Epilogue - It's A Wondergul Life!
One: “O Earth Mother, abounding in mercy…”
The other: “By your revered hand…”
Together: ““Cleanse this land!””
A whisper, a prayer, an incantation. The two clerics performed the rite of supplication faultlessly.
The portal, the dark magic that rent the earth, believed to lead directly to the depths of the abyss—the ring of fire that burned in the stone floor, slicing into the world with a depthless darkness. The castle was located directly over this place in no small part to seal it up.
I never even imagined! But…
A faint, gentle light surrounded them, centering upon the holy staff blessed by the Earth Mother—as well as the two clerics who stood to either side of it, mirror images of each other and yet completely different.
Of course, they were nothing like each other. And of course, it was only natural that they were like each other.
One was a young woman raised as an orphan on the frontier, who sought to become an adventurer and advanced step by step toward her goal.
The other was a young woman raised as the little sister of a king, and after a great fall, she rose again to advance toward her goal.
Everything about the two of them was different: what they wanted, what they had, who they were, what they’d experienced. And yet they had confronted their challenges. They had helped and been helped. And now they stood hand in hand, performing a rite as one. Even though they were still so different.
The gods of the Four-Cornered World saw it, and it was good. The Earth Mother honored them and bent her ear to their request. The light, as sweet and warm as it was powerful, held the room as if in the palm of her hand. The brightness washed over everything, and when it melted away…
“Phew…”
…what was left was only a big pit, bereft of all awfulness.
“Very good work. That’s the end of it… Isn’t it?” Priestess asked, putting a hand to her petite chest in relief.
“Yes! Thank you!” King’s Sister said, catching her up in a hug.
“Eep!” Priestess exclaimed, stumbling, her body still delicate although by now well honed.
For reasons they couldn’t fathom, the curse that had afflicted King’s Sister had vanished even before the staff had arrived. After regaining all her energy in the space of a single night, her complaint was only that she had missed all the excitement at the tournament.
As for Priestess, she didn’t feel that her or her party members’ efforts had been in vain. Instead, she thought, Thank goodness, and she meant it with all her heart.
“Are you sure it was really all right, though?” Priestess asked, cocking her head in perplexity even as she continued to hug the other girl who, despite being her own age, was considerably plumper.
“Was what all right?”
The other girl looking up at her from such close range made her heart skip a beat, and she wasn’t sure why. The face looked so much like her own, and yet its expressions were completely unique. She found herself smiling with the wonder of it.
“I mean, for me to take on such an important role… Twice!”
“Who else could have done it? If you go getting all concerned about it, I won’t have anyone left turn to.”
“Well, that’s true enough…”
Performing this ritual was one thing—she was a cleric of the Earth Mother, after all—but impersonating the king’s little sister? The very idea!
It’s like the story of the prince and the pauper.
Or the cutpurse girl who traded places with a princess.
The world teemed with stories of such adventures, and yet she had never imagined she might find herself in one of them!
“You’re lucky… I just spent the whole time sleeping!”
“Well, the important thing is, you’re okay. To think—a curse! I was shocked when I heard.”
“Yeah, a human sacrifice!” King’s Sister giggled. “That’s twice now!” She wondered aloud if that was her curse. Not a funny thought—but Priestess couldn’t help smiling.
“If that’s your curse… Well, just think of how many times I’ve been goblin hunting!”
“True……”
King’s Sister produced such a pregnant, indescribable look that Priestess shot her another puzzled glance.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Priestess asked.
King’s Sister was quick to add, “I don’t mean I’m not grateful, you know? I mean, for this time and last time. But this is a separate issue!”
“Ah.” Priestess nodded. “Don’t worry about it!”
“You mean that?”
“Yep!” That small chest puffed out—humbly but with some measure of confidence. “I do like to think I’ve learned a thing or two about goblin hunting, after all!”
Without a word, King’s Sister put her hands to her face and turned toward the ceiling as if she were praying to the Earth Mother.
The gesture was so much like her friend that Priestess burst out laughing.
§
With the rite completed, Priestess returned the Earth Mother’s staff to King’s Sister and then left the demonic portal. It was a big national secret, so when she shut the door behind her, none of her friends were waiting for her.
The castle hallway was more opulent than any she had yet seen. Her feet sank into a thick rug, while the walls and windows were adorned with metalwork. Moreover, there were tapestries of the warriors of light who carried the four orbs and of the three generations who had delved for the dragon. The windows were as translucent as ice, and sunlight poured through them, warm, pleasant, and golden. And yet…
Why is this place so big?
It just didn’t sit right with her. She’d been to various temples that were bigger than this castle hallway, and yet…
Oh! I haven’t heard about the others’ adventure!
It wasn’t unusual for her and her friends to go on separate adventures, but of course she wanted to know how things had gone for them. And she wanted to tell them how hard she had worked.
They were probably getting ready to go by now, so maybe they were near the castle gate? Priestess, suddenly in a hurry, jogged down the massive corridor. Sure, an onlooker might chide her for such unladylike behavior, but running through a castle—
Isn’t that an adventure in itself?
