Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 288: Her little knight was truly exhausted.

The next morning, feeling the scattered light filtering through the tree branches and gently falling on her cheeks, Astrid fluttered her eyelashes a few times and slowly opened her eyes.

What greeted her was the lush green leaves, dense and flourishing, covering the sky.

The gentle breeze carried the faint scent of the girl’s natural fragrance into her nostrils.

For Astrid, last night was a dry and peaceful dream, unlike the previous half of the night when she tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

Ever since Lyra lay down beside her, she fell asleep shortly after.

Thinking of a certain loli princess who always clung to her sister to sleep, Astrid couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

How come even she was like a child, unable to sleep without someone by her side.

As her consciousness gradually returned, Astrid turned her gaze and found herself extremely close to Lyra. With this slight movement, her chin was almost resting on the girl’s shoulder.

Due to the tilt of her head, Astrid could feel her cheek pressing against a soft strand of hair.

Unlike the tickling sensation from the bed’s fluff brushing against her skin, this smooth and delicate touch was very comfortable, accompanied by a faint floral fragrance.

And at this moment, the woman finally realized that her arms and legs were all draped over Lyra, their posture so intimate that it was almost as if she was embracing the latter like an octopus.

Noticing that Astrid had woken up, Lyra suddenly tensed her waist, straightened her legs, and remained motionless, allowing the other to continue holding her.

Compared to Astrid, who had slept soundly through the night, Lyra’s condition was not so pleasant.

Last night, let alone rest, she didn’t even feel the slightest bit sleepy.

As soon as she closed her eyes, all she could smell was the delightful rose scent, and her legs were constantly receiving warm and smooth touches.

Apart from the occasional low hum of insects, the only sound left was the rustling of fabric against fabric.

If only she could close her eyes and think of nothing, just fall asleep smelling the fragrance.

But Lyra had to force herself to stay focused, constantly aware of her surroundings.

Compared to enjoyment, this state of intimate contact with her crush but being unable to do anything was, in a way, more like a one-sided torment for Lyra.

If only... she could also openly embrace the other and then...

Kiss her.

Thinking of this, Lyra swallowed lightly and softly spoke.

"...Astrid?"

Though already awake, the other showed no intention of withdrawing her limbs. Lyra tried to relax her waist muscles, her fingers on the other side repeatedly rubbing the corner of the blanket.

"Hmm?"

Astrid hummed in response, her voice still hoarse from sleep, carrying a hint of coquettishness, a mix of laziness and allure, making Lyra’s heart feel as if it had been scratched by a cat’s paw.

Princess Astrid, still drowsy... she really couldn’t handle this...

After a while, feeling her ears slightly warm, Lyra parted her lips: "Uh... are you awake?"

Astrid didn’t respond verbally but nodded slightly, her face gently nuzzling against Lyra’s neck, her long eyelashes brushing against the skin, sending a shiver through the girl’s body.

It has to be said, Lyra was quite comfortable to hold.

Although they were separated by two layers of thin fabric, Astrid could still feel the softness and warmth of the girl’s body.

Compared to the petite Amalia, Lyra’s build was actually more suitable for cuddling while sleeping. The feeling of holding her fully in her arms was indeed quite different.

However, Amalia’s body was naturally cold, so holding her during hot weather had its advantages.

Lying still for a while, completely shaking off the drowsiness, Astrid looked at the slightly reddened ear so close to her and suddenly didn’t feel like letting go of her arms, so she continued to hold Lyra.

"How long has it been since dawn?"

The warm breath sprayed on her earlobe, giving Lyra the illusion of being enveloped.

"...About an hour."

The sun rises early in summer, and it was probably not yet six-thirty now. They could rest a little longer.

"Lyra..." Astrid’s hand, which was around Lyra’s waist, grabbed the pink hair that fell on the blanket, her fingertips gently stroking.

"Do you want to close your eyes and take a nap for a while?"

She was fully rested now, so it depended on Lyra’s condition.

