Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 284: A Simple Dinner

A single dark lizard would be easy prey for Astrid and Lyra working together, but if there was one more, it would not only mean they would have to spend more mental energy fighting, but also put the mage with insufficient defensive capabilities at risk of being attacked by magical beasts.

At this moment, it would be best for them to wait until the patrolling dark lizard below leaves before seeking out their next target.

On a tall tree branch, Astrid and Lyra were pressed close together.

Due to the proximity, the latter could feel the other’s hair brushing against her neck, the cool sensation like a feather gently tickling, making both her skin and heart itch.

Lyra controlled her breathing, her delicate nose slightly sniffing, filled with the cold floral fragrance of her beloved’s body at such close range.

Mental energy controlled a few strands of faint wind blowing upward, perfectly isolating their scents from the lizards below.

After an unknown amount of time, the two dark lizards, having failed to find prey, began feasting on the corpses of their kin on the ground.

These low-intelligence magical beasts didn’t seem to care what they were eating, they just wanted to absorb energy from the flesh before them.

After the original dark lizard was completely devoured, Astrid and Lyra, ensuring there were no other magical beasts around, gently jumped down from the tree.

"Astrid?"

As her shoes touched the soft soil, Lyra suddenly felt Astrid’s body stagger.

She instinctively reached out to support the other’s waist.

A warm, soft jade-like body entered her embrace, making even Lyra’s own legs stiffen momentarily.

Her arms tightened, the warm touch through two layers of fabric reminded her of how soft the person in her arms was.

"It’s nothing..."

Astrid’s exhaled breath lightly brushed against Lyra’s neck.

Soon, she straightened her legs again, her fragrant, soft body retreating from the pink-haired girl’s embrace.

"I just squatted on the tree for too long, my legs are a bit numb."

Feeling an electric tingle under her skin accompanied by slight pin prick-like pain, Astrid placed both hands on her thighs.

The delicate, translucent stocking surface was pressed by her palms, slightly sinking into the tender flesh of her legs.

As blood circulation returned to normal, the numbness gradually dissolved. Astrid looked at Lyra who was staring at her in a daze and slowly spoke.

"Let’s continue hunting, there’s still plenty of time."

Hearing Astrid’s words, Lyra finally felt relieved. Recalling what had just happened, her ears turned slightly red as she softly replied.

"Okay."

For the next three hours, the two searched for prey in the dark lizards’ habitat.

As the sun set and the environment became filled with dark elements, continuing to hunt these dark-attributed magical beasts could be dangerous.

After a brief discussion, Astrid and Lyra proceeded according to their plan, heading towards Lake.

"Even though we spent more time on combat, each dark lizard we kill earns us fifteen points. In just one afternoon, we’ve earned double the points from this morning."

Noticing the increasing density of water element particles nearby, Lyra quickened her pace while keeping her peripheral vision on Astrid.

"But speaking of which, after fighting for so long, why haven’t we seen any other students?"

At least two hundred students participated in this assessment, yet throughout the entire day, Lyra hadn’t encountered a single one.

Astrid blinked a few times at this, her voice soft and low.

"The Monster Mountains cover an extremely vast area. Just the outer region is several times larger than the grandest imperial capital, including the surrounding farmland and estates. With so few students entering, it’s like grains of sand falling into the ocean, not encountering others is the norm."

"And not everyone will follow the route we planned. Lyra, you’re skilled in light magic, so you can choose to hunt dark lizards for points. Others wouldn’t dare enter such magical beasts’ territory so recklessly."

Their strength had reached that of an early sorcerer, allowing them to hunt a wider range of prey and naturally venture deeper into the mountains for points.

But ordinary apprentices couldn’t do this, they were most likely still hunting weaker small magical beasts at the mountain’s edge.

Realizing she’d been foolish again, Lyra nodded and continued towards their destination.

By the time they reached Lake, the sun had already set, and night enveloped the entire mountain range.

The only source of light is the sun still hanging high in the sky.

Lake Reyes, located in the outer region of the Monster Mountains, was one of the two major lakes in the outer area.

