Paladin of a Fallen Order (Novel) - Chapter 80 - Inn
Chapter 80 – Inn
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Translated by Pratt
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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Now that they had found out someone had broken the seal, it was time to find out their identity.
And there was only one place where a clue about them could be. The space directly adjacent to the stone chamber.
Elbridge thought of two ways to cross over to the other side of the stone chamber.
First, breaking down the wall where the magic circuit was drawn.
Second, finding the entrance that led to the opposite passage.
Rombel naturally chose the second option.
“What if we break down the wall and even this place collapses? Let’s look for the entrance on the opposite side.”
The three immediately went up to the surface and searched the surroundings.
And before even enough time to drink a cup of tea had passed, Rombel discovered a place suspected to be the entrance to the passage.
“The direction and location seem to roughly match… I think this is the place.”
However, in Elbridge’s eyes, nothing resembling a space where a person could enter was visible. The ground was just slightly sunken, and that was all.
“This is the entrance?”
“Yes. They collapsed the entrance after they were done using it. Look, the support timber is sticking out here.”
Rombel kicked a corner of the sunken ground with his short leg.
There, the end of a piece of wood, slightly thicker than an adult’s forearm, was sticking out.
“I see. Now the problem is how we get into the collapsed entrance…”
“Just because they collapsed the entrance doesn’t mean it collapsed all the way to the inside. Especially since there are support timbers. Just wait a moment.”
Rombel unpacked his luggage. True to a dwarf, it was full of all kinds of tools.
Wooden handles that could be slotted in here and there, a hammer head, a small saw, and the like. Among them was even an assembly shovel.
‘…Isn’t it heavy carrying things like that around?’
Rombel assembled the shovel in an instant, and without even asking Elbridge or Marcus for help, he began to dig up the soil. He seemed to have been inwardly self-conscious about Marcus’ active role alone.
Dig, dig, dig.
Rombel that dug up the dirt was frighteningly fast. It was to the point that Elbridge and Marcus admired him.
“I think I know now how dwarves carved mountains to make cities…”
Before long, a space that had not collapsed revealed itself.
The condition of the support timbers supporting the top and sides was good. There seemed to be no risk of collapse.
However, a terrible stench wafted from the inside.
“This smell is…”
There was no one among the three who did not know this smell.
As they advanced about ten paces along the passage, three rotting corpses revealed themselves. Although they were not completely turned to white bones, decomposition had progressed significantly, making them not very pleasant to look at.
“They were silenced.”
Elbridge’s party looked around the inside of the small dugout cave.
No other clues were visible. Indeed, they would not have left any special clues in a dugout cave.
Naturally, the gaze of Elbridge’s party directed toward the corpses.
Perhaps those who had silenced them had removed anything that could identify the corpses, as there were almost no belongings. At most, the clothes they wore were all they had. Even those clothes were not in good condition. Some parts looked as if they had been cut or torn off on purpose.
Still, it was not that there were no clues to guess their identity.
“Cowhide shoes.”
Wealthy people wore shoes made of soft calfskin, deerskin, or lambskin. Poor people enjoyed wearing cheap goat leather shoes, which wore out easily but were inexpensive.
And shoes made from adult cowhide were somewhere in the middle. They were not from rich families, but they seemed to have lived without being too hard-pressed for money.
“The clothes are thick. They seem to have died in winter or early spring.”
Since it was last spring when Elbridge was released from the seal, the timing roughly matched.
But there was nothing else that stood out. While Elbridge and Rombel hesitated, wondering if they should examine even the decaying corpses, Marcus pulled out a pocketknife and ripped the outer garments of the corpses.
“What are you doing?”
“Winter clothes often have a separate lining added. And… while adding the lining, they often add the order’s emblem together with it.”
On the lining of the clothes Marcus had cut, right where the heart would be, there were traces of patched old cloth.
It was an old emblem that had become faint as the corpse decayed. Still, they could recognize what that emblem was.
“Order of the Brass Cup.”
It was a small-to-medium-sized order that steadily maintained its seats.
It was also an order of just the right size to track. If the scale of the order was too large like the Golden Platter, it would be difficult to pinpoint who the victims were.
“We must find a nearby village.”
The God of the Brass Cup symbolized community, frugality, and travelers.
The victims were highly likely to be from a small village rather than a large city like Solenion.
“Mr. Marcus. Are there any villages you know around here?”
“There are several places I’ve traveled to and from while performing requests… There is a place that comes to mind. Let’s go for now.”
The three walked silently along the forest path.
Neither Elbridge nor Marcus opened their mouths, lost in their own thoughts.
