The incident at the border turned out to be the most excitement that Lina and Gourry encountered on their honeymoon. The hecklers disappeared as mysteriously as they had appeared, and Lina was able to relax and enjoy seeing parts of Zeferia she'd never visited before. Still, a sense of feeling antsy grew, and when she reflected on why she was stunned to realize that she no longer felt she was growing as a traveler, and that she was anxious to challenge herself in the new role she would be assuming by running a school and teaching. She was ready for the journey to end and to settle down to work!
Still, there was no rushing Aliciane through the remaining weeks. And Lina certainly couldn't say that she wasn't enjoying herself. All the same, when they finally reached Zefiel City early one afternoon she felt ready to roll her sleeves up rather than sad that the honeymoon was over. And while she was all too ready to drop Aliciane off and head straight to Maninstit, Aliciane insisted that they had to visit the Eternal Queen and be debriefed. Lina merely hoped it wouldn't take too long. Fortunately, aside from events on the border, there wasn't much to report.
"Aliciane had asked the hecklers to come forward, lodge a complaint, but they didn't." Lina explained to the Eternal Queen and Luna as they sat in the Queen's private audience chambers.
"Which lends credence to Scenario B." Luna commented as she glanced at the Eternal Queen.
"Huh?" Lina said.
"We'd been speculating about the hecklers." Luna explained. "One line of thought was that they were sent from the Kingdom of Dils."
Lina and Gourry exchanged a look, "Well, you do have quite a few enemies there." He said.
"But why?" Lina asked.
"Revenge. To rattle you. Undermine confidence in you." Luna listed, "And it's also well known that outside of our borders they have been slandering you. They are doing their best to make you public enemy number one in the Kingdom of Dils."
Something simmered within Lina. It didn't feel fair. The Kingdom of Dils had been deeply infiltrated by Dynast Grausherra and his minions, who had even managed to kill much of the royal family. Lina's hard work there had stopped Dynast Grausherra's stranglehold on the kingdom. All the same, she could easily see how her actions could have been read as too little too late at the best, or at the worst, twisted into blaming her for Dils' problems. Especially now that Maius, who could speak in her favor and held rank there, was dead. What that they say about no good dead…? She thought as she said, "But I have no plans of ever stepping foot in there again!"
"Likely it's a move against my plan to train people to fight Mazoku." The Eternal Queen explained serenely, "Especially since Saillune is joining our efforts and we have been in communication with the Duchy of Kalmaat about instituting a similar program there. When word reached Dils, they flooded the Duchy with propaganda about you."
Lina bit her lip, "Which means that Mazoku are likely still controlling Dils."
"It's not conclusive." Luna explained, "But it's highly probable."
"So with Dils to our west, who knows what to the east, and possible trouble with the Elmekian Empire to our south…" Lina said.
"Let's be thankful for our alliance with Saillune." The Eternal Queen said firmly, and Lina wondered how she could sound so confident when the situation did little to evoke the feeling. But then, wasn't that what good leaders did? Hadn't that been what she herself had done?
"But why come to one event at the edge of the civilized world to heckle me?" Lina asked.
"That's what we can't figure out, and why we think the second scenario is more likely." Luna said.
"Which is?"
"Some revenge, courtesy of Baroness Guloisa. That was the closet you came to the border of the Elmekian Empire." Luna explained.
"But how would she have communication outside of jail?" Gourry exclaimed.
"For one thing, I suspect that the Elmekian ambassador, Carlton, is involved." The Eternal Queen said, "These matters are complex. They always are. Carlton is fond of Guloisa, and she does have some powerful friends back in the Elmekian Empire, and they have been pressing for her release, and those demands are starting to carry some weight. Guloisa herself is a troublesome prisoner."
Gourry's eyes widened, "Well, she's a troublesome person in general."
"She claims to have information about what the Elmekian Empire is doing in the Desert of Destruction, information vital to our continued safety, and she says she will only give us this information if we release her."
