Disclaimer: I do NOT own Goblin Slayer or any of these characters.
SHOUT-OUT TO YoungsterAustin. I AM GRATEFUL THAT HE TOOK HIS TIME WITH THIS CHAPTER AND RAN THROUGH IT. THANK YOU!
Author's note: You guys are killing it! I didn't expect so much support for this story right from the get-go. Thank you very much, and since you are pushing me to pump out more chapters, here is another one.
I have to confess, the initial plan was to make this chapter mainly about High Elf, but as the fans of my Pokemon story know, nothing with me goes according to the plan. So I prolonged the Guild Girl part and made it mainly about her. And High Elf gets pushed further down the road. I don't think the next chapter will be her part too. But don't worry, I have already in mind like 2 chapters stacked up together mainly about her and GS. With some Priestess sprinkled in.
Those who wait for Sword Maiden, I have to inform you, she will appear after High Elf. And don't blame me, she is the only girl from the cast that does live somewhere else, so I have to make GS go to Water Town since she is an Archbishop and can't just disappear from the Temple of Law. And GS has to have a good reason to go there. Like, you know, goblins. Or something else…
Yeah, and regarding adding Hero and her group into the harem. Well, her party members are out. However, I think Hero herself could make it in. A lot of people said that she doesn't have a connection to GS, when actually, she has better connection to him than Priestess and High Elf for example. For those who don't know, he saved her village 5 years before the start of the series. So now, tell me how you feel only about Hero being in the harem.
Chapter 3: Red Moon
It was afternoon in the Guild, and surprisingly not a foot was in there. Except for one woman behind the counter who took the occasional quest request from people and posted them on the guild board. Not that it was needed today since everyone was out thanks to the ridiculous party that took place yesterday. The whole morning she was cleaning the mess that was made during the celebrations with Padfoot Waitress.
She should wake up her co-worker, after all, it's nearly 3 PM and she is still sleeping in their room upstairs. "Better not." she thought. It is clear her coworker wouldn't be able to function properly in the morning.
Not many would like to sleep in the place where they work, but since the town supports the Guild and their workers greatly, there are nice rooms upstairs for the staff. And the fact she has her friend as a roommate who helps to pay the bills is a plus too.
Right now, she was filling a form for a direwolf quest which was requested by a rather rich noble whose house is located at the outskirts of the town. And as with most nobles, the rich man who never held a bow, or even a shovel, was terrified to no end by the loud howls at night behind his large mansion. As she was writing down the weaknesses and what equipment is advised to take on the direwolf hunt, it was than that she heard some frantic footsteps upstairs.
"So she finally woke up." she thought.
Few minutes after, she heard footsteps from upstairs and creaking of the wooden stairs as someone was running down. She looked away from the guild board where she was posting the direwolf quest and looked at the stairs. Her honey blonde-haired friend was clumsily running down the stairs. And the clumsiness made itself known when she tripped and was falling down the stairs. Inspector winced every time her friend hit the new stair upon her way down.
"Are you alright?" she asked, seeing her friend in an unnatural position with knees beside her head and butt sticking out in the opposite direction.
"Ummm... my head hurts." she groaned and lifted her head slightly so she could see her friend posting the quest, upside down. Inspector had to chuckle.
"From what exactly? The fall or the wine?"
"Both." she exhaled and relaxed her legs so the knees were now touching the floor and her head happened to be between those knees.
"Do you need help to stand up?" Inspector asked when she finished posting the quest and went to her friend, kneeling in front of her face.
"No. And thank you for taking the shift for me. I still am a little groggy." Guild Girl replied, thanked her friend and pulled herself up from the unnatural position she was in.
"Don't mention it." Inspector said nonchalantly.
And as soon as Guild Girl was up, she rubbed her head. "I know you are an abstinent, but how did you manage to decline Heavy Swordsman's offer to drink? I tried, but he basically forced it down my throat!" Guild Girl asked her friend, now finally both standing straight and being face to face, Guild Girl with the addition of a headache.
"It isn't hard to play hide and seek with a drunk guy. I just had to be out of his sight, and then he can't invite me for a drink. Simple really." Inspector said as both her and Guild Girl went behind the counter to fill in some forms.
"You were always the smarter one." stated Guild Girl.
"Says the one who had better grades at the academy. I have more of common sense than academic smarts." Inspector stamped some document and picked another one.
"I would like to have more that than the academic smarts." Guild Girl sighed. It would spare her this headache at least.
"Yeah. I bet." Inspector said and chuckled. And seeing Guild Girl, she is glad she has that common sense. Her usually smooth brushed hair in a short ponytail dropping her shoulder was a ball of mess, hair sticking out left and right. Not to mention, there was a red stain at her uniform from the wine she drank yesterday. Wine, Guild Girls weakness. Honey blonde-haired girl is the kind of girl that is unfortunately going to get drunk just from three cups of wine. Speaking of which.
"Do you remember what happened yesterday?" she asked as both of them finally sat onto their chairs, relaxing for a minute.
"I remember, how Goblin Slayer-san said that he wanted a family." Guild Girl immediately clasped her hands and dreamy expression appeared on her face.
"Apart from that..." deadpanned Inspector. And he didn't exactly say that. He said he would be happy if he had a family, not that he wants one, but Inspector isn't the one to destroy her best friends dreams, so she let her friend dream.
