Epilogue: Cattleya’s Teachings
A few days later, Leina and Cattleya were at the Great Coliseum inside Gainos, the Queen’s capital.
The preliminary of the Weapon Merchant Cattleya—one of the top favorites along with the Veteran Mercenary Echidna–was given nationwide priority when relayed from the crystal balls.
However, no matter how realistic the feed from the balls seemed, it didn’t hold a match to the intensity of seeing the battle live.
The seats of the large arena—which is used for the main Queen’s Blade tournament—had been filled with spectators anxious to see their battle.
“This stadium looks bigger inside than it seemed from the outside.”
Leina muttered, deeply impressed at the cheers of the audience surrounding them.
Even among the many stadiums in the capital, this was an exceptional one. Outside of the seats surrounding the arena, huge pillars holding stone statues were lined in a row, giving off a divinity reminiscent of a temple—a silent statement that Queen’s Blade is a fight recognized by God.
As she took on the light from the shining magic circle, the heiress turned her gaze to a corner surrounded by huge pillars carrying a stone statue. There was a viewing seat with especially grand decorations there. It was a throne provided for the Queen, Aldra, winner of the past two Queen’s Blade, to watch the matches occasionally.
Unfortunately, the Queen wasn’t there, so the seat remained empty, but still, it was a special place for those aiming at Queen’s Blade.
“Leina… your feet are shaking.”
Fio’s voice right next to her pulled her back from her reverie.
“I might be a bit nervous.”
She honestly admitted to being a bit stiff.
Same as in the main battle, witnesses were allowed to enter the arena through the magic circle. There was also the promise she had with Cattleya of facing her using the Sword of the Unicorn, which was why she decided to have Fio present at the fight.
“In that case, you only have to kiss this.”
He pointed at the Sword she was holding.
“I’m not *that* tired yet.”
“Don’t hesitate to use it.”
“Yeah… I will.”
A big cheer came up: a magic circle had materialized in front of Leina, and Cattleya—Giant Killer in hand—slowly appeared accompanied by her son.
“Say, Fio?”
“Hm?”
“How can I make this larger?”
The size of the Sword was in sync with a certain part of Fio’s body. She knew that if she stimulated him, the weapon would grow bigger, but she couldn’t very well do that in the present situation. And even if she could, she had no intention to do so.
Among the beautiful fighters, the only ones who could behave in a way to make Fio bigger even under all the eyes filed upon them were probably Echidna or Menace.
“T-That’s…”
His face blushed straight away.
“With this size, I can’t use it as a weapon. C’mon, hurry and make it bigger.”
“Y-Yup, I’ll try hard… as if!”
He beckoned at her, and whispered to her ear:
“Try stroking the grip gently, or rubbing it against your thighs…”
“Got it.”
She followed his words obediently. Her fingertips stroked the grip gently, and she rubbed it softly against the inner part of her thigh, not covered in armor.
“Hyau…”
At the same time his body shivered slightly, a faint pulse was transmitted to her: *ba-dump*. With it, the Sword changed from about a short sword size to a slightly large long sword’s.
“So, I’ll move back now.”
“Yeah… take care.”
Leina said her farewell to Fio, who moved back unsteadily in a slouch, and grasped the Sword tightly.
“Now then, Miss Leina. Are you sure about this?”
Cattleya prepared her Giant Killer, Rana hugging her waist. Three javelins pierced the earth surrounding her.
That appearance, which she hadn’t seen during her mock battles every morning, proved to Leina how serious the mother was about this.
[I’m so glad. Cattleya, rumored to be one of the most powerful people in the Continent and the closest to the Queen, will seriously face me.]
The blonde felt very happy at the thought.
[Then, it will be rude if I don’t face her with my full strength. I’ll fight using Fio’s Sword of the Unicorn. I have no hesitation.]
“I am!”
Shouting with a cheerful voice, Leina took out her crystal ball. The other followed suit.
The two crystal balls rose gently into the air, and as they projected magical characters, they soared up and disappeared, as if melting into the blue sky.
“The preliminary between the Weapon Merchant Cattleya and the Exiled Warrior Leina will start!”
Instead of the umpire image, the stone statue on top of the huge pillars declared the start of the fight all at once.
“Cattleya! Cattleya!”
“Leina! Give it your best!”
As the fight started, the audience called the name of their favored fighters. Even if it was a battle at the capital Gainos, basically Cattleya’s home ground, there was a considerable amount of voices cheering for Leina.
“I can’t lose. Even if it’s just for the people cheering for me!”
Holding the Sword in one hand, she jumped straight at the brunette. It was a charge to shorten the distance in one go, one of Leina’s fortes.
On the other hand, Cattleya calmly stuck out her Giant Killer at her, diverting the trajectory of her attack with the tip.
