Hearing cheers from the plaza, Cattleya quickened her pace.
“Seems they’ve already started.”
Rana was doing his best to follow after her.
[If I have to keep up with this child’s stride, the fight might be over when we get there.]
To prevent that, she lifted up her child with her left arm.
“Rana, grab on tightly.”
“Yep.”
He clung to his mother using his whole body.
“Let’s go.”
Kicking up the street, Cattleya started running.
That brave figure didn’t seem like a mother anymore. It was the look of the legendary female fighter said to have cut down a giant.
***
The moment the dim light from the flail hit her, Leina felt the strength from her body escape her at once.
[Why is this? I don’t feel any pain at all.
However, I feel tired all of a sudden. Is this God’s power?]
Her unsteady field of vision caught the priestess swinging her flail sideways. It was too close now to think of avoiding it.
[To stop that flail with increased strength due to centrifugal force… I have no choice but to get in even closer.]
“Nice trick, but this is a fight I can’t lose!”
Leina pushed out her shield with her body’s strength behind it.
It was a light attack.
The flail’s handle hit the shield, making a dull metallic sound.
“Kyaah!”
With a small scream, Melpha’s butt met the stone pavement.
“Oh my?”
The unexpected development made the heiress confused.
Just by shoving her with the shield, the other had lost her balance and gotten knocked down.
“Priestess of Gainos Melpha, one knockdown. Only two more until defeat.”
The statue confirmed the situation.
[Maybe she’s actually quite weak?]
Indeed, as her fighting prowess showed, one could tell from her fleshy figure—large breasts included—that she hadn’t been trained as a warrior.
Seeing Melpha tearing up after having fallen on her backside, it made Leina feel like a bully, swinging her sword without a care for the other’s circumstances.
[There’s one thing I know for sure: she hasn’t been trained to fight.
Still, I can’t get careless. I have no confidence in being able to stand if I take another of those attacks imbued with holy power like before.]
Hardening her heart, the warrior swung down her sword as Melpha rose up.
“Hyaaan!”
At the very last moment the sword’s tip was about to touch the thin cloth wrapped around her soft skin, the other twisted her body, dodging her strike.
“Good at dodging, aren’t you?”
Leina praised Melpha’s splendid defensive maneuvers.
“T-That’s because, if possible, I-I don’t want to fight.”
The priestess replied, gasping for breath.
“Why did you accept the preliminary match then?”
Leina held her shield, swinging her sword in a defensive posture.
“Because Nanael said so?”
“E-Err… There’s that too, but…”
Melpha stopped the strike with the shield attached to her left hand, and kept talking:
“I-I want, for Miss Fio, to sing a hymn!”
She shouted, swinging her flail. However, as long as she could see them, Leina would have no trouble dodging attacks as amateurish as those.
Although, if she dodged it, they wouldn’t be able to hear each other’s voices.
“Well, in that case…”
Still talking, she thrust out her shield to repel the attack.
“You just have to ask her, and she’ll sing as much as you like!”
Melpha lost her balance when her flail was parried, and the heiress shot her a kick for good measure.
“Kyaah!”
Both the scream and the sensation in her foot proved her aim true. It was clear that Melpha was greatly staggering now, after taking that kick from point-blank range.
“Let’s end this soon.”
With those words, Leina swung down her sword. The sharp tip cut through the other’s chest.
“Kyah! Noooooo!”
After the cut—or more accurately subtle grazing—from Leina’s sword, Melpha’s clothes got torn off from the inside, exposing her pure white soft skin to the audiences’ eyes.
“Kya, aahn, noo.”
She hurried to cover her chest, her cheeks red.
“Now, what will you do? Will you keep fighting?”
[If I keep fighting Melpha like this, Nanael is sure to barge in.
It’s not a good idea to fight that angel now that I’m exhausted after taking that holy power attack.]
The heiress thrust the tip of her sword against the priestess, urging her decision.
“Choose quickly.”
“Eeh, err…”
Looking at Melpha and her face dyed crimson, Leina tried to control another emotion that was involuntarily rising within her.
[I want to see more of her embarrassed faces.]
The thought briefly flashed inside her mind.
“As a woman myself, I don’t want to shame you in front of the audience like this.”
