Exiled Prince and His Succubus Army-Chapter 32: Pleasant weather

The next morning, Renji woke up slowly, consciousness returning to him in gradual waves. He blinked against the soft light filtering into the room, then sat up with a groan, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with the back of his hand. His messy black hair was even more disheveled than usual, sticking up in odd directions from a night of restless sleep.

Once he was alert enough to focus, he decided to check his system interface. The familiar translucent display materialized in his vision, and his eyes immediately found what he was looking for, his shop points balance.

[Shop Points: 1500]

Not bad, he thought to himself. The hunting over the past few days had really added up. Curious about what he could actually do with this accumulated wealth, he directed a mental question toward the system. "What can I buy with fifteen hundred shop points?"

The system’s voice responded in his mind. "With your current balance, you have access to various potions in the shop."

"What potions?" Renji asked.

"There are health potions that restore physical vitality, stamina potions that replenish energy reserves, antidote potions that cure common poisons, clarity potions that temporarily enhance mental focus, and..."

As the system continued rattling off the different types of potions available, Renji found his interest waning with each new item mentioned.

None of them captured his imagination or seemed worth spending his hard-earned points on. He wanted something more exciting, something that would give him a real edge in combat or provide some unique advantage. Potions felt so... ordinary.

"Never mind," he interrupted the system mid-sentence. "I’ll keep my shop points for now. Maybe something better will show up later."

A thought occurred to him then, something that had been nagging at him since he’d first gained access to this system. "Hey, why isn’t the shop displayed visually so I can browse everything myself?" he asked, a note of irritation creeping into his voice. "Why do I have to listen to you list things off one by one? I’d rather see everything available and not have to just take your word for what’s in stock."

The system responded with its usual snark . "The visual shop interface feature is currently locked princeling. It will become available once you reach a certain threshold."

"What threshold?" Renji pressed.

"That information is also locked."

Renji’s eye twitched with frustration. "So I can’t see the shop, and I can’t even know when I’ll be able to see the shop?"

"Correct."

"You’re useless," Renji declared flatly, throwing off his blankets and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "Absolutely useless." The system, predictably, offered no response to his insult as he got up and began preparing for the day ahead.

Some hours later, the three of them, Renji, Aya, and Kaede, were making their way through the forest on another hunting expedition.

The forest canopy spread above them, filtering the sunlight into scattered beams that danced across the forest floor. Birds chirped somewhere in the distance, and a gentle breeze rustled through the leaves, carrying the scent of earth and growing things.

Aya took a deep breath, her dark eyes lifting toward the patches of sky visible between the branches. A small, contented smile spread across her face. "The day feels nice," she commented, her voice carrying that calm, appreciative tone that was so characteristic of her personality. "The weather feels really pleasant today, don’t you think?"

Renji looked up at her words, squinting at the sky through the gaps in the foliage. He studied it for a moment, trying to see whatever it was that had prompted her observation. The sky looked blue. The sun was there, doing its sun thing. Clouds existed in their usual cloudy manner. Nothing seemed particularly special or different to him.

"I don’t see it," he said with a slight frown, lowering his gaze back to the path ahead. "Looks like every other day to me." He glanced over at Kaede, who was walking slightly ahead with her usual confident stride. "What do you think, Kaede? Is the weather somehow nicer today?

Kaede slowed her pace slightly, tilting her head back to peer up at the sky through the canopy. Her blonde hair caught the sunlight as she studied the heavens with apparent seriousness. She squinted slightly, examining the quality of the light filtering down through the leaves. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Hmm," she said after a moment of contemplation. "I think I’m a little more on Aya’s side with this one." She nodded slowly, as if confirming her own assessment. "The sun does look a little less harsh than normal. There’s something softer about the light today."

Renji’s eyebrows shot up in disbelief. He looked up at the sky again, really trying this time to see whatever the two women were apparently seeing. He squinted. He tilted his head. He even shaded his eyes with his hand to get a better look. But no matter how hard he tried, the sky still looked exactly the same as it always did to him. Blue. Bright. Completely ordinary.

"I still don’t see it," he admitted finally, giving up with a shrug. A suspicious look crossed his features as he glanced between his two companions. "You know what I think is happening here? I think you two are just siding with each other over me because you’re both girls. That’s what this is. Girl solidarity against the lone male."

Aya made a small sound that might have been a suppressed laugh. "That’s quite an accusation," she said, her tone light and teasing.

The three of them kept walking, their footsteps crunching softly against the forest floor. The conversation had taken on a playful quality, a welcome distraction from the serious business of monster hunting that awaited them.

After a few moments of companionable silence, Aya spoke up again. "You know," she said, her voice thoughtful but with an undercurrent of amusement, "suggesting that we’re agreeing with each other just because we’re women... that might be a little bit sexist of you, Renji."

Renji’s head whipped around to stare at her, his expression one of exaggerated offense. "Sexist? Me?" He placed a hand over his heart as if wounded. "I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m simply making an observation about suspicious patterns of agreement." He looked over at Kaede, seeking support from what he hoped would be a more sympathetic audience. "Kaede, tell her. I’m not sexist, right?"

Kaede didn’t even hesitate. "I agree with Aya," she said smoothly, not breaking her stride or even looking at him.

"About what?" Renji demanded.

"About you being a little sexist," Kaede clarified, and there was definitely a hint of amusement in her voice now, though her expression remained composed.

Renji threw his hands up in the air, nearly hitting a low-hanging branch in his frustration. "See? This is exactly what I’m talking about!" he exclaimed, his voice rising with theatrical indignation. "You two are definitely siding with each other over me, and it’s completely unfair. I ask a simple question, and you just automatically agree with whatever the other one said. How is that not..."

His rant cut off abruptly, the words dying in his throat. His body tensed, all traces of playful annoyance vanishing in an instant as his senses shifted to high alert. His ears had picked up something rustling through the undergrowth,