“A sudden charge bears a high risk.”
With a reproaching murmur, she swung down the huge weapon at her.
[It’s coming! Even if I try to dodge it, I won’t make it in time.]
Because of its huge size, the Giant Killer seemed to move slowly at first glance, but the speed at which its tip was moving down was comparable to a pole weapon such as a halberd.
[So far I’ve been working on how to avoid it, but I have a shield now.]
She quickly held up her shield, choosing to take the hit.
[I’ll endure it with the shield, and get into her face the next moment. That’s the only way I can seal that huge weapon.]
*Crack!*
With an intense shock, her shield broke.
“Wha? M-Miss Cattleya?”
[Is this what a serious blow from her means?]
Her eyes bulged out when she witnessed the strength of the Giant Killer, able to shatter her shield.
“Don’t rely on your armor. If you do, your next move will be delayed.”
With that, she raised the greatsword again. Using the long handle skillfully, she lifted the tip with minimal force. It was a method that Leina, despite once holding the weapon, had never thought of.
[So you don’t need that much strength to wield it.]
She poised her Sword as she measured the proper distance.
[I can’t take another blow of that Giant Killer. Even if I defend with my strong gauntlet, before a blow capable of breaking a shield in one hit, it’s obvious it will be smashed.
I have to take the most convenient distance for me. Forward? Backward?]
The huge weapon, raised to the apex, was instantly swung down.
[I can’t afford to jump forward. Backward it is!]
Leina kicked the stone pavement, jumping backwards.
“Eh? Oh myyy?”
The merchant let out a confused voice, having lost sight of her aim.
“M-Mom!”
Rana screamed when he felt her mother losing her balance, about to fall down. He wouldn’t leave her side, not even during a fight, so he had no way to escape.
“*Squeeze!*”
Poor Rana was crushed under Cattleya, who fell on her backside.
“Ah, s-sorry, sorry, Rana.”
Under her buttocks, he could only go: *mm-mm*.
“S-Sorry, Rana.”
Leina saw a chance of winning while the other stood up, worried about her son.
Although the Giant Killer had a terrific power, it was hard to say if Cattleya truly mastered the weapon, impressive muscle strength notwithstanding.
[If I act wisely, it shouldn’t be hard to obtain a chance at victory.
Just like now, if I attack her while she’s off guard after standing from a knockdown!]
“Mercy is useless in a battle… isn’t it!?”
She swung down the Sword at Cattleya, who was still trying to help Rana up.
“Leina!”
Fio couldn’t help shouting when he saw that way of fighting so unlike her: aiming at Cattleya while she was preoccupied with her son wasn’t fair.
Distracted by the singer’s voice, Leina’s sword arm dulled.
The mother instinctively laid down, protecting her son. Light purple petals danced in the arena; the flowers that had tied Cattleya’s hair took the hit in her stead and scattered.
Since Leina’s sword arm deviated, the other avoided a direct hit by a very narrow margin and jumped sideways to get a javelin.
“There’s no place for hesitation in a battle!”
Leina yelled, more to convince herself than anything.
[I can’t give her a chance to recover.]
Not intent on letting the chance of victory she had glimpsed escape her grasp, the blonde swung her sword aimlessly in the direction the mother had fled towards.
“I think so too!”
“Eh!?”
The next moment after hearing Cattleya’s voice, Leina’s vision was filled with a blue sky.
[She attacked in a fraction of a second.]
Her foot had been hooked with the javelin the merchant held.
“Kuh!”
Although she tried to break her fall right away, she couldn’t kill the whole impact, causing a groan to escape her lips.
Seeing Cattleya’s attack with that impeccable timing, the audience raised a big cheer.
“I expected nothing less… however!”
[I can’t afford to stay down forever. Any minute now, a javelin might come flying.]
She raised herself, and jumped sideways without checking around.
“Yeah, what a pity.”
“Eh?”
The blade of a javelin came shortly after her voice.
[Did she read my moves?]
She twisted her body as far as it could go, avoiding the attack. By just a matter of millimeters, the weapon cut off the leather strap holding her chest armor in place.
“Ooh!”
The audience’s eyes focused on her chest. Having lost the strap, the armor had slid off, innumerable eyes watching her bare chest appearing.
Fio’s gaze followed the spectators’ as well. It wasn’t the first time he had seen Leina’s bust top, but having one’s eyes go there on their own was in a man’s nature, as would only be expected.
“Kuh~~~!”
The Sword grew a bit larger in her hands. Her face was dyed red in shame.
[If I could, I’d like to cover my chest now, but my hands are tied here.]
“Miss Cattleya, I won’t forget about this!”
Still with a red face, she wielded her Sword frantically. As her breasts shook naturally due to her body’s movements, her weapon’s blade became huge.
