Paladin of a Fallen Order (Novel) - Chapter 17 - Mage-Tower-Crafted Armor

Chapter 17 – Mage-Tower-Crafted Armor

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Translated by Pratt

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Three days later, Elbridge received the promised hundred gold coins.

“…”

Elbridge had inwardly thought of himself as someone who transcended money.

However, that was an illusion. It was simply that he had never possessed enough money to know.

As he piled a small mound of gold coins on the table, his hands trembled for no reason. It was a tension slightly different from when he faced a demon.

Elbridge imagined how many things he could accomplish with this money.

Somehow, he felt he could understand those who served the God of the Golden Platter.

Elbridge sank into thought as he built a small tower out of the gold coins.

‘How should I use this money? I suppose I should use it to proselytize after all…’

He had heard countless times that expanding the order’s influence through proselytizing cost a lot of money.

Perhaps because of that, Elbridge had implicitly thought that as long as he had money, expanding the influence would not be difficult.

However, that was a misconception. Earning money and proselytizing were issues of completely different domains.

‘…How do I proselytize? Should I grab passing people, hand them money, and tell them to believe in the Goddess of the Rusty Shield?’

No matter how much he thought about it, that did not seem right.

Yet he could not exactly go to other orders and ask them how to proselytize either.

‘No matter how much I think, only the method of proselytizing while hunting magic beasts comes to mind…’

While Elbridge was seriously contemplating, the goddess’s oracle descended.

– Elbridge. Though you have such a massive amount of gold before you, your worries seem deep. Just what is troubling your mind?

Thanks to the offering of five bottles of fragrant oil, the goddess’s voice had been even gentler over the last few days.

Elbridge replied.

“I was contemplating where to use the gold coins. Whether there might be a good method to expand our influence…”

– Elbridge. Your goddess is the Goddess of the Rusty Shield.

“Of course I know.”

– Your goddess deems protecting what is already by one’s side far more important than obtaining new things. Why don’t you reflect on what is most important in our order?

“The most important thing… I should probably do temple repair work. Indeed, the temple has aged significantly.”

– No, Elbridge. The most important thing in the order is not the temple, but you. My most cherished child. Your goddess wishes for you to prepare a means to protect yourself.

“A means to protect myself… Hmm.”

As Elbridge pondered, the Goddess of the Rusty Shield laughed.

– You already know the answer. Did your friend Marcus not tell you the answer?

Did Marcus say such a thing?

Elbridge pondered deeply, then recalled a single line of Marcus’s words.

‘If our poor Sir Elbridge could procure at least a decent suit of armor as the price of his dedication, it would be a very desirable ending.’

Elbridge asked the goddess.

“Goddess. Do you wish for me to procure armor?”

At that, the Goddess of the Rusty Shield replied with satisfaction.

– Yes. That indeed will be the most valuable investment for our order.

It was tempting.

Coincidentally, Elbridge was also feeling the necessity of armor.

Practicality aside, carrying only a sword dangling around without a shield and armor was quite empty.

“I will obey your words, Goddess.”

Elbridge gathered his gold coins and headed toward the lower town of Solenion.

*

Elbridge had never bought armaments or armor with money. Because the order had provided all of it.

Since the Order of the Rusty Shield had been a reasonably prosperous order in the past, it had faced no difficulty in procuring good swords and armor for its paladins. Compared to other orders of similar size, the number of paladins was also very small to begin with.

Although he had never paid the price directly, Elbridge knew roughly how much armaments and armor cost. Because he had overheard so much.

Whenever he spoke with unfamiliar paladins of other orders, the conversation naturally flowed in a direction where it was easy to form a common ground.

In that sense, armaments and armor were excellent conversation topics.

Not only was it easy to form a common ground, but there were also many derived stories, and it was even practical.

‘With roughly fifty gold coins, I should be able to procure at least a decent suit of armor.’

A proper suit of armor was expensive beyond imagination.

While he could procure armor cheaply if he compromised and compromised again, it did not seem like the goddess would wish for a paladin wearing a gambeson and jack chains. Of course, Elbridge had no desire to wear such things either.

‘Let’s see. A blacksmith…’

Blacksmith shops were rarely situated right in the center of bustling streets due to the noise.