"Well... then I remember Heavy Swordsman-san came to our table and... forced us to drink. After that, I don't remember anything." Guild Girl put her finger against her chin, trying to remember what happened. The intense thinking resulted in even bigger headache, so she quickly stopped.
"That's probably for the best." Inspector chuckled.
"What happened?!" Guild Girl impatiently asked.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Inspector provocatively taunted her friend with a smug smile.
"Please tell me! I didn't embarrass myself in front of Goblin Slayer did I?" Guild Girl asked, and Inspector felt the fear of the embarrassment from her voice.
"You actually kinda did."
"No... nononononono. You are joking. Tell me you are joking!" Guild Girl panicked for a moment.
Inspector chuckled. "I am not."
"What happened?" Guild Girl impatiently asked and she stood from her chair, leaned towards Inspector, resulting in her being just a few centimeters away from Inspectors face. Not that it fazed the Inspector, she still wore that smug smile.
"When you drank your 3 cups of wine, you blacked out before you could make a scene, as is usual for you. That's lucky for you because I am sure you would do something even more embarrassing. Anyway, when your sleeping face hit the table, your friends couldn't wake you up. So they left you sleeping beside them. Drooling on the table, with tongue out and mumbling 'Goblin Slayer-san, don't you want to slay something else? I can show you what could you slay in my bedroom.' and more things like that." Inspector said.
Inspector knew Guild Girl was mumbling even more embarrassing things like that from the way her lips moved, but unfortunately, as she was keeping her distance from Heavy Swordsman, and as he was usually at the table with Female Knight, who unfortunately was seated with Goblin Slayer and her friend, she caught only this sentence in the noisy Guild.
Guild Girl's round face turned to tomato and she covered her face with her hands as she took few steps back from Inspector.
"Gods no! What will he think of me?! What else did I say?" she parted her fingers covering her red face so one of her golden eyes could see Inspector at her chair.
"I don't know. But I am sure you will be pleased to hear, that most of what you said was not heard. Heavy Swordsman with his deep loud voice beat your quiet girly mumbling by a mountain." Inspector again chuckled. Inspector placed her left elbow on the table and began playing with her hair. Twisting the hair around her fingers. She then looked out of the corner of her eye to her right, and with a smug smile, she continued her story.
"But that's not all."
"W-W-What happened next." Guild Girl stuttered out. She visibly relaxed when Inspector said her mumbling was not heard. Though her blush was still visible. But then her best friend put that smug smile on her face again, and she knew the worst is yet to come.
"Your handsome knight in not so shining armor carried you to bed." Inspector teased her friend.
"H-He d-d-d-d-did w-what?" Guild Girl managed to stutter out as she made few steps back like she was afraid what will Inspector say next.
"Like I said. He carried you to bed." And Inspector's smug smile remained on her face.
"Y-you are j-joking. T-there is n-no way- that G-g-g-gob-blin S-slay-y-yer-san would d-do that." Now Guild Girl was sure her friend is joking. There is absolutely no way Goblin Slayer would EVER carry her to bed. Or anyone for that matter.
"You are welcomed, by the way." she smugly said.
So that's how it is, Guild Girl realized. "W-What did y-y-you say to him?!" Guild Girl asked, trying to hide her embarrassment, bot to no avail. Her blushing cheeks refused to disappear, and her hands were instinctively covering her face.
"Nothing really. By the end of the night, he was one of the men who were still sober. Or at least, not drunk. And as you know, I am pretty weak, so I needed some strong man to carry you to bed. And since I know how much you like him, and he was still sane, I asked him to carry you upstairs. It took a while to explain that I just want him to carry you upstairs and that I did not come to him with the intention to give him more goblin quests, but I kinda expected that, since he is a weirdo. Long story short, I persuade him, and he carried you to our room with my guidance." Inspector explained.
So that's how she got into her room! Gods, how much she wished to be awake during that situation! She would savor the moment for a long time! And Guild Girl's mind began to wander to that scenario. Him, carrying her, bridal style, as she was snuggled into his chest, snoring lightly. Such a pretty image. It's even hard to imagine him doing that. Nearly impossible. But then, she imagined it. How Goblin Slayer would REALLY carry a girl to the bed. Her perfect image completely shattered here and there, and her expression from blushing and embarrassed, turn to contempt and disappointed.
"He threw me over his shoulder and carried me to our room like a bag of potatoes didn't he?" Guild Girl said in a bored tone, dropping her hands. And Inspector laughed lightly.
"You know, that's what I thought would happen. But to my surprise, he actually carried you in his arms."
And when she said that, Guild Girl began smiling again, and a dreamy expression adored her face yet again.
"I hate to break it to you, but it wasn't like what you are imagining. Even though he carried you in his arms, you on the other hand were anything but a cute maiden sleeping in his arms. Hands limply hanging out, tongue out, stupid expression and you were drooling on his armor. Even though you looked like that, he was so considerate that he covered you in a blanket once he put you in your bed. But then you kicked the blanket to the floor. He looked back, and then left, not bothering to pick it up again." Inspector explained when she saw the dreamy face Guild Girl was making.
It was truly amusing how Goblin Slayer didn't show any emotions on how Guild Girl was squirming in his arms as he carried her to their room. Inspector even released an unintentional chuckle that Goblin Slayer caught up. Thankfully Goblin Slayer isn't the one to pry about others, so when she answered it was nothing to think about, "I see" response followed.
