Chapter 1305: 63. The One He Trusts

"Phew... That was terrifying. Every single one of them is trying to scheme against me. How did things get this dangerous? Is this really still Belrand?"

At a secluded street corner, Muen poked his head out. Only after confirming that there were no pursuers and no evil women appearing out of nowhere with plans to devour him whole did he finally let out a long breath, wiping the sweat from his forehead while he was at it.

What was going on? Since when had Belrand become such a dangerous place for him?

What happened to the warmth of home?

What happened to having a safe little harbor from the storm?

Why did it feel like there were violent winds and torrential rain everywhere instead?

"Damn it. I never thought even Father, with those thick eyebrows and honest-looking eyes, would betray me... No, wait, he betrayed me a long time ago. I'm the idiot for still choosing to trust him at a time like this."

Leaning against the wall, Muen rubbed his waist, which had once again been worked quite hard over the past few days, feeling both emotional and fortunate. If he hadn't advanced his physical body to the Crowned level ahead of time, he probably would've been drained so thoroughly that he couldn't even get out of bed right now.

Although the increase in his strength meant that he still had a little energy to spare, he nevertheless decided that for the time being, he absolutely couldn't trust anyone. If this continued, who could possibly endure it?

An iron waist wouldn't be enough. He needed a diamond one.

And that wasn't even mentioning the terrifying butcher's knife hidden behind all that beauty and intimacy. Muen didn't even dare think too deeply about just how frightening Celicia's yet-unfulfilled punishment might be.

"That's right. I need to keep a low profile. As long as I preserve my waist, I'll never lack firewood to burn. From now on, I can't trust anyone. Even if this is Belrand, I still have to stay twelve times as vigilant..."

"Vigilant about what?"

The familiar indifferent voice was like a spring breeze carrying a trace of chill—slightly cold, but not enough to make one shiver.

Muen jolted and turned around. A fiery-red figure he had long since grown accustomed to immediately entered his vision.

Hamreign stood at the end of the alley, not very far from Muen. With the light behind her, her skin was as pale as jade, while her long red hair was illuminated by the brilliant sunlight.

She was beautiful.

"Ah, nothing at all... Dragon Lady, why are you here?"'

"Just wandering around."

Hamreign looked Muen up and down, then asked with slight confusion, "What about you? What did you go do? It's only been half a day, so how did you end up looking so... miserable?".

His clothes were disheveled, his face pale, and his breath weak and unsteady.

Judging only by his appearance, who could possibly tell that this was already someone standing at the very peak among humans, a powerful being capable of contending with a true Crowned?

Rather than some powerful expert, he looked more like a pretty boy who had just been completely drained dry by a wealthy woman.

"It's nothing."'

Muen smiled bitterly. "There was just a little accident."

"An accident? Mm, I see."`

Hamreign quickly caught the scent of another woman on Muen. Her expression darkened slightly, but she soon returned to calm. "Who was it this time? One of those women from before, or that woman from a few months ago who actually had the courage to attack me?"

"Dragon Lady, don't misunderstand. I didn't abandon you to go do something shameful. I just..."

Muen hurriedly waved his hands. He hadn't expected Dragon Lady to notice so quickly.

"Misunderstand what?"

Hamreign raised an eyebrow. "I haven't misunderstood anything, nor do I have any special thoughts about it. I've already told you before that as your companion, I won't interfere with your desires or private affairs. As for shameful... I don't think the things you do are anything to be ashamed of."

"R-Really?"

Muen let out a long breath.

Thank goodness, Dragon Lady wasn't angry...

Huh?

Wait.

At this point, a trace of doubt suddenly arose in Muen's heart as well.

Why had he been nervous in the first place?

Dragon Lady and he were companions. Just as Dragon Lady herself had said that she didn't care, was there really any reason to be nervous about things like this between companions?

She wasn't like those bad women!

"This time I was schemed against too. I originally only planned to test the waters, but I almost ended up trapping myself instead."

Muen walked over to Hamreign, grumbling as he examined the Dragon Lady before him. Feeling that familiar fragrance and presence, his heart finally began to calm down as well.

"Looks like my previous judgment was wrong. Belrand isn't actually that safe a place for me anymore... Sorry."

"Is that something you need to apologize for? So what if it isn't safe? With me protecting you, who could actually do anything to you?" Hamreign casually glanced at him, but her manner carried unquestionable authority.

"Dragon Lady..."

Warmth surged through Muen's heart.

He took back what he'd just said. There were still safe places in this city, and there were still people he could trust.

Belrand? His base? The ducal estate?

Only beside Dragon Lady was there truly a safe harbor for him!

A soft smile gradually appeared at the corners of Muen's lips. He felt his entire body relax, all the pressure from earlier disappearing completely.

"What do you want to do next?"

"I told you. Just wander around."

"Together?"

"Of course."

Hamreign nodded lightly. There was no telling whether she felt even a little extra happiness about that. Before Muen could investigate further, she had already turned around and headed out of the alley.

Her black thorn-covered dress swayed gently as she walked through the narrow alley. Combined with her height and proportions that far exceeded those of an ordinary person, it gave Muen an inexplicable sense of unreality, as though Dragon Lady wasn't actually standing in the real world but inside a painting.