Under the night sky, the wide Lake Reyes bid farewell to the chaotic insect noises of daytime, becoming gentle and tranquil.

The hazy mist draped a transparent veil over the long lake surface, adding a touch of mystery.

Lyra gazed at the shimmering lake before her.

The evening breeze occasionally stirred up ripples, while the silver moonlight seemed to be shattered by the layered waves, floating up and down like stars. Everything was so beautiful it felt like a dream.

Just as she was submerged in this beautiful scenery, a crisp sound of something cutting through air rang out. Lyra instantly became alert, her mental energy rapidly circulating.

"No need to be so tense." Astrid softly reminded, then walked over to where she had controlled an ice spike to hit.

"Although there aren’t any cows or glow deer, this isn’t bad either, and we don’t have to worry about waste."

Following Astrid’s gaze, Lyra saw a second-tier magical beast, a gray-feathered chicken, with its heart pierced by the ice spike.

"Is this... our dinner for tonight?" Lyra asked.

Astrid held a dagger and gave a slight nod. "Of course."

This gray-feathered chicken had delicious meat and was very convenient to handle, making it perfect for grilling.

Twenty minutes later, at a clearing by Lake Reyes, Lyra stacked some appropriately shaped stones into a simple grill and collected some wood under Astrid’s instructions.

If the Sword of Light had its own consciousness, perhaps before letting Lyra draw it, it had never imagined that as an indestructible divine weapon, it would be used by its owner to chop firewood.

Maybe rotting in the temple wouldn’t have been such a bad choice.

Softly chanting a fire spell, sparks ignite the campfire. The pale yellow light beams reflected off the stones, giving off a dim hue.

Astrid placed the gray-feathered chicken fixed on wooden skewers above the flames, using the heat waves from the burning fire to roast the chicken.

Behind them were two tree stumps, and the two sat opposite each other around the campfire.

"What’s our total score now?"

Taking out a water pouch, removing the cork and taking a gentle sip, Astrid asked Lyra while keeping an eye on their dinner over the fire.

The pink-haired girl’s cheeks were slightly red from the firelight. Hearing the question, she replied softly.

"One hundred and twenty-one points in total."

This was their entire day’s harvest. They didn’t know how many points other groups had earned.

After hearing this, Astrid nodded slightly, put down the water pouch, and used her hand holding the wooden skewer to gently flip the roasting chicken.

"At this rate, by the end of the assessment, we should have about three hundred points."

She remembered that the top group from some S class had scored over five hundred points in this assessment.

If they continue hunting at today’s pace, they could probably rank in the top five, which was quite good.

However, hunting at night was too risky.

Regardless of whether they wanted to or not, the rest of the time would be spent resting and recovering mental energy.

After chatting casually around the campfire for a while, as Astrid added various seasonings to the chicken, the air was soon filled with a rich meaty aroma.

Having hunted all day, eating only tasteless bread and jerky, Lyra now smelled the aroma.

Although she maintains a reserved mood on the surface, her appetite was truly aroused.

Almost imperceptibly swallowing, her white-stockinged legs pressed together as Lyra leaned slightly forward, her elbows gently resting on her knees.

After half a minute, Astrid heard a slight gurgling sound.

Her red eyes moved slowly to Lyra, seeing the other’s snow-white cheeks now red as tomatoes, a mischievous smile curling her lips.

"Oh? It seems someone is almost starving?"

Hearing Astrid’s teasing, Lyra’s cheeks turned even redder. Her toes pointed inward, hands covering her stomach, secretly blaming her stomach for being so weak.

Considering that the pink-haired knight before she had been the one mainly expending energy today, Astrid knew when to stop.

She took out some bread from her luggage and offered it to her.

"Here, have some first. We’ll be eating soon."

Lyra took the bread and thanked her gratefully.

The blush on her cheeks didn’t fade at all. Seeing this, Astrid, who was about to withdraw her hand, paused for a moment before gently raising it, her fingers touching the soft flesh on Lyra’s cheek.

"Lyra, is there wine in your water pouch?"

"Your face is so red."

