First Date

“Correct! Another point to Viviane and Medrauta!”

Medrauta leaned back in her seat as she gazed up at Viviane in awe. As it turned out, the quiz booth was being run by Trista and a few of her friends who were actually part of the academy’s literature club.

Most of the other participants in the advanced quiz were members of that very club, yet none of them were able to acquire as many points as Viviane had. It seemed that every time a question was asked, Viviane had an answer for it, and her hand shot up with such speed that Medrauta knew she had to be enhancing her body with whatever technique Sakura had taught her.

It seemed slightly excessive to Medrauta given that she was the only contestant who was a knight, but she wasn’t exactly complaining as her attention was totally captivated by the huge, goofy grin that adorned Viviane’s face every time she got a question right.

“We’re winning, Medrauta!” Viviane gushed gleefully as she returned to her seat beside the knight. “There’s only ten questions left too! Do you think we’ll be able to get them?”

“With the way you’ve been absolutely crushing the competition? They might as well declare you the winner already.”

“Ehehe!”

After making the proper adjustments to the scoreboard, Trista addressed the contestants. “Alright! It looks like Lady Viviane and Dame Medrauta have pulled ahead of the crowd quite significantly, but don’t worry! We’re gonna give everyone a chance to catch up, ‘cause this next question is gonna be worth ten points!”

There were ten pairs of contestants, and all of them leaned forward, giving Trista their full attention. Their eyes were focused and alert, and their dominant hands tense as they prepared to raise their hands with all the speed they could muster.

Even Viviane sat poised at the edge of her seat as if she were preparing to leap upwards the moment Trista finished asking the question. Among all this, Medrauta was the only one who seemed to be content with relaxing in her chair, leaning back as she watched Viviane enjoy herself.

Though she hadn’t participated much in the actual activity, seeing Viviane happy and sharing in her moments of joy were far more important, and from Medrauta’s perspective, far more enjoyable as well.

“Everyone ready?” Trista asked, allowing a lengthy pause to hang in the air even after all the contestants nodded. She smirked as suspense built up, choosing only to speak after it looked as though the contestants would literally explode from anticipation.

“What is the specific description of the Witch Queen’s eyes in the original record of Emperor Soleil’s biography?” The contestants hung on Trista’s every word, but in the end, it was Viviane whose hand shot up first yet again.

“Lady Viviane!” Trista called, much to the chagrin of the other contestants. “Now, before you answer, I will warn you that this description must be given verbatim.”

Viviane nodded and stood. “Y-Yes! The Witch Queen’s eyes were ‘blood red, like twin pools of finely aged wine.’”

“Oho! Is that your final answer?”

“No,” Medrauta said, standing up before Viviane had the chance to nod.

“E-Eh!? Medrauta!?” Viviane exclaimed.

“Dame Medrauta! Looks like you aren’t just here as a decoration, huh? Though, I don’t recall you being much of a scholar in any case,” Trista smirked. “Will you truly be able to help your lady, or will you only tarnish the victories she’s earned so far? Only your answer will tell!”

Medrauta rolled her eyes at Trista’s provocation. Thanks to her experience as a match announcer, Trista had managed to cultivate a rather magnetic charisma whenever conducting events as the host, allowing her to change the crowd’s opinion with mere words.

Though there were only ten pairs competing in the quiz, a whole slew of spectators sat in the bleachers just across from the booth, and Medrauta could tell that Trista’s words had a profound effect on them. In fact, even Viviane wasn’t immune to this. Whether spectator or contestant, no one truly believed that Medrauta would be able to answer such a specific and detailed question.

Unfortunately for them, Medrauta’s unshakeable confidence would soon lead her to victory.

“The Witch Queen’s eyes were described as ‘a deep shade of crimson that glittered like twin rubies drenched in freshly-spilt blood.’” Medrauta answered without even a moment’s hesitation.

“And your answer is...” Trista flipped through a stack of answer sheets, her eyes widening when she found what she was looking for. “...Correct! Ten points to Lady Viviane and Dame Medrauta!”

The surprise was evident in her voice, and that same surprise was mirrored by everyone else who was watching. All eyes fell on Medrauta, but the knight simply shrugged in response and returned to her seat.