“…Hee-hee!”
It was an amusing little excuse, and it made her happy; her steps grew lighter with it.
Just try not to stumble, try not to fall. Imagine you’re going along with a ten-foot pole.
And watch out for random encounters around any corner you might turn…
“Ah, there you are.”
“Eep…?!” Priestess yelped, hurriedly straightening up and taking off her cap. There, just around the corner, was a handsome man whose looks evoked a young lion.
I never expected to run into His Majesty the King here!
Well, that was what made it a random encounter, wasn’t it? The same turn of chance that could see you meet a dragon in the open field.
“Er, uh, that is, pardon me. Please excuse my unconscionable rudeness…”
“Think nothing of it.” King waved a hand merrily, both accepting and dismissing Priestess’s apology. “If there’s anything unconscionable here, it’s the trouble to which I’ve put you.”
“N-no, sire! Not at all!”
“I’ll see that a proper thanks and…a reward will be sent to the western frontier. You have my gratitude.”
Priestess managed to squeak out, “Th-thank you very much, Sire…”
“Mm,” said King. He nodded, and then for a long moment, he studied Priestess’s face.
“……?”
Priestess, much puzzled, could hardly breathe; she felt like she had been placed under a petrification curse. Somehow she managed to both feel completely frozen and fidget awkwardly at the same time.
She was anxious, yes—but strangely, not uncomfortable.
Sometime thereafter, King closed his eyes, sighed deeply, and then asked slowly, “Do you enjoy your adventures?”
“Yes, sir!” Priestess responded without a moment’s hesitation. A shy smile appeared on her face. Here, at least, was a question she could answer with confidence. “They involve a lot of difficult things, a lot of problems, a lot of pain…”
“Is that so?”
But despite it all, adventures were still fun, Priestess informed the young king. At that, he smiled and nodded.
“I remember it myself. The pleasure of advancing forward… Even if it got me in trouble sometimes.”
Gripped by what seemed to be nostalgia, he rubbed the back of his neck. Priestess wasn’t sure what the gesture meant. She understood, though, that it was born of a memory of adventure that this person had experienced. A recollection of some important quest that only he knew about, that no one else could imagine.
And I have them, too.
Memories of adventures like that. It had only been a few years, but she would hold them forevermore.
“…”
Did the young king know what she was thinking? He didn’t say anything, but a slight smile came over his face—for a second. Then he tightened his lips, and the smile was gone as if it had never been there. In its place was an expression of seriousness that made Priestess stop and swallow hard.
Finally, King said only: “See that you remain a friend to my little sister. Please.”
“Yes, sir!” Priestess replied, again without hesitation—what else could she say? “She is my friend, after all!”
There was not a bit of flattery in this; she wasn’t simply saying what he wanted to hear.
For a moment, the king of the whole nation regarded her expression, bright as the morning sun, with a smile in his eyes.
Then, after a moment of silence in which he seemed to be searching the air for the right words, he said, “As her older brother, you have my gratitude. Thank you.”
“Oh! No, I—I mean… You’re welcome.” Priestess scratched her cheek, then coughed discreetly. “Ahem, I, uh, I should be going now.” Everyone was waiting for her, she added, and then she bowed to him. She put her cap back on her head and scuttled down the corridor with the gait of a little bird.
The young king of the whole nation watched her go for a silent moment, and then he turned on his heel and walked away.
The shorter a conversation between the king and an adventurer, the better.
That was the way it was, and the way it ought to be.
King knew that better than anyone.
§
“Argh! I can’t believe I lost!”
“Will you give it a rest?”
Beneath a dizzyingly blue sky, a donkey loaded down with armor and equipment meandered down the road. A boy held the reins while beside him walked a rhea girl whose body language expressed her feelings even more eloquently than her words. She swung her arms furiously as she walked along, making no effort at all to hide her frustration.
The wizard boy (the rhea girl had practically talked his ear off by this point) heaved a sigh and said, “Yeah, you definitely peaked when you left that paladin flat on his ass.”
“Arrrrgh… I fell! I can’t believe I fell out of my saddle!”
This time, the girl clutched her head in her hands and curled up right there on the road home, so the boy was obliged to stop alongside her. The donkey, unbothered by its masters’ strange behavior, scuffed its hooves.
In truth, the donkey had acquitted itself well. It had held its own against proper warhorses; fine work indeed. Responsibility for the defeat therefore fell squarely on its rider. Her display of ferocity had left her exhausted, and she was easily bested in the next round. To be fair, the knight who’d un-donkeyed her hadn’t gone on to the finals, either, but that was cold comfort.
“…Arrrgh…” The rhea girl threw herself onto the grass by the roadside, spreading her arms.
Wizard Boy looked down at her and stated the obvious: “We’re right by the road.”
“It’s still a square of the Four-Cornered World! I can be here if I want!” The girl flailed her bare feet.
“I haven’t heard a hairsplitting like that since the Academy.” That was all Wizard Boy said by way of reprobation, though. He plopped down beside her. “Guess it just means we’ve still got farther to go.”