While handling the gray-feathered chicken, Astrid had worn leather gloves.

Now removed, what touched Lyra’s cheek was a section of delicate, warm, jade-like fingers.

Lyra’s body trembled slightly, her neck turning even redder.

Although it wasn’t the first time Astrid had teased her, every time, these intimate little gestures could easily stir her heartstrings.

"It’s just... the firelight..." Lyra spoke softly, her blue eyes not looking at Astrid but reflecting the roaring fire.

Astrid lightly exhaled through her delicate nose, her tone amused.

"Is that so?"

The cracking sound of burning branches mixed with Astrid’s words. Lyra bit her lip, her voice even lower.

"Yes."

This excuse was so flimsy that even Lyra herself felt it was too clumsy.

Fortunately, Astrid seemed to attribute it all to that earlier gurgling sound and didn’t think deeper.

After teasing Lyra, she didn’t try to fan the flames further, simply withdrew her hand and continued turning the chicken over the fire.

After a few minutes, having finished a small piece of bread, Lyra tucked a strand of pink hair behind her ear and softly spoke.

"Astrid... this chicken smells so good..."

"But won’t such a strong aroma attract other magical beasts?"

Astrid didn’t stop what she was doing, gently replying.

"It would, so I’ve already activated the scent-blocking barrier we’ll use tonight."

Before entering the mountains, besides the protective crystals for students’ safety, the academy had also provided them with special crystals for night rest that could isolate human scents.

Many nocturnal magical beasts in the Monster Mountains rely on smell to find targets. Setting up these crystals in advance could prevent their scents from spreading within a certain range, ensuring relatively safe nights.

Lyra nodded upon hearing this and didn’t ask further, continuing to sit obediently, listening to the crackling fire and waiting for dinner.

Five minutes later, the chicken was done. Astrid uses a clean cloth to hold it, then uses a dagger to cut through the skin.

An even more intense meaty aroma instantly filled the air, mingled with the scents of chili and cumin.

Since Lyra preferred spicy food, Astrid had added extra chili to her portion. Looking at the tempting chicken on her cloth, Lyra’s clear blue eyes shimmered like water.

Cutting into the chicken leg, the rich juices nearly overflowed. Lyra took a small bite, and her taste buds were instantly conquered by this wonderful flavor.

No words were needed, eating attentively was the best compliment to the chef. Watching Lyra eating in small bites, Astrid’s lips curved into a slight smile.

For a moment, she was reminded of half a year ago in the ancient castle, when she had similarly sat under the moonlight, enjoying barbecue with Amalia.

Other transmigrators might attract twelfth-tier super dragons, ancient beast cubs, or some reclusive master craftsman with a barbecue.

Such protagonist-only plots from novels were nice to think about. If anything, she had probably used her cooking skills to get closer to Amalia, successfully winning favor from this loli tyrant.

Rounding it off, she had attracted a tsundere.

Sensing that Astrid’s gaze seemed to be through her at someone else, the shyness Lyra had felt from being watched gradually dissipated, replaced by a faint, almost imperceptible sourness.

Princess Astrid... why that expression...

Who is she thinking of?

The bright firelight illuminates Astrid’s face, also warming the always-present coolness in her mood.

Feeling the taste on her tongue, Lyra’s gaze prepared fell on Astrid’s white calf boots.

After finishing the barbecue and simply disposing of the remaining bones, Astrid wrapped them in cloth, planning to use them as bait for tomorrow’s hunt.

Afterwards, the two returned to Lake Reyes to wash off the grease they had accidentally gotten on their hands.

Being by the lake and having hunted all day under the sun, they felt quite uncomfortable. Astrid cast a dark magic spell to block surrounding vision.

"Lyra, keep watching around us."

"I’m going to clean up."

Lyra nodded upon hearing this. "Yes, I understand."

Then Astrid walked into the artificially created black mist. With the sounds of rustling fabric, a slender white arm emerged from the mist.

The woman’s dress, shirt, stockings, and undergarments were neatly piled in her palm.

"Hold these for me. I don’t want them to get wet," Astrid said.

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