Paladin of a Fallen Order (Novel) - Chapter 77 - Third-Time Candidate
Chapter 77 – Third-Time Candidate
===================
Translated by Pratt
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
===================
“…What?”
The story Niseras had just blurted out threw Elbridge’s party into confusion.
Niseras said proudly.
“Do you know what grafting is?”
“…I think I’ve heard of it.”
“If you slice off the stems of two plants slightly and fix them well, you can get a result that’s roughly in the middle of the two. It’s similar. About four or five hundred years ago, I saw a magic beast that resembled a wild boar and had a thought. ‘If I’m lucky, I might be able to graft this.'”
Vireon’s assumption that the ground boar was a crossbreed of a beast and a magic beast was exactly correct.
However, the problem was that it wasn’t something that had happened naturally, but something the elf in front of them had done.
“So I subdued the magic beast and tied it up well. I was wondering what to do next, but surprisingly, the female wild boar showed interest first. As a result… Tada! The first ground boars were born!”
As Niseras spoke like that, he seemed to expect some sort of reaction from Elbridge’s party.
However, the expressions of Elbridge’s party were stiffly frozen.
If it had been some time ago, they might have admired it.
The three had seen the devastation caused by the ground boars.
They had seen the ground boars collapsing castles and cities, trampling people, and they had seen countless people dying.
They had seen the God of the Flowing Water descend and turn into a demon to protect the people from the stampede.
Vireon had said that it was the ground boars that killed more people than any other magic beast in the south.
They could understand up to that point.
However, they could not accept at all that so many people had died over the past few centuries because of the eccentricity of a crazy elf.
Elbridge stood up from his seat and gripped the hilt of his sword.
“What on earth are you…”
Since he believed the role of a paladin was to fight demons, Elbridge rarely pointed a weapon at a human.
However, even by Elbridge’s standards, what Niseras had done was a capital crime that could not be washed away even by death.
The reactions of Marcus and Rombel were equally fierce. The two also gripped their weapons.
But at that moment, the Goddess of the Rusty Shield handed down an oracle.
—Elbridge. Wait.
While Elbridge hesitated at the sudden oracle, Niseras let out a sigh of regret.
“Yes. Well… as expected.”
Clap.
Niseras clapped his hands. Then, complex patterns emerged on the floor and walls of the cabin, emitting light.
Wrapped in the light, Elbridge’s body began to stiffen.
‘A trap!’
Unlike general magic, which takes time to activate, a magic circle exerts its effect immediately as soon as the trigger is activated. It meant they had fallen into a trap from the moment they entered this cabin.
“God…dess!”
His life was in danger. The moment Elbridge with great difficulty offered a prayer to the Goddess, Niseras scooped Elbridge up and approached the door.
Creeeak—
Niseras opened the door, then threw Elbridge out of the door.
Thud—
Elbridge rolled on the ground, stiff as a log of wood. Subsequently, Rombel and Marcus were also thrown out of the house.
That was the end. Without killing the three, Niseras turned to enter the cabin.
Perhaps his pride was hurt, Rombel with great effort moved his stiff tongue and spoke.
“Aren’t you… going to kill us…!”
Then, Niseras replied with a bitter expression.
“A host must not harm their guests.”
Thud.
The door closed.
…
The three waited a moment for the magic to wear off, then picked themselves up with difficulty.
Although there were numerous ground boars around them, the ground boars did not attack the three. They only approached occasionally to sniff and then walked away.
Moving his jaw slowly, Rombel asked in a still somewhat slurred pronunciation.
“What… are you going to do?”
Would they enter the cabin again to subdue Niseras, or return like this?
Elbridge thought for a moment and then shook his head.
Whatever his intent was, Niseras did not kill Elbridge’s party even in a situation where he could have.
The fact that the Goddess of the Rusty Shield had handed down an oracle was also on his mind. Although the Goddess of the Rusty Shield was lax, she never restrained Elbridge’s actions without any reason.
“…For now, let’s go back.”
*
That night, Elbridge lay in bed and offered a prayer to the Goddess.
“Goddess. For what reason did you stop me?”
