Chapter 1253: 10. Fighting Their Own Battles

“Miss Dragon, it seems that even if we jump into the Glein River, we still won't be able to wash this misunderstanding clean.”

Muen turned his head with a bitter expression, feeling as though countless Pink Bears were stampeding through his heart.

He had originally wanted to find the source of the rumor and thought that perhaps he could put an end to it, but after taking a closer look......what rumor was there? The source of everything was Miss Dragon, the person involved, saying it all with her own mouth.

She was a dignified calamity dragon. In front of the entire upper echelon of the Empire, every word she said carried weight. Things like “stealing the groom” and “bodily fluids”—although some things had indeed not been stated explicitly, this kind of ambiguous description instead gave people endless room for wild imagination.

Especially after being spread by a bastard like Pink Bear, who was an “eyewitness,” forget clearing up the rumors, Muen was now worried that those few wouldn't also believe this nonsense.

......In his mind, several beautiful figures emerged. Those lovely forms were enough to stir the imagination, but before he even had time to admire them carefully, those figures instantly transformed into evil spirits wielding hatchets.

Muen's heart pounded violently. Just imagining it made cold sweat break out on his forehead. One had to know that even when he had once faced mountains of corpses and seas of blood, he had never been this terrified.

“Since it can't be cleared up, then just leave it like this.”

Hamreign, on the other hand, took it very lightly, or rather, just as she had said before, she simply did not care about such things.

“Cough......I don't really care. I'm already used to people spreading rumors about me, but Miss Dragon, you......”

Muen carefully glanced at Miss Dragon's flat lower abdomen: “Having people randomly spread rumors that you're pregnant, and pregnant from, uh, doing that with a mere human, no matter how you look at it, that's not very good, right?”"

Rumors also came in different degrees.

Calling him thick-skinned or a scumbag was one thing. After all, that bastard Pink Bear had never stopped spreading those kinds of rumors about him, causing his reputation as a good man of Belrand to become worse and worse instead.^

But even if Miss Dragon was a dragon......she was still a woman after all. A rumor about pregnancy......

“I don't care about any kind of rumor.”.

Hamreign glanced at the newspaper on the table, without the slightest change in expression: “Compared to certain perceptions that have already become fixed, something like a rumor is truly insignificant. It will soon fade away with time, so why should I care too much about it?”

“......”/

Muen froze slightly, then realized......that was right. The misunderstandings and prejudices Miss Dragon had suffered before were things that even time could not change within a short period. Compared to those, these rumors that were currently causing such an uproar would at most last half a year or a year before fading away with their popularity, completely becoming something as insignificant as dust.

For a dragon who had lived for a thousand years, none of this was worth caring about in the slightest, even the word “pregnant.”_

“As expected of Miss Dragon, you're really open-minded.”

Muen sighed and smiled bitterly: “However, if someone later tries to take my pathetic life with a hatchet, I hope Miss Dragon can explain things for me. The word ‘pregnant’ might mean nothing to Miss Dragon, but for a certain few jars of vinegar, they really will explode on the spot.”^

“You mean those human women who fought over you before?”

“Eh? Miss Dragon knows about that?”"

“When I stole......when I took you away, I sensed it a little.”

Hamreign said: “Don't worry, I'll help you explain. If they truly intend to harm you, I'll protect you as well. After all, we're companions who agreed to keep moving forward together forever, aren't we?”^

“No, no, no, explaining is enough. As for protecting me......that probably won't be necessary.” Muen hurriedly said.

If those few really saw him hiding behind Miss Dragon, the so-called “protection” would probably immediately evolve into a bloody battle.

Muen wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, increasingly feeling that this matter carried enormous pressure. If he made even one wrong move, he really might explode on the spot.

What was going on......clearly he had not messed around at all this time, yet why did it feel like this Shura field was the most terrifying one yet?

An illusion. This had to be an illusion.

“Is that so?”

Hamreign gently nodded as well, “I'll remember.”

“Thank you.”

“I told you, don't say the words thank you anymore. This is what I, as your companion, should do.”

“Right, right, right, companion, companion......”

Muen clenched his fist: “Companions are great, long live companions!”

“......”/

Watching Muen's relieved appearance, Hamreign's delicate brows suddenly furrowed slightly.

“What's wrong?”

“Nothing.”

An inexplicable feeling of dislike surfaced in her heart.

Why?

Was there something about what was happening right now that was worth disliking?

“Right, Miss Dragon, although you don't care about the so-called rumors, I still have to say......”

