A fire rose in the wilderness, with orange flas crackling and popping.
Loranhir used one end of the holy sword to gently pick up a piece of dry wood and steadily feed it into the depths of the fire.
"Elaphia, can you cook?" she asked, looking up.
"...?"
Elaphia, who was setting up the tent, turned to look at her in confusion, red glimrs flashing in her eyes under the moonlight.
Only then did Loranhir rember that the other party was a vampire thrall who had been living off animal friends' fresh blood for nearly two centuries.
"...Pretend I didn't say anything."
Loranhir continued using the holy sword to poke at the firewood, adjusting the size of the flas.
If the old priest who had originally declared her the Destined Hero knew she was treating the holy sword this way, he'd probably vomit blood in anger.
But you know what.
This thing was actually pretty useful for tending fire.
Loranhir nodded. Village girl certified—from a fire poker perspective, this holy sword was undoubtedly absolutely qualified.
However, the fact that there wasn't a single suitable cook in the team was giving her quite a headache.
She should have asked the Duchess for a cook before leaving.
Loranhir had a clear understanding of her own culinary prowess. She couldn't keep making the pampered Princess eat her cooking.
This couldn't continue.
"Elaphia, do you know where the nearest town is?" Loranhir asked, looking up.
She wasn't familiar with the routes near the frontier regions. Currently, the most suitable guide among the group was only Elaphia.
By now, Elaphia had almost finished setting up the tent.
"Bluefin Bay, the nearest fairly large settlent," she said with effort as she hamred down the tent's final securing peg and wiped her sweat.
"The last ti I went there was a hundred years ago. Had a little conflict with the local Grand Mage, so it wasn't particularly pleasant.
After all, I'm just a dark creature. It's normal for a lawful good Grand Mage to be hostile toward . Though it's been a hundred years, that guy might still be alive. After all, mages have all sorts of life-extending thods—you just need to be willing to throw money at it."
Loranhir listened carefully, thinking she might as well set off for Bluefin Bay tomorrow to recruit a cook, and could also take the opportunity to see the Grand Mage Elaphia ntioned.
Maybe she could try to beco his apprentice.
Although the chances of him teaching her weren't high, Loranhir still wanted to give it a try.
Anything was better than just lying around doing nothing.
Loranhir occasionally poked at the firewood with her fire poker, skillfully and naturally, with a faint scent of woodsmoke spreading around them.
"The Princess has been bathing for quite a while now, hasn't she?" She suddenly looked toward the distant small lake and muttered.
It had been so ti since the Princess said she was going to bathe.
And she still hadn't returned.
Loranhir thought that although the Princess lived quite refinedly in daily life, a simple bath outdoors shouldn't take this long, right?
Before leaving, the Princess had specifically instructed that neither of them was allowed to peek, but with this much ti having passed, it was sowhat strange no matter how you looked at it.
Had she encountered so trouble?
Loranhir glanced at the dense, winding branches in the distance and the flock of birds that had been startled and flew overhead due to so commotion.
"What's wrong with you? You suddenly look very anxious," Elaphia asked her.
Loranhir didn't say anything and directly dragged the bewildered Elaphia along.
"What are you doing?" Elaphia struggled a bit, finding that the Hero didn't seem to be using much force. "If you want to peek at the Princess bathing, do it yourself—why drag along!"
Like so terrible creature had descended here before.
By the quiet lakeside, even the air seed to have stopped flowing, just frozen there.
Complete silence.
No grass or trees, no night birds, no autumn insects—everything was expressionlessly silent, and the most terrifying thing under heaven was this kind of expressionless silence.
"The Princess actually isn't here?!"
Elaphia realized sothing was wrong and beca sowhat agitated. Right under their noses, the Princess had inexplicably disappeared.
Sitting by the campfire singing songs, and the Princess got captured again out of nowhere?
Elaphia couldn't understand it.
"Princess! Princess?"
She shouted in all directions. No response.
At this mont, Loranhir suddenly saw sothing on the ground.
A very conspicuous light blue dress, with other clothing and shoes scattered around it, carelessly thrown aside.
She approached the abandoned light blue dress, crouched down, and gently picked it up.
The clothing still retained the faint body warmth of the young girl.
It was a warm and delicate touch, carrying a subtle yet unusually captivating body fragrance.
"Still quite warm. Touching it, it doesn't seem like much ti has passed. There might be so traces nearby." Elaphia ca over and also felt it, seriously analyzing the situation. "The Princess was probably captured by so guy again. Why does every random person want to capture the Princess now? My heavens..."
Elaphia muttered with extraordinary montum like rapid gunfire.
"Is Her Highness the Princess so kind of natural kidnapping-resistant holy body? Or does eating her grant longevity and immortality? ...I've never heard of such a thing," she muttered quietly.
Loranhir was pondering whether the Princess had left any traces around before being captured yet again.
She heard the sound of water splashing, followed by a familiar voice.
"Hey, you two... what exactly are you doing?"
The two looked blankly toward where the voice ca from.
They saw the Princess erge from the lake water, illuminated by the moon's afterglow.
Crystal snow-white skin, enchantingly revealed in the light, warmly kissed by the clear lake, water droplets sliding down, adding several points of alluring charm.
Silver light outlined her beautiful silhouette, water droplets slowly sliding along the texture of her skin, leaving trails that were clear and delicate.
"..."
Patunasankus, who had hurried back, finally transford back into human form and poked her head out from the water surface.
When she erged from the water, she saw such a scene.
Loranhir and Elaphia were on the shore holding her clothes, pointing and discussing, seemingly analyzing sothing seriously.
Patunasankus was stunned for quite a while, then slightly frowned.
They had obviously misunderstood sothing.
"Give back my clothes."
"...Oh."
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