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Ness stated firmly, “Impossible. People unconsciously prioritize and eat what tastes good first and finish what’s easiest first. That’s why they’ll tear apart the person who touched Princess Estelle before confronting the princess directly. No one will think of her until then.”

With a sneer, Ness continued, “That’s why the blonde girl asked for five days. I fear in five days, we won’t face Lady Erica, but Princess Estelle in her full power.”

Ballmer, shocked by Ness’ insight, trembled in surprise. “That means… this is Princess Estelle’s ploy to divert everyone’s attention and hide the fact that she’s injured?”

“Exactly.” Ness stood, gazing upward at the sky from where they had fled, his expression a mix of admiration, amazement, and a touch of fascination and fear.

“I expected no less of Princess Estelle. She’s strong and shrewd. I wonder if we’re lucky or unlucky to be born in the same era as her. But then again…” Ness clenched his fists, determination shining in his eyes as he continued, “Ants have their own way of surviving. Even if we’re weaker, we won’t give up.”

“That’s right.” Ballmer, who had recovered significantly from his injuries, struggled to his feet. The deep fear in his eyes dissipated as he bumped his fist with Ness’.

“I’ll notify the Anti-Princess Alliance and Mr. Card immediately. If the enemy is indeed the princess, Mr. Card will surely act,” Ballmer said firmly. “Oh, I’ll send someone to track Lady Erica and ensure she doesn’t escape,” he added.

Ness shook his head. “Forget about tracking her. We can’t spare the manpower. Besides, if she’s really Princess Estelle, tracking her is pointless.”

“What if they try to escape?”

“They won’t,” Ness said with a sneer, gazing into the distance. “That’s the confidence of the strong. And with so many Holy Dragon’s Hearts, she’ll be wanted tomorrow with nowhere to hide. And she won’t anticipate that becoming tomorrow’s most bounty target will trigger our attack against her!”

◆◇◆◇◆

“Hey, wake up.” Lilith shook Erica’s shoulder gently, trying to rouse her from her deep slumber.

She hadn’t expected Erica would actually fall asleep while trying to maintain a stoic demeanor. She was even snoring loudly like a pig.

Fortunately, Erica wasn’t snoring when those three guys were around. Otherwise, she would have blown her cover, and someone might have mistakenly thought Lilith was hiding a squealing piglet.

“Come on, wake up, piglet! Rise and shine!” Growing impatient, Lilith shook Erica’s shoulder more vigorously.

“Ugh… stop shaking me… Just five more minutes…” Erica muttered groggily, sitting up briefly before slumping back into sleep.

******* it, she’s a heavier sleeper than me?

Irritated, Lilith grabbed the mask Erica was still wearing and pulled it as far away from her face as she could. A cruel smile spread across her face. “Don’t blame me. Consider this the wake-up call from the God of Good Mornings.”

PIU!

Lilith released the mask, causing it to snap back onto Erica’s face like a slingshot.

“YEEEOWCH! THAT HURTS!” Erica yelped in surprise as the mask struck her face, causing her to roll on the ground in pain. “Owwieeeee! My naturally beautiful, flawless, lovely face!”

“…Hehehe. Time to get moving. We need to hurry to our destination. I don’t want to be late and miss the good parts.” Lilith stood up, smiling as she dusted her hands.

“You devil! How could you do this to a beautiful girl’s face? I curse you on behalf of all the beautiful girls in the world!” Erica rubbed her nose and cheeks tearfully, waving her fist at Lilith resentfully.

If she were strong enough, she would have definitely punched Lilith’s smug face.

“Come on now. With that face of yours, you can only represent the world’s clueless girls at best, not all the beautiful girls,” Lilith mocked with a shrug.

“Ugh, how can such a mean girl like you exist?”
“Haven’t you heard that good girls love bad girls?”
“Shouldn’t it be good girls love bad boys?”
“You get the idea.”

After cleaning up from their meal, Lilith pulled out a map and carefully studied it against their surroundings to determine their direction.

“Let’s go.”
“Where to?”
“Where else? Didn’t we agree on the venue?”
“Huh? Wasn’t that set for five days later?” Erica asked, puzzled.
“Yes, but who knows how long they can hold out on the other side?”

With a confident nod, Lilith pointed in the direction they needed to go.

“Wait,” Erica suddenly called out.

“What’s wrong now?” Lilith turned back, looking at her companion impatiently. If Erica weren’t so obedient to her instructions, Lilith would have left her behind long ago.

Her acting just now was horrible though. Even the weeds growing nearby could do a better job than her!

“Uhm… uhmm…” Erica squeezed her thighs, fidgeting for a moment, unable to speak.

“What’s wrong? Are you in heat? Do you need me to help you with that?” Lilith snapped off a branch from a nearby tree that was as thick as her arm and mumbled, “This should be a good size…”

“What… what are you saying? You’re the one who’s in heat. I just… I just need to go to the bathroom,” Erica said shyly.

“Now?” Lilith’s gaze took on a suggestive look for a moment.

“I don’t know if it’s because I ate too much greasy food all at once, but my tummy is a little upset now.” Erica rubbed her flat belly, embarrassed.

Ugh, those delicious skewered meat has really embarrassed me! Given another chance, I’d definitely… eat more! Since I’m going to have diarrhea anyway, I might as well eat more to make myself feel better!

“Just go already. You’re a grown person; surely you’re not afraid of getting lost or anything, right?” Lilith’s expression then turned horrified. “Don’t tell me you don’t have any tissues?”

“B̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲, you’re the one who would go to the toilet without bringing tissues… Oh… why do you have to make a beautiful maiden say something so inappropriate?”

“Off you go then.” Lilith pointed to some bushes impatiently. “Just remember to go a bit further. I have a sensitive nose.”

“Fine.” Erica darted into the bushes obediently.