Muen picked up the newspaper and pointed at the enormous bear face on it for Hamreign to see:

“To a large extent, this whole thing was pushed along from behind by this bastard. If you see him later, you absolutely have to beat him up viciously. Don't kill him......but at the very least, make him experience the painful consequences of spouting nonsense.”

“This face......”

So ugly.

Hamreign looked at that bear face and suddenly felt a wave of relief in her heart.

Right, this trace of dislike that had appeared in her heart must have been because this guy was too ugly.

A pink bear......she had never seen anything this ugly before.

“Don't worry.”

Hamreign nodded: “I'll teach him a serious lesson.”

“That's great.”

Muen revealed a smile......

But his heart was incomparably ferocious.

Heh heh, damn bear, you better wash that mascot suit clean......and wait for me!

......

......

“Ah......Achoo!”

Inside a magnificent hall, a certain bloated bear-shaped figure suddenly sneezed.

“What's going on?”

He vigorously shook his head, stretched a furry hand out from the bear's mouth, rubbed his nose, and muttered: “Someone is talking about the handsome, dashing, adorable, charming me? Damn, being too charismatic really is troublesome. Even under circumstances like this, someone is still thinking about me.”

“So, are those your last words? Pink Bear?” A cold voice came from the other side.

“Wait......those aren't my last words! Celi......no, Your Majesty! My beloved Imperial Empress!”

Pink Bear twisted his body with all his strength, but could only wriggle in place like a caterpillar. The reason he looked far more bloated than usual was precisely because, outside the mascot suit he was currently wearing, thick ropes had been tightly wrapped around him layer after layer.

As he struggled, he fell flat on his face with a smack, but still wriggled toward the silver-white figure seated high upon the imperial throne.

“Your Majesty! Imperial Empress! You must investigate this clearly! Those rumors......those outrageous rumors were one hundred percent not spread by me! You know me. I, Pink Bear, conduct myself in life entirely according to my conscience, and my absolute loyalty to you can be witnessed by heaven, earth, the sun, and the moon. How could I possibly spread words that would damage Your Majesty's dignity?

I report......it must have been that bastard Prang! That bastard has always disliked that brat Muen. It must have been him who spread the rumors, it has nothing to do with me......”

“Shut up.”

Upon the magnificent seat symbolizing the Empire's highest authority and majesty, the silver-white figure looked down at Pink Bear from above. Although not the slightest anger could be seen on her cold little face, a terrifying chill had already condensed throughout this throne hall.

“If I cared about these rumors, I would have torn you into eight pieces the moment you published the first edition of that newspaper. Do you think you would still have been able to live so freely until now?”

“......”/

Pink Bear's bear face immediately stiffened. He raised his head and carefully glanced at Celicia. Only after confirming that she temporarily had no killing intent did he continue wriggling until he reached her feet.

“Ha......as expected of my most, most beloved Imperial Empress. Even such a small matter couldn't escape your eyes.”

Pink Bear wore an ingratiating expression: “However, Your Majesty, please don't misunderstand. Those newspapers definitely weren't published to make money, and they definitely weren't published purely for amusement either. I published those newspapers entirely to share Your Majesty's burdens!”

“Oh?”

Celicia's delicate brows rose slightly as she said with a faint smile that was not quite a smile: “How so.”

“Look, after the newspapers were published, the matter of that brat Muen being stolen away by the dragon has now spread across the entire continent! Of course, nobody would laugh at Your Majesty. After all, that was a calamity. This falls under force majeure. You weren't a match for that dragon......”

Crack crack, ice spread across the floor, almost directly touching the tip of Pink Bear's nose.

“No, no, no......I don't mean that you couldn't beat that dragon and that's why that brat Muen was taken away. It's just that dragon really has lived for a rather long time, so having your groom stolen by her isn't anything shameful......”

“Cut the nonsense.”

“Yes, yes, yes......I'll get straight to the result. The benefit of the news now having spread across the entire continent is that as soon as that dragon and that brat Muen show themselves, they'll immediately be discovered. They have nowhere to hide at all! It's even said that there are now adventurers who aren't afraid of death preparing to go investigate the Forest of Death and Doom......”

Pink Bear stretched a furry hand out from the bear's mouth and vigorously slapped his chest: “Your Majesty, aren't you looking for them? Believe me, if this continues, I'm certain someone will discover their whereabouts very soon!”

“......”/

Celicia did not speak for the moment, merely gazing faintly at Pink Bear.

