A few days have passed since Vey was taken on as my squire. And in all honesty, I still don’t have a read on her. I figured having this girl by my side for a couple days would help me grasp who she was, but I’ve found myself still unable to figure out why she was so intent on being my squire.

Besides that, I don’t think she’s been doing a bad job of what a squire is supposed to do. She’s been cleaning up after me as well as helping me with staying on schedule. I don’t even need Sirin to set alarms for me anymore since Vey wakes me up every morning.

Although, I wouldn’t exactly put her cooking skills very high. After tasting it for the first time, I think I’ll stick to cafeteria food. Cause if I’m being honest, I’d rather not die from unintentional food poisoning.

Also, there are times she’s a little too much in my personal space.

I still remember yesterday when I tried to take a shower and she came in buck-naked to wash my back.

Once that whole ordeal was over, I made sure to set some boundaries between us in order to keep myself sane.

Thankfully, I only had to deal with her before and after class. So I was able to give myself at least a little room to breathe.

“Sound’s like you have it rough with that new squire of yours. I wish you the best of luck, my friend.”

Roy’s somewhat encouraging words caused me to let out a sigh.

“She definitely sounds enthusiastic. Still, I think I understand why you’d be exhausted with her after only two days.”

What Flynn said wasn’t any better.

Picking up one of the rice balls in front of me, I ate it without much thought.

Right now I was talking about my issues with my two friends Roy and Flynn. While we didn’t have the best of starts with each other, we grew a bond after a rather intense school trip a little while back. So far, these two were probably my closest friends at this school.

“Er…Is having a squire really that hard?” Dianne, a girl who’s been attempting to be my friend since I came to this school, asked sitting in front of me eating her own lunch.

“Ask me that again when you’ve taken care of someone who tries attending to your every need even when you don’t want them to.”

Flopping down on my back, I looked out at the sky.

As much flack as I give Vey to my friends, she’s not a bad person. At least I think. I mentioned this before, but I still don’t have a full reading on her and can’t really say if how she acts is genuine or not. It was all about the waiting game in this situation.

“Well moving past that, have you guys heard about the upcoming school event?” Roy asked.

I sat back up.

“School event?”

What was he talking about?

Maybe it’s because I’ve been so busy with Vey, but I don’t remember the school mentioning any events.

“Yeah. Apparently, a school-wide scavenger hunt is happening in a few weeks with a massive prize.”

“Really?”

Something about that sounded familiar. Thinking back, I tried to remind myself of where I’d heard of such an event before.

“That sounds like fun!” Dianne exclaimed with excitement in her voice.

“Uh…Does the school have a name for this event?” I asked. Hoping if it did, that could help me remember.

Roy smirked in response before pointing his finger up in the air as if to make an announcement.

“They’re calling it…The Hunter Games!”

That's when it hit me. This was an event in the game.

The Hunter Games is a big competition where two students from the same class can team up to compete in a giant scavenger hunting competition. It was actually one of my favorite events in the game. However, since you could only team up with people in your class, the MC was only allowed to team up with Dianne during that competition which raised her affection for him.

As she’s one of the five heroines, this event, while not as important as a later one, still plays a part in creating what would become Dianne’s interest in the MC.

“Sadly, the competition only lets you compete with fellow classmates. That’s how it’s been ever since the first one a few years ago. So it doesn’t look like you can join up with any of us Flynn,” Roy said. Turning to his friend.

In response, Flynn shrugged.

“That’s fine. I wasn’t planning to participate anyway. So it’s no bother to me.”

“Really? Well okay then.”

After saying that, Roy turned to me.

“Are you gonna participate Axel?”

“I dunno. With how much everyone at this school already hates me, I don’t know how’d they react to me competing.”

“You mean you don’t want them to look at you in any more of a negative light?” Dianne asked.

I grinned.

“Nah. I just don’t know whether I should embarrass the other students by showing off my hunting skills or sitting on the side and taunting the people competing.”

“That’s…not very nice.”

I laughed.

“I guess you're right.”

