Paladin of a Fallen Order (Novel) - Chapter 13 - The Golden Platter Order

Chapter 13 – The Golden Platter Order

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Translated by Pratt

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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‘Anyway, having lived a long life, I get to see all sorts of things.’

Although it was unclear whether using the expression “young paladin” was correct now, Elbridge had certainly been a young paladin in the past.

But being young did not mean he had less experience than other paladins. For Elbridge had become a paladin at a far younger age than most.

Active as a paladin for nearly ten years, Elbridge had met knights and paladins from all kinds of orders.

Not to mention giant combat orders like the Bloody Spear, the Laurel Wreath, and the Staghorn, he had also met paladins of foreign race orders such as the Steel Anvil and the Thorns several times.

He had even worked in unison with paladins of non-combat orders that had almost nothing to do with battle. For instance, a paladin of the Order of the Goddess of the Olive Tree, which symbolized abundance and peace.

However, seeing a paladin of the Golden Platter Order was a first for him.

For even two hundred years ago, paladins did not exist in the Golden Platter Order.

The Golden Platter Order rarely took interest in matters unrelated to wealth. But in situations concerning riches, they moved faster than anyone else.

When the Great Demon descended, they were the first to sign exclusive contracts with artisans, and when news spread that paladins had gone to fight the demons, they were the ones who set up gambling tables on the outcome of the battle.

The sole reason the Golden Platter Order could operate in such a manner without becoming enemies of other orders was simple: they supported other orders with a significant portion of the wealth they amassed.

Since Elbridge had lived witnessing that aspect of the Golden Platter Order, it was only natural for the current situation to feel awkward.

At any rate, the hiring of Elbridge and Marcus took place immediately.

“Is there no one else to join the Golden Platter Order? Hmm… Good. You two who raised your hands. Come over here. We’re leaving immediately.”

Marcus seemed fully excited.

“To think I can earn five gold coins this easily!”

Truly, a sight of someone blinded by a massive sum.

Elbridge calmed Marcus down.

“Mr. Marcus. It may be a simple mission, but I don’t think it will be a safe one.”

“Still, it is fine. Jobs like this are rare… Besides, isn’t it amazing?”

“What is?”

“Even though five gold coins per person are on the line, they hired us right away without questioning this or that. If it were me, I would have thoroughly verified whether we had actually fought a magic beast before.”

“It is likely because the payment is made afterward. The Golden Platter Order is not naive.”

The two moved along, following the paladins of the Golden Platter Order.

As they moved, two other people joined them. Moreover, both of them were knights.

“There are knights here. They don’t seem to be paladins of the Golden Platter Order…”

At Elbridge’s words, Marcus replied.

“Both of them are hedge knights. Wandering here and there without serving any lord… In truth, it’s safe to view them as high-grade mercenaries. Still, their skills are reliable. I know because I carried out a request with them before.”

Having no intention of bringing more people, the fat paladin who appeared to be the leader instructed the hedge knight.
“We will move immediately, so please explain the mission yourself.”

The party of nine—composed of five paladins, two hedge knights, Marcus, and Elbridge—exited to the outskirts of the Holy City Solenion.

One of the hedge knights approached Elbridge and Marcus and spoke.

“Marcus. Have you been well?”

“Sir Richard. It has been a long time.”

The knight called Richard was a hedge knight who had cleanly shaved his thinning hair, and his bald head suited his large facial features well.

“Sir Richard. I have something I’m curious about, may I ask?”

“Ask at ease. Explaining the mission is my job too, after all.”

“Why were we hired? Since the pay is high, I thought there would be an important role, but judging by the atmosphere, that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

“When a battle with a magic beast occurs, if they request help, you just need to actively assist without running away.”

“Is that all?”

“They are an incredibly wealthy order. They probably didn’t place huge expectations on mercenaries they hired in a rush while setting off for a magic beast hunt.”

Marcus scratched his chin.

“That might be true, but… no matter how much I think about it, the mission itself is strange. Since magic beasts are creatures one rarely gets to see, in nine cases out of ten, we’ll fail to find one and return empty-handed.”

“It’s better if we return empty-handed. Won’t we be able to pocket the pay easily without even doing any work?”

However, Elbridge’s thoughts were different.

‘The paladins of the Golden Platter Order must clearly know that magic beasts are on the rise… Yet they didn’t even release such basic information to Richard, who is accompanying them?’

At that moment, Marcus lowered his voice as much as possible and asked Richard.

“By the way, Sir Richard. Why is the Golden Platter Order suddenly hunting magic beasts? Aren’t they just bastards who bought their titles with donations because they couldn’t become knights through normal means?”

