System's POV
chapter-255

"How many are left?" a handsome teenage boy with blonde hair and gray eyes asked.

"Fourteen remain, Young Master Kane," a teenage boy wearing glasses replied.

Kane clicked his tongue. If possible, he wanted all the Wanderers to join his side.

He believed that once Shasha lost all of the members of her team, she would have no choice but to join his team in order to survive in Solterra.

"How is the hunt?" Kane asked his other subordinate who had short brown hair and brown eyes.

"We hunted down five Rank 1 Boars today, Young Master," the brown-haired teenager replied. "Everyone will have enough food to eat for a few days."

Kane nodded. "Make sure that those who got injured are treated. They are now part of our group, so we need to make sure that none of them die."

"Yes, Young Master." The brown-haired boy nodded in understanding.

"Young Master, are you sure that this is the right way to do this?" the boy with black hair and wearing glasses asked. "The Princess might hate you if you keep on trying to absorb her team."

"She already hates me, so making her hate me more wouldn't make a difference," Kane replied before sighing. "Tell me, why do you think she doesn't like me? Am I not handsome enough? Am I not influential enough?"

"Of course, you are worthy of her, Young Master," the teenage boy wearing glasses replied. "But most of the time, using a very aggressive approach to win the heart of a lady isn't effective. Instead of getting closer, it might make her want to run away."

"Then, what should I do?"

"Maybe you need to talk to her personally and try to reach a truce or something?"

As one of the scions of a Monarch Clan, Kane had all the qualifications to make any girl around him swoon.

In fact, all the teenage girls on his team were doing their best to catch his attention.

If they happened to become his lover or even his future concubine, they would no longer have to worry about hardships in Solterra or Pangea.

Unfortunately for them, Kane only had eyes for Shasha.

You could even say that it was love at first sight.

During one of the parties hosted by the Stallard Clan, the members of the young generation who came from the other Monarch Families, as well as the Ten Prestigious Families, had arrived to participate in the festivities.

Although there were many beautiful, strong young ladies in the party, Kane didn't feel anything towards them.

Only when he left the hall to take a breather in the Garden did he see the most beautiful girl in his life.

A young lady wearing a white dress stood beside the fountain in silence, bathing in the moonlight.

Kane could have sworn that her body was faintly glowing in the darkness like a Princess who had stepped out of a painting.

This was also why Kane always referred to her as Princess. In his eyes, she was the one and only princess.

As years went by, he had plenty of opportunities to interact with Shasha, mostly at the parties meant for the most influential people in Pangea.

It was also there when he realized that he wasn't the only one paying close attention to the girl who had stolen his heart.

Several other teenage boys from the Monarch Clans, as well as the other Prestigious Families, were also eyeing Shasha, making him extremely jealous and desperate.

During one of those parties, he made a declaration that he would be marrying Shasha once she had come of age, not caring about the consequences that would follow such a declaration.

No one directly said anything to him because he was still a scion of the Stallard Family.

But he could tell that his declaration wasn't taken seriously by the adults, as well as the other boys who were interested in Shasha.

Since then, the young lady no longer attended any of the parties, making Kane feel heartbroken.

So the moment he saw her in the same place as him in Solterra, he thought that it was Fate.

He thought that he was finally given the chance by The One to become closer to his crush and hopefully get a few steps ahead of his rivals, who were also vying for her attention.

Although he also felt like he was rushing things, he asked Shasha to become his girlfriend, promising that he would do everything in his power to protect her and ensure that they would safely return to Pangea.

However, the young lady of his dreams firmly rejected his proposal.

But instead of feeling depressed, it only made Kane like her even more. His father once said that all is fair in love and war.

If he wanted something, he should do everything in his power to get it.

So, Kane did what he could and tried to poach Shasha's members one by one.

Of course, the members he poached weren't treated badly. In fact, he made sure that they were treated fairly, just as good as those who had decided to follow him at the very start.

He wanted to show Shasha that he wasn't like those other arrogant young Masters from the Monarch Clans.

What Kane wanted was a chance to prove that he was serious about her and that he only wanted the two of them to get to know each other better.

Unfortunately, he wasn't the type of person who liked to beat around the bush, so he didn't think twice before asking if she could become his girlfriend.

This was his first time falling in love with someone, so he really didn't know what to do. He only did the only thing he thought would work, and that was to make Shasha dependent on him.

"You're right. Maybe my approach is wrong." Kane crossed his arms over his chest. "Maybe I'm not doing this properly."

"Don't worry, Young Master," the teenage boy with glasses patted Kane's shoulder. "Since we all have the same mission. There will be plenty of opportunities to work together. I'm sure that once the Princess realizes that working together will raise the chances of success in completing the mission, she will definitely see your good points."

Kane, who felt that what his subordinate said was the truth, felt a little better.

"Okay. Tomorrow I will personally visit her and try to make amends," Kane declared. "I will not rush things this time and take it slowly."

The teenage boy with glasses nodded his head and gave his young master a thumbs up.

Kane wasn't aware that an overprotective younger brother had arrived at the scene and was already thinking of ways to torture him once they met so that he would leave his precious sister alone.