In fact, even if the Goddess hadn’t stopped him, the chances of winning would have been low.
How could he subdue a mage while already caught in the mage’s spiderweb? However, Elbridge did not want to admit that fact. And indeed, because of the Goddess’s restraint, he hadn’t even been able to try anything.
—Elbridge. Niseras is not simply an eccentric person.
“Do you know Niseras?”
—If they are a god in the heavens, there are probably few who do not know Niseras.
“Goddess. Is creating ground boars that much of a feat?”
—It is not because of that. However, I do not know if it is acceptable to speak of Niseras’s deeds…
The Goddess of the Rusty Shield did not speak precisely about Niseras.
However, Elbridge did not miss that the Goddess’s attitude was in itself a clue.
The gods cannot carelessly spread stories of the heavens to earthly beings.
However, there are no particular restrictions on conveying earthly stories to other earthly beings.
‘If so, it means Niseras is someone connected to the heavens…’
The Goddess of the Rusty Shield handed down an oracle to Elbridge one last time.
—Whatever else may be, I would rather not recommend clashing with Niseras. Elbridge.
“Understood. Goddess.”
However, Elbridge felt a small curiosity from the Goddess’s oracle.
*
At dawn the next day, as soon as Elbridge woke up, he went outside.
Under the dim sky, Elbridge stared in the direction where the cabin had been yesterday.
‘Huh?’
And Elbridge realized one thing.
The ground boars, which were just wandering around yesterday, were moving very slowly.
The story Rombel had told yesterday came to mind.
‘He said he would send the ground boars somewhere else when the sun rises tomorrow. It means completing the request at once.’
While Elbridge stared blankly at the ground boars, Martha approached and spoke to him.
“You woke up early. The bed wasn’t uncomfortable, was it?”
“Yes. I slept comfortably.”
“It seems the ground boars have been moving since a little while ago… Did you solve the problem yesterday?”
Elbridge’s party did not tell Martha what had happened with Niseras yesterday.
However, it was not a situation where they could confidently say they had solved the problem.
‘No, since Rombel talked with Niseras, was the problem solved…?’
Elbridge let out a deep sigh.
“…Well.”
The situation was roughly settled, but Elbridge was not at ease.
Aside from the problem being solved, he felt he needed to know a bit more about Niseras.
Elbridge asked Martha.
“Ms. Martha.”
“Yes?”
“What do you think of the ground boars?”
“Just looking at them makes me worry. The inconvenience caused by those guys is no joke.”
“Was it like that in the past? Even before the ground boars gathered.”
Martha shrugged her shoulders.
“Since I’ve always seen them since I was young, I’m used to them and don’t care much. But if I had to choose… it’s not good. They make me anxious, they smell, and they keep digging up the ground and ruining crops. If only those guys weren’t here, the Great Forest would be much better to live in.”
“I see.”
Indeed, to the people of the south, the ground boar was an eyesore.
Just as Vireon, and every other person in the south, had said.
“I will go check outside for a moment.”
“Go ahead!”
Leaving the cheerful Martha behind, Elbridge climbed over the wooden fence and walked through the ground boars, thinking.
‘Why did Niseras create the ground boars?’
It was a topic that hadn’t occurred to him in the cabin yesterday.
Did Niseras create the ground boars out of simple whim or fun?
After taking in tens of thousands of ground boars, Elbridge discovered the elf riding on top of a ground boar.
Niseras was there.
Elbridge was slightly nervous.
A magic circle wouldn’t pop up like yesterday, but as Elbridge saw it, Niseras was a fairly skilled mage. What if Niseras showed a hostile reaction?
‘I think I can handle Niseras. But if the ground boars turn into enemies…’
However, Niseras, who discovered Elbridge, showed a reaction different from expectation.
“Did you sleep well?”
Even though they hadn’t parted in a very good way yesterday, Niseras gave his usual refreshed smile upon seeing Elbridge.
There was only one emotion felt in that voice. Welcome.
Elbridge thought.
When I woke up from the seal, did I also speak to people in a voice like that?
Niseras spoke to Elbridge.
