An Ordinary Night Watch
“Hmm… The forest is lovely. Quite well-maintained, and it even feels rather cozy.”
“Indeed, Your Highness.”
Once the event began, Cecilia and I made our way leisurely toward the heart of the forest. I carried our oversized luggage in one hand with effortless ease, while Cecilia held the map, leading us steadily deeper under the canopy.
“Where do you intend to set up camp?” I asked.
“Using a cave would be best, wouldn't it? It strikes me as far safer for spending the night compared to anywhere else. The core objective is surviving while accumulating Points, after all… There is no need to expose ourselves in wide-open terrain.”
“A very sound judgment.”
“If we keep heading west, there should be a cave of modest size.”
“A cave that's too large could become a problem in itself, so modest sounds perfect.”
“Well… We haven't inspected the interior yet, but it ought to be more than adequate for just the two of us.”
For now, I merely trailed behind her, letting her take the lead. Though my training had covered wilderness survival and fieldcraft… this was Cecilia’s academic exercise. There was no reason for me to spoon-feed her every step of the way. In fact, knowing her pride, she probably wouldn't appreciate me fussing over every detail anyway. Well, or maybe she would. With her, you never quite knew.
“Ah. Your Highness, is that it over there?”
“It appears so. The map points right to it. Shall we head in?”
“Right behind you.”
The cave Cecilia found via the map was unexpectedly tidy. It was sheltered, remarkably clean, and struck that sweet spot of being ‘just right’—a genuinely solid natural hideout. We stepped inside and immediately began unpacking our gear, choosing a spot deep enough that we couldn't be spotted from the entrance, yet not so deep that we risked cornering ourselves. That had been Cecilia’s tactical call: going all the way to the back would leave us with no avenue of retreat if things went south.
“Hmm…” Cecilia murmured, looking around with a faint furrow in her brow.
“Is something the matter, Your Highness? Do you require anything?”
“Now that I’m actually inside, a cave is rather dreary.”
“…Ah. That’s all?”
Here I thought she had spotted some grave concern, but it was just her usual aristocratic sensibilities talking. Granted, caves were inherently gloomy. No matter how clean and cozy it might be, a hole in the rock was still a hole in the rock; there was no way it could measure up to the lavish standards of an imperial princess.
“Giving up on the exercise right now would certainly be the more comfortable choice,” she mused aloud.
“…Are you serious?”
“I jest, of course.”
“……”
Yeah, figures. Honestly, Cecilia docilely throwing in the towel would have been far more out of character anyway.
At any rate, as we unpacked our supplies and customized the cave into a livable camp, lunchtime arrived in the blink of an eye. With our sleeping bags laid out, a tidy campfire ready, and the deployable magic artifacts fully erected, there was really nothing left on our to-do list.
“Your Highness, everything is finished. What would you like to do now? There are no further chores inside.”
“Truly everything?”
“Yes. I layered thick blankets beneath the sleeping bags, prepared the quilts, and secured the perimeter… There really isn't anything else.”
“Is that so? Excellent. Then let us simply rest.”
“…Pardon?”
Rest? Right now? We literally just established our base camp, and she wants to kick back already? For real…?
I stared at her in utter bafflement, but Cecilia, true to form, was already settling herself down onto her sleeping bag.
“There is no reason to exert ourselves right now,” she declared smoothly.
“Are you not going to gather Points?”
“There is no rush to hoard them on day one. We still have six full days ahead of us. Why on earth should we run around sweating when we have barely settled into our shelter?”
Cecilia lay back entirely on the sleeping bag as she delivered this breathtaking display of aristocratic apathy. No need to gather Points right away… Six days left…
“…Your Highness. Don't tell me you plan to just steal everyone else’s Points at the end?”
“Naturally. Isn't that the most sensible approach?”
“……”
Well… she wasn't wrong. If anything, Cecilia’s strategy was ruthlessly efficient. So efficient, in fact, that I couldn't even formulate a rebuttal. But still… it felt so unabashedly cheap. From my perspective as her bodyguard tasked with keeping her alive, it was admittedly a relief. Yet, having accompanied her to this grand academic event, spending the opening hours lounging around was anti-climactic to an almost comical degree. After all the enthusiasm she had shown for combat training lately, who would have guessed she would spend the start of the hunt being an absolute shut-in?
“Mmh…” I let out a helpless groan.
“Wipe that bored look off your face, come over here, and let us have lunch,” she chided playfully.
“…Understood.”
“Besides, the provisions we brought along are meant to be consumed early on anyway.”
“Understood. I will prepare the meal immediately. Would simple sausage soup and bread suffice?”
“In a cave such as this, that is practically a feast.”
And so, Cecilia and I settled down for an early lunch. While other students were undoubtedly dashing through the underbrush, hunting beasts and scrambling for advantages from the very first hour… our dear princess was overwhelmed by a terminal case of chronic lethargy. Well, as she pointed out, there truly was no dire need to rush.
“…Oh, this is actually delicious.”