Perhaps finding the long-lasting silence hard to bear, Rombel finally spoke to Elbridge.
“Elbridge. What are you thinking about?”
“If they broke the seal, it means they stood to gain something by breaking it, right?”
“Probably so.”
“Just what kind of benefit did they aim for to break the seal?”
Rombel thought for a moment before answering.
“Maybe there was a demon worshipper. Those folks like it as long as they can release a demon.”
“Where would a demon worshipper be in this day and age? Besides, until not long ago, most people in the East didn’t even believe in the existence of demons.”
“Then, well, maybe grave robbers.”
Elbridge shook his head.
“No. It wasn’t someone so clumsy. They knew the exact method to break the seal. Moreover, digging a separate tunnel instead of entering the stone chamber… means they vaguely guessed my state. If they entered the stone chamber, I would have noticed them, so they chose the back path.”
“That’s quite sharp, coming from you.”
Rombel had a habit of begging for a beating by adding useless remarks.
As Elbridge turned his head to look at Rombel, Rombel naturally took a defensive stance.
Since he was not in the mood to play around, Elbridge did not punish Rombel and turned his head away. Of course, it was not that he lacked confidence in breaking through the defense.
“Rombel. Who would benefit from unleashing a demon into the world?”
“Many people. Someone who wants to wreck this region, an idiot who thinks the demon will give them treasure if they release it, a guy who just wants the world to perish…”
“A bit more realistically.”
“Elbridge. Shall I tell you something interesting?”
“What is it?”
“Actually, I know who benefits the most if that seal is broken. I also know which group benefits the most.”
“Who is it?”
“You and your order.”
Elbridge naturally raised his fist, then stopped his hand.
Because he realized that Rombel’s guess was not a simple joke.
There was no need to even explain Elbridge’s benefit.
And the benefit to the Order of the Rusty Shield was also clear. Less than a year after Elbridge was released from the seal, the Order of the Rusty Shield, which had not a single seat, recovered four seats. Anyone would look at it with suspicion. Doesn’t it seem as if they broke the seal after making full preparations?
Elbridge’s voice sank low.
“Rombel. Do you think I broke the seal myself?”
“No. But when you first appeared and said the seal was broken, the one I suspected the most was your Goddess.”
Crack!
With a sound like something exploding, a bolt of lightning fell from the clear sky.
The lightning struck a short distance away from the party.
– Elbridge! That foolish dwarf is talking nonsense! Although your Goddess was overjoyed to recover her sole paladin, she is not such a fool as to throw the world into chaos for personal feelings!
The Goddess of the Rusty Shield delivered an oracle, completely excited.
Furthermore, this oracle was not one whispered in Elbridge’s ear, but a public oracle with the voice of the Goddess echoing from the sky.
Rombel immediately fell to his knees and begged the Goddess of the Rusty Shield.
“Of course! That was only a temporary suspicion. Since I fought several times with the paladins of the Order of the Rusty Shield two hundred years ago, I quickly realized that the Goddess of the Rusty Shield firmly rejects the demon!”
– …
“Also, the fact that I can voice such thoughts means that I have completely cleared away all doubts. If even a speck of doubt remained in my heart, would I dare speak such words in front of the Goddess’s sole paladin?”
Thanks to Rombel’s reckless words, the innocent Marcus also knelt beside him, trembling.
The Goddess of the Rusty Shield delivered the oracle in a voice more solemn than usual.
– You must never doubt me again, dwarf Rombel.
“Of course, Goddess!”
As the Goddess’s presence faded, Rombel got up from his spot and grumbled quietly.
“…Wow, she was listening to this.”
Immediately, another bolt of lightning struck down! Crack!
Rombel went straight back to his knees.
“Oh dear, this crazy mouth of mine! This Rombel does not doubt the Goddess at all! Since there was not a single believer back then, how could the Goddess have dug a tunnel and broken the seal herself? If there is a most innocent deity in the heavens, it must be the Goddess of the Rusty Shield!”
There was no malice in Rombel’s words.
However, Elbridge thought the Goddess must have been slightly hurt. Since the Goddess of the Rusty Shield considered the era when she had zero believers to be her dark age.
– …Yes. Be careful with your words from now on, Rombel.
“Understood!”
The Goddess of the Rusty Shield delivered her final oracle in a seemingly composed voice, but she was bound to visit the Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss today to pour out her grievances.
Elbridge thought he should offer high-quality beer as soon as possible to soothe the Goddess’s heart.
Because of the two lightning strikes, the discussion could not continue any further.
