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EP.25 Rescuing the Princess – 1
Days spent idly, rolling around with three beautiful women, waiting for Princess Sylvia.
While leisurely pondering how to conquer her when she arrived, I was struck by shocking news.
"Is that true?"
I looked at Selena in disbelief.
But there wasn't a hint of jest in her expression.
"Yes. It seems she was kidnapped on her way here."
The kingdom's princess.
Sylvia, the next in line for the throne, had been kidnapped.
Is that even possible?
Normally, a royal heir would be surrounded by elite guards, wouldn't she?
"How could that happen?"
"I didn't expect this either..."
Selena looked both dumbfounded and troubled.
My face probably looked much the same.
Who on earth would kidnap a princess?
"Who's the culprit? Another royal contender?"
"No."
No?
Usually, in these cases, it's a rebellion-someone attacks the heir to cause chaos and seize the throne.
If that's not the motive, then who?
"It seems to be the work of ogres."
"Ogres? Tsk..."
Ogres are powerful monsters with insane regenerative abilities.
Even elite knights can barely handle one in single combat, and if there were several, it's no wonder her guard was breached.
"The princess just had terrible luck."
A lone ogre can be dealt with if you muster enough people.
But when they gather in groups, they're like the bullies of the ecosystem-almost impossible for humans to handle.
They know this too, so they attack anything they see.
"Do you know where they went?"
"I know the general area, but it's too dangerous to pinpoint the exact location yet..."
The fact that the princess was kidnapped means there's still some time.
But not much.
The reason the ogres kidnapped the princess isn't something soft like a hostage situation.
They eat people.
In other words, they took her as food.
They probably took her guards too, so she should still be alive for now, but if it drags on, the princess will end up in an ogre's belly.
"What's the kingdom's response?"
"They don't know yet."
So only Selena knows for now.
Reporting to the kingdom and waiting for reinforcements would take too long.
"Nothing in this world is ever easy..."
I sighed deeply and strapped on my sword.
I had no choice but to go rescue her myself.
"You're going personally?"
Selena looked at me with wide eyes, as if she were watching someone march off to their death.
"Yeah. I can't just let the kingdom's princess die."
"But it's not just one ogre..."
"Don't worry. Even I don't plan to fight them head-on this time."
If I went up against a group of ogres directly, I'd be dead for sure.
Even Agnes would have no answer if they all attacked at once.
But I have strength and speed unmatched by anyone.
"If I sneak in and just extract the princess, I'll manage somehow."
I'm confident I can carry her and escape.
No matter how strong ogres are, I can't let them eat the princess.
If anyone's going to "devour" Princess Sylvia, it'll be me-though in a different sense than the ogres.
Sweltering heat.
Sweat pouring down.
"Maybe I shouldn't have come..."
The place where the ogres were believed to be was a stifling swamp.
Buzzing insects, humid air.
The discomfort index had to be over 50-it was that miserable.
"Why the hell do ogres have to be in a place like this?"
I wanted to travel at a relaxed pace, but time wouldn't allow it.
It had been two days since I left Roern.
Maybe the princess had already been eaten.
Still, the good news was that she was probably still alive.
According to Selena, ogres consider human women a delicacy and save them for last, eating them together.
At least I wouldn't arrive to find only the princess dead.
Whoosh-
Jumping from tree to tree, the humid air brushed my cheeks.
The swamp below made fast travel difficult.
It was much quicker to go straight through the dense trees toward the target area.
Whoosh-whoosh-
I moved at a speed no ordinary person could match.
By the time it got dark, I finally spotted some massive shapes.
They looked about 4–6 meters tall.
Huge bodies of pure muscle.
Their weapons looked like giant clubs, roughly carved from whole logs.
If a person got hit by one of those, their bones would shatter and they'd be turned into a bloody pulp.
I carefully approached the ogres so as not to be spotted.
Ten of them.
It would take an army to deal with this many.
"The princess... there she is."
A beautiful woman with silver hair, tightly bound by some kind of unknown vine. She must be Princess Sylvia of the Lumis Kingdom.
It looked like everyone else was already dead.
Yet Sylvia showed no sign of fear.
Maybe that's the charisma of a future queen.
I climbed down from the tree and hid in the underbrush.
The ogres were sound asleep, oblivious to the world.
Now was my chance.
I crept toward Sylvia, making as little noise as possible.
Her eyes widened when she saw me.
She must have felt like she'd found her savior.
"Shh... I'll get you free now."
I cut through the vines with my sword, and was met with an unexpected sight.
Her fair skin was completely exposed.
Sylvia quickly covered herself, but her beautiful body was already burned into my memory.
Come to think of it, I'd never heard of ogres eating clothes.
Just like people prepare food, they must have stripped her before eating her in the morning.
Thankfully, Sylvia didn't scream.
She knew that waking the ogres would mean being pounded into mush.
"Let's get out of here first."
The ground was covered in sharp, bizarre plants.
Sylvia was barefoot.
I picked her up and cradled her in my arms.
"...!"
Feeling the princess's soft skin, I moved quietly, step by careful step.
"Um... over there!"
Sylvia suddenly shouted urgently.
Instead of scolding her, I quickly turned to where she pointed.
One of the ogres had gotten up and was looking our way.
How did it spot us?
Then I noticed its twitching nose.
"Ah... shit."
So you guys had a plan after all.
Crash-!
A club smashed into the spot I'd been standing half a second earlier.
The force was so great that a huge cloud of dirt shot up into the air and rained down on me.
"Roooaaar!!"
Its roar was like a signal-the other ogres all charged at once.
"Goddamn it!!"
Thud! Thud!
Their footsteps shook the ground like dinosaurs.
The ogres barreled through trees like they were twigs, charging straight at us like final bosses.
"Damn. Damn. Damn. Damn."
Never since coming to this world had my survival instincts screamed so loudly.
I ran with everything I had.
The ogres' huge bodies were packed with muscle, making them terrifyingly fast.
It felt just like being chased by a monster in a movie.
Because they were so big, the ogres just splashed through the swampy water as if it was nothing.
Meanwhile, I zigzagged around obstacles to keep up my speed.
Before I knew it, the ogres were almost right behind me.
"That way!"
Sylvia, clinging to me, frantically pointed to a narrow gap just big enough for a person to squeeze through-a cave with space inside.
"Uaaaaaah!!!"
There was no choice.
I focused all my mana in my legs and leaped that way.
"Roooaaar!!"
The ogres failed to catch me by a hair's breadth and crashed into the cave entrance.
"Phew..."
As my life, like a candle in a storm, was spared, I let out a sigh of relief.
I thought I'd gotten pretty strong since coming to this world, but monsters like those are still out of my league.
Thud! Thud!
The ogres, frustrated at missing their prey, began pounding furiously at the cave entrance.
Each time, the cave shook.
Cracks started forming in the stone wall at the entrance.
"Stop it, you maniacs!"
Thud! Thud! Crash-!
The cave entrance collapsed.
Cough-cough-
When the dust settled, the ogres were nowhere to be seen.
Only a huge pile of rocks blocked the entrance.
Now, Sylvia and I were trapped alone in an unknown cave.
Wait... actually?
Now that I think about it, maybe this isn't so bad?
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