I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 378 Good Luck

On the eleventh day, the black and white bear traversed the maze-like mountains.

The forests of the Kingdom of Minicia are filled with ancient trees that block out most of the sunlight, making the air damp and heavy, filled with a mixture of the smells of decaying leaves and the dens of some wild beasts.

Underfoot were slippery moss and tangled tree roots, and the black and white bear had to be careful with every step to avoid falling.

However, entering such a mountain forest is not without its advantages... At least, the black and white bears are no longer afraid of starving to death, as there are plenty of edible plants and animals here.

Logically speaking, searching for a group of people deliberately hiding in such a complex and dangerous mountainous area is like finding a needle in a haystack, and Monokuma himself was mentally prepared for a protracted battle.

Therefore, in the black market of White Rock City, Black and White Bear deliberately purchased a lot of coarse salt to avoid falling into a salt shortage.

However, fate seemed to have played a rather unfortunate joke on him.

Just as he parted an unusually dense thicket of water-drenched bushes to explore the way, his vision suddenly opened up to reveal a small, relatively flat clearing in the woods, with several fallen giant trees covered in vines and fungi.

And at the edge of the clearing, behind a low shrub bearing some kind of red berries...

A very conspicuous, rounded, full female buttocks were prominently displayed, wrapped in dirty, faded but still recognizable fine linen fabric.

The way he was bent over showed great focus; he was clearly trying to pick ripe berries deep in the bushes.

Monokuma's steps froze on the spot.

His expression under the hood was one of initial astonishment, followed by an uncontrollable twitch at the corner of his mouth, and finally a mixture of absurdity, amusement, and a "This actually works?" kind of bewilderment.

What's this?

He trekked through mountains and rivers, preparing for a difficult search in the deep mountains, only to find his target appearing before him so unexpectedly, and even in such a... casual way.

He sighed silently, concealed his presence, and moved silently to the side like a true shadow, ensuring that he was in a position where he could clearly see the other person's movements but would not be easily noticed.

She was a young woman; judging from her figure and movements, she was probably a maid or something similar.

With her back to the black and white bear, she focused intently on picking the small red berries, carefully placing them into a similarly worn cloth bag at her waist.

Monokuma's gaze swept over the worn edges of her linen skirt and her rough, muddy shoes that clearly did not belong to a noblewoman.

A maidservant of the Tia family… that’s right. Only nobles on the run would have their personal maidservants dressed in what should be decent clothes doing such menial work.

He waited patiently, watching her pick most of a bag of berries, seemingly intending to end the gathering.

Just as she straightened up, gently patted her aching back, and prepared to turn and leave...

"cough."

A deliberately suppressed cough sounded not far behind her, like a ghost.

The maid shuddered violently, as if struck by an electric current. She whirled around, her face drained of color, her eyes filled with extreme terror. Before she could even see who it was, she instinctively opened her mouth to scream.

"Shh..."

Monokuma's deep, penetrating voice instantly drowned out her impending scream.

"Don't shout, unless you want to attract the pursuers."

His figure slowly emerged from the shadows of the trees. His tattered cloak and chainmail were indistinct in the dim light, but his calm demeanor and the invisible pressure he exuded caused the maid's scream to catch in her throat, leaving only rapid and fearful gasps.

She instinctively took a step back, clutching the cloth bag filled with berries tightly in her hands, as if it were her only support.

"You...who are you?"

The maid's voice trembled uncontrollably, her eyes scanning the black and white bear's sword with terror.

"A Minician lackey? Or... a bandit?"

"neither."

Monokuma's voice softened a bit, but it was still devoid of warmth. He raised his hand and casually pulled down his hood, revealing a face that was expressionless but not particularly fierce.

“I am the man Prince Chris sent to rescue you.”

When Monokuma mentioned Chris's name, the maid's tense nerves seemed to relax slightly, and the fear in her eyes was replaced by great doubt.

She sized up the black and white bear, seemingly trying to gauge the truthfulness of his words. A stranger dressed in tattered chainmail, alone in the deep mountains… this was far too suspicious. She didn't quite believe the black and white bear was one of her own; he seemed more like a Miniese conman trying to trick her into leading the way.

