CPSMBD Chapter 51

Chapter 51  ​

Brahe collapsed with a sharp cry.

The orb that struck him made one peculiar orbit around his body before vanishing mysteriously into the grass.

"Brahe! Brahe, are you alright?"

I rushed to check on him. Though it was just a hit from the orb, the impact must have been severe - he lay unconscious.

The Crown Prince, who had been bursting orbs some distance away, finally noticed the commotion and ran over. Upon seeing Brahe sprawled across the lawn, he urgently asked:

"What happened?"

"Brahe's unconscious."

"How?"

"He was hit by a orb."

"Hit by a orb?"

"Yes. The orb moved as if it had a mind of its own, struck Brahe's face, and disappeared."

After explaining, I shook Brahe's shoulders again.

"Brahe! Wake up!"

But he remained unresponsive.

The Crown Prince, who had quietly approached, knelt down to check Brahe's pulse.

"He's just unconscious. But since we don't know when he'll wake up, we should send him back to headquarters."

The Prince retrieved the magic stone from Brahe's pocket, activated it, and placed it on his chest. Brahe's form glowed white before vanishing completely.

With Brahe teleported back to operations headquarters, only the Crown Prince and I remained.

Noticing my worried expression, the Prince spoke up:

"Don't worry. I'll handle everything. Just stay behind me and try not to get hurt."

"Your Highness, since I won't be much help anyway, wouldn't it be better if I just forfeited?"

With just the two of us, first place seemed impossible. Rather than following the Prince around, returning to our department's tent to rest seemed better for both body and mind.

But had I underestimated the Prince's competitive spirit? His unexpected response was a firm rejection.

"No."

"Why not? I won't be of any help anyway."

"If we drop below two participants, the entire team is disqualified."

“Ah… I see…”

‘We won’t get first place anyway… why don’t we just go back?’

I had to swallow these words that had risen to my throat. The Prince had already disappeared after spotting another orb, and judging by his resolute demeanor, he wouldn't budge on this decision.

The Crown Prince pressed forward relentlessly.

His reflexes were so quick that the black and red orbs seemed invisible to me - he would destroy them before I could even spot them.

I used my net to catch the yellow orbs that the Prince had found but ignored due to their low point value, then pierced them with my dagger to pop them.

Then I spotted several high-scoring orbs clustered together.

"Oh, Your Highness, there are four black orbs here!"

The Prince turned at my words and fired rapidly. His bullets pierced through three orbs in quick succession.

It was perfect marksmanship, as if he were shooting at stationary targets.

But when he aimed at the final orb and pulled the trigger, only a clicking sound emerged from his gun.

He had run out of ammunition.

Without taking his eyes off the orb, the Prince calmly reloaded his magazine.

As he aimed again after reloading...

Bang!

Just before his bullet could hit the orb, an arrow appeared out of nowhere and pierced the center of the black orb.

"Who's there?"

The Prince turned his head slowly, voice ominous.

Though his eyes were smiling, the veins on his hand bulged as he gripped his gun with crushing force.

The Prince was completely furious at having his target stolen.

In six years of serving His Highness, I'd rarely seen him in such a state.

'Who is it? Who dared steal His Highness's orb and make him this angry? Are they going to take responsibility if this backfires on me too? Huh?'

I also turned to identify who had snatched the Prince's prey.

It was Alex Brooke, Commander of the Third Knights Division.

Commander Brooke bowed with precise, efficient movement.

"What a pleasure to meet you here again, Your Highness."

The Prince spoke: "For the Royal Knights, you seem to lack sportsmanship."

"My apologies, Your Highness. But sportsmanship isn't important to me. If I had concerned myself with such things, I wouldn't have reached this position. The process doesn't matter. We in the Third Division speak only through results. I'll use any means necessary to secure first place in this hunting competition."

I found myself nodding at his comFelling words.

"Well. I'm sorry, but first place in this competition belongs to me."

"The outcome isn't determined until the very end, is it? Besides, no matter how excellent Your Highness may be, the members of my Third Division are not to be underestimated."

Commander Brooke spoke provocatively.

"Every member of the Third Division trains diligently each day. We master various weapons - not just swordsmanship, but spears, archery, and shooting as well. We possess exceptional capabilities."

Unlike our team with only two members remaining, Commander Brooke's team hadn't lost any members to disqualification.

'So handling this level of activity is no problem for trained knights, is it?'

"However, Your Highness's team..."

Commander Brooke's eyes swept over me standing awkwardly beside the Prince, letting his words trail off. Then he spoke again:

"Miss Violetta, please take care. I'll see you again after this team-building event ends. Of course, you'll share in the glory of victory with us."

Commander Brooke gave me a faint smile with a slight nod.

I returned his smile brightly.

"Then I'll take my leave, Your Highness. Since the Knights Division started with a handicap, every minute and second is precious."

Commander Brooke bowed to the Prince. The knights following him also bowed to the Prince, then bent at the waist with precise movements toward me.

"Please take care, future sister-in-law!"

They quickly disappeared beyond the forest path.

"'Sister-in-law,' they say."

The corner of the Prince's eye twitched slightly.

"Let's go."

"...Yes."

The Prince, who had turned to walk away, suddenly looked back at me.

"Why did you smile at Commander Brooke earlier?"

"Pardon? I did?"

"You smiled when he said you'd share in their glory of victory."

Don't people usually smile when others speak to them? It's not like I could cry...

"Do you really think he'll claim the glory of first place?"

"Unless something unexpected happens, probably?"

Suddenly the Prince glared at me irritably.

"Do I look so incompetent that I couldn't beat someone like him?"

I could only roll my eyes, unable to answer honestly.

Truthfully, that's what I thought.

Commander Brooke made his living as the Knights Division Commander, while I'd seen the Prince shuffling papers more often than moving his body.

Moreover, every member of Commander Brooke's team was exceptional.

"Whose side are you on anyway? Our team? Or the Third Division's team?"

Why is he being so childish? Obviously...

"I'm on Your Highness Prince Friedrich's side."

But he didn't seem to believe me, his expression turning sour.

"You think I'll lose to that guy? I can do anything better than him."

Hey, Your Highness. I didn't say anything...

"If we can just find the golden orb, even with just the two of us, winning isn't impossible."

So he was aiming for the golden orb.

Well, the Prince wasn't wrong.

If we could pop just one golden orb, we'd instantly gain 5000 points - first place would be guaranteed.

"So I absolutely won't give up."

"Yes, I understand. Let's keep going."

I gave up arguing and quickened my pace.

The trees grew denser as we walked.

I could feel us moving deeper into the forest.

I continued catching and popping yellow orbs with my net whenever I spotted them. As I was about to scoop up another yellow orb...