Order of the Golden Tray
Order of the Golden Tray
***
'By the way, living a long time, I get to see all sorts of things.'
Now it was uncertain whether it was right to use the expression 'young paladin', but in the past, Elbridge was definitely a young paladin.
However, just because he was young did not mean he had less experience than other paladins. Because Elbridge had become a paladin at a much younger age than most paladins.
Elbridge had been active as a paladin for nearly ten years, meeting knights and paladins of all sorts of orders.
Not to mention the giant combat orders like the Bloody Spear, the Laurel Wreath, and the Stag Antler, he had also met paladins of non-human orders like the Steel Anvil and the Thorny Bramble several times.
He had even coordinated with paladins of non-combat orders that had almost nothing to do with combat. For instance, paladins of the Order of the Goddess of the Olive Tree, which symbolized abundance and peace.
However, this was his first time seeing paladins of the Order of the Golden Tray.
Because two hundred years ago, there were no paladins in the Order of the Golden Tray.
The Order of the Golden Tray rarely paid attention to matters not related to wealth. However, in situations related to wealth, they moved faster than anyone else.
When the Great Archdemon descended, they were the ones who formed exclusive contracts with craftsmen faster than anyone else, and when news came that paladins had gone to fight demons, they were the ones who set up gambling tables betting on the outcome of the battle.
There was only one reason why the Order of the Golden Tray did not become the enemy of other orders despite acting like that. It was because they supported other orders with a significant portion of the money they earned.
Since Elbridge had lived seeing such aspects of the Order of the Golden Tray, it was natural for the current situation to feel awkward to him.
In any case, the hiring of Elbridge and Marcus was done immediately.
"Is there anyone else who will join the Order of the Golden Tray? Hmm... Good. You two who raised your hands there. Come over here. We'll be departing right away."
Marcus seemed extremely excited.
"To think I can earn five gold coins this simply!"
As expected, he was blinded by the large sum of money.
Elbridge calmed Marcus down.
"Mister Marcus. It might be a simple mission, but I don't think it will be a safe one."
"It's fine even so. Jobs like this won't be common... Besides, isn't it amazing?"
"What is?"
"Even though there's five gold coins on the line per person, they hired us right away without nitpicking about this and that. If it were me, I would have thoroughly verified whether they had actually fought a real magical beast before."
"That must be because the pay is after the job is done. The Order of the Golden Tray is not sloppy."
The two followed the paladins of the Order of the Golden Tray.
As they moved, two more people joined them. Moreover, both were knights.
"There are knights here. They don't seem to be paladins of the Order of the Golden Tray..."
At Elbridge's words, Marcus replied.
"They are both knight-errants. Wandering here and there without a lord they serve... You could actually consider them high-class mercenaries. Still, their skills are reliable. I know because we carried out a request together in the past."
Perhaps having no intention of calling more people, the fat paladin who looked like the leader instructed a knight-errant.
"We will move right away, so please explain the mission yourself."
The party of nine, consisting of five paladins, two knight-errants, Marcus, and Elbridge, slipped out of the Holy City Solenion.
One knight-errant approached Elbridge and Marcus and struck up a conversation.
"It's Marcus. Have you been well?"
"Sir Richard. It has been a while."
The knight called Sir Richard was a knight-errant who had cleanly shaved his balding head, and his shiny head and large facial features suited him well.
"Sir Richard. I have something I'm curious about, may I ask?"
"Feel free to ask. Explaining the mission is also my duty."
"What were we hired for? Seeing that the pay was high, I thought we would have an important role, but looking at the atmosphere, it doesn't seem like it."
"When a battle with a magical beast occurs, you just have to actively help without running away if they ask for help."
"Is that all?"
"It's an incredibly wealthy order, isn't it? They probably didn't have high expectations for the mercenaries they hastily hired as they left for a magical beast hunt."
Marcus scratched his chin.
"I suppose that's true, but... no matter how I think about it, the mission itself is strange. Magical beasts are creatures you rarely see, so in all likelihood, we won't find a magical beast and will end up returning empty-handed."
"It's even better if we return empty-handed. Won't we be able to comfortably collect the pay without even working?"
However, Elbridge's thoughts were different.
'The paladins of the Order of the Golden Tray must definitely know that magical beasts are on the rise... Did they not even release that basic information to Richard, who is accompanying them?'
At that moment, Marcus lowered his voice as much as possible and asked Richard.
"By the way, Sir Richard. Why is the Order of the Golden Tray suddenly hunting magical beasts? They are the ones who couldn't become knights through normal methods and only bought their titles with offerings, aren't they?"