“Whoa! How’d you know, Medrauta?” Viviane whispered, impressed.

Medrauta shrugged again. “I’ve heard the story quite a bit. That’s all. The description you gave wasn’t wrong, but it didn’t come from the original biography.”

“...I see,” Viviane mused. “You’ve always complained about going to the archives, but it seems to me that you’re quite fond of reading.”

Normally, Medrauta would’ve simply answered “Not at all!” and be done with it, but this time she drew closer to Viviane, leaning toward her ear to whisper sensually. “Only with you, my lady.”

“U-Uwah! D-Don’t do that, Medrauta!” Viviane jerked her head back, her face immediately taking on such a bright shade of red that it seemed as though steam would begin rising from her head.

Medrauta merely smirked and gave Viviane a quick peck on the cheek before retreating, only serving to further exacerbate the noblewoman’s embarrassment.

“Ahem! If the couple there is quite finished with their flirting, there is a contest to finish!” Trista said, causing Viviane and Medrauta to direct apologetic glances toward her. Seeing that the couple had concluded their antics, Trista continued.

“This next question will also be worth ten points!” She announced. “Now, as you may know, the Witch Queen was slain by Emperor Soleil. However, contrary to popular belief, she was not the last witch to die! Now then, question! How long ago was it when the last witch was found and slain?”

Again, the spectators and contestants alike were shocked. The moment Trista finished asking the question, Medrauta’s hand shot up.

“W-Whoa! Dame Medrauta! What is your ans—”

“Eleven years ago.” Medrauta stated. A dark look adorned her face, almost as if she were recalling an unpleasant memory.

“...That’s correct again, Dame Medrauta. Another ten points to Lady Viviane and Dame Medrauta!”

“...Not even I knew that, Medrauta.” Viviane murmured.

“Most people don’t.”

Viviane’s eyes were full of questions, yet she didn’t know what to ask. The question itself seemed to have made Medrauta uncomfortable, and the answer had been spat out as if the knight had been angry.

She pursed her lips as she sank into a brief period of thought before choosing to place a hand on Medrauta’s arm in lieu of offering words, allowing the warmth of her body to seep into her knight’s.

Medrauta placed her hand on Viviane’s, grateful for her lady’s touch. Her gaze was fixed on the ground before her for a few seconds before she nodded to herself having gathered her resolve. Only then did she turn to meet Viviane’s gaze.

“It’s a long story, so I’ll tell you some other time. But in short...” Medrauta shrugged. “I wasn’t born an orphan, you know?”

Viviane nodded as realization dawned in her eyes. “...I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. You couldn’t have known,” Medrauta smiled gently before gesturing toward Trista who had just finished updating the scoreboard. “More importantly, we’ve still got a competition to win!”

Viviane grinned. “That’s right!”

As the heavy atmosphere was quickly dispelled, the quiz concluded without incident. Even though the remaining eight questions were all worth ten points as well, Viviane managed to answer six of them, making her the clear victor among the contestants.

“Congratulations, Lady Viviane and Dame Medrauta! While we have a plethora of rare books for you to choose from, I’m afraid only one can be taken as a prize! We’ve still gotta run this event throughout the week, after all!” Trista laughed.

“Of course! We knew that before we signed up, Dame Trista,” Viviane said.

“Gotcha, gotcha. Just makin’ sure, y’know!” Trista grinned. Seeing as the crowd and the contestants had mostly dispersed, she quickly dropped the formalities with Medrauta. “Honestly, I didn’t expect you to answer a single question there, Med. I mean, you’ve got pretty much perfect scores among the first-year knights, but the knights’ curriculum doesn’t cover history, right? Or did that change this year?”

Medrauta shook her head, conversing with the other knight as Viviane took her time picking out the book she wanted. “That it didn’t, and by Aluvsha I’m glad for that.”

“Huh. How’d you know the answers to those questions then?”

“Heard the story quite a bit, and I ended up remembering something I read in the archives for the second question back when I dropped by with Viviane,” Medrauta answered with a shrug. Trista had a feeling that the silver-haired knight was hiding something, but she didn’t push it.

Before they could continue their conversation, Viviane had moved to Medrauta’s side, tugging on her sleeve. “Sorry for interrupting, but um... Could you pick for me, Medrauta?”

