Ch41 - [An unexpected gain] He’s a high class gamer.

Did they think he’d be satisfied just like this?

Nalun turned his head towards the other completely silent lady and asked: “And you?”

There were three people. So there should be a total of three emblems.

Baron Lunklan disagreed: “We already gave you two emblems. This is my sister. She definitely isn’t willing to give it to you.”

The Baron’s sister scoffed coldly and shoved her older brother out of the way. She gave Nalun a polite smile: “You must persuade me to hand over the emblem willingly.”

Nalun felt a bit awkward. Even though the Baron’s sister couldn’t be considered friendly, she was only a frail girl. Was he really going to toss away his poise for the sake of victory?

Sometimes when the opponent was too weak, it was another kind of test to one’s humanity.

Nalun pondered for a moment and expressed: “Lunklan, do your best to persuade her.”

The Baron narrowed his eyes and shook his hand: “No no, this is your problem.”

Nalun said: “You’re the elder brother. Are you saying you plan to stand to the side and watch wide-eyed while someone attacks your little sister? Or are you saying you feel like you can stop me?”

Lunklan: “…….” The Baron, who wasn’t strong enough, felt very sorrowful.

The Baron’s sister was rather arrogant and said with a cold huff: “My big brother is quite powerful! He……”

Lunklan grabbed his sister and comforted her: “Forget it, forget it. Didn’t we come to enjoy the scenery? Did you forget what you promised big brother? Baobei, big brother doesn’t want to see you fighting with other people…… Calm down.”

Seeing his sister’s mood turn for the better, Lunklan swiftly took off the emblem hanging on her waist.

“……. Big brother?”

Baron Lunklan said quietly with a serious face: “Today, I came here to cultivate feelings with Rinni. I definitely don’t want to get involved in a fight.”

The sister: “……”

Not long afterwards, her emblem returned to her hands once more. However, it has already changed into the image of the python and lion.

— Only when Nalun gets defeated by someone of the Hunter team, can she return to the Hunter team.

“You can just stay together with her. Don’t bother with me!” The sister indignantly turned around and ran off into the forest, as if no longer able to tolerate this stupid older brother, who placed girlfriend before sister.

Possibly witnessing a dispute between family members, Nalun very quickly bid his farewells.

Taking down three people right at the start of the game, this seemed to be a very wonderful beginning. However, the scenery gang was only a small minority. Nalun wasn’t the only person who genuinely wanted to win the competition. The next group of people he encountered had an old familiar face, Diya, and another man that came from the Military Academy.

Nalun calculated his fighting strength for a moment. If it were only Diya, he would have still had a possibility of winning. However, with the addition of someone else……

“Isn’t this the Honored Prince Nalun?” Diya already noticed him and greeted him with bright, shiny eyes.

Nalun calmly waved his hand at Diya.

— Goodbye.

Thus, Diya immediately saw this usually dignified Honored Prince turn around and escape swiftly.

Diya: “……” He didn’t even do anything yet.

After running a few steps, Nalun bumped into the biggest drama of the year.

The little Princess, who had exploded in anger during the opening ceremony because of seating issues, once again appeared before Nalun’s eyes. Changing out of her princess outfit, Shasha, who put on the same uniform as everyone, looked like a normal girl who just turned of age. However, this girl was excessively enthusiastic. Right now, she was pressed half up against a certain someone.

Sirius’s expression was cool and detached, his entire person pulled taut like a bow because of his so-called ‘poise’. That’s why he didn’t react too drastically.

Right, Nalun was still all alone– Although Princess Shasha was on the same team as him, she can be completely disregarded. Therefore, he didn’t really want to clash with Sirius yet. Instead, he found a good hiding spot, covered up his trail, and started to observe secretly.

“The one who was with you that night. It was Nalun, wasn’t it?!”

Princess Shasha’s sharp, questioning voice traveled into Nalun’s ears.

Nalun: “……”

His first reaction was actually ‘How did his terribly spoiled, little cousin become so insightful?!’ Then he started to panic: She wouldn’t really know something, would she? After all, the location of the incident was in the Princess’s estate.

However, reality proved that Nalun was worrying too much.

Sirius rubbed his brows, almost like he had a headache.

“Was it him? Was it him?! Otherwise, why would you suddenly have such a good relationship with him?”

“Princess…… regardless of yes or no, this has nothing to do with you.”