"From what I hear, an order seems to have come down from the upper echelons of the order."
"What kind of order?"
"They said the order will cover all related expenses, so build up experience hunting magical beasts as quickly as possible. Thanks to that, I was also able to get a piece of the pie."
"What an out-of-the-blue order. They should just stick to doing business as usual..."
"Tell me about it."
Marcus and Richard mocked the bizarre whims of the Order of the Golden Tray and then began to talk about trivial matters.
However, Elbridge crossed his arms and thought about the reason why the upper echelons of the Order of the Golden Tray had made such a decision.
'...It won't be an order given out of mere whim.'
Like any other order, the Order of the Golden Tray also had to prove their abilities to rise to the top.
There was no way a person whose abilities had been recognized would give a foolish and dangerous order out of mere whim.
'I personally delivered the Baron of Riverford's letter to the Order of the Golden Tray. The Order of the Golden Tray knows that all the fief residents of the Viscountcy of Dickens evaporated. It's enough of a clue to guess that a demon has appeared. They must be certain, or in a state close to certainty.'
'It seems the Order of the Golden Tray has not informed other orders or ordinary people about the information contained in the Baron of Riverford's letter. Is it to prevent the world from falling into chaos due to the sudden news? Or is there another reason?'
'It must definitely be related to making the paladins build up experience hunting magical beasts... But why on earth?'
Finally, Elbridge recalled one more variable.
The fact that the capabilities of the paladins of the current era had been severely standardized downwards compared to the past.
Then the pieces of the situation fell into place.
'...Ah. So that's how it is.'
The reason the Order of the Golden Tray had not trained paladins in the past even while the world was in chaos was not simply because they grudged the money.
The Order of the Golden Tray knew how to scatter massive amounts of money at the moments when money had to be spent.
As Elbridge guessed, the reason they had not trained paladins was because it was not profitable.
Even if they hastily trained paladins, they could not catch up to the paladins that the existing large orders had put effort into training for a long time.
Rather than pouring money into training mediocre paladins, it was a rational choice to not spend money and give up on paladins altogether.
But it was different now. The paladins of all orders, except for a very few combat orders, were mediocre. The paladins of combat orders would also not be as outstanding as in the past.
In other words, the distance the paladins of the Order of the Golden Tray had to run to catch up with the paladins of other orders had been greatly reduced.
From a gap that could never be caught up to, to a gap where they could more or less catch up or even surpass them.
'Even if they don't release the information, it's inevitable that the news related to the demon will spread to the world before long. Are they intending to utilize even a short period to the maximum for the benefit of the order?'
Thinking like that, everything fit perfectly.
In contrast to the combat orders facing a dark age because the demons had disappeared, the dark age of the Order of the Golden Tray was the time in the past when demons were rampant and the world was in chaos.
It was as obvious as seeing fire that the world would soon become chaotic and the combat orders would regain power.
In this situation, the rational response the Order of the Golden Tray could choose was to refine the skills of their paladins even a day earlier and overcome the dark age.
They had both the motive and the capability. Didn't the Order of the Golden Tray occupy the most seats in the celestial council?
'But how do they plan to find magical beasts? Even if magical beasts have increased, it's not like they're so numerous that you'd trip over them.'
While Elbridge was continuing his thoughts, the Goddess's oracle suddenly reached his ears.
- Elbridge, Elbridge. For what reason are you accompanying the paladins of the Order of the Golden Tray? Don't tell me...
The Goddess's voice trembled faintly. It was clear that she was spreading the wings of negative imagination.
Elbridge bowed his head low and answered in a calm voice.
"Of course, I do not intend to entrust myself to the Order of the Golden Tray. I merely intended to hunt magical beasts with them and regain even a little of my past capabilities."
The Goddess said, relieved.
- Elbridge. Your Goddess always respects your opinion. But at the same time, do not forget that she wishes for your peace.
"Actually, that is not the only reason I am here. My Goddess. Do you remember the perfumed oil I offered the day I arrived in the Holy City Solenion?"
As soon as Elbridge arrived at the temple, he only did some simple cleaning, then wiped the statue of the Goddess with the highest quality perfumed oil and offered the remaining half bottle of perfumed oil to the Goddess.
The Goddess's voice instantly brightened.
- Of course. It was the first perfumed oil offered in a whopping one hundred and sixty years and eight months, so its fragrance lingered for a long time and pleased your Goddess immensely.
