Chapter 157 - 25 - King’s Game, Part 1 (2)

It was decided that 5 out of 7 of us would head out to find and hunt for some food: monster meat, fruit, and if we came across any fish, we'd grab those too. Johanne, Shredica, and Hereon formed one group, going in a differt direction. Princess Myrcella and I were paired up.

Initially, Johanne insisted on accompanying Princess Myrcella, but she firmly rebuffed him, asserting her ability to handle herself. And I believed her, especially considering she was currtly ranked number one in gold class in our second year.

As for the two who stayed behind at the cave, Harold and Hertrude, well, they had their reasons. Harold claimed he couldn't be bothered and needed some rest, while Hertrude simply admitted she was feeling lazy. Convincing those two to pitch in with the effort might prove challging.

"Ahh, ahh, ahhh..."

I heard an unusual sound of breathing behind me. Giv that no one was there, I realized it was coming from the Princess herself. I kept glancing back at her, checking if she was tired or out of breath, but instead, she had a blush on her face as she gazed at me. Her breathing was heavy, her chest rising and falling with each breath, but it wasn't due to exhaustion. It was something else tirely.

It felt like she wanted to breathe me in completely.

"Are you alright, Princess?" I inquired.

"Ah, yes. I'm fine," she replied.

Despite her words, I had my doubts. She didn't look fine at all. Just to be cautious, I turned a and approached her.

"Ahh..." she gasped.

As I drew near, the flush on her face intsified. I reached out and touched her forehead.

"Hmm... You don't feel too warm, so it couldn't possibly be a fever, could it?"

After a while of checking her forehead, her body suddly convulsed. It was as if she'd be hit with a surge of electricity. Her eyes wided, her legs shook uncontrollably... and a small puddle began to form at her feet.

What...? Was she urinating? No, but this... Why does she have such a look of ecstasy on her face th? Clearly, she was expericing pleasure from this.

"Ahhh... ahhh..."

This girl is intriguing...

***

Princess Myrcella managed to regain her composure after a while. At that momt, she seemed completely unfazed. You wouldn't have guessed anything had happed at all. Since her underwear and skirt got soiled, I took it upon myself to wash them. For the time being, I instructed her to hide in the bushes to maintain her privacy.

After carefully removing her underwear and skirt, she handed them to me, damp and heavy.

I wasn't the type of person to indulge in the perversion of sniffing a princess's urine-soaked underwear, and I wouldn't stoop so low. However, the act of a princess giving me her damp panties felt somewhat lascivious in itself. After cleaning her underwear and skirt, I handed them back to her, freshly cleaned.

"I do apologize for that display, Leon," she said softly as she delicately slipped her underwear over her luscious, alabaster legs. The fabric clung to her skin, acctuating every curve.

"I don't mind," I replied.

"...What?" Princess Myrcella questioned.

"Let me be the one to accompany Leon instead of you, Princess," Hertrude clarified.

Both Princess and I exchanged confused glances.

***

Hertrude and I traversed the darkness of the uninhabited island without lighting any torches. Having light in such darkness would only increase our chances of being spotted, and I wasn't willing to take that risk. Despite knowing I could easily brush aside any threats, I had to maintain the facade of being skillless.

As we walked, I cast side glances at Hertrude, wondering why she insisted on taking Princess Myrcella's place. It seemed odd, especially considering her previous behavior of being glued to her smartphone throughout the game. Ev now, she continued to stare at the device.

"You must be surprised," she remarked, evidtly noticing my gaze.

"On what?" I asked.

"On me doing something like this. You must have figured that I'd be uncooperative during this King's Game," she explained. "While I might give off that impression, I'm actually gaged in something important here."

"And what's that?" I inquired.

She showed me her phone, and wh I glanced at the scre, I was met with a list of bullet-pointed s. My eyes wided as I read through them. Each try detailed evts we had expericed, with five in total. Three of them were already crossed out, indicating they had already occurred. The first crossed-out try was Harold's frustration about having skillless teammates like Shredica and me.

The second was my inquiry to her about joining the team for the game. The third noted the absce of the other three team members who had gone to find food but hadn't returned. The last two tries, which were yet to happ, were me rescuing Hertrude and Princess Myrcella facing the threat of being killed.

"What's all this...?" I inquired, perplexed.

"I owe you an apology, Leon. Wh I mtioned wanting a connection with the Princess, it was a lie. Truth is, I'm here to save her," she confessed.

"So Princess Myrcella is in danger?" I pressed.

"Yes," she affirmed. Th, locking eyes with me, she continued, "I possess a skill called Clairvoyance. It allows me to glimpse into the future from my perspective. Last month, I foresaw a future where sev academy studts partake in the King's Game, and in that scario, the Princess meets her demise," she explained. "But that's not the only reason I'm determined to save her.

If Princess Myrcella perishes, her brother, Prince Julius, will seek vgeance against the royal family, sparking a chain of evts leading to something incredibly dire."

So Princess Myrcella is destined to fail her mission, huh?, I mused.

"I'm asking for your help, Leon. Help me save the Princess," she pleaded.

"...Why me?" I questioned. "You do realize I'm not exactly powerful, right? If the person aiming to kill the Princess is skilled ough to succeed, they must be formidable."

She already had an inkling of who I was. Giv my reputation at school, it was unlikely she hadn't heard of me.

To this, Hertrude replied, "It has to be you, Leon. In every future I've glimpsed, you're always prest."