Monokuma seemed to sense her doubts. He wanted to dispel them, but upon reflection, he realized he didn't seem to have anything to prove his identity.

He does have the medals of a Han and Tang dynasty warrior, but how could a maid from a Miniese noble family recognize them?
"Take me to your camp. I really mean you no harm."

Monokuma sighed and continued.

"Or, should we stay here and wait for our pursuers to find traces of you picking berries?"

The maid Martha shuddered, snapping out of her daze.

She glanced at the black and white bear, then thought of her tribesmen in the camp, suffering from lack of food and clothing, injuries and illnesses, and the constant threat of pursuers hanging over her head day and night...

Fear and hope were locked in a fierce battle within her.

In the end, the latter prevailed by a narrow margin. She bit her pale lower lip, her voice still trembling, but now tinged with a resolute determination:
"Come……"

"Don't worry, I'm really not a bad person."

Monokuma pulled his hood up again, his tone remaining calm.

Martha took a deep breath, as if she had made a huge decision.

She stopped looking at the black and white bear, clutched the bag of precious berries, and turned to disappear into the dense forest.

The path she chose was extremely well-hidden, skirting fallen giant trees, clinging to slippery rock faces, and sometimes even requiring her to crawl through low tree hollows. She was clearly very familiar with the area; every movement carried the caution and speed honed during her escape.

Furthermore, they would deliberately clean up their footprints while moving around, clearly having developed stealth skills comparable to those of a scout in harsh environments.

Monokuma was no less impressive. He followed closely behind without uttering a word, like a ghost. His steps were incredibly light, leaving almost no trace on the soft moss. He didn't even pant for long during his several leaps.

This made Martha, who was leading the way, turn around and look, feeling surprised and uncertain, and she was also convinced that this person was no ordinary person.

The two of them twisted and turned, passing through several natural barriers, and the air became even colder and more damp.

Martha stopped in front of a steep rock face covered with thick vines.

She glanced around warily, then quickly parted a patch of seemingly naturally hanging vines... Behind it, a narrow crevice, barely wide enough for one person to bend over and pass through, was revealed. The crevice was pitch black and exuded the chilling aura of rocks.

Then Masha ducked inside, and the black and white bear sighed and raised its hands.

Indeed, gaining trust is not easy.

"Don't shoot, I'm one of our own."

"Don't move, turn around slowly!"

A deliberately low, stern shout, uttered with a heavy Bagnian accent, accompanied by the distinct click of a flintlock pistol being cocked, rang out from behind a cluster of dense ferns to the left of the black and white bear.

The voice was tense, filled with vigilance and a murderous intent ready to fire at any moment.

Immediately afterwards, from another direction, in the shadow of a moss-covered boulder on the right, came the faint metallic scraping sound of weapons.

There was more than one gun.

Monokuma did as instructed, turning around extremely slowly to avoid any action that could be misinterpreted as aggression. His gaze swept over the source of the sound.

Behind the ferns on the left, a soldier wearing a Bagnya-style breastplate, but with many wear and scratches on his armor, was half-crouching.

His face was covered in mud, his lips were cracked, but his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's, and the muzzle of his flintlock pistol was steadily pointed at the heart of the black and white bear. The barrel gleamed coldly in the dim light.

Beside the boulder to the right stood a soldier, also dressed in a tattered Bagnian green uniform, wielding a powerful crossbow. The crossbow bolt was already strung, its sharp tip gleaming coldly in the shadows, firmly locked onto the black and white bear.

His posture was more concealed, with most of his body tucked behind the rocks, only revealing his crossbow-wielding hand and wary eyes.

Both of them were behind the best cover, blocking any possible angles from Monokuma to dodge.

They are true veterans, experienced, and work in perfect harmony; they are by no means a rabble.

"Han Tang Warriors, Black and White Bear... I have received Prince Chris's orders. Many people have already entered the mountains outside."

(End of this chapter)