Crest of the Strongest Knight

Chapter 14 - Catalyst

"Yeah. Certainly not stuff for us to think about. Anyway, I'll see you in an hour, Medrauta!" Trista bid the two girls farewell with a bow and made her way out of the archives.

"The imperial family, huh...?" Viviane mused to herself. "Y'know, have you ever wondered what Emperor Soleil's Crest was? The marquis' book talked a lot about the history of Crests and how all Crest-bearers could trace their lineage back to the four ducal houses, but it never really said anything about the first Crest."

"That's because Emperor Soleil never had a Crest."

"H-Huh? But... He was the first knight, wasn't he? Plus, the stories all have him wielding a blazing sword ignited by magic!"

"That might be true, but he didn't have a Crest. He had a Stigma, just like all the other witch hunters of that era. The difference is that a Crest is wielded by a noble and bestowed upon a knight to manifest its powers. A Stigma is self-sufficient and activates so long as you're fighting."

"E-Eh...? Witch hunter? He was a knight though, wasn't he?"

Medrauta shrugged. "Yeah, he's often referred to as the first knight, but he also had another lesser known title: 'The Last Witch Hunter.' He was the only one who survived the final battle against the queen of witches after all."

Viviane stared at Medrauta, shocked not at the revelation that Medrauta had just imparted, but rather at the fact that the knight was actually so familiar with such tales.

"I don't know about the whole ducal houses thing and whatnot, but apparently Emperor Soleil split his Stigma into four before he died and placed them into what we know as the Four Colored Swords," Medrauta continued.

"...You actually love reading, don't you?" Viviane giggled.

"Huh? What gave you that impression? I'm just reciting what my father told me when I was a kid."

"Ahaha! I should've known," Viviane grinned. "Shall we see if we can uncover anything else before the hour is over?"

Despite their best efforts, the two girls didn't make much progress during the hour before Medrauta was forced to leave for the welcoming parade's orientation in the training hall.

After bidding Viviane farewell, Medrauta made her way to the training hall, scanning the room when she entered and quickly realizing that she'd been the last to arrive.

Although there was a whole slew of knights present, she only recognized one. As it turned out, all of the knights were seniors.

"Medrauta!" Amelia exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Apparently, I've been selected for the welcoming parade tomorrow morning." Medrauta shrugged, closing the door behind her and joining the knights.

"Seriously? You?"

"What? You got a problem?"

"No. Well, at least I don't."

"Sure as hell didn't sound like it, Amelia."

"No, I was just... surprised. We were told that the parade would consist of the top one-hundred knights. While you might be the best duelist at the academy, I don't think we can say the same about your rank."

"...I suppose that's true. Honestly, I was just as surprised as you were when I was told to come here."

The two girls soon found their conversation cut short as a familiar figure entered the room. It was none other than Eirlys Innesheath, one of the more famous members of the faculty. She clapped her hands once, drawing the attention of the knights present.

"Alright, you lot. I'm going to keep this short and simple, so everyone pay attention, alright?"

The knight instructor hadn't lied. She had kept her explanation concise, answering questions quickly and efficiently before moving on to direct a rehearsal. Within the span of an hour, Eirlys had managed to familiarize the knights with the parade routine.

After two repetitions, the knights were given a brief break. During that time, Medrauta found her way to Amelia, sitting next to her on a bench.

"Y'know, I'm glad it's not too different from the usual parades we hold during festivals."

Amelia nodded. "Doesn't look like that's doing anything to ease everyone's nervousness, though. Performing in a festival's one thing, but tomorrow we'll be putting on a show for members of the imperial family."

"...So?" Though one could've mistaken Medrauta's dismissive tone for arrogance, she genuinely didn't understand what difference performing for royalty made. Out of all the knights present, Medrauta could confidently say that she was the least nervous of them all. In fact, the parade would be just another day.

No matter the situation, a knight must always perform at their best. That was what she did for festivals, and that was what she planned to do tomorrow.

"Most people go their entire lives without seeing the Imperial Palace, you know? Performing in front of the imperial family is an incredible honor for most knights."

"...Huh. I guess." Despite her verbal assent, Medrauta still couldn't fully comprehend where the honor lay. It wasn't as if she were getting awarded, after all. Besides, she would rather have spent the morning training with Viviane or even sitting in the archives with her.

With their conversation at an impasse, Medrauta sat in silence with Amelia as she looked around the room. Most of the other knights seemed to be engaged in conversation with one another while some seemed to be squeezing some physical training in even during the break.

And only then had it struck her.

"...Hey, Amelia? Ritya's still within the top hundred, yeah?"

"Of course. Why would you think otherwise?"

"Well... I don't see her anywhere."

"She's still in the infirmary recovering," Amelia replied.

Medrauta brow creased. She thought she'd detected the slightest hint of hesitance in Amelia's voice before answering. Before she could ask if the older girl knew anything though, Eirlys' razor sharp clap pierced through the chatter of the training room once again.

"Break's over! Let's get one more rehearsal in before we turn it in for the night!"

Medrauta pushed herself off the bench as she moved to join the other knights, pushing aside her suspicions easily. After all, there wasn't any reason for Amelia to lie.

Yeah, it was probably nothing...