Chapter 74

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Immediately after the man appeared, the countdown ended.

[System] Mission timeout. [Callisto] appeared and disposed of the [Giant Bear].

[Hunting Giant Bear] Mission failed!

Damn it, is the time limit the time when the male protagonist debuts!

I panted and stared at the white box rising above the crown prince’s head.

“What are you looking at? A silly look.”

Finally, the Crown Prince, who had reached a position an inch away, looked at me and spoke. Then, he raised the corners of his mouth and giggled.

“What’s the matter. Fascinated with me now?”

I just snapped out of it and frowned.

“No way.”

“I clearly saved you. What a shame, male daughter.”

The crown prince wasn’t sad at all. He spoke in a sneering voice, and strangely enough, the rapidly beating heart quickly calmed down.

‘…… Ha. Almost killed by a bear.’

The empty alcove, the loud noise, the approaching huge bear claws. Once again, I remembered that heart-stopping moment, my legs trembling and a blinding flash of light in front of my eyes.

I breathed slowly, my mind wandering. Thinking about it, it’s a natural thing to do; failing a mission out of the blue doesn’t lead to death.

Not just in normal mode, but in hard mode as well.

Because, there was no death caused by failing a quest [to attend the festival with Derrick or Leonard].

The “Hunting Competition” is one of the main episodes of the game, and it’s only natural to meet with one of the main characters in such a critical situation as “Failed Bear Hunt”.

But why this guy ……

I pretended to curtsy and looked down to hide my bad face. Then barely squeezed out a thankful greeting.

“…… Thank you for saving me, your highness. Thanks to you, I was able to avoid the crisis.”

“To dare to walk in the fierce beast area, that’s really courageous.”

Clap, clap, clap.

The Crown Prince suddenly replied to the thanks with applause instead.

“I’m wondering what’s going on in the head.”

“But no matter how crazy the male female is, she can’t catch a bear that size alone.”

In a tone like lecturing a child who doesn’t know any better, I was instantly aggravated.

Do you think I want to be like this? It was the mission that made me do it!

Depressed, I wanted to yell at him, but the [12% Favorability] on that guy’s head stopped me.

“I know that too.”

Instead, answered in a raw voice. The crown prince shrugged and made an exaggerated act of intimidation.

“You know what?”

“What?”

“Oh, I know. Was I the one who somehow stood up to intercept the male female’s prey?”

“I don’t even want to think of it as prey ……!”

Said in a grumpy tone that wanted to retort to that guy, but no, I held back once again.

“Ha…… suddenly appeared, I was startled too.”

“Was lost while chasing a fox ……”

I muttered with a depressed face. I missed the fox that I wanted to chase, not to mention hunting, and even made a crazy bear hunting behavior, and encountered the hunting convention’s alert object number one. How could one not feel aggrieved?

It was all because of that damned man Ikris!

What an ordeal it’s all been trying to get that damn favorability. Lamenting the annoying situation, I swallowed hard tears.

“Anyway, you saved me. Thank you for your grace, your highness. Then this is the end.”

I made a hasty salute. Unrelated to the fact that the goodwill is close to death, there’s no benefit to getting close to this guy, the Crown Prince, no matter what. The moment I turned around with a flustered salute.

“Wait.”

The Crown Prince grabbed my arm tightly and said.

“Take that with you.”

“…… What?”

I looked at him with surprised eyes. Lowering my arm, the Crown Prince strides over to where the dead bear’s body was. Then he grabbed the handle of the longsword embedded in the dead bear’s neck and pulled down hard.

–Snap. Accompanied by the terrible sound of bones breaking, soon the bear’s head cleanly separated from the torso.

What ……

I looked at the amazing sight in front of me in surprise and bewilderment.

The Crown Prince drew his blood-stained sword and put it into its sheath. Then, with one hand, he picked up the bear’s brain that was rolling on the ground and walked towards me. Unconsolidated blood flowed down, leaving dotted lines on the land.

