Chapter 20 : The Strange Paladin (Part-2)

Despite the quavering timbre of his voice, the paladin appeared to have no intention of inflicting any genuine damage.

With great care, he placed his two-handed hammer to the side, and, like Eden, he tightened his fists.

Eden shot a quick, sharp smirk at the gesture.

So this is how things are going to unfold, is it?

He also had not unsheathed his axe.

He lifted his fists into a defensive boxing position.

“Looks like I’ll be sending another soul up to that divine guy of yours today. Let us pray, with reverence in our he—ugh!”

Eden froze, puzzled.

He’d expected a dramatic “Face me, barbarian!” moment.

Instead, the heavily-armored paladin rolled backward, resembling a ragdoll in its chaotic tumble.

Eden stepped forward and examined the helmet of the fallen paladin.

The once-stoic faceplate now appeared to resemble a squashed frog—completely crumpled and deformed.

The paladin lay flat against the ground, hands perfectly folded in front of him as if he were in a state of prayer.

This position was certainly not indicative of a fighting stance.

“Hmm.”

All that remained in front of Eden was the forsaken two-handed hammer, cast aside and untouched.

Upon hearing the noise of the disturbance, Neb emerged from behind Eden, her hands gently rubbing her eyes in an attempt to shake off the remnants of sleep.

She directed her gaze from the downed paladin to the tightly clenched fists that Eden had yet to relax.

“Did you hit someone again, Eden?”

Eden didn’t have an answer for that.

Moments later—

“Ugh…”

The paladin groaned and regained consciousness.

Wobbling, he slowly got up.

Was I trying to pray just now…?

The paladin’s face throbbed.

He touched his helmet and confirmed the dent.

Even though it was made of steel, it looked like it had taken a direct hit from a warhammer.

The paladin tried to remember what happened.

Was he on a battlefield?

No.

He’d come to this village, following the goddess’s guidance to find a relic of the evil god…

“……”

He remembered the incoming punch.

With a roar, he kicked the door back open.

Thud!!

The door latch rattled so hard it looked like it might shatter.

Eden sighed, chewing on some jerky a villager had handed him.

So he’s up already, huh.

The paladin, enraged by Eden’s calm demeanor, exploded in fury.

“How dare you! You struck me with a cowardly ambush…!”

“There’s no such thing as cowardice in a fight.”

“A fight?! What are you talking about?! I was merely trying to prove my faith through prayer!”

Eden shook his head.

Then maybe don’t walk around in full armor.

The paladin picked up his hammer from the ground.

“I should have known the moment you tried to hide the relic of the evil god! You must be a follower of darkness, and with this holy hammer—”

“Wait a second.”

Eden raised a hand to stop him.

Even though he was furious, the paladin paused and lowered the hammer, as if willing to hear one final word.

“…Evil god?”

“Yes, you follower of the evil god.”

With that, the paladin pulled out an object.

It looked like a very old compass.

“Look! The direction indicated by His word!”

The paladin waved the compass left and right as if trying to prove something.

“…Hm?”

The paladin suddenly stopped, frowning, as if he had noticed something strange.

With his superhuman vision, Eden looked at the direction the compass was pointing.

No matter how the compass was moved, it kept pointing toward Neb.

Neb noticed the gazes of the barbarian and the paladin converging on her.

“Huh? You mean the goddess?”

She answered while chewing on jerky.

The paladin turned to face her, switching his target, and shouted,

“You too are a heretic who worships an evil god! You must be carrying an item left behind by that vile and disgusting goddess of the night!”

“Disgust— What did you just say?”

“I said vile, disgusting, and wicked evil god!”

Eden, watching the situation unfold, began to realize something was off.

“So, the item you’re looking for belongs to an evil god. That thing?”

“Yes!”

“And you’re saying this woman has it.”

“Of course!”

Eden quickly assessed the situation, then leaned toward Neb and whispered,

“Looks like your sibling really doesn’t like you.”

“T-That’s impossible!”

But the evidence was right in front of them.

Denial didn’t change the facts.

If that were truly the case, it might explain why the name ‘Neb’ had never been widely known.

Trying to defend herself, Neb muttered,

“M-Maybe that paladin has lost his mind! Or perhaps it’s a ploy by demon worshipers to slander the name of the goddess…”

She kept grumbling, but the paladin clearly had no intention of waiting for their discussion to end.

“Enough! Stop this incomprehensible chatter and decide. Will you seek the temple in the nearest city to repent and be reborn, or shall you receive the guidance of my hammer instead?!”

So basically, he was just threatening to beat them to death.

Eden weighed the situation.

Taking down the paladin would be easy, but that would be a primitive solution.

‘What to do…’

But Neb responded faster than Eden could decide.

“I shall go to the temple,” she declared confidently.

“…Hey.”

Eden called to her cautiously.

If things were truly at their worst, that might be a terrible choice.

What if the sun god really had marked Neb as a servant of an evil god?

That could mean every paladin in the world would come hunting for them.

Yet Neb remained confident.

“This is an insult I cannot overlook. Of course the goddess should resolve this in person. And even if the worst should come to pass and the goddess herself is condemned—well, you’ll protect her, won’t you?”

“Hm.”

“Why don’t you say anything?”

Eden didn’t respond verbally, just gave a slight nod.

He had to admit, if they wanted to solve this issue, the best way would be to go straight to the sun god’s church and ask directly.

Having reached a decision, Eden turned to the paladin and said,

“We’ve decided. We’ll go with you.”

“…Really? Truly?”

Why switch to polite speech now?

Eden tilted his head at the paladin’s strange reaction.

“I said we’ll go. So what?”

“It’s just… I’ve never had anyone actually agree to come with me before.”

Eden could kind of understand.

If you ask a real evil god worshiper to go to the temple, who in their right mind would agree? It’d be like asking a prisoner to walk to their own execution.

Looking more and more clueless, the paladin earned another skeptical glance from Eden.

“So, where’s the nearest place?”

“…I believe it’s ‘Mordellan.’”

A name he’d heard recently.

‘A city where the sun god’s church exists and yet a demon is said to dwell…’

This already felt suspicious.

He hadn’t planned on going there, but now he had no choice but to head for the city where the demon resided.

The paladin, unaware of the irony, cleared his throat a few times and lowered his hammer.

“Well, fine. As long as you cooperate, I’ll extend you a degree of courtesy.”

Was he kind? Or just plain dumb?

Eden sighed as he watched the man.

“I am Paladin Fran, servant of the sun. And you heretics?”

“I’m not a heretic… Tch. I’m Eden. That over there is Neb.”

Eden wondered if it was okay to say the name of a goddess known as an evil god, but Fran didn’t seem to react at all.

“Very well. It will be a short journey, but don’t even think of trying anything foolish. Just follow along.”

Eden looked at Fran’s face.

Blood was trickling down from his nose through the dented faceplate.

‘Not exactly reassuring.’

A paladin with a nosebleed, huh.

Eden calmly accepted the man’s introduction.

“Sure.”

After all, if they just endured him for a few days, they’d never have to see him again.

But Eden began to worry that this journey with the paladin might last longer than he thought.

“A monster on the mountain behind the village, you say? I shall deal with it myself. Fear not. The sun watches over you all.”

“…Thank you!”

This wasn’t some Ubisoft open-world game.

A paladin who insists on helping every stranger they pass by was more trouble than he was worth.