Gourry looked distinctly uncomfortable as he said, "Well, she likely does have information. She knows that information is currency and is good at positioning herself to obtain as much of it as possible, and it will be good information and she probably isn't exaggerating."
"But…?" the Queen prompted.
"But it would mean releasing her." He said weakly.
"We'll still keep her under tight watch at court." The Eternal Queen stated.
Gourry bit his lip and he fidgeted as he mumbled something. Lina's annoyance flared as she blurted out for him, "In case you didn't hear that, she's already caused a lot of trouble here. Hell, even now that she's in a dungeon you can't stop her from sending hecklers to harass us on our honeymoon! Are you sure you can handle her?"
The room seemed to chill for a moment, and Luna stated, "I walked into her trap knowing it would be foiled. I just didn't expect you to be so slow on the uptake."
"Oh, you don't really…" Lina started as she stood up.
"All humans make mistakes." The Eternal Queen said loudly. "What matters is if we learn from them."
Luna exhaled, and folded her arms under her breasts. "I learned not to even look at anything Guloisa may give me."
"And perhaps," The Eternal Queen added, "You should do something for yourself for once."
Luna looked baffled at the mere thought for a brief moment before she looked at Lina meaningfully.
Lina thought for a moment, and then looked at Goury, "She's your mom. What do we need to do to protect ourselves from her?"
"Just know if she offers something, she's going to want something in return, or have something up her sleeve. And now that she knows about the Blast Sword, she's going to do everything she can to get it. Don't leave her with the Elmekian ambassador alone, and know that she is going to find out every dirty secret anyone you send to keep an eye on her has and will use it to blackmail them. Oh, and don't let her fool you into thinking she's illiterate."
"And if we're smart about it, we can give her just enough rope to hang herself with." The Eternal Queen added. From beside her, Lina noted that Gourry still looked nervous.
They had moved into a less hospital room to interrogate Guloisa, and Amelia had joined them. "Looks like you're wasting little time getting straight to work!" Amelia observed as she sat down.
"Would you believe that we even were working on our honeymoon!" Lina vented.
"Well, what did you expect?" Gourry said, "Since when can you keep out of trouble?"
"Hey!" Lina said.
"Can it." Luna said. "They're coming."
The tension thickened in the room as the guards escorted Guloisa in it. Considering she had been in prison, she looked well. But her eyes set on Gourry and burned, "How could you stand by and do nothing as they arrested me?"
Gourry said nothing as he stared at the table, but Lina shot back, "You tried to kill us on our wedding day! What did you expect?"
Guloisa folded her arms under her breasts, "I had no way of knowing that would happen. I was duped."
"No one here believes that!" Lina said.
"But you believe her?" Guloisa asked, pointing a finger at Luna. "She stabbed her sovereign! Luna would have more reasons to kill her queen than I would to kill my own beloved son."
"Oh for…" Lina said.
"Enough." Luna interjected. "Our case against you is strong, as you well know."
"You know I gave you the diamonds. But how was I to know that was Grau? I didn't even know who Grau was, or that he was a Mazoku! Or what he was going to do?" Guloisa said, "You really don't think I would have tried to kill my own son?"
"We're not here to go retread this debate." The Eternal Queen said, "We're here to secure your release, under the same stipulations as before, provided you tell us what is occurring in the Desert of Destruction."
"Can I see that in writing." Guloisa said.
Luna handed over a document. Guloisa smiled. "Hellmaster had a device that could claim the souls of an entire city in mere seconds with the correct spell. They have the device, but they don't have the spell."
"Damn." Lina said. "How close are they to finding it?"
"Your guess is as good as mine." Guloisa said, "Especially as I've been in prison for the past month. A lot can happen in a month."
"Do you know where this device is held?" Amelia asked as she stood up and pounded her fist on the table dramatically.
"With the Emperor, of course." Guloisa said.
"We must get this device out of their hands!" Amelia declared.