Hearing Astrid say this, Lyra pursed her lips and answered after a few seconds.

"If we continue to rest, will we have enough time?"

Having stayed up all night, not only was she mentally exhausted, but her physical stamina had also significantly decreased.

"Of course, I’ll wake you up when it’s time."

Her fingers continued to play with the pink hair, forming a small hair loop. Astrid still kept her head down, her body half nestled in Lyra’s arms.

She could sleep, but did they really have to maintain this posture...

Feeling the warmth transmitted from her legs, Lyra swallowed hard and slowly closed her eyes.

Astrid, however, seemed unaware of the other’s tension, her slender legs clad in thin black stockings gently sliding over her knees, like a bow pulling the fine strings of a violin.

Seeing Lyra’s slightly flushed face turned to one side, the smooth and fair neck not fully covered by her hair, revealing a faint pink, Astrid moved her arm upward, brushing past the girl’s softness.

Her heartbeat was surprisingly fast, but upon reflection, it was quite normal.

Lyra was just such an easily shy girl.

To allow the other to rest properly, Astrid restrained her desire to continue teasing Lyra, moved her legs and arms away from the latter, and got up on her own.

"I’ll go tidy up the clothes, you sleep first," Astrid said.

With the weight gone, the sense of fulfillment that had filled her heart seemed to deflate like a punctured balloon.

Lyra couldn’t help but feel a bit reluctant, biting her lips lightly, she bundled up the part of the blanket Astrid had left empty and tucked it under herself.

While holding her, she felt nervous, but now that she was gone, she started to feel reluctant.

This mindset was really too bad...

Not noticing the sense of loss Lyra showed after she left, Astrid changed her shoes and sat by the tree stump to organize the suitcase.

There were two days left until the end of the assessment. According to the information on the map, it was about half a day’s journey from Lake to the dividing line between the outer and core areas.

If everything went smoothly, they could reach the target area after the noon break.

After neatly folding the dried clothes and putting them into the suitcase, Astrid glanced at Lyra, who had almost wrapped herself like a Swiss roll, her usually cold red eyes showing a rare gentleness.

Rest a little longer, and we’ll start hunting at eight o’clock.

....

After chewing on some clean grass, Astrid and Lyra went to Lake to wash their faces, then gathered their belongings and set off for the next hunting ground.

Meanwhile, after a day and night of assessment, a very small number of freshmen had already withdrawn early from the Monster Mountains.

Most of these students had underestimated their combat abilities, their hunting styles were too aggressive, leading to an early exit and only achieving a mediocre score.

Rowen Protheus, the homeroom teacher of Class A and Lyra’s basic elemental studies teacher, was assigned as the backup support to assist students in completing the assessment.

His main task was to rescue freshmen who had activated defensive barriers, ensuring their basic safety.

"Hand over the collected mana cores to the registration personnel; those will be your final scores for this assessment."

Looking at the freshmen he had brought out of the forest, all with expressions of regret, Rowen spoke calmly, his black pupils showing no fluctuations.

Without the safety net of the defensive barrier, recklessly hunting magical beasts of equal or slightly higher strength than themselves would most likely result in losing their lives.

It was too reckless, approaching the core area without considering the beasts’ habits. Ultimately, they were too young, lacking practical experience.

Watching the group leave the mountain entrance and head to the medical center for treatment, Rowen turned around and began examining the monster remains he had just collected.

It was a pure white animal skull with faint black mist attached, the conspicuous dark element intertwined with a strong sense of death, emitting an extremely uncomfortable pressure.

According to records, there were no traces of undead creatures in the Monster Mountains. This primitive forest, brimming with life and rarely visited by humans, was unlikely to accommodate such dead beings.

This was rather strange. The creatures attacking the students were of this kind, and their strength had reached the level of a novice caster.

It was uncertain whether this was a random occurrence or if the overall ecology of the Monster Mountains had undergone some changes.

Rowen carefully examined the magical beast skull in his hand, his gaze sweeping over every crack on it.