“From what I hear, it seems instructions came down from the high command of the order.”

“What kind of instructions?”

“They said the order will support all related costs, so they were told to accumulate magic beast hunting experience as quickly as possible. Thanks to that, I got to make a tidy profit too.”

“A completely random instruction. They should have just stuck to their business as usual…”

“Indeed.”

After mocking the bizarre whim of the Golden Platter Order, Marcus and Richard began sharing trivial stories.

However, Elbridge crossed his arms and pondered the reason why the high command of the Golden Platter Order had made such a judgment.

‘…It wouldn’t be an instruction issued out of a simple whim.’

Just like any other order, one must prove their capability to ascend in the Golden Platter Order.

There was no way someone whose abilities were recognized would issue a foolish and dangerous instruction out of a mere whim.

‘I delivered Baron Riverford’s letter to the Golden Platter Order myself. The Golden Platter Order knows that all the residents of the Dickens Viscounty evaporated. It is a sufficient clue to surmise that demons have appeared. They must be certain, or close to certain.’

‘The Golden Platter Order did not seem to have disclosed the information in Baron Riverford’s letter to other orders or to common people. Was it to prevent the world from falling into chaos due to sudden news? Or was there another reason?’

‘It must clearly be connected to having their paladins accumulate experience in hunting magic beasts… But why on earth?’

Finally, Elbridge recalled one more variable.

The fact that the capabilities of current-era paladins had suffered a severe downward standardization compared to the past.

With that, the pieces of the puzzle clicked into place.

‘…Ah. So that’s what it was.’

The reason the Golden Platter Order had not trained paladins in the past, even while the world was in turmoil, was not simply because they were reluctant to spend money.

The Golden Platter Order knew how to shower vast sums of money when the moment to spend it arrived.

As Elbridge surmised, their lack of paladin training had been because the cost-benefit analysis did not yield a profit.

Even if they trained paladins in a hurry, they could not catch up to the paladins whom the existing large orders had spent a long time painstakingly nurturing.

Rather than pouring money to train half-baked paladins, it was a rational choice to save the funds and give up on paladins entirely.

But now it was different. Except for a tiny minority of combat orders, the paladins of all orders were half-baked. And even the paladins of the combat orders would not be as outstanding as in the past.

In other words, the distance the paladins of the Golden Platter Order had to run to catch up to the paladins of other orders had shrunk significantly.

From a gap that could never be closed to a distance they could manage to catch up with or even leap past.

‘Even if they do not disclose the information, it is inevitable that news regarding the demons will spread to the world before long. Are they trying to make the absolute most of even a short period for the benefit of their order?’

Thinking in that manner, the pieces fell into perfect alignment.

Contrary to the combat orders facing a dark age because the demons had vanished, the dark age of the Golden Platter Order had been the past period when demons were rampant and the world was in chaos.

It was as clear as day that the world would soon descend into chaos and the combat orders would regain power.

In this situation, the rational response the Golden Platter Order could choose was to refine the skills of their paladins even a day earlier to overcome the dark age.

They had both the motivation and the capacity. Had the Golden Platter Order not occupied the most seats in the Heavenly Council?

‘But how do they intend to find the magic beasts? Even if magic beasts have increased, they wouldn’t be so numerous as to be kicked around underfoot.’

While Elbridge continued his train of thought, the Goddess’s revelation was heard abruptly.

– Elbridge, Elbridge. For what reason are you accompanying the paladins of the Golden Platter Order? Could it be…

The Goddess’s voice trembled faintly. She was definitely spreading the wings of a negative imagination.

Elbridge bowed his head deeply and replied in a calm voice.

“Of course I have no intention of relying on the Golden Platter Order. I merely wished to hunt magic beasts with them to regain even a fraction of my past strength.”

The Goddess said in relief.

– Elbridge. Your Goddess always respects your opinion. But at the same time, do not forget that I wish for your peace.

“Actually, I am not here solely for that reason, Goddess. Do you remember the fragrant oil I offered on the day I arrived in the Holy City Solenion?”

As soon as Elbridge arrived at the temple, he finished a simple cleaning, wiped the Goddess’s statue with the highest quality fragrant oil, and offered the remaining half bottle of oil to her.

The Goddess’s voice instantly brightened.

– Of course. It was the first fragrant oil offered in a whopping one hundred sixty years and eight months, so its pleasant fragrance lingered long, bringing your Goddess immense joy.

