Chapter 3

The Legendary Warrior

Author's Note: Well….I guess SOME people want to talk crap about my liking of this pairing and the story itself. Don't worry. Those guest reviews are going away as soon as I see them. Keep your mean words to yourself if you're going to do that. Please? You should've read the summary.

A-anyways, the long awaited past of Sword Maiden is here. Hehe! Sort of long awaited. XD

Enjoy!

Since becoming "sisters", Priestess feels closer to Sword Maiden than ever. She has never been so happy in her life, being with the one she admired the most since the beginning. It's truly a dream come true. However, there are some things that are still on her mind, though. When she saw those scars last night, it frightened her to think what might have happened to Sword Maiden. Plus that, she is always wearing a blindfold and surprisingly knows where she's going without having an aid.

Right now, Priestess wakes up from the sun shining from the window and finds that she's still in the arms of her "big sister" herself. They've been like this the whole night and none of them moved around. Kind of unusual, but she's glad that they are still in the same place. Sword Maiden wakes up as well to feel her "little sister" hug her tightly to keep warm.

"Fufu! Good morning, my sweet Priestess-chan~" she says sweetly.

"Good morning, Onee-sama~" she replies with a happy smile. "Sleep well?"

"I sure did. Because you were with me all night~"

"Hehe! I could say the same thing! I slept well because you were there~" Priestess says.

Both of them share some lyrical giggles and decide to get out of bed to prepare for breakfast and continue on their journey. Getting dressed in their robes that they washed and dried last night, they head downstairs to cook some food, eat and then pay the owner for their hospitality. They head out to continue Priestess's quest to become a gold ranked adventurer. Sword Maiden may be one herself, but that doesn't mean she can't help her out in some battles and figuring out tactics. She's a little smarter than Priestess after all.

It's as if time has passed by quickly, but Priestess did gain some experience along the way. Thankfully, no goblins were present, but other monsters like skeletons or zombies roaming around. Priestess knows nothing about martial arts, but beating them with her staff and all is the only thing she can do at the moment. She's earned some coins and a bit of material for upgrading, according to Sword Maiden. In fact, those material that Priestess picked up like gems and small artifacts are the key to upgrading her staff to a higher level. Which can also mean she may activate a new skill. This excites her and is eager to go to a shop later on when they get out of the area they were in.

And Priestess indeed receive an upgrade in a shop at the next town, but it gone up one level, which is a bit of a disappointment, but better than nothing. Her staff remained the same in appearance, but she has a new skill learned: Healing. Beating up monsters on her own has her gain experience which is also the reason. Sword Maiden is proud of her "little sister". She's getting the hang of being an adventurer.

By the time the two start walking again, they come across something that Priestess has seen before in books: dungeons. The petite blonde backs away a little at the sight of the gate before them.

"I-I don't like this…" she says. "I read that dungeons adventurers go are pretty scary and have really, really big monsters in there. I don't think I stand a chance."

"Don't be silly," Sword Maiden says. "In this area, dungeons like these are like a test. This one fits for beginners like you."

"How do you know that?"

"I've done something like this when I was your age."

"I hope you're right." Priestess sighs. As much as the petite blonde wants to believe her idol, she herself doesn't feel confident enough to get through something like a dungeon. Still, since Sword Maiden is with her, she feels a little better.

The holy maidens enter the dungeon after opening the gate and make their way through it. Priestess fights some more creatures along the way, earning some more coins and materials for upgrading. They journey further in the dungeon with Priestess staying close to her "big sister" until they almost reach the end. There is one task left…get the key to the gate that opens the exit. Priestess knows it won't be as easy as it seems. She also read in her books that powerful guards keep the key and the only way to get it is to defeat them. Priestess definitely knows she won't stand a chance with what she has now.

They arrive at a large room where the gate is and there is a large orc with a spiked club noticing them walking by. They key is inside the chest behind him and he will never let puny humans like these holy maidens get to it.

"This is it, Priestess-chan!" Sword Maiden says. "The ultimate test!"

"I-I-I don't know!" the tiny blonde is trembling in fear. "Hitting him with my staff would definitely not be enough to hurt him!"

"Then we'll have to work together. You can distract him while I slaughter him to bits."

"Great idea!"

Before they can do anything, they look up to see the orc try to smash them overhead with his club, but they dodge out of the way by separating. Priestess rolls to her feet and raises her staff. It starts to glow with light, but the orc roars and stomps toward her. Sword Maiden quickly runs toward it. However, the Priestess's spell gets interrupted by him grabbing her and lifting her off the ground.

"NO!" Sword Maiden shouts.