“Elbridge. I thought I had heard your name somewhere… I remembered late. You’re the fellow who was sealed with the Great Demon, right?”
“That’s right.”
Hearing the term ‘fellow’ somehow made him chuckle.
Because it made him realize anew that the other was indeed an extremely old elf.
“Elbridge. You must have had a hard time too. In many senses.”
“It wasn’t easy.”
It was not an atmosphere where a fight would break out.
Elbridge lightly hopped onto the ground boar next to Niseras.
Because of the boar’s uniquely coarse hair, the riding comfort was not very good.
“Niseras. I have one question that came to mind overnight.”
“What is it?”
“Why did you create the ground boars?”
At that, Niseras laughed.
“Did you know? In the past three hundred years, you are the first person to ask that.”
“I suppose you didn’t create them out of simple fun.”
“That’s right. I created them because ground boars were absolutely necessary in the south.”
Niseras stroked the ground boar’s fur, as if stroking a puppy.
“Elbridge. Why do you think there are no demons in the south?”
“…Well.”
Even two hundred years ago, the southern Great Forest was famous as a land without demons.
However, just because there were no demons didn’t mean the lives of the southern people were smooth. Because they had to fight magic beasts and harsh nature instead of demons.
“Actually, it’s not that there were no demons in the south. These guys pushed them all out.”
“The ground boars pushed out demons?”
He thought, ‘Does that even make sense?’
However, he thought it was entirely possible. If tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of ground boars rushed in, unless it was a demon with special powers, it would be hard to hold out.
“Before you were even born—in the distant past, the situation in the south was worse. Because they had to face magic beasts and nature, as well as demons all at the same time. Nothing could be overcome with human strength alone. Looking at that sight, I thought, ‘If humans cannot overcome demons, couldn’t magic beasts drive them out?'”
It was a ridiculous story.
Since magic beasts were like byproducts of demons, they obeyed demons thoroughly.
However, if it was ground boars, which were a mixture of magic beasts and animals…
When Elbridge’s eyes widened, Niseras laughed.
“You have good comprehension. I decided to use the ground boars to drive out the demons. And that idea worked well. Though it took decades for the number of ground boars to increase sufficiently. People in those days used to refer to ground boars as a blessing sent down by the Chief God.”
Elbridge replied.
“Though it’s not like that at all now.”
“Of course. Is there any single reason for people who don’t remember demons to be grateful to the ground boars and to me?”
…
Somehow, deep in his chest, it felt stifling.
Wasn’t that exactly the reason he couldn’t honestly reveal everything in front of people and had to act as his own descendant?
The ground boars that had become an eyesore in a world where demons vanished.
And himself, who would be the first to be suspected in a world where demons had vanished.
“Elbridge. Why do you think the ground boars follow me?”
“…Probably because you created the first ground boars.”
Niseras shook his head.
“No. It’s because I’m the only one who loves the ground boars. These guys can notice incredibly well whether someone likes them or dislikes them. Try stroking this one gently.”
Elbridge gently stroked the ground boar he was riding.
Then the ground boar let out a small cry as if it felt good. Guruk.
Elbridge muttered without realizing.
“So that’s what it was…”
“Yes. That’s it.”
Niseras muttered so, and then wore a sad and lingering expression.
Thanks to their natural appearance, when an elf makes an expression like that, it in itself becomes a beautiful picture.
In fact, although Niseras was riding a ground boar right now, he looked far more plausible than a knight riding a white horse.
In a voice like singing or reciting poetry, Niseras concluded his story.
“As a result of being so unfairly hated, even though I was chosen by the Chief God three times, I lost in the heavenly votes all three times. That is the reason why I failed to become a god. Can you guess how unfair it feels to me, Elbridge?”
…
Niseras’s story had progressed rapidly.
Elbridge thought that Niseras had definitely omitted a lot of important things.
How he interpreted that reaction, Niseras laughed cheerfully.
“Haha. Don’t worry. Since the Goddess of the Rusty Shield did not cast a opposing vote.”
Elbridge also understood the meaning of the ‘pass’ that Niseras had mentioned yesterday.