“Sirius……”

Sirius’s voice turned cold: “Oh. Maybe it is somewhat related. After all, you were the one who drugged the wine.”

Princess Shasha instantly quieted.

Hiding in the darkness, Nalun shook his ears in surprise.

Drugged?

Recalling how he had become intoxicated that banquet night after just drinking one cup of fruit wine, and Sirius also seemed like a completely different person at that time…… So this was the source of everything?

Including the series of extremely misfortune events that happened afterwards!

Nalun, who originally had a so-so impression of Princess Shasha, now felt nothing good at all. All of the suffering he had experienced… It was actually because of her!

With a heavy face, Nalun pondered on how to give this completely audacious little Princess a deep, memorable lesson.

The little princess only quieted briefly before starting again: “Sirius, I’m sorry. I know I’m wrong now. Please forgive me. I know you wouldn’t fall in love with a man that you only had physical relations with. You’re only trying to make me feel guilty, right? I’m already repenting and living in remorse every single day.”

Sirius attempted to pry off the hands clinging to his arm: “Princess, you’re already an adult. You should maintain an appropriate distance with the opposite sex.”

Princess Shasha seemed almost in tears: “Sirius…… I don’t want……”

Nalun couldn’t remain in hiding.

He felt like compared to Sirius, Princess Shasha has already jumped to become his most hated person!

“Sirius!” Nalun marched towards the pair and yelled the Admiral’s name loudly .

A hint of surprise leaked out of the eyes of a certain person who was called upon. Immediately, he turned his head and gave Nalun a smile.

Smile. What was a smile supposed to do? Nalun replied with an utterly disappointed look: Under certain circumstances, it’s best to treat enemies a bit more viciously and mercilessly.

Nalun snatched up Princess Shasha’s hands and shoved her away with one push. In addition, he squeezed between the two people and guarded in front of Sirius.

“Shasha Derlin, you should recall for a moment the manners you were taught in etiquette class. If you continue to pester, no one would feel like this girl is very loving and faithful. They’d only think she’s very pathetic.”

The Princess was stunned. It took her a while before she reacted again. She was so angry she stomped her feet: “Why are you appearing again?!”

Nalun didn’t even blink: “Is it very strange for participants to appear in the competition area?”

The little Princess: “This is between me and Sirius! I want to become his Prey! His only Prey!”

The idiocracy hitting Nalun in the face nearly drowned him. For a second, he was speechless.

The little Princess raised her chin, held her emblem and looked towards Sirius, eyes filled with anticipation.

Sirius was just about to shake his head when he felt something touching his waist.

Nalun took off Sirius’s emblem smoothly and then grabbed her emblem. After a ‘beep’, he returned the emblem back to the Princess nonchalantly.

“Alright. You got your wish. You can go now.”

Princess Shasha: “……”

Her emblem really did become the Hunter team’s image. However, this was completely different from what she had imagined!

Watching in satisfaction as her face turned white, then green; then from green to red, Nalun couldn’t help but toss the emblem in his hand up and down.

“……”

Wait a second. What did he just do?

His smile froze at the corner of his mouth.

He seemed to have…… taken off Sirius’s emblem as well?

……

No wait? Why was he helping Sirius gain a point?

The Honored Prince’s expression changed.

Turning his head, he looked into Sirius’s exasperated expression. He felt the emblem in his hand gradually becoming somewhat hot to touch, and also a bit heavy.

With a wooden face, Nalun silently took out his own emblem. Under Sirius’s gaze, he completed another ‘beep’.

“Here, all yours again.”

Princess Shasha: “…….”

Sirius: “……”

The Imperial Admiral’s eyes were dark and profound. He slowly swept his gaze over Nalun from head to toe, an unfathomable expression on his face.

The person before Sirius could reluctantly be considered calm and composed. He even blinked his grayish green eyes, looking almost a bit innocent– completely not like someone who had blatantly committed a vile transgression.

In fact, in comparison to normal, he even looked a bit less arrogant, and a bit more pitiful.

Looking at his own emblem, which had already changed into the python and lion image, being handed over, Sirius sank into a mysterious silence.

Should he accept, or not accept?

Sirius coolly commented on the image: “The python’s tail is a bit crooked.”

Nalun said: “Oh. I will have Marshall improve it.”

Sirius then said: “If the base color was green, it should look even better.”

