Crest of the Strongest Knight

Chapter 101 - Unexpected Visitors

"...Oh! I know! I'll just carry her!" Viviane beamed at Medrauta, causing the knight to cross her arms and click her tongue in annoyance.

"Absolutely not."

"Why not? It's a perfect solution, isn't it? The three of us will be together and—"

"No means no, Viviane." Medrauta said flatly. "I'm not letting you carry Lady Sakura before you've carried m—"

Although Medrauta attempted to mask her verbal blunder with a fit of violent coughing, it was already too late and the knight knew it. The tips of Medrauta's ears began reddening even as a wry smile grew on Viviane's lips.

"Oh? What's that?" Viviane stepped toward her knight, causing Medrauta to retreat instinctively.

"N-Nothing!" Medrauta blushed vehemently. Unfortunately, there would be no escape for her as Viviane's hand closed around her collar. With a quick tug, Viviane pulled the knight closer to herself.

"Perhaps I might indulge you if—"

"My apologies for interrupting your moment, lovebirds, but it seems we have a bigger issue at the moment," Sakura said. Despite her formal tone, her voice was laced with alarm and it was clear that she was far more anxious than before.

Medrauta didn't even need to ask why. In her fit of embarrassment, she'd been so distracted that she'd neglected to keep track of their surroundings. Worse yet, it seemed that Sakura had been the same, though the source of her distraction came from fear for her knight's safety.

The sound of clinking steel echoed from their left, marking the advance of armored forces. Medrauta wasn't sure where these soldiers had come from, nor had she picked them out earlier amidst the drumming of hooves in the distance, but judging from their proximity to the gate, they were probably the group meant to relieve the returning patrol.

They were dangerously close, and upon a more detailed inspection, Medrauta could see that the armored soldiers were exiting from what looked like a small hidden gate built into the side of Helfried's city walls.

They filed out in a single line before taking their places in a neat formation outside the walls. Medrauta counted at least twenty so far, and it didn't look like their ranks were going to stop filling up anytime soon. The knight shared worried glances with the two noblewomen present, her hand falling to the hilt of her sword unconsciously.

...That's thirty, Medrauta thought as she counted the soldiers falling into line outside the walls. More trickled out from the hidden gate, and though she was confident she could deal with any number of regular soldiers, she had no way of knowing whether there were knights among the city's forces or not.

As one of the larger settlements in the Revelo dukedom, Helfried enjoyed a larger volume of nobles, and by extension, knights. While a knight only owed servitude to their sworn noble, it wasn't uncommon for petty nobility to lend their knights to the fief's military in times of need.

"Viviane. Let's head to the carriage."

Viviane nodded to Medrauta, starting toward the parked vehicle almost immediately. "Good idea. I'm going to need my bow if we're fighting."

"We're not fighting," Medrauta frowned. She had no idea what Viviane was thinking, but it was clear that the restoration of her ki reserves had instilled a sense of somewhat misguided confidence in the noblewoman. Instead of trying to make sense of Viviane's logic, Medrauta helped Sakura up, allowing the foreigner to lean against her as the three of them made a beeline for the carriage.

"Why not? They're just soldiers, aren't they?" Viviane asked. "I think I might be able to take them all on myself."

"If they're just soldiers, yes." Medrauta agreed. There was no doubt in her mind that Viviane would actually be able to take down several platoons of soldiers from a distance so long as she had enough arrows. With her incredible shooting speed and accuracy that was rivaled only by her mentor's, she would probably be able to cut down entire groups of men just by herself.