Paladin of a Fallen Order (Novel) - Chapter 64 - Isalvius

Chapter 64 – Isalvius

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Translated by Pratt

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Elbridge made up his mind.

‘The south. I am going to the Lake of Eternity.’

He was not worried about leaving the main temple in Solenion empty.

Eastern Solenion was an area with one of the highest concentrations of paladins on the entire continent, so even if a demon were to appear again by some chance, they would manage to solve the problem. While quality might be questionable, quantity was certainly guaranteed.

Furthermore, paladins were bound to develop noticeably every time they survived a battle with a demon.

Although not many had fought the demon directly in the past battle, simply watching a battle with a demon served as immense experience, and furthermore, as motivation for training.

If a demon appeared in Solenion again, the paladins would not be helplessly defeated as before.

Rather, there was a different point that weighed on his mind.

‘The clue given by the Central Mage Tower Lord. Is it wise to deliver that clue to the Goddess?’

The Central Mage Tower Lord had quietly conveyed his message using magic.

That must mean there existed someone who should not hear the conversation.

Whom did the Central Mage Tower Lord want to hide the content of the conversation from?

‘It isn’t Rombel and Marcus.’

However, the only people present there were Elbridge, Rombel, Marcus, and the Central Mage Tower Lord.

Even excluding the parties to the conversation, Elbridge and the Central Mage Tower Lord, and further excluding Rombel and Marcus, there were two entities who could hear the conversation in that place. The Goddess of the Rusty Shield and the God of the Sunshower.

The Central Mage Tower Lord must have wished for his words not to be conveyed to the two deities.

‘He said Sir Leonhardt’s actions would touch upon the essential parts of the heavens.’

This also added persuasive weight to Elbridge’s deduction.

Which god would be pleased with an earthly being approaching the secrets of heaven?

The Goddess of the Rusty Shield had even mentioned once that she could not speak of this.

‘Then, why did the Central Mage Tower Lord try to hide the content of the conversation from the two deities?’

The highest probability was that it was because Elbridge or the Central Mage Tower Lord might suffer harm.

Yet, the possibility of a problem arising for the Goddess of the Rusty Shield or the God of the Sunshower could not be ruled out either. After all, did even the heavenly gods not have rules they had to follow?

‘Whatever the case, I might become unable to follow Sir Leonhardt’s traces.’

If so, there was only one thing Elbridge needed now.

‘I need an excuse to go to the south, near the Lake of Eternity.’

The problem was that there was absolutely no point of contact between Elbridge and the south.

Even two hundred years ago, Elbridge had never been to the south.

How could he create a plausible excuse to head to the south?

Elbridge left the temple while deep in thought.

*

The first place Elbridge’s steps headed was the Mercenary Guild.

As long as there was one major request heading to the south, he would be able to head south without raising much suspicion.

‘No. Though it might have been fine in the past, wouldn’t it look a bit strange for me to handle such a request now?’

Tinkle.

As Elbridge pushed open the door of the Mercenary Guild, the small bell hanging above the door let out a clear ring.

And the first thing that caught Elbridge’s eye was the sight of mercenaries sitting on a long bench in slovenly postures.

Likewise, the mercenaries also looked at Elbridge.

“…”

At that moment, almost all the mercenaries straightened their postures.

Postures with straight backs and erect necks. Though not as disciplined as knights, it could be called the most polite posture a mercenary could show.

There was even a rather clear admiration in their eyes.

While mercenaries hated being bound by rules, they respected those with skill.

And by their standards, Elbridge was a skilled individual who deserved more than enough respect.

‘…This is burdensome.’

Feeling a little awkward, Elbridge slowly read the request boards posted on the wall.

There were one or two requests heading to Middlemarch in the central region, but none heading to the south.

“Sir Elbridge. If you have come to commission a request, you may come this way.”

Turning his head, he saw a Mercenary Guild official wearing a refreshingly bright smile that felt almost overwhelmingly kind.

A look that showed they couldn’t possibly imagine Elbridge had come to take a request.

Elbridge made an excuse with an awkward expression.

“I didn’t come to commission a request… I just stopped by to see if Marcus might be here.”

“Ah right. I heard that you share a deep friendship with Mr. Marcus.”

“Yes, well…”

The mercenaries whispered, lowering their voices.

“That bastard Marcus has all the luck. Grabbing an unbelievable connection and suddenly rising in the world…”

Whatever else might be the case, the reason Marcus was not at the Mercenary Guild was understandable. The quick-witted Marcus must have found the mercenaries’ subtle jealousy uncomfortable.

The guild official replied in a bright voice.

“If Mr. Marcus comes, I will pass along the message for him to go to the Order of the Rusty Shield.”

“…Yes. I see. Thank you.”

Elbridge left the Mercenary Guild.

‘Where should I go now? The Solenion Lord’s castle? Or the Mage Tower?’

While Elbridge was walking the streets in deep thought, a middle-aged priest in clerical robes approached him.

“Sir Elbridge, are you not Sir Elbridge?”

The elderly priest was rejoicing to a slightly excessive degree.

Since there were so many people who approached showing goodwill after the battle with the demon, Elbridge tried to return the greeting moderately and move on.

However, the priest’s face was strangely familiar. As if they had crossed paths somewhere before.

After hesitating for a beat, Elbridge remembered where he had seen the other party’s face.

“…The Order of the Flowing Water?”

The elderly priest was overjoyed to the point of leaping.

“You remember!”

He was the person who had hired five paladins from other orders to participate in the last Grand Festival. Had it not been for this priest, Elbridge would have had no reason to participate in the Grand Festival in the first place.

However, the priest’s attitude was a little strange.

At that time, this priest and Elbridge had been in a somewhat awkward relationship.