“Feel free to hold a grudge.”
In contrast with the heiress—beside herself with shame—, Cattleya calmly moved her javelin.
*Thump!*
“Hyah!”
As soon as she felt a mild shock to her feet, her vision was filled with a blue sky once again.
She felt on her backside with a *thud*, her no longer restrained breasts shaking all over the place.
[I’m being led by the nose. Is this what you call a difference in rank…?]
She bit her lips in chagrin.
[Is she completely seeing through me?
However, I haven’t lost yet. I still have some chances if I take some distance and recover with the Sword’s power. I can only start from square one here.]
Leina decided to bet on the Sword’s healing ability. To do so however, she had to distance from her foe first.
[Do I stay crouched and let her attack pass me by? Do I stand up valiantly and face her head-on?]
After giving it some thought, she kicked the floor and jumped back at once.
[I don’t think even Cattleya can jump this far.]
“How naïve.”
The brunette muttered, however, and threw her javelin; she could clearly tell the actions Leina was going to do, maybe even before the blonde herself decided on them.
“Eek!”
The javelin was aimed at the point she was going to land at.
[I can’t dodge this!]
The moment she thought so, all the sounds around her vanished. She couldn’t even hear the cheers from the audience.
She could clearly see every single spark flickering, then fading away.
[This moment when your notion of time totally changes, something I’ve never ever felt before…
Is this what defeat is like?]
Leina could only think so.
*Bam* An impact came from the back.
“Gahah!”
At the same time the moan escaped her mouth, all kinds of sounds came back at once.
She tried to stand up, but her body didn’t move.
[If I can kiss the Sword of the Unicorn…]
Her eyes moved to her right hand, which should be still holding it.
“Ah…”
Yet it wasn’t.
When she got knocked down after receiving the direct hit from the javelin, she must have let go of it at some point.
[I’ve lost. I’ve lost completely. I’ve lost without ever being able to use the power of the Sword of the Unicorn.]
“Do you understand now? It doesn’t matter if you have a weapon with amazing power, it’s hard to achieve victory just with that.”
Cattleya admonished her. Leina, lying on her back on top of the stone pavement, could only nod.
[I was so afraid of indulging in the Sword’s might, that I couldn’t even draw any power out of it. There’s no way I can use it, let alone abuse it, like this.]
“Save your complaints about indulging in the sword’s power until after you master it. You were overthinking about its might.”
The mother’s words were hitting bull’s-eye; she couldn’t refute a single word.
“And I will also tell Fio something.”
She continued, gazing now at the boy at the corner of the stadium.
“M-Me too?”
“Yes, you too. All I want to say is: believe in each other. Leina believes in you, Fio. You have to believe in her as well. She is too fixated on the Sword’s power, but you have to remember that you can help her in plenty of ways, Sword aside. That’s all!”
The brunette spoke emphatically, and then turned the tip of the javelin towards the neck of the still fallen blonde.
“Do you still want to fight?”
Leina shook her head in silence.
“I lost… It’s regrettable, but I can’t win against you now.”
“Cherish that regret.”
With a light smile, she raised the tip of her javelin.
“The Exiled Warrior Leina declared her defeat. Winner: Weapon Merchant Cattleya!”
Rising cheers joined the speech of the stone statues. The sound of a big bell announcing the end of the match echoed in the sky of the imperial capital.
“Cattleya! Cattleya!”
The merchant waved once and again to respond to the big cheers congratulating her for the victory. Her face didn’t show the smile of a winner, though; it only had a sorrowful smile for the husband who should be somewhere under that same sky.
***
Beyond the sky.
Nanael returned to the world the humans called Heaven.
“So, let’s hear that report.”
The Head Angel had on a smile like thin ice, looking down at the angel kneeling with a humble countenance.
“Before that, Head Angel, there’s something I want to hear by all means.”
“What is it? Is it that important?”
“Important? I can’t think of a single thing more important.”
Nanael looked up at her with a straight face.
“Head Angel, please tell me all you know about the Sword of the Unicorn, every little thing.”
[Even if it’s an instrument that can play a “pure sound”, it’s still unreasonable for Heaven to go through such troubles to collect it. There must be some secret I haven’t been told about.]
The angel asked in a strong tone, without hesitation.
“You do not need to know all the details.”
Her query was curtly refused.
“If I don’t, I might make minor mistakes. That’s why I failed to capture it this time.”
Nanael was quick to blame the failure at her duty on her lack of information.
And then, silence.
[Will a thunderstorm come next, or…?]
The angel’s chest beat fast.
“That might very well be true…”
Hearing the words made her heave a sigh of relief.
“Then, I shall tell you only one thing.”