Nalun nodded his head approvingly: “I also feel the dark colored snake and gold colored Lion look a bit strange with the blue.”

Sirius: “En. In comparison, the Hunter’s design is too simple.”

Nalun: “……” That’s why I specifically switched you a new one. Like it?

In the end, Sirius accepted the altered emblem from Nalun’s hand and placed it back on his waist. He even nonchalantly patted Nalun on the shoulder and comforted him to not feel burdened.

Princess Shasha: “???”

What just happened?

Caught completely off guard, her beloved man was deceived by a shameless and despicable villain?

And right now, he was still pretending to be happy and doing his best to maintain his outward poise?

She became furious and pointed directly at the main culprit of this disaster: “Nalun, you’re shameless!”

The ‘shameless villain’ Nalun silently took a step back.

The ‘victim’ Sirius also took a step back.

Princess Shasha: “……”

She felt like nothing seemed right here! But she couldn’t find any powerful words of denunciation. She could only look bitterly and sorrowfully at the completely unresisting Admiral: “You’d surrender so easily?”

Sirius nodded and then touched his emblem, as if very pleased with the image on it.

Nalun: “……” So scary.

“How can you guys be like this!” Princess Shasha’s voice shook, as if she was about to faint in fury because of this pair of shameless men: “Sirius, you guys…… you guys actually……”

Actually what?

Nalun wisely kept his mouth shut. He had a feeling, the answer to this question wasn’t anything good.

Princess Shasha threw down her emblem, pressed the signal device and expressed that she wasn’t going to play with the two people anymore.

“I want to go home!”

The rescue team very quickly rushed over. Discovering that no one was injured, they can only resign to take away a certain sick Princess.

Losing Princess Shasha from the Prey Team, however, wasn’t much of a blow to Nalun. After all…… He secretly glanced at the calm and composed Admiral Sirius, thinking: He didn’t lose out on this transaction.

Sirius noticed his gaze and returned a friendly smile to him.

Nalun: “……”

Swiftly turning his head away, the Honored Prince felt like today’s game was going especially smooth and unhindered. He needed to take advantage of the momentum to gather some more heads. After all, this game was a team competition. What if his other teammates were all like Princess Shasha. Even if he collected 10 Sirius, he’d be unable to gain the advantage.

Just as Nalun geared up his resolve and planned to make a great display of his abilities, a movement came from his pocket.

The bug, who woke up from his high altitude dizziness, stumbled out of Nalun’s pocket, revealing a small pair of pitch black eyes, and even waved the two antennas on top of its head left and right.

“Hi, Big Beard!”

Nalun: “……”

Sure enough, people should never lose themselves to success! No one can predict what terrifying event will happen in the next second!

Sirius was still here!

Nalun swiftly put his right hand into his pocket and stuffed the entire bug back inside.

Following behind him, Sirius asked in confusion: “Nalun, just now I seemed to have……”

“En? What’s the matter?” Nalun looked towards him in bewilderment: “Sirius, I’m a bit hungry. Did you bring food?”

Sirius: “……”

He shook his head.

Nalun: “Ai… If I knew ahead of time, I would have brought a bit of food. The scenery here is quiet and secluded, so appropriate for a picnic.”

Sirius reluctantly agreed and said yes yes yes.

The two people walked a bit longer.

Nalun couldn’t hold back and said: “You don’t need to follow me. I still have to go find others.”

Sirius held up his emblem: “But I’ve already become your prey.”

Nalun: “……” He actually saw a pout in the depth of the other’s eyes.

Sirius smiled: “This place is pretty interesting. Walk with me some more, alright?”

Another one from the scenery gang.

Internally, Nalun refused. A high class gamer wouldn’t stop because of the beautiful scenery along the road. Winning and victory was the most essential goal. Nothing can sway it. Nothing can confuse it. Victory was the only truth!

“I hear there’s a Crescent Moon Lake at the center of the forest. At night, the surface of the lake would be filled with starlight. It’s a once in a blue moon kind of view. However the lake is very hidden and can only be reached by traveling through a small, narrow road surrounded by thistles and thorns.” Sirius said seriously: “I really want to see it. Are you interested in coming together with me?”

Crescent Moon Lake?

Never heard of it.

Nalun shook his head: “There’s only starlight at night. Right now it’s still early. Let’s deal with proper business first .”