*
The place they arrived at following Marcus was a small village with a population of only about a hundred people.
Incongruous with its small scale, there were carriages and carts here and there, and there was also an inn equipped with a decent stable and storehouse.
Marcus explained the reason for coming to this village.
“This village makes a living by doing business with passing merchants, laborers, mercenaries, and travelers. There are often mercenaries looking for work… It is one of the few villages close to that stone chamber where it is easy to hire people. There might be a connection between the village and the corpses.”
The three headed for the inn.
Since the Order of the Brass Cup symbolized travelers, there were many among the innkeepers who followed the God of the Brass Cup. Conveniently, Elbridge’s party also needed a place to stay.
And Marcus discovered an interesting piece of paper in front of the inn.
“A by-election… I’ve never seen something like this before.”
It was a notice that a by-election was being held to fill a vacancy in the Heavenly Council.
It was bound to be the seat created by the decline of the God of the Flowing Water.
“…It has nothing to do with us. Since it’s a vacancy that occurred in the south, they will fill it in the south.”
Rombel entered the inn as he spoke.
He immediately made eye contact with the blunt-looking innkeeper.
Even though three customers had entered, the innkeeper looked slightly disappointed.
Elbridge looked around the inside of the inn.
It was crowded with merchants and laborers eating dinner, and there were several people drinking alcohol.
The three sat at a long table facing the innkeeper.
The innkeeper glanced toward the door and then asked.
“Meals?”
“Both meals and rooms. One room is fine.”
“Good. I’ll calculate the food cost together with the room price when you go up to your room.”
The innkeeper gestured toward the kitchen.
Seeing as he did not ask what they would eat, it seemed the type of meal was roughly fixed.
Elbridge observed the other tables.
People were eating steamed potatoes, turnip stew, slices of cheese, and brown bread.
Marcus slid some coins to the innkeeper.
“Give us a glass of beer each as well. By the way, innkeeper. Which god do you serve?”
“Me? I serve the God of the Brass Cup.”
“By any chance, is there anyone among the believers of the Order of the Brass Cup who hasn’t been seen lately?”
The innkeeper answered.
“There is no one in this village who believes in the God of the Brass Cup other than me and my wife.”
“Is that so.”
Just as they were thinking that, the innkeeper added a word while serving the beer and meals.
“It became that way after my son left.”
The expressions of the party stiffened slightly. Seeing that, the innkeeper said.
“Not to your liking? There are no other menus.”
“Ah… It’s not because the food is not to our liking. It just reminded me of the past. I am a mercenary too, you see.”
As Marcus made a plausible excuse, the innkeeper continued talking.
“He kept singing about how he hated spending his whole life doing inn work… then he suddenly left, saying his friend had brought a job. He was always listening to the tall tales of mercenaries, getting high ideas.”
“It’s common to refuse good work and suffer in a foreign land. Around when did your son leave?”
“Early winter of the year before last, or was it… late autumn? Anyway, it was around then.”
Elbridge’s party exchanged glances.
They could not be certain that the innkeeper’s son was one of those corpses. However, the timing was too perfect.
“…I know because I played the mercenary for a short while, but out of a mercenary’s life, the exciting and good days don’t even add up to ten days a year. It’s hard, you have to walk on eggshells, and the money isn’t as good as you think. It’s about time he wises up and comes back.”
The innkeeper glanced at the entrance of the inn as he spoke.
However, there was no one who opened the door and entered.
The three deliberated. Did you perhaps sew the emblem of the order onto the lining of your son’s clothes? Such a question hovered in their mouths.
But no one said that to the innkeeper. Because in this world, there were some things that were better left unknown.
A life of glancing at the doorway, hoping for his son’s quick return, was better than accepting his son’s death. Especially when they could not be absolutely sure that the innkeeper’s son was one of the three corpses.
“Where is your son’s friend who brought that job?”
“They left together. Why do you ask?”
“I was wondering if there might be a job with an overlapping direction if we’re lucky.”
“You can ask that fellow over there about that. He is usually the one who brings work.”
The innkeeper gestured with his chin toward a blond man chatting with the mercenaries.
It was called blond, but it was a dry and yellow blond like straw.
As Marcus approached the blond man’s side, several mercenaries recognized Marcus.
“Hey, isn’t that Marcus? What have you been up to lately?”
“Oh, what’s this, Marcus! Did you change your sword? Looks like you made some money?”
Marcus did not reply and plonked down beside the blond man.
The blond man was slightly taken aback.
“…Who are you?”
Marcus slung his arm over the man’s shoulder.
“Shall we talk about some work?”