Priestess struggles to get free, but the orc's grip is too strong. He growls and snarls close to her and tosses her toward the wall. She falls to the ground, severely injured from the impact. Sword Maiden stares at the fallen girl. Somehow…visions of the past start to flash inside her head. The way Priestess was lying down like that reminded her of herself in that state. She was completely helpless and couldn't do anything. The images disappear and the taller blonde grits her teeth. Gripping her sword, she speeds over in front of the injured Priestess before the orc has a chance to grab her again. The orc growls and raises his club. Sword Maiden parries it hard, making him stumble back a little. The taller blonde rushes in and slashes him back and forth on the chest and stomach, up and down and then diagonal. Blood starts to trickle down with every cut. The orc roars and stomps toward her, raising his club again.

Sword Maiden's sword glows yellow and with one strike, there is a trail of light that follows and hits the club, slicing it like butter.

"You mess with my sister…" Sword Maiden says. "You mess with me!"

Her sword glows again and jumps high in the air. In one diagonal slash, trails of light follow once more, and hits the big orc, slicing him in half with ease. She lands on her feet and turns around as the orc falls and disappears, leaving out several loot on the floor. Potions, lots of coins and more advanced materials for upgrading. Sword Maiden grabs a healing potion and rushes toward the injured Priestess.

"Priestess-chan!" the taller blonde cries. "Priestess-chan, are you alright!?"

The petite blonde's eyes flutter open. Her vision is a bit blurry, but can see her idol looking down at her worriedly.

"Onee…sama….?" her voice is barely above a whisper.

"Please…drink this!" Sword Maiden begs as she holds out the small potion bottle. "It's not much, but it will at least heal your wounds!"

She then realizes that Priestess is too beaten to move. That throw was powerful enough to hurt the little blonde. There is only one way to do this. Taking the cap off, Sword Maiden takes a sip and then tenderly lifts her "sister's" head to angle it. She then presses her lips against hers, transferring the liquid to Priestess's mouth. Thankfully, the petite blonde swallows it as soon as Sword Maiden pulls away. In a minute or two, Priestess breathes slowly and her eyes flutter open again.

"Priestess-chan?" Sword Maiden says.

"Onee-sama?" the smaller blonde says, her voice now being heard.

The Archbishop wants to cry with joy. She saved her beloved "little sister". She hugs her tightly, but gently.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" she says.

"Yes, but….I kinda felt something…against my lips…" Priestess says, looking up at her idol. Then, she blushes tomato red. "Oh, my gosh! D-d-did you…!?"

"Fufu! I did what I had to do~" Sword Maiden giggles as she pulls away to look at her. "I saved your life. Your wounds healed, too. And look, you can all the loot you want the orc dropped, including opening the chest to get the key."

Priestess looks over at the glowing loot lying on the ground. She stands up, feeling refreshed and retrieves the coins and upgrading materials, but stops midway. "Wait…don't you want any of this?"

"No, you can have it," Sword Maiden replies.

"But you…defeated the orc. The loot should be for you."

"I only did that to save you. You deserve this loot more than I. You're still a beginner. You need as much material as possible to make you stronger. Okay?"

Priestess realizes that her idol is right. In order to move forward, to get stronger, she must have the loot for herself. She gathers the rest and heads toward the chest. She opens it and rummages through some stuff until she finds a shiny silver key. She picks it up and holds it up to show her idol.

"I got the key!" she cheers.

"Great! Then, let's get out of here and head for the next town," Sword Maiden says.

Priestess nods and heads toward the gate to unlock it. She opens it and the two holy maidens exit the dungeon. They make it outside where the sun is shining and the grass is present. Priestess misses this and runs ahead of Sword Maiden with joy and laughing. The taller blonde lets out an elegant giggle, watching her little "sister" play around for a moment, enjoying the fresh air. She too breathes in the clean air around her. It's like it's been forever since they went outside.

The petite blonde turns around and giggles. "Come on, Onee-sama! I think I want to try out the materials I picked up from the dungeon."

"What are they?" Sword Maiden asks.

"I think they were blue and green gems," Priestess answers. "I'm sure combining them would make a good upgrade right?"

"We'll see."

They are not much for upgrading material, and Sword Maiden is sure that it'll make just a little bit of improvement. But it's better than nothing. They head toward the next town that's a couple miles from where they are and arrive at another shop. Priestess notices a row of staffs hanging on the wall and they look much more advanced than she currently has. A snow staff, fire staff, wind staff and a rainbow staff, probably the most advanced weapon of all. But this staff's price only requires diamonds, about 3,200 to be exact. Priestess doesn't have that kind of material at all. Sword Maiden giggles at her pouting in disappointment.

"It's best for me to say, be happy with what you have," she says as she pets her like a puppy. "I know you want to progress fast, but…where's the fun in that, you know?"

Priestess nods in agreement. "Yeah I guess you're right." If she wants to truly be a gold ranked adventurer, she must work hard for it. Taking shortcuts isn't always the best way and in this kind of situation, it definitely wouldn't be as fun anymore.

