Paladin of a Fallen Order (Novel) - Chapter 53 - Year-End

Chapter 53 – Year-End

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Translated by Pratt

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“Uh···.”

He could not easily think of what to say.

Since the man claimed to have no close deity friends and did not know other gods well, how could Elbridge demand an answer?

“···I see.”

Yet, thinking about it, it made sense.

Among the deities who had ascended to heaven, only a tiny minority held seats in the council.

Conversely, the vast majority of heavenly deities did not possess a single seat, and many of them surely had no believers at all. The absence of a seat led to weaker divine authority, and weak authority was bound to lead to the defection of believers.

Nevertheless, most of those deities remained in heaven.

Unlike other deities, what could be the reason why only the Central Mage Tower Lord had descended to the earth?

As a deep silence enveloped the Tower Lord’s office, the Mage Tower Lord spoke as if making an excuse.

“Of course, it’s not just me. Mages tend to play somewhat separately even in heaven. You know, don’t you? Mages have never really followed gods well. Naturally, when someone is from a mage background, the deities have no choice but to look at them crookedly.”

“···I suppose so.”

“Furthermore, we mages do not force ourselves to approach others. It is better to focus on research than to spend time on interpersonal relationships. A bit of solitude is a mage’s nature and like a familiar friend···.”

“I understand.”

The Central Mage Tower Lord presented all kinds of reasons to explain why he had no friends, but no matter how Elbridge thought about it, it sounded like an excuse.

But since raising a different opinion might make the atmosphere awkward, Elbridge silently agreed.

‘When I first saw him, I thought he was a man of gravity···.’

Somehow, his way of speaking seemed to have changed slightly in the meantime.

Anyway, whether because he liked the reaction of Elbridge’s party, the Tower Lord looked at Rombel with a slightly satisfied expression.

“Now, it must be time to answer your question, Rombel. You asked about ascension, didn’t you?”

“That is correct.”

“Ascension···. Wait a moment. I need to think about how much I am allowed to say.”

The Central Mage Tower Lord crossed his arms and paced around the office a few times before finally stopping.

“Alright. What I should tell you in advance is that even I do not know everything about ascension.”

In other words, though it might not be everything, it meant he knew quite a significant portion of it.

“Please tell me whatever you can.”

“As you likely already know, whether to accept a new deity into heaven is decided by a vote of the existing deities. If they receive the consent of more than half of the total seats, they can ascend to heaven.”

“Who is the target of that vote?”

“That is exactly what I want to talk about. The person who becomes the target of the vote is commonly called an ascension candidate. And the selection of ascension candidates is not within the authority of ordinary deities.”

Rombel widened his eyes. That was precisely the story he was most curious about.

“Then who selects the candidates?”

“The Chief God decides it. However, it is unknown on what basis the Chief God determines the ascension candidates.”

“Is there no other helpful advice?”

“Well. It would be advantageous to achieve a feat that might draw the Chief God’s interest, or to display outstanding capabilities.”

“Interest···.”

Even if it was half-baked information, Rombel’s expression was bright.

After all, his situation was far better than Elbridge’s, who had gained no information whatsoever about Sir Leonhardt.

Furthermore, the Mage Tower Lord’s story was not finished.

“And, there is one more important piece of information I want to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“The number of divine thrones in heaven is fixed, and ascension is becoming increasingly difficult. Compared to that far distant past, before I even ascended to heaven—no, compared to a past much more distant than that, now it is···.”

Elbridge felt a faint anger and passion in the Central Mage Tower Lord’s voice.

Moreover, the Central Mage Tower Lord was looking at Elbridge, not Rombel, who was the one asking the question. He gazed with eyes filled with a trace of regret.

‘···Just why?’

The Central Mage Tower Lord tried to continue the story further, but then let out a deep sigh and shook his head.

“···No. I cannot speak any more on this matter. I ask for your understanding.”

“It has been of great help.”

The Tower Lord smiled faintly and then looked at Marcus.

“Now, finally, what did you come here to request of me?”

Under normal circumstances, Marcus would have spoken clearly about what he wanted, but right now, unlike usual, Marcus was in a slightly dazed state.

“I did not come because I wanted anything. I simply happened to follow. I have nothing to request either. I have already received my reward.”

“You received a reward?”

“Yes. In the hallway···.”

Having understood his meaning, the Tower Lord smiled gently.

“Was it a pleasant experience?”

“It was ecstatic.”