"D-d-did I look t-that s-stupid?" asked nervous Guild Girl.
"Yes. But I wouldn't worry about that. He certainly didn't care in the slightest. Like always, as soon as he had done what was asked of him, he was gone. Not commenting on it in any case or form." Inspector decided now is the time to stop teasing her friends, and calm her down. Though it was really amusing.
"Thank goodness." Guild Girl closed her eyes and quietly said. Next time, she will make sure she will show Goblin Slayer her prettier side. Maybe even clothe differently so something more primal can finally awaken in him. There is no way a man can't at least take a glance at a woman as on a woman. Once, at least once it has to be possible, even with a man such as Goblin Slayer. And she intends to be the first woman who will catch Goblin Slayer's eyes. One glance at her woman parts, that would be a good start. He can't get aroused by killing goblins... At least she thinks so. More like hopes so. Scarily, this thought is getting more plausible with every passing day.
Guild Girl shook her head and brought herself back to work. The honey blonde girl looked at the papers before her, and seeing a big pile of them, she had some questions.
"I see that not many adventurers took the quests today." Guild Girl took the paper with a quest. She looked at the guild board, and it was completely full too. So they have an excess of quests, which is not a good thing. Hopefully, the Guild will be filled and adventurers will be able to do some of them after they sober up.
"Yeah. After yesterday, I am not surprised." said Inspector.
"How many did you give away, today?"
"Three." Inspector answered.
"Who took them?" Guild Girl asked.
Inspector put a finger under her chin, trying to recall who exactly came. "Hmm... there was this party of 3 ruby adventurers that went into a dungeon with a spider queen. Then there was Witch and your admirer, Spearman, who went hunting down a Minotaur." Inspector said. The three ruby adventurers were new to this Guild, coming from another town so she didn't know very much about them. From the looks of it, they seemed competent, and well prepared. Which is always a good thing to see, instead of overconfident adventurer's who meet their ends by underestimating enemies.
Then there were the two familiar heroes. Witch asked for some lower tier quest because Spearman still had a slight headache from yesterday. Surprisingly, Spearman who always wants the toughest quest available agreed and they took the emerald tier Minotaur quest.
"And who took the third one?" Guild Girl asked.
"Goblin Slayer. And I believe, I don't need to tell you which one he took." Inspector chuckled.
"Which goblin quest did they take?" Guild Girl asked.
"Not they. Only Goblin Slayer took the quest. His party was not here." Inspector explained, continuing filling the papers. Guild Girl raised from her chair and raised her voice.
"You let him go alone?!"
"You sure are worried about him." Inspector chuckled. "Calm down. He is GOBLIN SLAYER. He will be fine." Geez, what's up with that. She knows Guild Girl likes Goblin Slayer, but sometimes she is just too concerned about him. He went onto dozen of quests like this, it's not like he went alone for the first time.
"But... after the recent quests. Against the Ogre, in Water Town and then the Goblin Lord. I just, I don't want him there alone. Recently, there have been too many cases where he barely made it out alive. And if it weren't for his party members... he wouldn't be here." Guild Girl explained her concerns regarding Goblin Slayer. When she heard he nearly died, she considered to not give him any quests for at least two months. People need Goblin Slayer alive. As to where Hero, who defeated Demon Lord, have festivals in her name in basically every town you can think of, Goblin Slayer is a silent hero of peasants. So many villagers came to the Guild and asked for the name of the man who destroyed the goblin nest near their village. Although they didn't have much spare money to buy something for Goblin Slayer, or when they did have a spare they already spent it on traveling to the town, they always wanted Guild Girl to thank him in their stead. In her eyes, Goblin Slayer is a great hero too. Plus, he isn't boasting about his achievements as every other adventurer ever.
Guild Girl knows what he went through on his quests because of him filling the form for detailed description of the encounter to get the reward. And again, no boasting. As others would describe the Ogre encounter as a massive 4 meters high muscular beast, who can regenerate and who can cast fireballs the size of a church bell, Goblin Slayer described him as "An overgrown goblin who can cast magic". Thanks to the other party members in his party and their forms, she knows very well the quests they take are much more dangerous than Goblin Slayer describes. Stoic and humble one. Basically, her dream man, even though she sometimes thinks he is too stoic and too humble even for her standards.
"Why did he go alone? Did you ask him?" Guild Girl asked, snapping out her chain of thoughts and she sat back on the chair.
"I did. He said that he needs some time alone, relax and think."
"What? What is relaxing about killing goblins?!" asked Guild Girl in disbelief. Then again, he has been slaying goblins for so long he has it engraved in his brain like walking. Some people go jogging around the town when they want to relax and free their mind, and some go to slay goblins.
"I don't know, I didn't ask further. He is a weirdo." Inspector said.
"He isn't that weird." Guild Girl tried to defend him.
"Sorry, but you are not a credible judge of that since you have a thing for him. Everyone here knows he is a weirdo. I would even go so far and say he is the king of them." Inspector teased Guild Girl yet again.
"Hey! The fact I love him shouldn't discredit my opinion on him. Yes, he can be sometimes weird, but everyone is sometimes!" Guild Girl yelled out in an empty Guild.
And as soon as she finished, Inspector had that smug smile on her face yet again. "So it's love now, huh?"
And Guild Girl's face flushed yet again. Of course she didn't intend to say that, but somehow, it escaped her mouth.
