Gourmet Hunter (HxH Fanfic)

The woman had a graceful figure, dressed in traditional local attire that exuded an indescribable charm.

Her jet-black hair, smooth as satin, cascaded down past her ears. Her flawless forehead was adorned with a golden, jewel-encrusted headpiece, and a thin veil covered her face, faintly revealing the slight curve of her lips… as if she were smiling.

Yet this very woman approached and blurted out:

"Marry me!"

Law thought he had misheard, so he pointed at himself, he asked in confusion: "Are you talking to me?"

"Is there anyone else here besides you?" The woman asked back.

"Well, then I refuse." Law replied with a nod.

Seeing his rejection, the woman showed little reaction. Instead, she calmly walked over and sat down across from him, plucking a purple grape from the fruit tray and rolling it between her fingers before revealing her identity: "I am Fatima, the twelfth princess of Elba. Now, I'll give you a chance to revise your answer."

Hearing her say that, Law felt that she was not joking, and asked in confusion: "Do I even know you?"

"You don't know who I am?" Fatima acted shocked.

"No." Law answered honestly.

Squelch!

The poor grape burst between Fatima's slender fingers, and the flesh flew straight toward Law. He casually opened his mouth and caught it midair, then politely said, "Thank you."

"Well, now you know. And I'm not joking, please take this seriously." Fatima put down the grape skins and wiped her hands with a towel. Her tone was very calm, which was a far cry from her reaction when she had just crushed the grapes.

"Yeah, I still refuse. Also, I'm not 'hey'. You can call me Law." Law replied, picking up another grape from the tray and eating it. It was sweet.

Fatima pulled off her veil, revealing her delicate features. She pointed at herself and said incredulously: "I have the looks, the figure… everything! And here I am, throwing myself at you, yet you still refuse? Could it be..."

She seemed to have thought of something, and her face suddenly turned pale, and she asked in surprise, "Don't tell me… you're my elder brother's lover?"

She voiced her suspicion and then, without giving Law a chance to refute it, she quickly convinced herself.

"You must be! No wonder my brother broke tradition and brought an outsider home. It all makes sense now. To think my brother had such… tastes."

Fatima muttered under her breath and slowly stood up. A shadow of dismay crossed her pretty face, as though she couldn't believe what she'd just concluded.

"Hey, hey..." Seeing Fatima spiral into her own delusions, Law felt a chill run down his spine. He was about to explain when, suddenly, her despondent expression flipped into inexplicable excitement.

"Perfect! This makes things so much easier."

Fatima clapped her hands gleefully, and the gloom on her face disappeared. The speed of her expression changing was as swift as a Sichuan opera mask change.

Her eyes sparkled as she stared at Law, as if he were a delicious prey. She suddenly leaned her upper body towards Law, and her ample chest immediately caught Law's eyes.

"Thank the heavens for bringing you to me." Fatima said, completely unbothered by his gaze. She grabbed his hands and declared earnestly, "You have to marry me!"

Law was baffled by Fatima's behavior and pulled his hands away, saying, "Are you out of your mind?"

Fatima's face was full of excitement. She didn't care about Law's resistance, and said to herself: "Since you're my brother's lover, and he was willing to bring you home, that means you're already part of the family. There's no better candidate for marriage than you."

Law's expression darkened, and he said helplessly: "What the hell are you even saying?"

At this time, Fatima shuffled closer, kneeling on the table and leaning toward him. With her hands planted on the surface, Law's view now included not just the soft curves of her chest but even the smooth plane of her stomach beneath her clothes.

"Elba is arranging a political marriage with Goro, and I'm one of the candidates Father is considering. In order to avoid this marriage, I have to find a marriage partner quickly." Fatima explained, blinking as her warm breath, laced with perfume, brushed against Law's face.

After hearing Fatima's reasoning and connecting it to her earlier assumptions, Law immediately understood what she was planning.

She was planning a fake marriage to dodge the political union, and thanks to her wild imagination labeling him as gay, she saw him as the perfect solution.

The reason she had targeted him might have been because William had never brought an outsider into the palace before, and Law was the first.

In fact, whether Law was gay or not didn't matter. The mere fact that William had brought him back made him a prime candidate in Fatima's eyes.

Even if Law were a normal man, she had no intention of actually offering herself after marriage. Her earlier claims of 'throwing herself at him' were nothing more than exaggerated talk.

Once he pieced everything together, Law sighed softly. He pointed at the exposed view of Fatima's chest and said, "I'm sorry, but I have no interest in marrying you. Also, you're showing a bit too much."

He had to admit that Fatima is very beautiful and her figure was exceptional. The shape of her plump breasts is also undeniably alluring.

Fatima didn't care about being pointed out for her exposure. She got down from the table and leaned towards Law. She didn't act like a princess at all. With a mischievous grin, she curled her index finger repeatedly at him and said, "It doesn't matter. After all, you're into this, right?"

Law knew what the finger-bending gesture implied, so he shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Sorry to disappoint, but my preferences are perfectly normal."

"Liar!"

Fatima's eyes widened, as if she refused to believe him.

"Believe what you want." Law rolled his eyes, wondering why William hadn't come back yet.

At this moment, Fatima did something that was beyond Law's expectations. She suddenly stretched out her hand and grabbed Law's crotch.

Because Fatima was leaning next to him, and the fact that his gaze had been upward during his eye-roll, Law was caught off guard and didn't react in time.

Law was stunned, and Fatima was also stunned. Their eyes slowly met, and the atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

"W-why… is it hard?" Fatima looked as if she wanted to cry but couldn't.

Law looked down at where her hand was still firmly gripping him, then back up at her. He opened his mouth but couldn't find the words, 'Was I supposed to explain that it was a natural reaction after seeing her chest?'

Just at this moment, another voice cut through the tension.

"… You?"

William stood not far away, watching the scene with a frown.

Fatima's entire body stiffened. She turned her head mechanically toward William, her mind going blank. The only thought left was an overwhelming desire to disappear.

Law looked at William awkwardly and said with complete sincerity, "This is a misunderstanding."

After that, he looked at Fatima again and whispered, "How about letting go first?"

…

At the same time, out in the desert, a convoy of over thirty armored bulls raced across the golden sands, kicking up swirling clouds of dust.

This was a semi-armed merchant caravan, loaded with goods and heading toward Elba. They were less than a hundred miles from their destination, and the leader silently prayed they'd make it safely without running into those damned sand bandits.

"Boss… look there." A panicked voice came from beside him.

The leader followed the direction that the man pointed and when he saw a large amount of dust rising in the distance, he immediately showed a look of despair.

In the distance, a team of a hundred armored bulls were charging straight toward the caravan. At the front rode a man with his beard braided into a single thick plait… the leader of the sand bandits.