Paladin of a Fallen Order (Novel) - Chapter 41 - Liar (Part 2)

Chapter 41 – Liar (Part 2)

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Translated by Pratt

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Like any other paladin of the past, Elbridge had never demanded money for matters related to demons or magic beasts.

Since he had never spoken of money in his entire life, Elbridge used to become a simpleton whenever money was discussed.

However, Elbridge also had some tact. Tact enough to shut his mouth and stay quiet when Marcus began the reward negotiations on his behalf.

Marcus said to Town Chief Thibault,

“What will you give us as a reward? Surely you don’t think letting us stay for a night is enough.”

“It’s not necessarily just one day; you may stay for as long as you wish and then leave…”

“Ehei!”

Marcus frowned like a gangster who had come to collect protection money.

“As a mage, shouldn’t you have a lot of money? I heard that if magic is enchanted onto armor, the price jumps severalfold?”

“Mages specializing in enchanting are separate. I was not an enchantment specialist…”

“Or, what do you call it, wouldn’t you at least have done the work of building up mana for knights in exchange for money? I heard that’s the real cash cow.”

Town Chief Thibault answered hesitantly,

“I did that, but… it has been over twenty years since I left the mage tower. The money I earned back then was all spent long ago.”

“Geez. Still, since I’m a mercenary, I can’t work for free. If a mercenary of my caliber handles a job for free, it will make it even harder for ordinary mercenaries to demand a reward.”

Marcus stealthily showed off his sword. The decorations on the scabbard and the hilt were so splendid that Town Chief Thibault had no way not to believe Marcus’s bluff.

“If you don’t have money, I will also accept goods in kind. A product that is easy to dispose of would be even better.”

“Goods in kind…”

When Town Chief Thibault failed to suggest a proper payment, Marcus asked Elbridge,

“Sir Elbridge. Is that staff expensive?”

“It probably is. And I heard that a staff that has passed through the hands of an experienced mage becomes even more expensive.”

Town Chief Thibault hurriedly hid the staff behind his back, then spoke as if it had only just occurred to him,

“Ah! Please wait a moment.”

The chief went into the inner room and came out carrying a small glass bottle.

The size of the bottle was slightly smaller than a thumb. Inside the glass bottle, a red liquid sloshed.

“What is this?”

The answer came not from Town Chief Thibault, but from Elbridge.

“It is an elixir.”

“An elixir? This?”

An elixir was a potion that healed wounds. In terms of effect alone, it was enough to surpass the authority of healing manifested by the paladins of the Order of Spring Rain and Moss.

An elixir was indeed worthy of being described as an extra life.

Moreover, unlike the authority of healing, an elixir could be used at any time one wished, so wealthy orders used to distribute elixirs to high-ranking paladins just in case.

The problem was that the manufacturing cost of elixirs was extremely high and the production volume was also limited.

Even for Marcus, an experienced mercenary, this was his first time seeing an elixir in person.

“Is it genuine?”

When Marcus asked, Rombel reached out his hand to Town Chief Thibault.

“Give it here.”

After taking the glass bottle, Rombel tilted it this way and that, and checked the seal between the cap and the glass bottle. Then he spoke in a tone full of conviction,

“It’s genuine.”

An elixir was more than enough as a reward for the request. No, now it was rather a problem because the reward was overflowing.

At this rate, they would have to offer something more in addition to performing the request, but there was nothing proper to give.

“I can’t possibly give away the armament received from the Red Mountains… Uh?”

While thinking so, Marcus noticed an interesting fact.

The fact that the chief still looked a bit tense.

Even though the chief had suggested the elixir as a reward, he was not sure whether Elbridge’s party would accept the request.

“There’s no way a mage wouldn’t know the value of an elixir. Is the plant-type magic beast a more troublesome fellow than expected?”

However, how dangerous the plant-type magic beast was did not matter much. Because Elbridge had reacted as if he had a way.

In Marcus’s experience, if Elbridge deemed it possible, then it was possible.

Ultimately, Marcus extended his right hand to Town Chief Thibault.

“We cannot turn a blind eye to those in difficulty. We will accept the request.”

Town Chief Thibault also shook Marcus’s hand.

“Thank you.”

*

The next morning, Elbridge’s party and Town Chief Thibault left the town.

They were lightly dressed, not wearing armor. However, Marcus was carrying a leather sack almost as large as his own body on his back.

Marcus asked Elbridge,

“Sir Elbridge. What is this sack going to be used for?”

“You will find out soon.”

“Ah, yes…”

The four arrived at the stream next to the town.

