Chapter 30 Paladin(1)

Translator: BaeBae Editor: BaeBae

God damn it. Can it piss down any harder.

A man that looked like a merchant, entered an inn carrying a bundle on his back.

Water was dropping everywhere from his wet clothes.

The inn owner chuckled and took his bundle with an air of familiarity.

The unspacious inn was already full of people drying their clothes. The rain had drenched everyone.

Its not even the rainfall season, why is it pouring down so much.

Didnt you hear? Something happened in the south.

What?

Apparently, a devil appeared in Tantil and slaughtered hundreds and the Gray tower also collapsed. Everyone is saying its a bad omen for the empire, and that this weather, its part of it. Theres even been talks of gods coming back.

Nonsense. The emperors corpse is still at the capital.

The merchant went at the Inn keeper, but feeling some doubt he started fiddling with a rosary around his neck.

Juan and Anya were sitting at a table in the corner, looking on.

This village was located on the main road that passed through the Laus mountains. And so, there were many eyes and ears of those looking for information.

However, no one was paying attention to a mere woman and child.

It looks like they havent arrived yet.

Wouldve been real noisy had they arrived.

Juan indulged in some soup. It had been a while since hed eaten meat. Feeling of warmth reaching his stomach didnt feel bad.

There was one guy I was wary of.

When Juan surveyed the village, there were traces of footprints belonging to someone far heavier than a normal person.

The body didnt seem big in size. A normal human couldnt hope to walk around with that amount of weight.

Juan had a hunch, this person would be formidable wherever he went.

Do you know of people who are armoured heavily but arent restricted in their movements?

You talking about Paladins?

Paladin?

Hed heard that of them before, from Sina. But hed yet not come across one.

Soldiers are trained individuals. And if knights are seasoned troops that have undergone specialised training, paladins are the special military force selected by the empire. The most fierce and dangerous. Only twelve holy knight divisions exist, each consisting thirty people.

Why is that?

Because dear, the emperors grace shouldnt be given out to just anyone. Shoe, belt, every equipment they carry contains the emperors grace. For anyone not part of the holy knight order, its a death penalty for even holding it and also if you damage the equipment. And for Paladins they may get executed for losing their gear.

.Trained talents are killed just because they misplace their gear?

Misplacing equipment that has been bestowed with grace is more serious than you think. It takes a lot of time and effort to make another one, once lost. Theres even talks that its impossible to replace them.

In other words, they were the empires top of the elites. Juan recalled fighting the Blue rose knights but still wasnt sure how strong Paladins could be.

He had only seen graced equipment once when Sina had used it, so he still wasnt familiar with it.

How would you hold up against a Paladin?

I would never fight them in public.

Because theyre stronger?

Yes to an extent, but rather because its a heavy sin to fight a Paladin. If you damage a Paladins equipment, a bounty is issued for your head. And Paladins, desperate to not be defeated, theyd rather die than have their equipment be taken. And in the instance they die, other Paladins will look to revenge them. So its almost always a good idea to avoid any fights, if you can.

So basically, they were a thorn to fight and even if youd kill them, bigger problems will follow.

But arent you already fighting against the empire..

Even my master told me not to clash against them if possible. Any confrontation could spiral beyond control. Were already facing problems related to them as of right now.

Master huh. This got Juan interested. He implicitly agreed on Anya accompanying him. He felt she wouldnt hold him back at least.

In many ways, Anya was a little strange and empty, but she did listen and understand his words well. This made him curious to who her master was.

What kind of person is your master?

My master? Hmm. doesnt really speak about himself..he served the emperor a long time ago. Hed served him until he turned into his current state, a corpse.

Hmm.

I dont know about things that happened that long ago.. Cant even begin to imagine that only about a century ago, it was the age where gods roamed these grounds and holy spirits and creatures were tangled in war. I still cant believe it. But my master is someone that was alive at the time and saw the emperor. Oh and although he sounds old, his face looks quite young.

I didnt ask. Did he mention specifically in what way he served the emperor?

I cant reveal that sorry. Even if its you dear.

Anya winked at Juan as she spoke.

Although if you decide to join us, Im happy to tell you!

Youre too carefree.

Juan clicked his tongue.

You said your master served the emperor, yet why are you going against the empire?

This empire is not the emperors empire. It is Vares Valtes empire. You could argue maybe, the churchs. With your hair colour, wouldnt dear have experienced all the rotten things about this empire? Im certain thats not what the emperor envisioned.

How would you know. You havent even seen the emperor.

Because my master has!

And Vares Valte has seen him too.

..I guess so. I never thought of it that wayAs expected dear is.

The conversation was going nowhere.

Juan realised debating this topic with Anya was meaningless.

If Sinas belief was hard as iron, Anyas was clear as glass. She took in the opinions of others too easily.

But somewhere in her emptiness, Juan felt there was a single firmness that was so stubborn, it felt like it was never going to move.

Okay but youre still saying you want to topple the empire.

Because my master wants to do so. Itd be great if dear could help us.

Juan smiled coldly and replied.

Well, to solve a problem Ive always reverted to the method of killing the problem on hand. The gods did this, I did this and sounds like you do this as well. Nothing has changed and wont likely will.

For a while Anya tilted her head to the side, then spoke.

Well Im good at doing that. Is there something wrong with fixing a problem with your strengths? The emperor exercised this to the greatest. Killed everyone from the past era and started a new age.

.

A while back, I got to see a weapon that the emperor personally used, and looking at it, it was truly the ultimate tool to achieve his goal. I revelled knowing that the emperor did know how to solve problems like true authoritarian. My master does it decently well as well. Likely, because he was close to the emperor. Hes even got an item that the emperor frequently used.

Okay thats enough.

