Chapter 1276: 34. Caught from Both Sides

“Mm......that was a really good sleep......”

Muen had no idea how long he had slept. He sat up and stretched with complete satisfaction.

Sleep after an utterly exhausting bout of exercise was always this wonderful.

“Though that exercise was a little too intense......”

Muen got up and casually picked up his clothes. But after seeing the traces of liquid still left on them, he sighed, took out a fresh set, and put them on instead.

Those two greedy little kittens really had no restraint.

They practically didn’t treat him like a human being.

Still......one or two of them was fine. At present, it was still within the limits of what he could endure. Even the punishment deliberately inflicted by a certain little devil of a senior had not actually pushed him completely to his limit.

That was right. He was completely different from before now. With his body having reached the Crowned level, both his endurance and the strength of his kidneys had improved considerably.

He was no longer that pitiful man who could so easily be pinned beneath someone else!

“As long as no more strange people suddenly join the battlefield, I’m invincible.” The corner of Muen’s mouth curled upward. Thinking about it, the chances of something like that happening were not very high."

After all, those women had always preferred keeping everything to themselves. How could they possibly share information with one another?

So even if someone else really did join the battlefield, that should still be some time from now. He would have plenty of time to rest.^

In short, right now, he was invincible!

“So what should I do today? Rest......wander around......or......” Muen hummed while getting dressed, thinking about what to do next..

But at that moment......

“Can we leave now?”/

“Mm?”

Muen jolted.*

He instinctively assumed a defensive stance, afraid that some female pervert from who knew where had snuck into his room again and was preparing to do something wicked to the pitiful and innocent him.

Fortunately......it was not a female pervert.'

It was Miss Dragon.

“Cough, cough. Miss Dragon......why are you here?” Muen asked cautiously while also studying the fiery-red figure before him.,

She looked the same as always. Her fiery-red hair hung loosely down her back, and her thorn-covered long dress swayed gently, like the night spilling outward.

There was no expression at all on that breathtakingly beautiful face, making her thoughts impossible to read./

Perhaps it was only his imagination......but for some reason, Muen suddenly felt that she had become difficult to understand again.

“Why can’t I be here?”

Her golden pupils shifted slightly as her gaze swept across the room filled with strange smells. Men’s and women’s clothing had been casually thrown everywhere. She even saw a piece of pink lace hanging conspicuously from the corner of the bed.

Heh. Humans, pitiful creatures ruled by desire.

Disdain filled Hamreign’s eyes.

“Is this some kind of forbidden place?”

“No......but this is still the room of someone of the opposite sex......”

“We are companions.”

“Yes, yes, yes. Companions. It’s perfectly normal to enter a companion’s room. I understand.” Muen hurriedly changed his wording.

“Good.”

Seeing that Muen had gained a deeper understanding of the true meaning of being companions, Hamreign’s expression softened slightly:

“As I said just now, shouldn’t we leave?”

“Huh? Leave? Leave where?”

“This city.”

“We’re leaving already?”

Muen’s expression turned strange. “We’ve only been here for two days, haven’t we? Don’t you want to look around some more?”

“I’ve already finished.”

“? Huh?” Muen thought he had misheard.

“I’ve already finished.”

Hamreign repeated herself. “The entire city. I’ve seen all of it.”

“No, this city might not be very large, but still......how did you manage to finish seeing it in such a short time? When did you even do that?”

“Last night.”

“Last night......”

Muen froze.

That happened to be precisely when Ariel and his senior had been taking turns bullying him.

And during that time, Miss Dragon had actually gone sightseeing. Had she simply gotten the sudden urge to walk around, or had she not wanted to see—or hear—certain things?

Muen felt that the more likely possibility was......

“I simply wanted to look around.”? Hamreign said seriously. “I came to the human world in the first place to experience it. Nothing more.”

“I understand, I understand!”

Muen nodded vigorously:

“Miss Dragon was simply experiencing human customs and scenery. You simply wanted to walk around, that’s all. I understand everything. I absolutely don’t mean anything else!”

“Good. How long will it take you to prepare to leave?”

“Although this is a little sudden......”

Muen glanced at the sky outside. “Two hours should be enough.”

“Very well. I’ll wait for you.”

With that, Miss Dragon disappeared.

She seemed unwilling to remain even a moment longer in this room that, to her, was filled with filth.

But Muen could not calm down because of that.

“......I have a feeling things are getting troublesome.”

He scratched his head, sighed first, then gave a bitter smile. “I just hope things don’t develop in too terrible a direction.”

......

Complaints were complaints, but after washing up and getting himself organized, Muen immediately began preparing to leave. Normally, if it were just him and Miss Dragon, [N O V E L I G H T] he could simply travel the same way they had come—catching a ride on the convenient dragon express and heading straight to the next destination.

But now Ariel and his senior had both arrived, and neither of them seemed to have any intention of leaving for the time being. That meant he also had to prepare transportation for them for the next part of the journey.

Miss Dragon most likely would not allow them to ride on her back.

Fortunately, Muen quickly managed to persuade Miss Dragon to travel with them by carriage using the reasoning that “slower methods are better for experiencing the customs and atmosphere of the human world.”

“Then I must thank the two of you.”

Even for Muen, finding high-quality dragonblood horses within only two hours would have been difficult. Fortunately, he had the help of two influential locals: Adventurers’ Association Branch President? Blaze and Eye of the Prophet Enid.