"S-s-so what?" she closed her eyes an raised her head, trying to remain on top of things. But with blushing cheeks and stuttering, it didn't do it for Inspector who chuckled.
"Nothing. It's just good to know." Inspector said. The door of the Guild opened, and a party of adventurers walked in. "We will have some interesting pillow talk tonight," Inspector leaned to Guild Girl and whispered in her ear. Awww, how long she waited for the moment they will be able to finally talk about this. Usually, their girl talk at night consists of complaints about how some adventurers hit on them. The fact that Guild Girl finally fell in love... she already has a list of questions for the honey blond-haired girl.
The sun was setting over the horizon and two adventurers were making their way towards the temple in town. Walking in the streets lighten only by lanterns, the two stuck out from the crowd since they have their usual heavy armor on. Heavy Swordsman with his greatsword on his back, and Female Knight with a shield on her back, and her sword buckled on the belt.
"I still can't believe you are able to walk after yesterday." commented Female Knight.
"Ha! One celebration isn't something that can put me down!" Heavy Swordsman's booming voice would wake up people in their homes if it was time for sleep.
Isn't enough to put him down... Yeah, sure. As soon as she dragged him into the inn he was staying, he collapsed and slept until afternoon. Not enough to put him down at all.
Female Knight informed her fiance that she intends to go to the temple where Priestess is staying, to beg for forgiveness and ask the goddess to grant her some miracle. And of course, Heavy Swordsman tagged along. It was not that surprising to be honest. It was clear that Heavy Swordsman won't leave her side for the duration of her pregnancy. A little bit too overprotective future father, but she isn't gonna complain. Better than if he would not care at all.
She didn't want to go early in the morning, because even naughty little priestess was forced to drink, and from what she remembers, she didn't look like she would be able to function in the morning. So instead, she went to the library, and bought two books, called "What to avoid during pregnancy" and "How to raise a baby, from newborn to 1-year old".
During the walk, Female Knight noticed how Heavy Swordsman took glances at the woman passing by, who wore nearly nothing to cover themselves. And just with that, she got jealous. A little.
"Am I not attractive?" she asked quietly. Why is it, when she talks to him her confidence is gone?
"What are you talking about?" oblivious swordsman asked.
"You are looking at them more than me." she pointed with her head at the lady with a large chest that was nearly on full display that passed them.
"Ehmmm sorry. I guess I just admire women's beauty." Heavy Swordsman sheepishly answered.
Woman beauty. She wishes that Heavy Swordsman glances at her woman parts like he did not so long ago with the passing woman. But, she is clad in armor, of course, that doesn't grab his attention. And seeing him enjoying the view at the busty woman's chest, that didn't help her confidence either. Plus there is the fact she will be fat soon, so knowing he will not take a glance at her even when she will not be in her armor is little depressing.
"Don't worry though. You are still prettiest of them all. That will never change." Heavy Swordsman said, in an unusually quiet tone, and grabbed Female Knights hand.
Those words did help her slightly. But she still intends to capture Heavy Swordsman's attention with her womanly curves. She just doesn't know how, she is far from a seductress. Quite the opposite actually.
And before they knew it, they stood before a tall white church-like building, that was much bigger than a church. Not as big as the temple in Water Town, but this one still had its grace. Like the one in Water Town, the temple was built like a hollow square, with a garden in the middle. But unlike the garden in Water Town temple, this one did not have fountain and flower fields. In this one, there were broad-leaved trees and various kinds of bushes. Almost like a mini forest in there
The pure white building had a very tall and large brown door as an entrance to the complex. Walking up a few marble stairs, the pair appeared in front of the high white wooden door. On those door is golden metallic handle used for knocking, so Heavy Swordsman grabbed it, and knocked on the temple doors.
Footsteps were heard first, and shortly after them, an old nun opened the door. Dressed in a black robe, that covered her body from head to toe, with some white parts on the robe.
"Greetings young ones." the old nun politely bowed and greeted the couple with a sincere smile.
"Greetings." Heavy Swordsman and Female Knight replied with a small bow.
"What brings you to Earth Mother's temple in such an hour?" she asked, her voice surprisingly healthy despite her old age.
"I am here to ask goddess for forgiveness and meet up with my friend, Priestess." Female Knight politely replied.
"And you, young man?" the nun turned towards the man in black armor.
"I am her fiance and escort." Heavy Swordsman replied. The nun smiled at the couple and invited them in. Walking between giant marble slopes on the blue carpet, they saw dozen of long benches at their sides, facing a big podium with an even bigger window behind and beside the podium.
"We have lots of priestesses here, which one do you want to meet?" the nun asked as they were nearing the center of the room, where a big piano and a gold statue was, depicting a maiden holding a balancing weight in her both hands. Both, the statue and piano were on the raised podium, where even now in the evening, the light from the windows illuminated the podium nicely.
"Hmm... she is fairly small, fragile with milky skin has blonde hair and blue eyes. She became an adventurer not so long ago too. I think she is fifteen or sixteen years old." Female Knight tried to describe the naughty priestess as they walked up a few stairs on the podium.
"Ahhh. This one. I will find her right away. Please wait here." And with that, the nun walked out of the main hall, disappearing in the doors to their right.
"So this is where you went and asked for miracles." Heavy Swordsman broke the silence and looked around the giant room. He has to admit, compared to the other places he went into, purity radiates from this place. A very nice and calming place he would say, just what he expected from a building dedicated to Earth Mother.