The heiress added, controlling the dark emotions surging deep inside her.
***
“Aah, sheesh, just what do you think you’re doing?”
Nanael screamed, without even trying to hide her frustration. It seemed Melpha’s disappointing way of fighting had exceeded her expectations.
“If it’s come to this…”
Fio tightly grabbed the angel’s ankle before she could jump into the battlefield.
“What?”
She scowled at him with a sullen expression.
“Barging in is no good, is it? You did it in the Khan Oasis as well; keep it up, and you’ll get disqualified for the main battle.”
He fired back, not afraid of her gaze.
“Thanks for caring. But, who do you think I am, Fio?”
“Err…”
‘An angel on trial’, ‘a milkwoman’, ‘you only have one wing, so I guess half an angel’…
The boy racked his brain, unable to speak out loud the answers that came to his head in the spur of the moment.
“I’m Nanael, the Angel of Light. I’m an apostle of God. I don’t give a flying whit about rules made by humans.”
She declared, full of confidence.
“So I will do as I like.”
Breaking free from Fio’s hand, she spread her wings to go to Melpha’s help.
“If you do, it’s going to pose a problem.”
“Who dares!”
The angel reflexively turned to the reproaching voice.
*SWOOSH!*
A javelin came flying with a tremendous wind noise.
“Geh!”
The blue-haired girl lowered her body straight away, dodging it.
“A surprise attack, how cowardly!”
Still facing down at the entrance of the church, Nanael shouted at the woman who had thrown the javelin.
“Oh my, but if you consider how Miss Leina is fighting Miss Melpha right now, wouldn’t your intervention have been quite a surprise attack too?”
A woman stood up in front of the angel, a ridiculously huge sword in her right hand, a child in her left and a smile on her face.
“Miss Cattleya…”
Fio muttered her name when he saw the mother.
“Hello, Fifi. I don’t know what your circumstances are, but I’ll help you and Miss Leina have a good talk.”
Then, she lowered her kid, who had been hugging her, to the ground.
“You're being a nuisance… Move out of the way!”
Before they could even settle on a preliminary, the angel hurled her Celestial Saber at Cattleya.
“Properly speaking, interfering in someone else's personal struggles are severely punished.”
The mother used her Giant Killer to parry the flying saber without difficulty, then set her sword straight.
*Woosh*, the air it created reached even the dancer besides Nanael.
“If you are willing to interrupt their fight, I’ll stop you here.”
She glared at the other with a stern warrior-like expression.
“Can you even do that? The likes of a female monkey with a kid in tow, stopping the great Nanael.”
She mocked her, frustrated, as she rose even higher in the sky. The wind blew on her pure white camisole, her polka-dots underpants momentarily visible.
“Wha!”
Fio automatically cast his face down. Her underwear was too tightly fitting… to the point where he could see the shape of the place she should be hiding.
“Gooo! Celestial!”
Following her orders, the weapon charged at the merchant.
“How monotonous.”
Cattleya murmured with a light motion of her Giant Killer, enough to parry the saber. One could tell she had completely read the weapon’s trajectory.
“Ah~, sheesh, you’re so annoying. What’s with the composure?”
Still floating in the air, Nanael moved the saber violently.
“For an angel, you lack skill.”
The mother continued, provocatively, parrying the saber that flew at her left and right as if she was just swatting a fly down.
“What’s wrong? Is this all you can do if you get serious?”
Her calm smile contrasted with the angel’s face getting redder in anger.
“Gr~~~~~! I’ll have you eat crow!”
Yelling with such force that steam seemed to be rising from her head, Nanael rose even higher.
“N-No way!?”
Seeing her going upwards, Fio couldn’t hide his surprise when he noticed she was at about the necessary height to unleash a certain technique.
“You can’t possibly intend to do *that*?”
Nanael’s hidden technique, the Falling Star Kick. It would burst with an explosion, sending a shockwave around that would inevitably affect the battle between Leina and Melpha.
“Miss Cattleya! Be careful!”
She only smiled.
“It will be alright, I was expecting this.”
The angel’s rise came to a stop.
“She’s coming!”
The very moment he announced it, Nanael pointed her toes at Cattleya and started her sudden descent.