Elbridge compared the position where water moss grew on the rocks with the position where the water was currently flowing.

“The flow rate has decreased a lot. It seems to have already decreased to less than half.”

“That is correct. If another month or two passes like this, it wouldn’t be surprising if the stream dries up completely. If this stream dries up, there is no way to obtain drinking water in the town.”

While listening to Elbridge and the chief’s conversation, Marcus’s expression turned serious.

“If a single magic beast sucks in this much water, its size must be beyond imagination. Did I accept the request too hastily? No. Sir Elbridge intended to accept the request from the beginning. I only extracted an additional reward…”

The four walked up the stream.

How much time had passed like that? A giant flower was visible far away.

“I can tell it is that fellow just by looking at it. But that size is really… unbelievable…”

“Even though I burned it not long ago, it has grown even larger in a few days.”

The form of the flower itself was not much different from wild flowers commonly seen nearby. Stems and leaves, and five simple-shaped blossoms.

However, the size was the problem.

The stem supporting the flowers was larger and thicker than any ordinary log, and the flowers were literally as large as houses.

The height at which such a giant flower bloomed was not much different from the top of a tree slightly away.

Furthermore, it was clear that the plant-type magic beast was aware of the party. Because the flowers slowly changed the direction they were facing and turned toward Elbridge’s party. It was the same even when the party moved.

“I thought lightly of it because it was a plant-type, but it is a creepier fellow than I thought.”

At Marcus’s assessment, Town Chief Thibault said,

“The more troublesome part is not the flowers, but the roots. That fellow’s roots reach almost all the way to here.”

“All the way to here?”

The distance between the party and the flower currently was almost as far as from one end of the town to the other. Well, because the roots stretched that far, it was able to dry up the stream, though.

Marcus’s expression turned serious.

“Did we accept the request in vain? Even if it is Sir Elbridge, this seems impossible. Should we return the elixir even now and call off the request…”

Just like Marcus, Rombel also had a lack of confidence.

“Elbridge. Can you handle it? Even if you and I cut down the stem and flowers, there is no way to deal with the roots.”

“Let’s walk a bit further.”

Elbridge walked up the stream bank, looking around as if searching for something.

And Elbridge stopped his steps.

“There it is.”

Where Elbridge pointed, weeds formed a colony.

The height of the weeds was about a person’s waist. At the end of the stems, white and roundish flowers bloomed, but perhaps because they were flowers that bloomed in summer, they were now slightly withered and hanging their heads deeply.

They were weeds that Marcus and Town Chief Thibault had also seen a few times.

Town Chief Thibault asked,

“What is this?”

“It is called water hemlock. It grows a lot around the water’s edge.”

Elbridge grabbed the stem of the water hemlock and pulled it out.

Then, white sap oozed from the roughly torn end of the root.

“There is a powerful poison in the roots of this water hemlock. It can kill animals and people, and of course, even plants. When killing animals or people, you dry it, grind it, and use it as powder; when killing plants, you use it in the form of sap.”

Elbridge looked at Marcus and Rombel, and pointed to the weeds with his hand.

“Pull them out well so that the roots are not damaged, wash off the dirt in the running water, and put them in the sack.”

Rombel and Marcus’s gazes turned toward the upper reaches of the stream.

The water hemlock colony stretched endlessly. If they dug up all the roots, wouldn’t they be able to fill the sack dozens of times?

The problem was that the task of pulling the water hemlock and gathering the roots did not seem easy. Marcus and Rombel felt a bit dizzy.

Elbridge arrogantly crossed his arms and gestured with his chin.

“Start.”

Marcus let out a deep sigh and then began to work.

However, Rombel was different. Because Rombel was not a mercenary who did anything if only given money, but a warrior with high pride.

“Elbridge. Why are you crossing your arms?”

“It is a consideration to divide the roles for you and Marcus as well.”

Rombel responded by raising his fist,

“As expected, you’ll move only after getting beaten up, right?”

Elbridge also clenched his two fists and took a stance.

“Come at me.”

*

However, the fistfight between Elbridge and Rombel did not take place. Because Town Chief Thibault solved the problem using magic.

“I think I can handle this matter. You only need the roots, right?”

When Thibault waved his staff, a sharp wind arose and swept across the ground, cutting off all the stems of the water hemlocks.

Thibault brandished his staff. Then, a strong wind blew and blew away the water hemlock stems scattered on the ground.

Lastly, when Thibault clicked his staff once more, the ground turned over along the stream, and the roots of the water hemlock colony were revealed to the surface.

