Knight Expedition

"Welcome back."

As soon as Gawain stepped into the room, he was greeted by the sight of the red, flashy armor that he had previously seen a few months back. Only this time, there was no intimidating helmet to hide the wearer's identity.

"I won the third position in the initial round."

Joan stood up somewhat sluggishly.

"I know. Celia informed me a few minutes back."

She came closer to him and placed her hand on his head.

'Pat-pat.'

She closed her eyes and smiled.

"How did you like the surprise?"

Gawain was puzzled by her actions.

'Too close.'

He awkwardly smiled and said,

"Thank you for bringing them in. Sharing this moment with them was a special experience that I will never forget."

She took her hand back and retreated a few steps to give him some distance.

"I am glad that I could do that for you."

She clumsily turned around. Gawain couldn't help but ask,

"Why are you wearing that armor?"

She sighed and said,

"I have to attend a meeting regarding the trials in an hour or so. I wasn't able to attend your match because I was busy putting this on."

Her blonde hair had been tied up. The armor was quite loose but heavy, so it was a pain to handle it while she tried to go from one place to the other. Made for special occasions, it was nothing more than a ceremonial outfit.

"It must be pretty important."

Over the past few months, there was one thing that Gawain had realized. Joan did not like to compromise or put herself through things that she didn't like.

"Correct. The only reason I am wearing this horrible armor is that the overseer wants us to decide on the next Knight expedition."

The academy manual, page 269.

"Knight expedition? You mean that they are going to go through with it this year?"

Depending on the quality of the freshers, the overseer granted the Knights permission to take their 'Pages' to different parts of the kingdom for field training. It rarely happens for the freshers, but it was compulsory for the second-year students.

"Not confirmed. There is still a chance that the overseer might be skeptical of that decision."

She wouldn't give him any false hopes.

"Understood."

He placed his shield and sword on the nearby table. A giant scratch on the surface of the shield was the only damage to his equipment. He barely broke a sweat in the previous match, so his body was in top condition as well.

"Aren't you going to take notes on your opponents?"

Gawain took a seat on the sofa and said,

"Unfair advantage. I'd rather go through some of my weaknesses that you have pointed out and practice the precautions necessary to avoid them."

Joan tried to shrug her shoulders, but the armor barely moved.

"That works. Remember to reel in your tendency to reflexively move your body to dodge attacks. It worked against an unseeded opponent, but the seeded ones are faster and will be prepared to take advantage of your firm but slower movement to outpace you for easy points."

This was Celia's criticism of his final attack, narrated by Joan.

'The first move was a counter to a fool's attack. The second move was a calculated risk against a slightly more powerful but measured strike.'

It was a test to try its merits against a weaker opponent. In a real fight, choosing to not use the shield would be foolish, considering that it would end the duel with less effort expended.

She picked up her helmet from her desk and said,

"It is great to be confident, but remember to do it with an adequate amount of awareness to avoid making a fool out of yourself."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Timothy Compton vs. Leonard Carrey.

Game 5.

"Both of them have been sensational in their displays. Neither of them is willing to give an inch to the other."

A young girl in a black formal gown was spectating the match from her chair. Next to her was a humongous man dressed in a light brown tunic that had silver embroidering of a roaring lion on his chest. Paired with similarly colored pants, he was barely interested in the proceedings.

"Cedric, you aren't listening."

The girl nudged him with her elbow. Cedric sighed and said,

"This match isn't as interesting as you make it seem, Miss Elizabeth."

She pouted in response.

"You are the boorish one."

Another strong elbow attack, but it didn't do any damage.

"I am just telling you the truth. This round is reserved for the people that will probably be stuck being Red Knights forever."

She folded her hands.

"That doesn't mean it can't be interesting..."

"That is correct. If you are looking for average competitiveness, then this can be entertaining."

"Forget it."

She turned towards the attendant on rounds and said,

"Excuse me, I would like to make a bet."

The attendant passed through the rows to get to the girl. After a few seconds, he asked,

"How much and on whom do you want to bet, miss?"

"Timo-"

She fancied his chances, seeing that his attacking style was entertaining to watch.

"Bet on Leonard. 50 coins."

He couldn't just let his benefactor lose her money. Elizabeth turned towards him and asked,

"Are you sure?"

He nodded his head. She smiled and said,

"If I lose money, I will recover my losses from your salary."

"And if I am correct, you won't bet unless I tell you to for the next two days."

She extended her hand.

"Deal."

He grabbed it and shook it once.

With the deal in place, she turned toward the attendant and said,

"Leonard Carrey, 50 gold."

The attendant took the pouch from her.

"I'll be back after the result."

The match was underway.

"Take this!"

A strong swing from Timothy. He was confident in his attack and was easily pushing Leonard back.

"See? He will win."

He nodded his head, pretending to listen to her with his eyes closed.

'Clang!'

Their swords clashed with each other. Leonard was on the back foot. Both were from the Hephaestus house, and neither was willing to lose this one.

"Forward."

Cedric spoke up. Leonard used his feet to push forward himself, breaking the deadlock. Astonishingly, Timothy stumbled slightly, but his eyes followed Leonard, making a surprise attack nearly impossible.

"Fake thrust."

In the most non-conventional way, Leonard thrust his sword towards his opponent's abdomen. Timothy raised his sword to block it.

"Game."

At the last moment, Leonard bent his elbow inwards to take his sword in a different direction, followed by a quick step to get closer to his opponent, raising the sword in front of his neck.

5 points. Winner, Leonard Carrey.

"I win."

Cedric looked at Elizabeth, who was in awe of the sudden change of events. Due to this, she didn't hear his voice.

'She is always like this.'

He closed his eyes once again and sighed to himself.