“Falling Star Kiiiiiiiiick!”
Just like a shooting star, her tiptoes shone with a glow due to the frictional heat from the atmosphere.
The merchant just stood still, majestic, even before that secret technique of Nanael where a direct hit might make one not live to tell the tale.
Unlike Fio, who got under cover, Rana only stared at the sky from behind his mother, fully believing in her.
“Haah!”
A scream full of fighting spirit.
In an instant, the soft body that encompassed Cattleya’s maternity turned into the muscular one of a strong warrior.
With a roar, she swiftly raised the Giant Killer, sending up a gust of wind.
“Geh!”
By the time Nanael noticed, it was too late. Once she launched the Falling Star Kick, not even herself could change its trajectory.
She could only watch in silence as her own tiptoes rushed towards the humongous sword.
“Heee! Hiiyaaaaaah!”
The shockwave created by the Falling Star Kick, plus the gust from the Giant Killer, became a terrific vibration that jolted the angel’s entire body.
“Aah, d-dooon’t!”
Along with her scream, Holy Milk spilled from the small bottle by her waist.
“Kyah, what’s this?”
The milk that suddenly fell clouded Cattleya’s glasses in white.
“Mom, above you!”
Rana called Nanael’s position on behalf of her mother, blinded by the milk. Following her son’s instructions, she pushed up her weapon further.
“Kyaah!”
A nice reaction came from the Giant Killer, coinciding with the angel’s scream.
“Kuuh~, what’s with this bullshit strength?”
Crashing in front of the cathedral, Nanael could only cry in a pitiable figure, covered as she was in Holy Milk.
Fortunately for her, the battle most of the audience was there to see was the one between Leina and Melpha… and since they were especially focused on the priestess’ Holy Poses, not many eyes ended up witnessing the shameful sight she was currently displaying.
***
“Come on, Melpha! Decide, here and now.”
The tip of Leina’s sword came an inch closer.
The priestess hadn’t noticed, but the Vance daughter could clearly see how Cattleya and Nanael were fighting behind her.
[It seems Miss Cattleya has prevented Nanael from intruding, at least for now. But, I can’t depend on her kindness forever. I have to settle the match with Melpha as soon as I can…]
“E-Err, yes. I should thank you for your kind offer, but…”
The nun gently closed her eyes.
“Now that I challenged you to a preliminary, this is also a trial imposed on me by God. Please let the fight continue until one of us is defeated at the third knockdown.”
Then, she opened them, gazing straight at Leina.
“In that case, I won’t go easy on you!”
[I don’t want to inflict a fatal injury on her, but a preliminary IS a serious match where your life’s on the line.]
Leina thrust the sword she had been pointing at the other.
“O’ God!”
Melpha cried out at the same time she stepped back.
[I can’t let her release another attack with sacred power.]
The heiress shrank back the distance by kicking up the stone pavement.
On the other hand, the priestess, god knows what she was thinking about, lifted her cherry-colored large breasts from below as if to emphasize them and bent down her upper body.
Both her breasts were pushed up, jiggling, the deep valley between them only spreading.
“Ooh! Such wonder! Such beauty!”
The spectators watching behind Leina gave a unanimous voice of delight.
That pose emphasized the plumpness of the breasts that could be seen as a symbol of maternity; Leina didn’t know that it was one of the “Holy Poses” embodying divine power, “Holy Pose: Gospel”.
“W-What is that?”
In front of Leina—who had followed after the other—, Melpha’s body got wrapped in a gentle light.
[Is this maybe some sort of recovery technique?]
Seeing how the priestess’ cheeks went bright red, Leina thought it had to be so.
[Then, I have to settle it in one go!
This is my chance, now that she can’t move in order to maintain the Holy Pose.]
The Vance daughter shot a high kick at her.
“Hyaah!”
Melpha held up the shield with her eyes closed. And so, Leina ended up kicking the shield.
[She has good intuition.]
However, what she didn’t have was the strength to withstand the kick.
“Oh my, oooh my.”
Despite having blocked it swiftly with her shield, the priestess lost her balance, and fell on her backside again on top of the pavement.
“Two count, Priestess of Gainos. One more until defeat.”
The umpire state counted again, mercilessly.
