Chapter 31: Roughing It

As I cleared a path, cutting away bothersome branches, I heard the princess’s breathless voice from behind.

Turning around, I saw her panting, her face flushed, dress clinging to her body, revealing glimpses of skin beneath.

It was a sight that would likely make many men take a step back.

‘Would I be arrested for sacrilege?’

“Gasp, huff… Let’s rest for a bit, shall we?”

‘How long has it even been since we last rested?’

‘Does the princess really want to get out of this forest?’

Honestly, I wasn’t in a hurry.

The princess should be the one anxious about being trapped in the forest, but for some reason, I seemed more impatient.

“We just rested a little while ago.”

“W-well, the sun will set soon anyway, so wouldn’t it be better to find a place to rest?”

Although the dense trees obscured the sun, judging by the lengthening shadows and the darkening surroundings, it seemed like sunset was approaching.

“Hmm… that sounds good. Let’s rest for a bit and then find a place to stay for the night.”

“Haah… I’m going to die.”

The princess plopped down with a whine, clutching her bundle.

Seeing her gasping for breath, it seemed like she wasn’t lying.

‘Iris was fine even while carrying me.’

‘As expected, is she acting?’

“Are you exaggerating?”

“You’re the strange one.”

‘But Iris…’

“You’re thinking about Duchess Winterhoff again, aren’t you? I told you not to judge me based on your standards.”

“I wasn’t.”

The princess shook her head, her expression turning serious.

“Food is more of a concern.”

That was a given, considering there wasn’t even a single bottle of water in the carriage.

Let alone any snacks.

“There were only clothes.”

“I didn’t expect this. By now, we should have arrived at the Imperial Palace and then some.”

“…You did say this had never happened before.”

“Indeed. It’s a little disconcerting, but… I’m also happy.”

‘…Has she gone crazy from all the reincarnation?’

“This situation… makes you happy?”

“Yes. This happened right after I started traveling with you. It’s clear that something is changing.”

‘It’s just bad luck.’

‘There’s no way it lines up so perfectly.’

“…Well, maybe we were just unlucky this time.”

‘That’s an over-interpretation.’

I clenched and un-clenched my fist, and the princess spoke with a slightly offended tone.

“You seem to underestimate magic. The possibility of this happening is extremely low.”

I didn’t understand why she was so defensive, even though she claimed not to be a mage.

“That’s why I’m saying we’re just unlucky this time.”

“And the fact that only we were transported to a different location… is impossible. Especially unharmed.”

“You’re quite knowledgeable about magic, even though you said you weren’t a mage.”

“…I’ve overheard a lot.”

She must have been close to the Magic Tower Master.

Well, he was also one of the male lead candidates.

But right now, there was no one to cast that magic for us.

Useless knowledge for the time being.

“Don’t you have any knowledge that would be immediately helpful?”

“Hmm… I can distinguish between edible and inedible plants.”

…An important skill.

Food is a serious matter.

“Reassuring…”

The princess’s words reminded me of the fruits hanging from the trees.

I could still see some hanging on the surrounding branches.

‘I don’t know what they are, but she’ll be able to tell once I pick one, right?’

The trees seemed too tall to climb and drop them.

‘Would the princess even be able to catch a falling fruit from that height?’

I couldn’t imagine anything other than her hand getting crushed trying to catch a fruit.

‘Let’s just check.’

I picked up a pebble and threw it at the stem of a fruit, knocking it down.

I gently caught it before it could splat on the ground and presented it to the princess.

“How about this one?”

The princess blinked her golden eyes, then her expression turned incredulous.

“I’m starting to feel foolish for being surprised by you.”

Honestly, I was also skeptical while throwing the pebble, so I was relieved it worked.

It would have been a little embarrassing if I missed.

“I didn’t think it would actually work either.”

“…Let’s see.”

Taking the fruit with an exasperated expression, the princess began to examine it seriously.

Soon, her face brightened, and she held the fruit out to me again.

“How is it?”

“This one is edible.”

“Then let’s pick some more.”

Using the same method, I knocked down more fruit and wrapped them in my clothes like a makeshift bag.

There was quite a lot once we gathered them.

“This should be enough to last us for a while.”

“We can pick more if we need to.”

“How reassuring.”

I ended up carrying the bundle of clothes, since the princess struggled even with that, but I felt satisfied.

‘…Should I have picked them after finding a place to sleep?’

‘Consider it karma for my overconfidence.’

“Let’s go.”

We started walking again, but.

There was no conveniently located cave or anything.

