Crest of the Strongest Knight

Chapter 161 - Scouting Ahead

"Why don't we slow down a bit, Vivi?"

Viviane glanced beside her, regarding Medrauta with a slight frown as the two rode their horses alongside each other. It was early in the afternoon, but the sun was quickly approaching its zenith, its hot summer rays beating down on their backs harshly. They had ridden ahead of the soldiers as a pair, intending to assess the strength of the approaching witchspawn before regrouping with the main unit.

"Slow down?" Viviane asked, confused. "Why? Lady Scarlet's waiting for our repo—"

"It's just you and me right now, Vivi." Medrauta said, reaching over and placing a finger on Viviane's lips to stymie her protests. As an experienced rider, Medrauta was capable of retaining control over her mount easily even with only one hand on the reins. "Don't you think we deserve some alone time together?"

"So that's why you agreed to this so quickly..." Viviane pursed her lips, sighing. "I... It's not like I don't want some quality time with you, but this is hardly the time or place to be having a romantic date, Medrauta. The witchspawn have been traveling since morning, so it's likely they'll be able to reach us before evening. That, and..."

"And?" Medrauta prompted as Viviane's voice trailed off. The noblewoman had seemed uncertain of something, her golden eyes drifting toward the distance as she fell silent. Despite Viviane's troubled look, her expression conveyed a somewhat desperate sort of determination, piquing Medrauta's curiosity and worry.

"And... I feel like I'm not doing enough." Viviane shrugged, her shoulders sagging in a forlorn manner. "I know it's silly to feel that way after everything we've been through recently. We've been tackling problem after problem non-stop without any rest, but still, we've fallen behind everyone else, haven't we?"

Medrauta raised an eyebrow, reaching over to grasp the reins of Viviane's mount and tug lightly, causing the horse to slow to a canter. She placed a hand on top of the noblewoman's, speaking firmly but softly. "Viviane. This was never a competition. We've been doing our best in our own way, and it's not like we've been doing horribly either. There's no need to compare ourselves to the others. Let's just go at our own pace like we always have, yeah?"

Viviane paused for a moment before leaning over and giving Medrauta a quick peck on the cheek. "Yeah, you're right." She sighed. "I'm not sure what came over me, but after last night, I guess I just kind of felt like I needed to catch up to Lady Scarlet so much that I lost sight of what's most important."

"And what might that be?" Medrauta asked, blushing slightly at the sudden kiss. Based on what Viviane had said earlier, the knight had expected that Viviane was planning to sideline all romantic advances or displays of affection until they captured the second tower, or worse, until the war finally ended.

"Well, there's no need for me to match Lady Scarlet's pace, is there? The only person's pace I need to match is yours," Viviane winked.

"W-What's gotten into you so suddenly!?" Medrauta exclaimed, tearing her eyes away from Viviane's gaze and urging her horse forward slightly. The kiss was one thing, but Medrauta was quickly discovering that she was actually a massive sucker for cute one-liners. "I thought you said this wasn't the time or place for romance! T-That the witchspawn were gonna be on us at any second!"

Viviane grinned. "I suppose I did, but I gave what you said a bit more thought and decided that we might as well take advantage of the time we have together. It's going to be another long period of fighting, and who knows when we'll get a bit more time to ourselves? Besides, I said that the witchspawn would probably reach us by evening, not now."

Medrauta returned Viviane's smile as the noblewoman's mount drew level with her own once more. The two maintained a slow and steady pace as they made their way through the forest, no longer urging their mounts to gallop quickly nor taking a straight path to their destination. Instead, they chose a winding route that took advantage of the taller and thicker trees with a large canopy, allowing the leaves to shield them from the sunlight.