“Still, since you came to visit me, it would be troublesome if the host did not treat the guest. Whenever you wish to see the scenery of the top floor of the Mage Tower again, come visit. The magic elevator will carry you to the top floor anytime.”

“Is that true?”

“Of course.”

Though Marcus himself was completely distracted by the view outside the window, to Elbridge and Rombel, that was no small reward.

For a non-mage like Marcus had obtained the authority to visit the Central Mage Tower Lord whenever he pleased.

The Tower Lord gestured to Marcus.

“Since you are already here, look at the scenery from here instead of the hallway. The windows in my office are much larger than those in the hallway, so you will be able to see even more.”

“Thank you.”

Marcus crept closer to the office window and began to gaze blankly at the scenery outside.

Indeed, since the windows were larger than those in the hallway and faced various directions, Marcus could see far more than he had in the hallway. Rombel and Elbridge also subtly began to look out the window.

Meanwhile, a voice echoed in Elbridge’s ear.

[Do not look back, and stay still.]

Unlike an ordinary voice, it dug directly into his ear.

However, it was slightly different from the oracle delivered by a goddess.

Elbridge immediately recognized who the owner of that voice was.

[You said you wanted to know about the one named Leonhardt.]

Elbridge only rolled his eyes and glanced to the side. His eyes met those of the Tower Lord, who was pretending to look at the scenery alongside Marcus.

There had to be a reason why the Central Mage Tower Lord was using such a method instead of speaking comfortably.

Elbridge replied with the shape of his mouth.

‘Did you not say you did not know?’

The answer returned immediately.

[Of course, I do not know well about Leonhardt. However, I have an inkling, so I can give you a clue. But this conversation must not be known to heaven. The same goes for the deity you serve. If you utter this conversation aloud, not only me, but also you and the deity you serve could be in danger.]

A secret tale that must not be discovered even by the deities of heaven. Elbridge’s mind grew dizzy.

[If you swear not to leak this clue anywhere, I will give it to you. This clue reaches beyond the individual named Leonhardt all the way to heaven, so even just providing it is a favor extended at great risk. If you will accept my offer, blink your eyes three times.]

Elbridge agonized for a long time.

Aside from the fact that the scale of this was far larger than he had imagined, the statement that a problem could arise even for the Goddess of the Rusty Shield deepened Elbridge’s conflict.

However, Elbridge ultimately resolved his mind. He was certain that if he did not accept this clue, he would regret it for the rest of his days.

‘It is a wise judgment to receive the clue first, and then decide whether to bury it or dig into it.’

Ultimately, Elbridge slowly blinked his eyes three times.

Thereupon, the Central Mage Tower Lord’s voice echoed.

[Go to the Lake of Eternity.]

Elbridge stared intently at the Central Mage Tower Lord.

However, that was the entirety of the Central Mage Tower Lord’s words.

*

A few days later, Elbridge’s party left Middlemarch under the send-off of the Deputy Tower Lord and the mages.

Yet, Elbridge’s steps were still heavy.

‘The Lake of Eternity···.’

Elbridge knew only one thing about the Lake of Eternity. That the Lake of Eternity lay in the southern part of the continent.

Elbridge vaguely drew a map in his mind.

The Holy City Solenion to the east of the continent.

Middlemarch in the center.

The only time he had recently gone anywhere even slightly toward the south was when he entered the mountain city in the southeastern part of the continent.

Of course, there was a considerable distance between the mountain city and the Lake of Eternity.

‘···Is there no excuse to go to the Lake of Eternity?’

No such idea came to mind.

The only method that came to mind was to go to the Mountain City Barkuntol first, and then seek a suitable excuse there to move westward.

However, the likelihood of a suitable excuse popping up even in Barkuntol was low. In the first place, dwarves had little interaction with the outside world.

‘If things continue like this, I will end up returning to the east···. No, wait. The Mage Tower Lord did not set a deadline by which I must go to the Lake of Eternity. There is no need to rush.’

At that moment, a loud sneezing sound was heard.

“Achoo!”

Looking to the side, Marcus was adjusting his collar with an embarrassed expression.

“···It is growing colder by the day.”

It had still been autumn when they entered Middlemarch, but after the weather turned cold over the last few days, it had suddenly become winter.

Only then did Elbridge snap out of his thoughts.

‘It was a situation where I could not go south anyway.’

The approach of winter meant that the Year-End was near.

And at the end of every year, there was a highly important event.

An event far, far more important than the summer’s Grand Festival.

Elbridge cast aside all his worries and said with a light expression.

“The schedule is tight. Let us move quickly.”

