Get Her!

Head Maid Bedela returned by boat.

That meant Princess Tina had finally received permission to explore.

The head maid had served the Taidariel Family since childhood. She was forty-five, unmarried, serious, and strict. The servants of the Goth court were all afraid of her, but there was one advantage to dealing with someone like her.

As long as she could be persuaded by reason, she would not stubbornly cling to her own views.

"We have brought back the princess's personal effects."

She said, "Next, we must prepare a place for Her Highness to stay and help everyone set up camp. Under the circumstances, I believe it is necessary to make a suitable exploration of the surroundings..."

The head maid looked at Cleveland, the guardian knight. "We need to find a water source and identify any food on the island that is safe to eat. Her Highness is exceptionally knowledgeable, and we need her expertise."

The knight captain hesitated for a moment, then agreed.

"In that case, I will select a few elite warriors to escort Her Highness on the exploration."

The boat had brought back not only Her Highness's personal belongings but also the armor Cleveland had left aboard. The knight captain had now changed into his equipment: gray steel armor blessed by the grand duke, its cold metal engraved with ornate patterns, and an emerald-green cloak draped from his shoulders.

He was the man of countless Goth maidens' dreams.

He bowed to Her Highness with impeccable courtesy. "Please permit me."

The princess smiled gently. "I'll leave everything in your hands, my knight."

This was, after all, the forbidden land of legend. No amount of caution was excessive.

Knight Cleveland brought his squire and selected five elite warriors. The seven of them escorted the princess on her exploration, every one of them on high alert.

"Watch out for predators and poisonous insects. Danger can hide in the smallest things."

An experienced warrior cautioned them, "We've sprinkled repellent on ourselves, but that doesn't mean we can let our guard down. Everyone, be careful."

Everyone solemnly assented, the princess included. But the beautiful girl clearly wasn't devoting all her attention to staying alert. She watched every plant and blade of grass around her with an almost greedy interest.

"So far, there doesn't seem to be anything unusual..."

She murmured to herself, "The vegetation is growing normally. There are some varieties I don't recognize, but all the life forms are normal. There's no sign of erosion by foreign energy..."

"Please don't let your guard down, Your Highness."

The knight captain had no interest in the ecosystem here. "This is a place of legend, after all. Besides, we've already come farther. If we go any farther and something happens, reinforcements won't be able to reach us quickly."

"I know, I know..."

The princess nudged a pebble at her feet. "Once we get over this hill, we'll go back. All right?"

"Thank you for your wisdom."

The knight always spoke in deadly earnest.

Princess Tina was a little disappointed.

But her mood soon changed.

The group crossed the little hill, and Tina gave a cry. Below lay a small plain, where long blades of grass swayed in the wind and colorful flowers bloomed all around. Farther away was a forest.

Birdsong filled the air and flowers scented the breeze.

A bird caught everyone's attention.

It was a parrot, golden from head to tail, dazzlingly beautiful and utterly extraordinary. It flew low, beating its wings as though displaying its beauty to heaven and earth. Its melodious calls sounded like music from the palace of the gods.

Tina murmured, "It's so beautiful..."

Knight Cleveland glanced at the princess.

Even he had to admit that the parrot was extraordinarily beautiful. Birds like this had always been prized as pets by nobles and wealthy merchants, for they were beautiful and could talk, making them excellent for entertainment and display.

He pondered briefly and came up with an idea.

Ever since the day before yesterday, Her Highness had endured storms and hardship. She must have been feeling miserable. She was gentle and kind and unwilling to trouble others, so she could only keep her negative feelings bottled up inside. That surely couldn't be good in the long run. Since there happened to be a beautiful parrot here, why not catch it for her...?

As the thought occurred to him, he heard the princess cry out in delight again.

The parrot was actually unafraid of people. After spotting the group, it didn't fly away in fright. Instead, it flew curiously closer, seemingly sizing up the uninvited guests.

Stars lit up in the princess's eyes.

Knight Cleveland made up his mind. He handed his sword to his squire and cautiously took a few steps toward the parrot. The bird showed no fear, merely watching him with curiosity.

Looking at the beautiful bird and imagining the delighted smile the princess would show once she had this plaything, the knight captain smiled faintly. He approached carefully, gauging the distance and ready to spring at any moment.

Then he slowly reached out toward the parrot.

"Birdie, birdie..." he whispered. "You have a lovely call, but you can't speak. Come along quietly. Her Highness will teach you to talk, and you can..."

The two were very close now.

Just then.

He heard a shout like a thunderclap from the sky.

It had clearly come from the parrot.

"Hunk from the sky!"

What?

Before he could react, the parrot turned into a bolt of lightning and plummeted from the sky, slamming into his chest. His vision went black in an instant, and he felt as though a Giant-Tusked Mountain Boar had charged into him head-on.

Cleveland and his armor were sent staggering backward. He hit the ground hard and couldn't struggle back up for the moment.

At the same time, the surrounding grass shook violently!

