Words of prayer echoed through the corners of the capital.
Among the many magnificent buildings, you could hardly miss the Great Coliseum, the grandiose arena that was the residence of the Queen. One other such large building matching it was the cathedral, headquarters of the fundamentalist faction where many believers gathered and where their prayers converged.
The inside of the cathedral, illuminated by colorful light after passing through the stained glass lined up all along the ceiling, was wrapped in a fantastic atmosphere. Among the echoes from the prayer, there was a woman wearing a pure white, thin silk wrapped around her plentiful body, her soft blonde hair flowing as if in gentle waves. She was standing in front of the altar, listening to the believers’ hymns.
The gold embroidery applied to the white ribbon that hung on her left shoulder showed that she had a high position in the church.
While taking in all the prayers around her, she read aloud all the characters written in the Holy Scriptures in perfect poise and delivery without error.
The people idolized her, calling her the Priestess of Gainos, Melpha.
“…And that shall mark the end of our testimony today.”
She accurately voiced the scripture right until the end, then closed the thick book.
“Thank you very much, Priestess.”
Returning a kind, humble smile to their words, Melpha tried to come down from the altar, but gave up on the idea; the believers who should have made to leave the church as usual—on their way home—were waiting for her.
“E-Err… today’s gathering to recite the scriptures is over, is it not?”
She called out to a familiar faithful, a man by the name of Cadu, a troubled expression on her face.
“Well… that’s…”
Even the rugged-looking middle age believer seemed to be at as much of a loss as her.
“Hey, Cadu, try asking the Priestess.”
A voice rang from behind the believer.
“Do you have something to ask of me? If it’s something I can do, please go ahead.”
She looked into Cadu’s face with a smile gentle as the spring sunshine.
“Well, you see… the Cardinal is absent today… isn’t she?”
Cardinal Dantan, the one who supervised the church, was Melpha’s grandmother, the person on top of the fundamentalist faction, who regarded the Holy Scriptures as something absolutely immutable and everlasting.
While the people knew they could rely on her, due to her strictness, they couldn’t help being intimidated by her.
“Yes, she is absent indeed.”
Currently, Cardinal Dantan has left the capital, in the middle of missionary work. During her absence, Melpha had been assigned as its caretaker, as per her grandmother’s instructions.
“Really? I guess I can ask you then.”
The man sighed in relief, and looked up at the blonde.
“Yes?”
The priestess couldn’t help being surprised at his attitude.
[What kind of request is this, which I can’t do if Grandmother is here?]
“For us to be able to spend a joyful day today, I’d like to ask you Priestess for a song… and one of the Holy Poses written in the scriptures.”
Melpha didn’t dislike singing. In fact, if she hadn’t become a priestess, she’d have liked to become a singer.
The issue layed with performing the Holy Poses. The fundamentalist sect were the ones who faithfully adopted holy poses—as the original text spoke of—in order to make use of the Divine Power. The aforementioned problem with them was that, to the eyes of the common and uncommon alike, these poses all seemed strange at best, plain indecent at worst.
Normally It’d be alright if she performed them before other women, especially her sisters in the faith, but taking such postures in front of men never failed to make her feel embarrassed.
“E-Err~… a song you say? Certainly…”
Melpha’s eyes darted to the back of the church, where a pipe organ used on holidays resides.
A musical accompaniment was an essential part in a song. While singing to it, she might even resign herself to doing a Holy Pose or two.
“Do we have anyone who can play the organ here?”
Several men volunteered, raising their hands in the blink of an eye, trembling in excitement.
“Umm, then you, who are the closest, if you please. Thanks to all you who raised your hands as well, I really appreciate it.”
The chosen man walked towards the organ, with such a joyful gait he seemed like he’d break into a dance.
She smiled at all the others who hadn’t been chosen—the gesture enough to fill their hearts with ease and joy—, then looked at the one she chose as the organ player.
“Now, let us begin with the hymn ‘God shalt not let us despair’…”
The man in the organ started playing following her instructions. Melpha quietly breathed in, and calmly started singing a song praising the graces of god:
“Anything like deep sadness, or suffering on end
God shalt not give us
Because those who bring sadness and suffering, are our fellow humans
Ah, you poor lamb
When did your heart become that of a beast?
Can’t God's voice reach it anymore?
Listen to God’s voice
It is in the top of the trees, in the murmuring of the stream, in the children’s laughter
God watches over us wherever we are
Anything like deep sadness, or suffering on end
God shalt not give us
You shall only find joy, peace, in this world God hath given us
Ah, you faithful believers
Let’s spread the word of God to everyone
So that He may abide in your heart”
Her relaxed voice echoed throughout the church. As her voice stopped spreading through every corner of the building—helped by the cathedral’s high ceiling—, she gave a quiet sigh, and bowed her head towards the believers.