"Yes." she replied. And not just once she went in here. This is already her eighth visit.
"It's pretty here." he said.
"Yeah." said Female Knight sadly, nervousness coming back to her.
The two of them then walked up to the golden statue of the maiden with balance weight in her hands. The maiden sculpted from the gold was incredibly beautiful, with silky clothes that revealed much of her body, and long hair that reached her calves. The position she was depicted in was fairly humble one. Both of her hands holding the weights, and looking at the result with a keen eye.
"Is this the goddess you worship?" asked Heavy Swordsman.
"Yes, the Earth Mother." replied Female Knight.
Earth Mother. Looking at the statue, he imagined the goddess differently. The clothes and her figure suited the depiction of a goddess, he guesses. Even though he imagined purity a little differently than a barely clothed maiden.
But the balancing weights, that's... interesting. He expected plants, dirt or some animal in her hands, not balancing weights. It's EARTH MOTHER after all. But when he thought about it, it kinda makes sense. The balancing weights can mean a lot of things.
He turned around to see Female Knight. And the goddess statue behind him couldn't even compare to her, even when she looked nervous and a little sad. The light shining from the temple windows put her in a spotlight and she looked dashing. Yes, he looked at other woman's assets before, but that was kinda subconsciously his doing. He didn't intend to make his fiance sad. And most of all, even when his testosterone filled brain just had to look, he knew very well he wouldn't even approach the woman that went passed them. He likes how his soon to be wife is modest and doesn't show her treasures to anyone else. And when the wedding comes, and she will reveal her womanly curves, he knows jaws will be dropping to the floor, like goblin heads upon Goblin Slayer's visit in the nest. He already imagines her in those beautiful white dress, walking down the aisle. And thinking about the wedding, he got an idea.
"Say, where do you want to get married?" asked Heavy Swordsman.
"Huh? I... didn't have time to think about it very much. You have some idea?" Female Knight stopped looking at the colorful windows and looked at Heavy Swordsman.
"Well... What about this place?" he asked.
"You... you want to marry me here? At the temple?" Female Knight asked. It was pretty common for couples to be married here. But when someone doesn't worship the goddess, they tend to be married outside. By the lake, in a park or somewhere there.
"Why not? Since you worship the goddess, this seems like a perfect spot. I do not care where I will marry you. I would marry you in a swamp if that is what would make you happy on your wedding day." Heavy Swordsman joked in his deep voice. He really doesn't care where they will marry. As long as she marries him, he will be happy. And even though Female Knight acts like a very tough woman, he is sure that even she dreamt about a perfect wedding when she was a little girl. From what he observed, every girl dreams of that day. So why not try to make that day very special for the bride?
The Female Knight suddenly jumped into his arms and began kissing him with a furious passion. And judging by what she is doing with her tongue, she is very eager tonight. As the tongues danced around each other and saliva was being exchanged, someone cleared her throat, grabbing their attention.
"Now, now, I think you should save this for your wedding night." the nun walked to the podium with blushing Priestess beside her, who was dressed in her usual white and blue robes carrying her staff. Seems like alcohol is already out of her system.
The two lovers quickly pulled themselves off each other when they saw the nun and her judgemental stare. "I-I am sorry. It's just... my-my fiance wants to marry me here. And... I got carried away. I beg forgiveness for doing such an act in the holy place." The Female Knight bowed deeply. And even though Heavy Swordsman didn't have a clue on what to do, for the sake of not making troubles, he bowed too. Is kissing in the temple really that big of a sin?
And almost like the nun heard his thoughts, she answered his question with light a giggle. "Child, it's alright. You two are getting married, there is nothing shameful in kissing your future husband here. But please, tone it down the next time. Doing anything more in such a place is frowned upon." the nun informed them.
"I will leave these two in your care, now." the nun turned to Priestess. The red-faced priestess nodded, and so, the nun left Priestess with the couple.
"Hi there little one." Heavy Swordsman gave her a loud welcome.
"H-Hello. What can I do for you, Heavy Swordsman-san, Female Knight-san?" asked still blushing Priestess. It was hard for her not to imagine her and Goblin Slayer in their place, kissing, exploring each other's bodies...
"Hi Priestess. I am here to ask for forgiveness from the goddess and ask her for a miracle like you suggested yesterday. Will you help me, please?" Female Knight politely asked.
The blonde priestess quickly shook her naughty thoughts away. This is happening far too often lately, she should find a way to reduce such a thoughts. She is a priestess after all!
"H-Hai! Do you know how to ask for forgiveness from the goddess?" Priestess asked.
"I have never had to ask for forgiveness, so I do not know the words." she confessed.
"That's OK! I'll teach you! Heavy Swordsman-san, can I ask can you leave the podium? Female Knight has to do this ritual alone." Priestess asked, slowly getting into her cheerful self again.
Heavy Swordsman didn't protest, since he is far away from his element of expertise and he went to one of the benches in the temple, looking at the podium from afar. He pulled the sword off his back, sat down, and put the greatsword on his lap. He saw Priestess and his fiance kneeling in front of the golden statue of the goddess. The priestess was saying something which he could not hear from afar. And his fiance was repeating it after the Priestess. It didn't take a genius to figure out Priestess was teaching Female Knight the exact words she has to say in order to be forgiven from her one mistake. Even though he didn't consider it a mistake. After all, this whole "sin" was the necessary spark that lead to the two of them confessing and getting married. But if it helps Female Knight's ease at soul, do what you have to do.