Still, if there’s one thing I enjoyed, it was showing off to those royal assholes and seeing how pissed they got watching me succeed so easily where they failed.

“What about you Roy? Are you competing?”

Roy gave me a thumbs up.

“You know it! I already have my classmate picked out! We’ll make sure to crush the competition!”

You mean in a scavenger hunt, right? I asked in my head. Not really wanting the answer.

Still, considering how beefy Roy looked, I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually punched someone if they got in his way.

Buy anyways, I went back to eating for a moment before noticing Dianne looking at me.

“What is it?”

“Uh…Nothing.”

Hm? Why did she look so unsure about something? Did she want to team up with me for the event?

Stolen novel; please report.

If that’s the case, I’ll wait for her to ask. Why? Because I don’t want to have to push her to hang out with me.

You see, ever since the day I returned from what I considered hell, she’s been demanding to be my friend over and over again and has tried to push herself into my friend group on multiple occasions. Like right now for example.

If she was that insistent on being friends, then I didn’t mind. I just don’t want her to push herself to gain my friendship.

But leaving that be for now, I finished my meal moments before the first bell signifying the start of second period went off.

Since I was done, I got up and cleaned up my meal.

“Well, it’s about time I get back to class. See ya guys later.”

Without another word, I jumped off the roof and began plummeting downward.

Just before reaching the ground, however, I activated some air magic below my feet and instantly stopped right before I hit the grassy landscape under me. Upon landing, a grin slipped onto my face and I began walking to class.

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest when I saw Axel jump over the edge.

Hurrying to my feet, I looked down to the ground and found Axel landing safely.

With a sigh of relief, I took a few steps back.

“Axel sure acts dangerous at times,” the boy Axel called Roy stated.

I found myself massaging my temples.

“Honestly. Why does he always do such dangerous things?”

As those words left my mouth, I remembered how stressed I’d felt when he was stuck back in that dungeon.

I’d wanted to help him, but I couldn’t do anything. As a princess, I wasn’t permitted to travel down there myself. And since no one here really liked him thanks to his commoner status, I wasn’t able to gather a search party to go find him.

Picking up my empty food tray, I began making my way down to the ground using some stairs.

Once I was there, I walked over to a nearby trashcan and put the empty tray inside.

With that done, I made my way back to class. While doing so, I thought about how different Axel had become.

When I met him on the first day of school, his hair was a simple blonde. But now, it was more of a grey-ish white. His eyes were a different color as well.

They used to be pitch black. Now, they’re more of a crimson red. I almost didn’t even recognize him. If it wasn’t for his voice, I probably would’ve thought he was someone completely different.

Thinking back to when I learned he was alive, the promise I made to myself weighed on my mind.

I promised that if Axel had survived, I’d worked my hardest to be his friend. But despite my efforts, he still keeps a certain distance from me.

Even during the lunch break, he seemed a bit unsure around the people he called his friends.

Arriving at my classroom, I walked inside. Sitting down at my seat, I glanced up at a spot near me to find Axel doing what he always did. He was relaxing with his feet on the desk in front of him while flipping through some strange book.

I don’t know what book it was, but it had a strange pattern on its front and back cover which were oddly mesmerizing to look at. Kinda like some of the designs you’d see when someone casts something called first magic.

A few minutes later, the teacher walked into the room and began talking about today’s lesson.

All the while, Axel continued reading through his book. Was it really good enough to skip lessons over?

A couple of hours later, class was over and Axel began packing up to leave.

Getting up from my seat, I walked over to him like I’d done several times already.

“Uh...Axel?

“Hm?”

”Should you really be reading that book during class? You’re missing out on a lot of important lessons.”

Axel shrugged.

“Eh. It’s fine. I already have it all memorized.”

“Huh?”

What did he mean? Has he already studied all the topics the teacher went over?

Picking up his bag, Axel got up and began to leave.

“Anyway, I gotta go and pick up my squire now. See ya later Dianne.”

Thus, with the wave of his hand, he left me behind.