[It’s like I thought: Melpha’s vulnerable to kicks.
In an ordinary battle, you have a high risk of eating a counterattack, so you can only use kicks as a feint. However, they seem to be effective here. And the knockdown rules sure help.]
While thinking so, Leina kept her eyes trained on her opponent, who stood up rubbing her ass.
***
“Ouch… kuh…”
Melpha moaned a bit after getting her second knockdown. Bearing the pain, she stood up while rubbing her buttocks.
[She’s strong. The Exiled Warrior Leina is a real warrior.
Every single one of the attacks fired from her trained body are heavy, I have my hands full just blocking them.
I was able to succeed once with a divine power attack, but I don’t think she’ll give me the opportunity to fire another one.
Even if this is a trial ordained by God, it will be difficult to defeat her.]
“Haa… haa… haa…”
She was out of breath. The thin silk covering her body had gotten covered with sweat, and was beginning to hinder her movements.
[Or rather, it’s gotten torn here and there, getting a bit racy; they can get a peek at my skin flushed pink, can’t they?]
Feeling the audience’s gaze on her, she became so embarrassed it felt like her face was burning up.
[Does she also bear the shyness as I do?]
Melpha turned her eyes to the Exiled Warrior before her. Her armor exposed a great deal of skin, and a leather belt tightened around her body.
The men’s eyes were probably concentrated in her butt and the valley of her breasts… and yet, her sword arm never wavered.
“Leina… you’re a strong person.”
Her words caught the other by surprise.
“I… want to become strong as well.”
With that, she made a huge swing with her flail.
The thin silk, just caught in the tip of her chest, got torn off, exposing her shaking soft breasts under the white sun.
“Oooooh!”
“Awesome!”
“Lady Melpha!”
The audience roared, staring straight at her.
[This must also be a trial given by God.]
“O’ God! Please grant me the power.”
Feeling the heated gaze of the audience undressing her with their eyes, Melpha swung down the flail she had raised high above her head.
“Such an obvious attack won’t work.”
With a light smile, Leina parried the swung down flail with her sword, and jumped into her bosom with the momentum.
She could see the warrior’s movements clearly, like in slow motion. It was like she was perfectly capturing every one of her motions, no matter how small. Only, her body wouldn’t move with the speed she needed to stop her.
[No good.
There’s no way I can dodge.]
Leina put the momentum she had gotten into her legs, and fired one of them in a wide arc.
The leg covered in a legplate bit into her body with the strength of a club.
“Kyaah.”
Blown away several meters off the pavement, Melpha crumbled down completely.
“Three counts. The defeat of the Priestess of Gainos is confirmed.”
The umpire's image announced the end of the fight.
“Winner: the Exiled Warrior, Leina.”
***
Cattleya wiped the Holy Milk off her glasses as she heard the voice of the referee determining the winner.
“It appears things are settled over there.”
Then, she put on her glasses, without taking notice of Nanael, who had fallen down in an unshapely appearance after getting knocked down by her.
“Mom, mom…”
Called out by her son, Cattleya finally paid more attention to the angel.
“Oh my.”
The blue-haired girl was lying on top of the pavement, with her buttocks—covered in white polka-dots underwear—raised.
To call that a really unladylike figure would be an understatement.
“Rana, don’t look.”
“Okaay.”
Placing her kid behind her, the mother stood before Nanael.
“Seems like it was settled admirably well.”
“Shuddup!”
The angel stood up vigorously, wiping away all the Holy Milk stuck to her in a flash.
“What will you do? Will you keep fighting?”
The brunette’s question made her hesitate for a moment.
[The strength of this female monkey with a kid in tow here is not ordinary. An easy way to get a chance at victory would be to aim at the boy to create an opening, but I’m not that desperate so as to resort to such an underhanded tactic.
Not to mention, the battle between Leina and Melpha I was going to break into has ended. And I only have about half of my Holy Milk. If I lose all the milk fighting in vain here, I’ll be forcibly brought back to Heaven.]
“Hm… You didn’t notice I was going easy on you, you’re not that big of a deal.”
The angel chose to withdraw, sending her Celestial Saber back to her Heavenly armory. Fighting any more was futile.