Therefore, Elbridge headed to an alley slightly off from the center of the bustling streets.

Sure enough, finding a blacksmith shop was not difficult thanks to the noisy sounds of hammering.

And Elbridge discovered a reasonably shabby blacksmith shop.

‘That’s it.’

Since shabbiness was inherently a symbol of time, Elbridge’s guess was that there would be a highly skilled artisan. It also seemed like it might be cheaper than a slick store.

Just as Elbridge was about to enter the shabby blacksmith shop, the goddess’s oracle descended.

– Elbridge. Could it be you are trying to obtain armor from that old blacksmith shop?

“Yes, that’s right.”

– Your goddess wishes for you to protect yourself with the finest armor.

“However, there will surely be a highly skilled artisan in that blacksmith shop.”

– No. Your goddess cannot be satisfied with that level.

Because the goddess’s voice was firm, Elbridge pointed to a blacksmith shop on the opposite side of the road.

“Goddess. Do you wish for me to head toward that clean and large blacksmith shop?”

That blacksmith shop was large and neat, and it had a separate sales showroom on the side.

Furthermore, all sorts of flashy patterns were engraved on the armor displayed in the showroom. They were items bound to catch the eyes of wealthy people.

However, this time too, the goddess seemed displeased.

– No, Elbridge. As your goddess also once donned armor and went to the battlefield, she knows better than anyone that armor with mere flashy decorations is of no help.

“Then where do you wish for me to head, Goddess? I know neither blacksmith shops nor workshops.”

– Elbridge. The answer lies to the east.

Elbridge looked to the east as the goddess had said. No workshop was in sight.

Instead, towering beyond the other buildings was a tower.

The cradle of the continent’s eastern mages, the East Mage Tower.

Only then did Elbridge understand the goddess’s intention, the meaning of ‘the finest armor.’

“Goddess. Do you wish for me to purchase mage-tower-crafted armor that has finished its enchantment?”

– Indeed.

A conventional suit of armor and mage-tower-crafted armor were different in many ways.

Mage-tower-crafted armor was made utilizing special metals endowed with magical effects instead of ordinary iron.

Not only were the materials different. The blacksmith’s skill also had to easily surpass ordinary levels, and a mage responsible for the enchantment was required separate from the blacksmith.

As a result, mage-tower-crafted armor came to possess features differentiated from ordinary armor.

The types were also diverse. Armor with a self-repair feature. Armor endowed with lightweight magic. Armor that defended against space warping. Armor that protected the wearer from heat or cold. Armor that strengthened the wearer’s physical power… All were extremely useful functions.

However, there was an important problem.

“Of course, my desire to wear mage-tower-crafted armor is as strong as a chimney’s smoke. However, with the money I currently possess, I cannot procure mage-tower-crafted armor.”

It was that mage-tower-crafted armor was damnably expensive.

It was only natural since materials were expensive, labor costs were high, the time taken to craft was long, and supply was limited.

Consequently, most paladins were unable to get their hands on mage-tower-crafted armor.

Even paladin-level paladins like Elbridge were no exception.

To reliably get one’s hands on mage-tower-crafted armor, one had to be at least the chief paladin of a mid-sized or larger order.

At that moment, a thought suddenly came to mind.

“Goddess. Do you perhaps possess extra funds that I am unaware of? Or did the Mage Tower pledge to craft armor for me during the two hundred years…?”

The goddess’s voice became noticeably smaller.

– As I told you last time, there are two silver coins beneath the first table in the prayer room.

…It meant there were no extra funds or Mage Tower pledges.

Elbridge replied with a bit of regret.

“Goddess. I will proceed to procure a conventional suit of armor. Since fifty gold coins will be ample to obtain a suit of armor, more than sixty gold coins will remain even after procuring it.”

From what Elbridge had experienced so far, even if the Goddess of the Rusty Shield firmly asserted her claims, she would respect Elbridge’s opinion and change her mind.

However, this time the Goddess of the Rusty Shield had no intention of backing down either.

– No, Elbridge. Even if it means buying and collecting armor piece by piece whenever money is gathered, you must surely procure mage-tower-crafted armor. That indeed will be the finest path to ensure your safety.

It was an oracle that was not very realistic.

