Paladin of a Fallen Order (Novel) - Chapter 4 - The Wolf and the Sunshower
Chapter 4 – The Wolf and the Sunshower
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Translated by Pratt
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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Whew—
Elbridge let out a sigh of relief only after the remaining six wolves had all retreated.
No matter how skilled Elbridge was, subduing all six wolves without injury was no easy task. Even more so given his abysmal physical condition, and with a crowd of people behind him who did not know how to fight.
While Elbridge brushed the dirt and dust from his clothes, a slightly excited Rick approached him.
“El! That was amazing!”
“Ah, yes.”
“But just now, how did you do that?”
“It was just, well, good luck.”
“How could such a thing be possible by luck…”
Rick seemed to let his voice trail off, then asked in a sly voice as if he knew everything.
“You… are a mercenary, aren’t you?”
When recruiting Elbridge in the town, Rick had heard Elbridge mention being a paladin.
However, Rick judged that Elbridge was not a paladin.
Because the way Elbridge fought was different from the way a paladin fought.
The knights Rick had seen usually relied on overwhelming strength and speed exerted using mana.
They ran at speeds difficult to describe as human movements and subdued their opponents with strength transcending humanity.
He had even seen an armored knight ram and blow away a bear with his pauldron. He had heard that a paladin’s combat was not much different.
On the other hand, although Elbridge’s movements were superb, he did not display speed or strength that transcended the human realm.
Fighting using technique with physical abilities that did not escape the human realm was closer to a mercenary’s style instead. Though he would have to be an extremely experienced mercenary, not a common one…
Elbridge had no intention of explaining the situation in detail.
“It’s similar.”
“I knew it. Anyway, to possess that level of skill at such a young age… That is impressive.”
“It is not enough to be called impressive.”
“Being excessively humble doesn’t look good either. If you drove away a pack of wolves alone, it’s better to brag a little. Isn’t that an exploit worthy of a knight?”
“…Pardon? What do you mean by that?”
Elbridge could not simply brush off Rick’s praise. This was because Rick’s compliment felt a little strange.
The terms ‘wolf hunter’ or ‘bear hunter’ were among the insulting expressions directed toward knights and paladins.
Because it meant that despite having the status of a knight, they severely lacked skill or were too cowardly, so they were only called upon for wolf or bear exterminations.
Under the circumstances, it was not strange for Rick to praise Elbridge, but it was unnatural to go out of his way to mention knights while doing so.
Nor would someone as knowledgeable as Rick be ignorant of that fact.
‘…No. Did something change in the span of two hundred years?’
Regardless of what Elbridge thought, Rick was still smiling brightly.
“Just as I said. Even if you show a bit of youthful brashness when you’re young…”
“No, not that. I mean the part about an exploit worthy of a knight.”
“Why? Is something strange?”
“It’s not that… Do knights hunt wolves?”
“Usually, when wolves form a pack and kill livestock or raid private houses, people ask the nearby lord for help. The lord’s general response upon receiving such a request is to dispatch knights.”
However, contrary to Rick’s account, in Elbridge’s memories, hunting wolves was always the duty of seasoned hunters or mercenaries.
Just as people calling a knight a wolf hunter was an insult, a lord dispatching a knight to deal with wolves was an insult to the knight.
If so, what did knights and paladins hunt in Elbridge’s era instead of wolves or bears?
Elbridge spoke.
“Aren’t knights busy hunting magic beasts and demons?”
When Elbridge said that, a few of the highly tense people let out quiet chuckles. They thought Elbridge had cracked a joke to lighten the atmosphere.
Likewise, Rick also burst into laughter.
“What? Nonsense. It’s not like magic beasts are common… And demons? Where on earth would there be demons in the world?”
“Demons don’t exist? Surely…”
“My friend, you have an unexpectedly naive side to you. Demons are just stories made up by paladins and priests to save face. Have you ever met even a single person who said they encountered a demon in person?”
Elbridge hesitated.
Even in the past, demons were on a gradual decline. It was the result of knights and paladins risking their lives to fight and seal away the demons one by one.
And finally, the Great Demon itself was sealed two hundred years ago.
If the people of the world today had come to disbelieve in the existence of demons.