This went on for little while until Female Knight memorized the lines a Priestess joined Heavy Swordsman at the bench.
Both of them were quite as Female Knight was saying her lines. "O merciful Earth Mother, please forgive this maiden for not upholding her oath to remain pure until forming a holy bond with a man in front of your eyes. I humble ask of you to forgive my sin, Earth Mother." she sincerely said, bowing her head before the golden statue.
"Great! You said it correctly at your first try!" Priestess jumped from the bench and went to Female Knight. Bubbly Priestess was very happy that she was able to teach Female Knight this particular line. Yeah, it's not much, but when you are the one who is gets taught everything, your pride decreases a little. Teaching Female Knight this little prayer just makes her happy. As small as this thing may seem.
"Thank you, Priestess." Female Knight raised from her knees.
"Is there anything else you want to learn?" Priestess asked full of excitement to teach other things.
"Thank you for the offer, but no. I can handle the next one. I am going to ask for a miracle from the goddess. You can stay at your spot with Heavy Swordsman." Female Knight said politely to Priestess.
"O-Okay." Priestess sadly answered and went back to her spot with Heavy Swordsman. They sat down, but this time, Heavy Swordsman spoke.
"Thank you. If it weren't for you, gods only know what would happen." Heavy Swordsman toned his deep voice down and looked at Priestess.
"Huh? What for?" little Priestess asked turning her head to the man.
"If it weren't for you yesterday, I would not have this amazing future in front of me. Yesterday, was the greatest day of my life. And it's thanks to you and your talk with her that she didn't do anything foolish." Heavy Swordsman sincerely said, and even made a small bow in the sitting position.
"It was nothing, Heavy Swordsman-san! She helped me too." Priestess smiled and both looked at the podium where Female Knight was asking for a miracle.
"Ahhhh. Yes. Goblin Slayer babies. She mentioned that." Heavy Swordsman said with eyes still at his fiance at the podium.
"S-s-s-she t-told you?" Priestess blushed again and was barely able to stutter out a question when she looked his way again.
"Don't be mad at her, please. It was a slip of a tongue." Heavy Swordsman explained, turning his head to the Priestess.
"I-I am not. I-It's just. Please, don't tell anybody." Priestess gripped her staff tightly, looking at the floor trying to avoid more embarrassment.
"Do not worry. I will not tell a soul. And if you want, I can help you with him." Heavy Swordsman offered with a welcoming smile.
"Y-you would help me? W-With Goblin Slayer-san?" Priestess asked hopefully. Priestess knows that getting through Goblin Slayer's simple minded head will require a lot of teamwork. And it seems like Heavy Swordsman knows too.
"Well, I can only do as much. For example, I can try to make him see women as a creatures of beauty and try to finally make that simple mind of his think about them too. Or question him on what he wants in a wife and what type of girls he likes, and then tell it to you. Afterwards, you would have to try and make him see you as one of those women. That's all I can do for you. It's nothing compared to what you did for me, but it's just a first part of paying my debt to you." Heavy Swordsman said.
"You don't ha-"
"Shhhh. I want to. You helped me, now I will help you. That's how this works." Heavy Swordsman said. He raised his voice to intimidate her slightly, and just like with rookies, it worked.
"Thank you, Heavy Swordsman-san." she quietly said, and Heavy Swordsman gave her another smile. "You can thank me when he will finally put that dream baby into you." Heavy Swordsman said.
And Priestess again turned red, imagining how that would look like. More precisely, how their child would look like. Would their son have blue or red eyes? Or something in between? Would their daughter have grey or blonde hair? Would they be shy like her, or quiet and lone like Goblin Slayer? So many questions regarding their imaginary children entered Priestess's mind that she didn't even realize how fast her thoughts turned lewd again.
And seeing red-faced Priestess, Heavy Swordsman now knows why Female Knight calls her naughty. If her rubbing legs and red face is anything to go by, she certainly has a lush mind.
Meanwhile, Female Knight took the shield off her back and placed it in front of the statue. She did the same thing with the sword at her belt. The knight could only hope this time it works. After all, she took Priestess's words to heart and accepted that she will be a mother. Not only that, but now she is even looking forward to it. Just seeing moms walking with their children hand in hand in the streets caused her to be impatient to finally have one of her own. Her whole worldview changed. And even when it required for her to give herself to the love of her life a little earlier than she should, she hopes that Earth Mother will forgive her this little mistake and grant her a miracle to protect her family.
Kneeling in front of the shield, the sword, and the statue she began praying again. "O merciful Earth Mother, please, grant this maiden means to defend her peers and protect the future of human kind. I humbly ask you to grant this maiden a miracle so said maiden is able to defend what is most precious to her." she prayed. Opening her eyes, she didn't spot any difference. Or felt any difference. She sighed, and thought the prayer didn't work again.
But then, a white light blinded her. She covered her eyes and looked for the source. And she quickly found one. Both the sword and the shield began glowing in pure white light, with a little of gold color forming irregular patterns on her shield and sword. Looking at the golden light pattern, it formed into the words, on her sword and on the shield.
"Holy Shield" on the shield
"Holy Sword" on the sword
These golden writings enveloped in the white light soon disappeared with the white glow following shortly after.