Because Elbridge had ruined the Order of the Flowing Water’s plan to suppress the Order of Spring Rain and Moss in the Grand Festival and expand its influence in the east.

Yet now, this priest was welcoming Elbridge with an overwhelmingly glad demeanor.

‘…He has some hidden agenda.’

Thinking so, Elbridge was about to leave the spot when he recalled a single fact.

Namely, that the influence of the Order of the Flowing Water was concentrated in the southern region.

Without realizing it, Elbridge wore a smile even more friendly than usual.

“It has been a while, Priest. Would you care to join me for a cup of tea at the temple?”

*

The elderly priest possessed a rather archaic name: Isalvius.

However, Isalvius looked at least ten years older than when they had last met.

It was so even though barely over half a year had passed since the last Grand Festival.

Isalvius took a sip of the tea Elbridge had poured for him and spoke in an extremely anxious voice.

“Sir Elbridge. I know it is a truly, truly shameless request, but… I desperately need Sir Elbridge’s help.”

“Is it a situation where my help is absolutely necessary?”

“I requested help from the other combat orders in Solenion as well, but I was rejected by every single one.”

The introduction was incredibly intriguing from the start. For some reason, it felt as though he absolutely had to go south.

Elbridge pulled his chair a little closer as he sat and asked.

“Mr. Isalvius. Could I first hear the situation in a bit more detail?”

Isalvius nodded before beginning his explanation.

“The Order of the Flowing Water was an order that has maintained its influence centered around the southern part of the continent. While not to the extent of the Order of Spring Rain and Moss… its footing in the south was still quite solid.”

“Yes. I have heard of that.”

Large orders were naturally bound to operate across multiple regions of the continent.

For instance, the Golden Platter Order or the Olive Tree Order wielded power continent-wide, while the Order of Spring Rain and Moss held considerable influence across the eastern and northern regions.

However, orders with only one or two seats, or no seats at all, often concentrated their efforts on a single region. The so-called focus and concentration.

Isalvius’s voice sank a little lower.

“Around last spring or summer, when the number of magic beasts began to increase. The priests of our order thought that a chance had finally come. As combat increases, does the influence of combat orders not grow?”

“Indeed.”

“It was in that context that we attempted to expand our influence to the east. Though we failed…”

Elbridge replied firmly.

“I had no choice but to thwart that attempt. Since ancient times, the Order of the Rusty Shield has been the closest ally of the Order of Spring Rain and Moss.”

A statement made with considerable consciousness of the Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss, who might be listening to the conversation.

Isalvius exhaled a deep sigh.

“I understand. And it is deeply regrettable. Why did the Order of the Flowing Water not have an ally like the Order of the Rusty Shield…”

Judging by the atmosphere, it did not seem like he was speaking because of the Grand Festival’s outcome.

“What happened?”

“It was good at first. The combat orders of the south visited our order, vying to offer compensations and beg for help. Since we were short on personnel and our authority had limits, the Order of the Flowing Water would first accept requests from the orders promising the greatest compensation.”

It was a rational course of action, but not a very pleasant story to lay out in front of an outsider.

As Elbridge wore a slightly displeased expression, Isalvius added a word.

“Of course, it is not that we only chased compensations. In truly urgent situations, we dispatched personnel without considering any price. The important thing is that both personnel and authority were insufficient to help every order.”

“Yes. Please continue.”

“Wealth overflowed, and as wealth overflowed, the number of believers increased. At this rate, it felt as though we could surpass two or three seats and regain the influence of the distant past.”

It was a natural progression.

Because without paladins possessing healing authority, the paladins of combat orders could not unleash even half of their true abilities.

“Then, a massive horde of magic beasts swept through the south. Everyone fought desperately. The damage was severe, but we managed to repel them. The problem is that the damage was concentrated on the orders that did not receive healing authority.”

“…Surely, you didn’t demand wealth even in that chaotic crisis?”

“No, that wasn’t it. We simply helped the orders we normally interacted with more and shared deeper ties with first. Is that much not unavoidable?”

To put it conversely, it meant the orders with fewer transactions were left neglected.

‘Would they believe us if we explained that there was no financial transaction in such a situation?’

No, was that even something important?

“The orders that suffered heavy damage were enraged. Each order began to group up and fight on their own. A war broke out over the living spoils of war… the priests and paladins of the Order of the Flowing Water. Paladins who were smiling together just last spring are now desperate to kill one another.”

One could easily guess how disastrous that spectacle was just by looking at Isalvius’s expression.

Who in the world could have expected humans to start a war in the face of demons and magic beasts?

“Now, the will of our order does not matter. The priests and paladins of our order have been scattered here and there, reduced to the state of slaves. Slaves dragged to battlefields just to heal wounds. Our order is on the verge of dissolving.”

“…”

“I desperately need help. Please rescue even a single one of the captured people. I will pay whatever price is necessary.”

It was a proposal that any order would naturally reject.

To think one had to travel to the far south and intervene in a war between orders.

Even if there was a price to receive, it was nothing more than gaining an ally in an order with a single seat, whose helpfulness was completely unknown.

But Elbridge thought.

‘I don’t like it.’

It was not a matter of the price.

The problem was that this situation was sickeningly familiar to Elbridge.

The times when the world was at its most chaotic.

The only ones who united without any distracting thoughts were the people on the front lines, for whom it would not be strange to die this very evening.

On the contrary, the people in the rear were unable to unite.

Perhaps because they still had some leeway, did they have the leisure to take sides?

Right then, Marcus lumbered in.

“Sir Elbridge. I heard you called?”

Elbridge stood up from his seat and replied.

“Pack your bags. We are going south.”

“…I don’t have a choice in this, do I?”

Marcus’s expression grew a little gloomy.