Wow, 50 chapters already? And so few reviews, too...

More groping in this chapter!

Also, tell me, what were your favorite highlights of the battle?

Chapter 50 – Commendable Effort (Wyvern Moon)

Anna and Shamir sat as the trumpet sounded the end of the battle. Now it was just a matter of the judges, each one impartially picked, to tally up each team's eliminations. Anna had already taken a tally as the fight had gone, and already she knew who had won.

Having watched Dorothea's victory over Hilda, Anna said, "Well, that was… interesting."

"Never seen someone win like that," said Shamir. "But a win's a win."

"You think you might try it? Hmm, maybe I'll tell Catherine about this one." Anna took a glance at Shamir's own endowment as she added, "I bet she'd try it on you."

"Don't be an idiot."

Standing below in the field, the three houses had gathered before Seteth.

"Our judges have made their tally," said Seteth.

The students had eager expressions on their faces to hear the results. Dorothea looked over at Byleth to see her smiling and took it as a good sign.

"The winners of this year's Battle of the Eagle and Lion are… The Black Eagles!"

Dorothea's face lit up with joy, as did the other Black Eagles. A cheer went out that could be heard across Gronder Field.

"Well, looks like your team won," Shamir said to Anna.

"I knew By would pull this off," said Anna. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some money to make!"

As Anna leapt to her feet, Shamir stood and said, "Change of plans, Anna. You'll be going down there, and you'll be handing out your refreshments to those students for free."

"W-WHAT?!" Anna said, aghast at the idea. "You can't be–"

"The Church will pay you for your goods. At standard market prices."

This still didn't sit well with Anna, who said, "Oh, come on, Shamir. Regular prices? You're killin' me here. I deserve at least thirty percent extra, right?"

"Ten percent."

"Twenty-five?"

Sighing, Shamir said, "Twenty, and not a coin more."

"Deal!"

With that, Anna rushed over to her cart and began to roll it down toward the celebrating first-year students.

…

Down on the field, as the other students were chatting about the battle, Byleth, Dorothea and Edelgard stood before Dimitri and Claude.

"Edelgard. Professor. That was a spectacular battle," said Dimitri. "You both fought exceptionally well. As did you, Dorothea. I never expected that you could beat Felix in single combat."

"Well, I've learned a lot since the Great Tree Moon, Dimitri," said Dorothea.

"Complete and utter defeat…" Claude said in faux dismay. "I would hate to make an enemy of you three. Especially you, Princess."

"No need to get carried away with praise," said Edelgard. "I know you both feel we won by a paper-thin margin. And I won't deny it. If we were to fight again, there's no telling who would prevail. What do you think, Professor?"

"Everyone here did exceptionally well today," said Byleth.

"I am honored to hear you say so, Professor Eisner," said Dimitri.

"Same here!" said Claude. "And I'll level with you - I think that margin is at least as wide as two sheets of paper. I mean that." Then, with a cheeky smile, Claude turned to Dorothea and said, "And really, Dorothea, for you to beat Hilda like that? Gotta say, even I wouldn't have tried that on her."

Slightly blushing, Dorothea said, "Well, I just got creative, that's all."

"Right, 'creative'. I'll bet you got the idea from Teach."

For a second, Byleth's eyes widened and she looked at Dorothea, who looked back at her in protest.

Before either could say a word, Claude laughed and said, "Just kidding! Teach wouldn't resort to something THAT raunchy."

Dorothea and Byleth decided not to comment on that remark, with the singer letting out a nervous laugh.

Then, stopping his laughter, Claude said, "In any case, I hope the day never comes when we have to put this experience to use."

"Agreed," said Dimitri. "I would hate to know a future in which I'm forced to cross swords with you."

"True," said Edelgard. "Although the Battle of the Eagle and Lion was originally named after a war between the Empire and the Kingdom."

"Yeah, but that's all in the past, Edie," said Dorothea. "I'm sure even that name will be forgotten someday. And seriously, what could ever make us want to cross swords? That'll never happen, right?"

"I hope so," said Byleth. "As long as we all keep getting along, we won't have to worry about such a future."

