragments of evil gods harbored by the magic beasts. Had he not seen a slight effect just from being drenched in the magic beast’s blood in the last battle?

‘But hunting magic beasts all by myself carries too much risk.’

He needed companions.

And Elbridge knew a place where he could obtain companions.

*

Elbridge stayed at the temple and silently did his work. Since the temple had been vacant for so long, there was a surplus of things to do.

In between, he also conversed with the Goddess.

– The God of the Bloody Spear admitted that his paladin had committed a wrong, yet he had no intention of punishing his paladin. He did not even seem to plan on issuing a divine message to prevent similar situations from occurring again. It is truly a deplorable matter.

“On the day your seats exceed those of the God of the Bloody Spear in the future, the God of the Bloody Spear will come to regret his past actions.”

– I hope it becomes so. But Elbridge, it matters not even if such a moment does not arrive. Your Goddess does not wish for her sole paladin to be swept up in dangerous matters. For even if you do not venture into danger on purpose, time will resolve many things.

While they shared this and that conversation, the Goddess’s revelation naturally cut off.

Elbridge let time flow without calling upon the Goddess of the Rusty Shield.

When quite some time had passed like that, Elbridge whispered softly.

“Goddess.”

There was no answer. Elbridge whispered once more.

“Goddess. Are you listening?”

Still, there was no reply.

‘The Goddess’s gaze has departed.’

Believers are the windows through which gods look upon the world. Where there are no believers, the eyes of the gods cannot reach.

However, just because there are believers does not mean a god can perceive everything.

Just as a single adult cannot tend to a hundred children simultaneously, when believers multiply, it becomes difficult for a god to pay attention to each individual believer.

In the past, that had been the extent of what Elbridge knew about ‘the gaze of the gods.’

But thanks to his order suddenly collapsing, Elbridge had learned one more fact: gods do not watch their believers all day long.

It was obvious when he thought about it. Surely the gods in heaven required rest too. They would also need time to interact with one another.

Elbridge had waited for the Goddess’s gaze to depart was to enter the Temple of the Bloody Spear while avoiding her eyes.

For the Goddess of the Rusty Shield had been reluctant to let Elbridge go to the Temple of the Bloody Spear.

‘Still, I must go.’

On the day Felix had visited the Temple of the Rusty Shield not long ago, Felix had suggested to Elbridge, ‘Let’s have tea sometime.’

Using that proposal as an excuse, Elbridge intended to visit the Temple of the Bloody Spear and search for a paladin to hunt magic beasts with.

Since the paladins of the Bloody Spear had possessed decent skills since ancient times, they would surely be of great help in hunting magic beasts.

As Elbridge was looking around the interior of the Temple of the Bloody Spear, a young priest suddenly jumped up from his seat and approached Elbridge.

“Welcome to the temple! It’s my first time seeing you… Might you be hoping to join our order?”

Because his attitude was overwhelmingly bright and gentle, Elbridge immediately waved his hands.

“I’m not interested in joining.”

At that, the priest’s tone became strangely lukewarm.

“Then what business brings you here?”

“I came to meet Sir Felix.”

“Oh dear. Sir Felix is away at the moment.”

His timing was unfortunately poor. Elbridge asked just in case.

“Could I know when Sir Felix might return?”

“It will take at least a few days. A mobilization order was issued this morning.”

“A mobilization order?”

“It is a mobilization for magic beast subjugation. Reports of magic beasts appearing have suddenly spiked recently, so all the paladins have left the temple.”

Elbridge could not hide his disappointment.

“That is a pity. If only I had come a little sooner, it would have been good for both of us.”

“Do you have urgent business?”

Elbridge pondered an excuse for a moment, then decided to just speak honestly.

“Not really. I merely intended to help Sir Felix if a magic beast hunt came up.”

“Ah, you were a mercenary.”

“I am a paladin, not a mercenary.”

The priest scanned Elbridge from head to toe, wearing an extremely doubtful expression. He probably found it hard to trust someone claiming to be a paladin without even wearing armor.

