Crest of the Strongest Knight

Chapter 10 - Match

"Big crowd out there, eh?"

"Hah! Nothin' I ain't used to!"

"As expected of the only knight in history to have over two-hundred losses."

"Oh, go fuck yourself, Brig," Medrauta laughed.

Brigitte grinned, her perfectly white teeth gleaming in the dim ready room that connected to the arena where Medrauta and Viviane's match would be taking place within a matter of minutes.

She'd acted as Medrauta's sparring partner for the past two weeks, and although she hadn't managed to win a single one of their duels, she also hadn't lost a single match against Medrauta and Viviane.

Honestly, she was rather worried about Medrauta's upcoming match. She and Levant had helped as much as they could, but the matches hadn't even been close. Viviane still needed to work on her combat awareness, and Medrauta had been... Medrauta. Always rushing off to engage Brigitte in combat without regard for protecting her lady.

Brigitte sighed. It'll have to do.

A loud 'clunk' was heard as the locks on the prep room's gate were disengaged.

Medrauta turned her attention to Viviane who sat on a bench with her hands clasped together in an effort to prevent her nervous shaking. "It's time, Viviane. You ready?"

Viviane stared at her hands for a few seconds before reaching down beside her to pick something up. She stood up, nodding once to herself, then again toward Medrauta. "Y-Yeah!"

"Hell yeah. Let's make this my first win! What's that, by the way?" Medrauta asked as she eyed the shiny round object in Viviane's hands.

"Ah... It's a buckler. Lord Levant thought I'd find it handy, ahaha..."

"Haha..." Medrauta scratched the back of her head awkwardly. She was pretty sure that decision had something to do with her tendency to leave Viviane unprotected during their practice matches.

Regardless, the two wouldn't have any more time to ruminate on such trivial things. The gate slid open, briefly blinding the pair as sunlight flashed through the opening.

Upon entering the arena, a round of cheering erupted from the surrounding stands. As much as she lost, Medrauta was still pretty popular among the knights due to her skill and carefree attitude outside of matches.

"And heeeere she is!" The announcer's magically amplified voice echoed through the air, reaching every inch of the arena. "Coming in from the moon side, we have the famous knight who's never lost a single duel, but has managed to rack up two-hundred losses in the arena this month! You've all seen her skill and her temper tantrums whenever she loses! Give it up for Knight Medrauta!"

Medrauta's left eye twitched in annoyance as she looked up toward the announcer's booth. Temper tantrums? Seriously? We're gonna have a chat after this, Trista.

Upon feeling Medrauta's gaze upon her, Trista flinched, but pressed on anyway. She was a second-year student, and she'd been the academy's primary match announcer and commentator for over a year and a half.

No skilled knight herself, she sought to make a career out of commentating instead, especially given her lord's Crest ability. Even an aggressive glare like that wouldn't be able to stop an experienced announcer!

"And accompanying her is none other than Viviane of the Castellia ducal family! Though she hasn't actually participated in any matches so far, we look forward to seeing what she can do, especially given how lady-dame pairs have yet been unheard of!"

As Trista finished her spiel, the gate from the other side slid open to reveal two familiar faces.

Bastiche ran a hand through his jet-black hair as he approached the center of the arena with Ritya, his already arrogant smirk somehow giving off an aura that grew progressively more arrogant as Trista listed his accomplishments.