The next instant, they broke into claps and cheers.
“Priestess! Priestess!”
Her cheeks went red at the congregation worshiping her like so. Despite Melpha herself thinking it was far too presumptuous for someone as immature as her to be called an actual priestess, the others didn’t share the sentiment.
“Everyone, calm down~, please calm down~”
She tried to quiet down her excitement by waving her hands. However, it might have had the opposite effect, for the motion of her hands brought with it an even larger sway from her abundant breasts, something the believers were unable to take their eyes away from.
“Priestess! Priestess!”
Melpha lowered her brows, concern showing on her face. If she didn’t contain the uproar, other priests would arrive to look into the commotion. Then, when her grandmother came back and the priest reported what happened, the cardinal would punish her for sure.
[If I want to settle this situation, I can only do this.]
Her cheeks were faintly dyed in red when she turned her back on them, lying face down in a prone position on the altar.
“Oh… ooh!?”
They stopped chanting, and fixed their gazes on her defenseless back.
Feeling a myriad of eyes upon her body, she slowly bent her knees, getting into all fours.
“Kuh…”
Just the thought of displaying her butt towards the believers in such an animal-like pose was enough to make her body flush in shame and her thighs shake.
Alas, she was nowhere near done. In order to embody the Divine Power, she had to carry out the Holy Pose as described in the scriptures.
“Ah, O’God…”
Blushing furiously, Melpha raised her ass towards her own believers. Her loincloth fell gently, showing her round butt cheeks. The fascinating, rising meat hill covered by a thin cloth gave off a shining luster.
Then, feeling how innumerable gazes focused into the crack between her butt cheeks, she slowly spread her thighs.
“O-Ooh…”
Their eyes shot towards the secret part of the priestess, hidden by a thin cloth. Although her private bits were completely hidden by the same thin fabric that covered her whole body—never letting any of her skin actually be seen—, it did little to curb their excitement at the sight, in fact it might have aroused thier imagination more than if she were nude.
Equally dirty was how she posed next, just as if she was asking for something herself, kissing the sacred seal hanging from her neck, her cheeks totally red by now.
“Holy Pose: Jubilance”
That very posture completed the Holy Pose to embody the Divine Power, as written in the scriptures. As proof, a pale light dwelling in the sacred seal slowly spread along Melpha’s body line.
“O-Oooooh…”
The voices of the believers accompanied the light as it spread through the cathedral, ending in a low, soft murmur.
They seemed to be satisfied now, there was no trace of the previous cravings remaining in their voices.
“E-Err, e-everyone… Please calm down.”
Still on all fours, she repeated her earlier request in a gentle voice.
“Priestess…”
A brawny, bald man came walking from among the believers who regained their composure. Considering the armor he wore, he looked like an Officer within the Queen’s Army
“U-Umm… w-what can I do for you?”
Seeing the man limping with a cane towards her, Melpha released her Holy Pose and stood up to face him.
“Ask for your turn!”
“I wanted to see more, y’know.”
The others didn’t take long to protest when she straightened her posture.
“Eh, err… you see…”
Confused by the believers’ voices, the blonde’s pleading gaze ended up directed at the armored man in front of her. He gave a silent nod, and sucked in a deep breath:
“Quiet down! All of you!”
The thundering roar of the brave man—enough to make the cathedral walls tremble—made the other men’s eyes bulge out in amazement.
“That was uncalled for from me. I beg your pardon.”
Now that the building had regained its peace, only his calm voice was heard.
“Eh, no, that’s… thank you very much… err, could you tell me your name?”
Melpha heaved a sigh of relief, then stared at the man’s face.
“My name is Regio Jokocker. I was the commander of the 10th corps of the Queen’s Army, but the other day, I cowardly missed capturing my enemy and got seriously wounded on top of it, so as a result, I was withdrawn from the front lines.”
The bald commander gave a deep bow.
“I beseech you, please lend me your power to heal my wounds.”
“E-Err… what should I do?”
“I’d like you to heal my wounds with your sacred power. So that I can go back to work for Her Majesty as soon as possible!”
The priestess was bewildered.
Unfortunately, the Divine Power wasn’t as almighty as the believers seemed to think.
[Can I even grant him the healing he wishes for…?]
“U-Umm… I-I’ll make an effort.”
Settling her concerns aside, Melpha slowly spread the hem of her skirt in front of him. In order to strike a Holy Pose different from before, she slowly sat down, spreading her skirt.
The bald man abruptly came closer to see.
“E-Err, w-what is it?”
She called out to him, stopping his apparent intention of sandwiching his head between her thighs.
“I’d like to be as close as possible to receive the sacred power even if just by a millimeter…”
Regio answered in a serious tone befitting a military officer.
“I-I need to concentrate a little, so please move away enough not to interfere.”