“Oh well, we’ll make it a tie just this once. Just coz I’m nice!”
Making a bluff out of spite, Nanael floated up gently and flew towards Melpha, knocked down in a corner of the square.
“M-Miss Cattleya…”
Fio appeared slowly from behind the pillars.
“Go talk with Leina. There are some feelings that can’t be transmitted until you put them into words.”
She said, pushing gently on his back.
“Do I have to?”
“Yes. Even couples with children that have spent a long time together sometimes don’t understand each other… it’s important to convey each other’s feelings.”
As if pressed by Cattleya’s expression—tinged with loneliness and sorrow—, the singer started walking towards Leina.
***
Leina closed her eyes after grabbing the crystal ball that had returned to her hand.
[Did I win by a close call?]
It could be said that she had been saved by her opponent’s hesitation.
[What would have happened if Melpha had fought by her own will?
If I had received another of those strong attacks using sacred power, I would have gone down for sure.
And even I hesitated at times, too. No matter who my opponent is, anyone I face in a preliminary is a potential opponent at Queen’s Blade; I should face them with my full strength.
Was I able to do my best?]
“Leina…”
She opened her eyes when she heard his unexpected voice addressing her.
“Leina, I…”
“Wait, Fio.”
She interrupted him and looked straight into his eyes.
[Now is not the time to be distracted by my own hesitation.]
It was time to tell Fio her feelings as the Master of the Sword of the Unicorn.
“Let me go first.”
She took his hands in hers and began speaking slowly.
“To be honest, I’m afraid of the Sword’s power. Even though it has infinite durability, this weapon is your alter ego, isn’t it? In that case, maybe one day it’ll affect you in an unexpected way.”
Leina continued talking, as her figure was reflected in his eyes.
“If I lose you because I rely on the Sword, I’ll regret it terribly. However, on the other hand, I honestly admit that I feel like I want to use it. Isn’t it weird? Wanting to try it despite fearing to lose you, Fio…”
A self-deprecating smile appeared on her lips.
“So, I thought it’d be better if I was just unable to use it. If I didn’t have it on hand, I wouldn’t have to worry about using it, and if I didn’t use it, you would be safe… that’s what I thought, but... the moment I helped you, Fio, I took on the responsibility as the Master of the Sword of the Unicorn, and it would be irresponsible to let go of it.”
With a small sigh, Leina sat down so as to be at the same eye level as him.
“So, it’s only natural that you’re angry at me, Fio. Sorry, I should have shared more about this with you. Facing each other like this, too.”
As she looked at him, her sight became blurred.
“Leina?”
Surprise showed in his voice when he suddenly saw tears spilling from her eyes.
“Sorry…”
She raised her face, holding back her tears. The ones that had already fallen continued through her lips, spilled on her chest and scattered.
“I swore that I would protect you, Fio, but I never thought to protect the Sword of the Unicorn too. From now on, I’ll protect the Sword as its Master. If you tell me I can use it, I’ll also use it in the preliminaries. I won’t only rely on the Sword’s power, I’ll make an effort to master it.”
Wiping away her tears, she looked at the boy.
“So, won’t you stay together with me from now on?”
The kid remained silent, and jumped at her chest. She hugged him reflexively.
“This is my answer.”
With a smile, Fio laid his lips on top of Leina’s, wet with tears.
***
“You intended to do this from the beginning, didn’t you, Lady Nanael?”
Watching the exchange between the two, the priestess talked to the angel floating by her.
“Well, yeah, you got me there. As expected from my servant, you’re perceptive.”
Nanael puffed up with pride, without ever letting out how she had been planning to intrude and take away the Sword of the Unicorn from Leina by force.
“By the way, Melpha.”
“Y-Yes? What is it?”
“Why did you go through the trouble of making it three knockdowns? You might have won if you had made it just one.”
“E-Err, it’s because of *that*, right~? I was merely following the scriptures: ‘God will forgive people’s mistakes up to three times’.”
“Ooh, I think God will be delighted if you study and put into practice the Holy Scriptures to that extent.”
The angel spoke in monotone, agonizing over how she was going to report that to the Head Angel. After all, she had failed to obtain the Sword of the Unicorn again.
Nanael closed her eyes, her lips firmly shut.
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