Therefore, Elbridge added another word.

“…I belong to the Order of the Rusty Shield. I trust you know the temple right next door.”

“Ah…”

The priest withdrew his suspicion in an instant. In its place, sympathy filled the void.

Elbridge thought it was fortunate the Goddess could not see this priest’s eyes. If she had seen that look, she would have been deeply wounded in her heart.

However, the situation flowed in a fairly positive direction.

For the priest, who took pity on Elbridge, actively proposed a solution.

“If you are interested in magic beast hunting, why don’t you try going to the town below?”

“The town below?”

“Yes. The Solenion branch of the Mercenary Guild is in the town below.”

“As I mentioned, I am not a mercenary.”

“It doesn’t matter. Even paladins of minor orders often visit the Mercenary Guild. Paladins, too, naturally wish to contribute to their order’s livelihood.”

“…”

This, too, was a conversation he was glad the Goddess could not hear. Had she heard this remark, she would have spent three days and nights weeping.

However, Elbridge recalled the story he had heard from the mercenary Marcus on the way to Solenion.

“My purpose is magic beast hunting, not money. And I heard that mercenaries do not fight magic beasts. I heard they aren’t held responsible even if they abandon their client and flee when a magic beast appears… I doubt requests regarding magic beasts would come to the Mercenary Guild.”

“That depends on the terms of the contract. Furthermore, requests related to magic beasts are not left solely to mercenaries. Subjugating magic beasts is fundamentally the job of knights and paladins, while mercenaries are merely hired in groups of one or two when there’s a shortage of hands.”

Ah, so that was how it worked.

As Elbridge nodded, the priest added to his words.

“Besides, money earned from magic beast hunting isn’t the only currency. Miscellaneous requests, including escorts, are far better than doing nothing, aren’t they? They will all assist the order’s finances.”

The priest seemed eager to help Elbridge by any means.

‘…Does our order look that destitute?’

Elbridge felt slightly gloomy.

*

Elbridge left the Temple of the Bloody Spear then and there and arrived at the Mercenary Guild.

He had never expected the Mercenary Guild to be friendly and tidy. However, the atmosphere of the Mercenary Guild was slightly more shabby than Elbridge had anticipated.

The people waiting in the Mercenary Guild sat quietly in uncomfortable-looking chairs or shuffled about aimlessly after rising from their seats.

In one corner of the office, the cheapest tea and hot water were prepared, and people exhausted from waiting would brew and drink the tea themselves.

‘What a gloomy atmosphere…’

Elbridge approached the receptionist of the Mercenary Guild and spoke.

“Hello.”

The female receptionist responded in a professional tone that was reasonably friendly yet maintained a suitable distance.

“Is this your first time here?”

“Yes. That is correct. I am wondering if there is a procedure I must go through first to receive a request.”

“Are you a mercenary?”

“I am a paladin.”

Although he had assumed she would not believe him, the receptionist did not doubt Elbridge.

“Yes. Please tell me your order and name.”

“I am Elbridge, a paladin of the Order of the Rusty Shield.”

“You may sit in a chair and wait.”

“…Do you believe that I am a paladin?”

“Everyone has their own circumstances. It’s not as if all orders are wealthy… Ah, right. The commission fee is collected from the client, so you don’t need to worry about anything else in particular.”

As Elbridge sat waiting among the crowd, a familiar face approached and greeted him.

“Oh, hello. Sir Elbridge.”

It was Marcus, the mercenary who had accompanied him on the way to Solenion.

Marcus sat down beside Elbridge and made a fuss.

“You’ve put on some flesh in the meantime. You look much better.”

“Have you been well too, Mr. Marcus?”

“I’ve been great. I even gained a story to brag about for the rest of my life… By the way, what brings you to the Mercenary Guild, Sir Elbridge?”

“I…”

Just then, a man entered the Mercenary Guild and shouted in a loud voice.

“Escort mission to Heynel! Five people with over three years of experience! Expected duration is ten days. Pay is four silver coins! Anyone interested, get in the carriage!”