"And let Saillune handle it?" Guloisa asked. "Convenient."
"You are free to go." The Eternal Queen said.
Guloisa stood up, and walked over to Gourry, "You don't really believe that I would want to kill you."
"It doesn't matter what I think, does it?" he mumbled.
Guloisa bit her lip, and walked out. Once she closed the door behind her, Amelia cast a modified wind spell to muffle the sound so that they wouldn't be overheard. "We need to gather the other kingdoms and let them know that the Elmekian Empire has this." The Eternal Queen stated.
"And then?" Lina asked.
"We band together and demand that they destroy it." Amelia said.
"And meanwhile they could find the spell and start wiping out cities!" Lina protested. "We need to act fast."
"Are you thinking we need to go grab it?" Gourry asked.
"If you go in alone and are caught, it would be a diplomatic nightmare." Luna said.
"Then I won't get caught."
"No." Luna said.
"What do you mean no!? I do stuff like this all of the time!" Lina protested.
"That was before you were knighted, paraded through the kingdom, and given the blessing of the Eternal Queen to train others in your stead." Luna shot back.
"It would look as though the Eternal Queen sent you to steal it so Zeferia could have the weapon." Amelia added.
"But they'd look bad for having it in the first place!" Lina protested.
"Two wrongs don't make a right." Luna replied, "We have to get the cooperation of the other kingdoms so we don't look as though we are doing this for our own gain. Then we'll talk about organizing smaller missions. But it can't be you."
"I don't want to sit this one out!" Lina said.
"You're going to have to learn how to sit these things out. Luna's right, you are too famous now." The Eternal Queen said. "And you've done more than enough on the battlefield. Now you will train others and watch them do this."
"But I haven't trained anyone yet!"
"So it's better that this be your first time, before it's a student that you are attached to."
The Eternal Queen's words hit her like ice water as she found herself wondering just what she had gotten into. While it was true that after she'd had to kill Luke she'd wanted someone else to make the hard decisions, but she'd thought that person would be older and wiser. Not a younger, less cynical version of herself.
"Fine," she said quietly, "If I may be excused, it's been a long trip and we're anxious to get home."
"Of course." The Eternal Queen said, "Have a safe trip back home."
As they walked to Amelia's carriage, Luna asked, "You don't want to stay for dinner before you leave?"
"Another night," Lina said. "You know how it is after a long trip."
Luna smiled wistfully, "It's been so long since I took you on your first trip out of Zeferia."
Something about the tone of her voice, coupled with what the other knights had said at the border, prompted Lina to ask against her better judgment, "I know this is personal. But are you happy?"
"I'm building a legacy." Luna stated quickly, "Everything I do is to ensure the success of the gods and to rid the world of Mazoku. Whether or not I'm happy doesn't matter."
"Oh," Lina replied, "But what's the point if you don't get to enjoy yourself along the way?"
Luna ruffled her hair and said, "That's why I give you the leeway that I do."
Aggravation rushed through Lina. "You let me?"
"I'll stop by before the school starts in two weeks. You will have twenty-two students. Mom and Dad are fully briefed on the details, and most of the preparations are in place."
"Twenty-two students!?" Lina exclaimed.
"You mean there are that many exceptional children in the kingdom?" Gourry added.
Luna smiled, "Lina knows, but I doubt you do. Like I have a fragment of Ceiphied in my soul, the Eternal Queen has a fragment of Aqualord Ragradia in hers."
"So she's as powerful as you?" Gourry asked.
"Well, it depends on how you measure it." Luna explained. "Ragradia is Ceiphied's subordinate, so I can channel more power. However, the Eternal Queen was born with almost the entirety of knowledge that the Claire Bible has. I was born as ignorant as the next baby. Suppose a novice was born wielding the Blast Sword. That would be me. But then suppose a different person was born with a regular sword, but with the knowledge of an expert swordsman and knowing how to cast spells like Astral Vine. Who would win? Because of the knowledge compared to the ignorance of the novice, it would be the latter. That's the difference between the Eternal Queen and me, and it's why she spends so much time mentoring me. And even with all she has shared, there is still much I do have to learn."