The Dragon Lady of the past had also seemed this detached from the mortal world, standing entirely apart from everything around her. Yet at this moment, Muen felt that she was also very different from how she had been before.

The most important difference was...

She was no longer someone who couldn't be touched.

With a few quick steps, Muen caught up and walked beside her.

Because the alley was narrow, their shoulders occasionally touched, and the backs of their hands and fingers brushed against each other from time to time. Yet neither he nor she showed the slightest resistance—for companions, this was perfectly normal, wasn't it?

Leaving the alley, they stepped onto a broad main street.

People continued streaming back and forth around them. Belrand's streets were always this prosperous. Only now, everyone on the street had their vision obscured by magic, preventing them from glimpsing the Calamity's peerless true appearance.

Only Muen could see her.

And so, from the corner of his eye, Muen once again inadvertently glanced at the flawless face beside him. Several scales near her temples and sideburns glittered beneath the light, blending into the deep-red shadow around her eyes, yet still unable to steal any brilliance from those golden pupils.

Perhaps it was merely his imagination, but although they had only been apart for half a day, Dragon Lady's eyes seemed much brighter than before. It was as though she had finally found a direction within a boundless desert, and those golden pupils had once again regained the majesty that could once make all things submit.

It was just that within that majesty, there seemed to be several hints of something he couldn't understand.

"Dragon Lady... did something good happen to you?"

"Why do you ask?"

"You look pretty happy."

"......"

Hamreign touched the corner of her eye and lightly pursed her lips:

"It's nothing. I just figured out a few things and confirmed a few things."

"Do you mind sharing?"

"You'll know soon enough."

"Hm?"

Muen watched as Dragon Lady suddenly quickened her pace, feeling somewhat puzzled.

But he didn't think too deeply about it. Dragon Lady's thoughts had always been difficult to guess. The fact that he could directly read her emotions like this was actually one of the rarer occasions.

Without any particular destination, the two of them merged into the crowd and simply walked wherever their feet took them.

"This... is actually pretty nice."

Muen suddenly sighed.

Originally, he had wanted to properly entertain Dragon Lady and, as the "local host," take her around to experience all the details of the continent's greatest city. But because of various circumstances, they ultimately still couldn't act too conspicuously.

All he could do was take her around casually, stroll through the streets, and let her experience the city's most authentic—and least beautiful—side.

Still, something this simple seemed pretty nice too.

"Extra! Extra! Belrand's biggest scumbag, Muen Campbell, has already returned to Belrand! And according to reliable sources, the legendary Calamity has also arrived in Belrand together with him!"

"Is she here to declare war on Her Majesty the Empress? Is she prepared to make an enemy of all humanity just to take Muen Campbell away? Or is she going to disregard worldly conventions entirely, beat that yellow-haired bastard to his knees, and make him her... Anyway, read today's front-page headline for the exclusive scoop from the famous exposé expert Pink Bear!"

"......"

The newspaper boys passed by the two of them, waving the latest gossip papers as they shouted. As usual, the stories were complete fabrications, enough to make anyone want to tear apart a certain bear's mouth.

Yet at this moment, even after hearing slander like "Belrand's biggest scumbag," Muen discovered that he no longer felt the slightest panic or anger. Instead, he had entered an almost transcendent state.

That's right. He was currently together with the Calamity, the Dragon of Death and Doom, the strongest creature beneath the heavens. What could there possibly be left in this world for him to fear?

Even if this entire city really had turned into a trap or a demon's den aimed specifically at him, as long as Dragon Lady was here, all of that amounted to nothing more than laughable little tricks.

"Sorry, Dragon Lady. I accidentally dragged you into this sort of rumor again."

Muen scratched his head awkwardly. Although Dragon Lady had already told him long ago that she didn't care about things like this, every time he heard something like that, Muen still felt somewhat...

"Huh? Dragon Lady?"

"......Hm? Wh-What?"

Hamreign, whose gaze had been following the newspaper boys as they walked away, abruptly turned back. "Did you say something?"

"......"

Muen looked at the newspaper boys gradually disappearing into the crowd, then looked back at Dragon Lady, and a strange feeling rose in his heart...

"Dragon Lady... do you want to read the newspaper?"

"No. I don't want to read the newspaper."

Hamreign's expression rapidly returned to its usual indifference. "I simply found human children very energetic and felt gratified by it."

"I see..."

But there were so many children on the street. It wasn't only newspaper boys who were energetic...

Probably just his imagination.

Muen forcibly extinguished that thought himself.

After all, Dragon Lady wasn't like his father, harboring some evil scheme that violated his conscience. Why would he think that she was hiding something from him now?

She had already been acting a little strange lately. Perhaps she'd simply developed a particular interest for a moment.

"Seriously. As her companion, how could I possibly doubt Dragon Lady?"

Muen shook his head with a self-deprecating smile, feeling that he was being completely unreasonable.

Those bad women had simply frightened him so badly that he had become suspicious of everything.

Fortunately, Dragon Lady was still a good woman.