In the end, we were stuck sleeping outdoors.

I heard the princess collapse to the ground behind me, panting heavily.

“It looks like we’ll have to sleep outside.”

I didn’t mind; I’d slept buried in snow with my eyes closed and been fine.

But the princess’s body seemed as delicate as a greenhouse flower.

If she also had hidden strength, like in typical romance fantasies… perhaps we could have reached a different ending.

‘…Is maintaining sanity after countless reincarnations also a kind of ability?’

Anyway, in the princess’s current state, sleeping rough outdoors could be a one-way ticket to the afterlife.

“Will you be okay?”

“With what?”

“Sleeping outside.”

“Hmm, I haven’t experienced it in this life yet, but I’ll be fine.”

I was still worried.

We didn’t even have a fire, let alone a proper place to sleep, with no equipment.

“…”

Looking at the utterly fragile princess, I kept thinking of Iris.

To distract myself, I brought up a different topic.

“Do you know how to make a fire?”

Even so, memories with Iris kept surfacing.

‘Even the hardships are memories, aren’t they?’

‘It would have been worse if I hadn’t brought the sword.’

“…No.”

Hearing the princess’s slightly embarrassed reply, I started working to clear my mind.

Well, even if she’d seen all sorts of things, she was fundamentally a princess.

A natural-born princess, not a reincarnate or someone possessed. Her knowledge would inevitably be biased.

And with the powerful people she associated with, there wouldn’t have been any need for her to do things herself.

The choices I had in the game were all like that.

‘…Thinking back now, it really was a game that completely ignored cliches, whether popular or not.’

‘In a bad way, not a good way.’

Anyway, learning from my previous bitter failure, I cut down a manageable-sized tree.

After cutting it down, I wondered if it was too much of a fuss just for a fire, but I also needed to make a shelter.

The princess, seemingly too exhausted to be surprised, didn’t react.

‘…Or maybe she just doesn’t have the energy.’

As I chopped and processed the wood, the princess, having rested enough, approached.

“What are you doing?”

“Making a fire.”

I gathered dry leaves and branches and placed the processed wood on top.

Carving a groove into a piece of wood and sharpening a stick like a chisel, I started rubbing them together vigorously.

Smoke started rising almost immediately.

‘Perhaps last time, it didn’t work because I was soaked, and it was raining as well?’

The fire caught surprisingly quickly.

‘Well, with this level of strength and endurance, I should be able to start a fire easily.’

“Wow, it actually worked.”

She had the look of someone who’d just seen something amazing.

“Haven’t you seen someone start a fire like this before?”

“It’s usually handled with magic.”

‘This is why princesses are…’

‘Who am I going through all this trouble for?’

After confirming the fire had caught properly, I gathered stones and arranged them around it.

As long as I added firewood on time, it shouldn’t go out.

Once again, I drew my sword and started processing the wood.

‘…This isn’t what this sword was given to me for.’

“What are you making now?”

“A shelter.”

I probably wouldn’t be able to make anything more detailed than a basic frame, since fine carving was impossible.

The princess murmured apologetically.

“I feel bad, like I’m making a child do all the work.”

“…I’m older than you, you know? Anyway, if you feel bad, you can help too.”

I ignored her indignant “How do you know?”

“How can I help?”

…There wasn’t much she could do.

I couldn’t ask her to cut down trees.

And I couldn’t ask her to carve the frame either.

“Gather branches to cover the top.”

“…You have sacrilegious eyes.”

“If you don’t like it, you can sleep outside.”

“Did I say anything? I’ll go get them.”

“Don’t go too far.”

“I won’t.”

Making this reminded me of building a blanket fort as a child.

It was fun back then, but now, it was the difference between life and death.

Soon, the princess started dragging various branches back, groaning and complaining.

Using the branches she brought as roofing, I completed the makeshift shelter.

“Go inside and try it.”

With the princess’s green hair and the leaves, it was perfectly camouflaged.

‘…I feel like I should be laughing, but I can’t.’

‘It must be because I’m carrying a sword.’

“Aren’t you coming in?”

“…You go to sleep first. Eat the fruit we picked if you’re hungry.”

The princess seemed to have something to say, but perhaps she was truly exhausted, as she ate a few pieces of fruit and quickly fell asleep.

After confirming the princess was asleep, I also ate some fruit to fill my stomach.

Adding more wood to the fire, I settled down beside it.

I unbuckled the sword from my back and placed it on the ground, only to immediately pick it back up.

It seemed like it would be a long night.