Although Juan was used to people fawning over him with praise, this method of flattery was unorthodox.

Rather than associating with terms killer and slaughterer, people liked to use the terms a heroic feat, legendary criminal record to justify their actions.

But unlike others, Anya expressed her view proudly.

There was one bit in Anyas words that caught Juans attention.

She said her master possessed an item that was used previously by the emperor. While Juan didnt know exactly what item it was, it did catch his curiosity.

It would be best if it was a weapon.

Juan recalled all the tools that hed used during his time as emperor. Most of it was designed for fighting, so it was hard to specifically recall every single one.

Spear would be most useful right now

Juan had a lot of weapons but the ones he cherished the most was a spear called Telgram and a sword called Sutra.

Both with meanings behind it. Telegram meant the lightning bolt and Sutra meant gods humiliation.

Telgram was best suited to fight large armies, while Sutra was more appropriate for duels.

Because there was no one powerful like in the past, Juan felt Telgram was more than enough.

Ill need to find out what item it is.

Juan decided to dig deeper into Anyas organisation later on.

Then the door suddenly opened. Another person drenched in rain walked in while mumbling some discontent.

The people inside the inn smiled bitterly and greeted the newcomer.

Juan eyebrows twitched. He could smell blood.

The innkeeper put on a smile as he took the mans overcoat but then froze upon looking into his face.

Uh, what? You see a ghost or something?

Uh, uuh, uuuhh. Fu, Fuck.

The man wobbled for a few steps then toppled onto the floor. The atmosphere inside the room darkened.

Everyone inside the hall was a merchant, so in good faith they all crowded around to help the fallen merchant.

They took off his drenched clothes and wrapped him in a fresh towel before placing him beside the fire.

And after being fed some hot wine that the Innkeeper brought out, the man started to slowly come around.

What happened. Are you in trouble? Did you encounter a creature or something? I dont see any injuries on you though.

Wish it was that simple.

The man was shaking in fear.

Then did you meet a monster or what? Wheres your party?

Im alone. It wasnt a monster..I met a Paladin.

The hall erupted at the mans words. The innkeeper expression hardened.

Paladin? Was it a White crow flag? If it was, you know they patrol these areas quite often. Although i agree, it would be creepy meeting them in the middle of the night.

It they werent patrolling. Theres a small village that I frequently visit, and there they.

The tension inside the room tightened. The man hadnt finished his sentence yet, everyone knew what had happened.

Theyd heard of the churchs act from time to time, but only a few got to see the scene of the crime with their own eyes.

If they were heretics, cleaning them out is the right thing to do! Our Paladin knights are working hard even through this horrible weather! Those low lifes are all defectors! Defectors, I say!

One of the merchants cleared his throat then started loudly speaking to himself. But he soon shut his mouth after receiving several glares from those around him.

Nobody reprimanded him. Everyone knew why he was saying those things.

Juan stood up.

Looks like theyre finally here.

Then shouldnt we leave? Now?

Im not sure.

Juan grabbed Talteres blade on his waist.

Didnt you say Paladin knight equipment is the best of the best?.

*****

Paladin Arwen had followed the merchant and was now fast approaching a village.

Having seen purification being done, the merchant turned pale and ran off.

The fact he sighted wasnt an issue but it became one when hed run away.

There was no reason for an exemplary citizen of the empire to run after seeing a Paladin.

An interrogation was needed.

You lot wait here.

Arwen stood his soldiers just outside the village. The soldiers breathed a sigh of relief at those words as they were on edge, wondering if they had to slaughter an entire village again.

Is that really fine? Shouldnt we conduct a search operation?

The captain spoke up but deep down he didnt really mean it. The other soldiers gave him a look that said, why did you bring it up, but luckily for them Arwen shook his head.

This is an exemplary village. They pay their taxes diligently and often perform prayer meetings for the emperor. Taking a large armed force into the village, Im concerned it would cause unnecessary harm.

The captain didnt know what to say after hearing Arwens caring attitude.

It was hard to see that this was the same person that was using a hammer to crush people in the past village. The captain just nodded without a word.

Arwen walked into the village through the torrential rain. He was the youngest from one of the capitals noble households.

Having aspirations for power and needing to have some ties with the central church, his father made his youngest who was most promising into a Paladin.

While the cost was high, for anyone who learned swordsmanship and lived in the empire, becoming a Paladin was the ultimate goal.

Arwen happily accepted the opportunity.

However, the happiness didnt last long.

A Paladin life was dull and boring. He didnt find opportunities to use his graced equipment.

So naturally, he found himself interested in the field of heresy interrogation.

Folk beliefs and ornaments could be argued as a mark of heresy.

He always found one or two bits of this when he pillaged a village.

Having been gifted the emperors grace, everyone trembled to their knees in front of him. Arwen punished apostates accordingly.

Following each pillage, Arwen would always dream of himself becoming an emperor during the night.

A pleasant dream where the whole world surrendered to his power and will.

The soldiers that were guarding the village entrance, hurriedly opened the gates after seeing Arwen approach. There was no one that didnt recognise the White crow symbol in these lands.

Arwen spoke to the guards.

Did a merchant enter this village just now?

Ah. Ye.Yes. This village only has a single inn. He likely headed there.

Arwen nodded and went on his way. His steps echoed heavy thuds throughout the village.

The villagers quickly closed their doors and windows and with fearful eyes peeked at the Paladin with the White crow symbol.

Arwens who was heading towards the inn came to a stop.

.And here I thought it was an exemplary village.

Arwen muttered to himself.

I wouldnt have guessed that I would find you here.

Seeing your armor, it seems like youre the person Im looking for.

In the pouring rain, a single boy stood in the middle of the town square. A boy with black hair, just as Kato said.