It's the third day of the trial. Mopher was running hopelessly to find the whimsical Princess. His job would have been so much easier if Princess Scarlett was a little girly. Fortunately, he need not fear for her safety. As eccentric as Princess Scarlett was, she did have the talent and strength to back it up.
But that did not make him feel any better, as he was almost useless in his job. He can only put himself of some use making the food. At least that would be of some service to the princess. He was roasting the meat of a deer he hunted, as he was instructed by the princess.
The sun was about to set as there was only half a day left for the trial to end. Mopher did not have to worry about anything like other participants though. All he needed to do was complete the main quest—which he did on the very first day of the trial. He did not need to run like other lower world participants to gain rewards.
The meat was almost roasted. Mopher was trying his best that it could be edible, recalling the other time when the princess threw it away.
"Mopher, there you are," a voice said behind him. It was Princess Scarlett. She was not graceful like always, but she was pretty like the princess in the stories.
"Where have you been running to, Your highness," Mopher suddenly paused, looking at the Princess. The expression on Scarlett's showed she was quite interested in something, as her eyes were gleaming a little.
"Let's go, I found someone," Scarlett said. "I think you two would be best friends."
"Eh?" Mopher raised an eyebrow. "But what about the food I'm cooking?"
"Don't take it to heart, Mopher, but your cooking is awful."
"But your highness, I can not let you go starving," Mopher added more wood to the fire, trying to cook faster. "How about you give me a few more minutes while I finish roasting the deer?"
"No need," Scarlett almost turned to drag Mopher from his spot. "I already have eaten."
"What? Where did you get it?"
Scralett smacked her lips. "I stole it."
"Your highness, those words do not look good on your lips."
"Ah, sorry," Scarlett apologised. "But I have to tell you, Mopher, that meal was way better than the thing you make."
Saying that, Scarlett dragged Mopher out of there.
"So where are you taking me?" Mopher asked as he stood up, freeing himself from the princess. Like the princess, this trial does not interest him as much. He was only chosen here to be the protector of the Princess—who actually did not need his protection.
"To meet your new friend," the Redhead princess said as she moved in her fast sprints.
"How do you know we will be friends, your highness?" Mother asked, but got no response as the princess was already a hundred metres away.
With an unwilling expression on his face, Mopher ran after the princess as well in among the thick trees. There was not much light present, adding that the sun was on the horizon and the thick canopy of the trees blocked most of the light.
They moved as the trees thinned out until it reached a spot with higher ground compared to the surroundings.
"Where did they go? They were just here a few minutes ago?" Scarlett stood by the burned wood and ashes, which were still warm, and looked around. She did not find the group of three she was looking for.
"Did you ask them to stop here, Your Highness?" Mopher asked, panting a little. Even though the distance was not far, to match the princess' speed, he had to run at his top speed—which put a toll on his stamina.
Scarlett gave a hollow laugh, as the chilly wind swayed her crimson hair and long red cape. "I did not even talk to them, just came across them. I don't think they even noticed my presence."
"So you are just stalking them from far away, your highness," Mopher sighed.
"More or less," Scarlett did not blush, said bluntly. "But I did steal some of their food though."
Mopher almost slapped himself. The one he was serving did not look like a princess of the Great Mauhar empire at all. The only thought that gave him some hope was that Princess Scarlett was still young, only fifteen. She has enough time to grow into a lady.
"Your highness, tell me one thing?" Mopher looked at the redhead princess, who was still looking around in the surroundings to search. "How do you know I will be friends with someone when you did not even talk to him?"
"I know because he is just as stupid as you are."
Mopher's lips twitched, as his expression turned crooked, hearing the Princess's phrase.
"He's just like you, a chivalrous knight. He could have come top of the trial, but he let go of so many participants even though he could rob them. Moreover, he did not attack girls—just like you." Scarlett added. "I did not think there would be another piece like you, yet I came across just in the trial."
"That's not like me, your highness," Mopher sighed as he said. "I do not attack the ones that can not defend themselves. Though there are few girls in the knight squire, there's still a few I had been beaten by."
Scarlett was not listening to Mopher. She was hell-bent on her searching. She stopped and looked at Mopher. "Did you say something?" she asked.
"Nothing." Mopher shook his head. "So what should we do now, your highness?"
"We will look for him," the redhead princess said. "His name is Elior, and on the third of the merit list, I think we could find him if we seared a bit."
. . .
The sun had not risen yet, and the chilly wind was blowing swiftly in the forest of mists. Mist danced with the chilly wind as it drifted wilfully among the thick forests.
Three figures moved below the canopy of the trees, in the mists, and in the nightlight. Elior was in the lead like always, while Shin carried the fire on a stick, and Lyra beside him. All the three of them had carried dry sticks that could work as a torch, but refrained from using them together.
So far, they had not found what they were looking for, but they did steal a few more tokens from other participants. Though the number was low, it still helped Elior reach second on the merit list.
But Elior was not content with being only the runner-up. Even without the bet he had made with Yemrmix, he always wanted to be the first, and he needed to be the first.
Elior had sent out the twin brothers—the recent addition to his force to search for the top scorer of the trial while the three of them searched in the other direction.
"There are only about four or five hours left for the trial zero to end," Elior said as he saw the sun was about to rise. "We need to hurry."
The other two did not decline, as both of them had gained many advantages by staying with Elior. Shin was relatively fatigued after running around all day, while Elior too was fatigued with his weak body, but the hunger to be the first kept him moving. The half-elf, Lyra was relatively in better shape than the two boys, which was not that surprising.
"I wish the twin idiots were successful in their finding," Lyra said. "We already searched our sites twice. I don't think we can find what we are looking for here."
"Yeah, you are right," Elior said as he stopped in his path. "Let's move on their path. I'm worried those two have already fled from their duty. Fear is never a good motivation, especially when you can hide from it. Let's see if two idiots are still doing what I asked them or not."
Elior moved to his left as Lyra, and Shin followed, carrying the fire. After moving for a while, they did not need the fire anymore to see, though there were mists. Shin put off the fire before throwing away the stick. The direction they were moving was rockier, as the trees already thinned out. There were few trees here and there but most of them were humongous. They were moving towards the sun.
"Boss, there you are," a voice called from ahead as four figures appeared in front of them.
Elior eyed the newcomers. The one voiced out first was clearly one between the twin brothers, while the two who came with them stood behind them. They came close and Elior could finally see their appearance. Other than the twins, there was another boy and girl.
The boy had the naively handsome feature with tall stature and a little lanky. A sword hung behind his shoulder as he was dressed in a dark cloak. His expression showed he was a little exhausted, but his state was far better than him or Shin. He had the always on-duty look—which was hard to come by in among teenagers.
While looking at the girl, Elior's eyes lingered for a while, and that anyone could notice present there. Unusually, the girl was pretty, with milky white skin. A tight red battle gown hugged her body all around. She had a cape on her back of darker scarlet shade and a rapier hung on her waist. The hair of the girl was as red as her dress, left unbound on her back. Her eyes were sapphire blue of the ocean, and they glittered, meeting his own.
Elior felt he had seen her somewhere before, but he could not point out where.
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