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 different 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 currently 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 challenging.
“Ahh, ahh, ahhh…”
I heard an unusual sound of breathing behind me. Given 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 entirely. 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 around and approached her.
“Ahh…” she gasped.
As I drew near, the flush on her face intensified. 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 suddenly convulsed. It was as if she’d been hit with a surge of electricity. Her eyes widened, 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 then? Clearly, she was experiencing pleasure from this.
“Ahhh… ahhh…”
This girl is intriguing…
***
Princess Myrcella managed to regain her composure after a while. At that moment, she seemed completely unfazed. You wouldn’t have guessed anything had happened 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, accentuating every curve.
“I don’t mind,” I replied.
“I’m kind of relieved,” she confessed.
“. . . . .”
“I’m not talking about the state of my bladder, Leon. I mean I’m relieved that you’re not the kind of man who would pounce on a vulnerable, half-naked woman,” she clarified.
“I don’t think I could even if I wanted to. You’re stronger than me,” I admitted.
“Oh, you never know. A woman can be quite weak when faced with someone attacking her with unbridled lust, you know?”
I couldn’t help but notice her flushed face and heavy breathing, making me wonder if she had some kinky thoughts running through her mind.
“Anyway,” she coughed and cleared her throat, “let’s go find some food,” she suggested.
“Got it.”
With that, we set off in search of sustenance. Fortunately, we didn’t have to search for long. Being an uninhabited island with plenty of trees, it was teeming with wildlife and fruits ripe for the picking.
I scaled a tree and gathered as much fruit as I could reach, while Princess Myrcella stood guard below. From my vantage point atop the tree, I took a moment to survey the island. As expected, it was vast.
As I gathered fruit, I spotted smoke rising in the distance, indicating someone was camping nearby. Should I launch an attack? Clearing out as many enemies as possible seemed like a good strategy, but Princess Myrcella had instructed us to avoid conflict and wait for opportune moments to strike. Reluctantly, I decided to heed her advice and leave the campers alone for now.
Once I rejoined Princess Myrcella on the ground, I informed her about the presence of others nearby. She suggested we steer clear of them. After hunting for a while, we managed to gather as much food as possible before returning to our cave. However, the other group that had ventured out with us had yet to return. They were probably just running behind schedule, but as darkness descended, their absence started to become concerning.
“Should I head out and look for them?” I inquired.
“It wouldn’t be safe for you to go alone, Leon,” Princess Myrcella replied.
“What do you suggest we do then?”
Princess Myrcella glanced at the two who hadn’t budged from their spot since we left them. All they’d done during this time was join us for a meal, showing no concern for the missing members. The Princess regarded them with a hint of reproach in her eyes.
Princess Myrcella sighed. “Let’s go find them, just the two of us,” she suggested to me.
“Alright,” I agreed, noting her apparent resignation in dealing with the uncooperative pair.
“Wait,” suddenly called out Hertrude.
Both of us turned to look at her.
“Let me handle it,” Hertrude proposed.
“…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. Even now, she continued to stare at the device.
“You must be surprised,” she remarked, evidently 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 engaged in something important here.”
“And what’s that?” I inquired.
She showed me her phone, and when I glanced at the screen, I was met with a list of bullet-pointed texts. My eyes widened as I read through them. Each entry detailed events we had experienced, with five in total. Three of them were already crossed out, indicating they had already occurred. The first crossed-out entry 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 absence of the other three team members who had gone to find food but hadn’t returned. The last two entries, which were yet to happen, 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. When I mentioned 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. Then, 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 seven academy students partake in the King’s Game, and in that scenario, 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 vengeance against the royal family, sparking a chain of events 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 enough to succeed, they must be formidable.”
She already had an inkling of who I was. Given 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 present.”