Once he was gone, I let out a sigh. I didn’t even get to ask him about the Hunter Games. Maybe I should’ve started with that? Well, no use dwelling on it now.

Leaving the classroom, I made my way back to the dorms.

But when I arrived, someone was there to meet me.

“Greetings Princess Dianne.”

“Richie. How are you doing?”

Standing in front of my door was my father's trusted butler. He had long brown hair, deep blue eyes, and wore a set of fancy clothes fitting of a butler. I believe he was around the age of thirty. A little younger than my father. As my father's personal butler, he does all kinds of things. Among them, he delivers messages to me in place of my parents since the king and queen can’t just be wandering around a school campus.

“I am doing fine my princess. Now if you don’t mind, would you join me inside so I could discuss what I’m here for?”

I nodded.

“Of course.”

With a calm silence, we entered my room.

A place that was considered one of the fanciest VIP suites in the school. I had wanted a lower class room so that I could be like the other students, but my parents, as well as Richie refused to let me live anywhere less than a place befitting of royalty.

Sitting down on a cushioned chair, I faced my father's butler.

“Now then, what is it you need to talk to me about?”

Richie bowed apologetically.

“I’m sorry my princess, but what you’re about to hear is something that pains me greatly.”

Was it really something that serious?

“At the request of your father, he has wished for you to compete in the school's upcoming competition. I believe they call it the…Hunter Games.”

“You mean the school-wide scavenger hunt?”

Richie nodded.

“Despite how disgraceful it would be for royalty to soil themselves by working with the lower classes, your father wants you to experience the different activities this school has to offer. Even if it’s against your will.”

“I see. That makes sense to me.”

Unlike me, Richie looked up to royalty and despised commoners.

I mean, considering he grew up in a house that trained butlers to see royalty as gods, I’m not surprised by his outlook. Still, it pained me to hear him talk so low of others just because of their status.

“Well tell Father he doesn’t have to worry. I had already planned to compete from the beginning.”

Richie looked at me in shock.

“Princess! Are you not terrified by the aspect of having to work with people lower than you!?”

I shook my head.

“Of course not. Here at this school, we’re all meant to be seen as equal. Even if others don’t see it that way, I stand by my viewpoint.”

“Princess…”

Richie clearly didn’t like my resolve.

“Well if you are going to compete, at least make sure it’s with someone of higher class. I’m sure you know someone who's at least close to your title.”

“Actually, I already know who I wanna team with.”

“Really? Who is it?”

Figuring it wouldn’t hurt to tell him, I informed Richie of my choice.

After Dianne told Richie who she wanted to compete with, he couldn’t hide his disbelief.

Excusing himself from the room, he began making his way down the hall and out of the building.

Approaching a giant stone near the dorms, he glared at it for a moment before-

“RAAAH!”

-he smashed his fist into the stone. Shattering it to pieces.

“I knew the princess was misguided, but I never knew it was to this degree!”

Having been raised to see royalty as greater than everyone else, Richie hated anyone lower than a king. Anything below that was no worse than a commoner.

Slamming his hand into the ground, Richie continued to let out his rage.

“I worked so hard to teach her the values of royals! How could she turn out to be such an idiot!? It doesn’t make any sense!”

Before he knew it, he’d punch the dirt hard enough that a hole several inches deep was left stuck in the ground.

Lifting up his fist, Richie cast some water magic to clean the gloves he was wearing before looking to the sky.

“I didn’t want it to come to this, but appears I have no choice.”

Digging his clean hand into his pocket, Richie pulled out a red ring. Something he received from a stranger in a cloak not long ago.

“On the day of the next red moon, a curse shall be placed on the one who wears this ring. It warps the wearer's mind to the point it can’t be reversed. With this, I can finally free the princess of those stupid ideals she tries to maintain. And with the red moon occurring the day this event ends, the timing couldn’t be any better.”

With that, a scheme began to form in Richie’s mind. All the while, something that had been watching him throughout his monologue flew off into the sky. Leaving to report to its master.