"The price of that perfumed oil was twelve silver coins a bottle. Also, even if I gather all the wealth of the order currently, four gold coins and five silver coins are all there is. It is an amount somewhat tight for running the order. Furthermore, the Goddess's only paladin has not even been able to procure armor yet..."
The Goddess's voice cut off for a moment, and then the oracle continued in a much more solemn tone.
- No. Elbridge. Actually, there is a little hidden wealth in the order.
Elbridge's ears perked up.
- If you look under the first table in the prayer room, there are two more old silver coins that someone dropped a long time ago...
"..."
Since it was literally a little, Elbridge let the Goddess's story go in one ear and out the other.
"Even so, it is four gold coins and seven silver coins. However, this request said it would give a whopping five gold coins in just four days. Even if I buy another bottle of perfumed oil, the order's wealth will more than double."
Was it because she was shocked that the order's financial situation was even more miserable than she thought, or was it because Elbridge hinted at a new bottle of perfumed oil?
The Goddess could not stop Elbridge as before.
- Elbridge. Do not forget that your Goddess always respects your intentions and cherishes your devotion.
"Yes. My Goddess."
When the Goddess's oracle ended like that, the party's steps halted.
A young man was standing blankly, waiting for the party. The man bowed deeply towards the paladins of the Order of the Golden Tray.
"It's this way. Sir Paladins."
The paladins of the Order of the Golden Tray followed behind the man as if it were natural.
Not long after, everyone's steps halted again.
Far away, a magical beast resembling a lizard could be seen standing still.
"Excellent."
The plump paladin handed a whopping ten gold coins to the young man.
Only then did Elbridge and Marcus realize the reason why the paladins had spoken as if they could definitely hunt a magical beast.
The Order of the Golden Tray must have offered a massive reward and unleashed people to find magical beasts.
'...This is literally hunting, not extermination.'
Perhaps the fat paladin was of a higher rank than the other four paladins, he said with a slightly arrogant attitude.
"I will show you first, so watch closely."
"Yes."
That paladin's weapon was an iron club as thick as a typical adult's leg.
An object so heavy that a person who had not strengthened their body with holy power or mana would not even be able to lift it.
However, the paladin did not immediately lift the iron club.
The fat paladin laid out silk on the ground, then took out a pouch and poured gold coins onto the silk.
It was an amount that had to be counted by volume, not by number. Roughly two handfuls of gold coins.
The paladin, kneeling, held up the silk with his two hands that had taken off their gauntlets.
"I offer these gold coins to the God of the Golden Tray."
Then the gold coins on the silk scattered like mist.
- ...!
Elbridge briefly thought he heard the sound of the Rusted Shield Goddess admiring it, but he did not bother to show it. Because Elbridge's impression was similar to the Goddess's.
To offer so many gold coins facing a single magical beast?
Even paladins who intended to hunt a demon, not a magical beast, rarely offered that amount of wealth.
Instead, the effect was tremendous.
A white, shining haze rose around the fat knight's body, and veins as thick as a child's finger bulged on his forearms.
Also, the paladin's footsteps became strangely heavy.
Even though he seemed to be moving his steps lightly, it felt like the vibration of an iron club striking the ground with all its might.
"Heup—!"
The knight inhaled and kicked off the ground fiercely.
Kwang—
He was incomparably faster than Sir Walter, and faster than a typical paladin from two hundred years ago.
Come to think of it, it made sense.
'This is the power bestowed by the god who occupies sixty-one seats in the celestial council...'
The lizard magical beast belatedly discovered the paladin and puffed up its body. Perhaps it was an enhancement type like the wolf-type magical beast they had encountered last time, its shiny metallic carapace stood out.
The fat paladin's movements were crude.
He could not elaborately move his weapon to aim for the opponent's weak point, nor could he react to the magical beast's movements. Even though the lizard magical beast tried to bite his forearm, which was not wearing a gauntlet, he could not dodge it.
However, the overwhelming power that followed the massive offering solved all problems.
The lizard's teeth could not dig deep into the paladin's forearm, which had become extremely hard. And the very next moment, the paladin's iron club hit the lizard's flank.
Ppeo-eok!
The magical beast's waist bent in a bizarre direction, and flesh burst out.
"Ooh...!"
The paladins watching the scene clapped loudly and admired it.
Not only the mercenary Marcus, but also the knight-errant Richard could not hide his shock.
"What incredible strength. Is that the true power of a paladin?"
Elbridge was also shocked.
However, the direction of Elbridge's shock was different.
'...Don't tell me, the Order of the Golden Tray thinks they can hunt demons just by being strong?'