Crest of the Strongest Knight

Chapter 14 - Catalyst

"I... I can't go on..."

"Just a little more, Medrauta! You can do it!"

"N-No... I'm dying, Viviane... I can feel my soul leaving my body..."

"We're almost there!"

"This is... farewell..."

"Um... What's going on? Are you two alright?" A familiar voice called out to Medrauta and Viviane from behind.

Almost immediately, Medrauta leapt from her seat, seizing the opportunity of this newcomer's welcome interruption to escape from her paragraph-filled plight.

"Trista!" Medrauta exclaimed. "What are you doing here!?"

Since it wasn't a weekday, most students who remained at the academy were either exploring the vast campus grounds or participating in matches. Most likely, it was the latter, which meant Trista was oftentimes incredibly busy during the weekends as the academy's most popular match announcer and commentator.

Trista grinned. She wasn't sure why Medrauta had greeted her in such an excited fashion, but she was glad to be a welcome presence nevertheless. "Actually, I was looking for you."

"Huh? Me?" Medrauta frowned, thoroughly confused. As far as she could remember, she didn't have any unsettled business at the arena. "Why?"

"Well, it seems that you've been selected as one of the members of the welcoming parade tomorrow."

The furrow in Medrauta's brow only deepened at that. "Welcoming parade...? Have you heard anything about that, Viviane?"

Viviane shook her head. "I haven't."

Trista stared at the two in disbelief. "Huh...? You mean you both haven't heard about it...?"

"Heard about what, exactly?"

"The imperial family's visit! Princess Gwenhwyfar and Prince Galahad are coming to the academy tomorrow. Everyone's been talking about it over the past week!"

Medrauta exchanged a look of confusion with Viviane before turning her attention back to Trista. "Huh. Well, I guess the two of us have just been so absorbed in racking up matches and trying to resonate again that we just kind of... missed it?"

Trista smiled helplessly. Even though she knew that Medrauta didn't exactly have a penchant for picking up on gossip or rumors, she couldn't help but think that Medrauta's ability to ignore hallway chatter was impressive. "Well, now you know. The selected knights and nobles will be meeting in the training hall to discuss specifics in around an hour, so try not to be late, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be there. Why're they even coming over here anyway? I thought classes were still in session at the Imperial Academy."

While both Avalyne Academy and the Imperial Academy were located in the capital, there was a distinct difference between the two. Whereas Avalyne Academy admitted anyone so long as they were capable of passing the entrance examination, the Imperial Academy admitted students based on an invitation and recommendation system, not to mention the fact that it was built inside of the imperial palace's grounds.

Because both academies covered different subjects of studies and had different expectations for their students, the class schedules were rather varied. As far as Medrauta knew, students at the Imperial Academy didn't get time off on weekends. Instead, they were provided with two weeks of downtime after three months of continuous attendance.

"Dunno," Trista shrugged. "I heard rumors about it being an inspection or something before welcoming a bunch of foreign students visiting the academy."

"Sounds complicated."