A chicken, a goose, a wolverine, and a marmot flew out like the Survey Corps.

The swan took the lead, running and flying as it beat its two wings. A fierce wind struck two unsuspecting warriors in the face, sending them tumbling across the ground. Another warrior cried out in alarm and instinctively drew his blade and slashed. The rooster flapped up from the other side and pecked the blade. With a metallic clang, it punched a hole through the forged-steel saber, knocking it from the warrior's grasp.

The wolverine and marmot each took on another opponent, knocking their weapons from their hands with a few swipes of their claws. Then they rained blows on their heads and faces, beating them like naughty grandchildren.

Just then, a violent commotion erupted behind them. A kangaroo bounded toward them at full speed from the rear. Like a pole-vaulter, it planted its thick tail against the ground and kicked out sideways with both long legs. The knight captain's squire cried out in pain and went flying as though riding the clouds.

The kangaroo then wrapped its arms around the terrified princess's waist and turned tail.

Knight Cleveland was still on the ground. He turned and saw what was happening, his eyes nearly splitting with fury. "Your Highness!" he shouted.

He struggled to rise, only for the parrot to dive at him and pin him to the ground again.

"Beast!"

He struggled up once more. When the parrot came close, he suddenly drew a dagger from a gap in his armor. The blade flashed brilliantly, vicious and merciless, its killing intent on full display.

The parrot swerved sharply and narrowly dodged both slashes. Clearly startled, it hurriedly flew away, then cursed loudly, "Your mother's dead! Your mother's dead!"

But it clearly didn't dare come close again.

The knight sprang to his feet, and the magical animals, evidently knowing when to quit while they were ahead, abandoned their opponents as one and turned to flee. Their objective had been achieved, after all.

Cleveland was frantic and gave chase like a maddened tiger. But on an unfamiliar deserted island, who could outrun a group of animals scattering in every direction? In mere moments, the creatures darted into the grass, the forest, and the river, scurrying this way and that until they vanished from sight.

Looking at the vast island and its complicated terrain, Cleveland felt his blood surge. Self-reproach, anxiety, anger, and frustration swept over him, and he couldn't help letting out a roar.

"Your Highness!"

Reinforcements from the camp arrived shortly afterward.

"Her Highness was carried off by animals?"

Head Maid Bedela's expression changed. "Are there large predators on the island?"

"No..."

Knight Cleveland's eyes were bloodshot. "It was a parrot, a goose, a chicken, a wolverine, a kangaroo, and a marmot..."

If they hadn't known the knight captain's skills and loyalty so well, and if Her Highness hadn't been abducted, everyone present would have burst out laughing. What the fuck was this? A circus?

Knight Cleveland felt no inclination to laugh.

The other six people who had accompanied the princess didn't laugh either.

During that absurd ambush, every one of them, warriors skilled in martial combat and hardened by battle, had given their all and fought desperately.

Yet they had been thoroughly beaten by those ridiculous animals.

Their moves had been seen through, their weaknesses exploited. They had been utterly unable to defend themselves, as though they had faced not a few beasts, but the legendary god of battle...

"Head Maid, Captain."

Cleveland gritted his teeth. "Her Highness has been abducted. She's in grave danger now. Please gather everyone. While their tracks are still there, we must pursue them and rescue Her Highness!"

Head Maid Bedela suppressed her unease and anxiety. She didn't reproach the knight for failing in his duty, either; there was no point. "I just don't understand why those animals would..."

"I know what you mean. If I'm not mistaken... there's someone on the island."

The knight captain's eyes widened, anger surged through him, and his body trembled. He said through gritted teeth, "I remember now. That parrot could speak. Someone taught it to talk. I heard that language when I was a child..."

Their expressions changed. The captain asked, "What did the parrot say? What language was it?"

The knight captain didn't answer. Shame and fury flashed in his eyes as he said, stressing every word, "It was the Zhendan Language... There's at least one easterner from Cathay living on this island!"

Kang De stared dumbfounded at the girl on the ground.

Golden hair as brilliant as sunlight, a beautiful face even a grandmaster of photo editing couldn't create, a bosom that stood out even as she lay on her back, and long, slender legs curled up beneath her. Even unconscious, the stunning beauty lying on the ground displayed looks capable of enchanting all creation, appearing before Kang De without a trace of defensiveness.

His body went rigid with shock.

It's... it's a foreign hottie!

He raised his head a fraction at a time and looked at the magical animals gathered beside her, presenting their prize.

The animals were staring at him too, their eyes full of encouragement and excitement.

When Kang De looked over, they all nodded in unison.

The parrot circled overhead, shouting.

"Get her! Get her!"

￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥

PS1: First, let me make one thing clear: this book is not Warhammer Fantasy fanfiction. Zhendan was one of the ancient Indian names for China, so please don't misunderstand.

PS2: Keep betting on the setting. Please.

PS3: And remember to vote. The new book is doing terribly... sob