"Wow." Gourry said.
"What made her more powerful is her rank." Luna continued as they reached the carriage, "Most common people wouldn't have the resources she has to find and recruit talent. There's a reason heroes and legends hail from Zeferia in greater numbers than other countries. She manages the kingdom in such a way as to ensure that it happens."
"I guess there's one thing I don't understand." Gourry said as the footman opened the door to the carriage and waited for them to get in.
"Nothing new there." Lina smirked as the other looked at him expectedly.
"If there are so many powerful people in Zeferia, more powerful than Lina even, then why do so many of you stay here? And why did you send Lina out into the world?"
Lina's hand curled into a fist as she itched to hold her Gourry hitting slipper, and then thought regretfully that she had burned it after vowing to treat him better at their wedding. But right then, she almost didn't care!
"I didn't send Lina into the world, she chose to go." Luna clarified.
"But you can't say it isn't what you wanted."
"Gourry." Lina said, her voice low.
"It's not that I'm complaining!" he said quickly, "Meeting Lina was the best thing that ever happened to me! But it doesn't make sense to send your weakest…"
Lina screamed as she flew into the carriage, "You can walk home!"
Gourry looked a little sheepish as Luna drummed her fingers on her arms as she thought, "Duty is noble, but someone bound to duty is drawn to causes to die for. And that goal, death and destruction, that's in line with what the Mazoku want, ironic as it may be at times. Look at Luke. We needed to send someone who loves living into the world, because people who love living will fight that much harder and smarter to keep on living. And that is the opposite of what the Mazoku want, and it is its own source of power."
"Oh," Gourry said, "So if by some measures the Eternal Queen is more powerful than you because she's smarter than you…"
"Excuse me?" Luna said.
Despite the dangerous edge to her voice, Gourry kept going, "Then by some measures is Lina more powerful than you because she fights because she's selfish and likes living while you fight for duty?"
Luna's hair stood on end as energy pulsed through her, and her hand moved to her waist. Lina's eyes hit her hair line as she watched from the carriage and then yelled, "Gourry, Amelia, if you value your lives get in NOW!"
"Good seeing you!" Gourry said, and then he quickly followed Amelia into the carriage as they took off towards Maninstit.
Luna screamed as they retreated, "You'd better run! Don't you dare even think of coming back for a month!"
Lina shook her head as Amelia giggled while Gourry smiled sheepishly, "Yeah, it's going to take her awhile to calm down from that one." She then gave Gourry the side eye, "I'm not sure if I should hit you or kiss you."
He leaned towards her and whispered something in her ear that caused her to blush. "I didn't hear anything." Amelia sang.
Lina shook her head and sighed as Gourry asked, "Is who is more powerful than who really that big of a thing here?"
"Isn't it anywhere?" Lina asked.
"Not among women, or at least, not in this way." Amelia said, "At Saillune and other courts I've visited it's about who has the prettier clothes and can get the richest, most titled husband. Not that it's much better with the men. Neither my sister or I can inherit the thrown in Saillune, and you know how difficult it is for a woman to have real power anyone outside of Zeferia."
"Huh?" Lina said, "I thought your sister would be the next queen."
"Only if she marries a king. All the same, it's as though since this is one of the few places where a woman can influence the government, the competition is fierce. After Luna's mistake with the wedding plenty were ready to say that she wasn't mature enough for the responsibilities placed on her, or that she may be powerful but doesn't have the smarts to back it, so she's a bit on the defensive right now, especially with justifying the cost of everything the wedding and the school and all that."
"Oh." Gourry said soberly.
Lina took a deep breath, "So I guess this means that the pressure is on to prove that the school is worth the investment."
Amelia nodded, "Precisely."