Female Knight was firstly shocked. It worked. It worked! Goddess granted her a miracle! And not just one, but two! "Yes!" she yelled out in the temple, the echo of her yell being heard outside of the temple. She immediately looked at the statue in front of her and bowed to the floor. "Thank you very much, merciful Earth Mother. I promise I will try to make as many good deeds with these miracles as I can!"
Priestess and Heavy Swordsman both ran on the podium to Female Knight. "See?! I told you it will work!" Priestess cheerful yell made Female Knight raise from her spot. "Congratulations, my love. You are no longer Female Knight, but a Female Paladin." the swordsman said to her with a big smile on his face, full of pride.
Female Kni- Paladin ran to both of them and hugged them tightly. "Thank you. Thank both of you," she said sincerely, breaking in tears right there. Heavy Swordsman beamed with a smile all the while hugging her. She waited so long for this, and now, it finally came to be. Priestess was nearly tackled by the hug, so the shorter blonde was just glad she is still standing. Priestess and Heavy Swordsman smiled at each other as Female Paladin hugged them even more tightly. After so many years of constant failure, they let her enjoy the moment of success.
Female Paladin eventually broke with the other two, wiping her tears away. "Sorry. It's just... I thought... I'll never..."
"I know. I know." Heavy Swordsman leaned forward and gave Female Paladin a quick peck on the lips. "Do not worry about that now. It's over. You are worthy." Heavy Swordsman gently said to her.
"I love you." Female Paladin replied to which Heavy Swordsman smiled in return.
Priestess smiled when she saw the lovely couple in front of her. If only she could have it too. She quickly tried to shook it off because when her thoughts go to love and Goblin Slayer, it isn't long before they go absolutely wild and lewd.
"What miracle do you have?" asked Priestess giddily.
"I got two. Holy Sword and Holy Shield." smiled Female Paladin.
"EEEEH?! Two?! That's not fair!" Priestess pouted, and the two older humans chuckled at the cute pouting Priestess.
"So, won't you try them?" asked Heavy Swordsman. He is very eager to see some new magic at display.
Female Paladin looked at the sword and the shield on the floor, still lying below the statue of a goddess. Will it even work properly? She was nervous. Warily she approached her equipment and raised it up.
She raised the sword into the air with her right hand, closed her eyes, and chanted. "O merciful Earth Mother, please grant the necessary strength to us so we can protect the weak, HOLY SWORD!"
The sword immediately glowed in a white/gold light, but now it was not so intense that Female Paladin couldn't see. "It's working!" she yelled. She swung the shining sword in the air few times. And just with those few swings, she felt how the sword is lighter and more powerful. She began laughing. Finally. Finally! After long 6 years, she can finally use miracles! Female Paladin was so engaged in testing the sword that she forgot where they actually are.
"Looks great. I believe that shadow monsters will be much easier enemy to deal with now." stated Heavy Swordsman with a hand under his chin, analyzing the power with a keen eye.
"Congratulations! But please put the sword away. This is not a place to swing a sword in." Priestess informed the Female Paladin, who was full of joy.
She did it! And all it took was for Heavy Swordsman to put a baby in her. Who would have thought? There is a slight problem though. How do you turn the sword off? She didn't know how. There was no manual for this after all. And as it turned out a second after, the only thing that was needed was for her to want the sword to turn off in her mind. And just like that, the sword slowly stopped glowing. "Huh. That was easy." Compared to getting the powers, controlling them is so much easier.
With the sword turned off, she complied with Priestess's request and put the sword in the sheath on her belt. She did the same thing with the shield, pulling it from the ground and putting it on her back.
"Will you stay for dinner? The cooks here are amazing!" Priestess invited the couple for a dinner. She mainly wants to talk with Female Paladin about miracles and how great they are, since nearly no one at the Guild uses them. The couple gave each other a smile.
"Sure! This deserves another celebration!" Heavy Swordsman said loudly.
"But this time, no alcohol. Even for you!" Female Paladin said sternly. And Priestess could already see a mothering side to the fresh paladin in a way how she said that sentence. "And she was worried she wouldn't be a good one." Priestess smiled.
"I wasn't even thinking about that. After yesterday, I will leave mead to others for quite some time." Heavy Swordsman laughed and was joined by Priestess and Female Paladin. And so, the trio took off with Priestess leading them into the dining room, where cheers and laughs were heard from their table as they enjoyed their meal and the success of getting Female Paladin her very first and second miracle.
Cow Girl was waiting for Goblin Slayer to return on the bench as she usually does, looking up at the twin moons. Though, only one moon was visible today. She was thinking about him. Again. She still has no idea how could she fall asleep shortly after she woke up in the morning. But something in the words he told her and his hug made her weak all around.
She wonders what is he doing right now. When she woke up, he was already away. And knowing him, he already went to slay some goblins. The calm night was only interrupted by the occasional mooing of cows. The calm night got interrupted by the creaking of a entrance door beside her, and her uncle stepped outside.
"Are you really going to make a stew out of those beavers?" he asked, still in disbelief that first, Goblin Slayer hunted beavers, and second, that his niece wants to make a stew out of them.
"Well, I am intending to try that. If it will turn out bad, I can always just roast the rest of the meat." Cow Girl looked away from the moons and looked at her uncle, answering in her cheerful tone. Uncle sighed.
"You two have some really weird ideas." he said and Cow Girl only smiled in response.
"Do you know what to do with the furs? Are they good for anything?" Cow Girl asked.