It was a result achieved by moving the staff barely three times.

Elbridge stared at Thibault silently.

He had felt it when first seeing him, but Thibault was no run-of-the-mill mage. A skilled individual who could occupy an important post even in a mage tower.

Marcus asked Town Chief Thibault,

“Can’t you pull out the roots of that magic beast by working magic like that?”

“It is impossible. Because the scale differs by dozens or hundreds of times… and the depth of the roots is also incomparably deep.”

Town Chief Thibault stumbled and sat down in his place.

“It is tiring. I will rest for a bit.”

Elbridge and Marcus washed the roots of the water hemlock in water and gathered them together. Lastly, Rombel crushed the roots of the water hemlock and collected them well in the leather sack Marcus had brought.

After repeating the work for about half a day like that, quite a lot of sap gathered in the large sack.

“…I thought it would take at least five days, no matter how fast.”

The four moved closer to the plant-type magic beast with the sack containing the sap.

The last remaining task was to eliminate the plant-type magic beast with the sap of the water hemlock.

“I will do the finishing.”

Elbridge slung the sloshing sack of sap over his left shoulder and, holding his sword in his right hand, looked at the flowers. The flowers also faced Elbridge.

And, Elbridge kicked off the ground and began to run toward the plant-type magic beast.

Perhaps sensing that Elbridge’s actions were unusual, the plant-type magic beast also responded immediately. Wooden vines surged up, piercing through the ground to wrap around Elbridge’s ankles, and from time to time, sharp tree roots popped out to pierce Elbridge’s legs and body.

Marcus watched the running Elbridge intently.

If there were only one or two such attacks, Marcus could have avoided them too. The problem was that the attacks occurred concurrently over an extremely wide area.

It was on a different level from the plant-type magic beasts Marcus had personally dealt with.

“It’s like a giant trap. A trap the size of a few combined towns…”

However, even while carrying the heavy sack, Elbridge avoided all attacks without difficulty. When he could not avoid them, he swung his sword to cut down the roots.

Finally, when he reached a point close to the stem, Elbridge stepped on a giant leaf at the bottom of the stem and leaped.

Like performing an acrobatic feat, Elbridge stepped on leaves successively, stepping, stepping, and stepping as he headed toward higher ground.

At the moment Elbridge finally leaped to the highest point, his right shoulder became a blur.

*Slash.*

Out of the total of five flowers, three flower stalks were severed simultaneously.

Without stopping at a single strike, Elbridge swung his sword in succession as he fell downward.

Every time the sword light flashed, catching the setting sun, a stem as giant as any ordinary tree trunk was cut down as if shaved from the top.

Marcus thought,

“Tremendous skill. Can I also become like that one day…”

Elbridge sheathed his sword as he landed.

Following that, Elbridge held the leather sack against the cross section of the severed stem and squeezed it. The water hemlock sap gathered all day flowed into the cross section of the plant-type magic beast.

Now, the sap of the water hemlock would seep into all the roots of the plant-type magic beast.

“…!”

Sensing the abnormality, the plant-type magic beast writhed.

Roots shot up concurrently here and there from the vast ground, and thick pollen spewed from the uncut flowers, targeting Elbridge.

“Oops.”

Elbridge immediately flung the leather sack aside, then covered his nose and mouth with his left arm.

Then he drew his sword again and began to run, cutting down all the attacks aimed at him. A sight akin to escaping from a giant net.

Even while watching with his own two eyes, Marcus could not understand Elbridge’s movement.

“…How does he know and react to the attacks flying from behind his back or beneath his feet?”

It was the same for Town Chief Thibault, who could not understand Elbridge’s movement either.

The only person showing a reaction of taking it for granted was Rombel.

However, even if they could not understand, it posed no problem.

Elbridge finally arrived by the side of the three and, lowering the arm that covered his nose and mouth, took a deep breath.

“Whew. I almost died from being out of breath.”

Elbridge turned back and, along with the others, stared at the plant-type magic beast.

The plant-type magic beast was still writhing. A reaction that could not be seen even when Town Chief Thibault burned down all the stems and flowers with magic a few days ago.

Thibault asked Elbridge,

“Is it finished for sure?”

“It probably is. This is a method an elf told me, you see.”

“…An elf?”

“Yes. Elfs chatter about loving nature and forests, but they have no blood or tears in front of weeds. Plant-type magic beasts are no exception either.”

“Is that so…”

“Still, since we must check if it was finished well, let’s stay in the town for a few days and watch the progress.”

Elbridge stretched lightheartedly, then trudged toward the direction of the town.