If an era had arrived where the blood shed by paladins and knights in the distant past was dismissed as mere bluster.
Did that not mean the very world the deceased knights had dreamed of in their sleep had finally arrived?
After a brief contemplation, Elbridge posed a question.
“Indeed, I have never met anyone who said they saw a demon in person. Is that the case for you too, Elder?”
And he waited for Rick’s response with a bit of tension.
“Exactly. Demons are just tales told by drunks or windbags. Or the nonsense of some half-wit who saw a magic beast and mistook it for a demon.”
Elbridge smiled in spite of himself.
Because that was precisely the story Elbridge wanted to hear the most.
*
While the two conversed briefly, a presence of people was felt ahead.
Turning his head, he saw mercenaries. Three of the mercenaries who were escorting the leading caravan.
Among them was the mercenary with a scar on the bridge of his nose, the one who had rebuffed Elbridge.
“What is the matter?”
When Rick asked, the scarred mercenary replied.
“There was a minor clash with a pack of wolves just now. I thought the wolves might raid this group, but fortunately, nothing…”
The scarred mercenary’s gaze fell upon the dead wolf as he spoke. One of the mercenary’s eyebrows shot up crookedly.
“Why is that wolf dead?”
“That fellow killed it. It was almost a disaster, but thank goodness.”
Rick pointed at Elbridge. The scarred mercenary seemed a little surprised.
“You took down a wolf alone?”
“Yes.”
“You are quite a skilled one despite your appearance.”
Elbridge nodded lightly.
“I got lucky.”
“A person without skill cannot catch luck. Much less against a wolf that big… Why didn’t you introduce yourself as a mercenary instead of saying weird things in town? If you had, we might have traveled together in our caravan.”
As Elbridge chuckled awkwardly, the scarred mercenary gently rubbed his left forearm with his fingers.
“No, if you had, the people here wouldn’t have been safe. Did it result in good fortune after all… Anyway.”
The scarred mercenary spoke to Rick again.
“Our employer said that since a mishap might occur due to the wolves, we should spend the night together.”
Elbridge recalled the plump leader of the caravan. Contrary to his greedy appearance, he seemed to be a fairly considerate person.
Additionally, it was not a bad decision for the leader of the leading caravan either. The more people gathered, the lower the probability of wolves attacking.
‘Quite a wise person. Well, that’s probably why he was entrusted with the caravan…’
*
Rick, Elbridge, and their group of forty-some people merged with the leading caravan.
Able to spend the night among mercenaries holding swords, a look of relief washed over the faces of the highly tense people.
The people lit campfires here and there and fell asleep.
The mercenaries included in the caravan took turns deciding their night watch shifts, and the first to stand sentry duty was the scarred mercenary in question.
He stretched widely, then crouched in front of the campfire.
Since Elbridge was also not sleepy, instead of trying to lie down and sleep, he sat opposite the mercenary.
The mercenary spoke amiably.
“This must also be fate, huh? Call me Marcus. I hope you don’t take to heart the things I said last time.”
Elbridge nodded slightly.
“Yes, Mr. Marcus. Are we only staying together today and traveling separately again tomorrow?”
“Our employer is good-natured and won’t be fussy about such matters. Still, you won’t have to worry too much from tomorrow onward.”
“Why is that?”
“Our employer sent someone to the nearby barony. He apparently has a good relationship with the lord… A knight will arrive by tomorrow evening, so there’s no need to worry about wolves.”
Just like Rick, Marcus did not seem to find the situation of a knight hunting wolves particularly strange.
Elbridge spoke.
“Mr. Marcus. Is it common for wolf packs to attack people? Rick… I mean, our leader, said that if many people gather, wolves won’t attack.”
Elbridge did not know much about the ecology of wolves. Since he had almost no experience hunting wolves, it was only natural.
“It’s not common. Wolves easily pounce on a solitary person, but once the number of people exceeds ten, they become cautious.”
“So Old Man Rick’s words weren’t wrong.”
“Rick is a man who has grown old trading in these parts. There’s no way he doesn’t know the ecology of wolves.”
“It seems you are acquainted with the elder.”