The Head Angel stared straight at her.
“That sacred treasure is supposed to be related to the Great Unicorn, a majestic divine beast who is still sleeping. Ever since that divine beast fell asleep, I can’t help but think that the healing and purifying power in Heaven has decreased.”
The serene overseer’s gaze rested upon Nanael’s wings. As if to imply that her mismatched wings were caused by the Great Unicorn’s long sleep…
“The Great Unicorn…”
Nanael chewed on the name she had just heard from her boss. It was the name of a really majestic beast, the leader of the divine beasts living in Heaven.
“The sound that sacred treasure makes is the same as what the Great Unicorn’s horn sounded like back then.”
The Head Angel quietly cast down her eyes.
“If so, it might be able to wake him from his slumber.”
***
A few days later, Cattleya’s weapon shop was cluttered with more customers than normal.
“Yo, business sure is prospering.”
Pushing his way through the clients, Hans reached the counter and greeted Cattleya with his usual grin.
“Thanks to you, I’m earning a profit.”
As she replied, she sent a glance towards Fio and Leina, who were working on describing products to prospective buyers.
Fio pulled the customers’ attention, Leina explained how to use the products. They were a good combination.
“By the way, the matter in question, is it ready now?”
“It’s for a thousand people, right? I figure it will take about a month?”
“Got it. I’ll let the other party know.”
“Did you come just for that?”
“Hm~, also to treat my eyes.”
The man said honestly, looking at Cattleya’s waist with a moist gaze.
“Oh my oh my, you should save that for someone younger than an old woman like me.”
She continued working calmly in the face of that glance of his; it was only to be expected from her.
“A woman’s value doesn’t just reside in her youth, does it? That’s just like the water of a spring, it just dries up with time. A man who doesn’t know the difference wouldn’t understand your charm.”
“Oh my, Hans, stop it.”
Cattleya blushed slightly, gently bringing her hands to her face.
It didn’t feel bad to be praised, whoever it was that did the praising.
***
“He’s come back, that pervy old man.”
Fio told his companion, pointing at Hans and Cattleya.
“Maybe he’s just free?”
Leina answered, returning the weapon she had finished explaining to a customer back to the shelf.
Hans’ shop was in one of the prime locations of the capital. Properly speaking, he shouldn’t have any free time at all, but since he kept bustling about the Continent under the guise of stocking products, the staff at his store had become perfectly able to function without him.
“Say, Leina. How long will we be here?”
He asked, a serious expression on his face now.
If it was about traveling funds, they had collected enough by now, and she also had gotten a replacement for the shield that had gotten broken in her previous preliminary.
“Until I take one point from Miss Cattleya… maybe?”
Hearing that answer, he guessed that their stay in the capital would be prolonged for a while.
“In that case, can I go to the church twice a week?”
“Sure. But…”
“ “ Keep an eye for the thirsty angel’s temptations.” “
Both their voices overlapped.
They stared at each other’s faces and laughed.
***
Queen’s Blade.
A fighting competition held every four years that decides the Queen that will rule over the Continent.
The ones standing in the way of a beautiful fighter from becoming Queen, are they mighty rivals, or friends one can trust?
Here in the Continent today, the battle to become Queen continues.
Afterword
First of all, some words of thanks.
I am indebted to many people throughout the Collaboration of this book.
Among them, I got a lot of inspiration from Mister M, the manager. A big thanks to Mr. Eiwa too, who provides dignified drawings every time there’s a battle between the beautiful fighters. I would also like to thank my son, who had to suffer a father who didn’t play with him even on Sundays, and my wife, who was busy trying to make some writing time for me.
Last but not least, I’ll give my utmost thanks to the readers who picked up this book. Thank you all very much.
Now, it’s finally the third volume, and each character has begun to move on their own. It seemed like Leina and Fio were on better terms than I—the author himself—thought, so I was going like: ‘I want them to do this’, ‘I’d hate it if they did this’.
As long as I kept listening to them (the girls, that is), the story went in another direction and my ideas so far didn’t work anymore. On the other hand, if I ignored them, my pen wouldn’t advance; it was a vicious cycle.
Due to this, I fought a hard battle this time. Turns out there’s someone who could very well snatch Leina’s role from under her rug if she got careless.
How did it turn out in the end? I feel like you’ll understand if you have read the novel this far.
Everyone has quarrels with their friends, and there may come a time when there are misunderstandings. In those cases, it’s better to talk things through calmly.
It’s been said since times immemorial that “after a storm comes a calm”. If you brave it through, I’m sure that afterwards you’ll get along even better than before.
Then, I hope Queen’s Blade will treat this Eiji Okita this year well again.
The next one will come a little earlier, I would like to do my best to deliver a new book to all of you.
Eiji Okita
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