“Here, take it.”

The crown prince immediately handed me the giant bear’s head. My mind was a mess, and I looked at what he handed me in confusion.

The bear’s head, which had been killed so suddenly by the Crown Prince that he couldn’t even close his eyes in time, glared at me as if it was still alive.

…… Is this a way to request a duel that isn’t stated in the game?

If that’s not the case, there’s no reason to cut the neck of the slain animal.

Taking a brief moment to try and remember, but no matter how much I think about it, I can’t recall such a scene in the game.

I squinted my eyes at the golden head and spoke in a trembling voice.

“Forgive me for being bold, but I don’t have a sword with me right now ……”

It means that I can’t duel with you without a sword. But the Crown Prince uttered an unexpected reply.

“So, didn’t I give it to you myself?”

He said, “The body is too heavy to be dragged away at once. Take this to the squire.”

I realized that he didn’t give me the bear’s head to “request a duel” or anything like that. He wanted me to haul the bear’s head away and run an errand for him so he could continue hunting.

Not a nice guy!

How can you ask a slender lady to do such a thing? I wasn’t confident I could carry the bloody bear’s head.

“Do I have to do this ……?”

I asked cautiously, looking at his eye color.

“What are you babbling about?”

Then he frowned.

“You have to take it away to prove you caught the bear.”

My eyes widened.

I had to take it to prove I caught the bear?

Not knowing what that meant, I thought about it for half a second before I realized he was going to let me have the prey.

“I ……”

It was so unexpected. The voice I squeezed out kept shaking.

“There’s no need to do that ……”

Even walking down the road now, I could hear the mutterings against me. I never wanted that giant bear. Besides, I wanted to be free of the “crazy chimpanzee in a duke’s house who hunts bears alone” infamy.

“Then why is it mine? His Royal Highness caught it, I believe.”

“It was when you had exhausted it that I laid hands on it to break it. So it’s no different from the one captured by the male daughter.”

…… This guy said such normal words?

I looked at the crown prince with astonishment, as if he was a brand new person. Then solemnly refused.

“That’s fine, thank you for your kind words. But I really don’t need it, and it’s not something I want to catch.”

“Then I guess this is a reward for the gift I just received.” Suddenly saying inexplicable words, I was confused as I didn’t know what to return the gift.

–As a reward for the gift, I personally catch suitable prey for the male female.

Then he snatched the magic tool from me. I remembered what he had said and frowned reflexively, raising my eyes.

“It’s okay not to repay.”

“It’s worth more than the fox. Don’t be stupidly stubborn, take it.”

“Not stupidly stubborn …… Hey, watch out!”

The crown prince seemed annoyed if I didn’t take it. Looking at me fiercely. Then, as if to force it on me, he grabbed the ear, shook it gently, and took a step closer.

Blood that hadn’t yet coagulated splattered everywhere. I frowned and took a few quiet steps back.

“The blood will splatter on your clothes, Your Highness!”

“If a hunter gets blood on his clothes, it should be a matter of pride instead.”

“I don’t need such pride ……!”

“Are you afraid of blood? What a surprise.”

The guy who answered the question. He grinned and deliberately shook the corpse’s head.

“Ugh!”

I screamed and avoided the guy. Although I quickly dodged, my shirt was splattered with blood drops.

The fishy odor came to my nose. This kind of guy is really crazy. It wasn’t just about the blood, but it was because it would have been scary to hate the animal head he was holding.

I looked at him with a stunned expression.

“What are you doing now?!”

“Come and get it.”

“Uh! Come on stop it!”

Once again, the crazy guy shakes his head and I end up getting scared and running away. Hurriedly pulling away and hiding behind a tree.

“Haha ……”

A low laughter came from behind. Turning back to look, the crown prince’s mouth turned up at the corners, seemingly pleased. At that moment, his head flashed.

[Favorable Sense 15%]