“It was hardly worth mentioning. There’s no need to thank us.”

Blaze waved his hand with a cheerful smile. “If anything, Lord Muen helped us defeat a powerful enemy. We’re the ones who should be thanking you.”

“Hmph. I originally didn’t want to do anything for a scumbag like you.”

Enid, meanwhile, still looked at him with the same disdain as before, as though Muen had personally shattered some beautiful fantasy of hers. “I’m only reluctantly helping you for Lord Hamreign’s sake. I hope you’ll turn over a new leaf and finally understand what true love really is!”

“......I-I understand.”

Muen’s cheek twitched.

What did she mean, turn over a new leaf?

She was talking as though he were some kind of scumbag.

“Then......I’ll be going first. As for information about Miss Dragon, I’ll have to trouble the two of you to help. Even if you can’t completely conceal it, I hope you can at least muddy the waters a little. After all, her identity......”

“Don’t worry. We understand.”

Blaze winked at him suggestively. “I definitely won’t report it to Her Majesty the Empress. But if she finds out from somewhere else, that has nothing to do with me.”

“......” Muen’s cheek twitched again.

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

They made it sound as though he were terrified of Celicia.

Why did every single one of them still misunderstand him so badly?

“I’m leaving.”

Muen could not be bothered to explain. He had already accepted it. This world was always prejudiced against good men, so there was no point explaining himself anymore.

He turned around and climbed into the carriage.

The moment he entered, the light beside the carriage dimmed, and Hamreign appeared.

Her golden eyes glanced at the dragonblood horses. The animals, which had been somewhat restless, instantly became docile. She lowered her head and entered the carriage as well.

The specially made carriage had an extremely spacious interior. Even if four or five people were to engage in some intense exercise inside, it would not feel cramped.

The moment Hamreign entered, her gaze was not distracted in the slightest by the lavish decorations. It naturally landed on the empty seat beside Muen.

As companions, naturally she should sit......

“Oh my, this carriage is so comfortable.”

A seductive figure appeared from nowhere and sat down to Muen’s left, naturally hooking her arm through his.

“Junior, you really went to a lot of trouble.”

“......Of course. It’s been so long since I traveled together with Senior.” Muen forced out a smile. “How could I possibly not prepare properly?”

“......”

Hamreign frowned slightly but said nothing. Her gaze shifted toward Muen’s other side......

“Exactly, exactly. I’ve never ridden in such a luxurious carriage before.”

Yet before she could move, a certain flat-chested figure suddenly appeared as well. With a little twist of her rear, she smoothly sat down to Muen’s right, then naturally rested her head on his shoulder, docile as an adorable little white rabbit.

“Since you were thoughtful enough to prepare all this, I’ll temporarily forgive you for what happened before.”

“R-really? It’s wonderful that you can think of it that way.”

Muen’s smile did not change.

But his little heart was pounding furiously.

One on the left, one on the right, with him trapped in the middle.

Normally, having beauties beside him and soft jade in his arms should have been a wonderful moment. Yet for some reason, he could not bring himself to feel happy at all.

He secretly glanced at Hamreign and inexplicably grew nervous, even breaking out in cold sweat across his forehead.

Miss Dragon, stay calm......you absolutely have to stay cal—

“It’s a fine carriage.”

To Muen’s surprise, after seeing this, Hamreign truly showed no reaction at all and appeared extraordinarily calm.

She merely nodded lightly, as though she really were praising the carriage, then sat opposite Muen while completely ignoring the two human women putting on such provocative displays.

“Let’s go.”

She spoke lightly. The dragonblood horses in front suddenly seemed to gain intelligence. They did not even need a driver and began moving forward on their own.

But Muen no longer had the attention to spare for something as trivial as this seemingly magical trick. He stared at Miss Dragon in front of him in surprise.

......Since when had Miss Dragon’s temper become this good?

Those two girls were obviously provoking her on purpose. Had she not noticed?

Last night, they had at least been sneaking around behind her back. Now they were doing it right in front of her......

“What is it?”

Noticing Muen’s gaze, Hamreign spoke.

“N-nothing.” Muen shook his head vigorously.

“I know what you’re worried about. Don’t worry. I am not such a narrow-minded person.”

Hamreign casually picked up a bottle of wine that had been prepared on the table in advance. With a flick of her hand, she sliced off the cap, tilted the bottle, and all the wine inside disappeared in an instant.

She drank the entire bottle in one go, yet not even the slightest change appeared on her face:

“I told you before. As companions bound by an eternal contract, I will not interfere in your private life. Desire may be something I disdain, but I will not deliberately prevent it either. I have learned that if human males do not release their desires, it can instead be harmful to their bodies. So there is no need to mind me. Do as you please.”

“I-is that so......”

Muen’s emotions became complicated, and he had no idea what expression he was supposed to make.

“Oh my, Junior. She already said that much. What are you still worried about?”

Anna smiled sweetly, picked up a grape with her delicate fingers, and placed it into Muen’s mouth. “She doesn’t care, so wouldn’t it be better for us to simply enjoy ourselves?”

“Exactly!”

Ariel also drew her Heavenly Fire Greatsword and demonstrated the art of slicing an apple with a greatsword, neatly dividing it into twelve perfectly even pieces before gently feeding one to Muen with a toothpick:

“Right now, all you need to do is enjoy yourself. I hardly ever treat you this well, so you should look at me too......”