“Uh, pick what exactly?”

“My book, silly!” Viviane laughed. “I can’t seem to decide which one I want since they’re all so lovely, but I know I’ll treasure it forever no matter which it is if it’s something that you picked!”

Medrauta blushed fiercely. Normally, she had a pretty tough defense against any sort of romantic moves made against her, but something about Viviane’s wholesomeness simply destroyed any sort of resistance she might’ve possessed.

“Oh! O-Of course! Lemme take a look...” Medrauta allowed herself to be led by Viviane as the couple neared the display that held the books. There were twenty in total, most of which were non-fiction books that covered a wide variety of topics, though there were still some anthologies of classic fiction pieces.

Medrauta’s brow furrowed as she perused the contents of the display, thinking deeply and carefully about which book Viviane would enjoy the most. In the end, she ended up settling on a thick tome titled Emma’s Cultural Atlas and The Ventures Therein. Though it was a rather old book, it seemed to be in pristine condition thanks to the efforts of the academy’s literature club.

After receiving their prize, Medrauta and Viviane bid Trista farewell and sought out a place to plan out their next destination. In the end, they settled on a bench located in one of the quieter parts of the academy gardens.

“Hey, Medrauta?”

“Hm?”

“Out of curiosity, why’d you pick this book?”

“A-Ah! Do you not like it?” Medrauta asked worriedly. She was sure she’d picked something that Viviane would enjoy, but perhaps her own desires had tainted her choice too much.

Viviane shook her head, clutching the book to her chest and embracing it dearly. “I love it, Medrauta. You’re the one who chose it for me, after all. I just wondered why you’d pick this one out of all the others. I was so sure you’d pick one of the anthologies...”

“W-Well...” Medrauta cleared her throat awkwardly. “I was thinking that maybe it’d be a good reference for... y’know?”

“But I don’t?”

Medrauta squinted. There was something about Viviane’s sweet and innocent tone that made it seem like she was more than aware of Medrauta’s intentions, and in fact she was. From the very moment Medrauta blushingly handed the book over, Viviane knew exactly what Medrauta had in mind with the gift. Unfortunately, the knight had no way of knowing that her lady knew.

“You do,” Medrauta replied simply.

“Eeeh!? I really don’t know! Please tell me!”

“Now you’re just making it painfully obvious that you know.”

“I doooon’t~!”

Medrauta raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. “...You’re not gonna make me say it.”

Viviane looked up at Medrauta with her large, doe-like eyes that sparkled beautifully as they caught the sunlight. She fluttered her eyelashes at the knight, her lower lip pushed slightly outward in a cute pout. Sensing that the wind was at her back, she leaned in closer toward Medrauta, weaponizing the peach-blossom-scented perfume that Sakura had gifted to her a while back.

G-Gah! Medrauta jerked her head away, refusing to look at her beloved Viviane. Be still, my beating heart!

“Please, Medrauta~?”

Despite her supposedly unbreakable will, Viviane’s sweet voice coupled with her irresistible scent merely forced Medrauta to treat her eyes with the noblewoman’s divine appearance once more.

“I... I’m not saying it...!”

“It’d make me really happy... darling,” Viviane said in the shy and tender voice that she knew Medrauta loved. Unsurprisingly, the combination of those words and the tone of her voice was effective immediately.

“Y-You...!” Medrauta hadn’t expected Viviane to be so aggressive, and she found herself retreating rapidly even as Viviane continued to advance, scooching closer and closer to the knight until she had no escape other than falling off the bench. “F-Fine! I’ll say it!”

“Hehe~!”

When the hell did she learn to do stuff like that...? Just a while ago, she was blushing her head off! Medrauta bit her lip, shaking her head in an attempt to clear the haze that had enveloped it. It was clear that they were both fairly skilled in attacking while also having absolutely no defense against each other’s attacks.

“I... I picked the book because I thought it’d be a nice reference for us to read together when we plan out where we’ll hold our wedding...” Medrauta admitted in a rather uncharacteristically meek voice.

“Mhm... I see.”

“W-What? Y-You got a problem with that!?”

Viviane giggled, the sound as bright and beautiful as the sun that hung above them.

“Nope~! Not at all. That’s what I love about you... D-a-r-l-i-n-g~!”