Paladin of a Fallen Order (Novel) - Chapter 44 - Liars

Chapter 44 – Liars

===================

Translated by Pratt

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

===================

The next day was the day of worship, which was held once every ten days.

However, there was one difference in this worship from usual. The fact that Elbridge’s party was standing behind Thibault, the town chief and archbishop.

Just yesterday, Elbridge’s party had reached two conclusions after a long discussion.

First. As mere travelers who had not suffered any damage from Chief Thibault, punishing Chief Thibault themselves would be an overstepping act.

Second. But the townspeople had to know the truth.

Therefore, instead of exposing Thibault’s sin in front of the people, Elbridge’s party gave him a chance to confess his own sin.

Roughly twenty people were packed closely inside Thibault’s house today. Surely, they must be the ones with the most devout faith.

Everyone’s eyes gathered on Thibault.

Thibault, extremely tense, inhaled, and then spoke like a sigh.

“I have something to tell you all.”

A brief hesitation.

However, as if having made up his mind, Thibault continued his story.

“Everyone. The God of the Eternal Voyage does not exist in the high heavens.”

Along with that came a deep silence.

“I was merely a mage who needed believers to become a god. I created a god with lies, and claimed myself as the archbishop. I deceived you all, pretending to receive oracles. You have been deceived by me until now.”

The suffocating atmosphere, the people’s gazes felt as if they were strangling Thibault’s neck.

However, Thibault poured out his sins as if rushing.

“…Just, that is all. There is no impending ruin, and there is no salvation. There is no village in the heavens. It was all a fiction born from my devious tongue, and I am a con man, not a noble clergyman. I am just a liar who stayed here because I could not leave. My long lie ends now, in this very place.”

Surely, his death would be decided by this short story, but Thibault did not try to overturn the situation. He had simply and plainly confessed his sin.

Elbridge recalled the end of those who impersonated clergymen.

They were beaten by the congregation until they were half dead, and pelted with stones until they drew their last breath.

Their bodies could not become smoke and ascend to the heavens, nor could they find peace buried in the ground.

Torn to rags, they were either thrown into deep water or cast off high cliffs to become food for wild beasts.

The worries Elbridge had suppressed inside his chest slowly crept up.

Would seeing such a sight once more here be the right thing?

‘I already decided.’

Elbridge thought in the silence.

That even if Thibault were killed by the townspeople, he would at least ensure that they could not desecrate his corpse.

“Chief.”

Finally, one of the townspeople opened their mouth.

She was a plump, middle-aged woman. Seeing the deep wrinkles scattered on her face and the many white hairs mixed in her brown hair, she seemed to be of a similar age to Thibault.

However, the woman’s words were different from what Elbridge had expected.

“We already knew everything.”

A sudden statement. Elbridge’s gaze swept over the crowd.

However, though some were surprised, no one was angry.

Thibault asked back.

“You knew?”

“Yes. At first, we were doubtful. But it didn’t take long for us to find out. Actually, it was hard not to know. There were many parts in your sermons, Chief, that contradicted the stories of the heavens that I knew. Either every religious order was wrong, or you alone were telling a wrong story. It had to be one of the two.”

“…”

As Thibault stood in a daze, the woman chuckled softly.

“Chief. We are not highly educated people. But we weren’t slash-and-burn farmers from birth either. How many of us haven’t visited a few temples in our youth? We have a rough idea of what they talk about in temples.”

The middle-aged woman’s speech did not falter in the slightest.

Had she perhaps been thinking that a moment like this would come someday?

“Besides, the deciding factor was the pottery… Huh? Where did that pottery go? Anyway, it was because of the pottery that was displayed over there. Do you know? That pottery is something that used to be at my grandmother’s house in the past.”

A few people burst into quiet laughter, as if they had known that fact for a long time.

“It was an item my mother sold to a merchant when grandmother passed away and we were clearing her belongings. I had completely forgotten about it, but one day, it was slyly displayed as a holy relic. With the order’s emblem carved on it… I gained certainty that day.”

Someone in the crowd questioned.

“I didn’t know it was such an item. That pottery, hasn’t it been there for quite a long time?”

“It must have been roughly twenty-five or twenty-six years ago. Since it was not long after I settled down.”

Thibault was prepared for anything, but he had not anticipated this kind of situation.

Now, Thibault’s face was filled with nothing but confusion and bewilderment.

“Why didn’t you speak up? If you had told me then, my lies would have all…”

“Because I knew that if I spoke up, you would leave, Chief.”

The middle-aged woman smiled.

“Of course, at first, I felt betrayed. I also worried a lot about whether I should tell others. But after contemplating for a few days, another question came to mind. Just because I served a fake god for a few years, just because I was deceived by your lies, did my life become painful and difficult? No. It was not like that at all.”

The people listening to the story slowly nodded their heads.

The people’s reactions planted a conviction in Elbridge. A conviction that all of them had known of Thibault’s lies for a very long time.

“My life, my family’s life, was always weary and hard. But after coming to this town, it became much better. Even after settling down, it gradually got better. A short while ago, my granddaughter was also born. You remember, right?”

“Yes. I remember. She was a child who closely resembled your daughter.”

The woman’s smile, which had been slowly blooming, finally filled her entire face.