“The price of that fragrant oil was twelve silver coins a bottle. Moreover, even if we gather all the wealth of our current order, four gold coins and five silver coins are all we have. It is a somewhat tight amount to run the order. Furthermore, your Goddess’s sole paladin has still been unable to procure armor…”

The Goddess’s voice cut off briefly, and then the revelation continued in a much more solemn tone.

– No, Elbridge. Actually, there is a little hidden treasure in the order.

Elbridge’s ears perked up.

– If you look under the first table in the prayer room, there are two more old silver coins dropped by someone long ago…

“…”

Since it was literally a little, Elbridge let the Goddess’s words go in one ear and out the other.

“Even with that, it is just four gold coins and seven silver coins. However, this request pays a whopping five gold coins in just four days. Even if we buy one more bottle of fragrant oil, the order’s wealth will more than double.”

Was it because she was shocked by the order’s financial situation being even more miserable than she thought, or was it because Elbridge hinted at a new bottle of fragrant oil?

The Goddess could not restrain Elbridge as she had before.

– Elbridge. Do not forget that your Goddess always respects your wishes and treasures your devotion.

“Yes, Goddess.”

Just as the Goddess’s revelation concluded, the party’s steps halted.

A young man was standing blankly, waiting for the party. The man bowed deeply toward the paladins of the Golden Platter Order.

“It is this way, Milord Paladins.”

The paladins of the Golden Platter Order followed behind the man as if it were only natural.

Not long after that, everyone’s steps halted once more.

In the distance, a magic beast resembling a lizard could be seen standing still.

“Excellent.”

The plump paladin handed a whopping ten gold coins to the young man.

Only then did Elbridge and Marcus realize why the paladins had spoken as if they could definitely hunt down a magic beast.

The Golden Platter Order must have offered a massive reward to disperse people and locate magic beasts.

‘…This is literally a hunt, not an extermination.’

Whether the fat paladin held a higher rank than the other four paladins, he spoke in a slightly arrogant manner.

“First, I will demonstrate, so watch closely.”

“Yes.”

That paladin’s weapon was an iron club as thick as the leg of an average adult.

An item so heavy that someone who did not reinforce their body with divine power or mana could not even lift it.

However, the paladin did not lift the iron club immediately.

The fat paladin laid silk on the ground, then retrieved a pouch and poured gold coins onto the silk.

It was a quantity that had to be measured by volume rather than count. Roughly two fists’ worth of gold coins.

Kneeling, the paladin held up the silk with both bare hands, having removed his gauntlets.

“I offer these gold coins to the God of the Golden Platter.”

At that, the gold coins on the silk scattered like mist.

– …!

Elbridge thought he heard a sound of admiration from the Goddess of the Rusty Shield for a split second, but he did not make a show of it. For Elbridge’s sentiment was similar to the Goddess’s.

To offer that many gold coins in front of a single magic beast?

Even paladins aiming to hunt demons, rather than magic beasts, rarely offered that amount of treasure.

Instead, the effect was magnificent.

A white, glowing haze rose around the fat paladin’s body, and veins as thick as a young child’s finger bulged on his forearm.

Additionally, the paladin’s footsteps became strangely heavy.

Even though he appeared to take light steps, a reverberation as if striking the ground with all his might with an iron club was felt.

“Hmph-!”

The paladin inhaled and kicked off the ground violently.

Thud—

He was incomparably faster than Sir Walter, and faster than most paladins of two hundred years ago.

It made sense when he thought about it.

‘So this is the authority granted by a god who occupies sixty-one seats in the Heavenly Council…’

The lizard magic beast discovered the paladin late and bloated its body. As if it were an enhanced type like the wolf-type magic beast they had encountered last time, its sleek, metallic carapace stood out.

The fat paladin’s movements were clumsy.

He could not target the opponent’s weaknesses by moving his weapon delicately, nor could he react to the magic beast’s movements. Even when the lizard magic beast tried to bite his bare forearm, which was not wearing a gauntlet, he could not avoid it.

However, the overwhelming authority resulting from the massive offering solved all problems.

The lizard’s teeth could not dig deep into the paladin’s hardened forearm. And in the very next instant, the paladin’s iron club struck the lizard’s flank.

Smash!

The magic beast’s waist bent in a bizarre direction, and flesh burst open.

“Ohh…!”

The paladins watching the scene clapped their hands loudly in admiration.

Not to mention the mercenary Marcus, even the hedge knight Richard could not hide his astonishment.

“Amazing strength. Is that the true power of a paladin?”

Elbridge was also astonished.

But the direction of Elbridge’s astonishment was different.

‘…Could it be that the Golden Platter Order believes they can hunt demons as long as they are strong?’