Because, as Elbridge remembered, the price of just a mage-tower-crafted gauntlet comfortably exceeded a hundred and fifty gold coins.

If so, how should he persuade the goddess?

It was simple. He only needed to show the price of mage-tower-crafted armor to the Goddess of the Rusty Shield.

Before a price tag of a distant amount, even a god had no choice but to bend their opinion.

*

A female mage on the first floor of the East Mage Tower spoke to Elbridge.

“With a hundred and twenty gold coins… you will probably be able to purchase up to the breastplate and gauntlets.”

“What?”

Elbridge was surprised.

The reason was that the price was cheaper than expected. Easily less than half of the expected price.

Of course, it was still an enormous price. However, since the expected price had been so expensive, the current price felt relatively reasonable.

A material desire, which he was feeling for the first time in his life, surged from within Elbridge’s chest.

‘At this rate, could I really end up being able to wear mage-tower-crafted armor…?’

Of course, he could not purchase the entire armor with Elbridge’s funds. However, like the goddess’s suggestion, increasing the armor piece by piece seemed entirely possible.

The mage kindly continued her explanation.

“It is expensive, right? If you want something a bit cheaper, there is also the method of purchasing ready-made goods. Ready-made goods possessing a self-repair feature are a bit cheaper. Though they are keepsakes left behind after the original owner passed away… if the size fits well, it is a rational choice.”

At that moment, the oracle descended once more.

– Elbridge. Ready-made goods will not do.

Of course, Elbridge also actively agreed with the goddess’s opinion.

If the purpose were to show off to others, wearing ready-made goods would not matter, but Elbridge needed armor for actual combat.

With armor crafted to fit another person’s body, he could not display his best skills.

Elbridge spoke to the mage in a tone about three times more confident than usual.

“I will buy a custom-made one. How far back is the queue of reservations?”

“There is no backlog of reservations.”

This was also outside of expectations.

‘I heard that in the past, there were countless instances where people reserved armor and waited, only for the reservation to be cancelled because the reservist died.’

It was surely because the world had become peaceful, decreasing the number of people seeking mage-tower-crafted armor.

The mage spoke to Elbridge.

“Please come this way. A consultation is needed to draw up an accurate estimate.”

The mage walked leading the way, and Elbridge followed behind her.

He had thought they were going to a consultation room, but that did not seem to be the case either.

‘Seeing that the sound of iron is heard, it seems like we are going to the artisan who crafts the armor…’

The mage’s steps headed toward the lower part of the Mage Tower, not the upper. Elbridge learned for the first time that the Mage Tower possessed a basement floor.

“Because there are heavy items and also noise issues, the workshop is in the basement. You may proceed with the consultation inside.”

The mage spoke so and went away. Elbridge entered inside with trembling steps. Who indeed was the artisan who would craft his armor…?

There was only one person inside the spacious workshop.

Only his back was visible for now. His height barely reached Elbridge’s chest, but his forearms and torso were thick enough to be almost double those of any average person.

‘A dwarf, I see.’

It was not a surprising thing. Since countless people gathered in the Holy City Solenion, one could occasionally meet foreign races.

As Elbridge approached, the dwarf turned around.

“Is it a customer?”

Immediately after, the expression of the dwarf looking at Elbridge twisted strangely.

“You… No, you.”

With his brow heavily furrowed, the dwarf tilted his head slightly askew and pointed at Elbridge with the stubby index finger of his right hand.

What was even more surprising was that, before he even knew it himself, Elbridge was pointing at the dwarf in the exact same posture.

The dwarf said.

“You, aren’t you Elbridge?”

“…Rombel?”

Though he had aged a bit, it was a very familiar face.

The dwarf warrior of the Order of the Steel Anvil, Rombel.

An uncontrollable passion surged within the chests of Rombel and Elbridge.

It was only natural since they had met a familiar face in an unexpected place after as many as two hundred years.

At that moment, the Goddess of the Rusty Shield hastily delivered an oracle.

– Elbridge. This is a tremendous opportunity. Ask him if a acquaintance discount is possible.

Because Elbridge was a faithful paladin, he faithfully obeyed the goddess’s oracle.

“Is a discount possible?”

All humanity disappeared from the dwarf’s face.

“Customer. The consultation room is this way.”