The petite blonde goes toward the owner of the shop to upgrade her staff. She shows him the gems she picked up. He gives a nod and tells the holy maidens to wait a moment. He combines them and uses some of his own materials to transfer their energy to the staff, however, it just makes on little improvement. Sadly, he takes the staff back to the petite blonde to tell her the results. Priestess sighs in disappointment, but gets a head pat from Sword Maiden with a smile of reassurance. If they find some more material, more gems and all that, maybe it can improve greatly by then.

After paying the man, the holy maidens take a stroll through town to look for an inn to stay at. The search isn't hard to find and they manage to pay for a room upstairs like the last inn they stayed at. Kicking back and relaxing, Priestess puts her staff aside and plops down on the bed once more.

"I'm beat…" the petite blonde lets out a heavy sigh.

Sword Maiden sits beside her with a smile. "Once again, you worked hard. Sure it wasn't the same as last time, but you got through most of the journey by yourself."

"Yeah. I'm very grateful you saved me back there," Priestess says, sitting up. "You truly are…a gold ranked adventurer. I envy you."

"Eh…?" Sword Maiden turns toward her "sister".

"But that's why I admire you so much," the petite blonde continues. "You're super strong. You can probably take on anybody, including these goblins."

Sword Maiden bites her lip. Surely, this girl has no idea who she previously was. And that one question floats around in her head: should she tell her everything?

"Hm? Onee-sama?" Priestess takes notice of her older "sister's" troubled expression.

"Priestess-chan…listen well…" she scoots closer until their shoulders touch. "I'm afraid…you don't know everything about me."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Sword Maiden sighs. It's now or never. "It's true I'm a gold ranked adventurer, and I became one way back 10 years ago. But…even I have weaknesses. I was careless…"

"What are you talking about, Onee-sama?"

"Those goblins. I was careless to underestimate them and resulted in me being captured by them," Sword Maiden explains. "I was helpless. They took away everything from me, not giving me a chance to defend myself. They did things to me that were way worse than death." She raises her arm to push aside the cloth to reveal her scars. "These will never go away, even after they healed. I'm reminded of the things those goblins did to me every time I look at them. I'm reminded of how careless I was."

"Oh, Onee-sama…" Priestess now realizes why she got those scars. "Then…that blindfold you're wearing is also because…"

"Yes…they did that too," the taller blonde nods. "But I can still see. It's a bit blurry, but I can make out their shape." She puts a hand on her little "sister's".

"How did you escape though?" Priestess asks. "I mean, if you were captured by those creatures, how did you get out alive?"

"Ah…yes, that," Sword Maiden says. "You ever heard of the legendary warrior?"

The smaller blonde thinks for a moment. "I think so. People used to tell tales about this warrior who wanders around, only having one thing in his mind."

"He's the exact warrior who saved my life," Sword Maiden says. "His name is…Goblin Slayer."

Priestess gasps at the name. "G-Goblin Slayer-san? Does that mean…"

"Yes. The only thing he wants to do…is to slay goblins," the taller blonde says. "People have told many tales about him, saving their lives from those creatures and how he wanders around trying to find their location to slay some more. It's his job. It's in his blood. When he came to save me, I was so relieved. I was overjoyed by his presence. He took me out of the cave and to the temple I lived in once. And then…that was the first and last time I saw him. Nobody knows where he is."

"Do they even know his past?" Priestess asks.

"No, not even his past," Sword Maiden says. "All I know is that he swears to slay each and every goblin in this world. Goblin Slayer is this world's savior. That's why he's called the legendary warrior."

Priestess takes in everything that she heard. This Goblin Slayer is one serious warrior. Perhaps when Priestess first encountered the goblins and Sword Maiden came to save her, he wasn't there at the time. Nor did he come when the goblins took the owner's stuff to the cave. He must be far from where they are. She can understand that Goblin Slayer can't be everywhere at once, so some adventurers like the holy maidens themselves have to deal with them. A pretty tough task and she knows that she and Sword Maiden may not be as good as Goblin Slayer, but with the two of them together, they too…can slay goblins.

"Onee-sama…." Priestess hugs her older "sister" tightly. "I'm so sorry this happened to you. They did such terrible things to you back then. It was so unforgivable…"

"Yes…it was…" Sword Maiden says. "But you know what? I realized that I could not dwell on the past and keep on fighting. I am a gold ranked adventurer and I shall stick to my title. That's when I found you, Priestess-chan. I was walking around to help anyone in need." She smiles and strokes her hair. "I will not let anyone like you get hurt by these goblins and suffer the same fate as I did. You remind me of so much like when I was a little girl."

"Onee-sama…"

"So…let's work together and be like the legendary warrior himself," she says. "We can slay goblins just as well as he does."

Priestess nods with a smile. "Yes! I'm with you all the way, Onee-sama~!"

The two holy maidens share a loving embrace.

A/N: Again, people who want to complain, do it elsewhere. I write what I want to write. And I'm sticking with the story, no matter how many times you try to talk me out of it.

A-anyways, hope you enjoyed it.

Have a nice day.