"Apparently, people make hats and coats out of them. And they are pretty expensive too. So you can try to make some coats out of them, or I will just sell the furs to some tailor for a good price." Her uncle told her. "What about the blue cheese? Do you know how to make it?" asked the uncle.
"Hai! Steps are very similar to our usual cheese making. But by the end of it, we have to put the cheese into a warmer environment, like a warm cave, and let the mold take place on the cheese. After about two months, the cheese should be already in the stage the drawings in the book show." Cow Girl explained, again her tone cheerful and happy.
"Mold on a cheese. Is this really good idea?" asked the uncle unsurely again.
"According to the book, it is." Cow Girl simply answered with a shrug.
Then both of them lifted their heads and looked at the two moons. The clouds today were placed the way the green moon was hidden behind the clouds, and the red moon was shining brightly at their world. To Cow Girl it looked like the red moon was trying to send a message. Looking at the red moon, she couldn't help but see Goblin Slayers ruby eye in it. The eye that strikes fear into goblins and the eye that keeps the farm safe.
"Out of all the men in the world, you had to choose the most unstable one." her uncle stated sadly.
"Uncle..." she sheepishly said and looked at the floor below her.
"I am not blind. I know very well where this is going. And I know very well it's pointless to try to stop you. You are just like your mother. I just want to warn you. Don't expect much. Like I said before, he lost it, and he is not the boy you once knew." he said sadly and he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"He is still there. I just have to bring him out." Cow Girl said with a smile. But unlike her usual smile full of joy, this one was a sad one.
"If you think so." the uncle sighed. With that, he slowly withdrew his hand from her shoulder and went back inside the farm.
However, Cow Girl remained outside, still looking at the blood moon that was visible today. She lost count on how long was she waiting there. Cow Girl was so deep in thoughts, she failed to hear a faint cracking of branches, and a flock of birds flying away from the place where the stream is located, behind the farm.
Usually, if Goblin Slayer goes on a longer and further away quest, he stops at a farm and asks for food and water on the road, which she is always happy to provide for him. But today, he didn't show up for the supplies so the quest must be near. He should show up at any moment then. Goblin Slayer isn't one to sleep in inns when he pays her uncle to sleep here. Waste of money.
Suddenly she heard a metallic sound of armor in the dark. Her lips formed a smile. She stood up from her bench, took a lantern from above the bench, and made her way towards the ringing metal behind the farm. But upon closer listening to the metal, it didn't make the sound Goblin Slayer makes when he walks. The pauses before the metal clangs are far more between. The sound didn't seem to be make of a walking man in armor, rather a limping one.
As she was walking on the dirt path, she heard coughing. And not a healthy one. It sounded like someone had water in his lungs. Cow Girl sped up her pace. The light from the lantern finally illuminated the source of the clinging metal. The sound was indeed Goblin Slayer, but the state he was in made Cow Girl's eyes widen.
His armor was broken on so many places. One shoulder pad was missing. Knee guard is gone. More than half of the breastplate gone. Big cut at the place where the breastplate is missing. Both of his arm guards missing, and one of his arms is completely bare, without armor, except slashes and a lot of blood. His belt where the pouch was is hanging on his left hip, torn.
Then there was his helmet. Again, half of it was gone. The eye that was visible was half closed already. There is small shrapnel in his lower jaw, undoubtedly a piece of the broken helmet. His mouth is not coughing water as she initially thought, but blood. The right side of his neck is a bloody mess as well. She could see a piece of torn flesh from his neck. The blood on the side of the neck covered the torn furs around his neck too. He was one bloody mess.
He was barely breathing. She had no idea how but he was standing before her, trembling, supported by an unfamiliar short sword, with his signature shield nowhere to be seen.
"I'm home." he said, normally, as he would usually say, right before collapsing at Cow Girl's feet.
Author's note: I hope you are not too mad when I shoved Cow Girl into this again since I admitted that she is the best girl IMO and you could think I am biased. But when I thought who should find Goblin Slayer in this state, other girls were just not plausible. Priestess is at the temple, far from goblin quests. Same for the elf, who is somewhere in the inn, probably. Guild Girl, again in town. And Sword Maiden is in Water Town. Cow Girl is at the farm, so I think that is the most logical place where GS would go. And the closest.
Now, what happened to him? Any guesses? I left a some hints on what put him into such a state. You can PM me your guesses or leave them in reviews. I am wondering if any of you have a clue.
Now, since this story is gathering a lot of fans in such a short amount of time, I guess we can play a little game. Let's call it "Goblin Slayer's firsts". Guess which girl gets which. Reward? A good feeling I guess. So, here are the options.
1. Which girl gets GS's first date with a girl?
2. Which girl will say "I love you" first to GS? (Not counting Sword Maiden's "I cherish you" moment since Goblin Slayer didn't hear it.)
3. Which girl will see Goblin Slayer naked first? (Without shorts, because otherwise, Priestess would already have this one.)
4. Which girl will kiss GS first?
5. Which girl will have GS's first time in bed?
I intend to give every girl one of these moments. So distribute the five girls into the five moments. Just to let you know, I only know who will have GS's first kiss and date. The others are unknown even for me.
Anyway, the next chapter will not have any girl in it. it will be more serious, and I will reveal what exactly happened at the quest. And you can be sure, that goblins are not a reason why he is in this state.
Leave the review, and see ya!