The Big Season
The Big Season
***
The brown-haired woman looked at Elbridge's armor, yet still showed signs of disbelief.
"...By the way, where might the other paladins be?"
Saying she was looking for a paladin, and then asking where someone other than Elbridge was.
It was a slightly nostalgic reaction.
In the days when the length of one's survival represented a paladin's capability, Elbridge had to endure much suspicion and distrust simply because he was too young.
As time passed and his name and face became known, such things gradually disappeared, but those misunderstandings never completely vanished. Because his age right before being sealed, twenty-six, was also considered extremely young among paladins.
Elbridge answered.
"I am the only paladin in the order. Why do you ask?"
"That... It's different from what I expected. Since there was an oracle, I thought there would be a more experienced and seasoned middle-aged knight."
"It's a pity that I am not a seasoned paladin."
At Elbridge's answer, the brown-haired woman was startled.
"I didn't mean it with bad intentions. It's just that you are so young..."
"I never thought it was with bad intentions. It was a joke, so please don't worry."
The woman made a slightly awkward expression, then introduced herself belatedly.
"I am an apprentice paladin who serves the Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss, named Vibeka."
"I am Elbridge, a paladin of the Order of the Rusted Shield."
"Sir Elbridge. As I said, I came to ask for your help. If you provide your help, the Eastern Diocese of the Order of Spring Rain and Moss will repay you with a reward you won't be disappointed with. For example..."
Elbridge shook his head.
"A reward is not necessary."
Elbridge was in a situation where he had to repay a debt. If he received an excessive reward, it could become a debt again, so it was right to avoid a situation where he created a new debt as soon as he got rid of the old one.
Vibeka, perhaps misunderstanding how Elbridge received her answer, looked like she was about to cry.
"Pardon? But I absolutely have to take you with me, Sir Elbridge..."
"I'm not saying I won't help you. I just don't expect a price in return."
"Yes?"
Perhaps because it was an unexpected answer, Vibeka's round eyes grew even larger.
Elbridge smiled faintly.
Wasn't it a fun thing to deal with someone whose emotions were clearly written on their face?
"...By any chance, is there a reason?"
"The Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss has already bestowed grace upon me, so I merely wish to repay it, even if belatedly."
However, Vibeka did not understand Elbridge's answer.
<><><>
Perhaps thanks to Elbridge following her obediently, Vibeka's steps were as light as if she were flying.
The two continued their conversation as they headed to the Order of the Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss.
"By the way, for what matter does the Order of Spring Rain and Moss need a great warrior?"
As far as Elbridge remembered, it was extremely rare for the Order of Spring Rain and Moss to clash with other orders.
Even when combat orders fought among themselves, no order touched the Order of Spring Rain and Moss. Because if they got on the bad side of the Order of Spring Rain and Moss and couldn't receive treatment on time, the ones to suffer the most would be them.
Thanks to that, the Order of the Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss was treated as a sort of nobility among combat orders.
"Recently, we've had friction with another order. Although they're the ones unilaterally picking a fight."
"Which order would do such a crazy thing..."
"It's the Order of the God of Flowing Water."
"Ah."
The Order of the Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss and the Order of the God of Flowing Water had many similarities. This was especially true in that both were combat orders focused on healing powers.
However, as Elbridge remembered, the Order of the God of Flowing Water was on the small side even among combat orders with healing powers.
"By any chance, how many seats do the two orders have?"
"Our Order of the Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss has seven seats, and the Order of the God of Flowing Water barely has one seat. It's an incomparable gap. Compared to our order, the Order of the God of Flowing Water is at the level of a mom-and-pop store."
Whether she lacked tact or was just pure, Vibeka's expressions were somewhat bold.
'If one seat is a mom-and-pop store, then what on earth is our order...'
Elbridge was thankful that the Rusted Shield Goddess hadn't heard Vibeka's story.
Hadn't the Goddess been depressed for days after Felix's 'the Order of the Rusted Shield is a shipwreck' remark last time?
"Does the Order of Flowing Water even have a temple in the east? I think I heard that order's influence is concentrated in the southern part of the continent."
"A temple was built about five years ago. Rather than a temple, it was at the level of a prayer room for followers in the eastern region... Anyway, that's not what's important. The Order of Flowing Water has been blatantly challenging our order for a month now. By slandering our order and inducing clashes."
"Is there a reason you suspect?"
Vibeka hesitated.
"I don't know if I should be talking about things like this..."
"Rest assured. This story will not leak outside."
"Actually, the Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss delivered an oracle twice this year. The oracle last night telling us to go to the Order of the Rusted Shield and ask for help, and the oracle a month ago delivering grave news."
Elbridge's ears perked up.
Elbridge was frequently receiving the Goddess's oracles due to his circumstances, but it was rare for other orders to receive oracles. There were many cases where two or three years passed without an oracle.
"What was the oracle a month ago?"
Vibeka lowered her voice, then spoke with utmost significance.
"They say a demon appeared in the Barony of Dickens. And that a demon will appear again soon."
"Ah, I see... I get it."
Elbridge became lukewarm. Because the source of that information was Elbridge himself.
In all likelihood, the Rusted Shield Goddess had passed the news to the Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss.
Vibeka stopped walking and crossed her arms.
"Are you not believing my words right now? This is a story delivered directly by the Archbishop!"
"Of course I believe Lady Vibeka's story."
"But your expression..."
"I make this expression when I'm surprised. It often causes misunderstandings."