*

Excluding only the time spent eating and sleeping, the three walked diligently and arrived at the Holy City Solenion.

Although Solenion was covered in snow, it was enveloped in an strangely intense heat.

“We arrived without being late.”

Marcus spoke as he stretched widely, and said to Elbridge and Rombel.

“Mr. Elbridge. I hope you get a good result. Oh, by the way, I will visit the temple tomorrow, so let us divide the reward then.”

Marcus spoke thus and subtly showed the bag slung over his back.

That bag contained the commission reward paid by the siblings Mitchell and Millia, along with the appreciation gifts received from the Central Mage Tower.

There were particularly many gifts that the mages of the Mage Tower had packed for Elbridge. Since they were those who might have died had it not been for Elbridge’s exploits···.

The three scattered toward their respective destinations.

Of course, Elbridge’s destination was the Shantytown.

As he walked hurriedly while pushing through the crowd, Elbridge offered a quiet prayer.

“Goddess. The time has come.”

Thereupon, an oracle returned immediately.

– Yes. Finally···.

Elbridge felt a deep excitement in the goddess’s oracle.

In truth, it was only natural. For the Goddess of the Rusty Shield had waited only for this moment over the past two hundred years.

At the end of every year, a vote was held across the entire continent.

A vote that determined how many seats the deities would occupy in the Heavenly Council.

Of course, there was no need for everyone to gather in one place to vote.

They merely had to offer a prayer while declaring their support for the deity they served.

The emblems of the religious orders engraved and shining on the backs of the hands of people walking to and fro could be seen.

As soon as the voting began, if one offered a prayer to the deity they served, the emblem of the order would be engraved on the back of the hand like that.

Once one had offered a prayer while declaring support, the voting result would not change even if they prayed to another deity until the end of the year.

Those who already possessed the emblem of an order now, just as the voting had begun, were those who had offered prayers without weighing this and that···. In other words, they were the most devout believers.

In that case, how did the relatively less devout believers act?

“If you offer a prayer to the God of the Golden Platter! Immediate cash payment!”

“Believe in the Goddess of the Olive Tree! Just offer a prayer and we will give you generous free gifts!”

Such people would wait until the very end before choosing an order and offering their prayer.

This was because voting freebies tended to grow even larger toward the end of the voting period.

Naturally, this was a story he had heard from Marcus and Rombel.

‘···The end times, truly.’

Elbridge gazed at Solenion, which had turned into a massive marketplace, and offered a prayer to the goddess as he climbed the hill leading to the Shantytown.

“Goddess. How many people have offered prayers to you so far?”

– Wait just a moment. Your goddess shall tell you a surprising story···.

The Goddess of the Rusty Shield answered triumphantly. However, no response returned for quite a while after that.

Ultimately, Elbridge offered a prayer once more.

“Goddess? What is the matter?”

Thereupon, the Goddess of the Rusty Shield delivered her oracle in a trembling voice.

– The dwarves of the mountain city offered their prayers almost immediately, but only about a hundred people in Solenion have offered theirs···.

This was a difficult thing to comprehend.

“Goddess. Did we not receive as many as a thousand believers after the last Grand Festival ended? From what I heard, the believers who finish voting on the first day account for about thirty percent of the total.”

Calculating backward, it meant that the number of believers of the Order of the Rusty Shield currently remaining in Solenion was around three hundred.

Did it make any sense for seven hundred believers to depart in a span of barely half a year?

To this, the goddess answered hesitantly.

– In truth, as time passed after the Grand Festival ended, the people offering prayers to me gradually decreased. It must be because the fervor of the Grand Festival cooled down.

Believers who come easily leave easily. This had been an unchanging truth since ancient times.

Elbridge had also thought there would be some degree of defection, but he had not expected it to be to this extent.

“It is alright, Goddess. What matters is the seats, is it not? As long as we can maintain two seats, a few defecting votes do not matter.”

However, an even more dismal answer returned.

– Elbridge. Now that I calculate it, it looks a bit tight. At this rate, we might end up with only one seat instead of two. And I already bragged all over the place that we would definitely have two seats···.

The goddess’s voice shook violently.

Elbridge could even feel a faint whimper in that oracle. Oh goodness.

The Goddess of the Rusty Shield kept silent for a long time, and then delivered her final oracle in a determined voice once more.

– Great Warrior Elbridge. Your goddess believes in her Chief Paladin and Archbishop. Somehow, protect your goddess’s second seat.

“···I understand.”

He replied, but he had no confidence.

The remaining days were five.

Elbridge felt a little lost.