There were quite a few soldiers patrolling inside the castle, so Cyan and Nishi didn't stay sitting on Lakitu's cloud any longer.
Cyan told Nishi to put Lakitu's cloud into her inventory.
The two of them carefully avoided the patrolling soldiers and slowly searched for Prince Peach's room.
Meanwhile, Kamek, who had finally calmed Queen Koopa down, arrived at Prince Peach's room.
"All of you, get out. I want to be alone for a while."
Prince Peach said to the five Toads who were staring at him with hopeful eyes.
Hearing his words, the Toads left the bedroom and went into the living room.
"Prince Peach, bounty hunters will soon arrive to take you back to the Mushroom Kingdom. After that, once Mario and Luigi recover, all you need to do is have them launch an attack. Once they defeat the Queen, I believe it will be easy for you to marry her. That way, there won't be any risk of war between the Koopa Kingdom and the Mushroom Kingdom. Instead, the alliance between the Koopa Kingdom and the Mushroom Kingdom will become the most powerful nation in the world."
Prince Peach sat on the bed and sighed. He spoke in a somewhat dejected tone:
"But… Queen Koopa doesn't seem to like me at all…"
"As long as you lose some weight, you still have a chance. Don't you want to stand at the top of the world and look down on everyone? The opportunity is right in front of you. All you need is a little effort and courage." Kamek's voice was full of temptation as he gently shook the staff behind his back.
"Actually… the person in that photo is my younger sister, Princess Peach…"
Prince Peach scratched his head awkwardly and revealed a shocking secret.
"Huh? Your sister?"
Kamek's hand trembled so badly he nearly dropped his staff. He never expected that the person in the photo wasn't Prince Peach, but his younger sister Princess Peach.
This was complete bullshit! He had been working so hard for the future of the kingdom, only to be completely fooled by this little fat pig standing in front of him.
"Your sister is so beautiful, there's no way her older brother could be ugly! I don't care anymore. Things have already gone this far — whether you like it or not, you're doing this! Back then, Mario took care of Donkey Kong in the tropics! With the strength of the Mario Brothers, plus the Super Mushrooms, Fire Flowers, and Invincibility Stars from the Mushroom Kingdom, they can defeat Queen Koopa. Even if it's only in name, you must marry her. The Mushroom Kingdom and the Koopa Kingdom need to form an alliance!"
Kamek's staff lit up. His eyes behind his glasses glowed with a strange light. Prince Peach's eyes went blank for a moment before returning to normal. He didn't realize anything had happened to him, but a strong, unnatural obsession had taken root in his heart.
That obsession was to marry Queen Koopa and unite the Mushroom Kingdom with the Koopa Kingdom.
Prince Peach suddenly spoke with determination:
"You're right, Kamek! I will marry Queen Koopa! If the Mushroom Kingdom and the Koopa Kingdom join forces, we'll become the strongest nation among the seven great kingdoms!"
Under Kamek's hypnosis, Prince Peach had developed an unusually strong fixation on these two goals.
With this, my plan can finally move forward.
Kamek looked at Prince Peach with satisfaction, waved his staff, and disappeared from the room.
-------------------------------------
Completely unaware of Kamek's scheme, Cyan and Nishi were currently picking a lock.
The door lock made a small sound. The Toads immediately became alert and hid under the sofa.
"Found you."
Cyan walked into the room, went up to the sofa, and lifted it, revealing the Toads hiding underneath.
"We are bounty hunters sent by the Mushroom Chancellor to rescue you."
Nishi showed them the badge given by the Mushroom Chancellor, dispelling their suspicion.
"The Mushroom Chancellor? That's great! We can go home now!"
The Toads jumped up excitedly and ran to Prince Peach's bedroom door, knocking on it.
"Prince Peach! Someone has come to save us!"
"Is it Mario and Luigi?"
Footsteps could be heard from inside. The door opened, and Prince Peach walked out of the bedroom.
Before he appeared, Nishi had been full of anticipation, expecting a handsome prince to walk out. However, when Prince Peach actually stepped out, that anticipation quickly turned into disappointment.
This is Prince Peach?
Just looking at his body size, he could easily be called Prince Meat Peach…
Nishi complained about him in her head, but kept a straight face, copying Cyan's blank expression.
"Who are you?"
Prince Peach already knew who they were, but pretended to look confused.
"We are bounty hunters. We took the mission to bring you back to the Mushroom Kingdom."
Cyan looked Prince Peach over. For some reason, she felt that something was off about him — almost as if he had already known they were coming. This reminded her of the Toad who gave them the map earlier.
A conspiracy?
What happened next only confirmed her suspicion. She and Nishi took Prince Peach and the five Toads out of Queen Koopa's castle. They didn't run into a single enemy the entire way. It was as if they were being deliberately allowed to leave.
Two days later, Mushroom Kingdom.
The moment the five Toads stepped into the royal castle, Cyan received a notification that a hidden quest had been completed.
[Hidden Quest: Rescue the seven residents of the Mushroom Kingdom imprisoned by the Koopa Kingdom.]
[Quest Completed.]
[Quest Reward: 2 Skill Points.]
Inside the castle
"Your Highness, it's really wonderful that you're safe!" The Mushroom Chancellor cried with tears streaming down his face.
"Chancellor, don't cry. I'm fine, aren't I?"
Prince Peach looked at the Mushroom Chancellor crying so hard and felt a bit awkward.
After receiving the remaining reward money from the Mushroom Chancellor, Cyan and Nishi left the castle and found a hotel in the royal city to stay in temporarily.
"Master, has Survival Quest One been completed?"
Nishi walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a bath towel.
"The residents of the Mushroom Kingdom haven't returned to normal yet. Survival Quest One isn't complete. I thought it would be simpler than this."
Cyan glanced at Nishi without much interest and walked into the bathroom after taking off her outer clothes.
"Is my charm really that bad?"
Nishi looked at the closed bathroom door, touched her chest which had grown two cup sizes larger, and fell into self-doubt.
In the evening, there was a knock on the door.
"Prince Peach? What brings Your Highness here to see us?"
Nishi opened the door in surprise.
"May I come in to talk?" Prince Peach asked politely with a smile.
"Of course."
After Prince Peach entered, Nishi looked outside the door and saw no guards. It seemed he had come to the hotel alone.
"I would like to ask the two of you bounty hunters for help in saving my father, the king, and the people of the Mushroom Kingdom. They were turned into objects and still haven't returned to normal! I know this is dangerous, but Mario and Luigi alone won't be able to defeat Queen Koopa and restore my father and the people to normal!"
Prince Peach sincerely requested.
Nishi sat on the bed and looked down at him with a slight smile.
"Your Highness, you've already spoken with the Mushroom Chancellor, right? Our price isn't cheap."
"As long as we can defeat Queen Koopa and restore the Mushroom Kingdom to normal, I'm willing to pay any price!" Prince Peach said with determination, gritting his teeth. He was worried that Mario and Luigi, who had just gotten out of the hospital, wouldn't be able to defeat Queen Koopa. That was why he came to ask Cyan and Nishi for help.
In reality, even if he hadn't come to them, once they found out that Mario and Luigi were going to Queen Koopa's castle to defeat her and restore the Mushroom Kingdom, they would have gone anyway — all to complete the survival quest.