“M-My apologies sister.”
He withdrew honestly.
“Now… let’s begin.”
She gently turned her eyes away, and slowly opened both legs to create an M shape with her thighs. Her private bits, covered by the pure white cloth, became exposed. The thin outstretched cloth—enough for some of her golden bushes to faintly be visible—became the focus of the gazes of Regio and the other believers.
Imagining what only a thin cloth separated from them, the whole congregation bent forward, their heads hanging.
“O’God… do shine miracles on your believers.”
“Holy Pose: Healing”
Melpha chanted the words of prayer and sandwiched the sacred seal between her voluptuous breasts. A pale light shook her breasts, which then spread all over her body, the sign that the Divine Power was manifesting.
“W-Whoa…”
Regio moaned, leaning forward.
“I-Is something wrong?”
“O-Ooh… the pain, the pain faded away.”
He let go of the stick as he said that.
“Thank you very much, Priestess, ah, my Priestess.”
Kneeling unsteadily, he clung to Melpha’s feet.
“E-Err… please do not thank me, it is God you have to thank for.”
***
“Thank you very much.”
Smile brightly, bow your head, open the door for them. Following those motions without incidents, Leina saw off her fifth customer for the day.
“Alright, no issues here.”
She felt more than a little proud after she did a thorough check: number of stocks, name and price of goods sold.
Since Fio wasn’t here, she had to do it all herself; and she had made no mistakes so far.
[I knew I could do it if I tried.]
On the other hand, that had made her realize how much she had been relying on her companion and taken him for granted.
‘You only have to smile, Leina’. He had told her that much.
“He gave me an inch and I took a mile, didn’t I…”
[No wonder he got angry. I’ll have to apologize when he comes back.]
As she thought so, her gaze stopped at the Sword of the Unicorn lying behind the counter.
“If he left his Sword, it means he intends to come back, I’m sure…”
She tried to convince herself, more than anything.
“If that’s settled now, it’s time to work!”
She went on to look at the list of products in her hand.
[First of all, I have to familiarize myself with the goods. If I don’t become familiar with them now that I have time, I won’t be able to answer the questions from the customers—who came all the way here expressly—and I’ll only inconvenience them.]
“Now that I’m alone, there are many things to do.”
[The silver lining might be that I’m too busy to mind the customers’ gazes now.]
“Ah… but… this is…”
Leina noticed that the restlessness and tension of managing a store alone resembled something she knew very well.
[This is the same as the preliminaries in Queen’s Blade.
Reading the opponent’s mood, using your tactics, learning what works and what doesn’t.
Which means, tending the store is also part of the training.]
Leina was deeply impressed at having figured out Cattleya’s aim on her own.
“So she left the store to us thinking that far ahead… I really was immature.”
Leina felt she had awakened to the truth.
In the mornings, she’d train her body at the mock battles in the courtyard. Later, she’d forge her mind with the store tending.
[Now that I know, I have to work harder!
Although I’m worried about Fio, I can’t very well leave the store Cattleya entrusted us with. I can go look for him when she comes back.]
*Clang*
The bell attached to the door announced the arrival of a new customer, snapping Leina back from her thoughts.
“Wel… come.”
Her brightest smile, that she would have used to cheerfully greet a new customer, hardened on her face.
Standing in front of her was a brown wild elf dressed in a very unforgettable costume: the Veteran Mercenary Echidna.
“Yo, I’d never have thought I’d see you tending a store.”
The elf called out to her in a casual tone, as one would a friend.
“I-Is there, anything you want?”
The blonde’s cheeks twitched, but she still pulled off a professional attitude.
“Yeah, I got some business with you, Leina.”
After a cursory glance around the store to check that they were in fact alone, she pulled out a pendant from a pouch hanging around her waist.
“I’ll have to refuse the offer.”
As soon as she saw the emblem engraved in the item, the heiress flatly refused without missing a beat.
The pendant swaying in her hands had a coat of arms consisting of a white tiger: the emblem of Earl Vance, the gigantic force cutting the Queen’s Army and the Continent in half.
“I thought you might. It sounded like a fool’s errand to me too, but I couldn’t ju~st refuse.”
Echidna twirled the pendant around her finger a few times, then tossed it casually back into her pouch.
“So, do me a solid then. Can you write something for me? A letter to your father saying you refuse.”
The mercenary stared at her over the counter.
“That way, I can also prove I met you directly.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Weeell, what if I get in your way wherever you go? Maybe your opponents suffer a crushing defeat before you get to them, wouldn't that hurt your reputation?”
Leina gave a deep sigh.
[The worst thing is, she could easily go and do it.]
“I understand. I’ll write a few lines for you, please bring that back with you.”
Echidna’s lips broke into a faint smile when she heard that.
***
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