Several people sluggishly rose from their seats and headed toward the carriage.

However, Elbridge paid absolutely no attention to that request.

Since Elbridge had visited the Mercenary Guild expecting a magic beast hunt request, there was no reason for him to be lured by irrelevant tasks.

Subsequently, other clients shouted their terms.

“One person confident in their fists. Even if you don’t take the request, you must not leak its details. Violating this condition may result in penalties. Duration is roughly five days! Pay is ten to fifteen silver coins, up to a single gold coin, depending on performance!”

After that, all sorts of people appeared seeking candidates for their requests. Some requests seemed suspicious, while others appeared perfectly normal.

Yet, a client related to magic beasts rarely appeared.

Fatigued from waiting, Elbridge fell into thought once more.

‘Felix said the Order of the Laurel Wreath is also quite active in magic beast hunting… Should I have visited the Temple of the Laurel Wreath instead of coming here? No. Since magic beasts have increased, their order might be vacant too.’

‘…Still, I should check.’

Elbridge looked at Marcus and said.

“Mr. Marcus. It was good to see you.”

“Oh, you are leaving?”

“Yes. A place I must go came to mind.”

Just as Elbridge was about to rise from his seat, the door of the Mercenary Guild burst open again.

The client this time was not a single person. Moreover, their appearance differed vastly from the previous clients.

‘…They are paladins.’

And paladins clad in armor that looked considerably expensive.

However, those paladins had a different vibe from any other paladins Elbridge had seen before.

There was not a single scratch on their armor, and there were barely any calluses on the backs of their hands or fingers.

One of them was so fat that it was hard to believe he was a paladin. It was as if someone who was not a paladin had merely been dressed in armor.

‘…Could it be?’

Elbridge swept his eyes over various parts of their armor. And on their gauntlets, he discovered the emblem symbolizing the God of the Golden Platter.

The plump paladin shouted.

“Duration is four days or less. The reward is five gold coins!”

The Mercenary Guild stirred.

The pay for a request that was not very dangerous was about one silver coin for two or three days.

Even for considerably dangerous or difficult tasks, it was rare for clients to promise a reward of more than three or four silver coins a day.

Yet the reward offered now was five gold coins.

Since one gold coin was equal in value to twenty silver coins, it was an enormous reward, ranging from at least five times to at most a hundred times that of typical requests.

The paladin of the Golden Platter Order spoke.

“Those who have experience encountering magic beasts, raise your hands!”

Blinded by money, people competed to raise their hands. Whether they truly had experience encountering magic beasts did not seem to matter.

The previously sluggish atmosphere of the Mercenary Guild heated up instantly.

At that, the fat paladin clicked his tongue and added a word.

“The Golden Platter Order is looking for people to assist in a magic beast hunt. If you fled without fighting when encountering a magic beast in the past, lower your hand. Oh, and the reward is paid afterward.”

People hurriedly lowered their hands.

Though the offered reward was immense, nobody wanted to fight a magic beast and die.

Of course, Elbridge was an exception. In a situation where he would have followed even without being paid, there was no reason to refuse when they were actually giving him money.

And there was one more person who had not lowered his hand yet. It was Marcus.

As Elbridge glanced at Marcus with a displeased expression, Marcus mumbled an excuse.

“I didn’t run away, and I watched the magic beast die from up close. I clearly contributed my share… Shouldn’t that count as me fighting too?”

“Hmm…”

At first, he had thought Marcus might become a burden.

But on second thought, accompanying Marcus was actually a good thing.

Marcus followed the God of the Sunshower.

Since the God of the Sunshower symbolized luck, Elbridge might also benefit if he traveled with Marcus.

In fact, Marcus had shown considerably strong luck in the previous request.

“What did I tell you? I believe in you firmly, Mr. Marcus. Aren’t we companions who fought a magic beast together?”

Only one thing was important: keeping Marcus close enough to share in his luck.

Elbridge felt somewhat pleased for some reason.