It was nothing more than instant powdered broth steeped in hot water with sliced dried sausages, paired with plain bread. But in the dim, cool hollow of a stone cave, a hot meal tasted surprisingly fantastic, and the time slipped by peacefully. In truth, only our venue had changed to a cave; Cecilia’s signature indolence and shut-in tendencies remained entirely unaltered. Right up until evening, when she finally drifted off to sleep, our day unfolded virtually identically to an idle afternoon in her academy dormitory suite.
“……”
By dusk, our survival exercise had basically turned into an all-inclusive glamping vacation. The cave was slightly damp, sure, but we took short strolls to gather dry firewood, tossed leftover noodles into the remaining cream broth to whip up a rustic pasta, and generally had a cozy time. Considering the fierce reputation of the Hunt, our day had been absurdly tame. It felt less like a wilderness trial and more like an intimate camping trip with Cecilia. Of course, my real shift began under the cover of darkness, not daylight, so I had even managed to squeeze in a permitted nap during the afternoon.
“Phew…”
Now, Cecilia was sound asleep, and I was left alone to keep watch. She had assured me that the protective magic artifacts she laid down would handle any nuisance, but I chose to remain awake regardless. After all, low-tier monsters and wild beasts weren't what I was on guard against.
Naturally, I was still dressed in my full maid uniform. In a secluded spot like this at night, I could have swapped into stealth gear, but out in the open, I had a role to play: a harmless, delicate maid. To the academy’s students and faculty, I was merely a remarkably devoted personal servant who stayed glued to the Third Princess's side. If someone stumbled upon me looking like a lethal operative, it would raise far too many uncomfortable questions.
…Will they come?
I didn't know for certain. There was no hard evidence, only my razor-sharp intuition. Just like before, a prickle of danger whispered at the base of my neck. Even without concrete proof, I had every intention of staying awake through the night to protect Cecilia, who looked entirely out of place wrapped up like a plush caterpillar in her sleeping bag. Still… if nothing showed up, that would obviously be for the best.
“Mmm…”
I kept my gaze fixed on the cave’s mouth, watching the darkness outside. Rather than attempting an elaborate concealment inside the cave, sitting upright as an ordinary maid standing an ordinary night watch was far less conspicuous to an outside observer. If I left the cave entirely to scout, an intruder might slip past me in that brief window, leaving Cecilia unprotected. So, clutching a concealed dagger loosely in one hand, I waited in silence.
With the sun fully vanished, the forest turned utterly dead-quiet, exuding an eerie, menacing aura that bore no resemblance to its daytime charm. Between the towering silhouettes of the trees beyond the entrance, shadowy shapes darted—whether beasts or something worse, it was hard to tell. The distant screeching of nocturnal birds and the guttural roars of predators echoing beneath the night sky set my nerves on edge.
“…Tsk.”
There was plenty to keep me vigilant. Beyond potential assassins lurking in the dark, there were roaming monsters, predatory wildlife, and rival students who might attempt an ambush.
As I maintained my quiet, motionless vigil, faint footfalls began approaching the cave.
“……”
The rhythm was wrong for a human stride. Rapid, skittering footsteps accompanied by guttural whines and wet snarling came rustling through the dead leaves.
…Monsters.
“Krrrrrr…?”
“……”
“KRRRR!!”
Kobolds. Smaller than me in stature, their canine-reptilian features were far too hideous to merit noble titles like werewolf or beastkin. They were bottom-tier fodder. After winding myself up for a lethal threat, having a few miserable stray monsters stumble into my lap felt like a cruel joke.
“…Tsk.”
The moment I confirmed their caliber, there was no reason to fret. Beasts of this level were so pitiful that even Cecilia, after barely a month of magic instruction, could have blasted them apart with rudimentary spells.
“Kr…!!?”
I closed the distance in an instant, my dagger slicing clean through the stale air. Slash. Lop.
Their heads separated from their shoulders before they could even finish their snarls. Low-tier trash with zero intelligence—truly bottom-of-the-barrel creatures. Ending their lives didn't even require breaking a sweat; a well-honed blade and a flick of the wrist were more than sufficient.
“…Tsk.”
Of course, this forest had been seeded with wild beasts and monsters alike for the event. Having a few wander toward a cave at midnight was completely expected, but having them sniff around Cecilia still rubbed me the wrong way. True, they were far less dangerous than hostile nobles or assassins hunting the Third Imperial Princess, but an annoyance was an annoyance.
“……Ah.”
As I kicked the kobold corpses aside and resumed my watch, a memory suddenly flickered to mind. Those thugs Rin and I had eliminated in the back alleys not too long ago. I had nearly forgotten about them since they were merely local rabble preying around the Academy’s outskirts, but someone had tried to hire them for an irregular hit. Rin and I had butchered the crew before they could execute the commission, but the intent had been undeniable.
“……”
If someone wanted to target the students—and Cecilia in particular—there was no chance they would let a week-long, isolated forest excursion pass them by. They would strike. Without question.
“…Tsk.”
Regardless of what might be brewing in the shadows, I spent the rest of the night ensuring Cecilia’s slumber remained completely undisturbed until the dawn broke over the canopy. Over the course of the night, my tally came to thirteen kobolds, five Shadow Hounds, a couple of stray vipers, and several giant insects that vaporized against Cecilia’s protective ward before they could even reach her.
To be entirely honest, it was so uneventful that I was actually a little bored.