“Of course. Old Man Rick has closely followed the caravans I escort at least six or seven times. Although this is the first time we’ve camped together like this…”
Marcus said that the merchants did not particularly like Old Man Rick following their caravans closely.
It was a story Elbridge could easily understand. From a merchant’s perspective, Rick, who followed them closely like a wild dog looking for meat scraps, would be quietly irritating.
Elbridge changed the subject.
“By the way, wolves are more timid animals than I thought.”
“Why?”
“Didn’t you say they retreat if there are more than ten people? Seeing that pack of wolves earlier, they could easily hunt even if more than twenty ordinary people, let alone ten, were gathered.”
At Elbridge’s words, Marcus tilted his head.
“Well, that pack of wolves was just a bit strange.”
“Pardon?”
“They say wolves form large packs in the cold north, but eastern wolves don’t form packs that way.”
“Then how do they form packs?”
“An eastern wolf pack is usually comprised of two parents and several pups. Occasionally, another adult wolf might entrust itself to the pack… Still, it is common to have at most three or four adults.”
Two adult wolves, then.
At that rate, it was natural that wolves wouldn’t attack even if only about ten people were present. Since the east was not a region lacking in food like the north, the wolves had no need to risk danger.
“We were dreadfully unlucky, then. Having seven adults with no pups. Why they gathered like that…”
As Elbridge muttered, Marcus spoke.
“Actually, it’s not like I don’t have any suspicions.”
As Elbridge stared quietly at Marcus, Marcus needlessly poked the campfire with a twig. Sparks that wished to become stars soared into the night sky.
“What suspicions?”
“For several months now, rumors of magic beasts being spotted in this vicinity have circulated among mercenaries. At first, I thought it was a false rumor. Since magic beasts are rare enough that they are hard to encounter even once every few years…”
Elbridge thought.
‘It seems magic beasts really are quite scarce these days.’
Two hundred years ago, magic beasts were not that rare.
Naturally, knights and paladins had to run around until their feet sweated to deal with magic beasts.
Marcus continued his story.
“However, as time passed, the number of people claiming to have seen magic beasts gradually increased.”
“Hmm. But what is the connection between that magic beast and the wolves?”
“Of all things, they said that magic beast is of a lupine type.”
“…”
The types of magic beasts were diverse.
Though they were called magic beasts with unique forms, animals that had undergone magic-beastification were also referred to as magic beasts.
And an animal that underwent magic-beastification naturally rallied and ruled over its kind in the vicinity.
Since the behavior of a magic beast differed from that of a normal animal, it was not uncommon to see the animals under the magic beast displaying unusual behavior.
As Elbridge wore a reluctant expression, Marcus burst into a hearty laugh.
“Haha, don’t worry. Even if I say nearby, it’s a place you have to travel almost ten days from here to reach.”
“Ah, yes…”
To Elbridge, it was not a particularly reassuring story.
“Besides, I’ve been following the God of the Sunshower since the winter before last. As you know, when you live as a mercenary, life-threatening moments visit you quite often. But starting the winter before last, the God of the Sunshower bestowed amazing luck upon me. Thanks to that, I’m still alive and well.”
Marcus spoke as such and rolled up his left sleeve to show his forearm.
A raindrop tattoo symbolizing the God of the Sunshower was visible. Elbridge felt slightly more uncomfortable.
“…”
The God of the Sunshower was a god who symbolized luck.
However, the God of the Sunshower had not been a very popular deity two hundred years ago. To the point where even gamblers often served the God of the Golden Platter, who symbolized wealth, rather than the God of the Sunshower, who symbolized luck.
‘Did the God of the Sunshower barely hold a single seat in the Heavenly Council in those days…?’
Elbridge asked.
“Mr. Marcus. How many seats does the God of the Sunshower hold in the Heavenly Council?”
“Was it eight seats this year? In terms of seat ranking, probably about tenth. He is a proper mid-tier level or higher.”
“I see…”
Elbridge replied in that way, then let out a deep sigh in his heart.
Because he realized what the luck arranged by the God of the Sunshower for Marcus was.
Moreover, there was one more thing Marcus had failed to realize.
In order to display luck most clearly, a correspondingly perilous moment was required.
‘…Things have become tiresome.’