Only after staring until even a guy whose skin was comparable to the world's barrier began to feel his scalp go numb did she finally speak: “By exposing their whereabouts, are you referring to the more than one hundred stories of the calamity appearing in different places across the continent during this period? I hear that in some of those stories, the calamity has already married the abducted Muen Campbell, they're living a shamelessly happy life together, and they've even had a full thirteen sons.”

“Th......those must be fake!”

Pink Bear craned his neck and muttered: “Af......after all, even if they really did have children, how could it happen that quickly? Dragons aren't exactly creatures with strong reproductive abilities. Thirteen children would at least take......”

“Mm?”

“Cough......Impossible! How could Muen Campbell possibly have an affair with a dragon? He's not worthy! We all know that when that dragon took him away back then, there must have been some other reason!”

“Whether there was a reason or not doesn't matter at all.”

Celicia's tone finally eased slightly: “What matters is that we rescue Muen from the evil dragon's hands as soon as possible. Otherwise......who knows whether that guy's soul might truly be seduced away by the dragon?”

“Right, right, right! Rescuing him is the most important thing, the most important!” Pink Bear nodded desperately. “......”/

Pink Bear shuddered. For a person like him who lived for amusement, making him stay for the rest of his life in a godforsaken place like the Abyss would simply be even more unbearable than killing him.

“Don't worry!”

The lines of his bear face suddenly became solemn: “I swear upon my beloved works of art, as long as that brat appears anywhere on the continent, I will definitely be the first to discover his whereabouts!”

“Get lost!”

“Understood!”

Roll, roll.

Pink Bear rolled out of the throne hall, and everything fell silent once again.

Celicia rubbed her temples and suddenly spoke: “What are those people doing right now?”

“Eh? Those people......ah, understood.”

Veil hurriedly pulled a document from her clothes:

“Let me see, the people Your Majesty told me to pay special attention to......Miss An went to the Forest of Death and Doom, saying she wanted to explore it. Anna went east. There's been a huge uproar there about sightings of the calamity, so she went to deal with it. Her Highness the Saintess returned to the Holy City and left word that she would likewise mobilize the forces there, and that we should communicate with her more.”

“It's good that they're all working hard.”

After saying that, Celicia froze slightly.

What a pointless thing to say.

How could those people possibly not work hard? Just like herself.

“Calamity dragon......huh?”

The scene from before once again surfaced in her mind. That unprecedented sense of powerlessness she had felt when facing the calamity was still deeply embedded in her flesh and blood even now.

For the first time, she truly felt as though she were facing a formidable enemy.

Before that, no matter who else appeared, she had always maintained a measure of composure.

But only this time......she felt a profound sense of {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} crisis.

That dragon transcended common sense far too much.

The laws and rules of this world......none of them could bind that calamity.

Therefore, even she......had to use all of her strength, even if it meant temporarily joining forces with those few people she disliked.

“Make preparations.”

“Eh? Where is Your Majesty going?”

“To train.”

Strength was the foundation of everything. That dragon was so transcendent because of this, so she too had to obtain even greater power, otherwise she would forever remain at a disadvantage.

She absolutely would not allow anyone to completely surpass her......even if that someone was a calamity!

“Right......”

Just as she was thinking, Celicia suddenly stopped and looked toward Veil:

“Didn't you leave one person out among those people you just mentioned?”

“Eh? Did I?”

Veil quickly flipped through the document......

“Ah, right, there's also Miss Ariel. Sorry, Your Majesty. Miss Ariel's whereabouts are relatively well hidden, so I forgot about her for a moment.”

“That woman has no restraints on her, and there is something special about her as well. It's normal for her whereabouts to be hidden. Even her current whereabouts were probably deliberately leaked to you by her.”

Celicia said: “So? Where did she run off to?”

“Miss Ariel went west......it seems she's going to explore some ruins.”

“Explore ruins, now?”

“Mm. That's what the intelligence says.”

“Heh, running off to explore ruins at a time like this, that woman is rather composed.”

Celicia did not pay too much attention to it. She had only asked casually.

Even if an unbreakable alliance had temporarily been established between them, honestly speaking, whatever those people specifically wanted to do had nothing to do with her.

She only hoped they wouldn't be frightened out of their wits by the calamity when the crucial moment came.

“Perhaps she also thinks, just like Your Majesty, that strength is the most important thing.”

“Mm, that really does fit her one-track-minded personality.”

Celicia walked toward the training room, mentally reviewing today's training course.

Then, the instant she entered the door, she casually asked:

“Right, which direction are the ruins she's going to explore located in?”

“Apparently, they're near a small city on the western frontier, called......”

Veil thought for a moment, then said:

“Right, it's called Daigby!”