When Elbridge made up a half-hearted excuse, Vibeka made a slightly unconvinced expression.
But the person holding the initiative right now was Elbridge.
"...Anyway, I think there's some connection between the oracle a month ago and the provocations the Order of Flowing Water is committing. The timing matches almost perfectly, doesn't it?"
Vibeka didn't seem to know the exact connection between the oracle and the current situation well.
However, as a result, Vibeka's prediction was probably not wrong.
Because the Order of the God of Flowing Water was probably provoking the Order of Spring Rain and Moss due to the opportunity of the demons' appearance.
'They probably want to flip the board at this opportunity.'
There were not many gods with favorable relationships like the Rusted Shield Goddess and the Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss, and it was known that most were in a relationship of competing and keeping each other in check.
It was an inevitable situation since they had to compete for limited seats.
However, apart from the fierce competition, the landscape of seats did not easily overturn. Because competition was always advantageous to those who were ahead.
'A new star cannot rise in a peaceful world.'
Because nothing special happened, the giant orders could firmly maintain their superiority, and the minor orders had no crevices to dig into, making it difficult to seize an opportunity to step up.
A world where the seats and hierarchy of the gods had fallen into a stalemate amidst a long peace.
When the news of the demons' appearance spread among the gods, did all gods worry about the demons' appearance?
Most likely not.
Because opportunities are always hidden amidst crisis and chaos.
It wouldn't be strange even if the gods who had barely occupied about one seat, or the gods who didn't have a single seat, accepted the appearance of demons as an opportunity.
Elbridge recalled the past.
'Really, it feels like the world is going back to the old days...'
A romantic world where all humans became one and joined forces just because a powerful enemy appeared had never existed.
Even two hundred years ago, it was like that. Clashes between orders were more common than clashes between paladins and demons.
From light verbal arguments between priests to, in severe cases, armed clashes between orders. As a result, there were many cases where orders were dismantled.
"...At first, we didn't respond to the Order of Flowing Water's provocations. But the intensity of the provocations gradually grew stronger, until it reached a point we couldn't tolerate. The followers also seemed to want us to respond somehow... Actually, I also think continuing to ignore them isn't a very good response."
At Vibeka's words, Elbridge agreed.
"Consistently ignoring them only works once or twice. If you keep covering your ears, people who believe their stories are bound to appear. Anyway, what did they say to make it so?"
"Those bas..."
Vibeka stopped speaking and cleared her throat. Ahem.
"To put it a little more mildly, they argued that the Order of Spring Rain and Moss wouldn't be able to protect the followers in a chaotic time. It's a story no one pays attention to right now, but... if demons really appear, people will remember that story and harbor doubts."
"You are right."
"So we were looking for a way to respond, and the Great Festival happened to be held just in time!"
A word Elbridge had never heard before popped out.
"A Great Festival?"
"You live in Solenion and don't know the Great Festival? The Great Festival of Summer?"
Elbridge made up an excuse.
"It's the first time I've heard of it. I left Solenion a long time ago and just returned after a long while."
It wasn't a lie. Hadn't he been away for a whopping two hundred years?
"The Great Festival is a huge event where each order gathers. Among them is a friendly match where five paladins from each order form a team and compete... The Order of Flowing Water boldly declared that they would crush our order in that friendly match."
"It's a good opportunity to shut their mouths."
"But, no matter who looks at it, it seems it will be hard for our order to win."
"..."
Vibeka hurriedly made excuses.
"It's not because we lack skill! It's a difference in the orders' tendencies. Since the Order of Flowing Water is a slightly more combat-oriented order than ours... Instead, our order is far superior in healing powers."
"I understand. So you came to ask me for help because of that?"
"Yes. While the Archbishop was groaning over a solution, an oracle descended last night. An oracle telling us to go find the paladin of the Order of the Rusted Shield!"
"By the way, is it possible for me to participate in the Great Festival together with the Order of Spring Rain and Moss? I belong to the Order of the Rusted Shield, after all."
Vibeka answered triumphantly.
"If it's a paladin of an order that hasn't separately applied to participate, they can compete together with paladins of another order. It's a rule to encourage the participation of small orders that can't form a team because they don't have five paladins."
"There's no way the Order of Spring Rain and Moss doesn't even have five paladins... Isn't that abusing the rules?"
"What does it matter if we abuse the rules a little?"
Elbridge stared at Vibeka.
Then Vibeka answered without hesitation.
"An ancient sage said. Whether you win or lose, it's sick... No. If you can't be honorable, it's better to at least win. It's better to win somehow than to lose unattractively in front of hundreds of thousands of spectators."
The moment he heard one expression, Elbridge's eyes widened.
"Hundreds of thousands. Are there that many people who come to see the Great Festival?"
"Of course! It's the biggest event in the Holy City Solenion. The paladins' sparring is an event with one of the largest audiences among them."
Elbridge asked seriously.
"Lady Vibeka. What kind of results did the Order of Spring Rain and Moss achieve in the Great Festival in the past?"
"I heard the best record was passing the preliminaries and winning one more time in the main tournament. There were also many times we got eliminated in the preliminaries. The preliminaries are tough from the start. It would be really nice if the Order of Flowing Water got eliminated in the preliminaries for us."
"Is that so..."
At that moment, the Rusted Shield Goddess, who had been quiet until now, whispered in Elbridge's ear.
- Elbridge. Where are you going?
Elbridge pondered for a moment, then whispered softly.
"I am going to recruit new followers."
The big season had finally begun.