Twenty minutes later, after listening to the on-site staff report the assessment results of the group of students, he nodded indifferently, then turned and walked deeper into the mountains.

By eleven in the morning, as Astrid and Lyra ventured further into the outer regions of the mountains, they clearly felt the overall strength of the magical beasts they encountered was increasing.

Previously, the highest-level magical beasts they encountered were of the fourth tier, close to the level of a human Early Grand Knight.

As the two shortened the distance to the core area, encounters with such level beasts became more frequent, and occasionally, fifth-tier magical beasts appeared.

For Astrid and Lyra at this stage, a fifth-tier magical beast could be successfully hunted if they worked together and had the first-move advantage.

But once the hunting time extended, with other beasts joining the fray, they had to quickly retreat without any further entanglement.

"Lyra, can you pinpoint the exact location of that aura?"

Walking on the soft grass, constantly aware of the blood and earthy scents in the air, Astrid held her staff and softly inquired.

Hearing this, Lyra paused slightly, continuing to feel the special vibration from the sword linked to her spirit.

"It’s still further west, probably much farther than the distance we just covered."

According to Astrid’s judgment, they were now at the edge of the outer region. Walking westward for another half an hour should bring them to the dividing line mentioned by the professor.

Considering Lyra hadn’t slept well last night and the morning’s hunt had greatly drained her energy, Astrid thought for half a minute and decided to stop nearby for now.

Once Lyra was fully rested and the sun’s light was at its strongest, they would use this sharpness to push forward.

After listening to Astrid’s analysis, Lyra nodded in agreement, then expanded her mental power outward, quickly finding a safe spot for them to temporarily settle.

"The morning’s harvest wasn’t bad."

As soon as she sat down, Astrid picked up the storage bag and quickly checked the mana cores inside.

High risk often comes with high reward. Since the magical beasts they encountered were generally stronger, they no longer needed to search for high-tier beasts to hunt like yesterday.

Along the way, the number of beasts they randomly encountered surpassed the total from the entire previous morning and afternoon. The two even managed to kill a fifth-tier beast together.

Recalling the morning’s experience, Lyra nodded slightly, her translucent sword reflecting dazzling light.

With this efficiency, they were definitely on track to achieve a good ranking.

Leaning against a tree, feeling the shade above shielding her from the heat, Lyra pressed her knees together and noticed two small red spots on the white stockings covering her thighs, likely bloodstains from earlier.

She couldn’t help but gently pinch them, trying to clean them with water magic.

Unfortunately, although these stockings were woven from a special breed of silkworm, soft and breathable, warm in winter and cool in summer, highly elastic, and resistant to insect bites, they had one inconvenient trait, they were not as stain-resistant as other clothing.

The black stockings Astrid wore might be fine, but Lyra’s cream-colored stockings showed even the slightest speck of dust.

After tidying up for a few minutes, the wet stockings clung tightly to her thighs, slightly revealing a faint pink skin tone. Lyra, seeing the faded bloodstains, breathed a slight sigh of relief.

It still looked acceptable. With only so many clothes to bring, she could only change them in the evening.

Just as she looked up, Lyra saw Astrid hand her a bag of water and two pieces of dry bread.

They could eat something else in the evening; for other times, having something to fill their stomachs was enough.

They had eaten bread and a few pieces of dried meat in the morning, and after a morning of intense fighting, they were surely tired.

Taking the food and eating it in small bites, after more than ten minutes, Lyra felt something in her stomach, and her physical fatigue slightly eased.

On the other side, Astrid also used crystal stones to set up a barrier to shield their aura and quickly returned to Lyra’s side.

"This time, I’ll keep watch. Try to relax and rest well."

Hearing this, the pink-haired girl nodded and softly responded with a "Hmm."

Five or six minutes later, Astrid looked at Lyra beside her, who was leaning against the tree with her eyes closed, her white-stockinged legs pressed together and stretched out, her crimson eyes gently fluttering.

Her little knight was truly exhausted.

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