"How admirable, Teach!" said Claude. "On that note, I have a proposition. When we get back to Garreg Mach, let's have a grand feast to bring down the walls between our respective houses. And by a 'grand' feast, I mean a fairly regular feast in the dining hall."

As Dorothea made a short giggle at Claude, Dimitri said, "It would be a fine opportunity to know each other better. Count me in."

"So be it," said Edelgard. "Let's plan to meet up on the night we return. Is that OK with you, Professor Eisner?"

"I'm looking forward to it," said Byleth.

"Me too!" said Dorothea. She then added melodramatically, "We'll celebrate our victory with a grandiose gala of goodies!"

This made the others chuckle at this. To everyone's surprise, even Byleth couldn't help but smile and laugh.

"Wow, what's gotten into you today, Professor?" asked Dorothea. "You seem awfully excited over all this."

"It's just… you're always such a spectacle, Dorothea," said Byleth.

"Well, seeing such a nice smile on your face is a real treat. Nothing is quite so uplifting as seeing friends with a smile on their face."

"I suppose that look on your face is just another boon from this glorious day," said Dimitri. "Perhaps the best one of all."

"Agreed," said Edelgard. "It makes me feel like I can maybe relax a little too."

"Seeing you smile like that means we've got no choice but to have a great time tonight," said Claude. "Let's get going!"

"Not so fast, everyone!" said Anna as she finally arrived on the scene.

The students turned to see Anna making her way down to them with her cart full of refreshments. The sight of such treats brought murmurs of delight from the cadets.

Before anyone could rush up for something to eat or drink, Byleth stepped forward and asked, "Anna, what are you doing here? Isn't this battle supposed to be off-limits to civilians?"

"Well, you might say that I got special permission to be here," said Anna. "Anyhow, I figure since you've all got to be real famished right now, I say why wait to get back to Garreg Mach before having a bite to eat? I've got all sorts of good stuff here! Come on, dig in!"

Calls of thanks and chatter for what each student wanted rang out as they ran up to the cart and started picking sweets, fruit, and other treats. A barrel filled with clear water was on the side, giving the students access to a fresh, cold drink. Byleth was amazed Anna had been able to move such a heavy load on her own; Anna wasn't known for her strength.

"Go on, go on, help yourselves!" Anna said as she touched an index finger to her cheek.

"Umm, Anna?" asked Byleth. "Not that we don't appreciate this, but you're just giving us all this for free?"

"Don't worry about it, By. The Church is paying me for this one."

"Really? Well then, don't mind me!" said Dorothea as she picked out a large pear.

Walking off to the side with her fruit, Dorothea was just about to take a bite out of her pear when she suddenly felt someone wrap their arms around her. Startled, she let out a gasp as she looked to see who had grabbed her.

"H-Hilda?" Dorothea stammered, immediately realizing what this was about.

"I said I'd get even with you, Dorothea," Hilda said sweetly. "Might as well do it now and not forget about it later."

With that, Hilda brought her hands up and, predictably, squeezed Dorothea's breasts through her shirt. And she squeezed hard.

"Aah! H-Hilda! Not so h-hard! KYAA!"

Dorothea yelped and dropped her pear as she reached for Hilda's wrists to try and pry her hands off her chest. Hilda would not be dissuaded, however, and soon found Dorothea's nipples beneath her shirt as she rolled her bountiful breasts like dough in her hands. The pinkette was quick to give the singer's teats a sharp pinch.

"OUCH! H-HILDA! Don't be so rough!"

The display had gotten a few of the other students watching in either amusement, admonishment, exasperation, or in Petra's case confusion. The Brigid princess was soon asking Edelgard about why Hilda was groping Dorothea, something Edelgard was hesitant to answer. Off to the side, Lysithea and Annette both let out pouts of dismay while Ingrid hit Sylvain to the back of his head when he made a perverted remark.

Then, as Dorothea finally managed to pull Hilda's left hand off her left breast, the singer said, "Hilda, cut that out! You can't just – EEH?!"

Dorothea was interrupted as Hilda's left hand moved away from the singer's chest and instead grabbed a handful of the diva's left butt cheek. Thankfully, Dorothea was wearing some shorts underneath her skirt for modesty, but they still revealed a lot of the skin on her legs.

