“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.”

“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.”

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“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...