Crest of the Strongest Knight

Chapter 15 - Parade

The morning rays of the sun illuminated the academy grounds as the sound of chirping birds filled the air, their orchestra joined intermittently by the crowing of roosters.

Medrauta shot up out of bed, her mind clear and her eyes focused despite only just having woken up. Thanks to her training, she was no stranger to early mornings.

A quick glance out the window told her that she would have around an hour to get ready for the parade which she initially thought would've been more than enough.

After washing her face, she took to dressing herself. Normally, this wasn't even a process worth mentioning, but today was a very different day. Today, Medrauta was forced to wear her dress uniform.

Accustomed to the weight of her elegant half-plate and the feeling of protection that it gave, the tight-fitting and fancy garment felt incredibly uncomfortable to her. Without her armor, she felt naked, but she would have to bear with it at least for the parade.

After affixing her sword to her waist and double-checking the state of her uniform before deciding that she couldn't do any better, Medrauta sallied out of her room to fight a battle of a different kind...

THUD!

...only to encounter her first obstacle of the morning immediately.

"What the—"

"Eep!"

While Medrauta hadn't moved an inch from the collision, her attention was quickly drawn to the beautiful blonde mess who was now on their backside and in front of her room.

"What are you doing here so early, Viviane? Classes don't start for you until two hours later."

"Ah, geez... Look at you, Medrauta," Viviane chided as Medrauta hefted her off the ground after she'd taken the knight's outstretched hand. Almost immediately, she'd started fixing the position of Medrauta's medals and straightening out her crumpled epaulets. "I knew this would happen."

"G-Gah! W-What the hell are you doing, Viviane!?"

"You're going to perform for royalty today, aren't you, Medrauta? You can't go out looking like that!"

"What are you? My mom?"

Viviane flicked Medrauta against the forehead. Though the knight had barely felt it, she was left stunned. After all, no one had dared flick her forehead before.

"I am your lady, and I won't have my knight embarrassing herself in front of the imperial family by looking like a mess. It's an important moment for you!"

"...Tch. Fine, do as you please." Though I think trying to resonate with you is much more important than a silly parade... They probably won't even look at me.

For the next ten minutes or so, Medrauta stood obediently in the doorway of her room as Viviane adjusted her dress uniform in so many places that the knight had quickly lost count of the things she'd missed or attached erroneously.

Had it been anyone else but Viviane fussing over her, it would've been incredibly embarrassing.

"Ehehe! There!" Viviane's smile was positively glowing as she finished straightening out Medrauta's uniform. "I must say, though... You, um..."

"Hm?" Medrauta glanced at Viviane, confused as to why the smaller girl was blushing. Then, she felt a strange sensation against her upper arm. "O-Oi! Where do you think you're touching!?"

"Uwah! She found out!"

"What do you mean I 'found out'!? It was obvious from the very start!"

"Sorry, sorry! I just couldn't resist! I think the results of your training and hard work are very... wonderful."