“Yeah…”
When she thought back, she saw what a collection of powerful warriors they had been among. What had they even been doing there?
For instance—there had been many memorable matches, but to take just one example—she’d seen a spectacular competition between a knight wearing the vestments of the Trade God and another knight in diamonds.
We shall prescind from speaking of who won…
“That was really something, wasn’t it?” the rhea girl said.
“…Uh-huh.”
Idle chatter passed between them as they sat there with the grass and the breeze around them and the sky over their heads.
There was frustration, yes. There was disappointment. But not a single regret.
There are loftier heights to reach. We can keep moving forward.
That’s all it meant.
Heck, this was their first time in a competition like this one, and look how well they’d done. What was there to be depressed about in that? It would be simple arrogance to be dissatisfied just because you didn’t win your first tournament. They could hold their heads up high with the result they had reached. The result they had earned.
After a moment, Wizard Boy stood up, crying, “Okay!”
“Yikes!” exclaimed the rhea girl, who was still lying on the ground. She sat up (using only her toned abdominal muscles) and looked at him. “You sure sound excited.”
“’Course I am! Time is unlimited and limited. We can’t just sit around here!”
“I dunno. I think it’s important to slow down and enjoy the journey sometimes. Hup!” The girl got to her feet, laughing, and brushed the grass off her behind. “So where do we go next?”
“Dunno yet,” the boy said with a grin. “But you don’t really want to go straight back to the old guy, do you?”
“If you’ve got a good idea for a detour, I’m all ears.” The rhea girl grinned like a kid with a mischievous plan.
They didn’t know where they would go exactly. But they knew where they were headed.
“I’m gonna be the strongest swordfighter in the world! So I’d better go find people who are stronger than me!”
“I think you just did.”
“Quiet, you!”
So they went down the road, leading the donkey, arguing and laughing.
Someday—the strongest. Someday—that dragon. The road would go ever on and on.
They were on that road, moving forward, one step at a time.
§
“Great work! You’ve earned a good rest.”
This was the pronouncement of Guild Girl, delivered with a smile as the wagon trundled along. It must have taken some nerves to conclude everything that happened, all their trials, with these few words.
A lot really did happen, huh?
Across from her sat an adventurer in grimy armor. He nodded deliberately. “It was, indeed, rather difficult.”
“Well, you were one person short of your normal party.”
“Perhaps that was it.”
Guild Girl giggled at this diffident response, demurely covering her mouth with her hand. Staring fixedly at the ground beside her was the priestess, her ears as alert as any elf’s.
I think she’s gained a little confidence.
But she still wasn’t used to being openly praised. Maybe it was just as well—if she was overconfident, that would be a problem in its own right. This was adorable.
“So how’d it go with you anyway?” asked the elf, who was poking her head out the back and flicking her ears in the breeze, of that very same priestess.
“It went well!” Priestess said, nodding eagerly.
Cow Girl smirked. “Well? You were the coolest thing at the tournament!”
“O-oh, I’m not sure about that…,” Priestess squeaked, her face flushing. Then, however, with a certain amount of “um, er,” she managed, “But I did try my best!”
“That’s what counts,” said High Elf Archer, her eyes twinkling like stars. “Details! I want details!”
“I-if you don’t mind, then…”
There was a delicate clearing of the throat—and then began the story of the adventure of the cleric who had impersonated the princess.
The unfamiliar outfit. The people she didn’t know. The only ones she could count on were the two friends who had come with her.
Meeting the nobility, speaking to a knight, participating in the ceremony—and then the monsters had appeared.
It was a splendid tale of heroism, as fine an adventure as any there was. The only person who didn’t seem to realize it was the heroine of the story.
On the driver’s bench, Lizard Priest and Dwarf Shaman were chatting about something; the others could hear the friendly rise and fall of their voices.
It was the end of a journey—calm, pleasant, quiet, and lovely.
Guild Girl took a deep breath, letting the warmth of that moment fill her chest, and then she shifted so her knees were facing the person across from her. “All right. I’d like to hear about your adventure, Goblin Slayer.”
“Hrm,” grunted a low voice from deep within the metal helmet. “Mine?”
“Yes,” said Guild Girl with a smile. “Your adventure.”
She stole a glance at Cow Girl. She seemed to be helping Priestess, who was gesticulating in the direction of High Elf Archer, telling the story of her exploits. She did this! She did that! A good flourish of the hands at the right moment could always make a story really sing.
They were not, of course, paying Guild Girl and Goblin Slayer any mind.
Well, when we get back to the west…
Then it would be her turn. Nothing wrong with cutting in line a little.
Surely no one would blame her for seizing her right to be the first to hear this person’s story of adventure.
She would do it until the day he had a truly glorious tale to tell. Until she could be the first to hear about him slaying a dragon.
After all, that’s how I do things!
“So what kind of adventure was it?” she asked.
“Hmm…,” Goblin Slayer murmured, and after a moment’s thought, he said, “There were goblins.”
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