"Ooh, you're not only packed up front, but in the back as well~" Hilda said with a smile. "You've just got it all, don't you, Dorothea?"

"OW! Hey, stop! Stop grabbing my rear like that!"

Dorothea struggled to escape Hilda's grip, but as she expected, the pinkette was far stronger than her physically. As the others continued to either laugh at the scene or admonish Hilda for her perverted revenge, Dorothea looked to see Byleth watching the ordeal with a blush on her face.

"Ouch! Aah! P-Professor, heeeelp!"

Byleth could only let out a nervous chuckle at this. The look said it all: she felt Dorothea was reaping what she had sow.

…

Dorothea gave her butt a short rub as she sat in the dining hall back at Garreg Mach. She was still a little bit sore from Hilda's groping session. Thankfully, Byleth had eventually broken it up, though not before Dorothea had been somewhat humiliated. Dorothea had expected Byleth to discipline Hilda for it, but Byleth had ordered that the two call the whole thing even. In the end, Dorothea decided it was for the best that she not seek to get back at Hilda for it.

As Dorothea sat before the rest of the Black Eagles, she looked around at the students who were celebrating. Linhardt was busy speaking with Lysithea about her victory over Hubert, while Leonie and Lorenz were arguing over who was at fault for their loss against Ferdinand. Sylvain was making fun of Ingrid's own loss, which caused an embarrassed Bernadetta to try and slip away from the dining hall. Caspar was apologizing to Hilda for accidentally groping her, but her expression showed Caspar was seriously messing it up. And off in the corner, Dimitri looked as though he were trying to give Marianne a big apology for something. No one else had seen how their confrontation had gone, so Dorothea didn't know what exactly Dimitri was apologizing for.

Dorothea looked back at the table and asked, "Does anyone get the feeling that there are already couples forming? That's not really fair, is it?"

"I was hoping for some tea after our meal anyway," said Ferdinand. "Would you care to join me, Dorothea?"

"Thanks, but no thanks, Mr. Noble," Dorothea replied with sass.

She then took her small bowl of Peach Sorbet and left the table. As she did, she noticed Edelgard and Byleth standing off to the side, watching everyone else enjoying themselves.

As Dorothea approached, Edelgard said to Byleth, "I must thank you again, Professor Eisner. Until today, I thought it would fall to me to command and guide our ranks all by myself. But with you leading us, I've gotten to experience what it's like to fight alongside everyone… And I've realized… how happy it makes me, fighting under your command. The emperor doesn't take orders from anyone. It's their duty to stand alone and lead the entire Empire. But maybe it's better to have someone to rely on… so that you can support and guide each other through the darkness."

Interjecting, Dorothea said, "It's like I said, Edie. There's no need to do everything yourself. We're there for you if you need us." Then, turning to Byleth, she added, "And you, Professor Byleth… Whatever would we do without you?"

"I feel the same… You are something special, my teacher."

Byleth smiled as she said, "Thank you, both of you." Then, with a slightly awkward expression, she said, "But Dorothea, we need to talk about how you… bested Hilda."

"Hey, a win's a win, isn't it?" Dorothea said with a wink.

This left Byleth and Edelgard with looks of exasperation on their faces.

And off to the side, Sothis floated nearby, unseen by all as she said, "Well done, my friend."

For those who were wondering, the final count was: BE - 12, BL - 6, GD - 7

If you're worried I'm gonna turn this into a total ecchi fic, don't worry, I only plan on it a few more times, and only in situations where you might expect it. But I will highlight something that's going to happen in the near future (but not within the next, say, 5 chapters) - an onsen scene. :D

And I know the groping technically could be considered rapey, and that we're going into double standards and all, but hey, it's anime logic. And in Clovis' case, he was gonna do far worse than just grope Dorothea. I know I could've written Dorothea beating Hilda in a fair fight in the previous chapter, but I just couldn't get it to work given Hilda's superior physical prowess. Plus I didn't want to have Dorothea electrocuting our top-heavy pinkette. XD