“I am happier today than I was yesterday. It has always been like that for the past twenty years. Likewise, I will be happier tomorrow than I am today. What does a little lying matter? I do not resent you.”

Thibault’s expression, which had been calm all along, contorted strangely.

Whether he wanted to cry or laugh, even Thibault himself probably did not know.

“And… I wasn’t the first person to notice your lies. There are at least three people who noticed before me. Grandfather Hans, who has passed away now. Bill the hunter, and even Milla sitting over there.”

Everyone’s eyes turned toward the woman sitting at the very back, Milla.

Milla, perhaps shy, pulled her headscarf down low and bowed her head. However, in her face, glimpsed briefly, there was no anger either.

“Can you forgive me for such reasons?”

“Thibault. I have no education, but I know how to do simple arithmetic. I know very well that a mage who always looks after me is more precious than a god who might look at me once if I am lucky.”

“…”

“And, there is no need to feel sorry to me. I attended this worship regularly, but after finding out you were a liar, I also offered prayers to the god I originally believed in. I believed in both the god in the heavens and you on the earth.”

The woman hugged Chief Thibault tightly, and then headed out of the house with a playful expression like a young girl.

“Thibault. Our archbishop. See you at the next worship!”

Following her, an old man with a stubborn impression rose from his seat. He placed his hand on Thibault’s shoulder.

“Same goes for me. Although I always attended worship, my prayers were always offered to the God of the Golden Platter, wishing for our town to become even slightly prosperous… Hmph. I don’t have a way with words, so I can’t say such slick things. At any rate, I only have one thing to say. See you in ten days.”

The old man also went out of the house as if nothing had happened.

Next, an old woman approached and also hugged Thibault tightly.

And she spoke in a toothless, mumbling accent.

“I offered prayers to the God of the Brass Cup every day. Wishing for our town to remain harmonious in the future. And our town was peaceful. Did my prayers reach the God of the Brass Cup? That couldn’t have been it. A deity would not listen to the prayers of someone insignificant like me. Then did the God of the Eternal Voyage listen to my prayers? That couldn’t be true either. But today, after hearing your story, I came to realize.”

“…What is it?”

“Thibault. You said you wanted to become a god. Listening to your confession, I imagined you ascending high into the sky and becoming a god. I will wish that the prayers I have offered up until now reach you in the far future, you who will look down upon the earth from the high sky.”

Thibault, with tears welling in his eyes, nodded his head.

“Yes, yes…”

This was a strange sight that Elbridge was seeing for the first time in his life.

Not a worship where a priest preached, but a worship where a priest listened to stories.

A liar. And even more liars surrounding that liar.

They formed a strange balance while deceiving one another.

What was even more surprising was that even if the lies disappeared, the strange balance did not seem likely to collapse.

It meant that for nearly thirty years, something tighter than faith had bound them together.

Pelted stones are for the wicked.

The people believed that stoning did not suit a person who was somewhat simple yet good-natured, who had covered up the malice he held in his heart without even realizing it.

Therefore, there was no one who stoned Thibault.

Everyone kissed Thibault’s forehead, held his hand, or hugged him tightly once before leaving the house.

Everyone told Thibault a different story.

But everyone concluded their story with the same greeting. See you in ten days, at the next worship.

Now, only four people were left in Thibault’s house.

Elbridge, Rombel, Marcus, and Thibault.

Finally, Thibault burst into tears like a young child.

The God of the Eternal Voyage did not exist.

However, the liars of the nameless town would gather at the liar’s house in ten days as well.

And they would offer a worship full of lies.

Just as they had always done until now.

*

A new sun rose today as well. The town was peaceful, as always.

The only things that had changed were that Thibault’s eyes were swollen red, and that the people gathered at the edge of the town to see Elbridge’s party off.

Thibault, with a much more comfortable expression, approached Elbridge’s party and spoke.

“Thank you. I will wait for the day when I can repay this favor.”

“There is no need to be thankful. The forgiveness you received is between you and the townspeople.”

“But if there had been no one to push my back, a moment like that would not have come. I truly thank you.”

Thibault stepped back after speaking like that.

Then, the middle-aged woman who had spoken the most during last night’s worship approached and pressed a lunchbox into Elbridge’s hand. From the lunchbox wrapped in broad-leaved tree leaves, a savory and delicious smell wafted.

“Eat the warm food first. It might spoil by tomorrow.”

Elbridge bowed his head in greeting.

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“May the eyes of God reach the brave and thoughtful.”

The moment he heard that, a small question bloomed inside Elbridge’s chest.

It was a truly trivial question.

Therefore, Elbridge asked in a small voice.

“Ma’am. I have a question.”

“Yes?”

“Yesterday, you said you offered prayers to the god you originally believed in as soon as you realized Chief Thibault’s lie, didn’t you?”

“I did.”

“The other people talked about which god they serve, but you were the only one who didn’t say. Which god do you happen to serve?”

At that, the middle-aged woman answered.

“I serve the God of unexpected luck, the God of the Sunshower.”

And she smiled leisurely.

“Also, my cooking skills are quite good. A lunchbox like this should be a decent stroke of luck for you. Have a comfortable journey.”

The moment he heard that, Elbridge understood everything. A laugh leaked out on its own.

“Haha!”

Rombel and Marcus were the same. All three of them burst into laughter.

Because what the God of the Sunshower had arranged in this town would not have been the lunchbox.