Chapter 1329: 87. Busy

"Finished talking?"

The moment Celicia stepped out of the hospital room, a meaningful voice was already waiting for her in the corridor.

She looked up.

Several beautiful young women stood there, each of whom displeased her in every possible way—appearance, temperament, even strength. Some leaned against the wall with their arms crossed, some stood perfectly straight-backed, while two of them were still pulling each other's hair and pinching each other's cheeks......

It looked almost like a painting.

No matter what they were doing, they were beautiful enough to belong in one.

Although Celicia had only just criticized that guy's taste in certain areas, when it came to beautiful girls, even she couldn't find fault with his eye.

That was also extremely irritating.

"You're still waiting for me? How idle. Aren't all of you supposed to be terribly busy?"

Celicia sneered.

"No matter how busy we are, we can still spare this little bit of time."

Anna smiled faintly, twirling the ends of her hair around one finger.

"This is also to prevent a certain someone from taking advantage of our absence and shamelessly getting a head start. After all, something like that has already happened once. Naturally, we have to be on guard."

"Heh. Getting a head start? Ridiculous. As his legitimate fiancée, organizing our wedding is my right. It was admittedly somewhat inappropriate that I didn't inform him beforehand, but compared with all of you, everything I did was perfectly justified."

Celicia's expression was proud.

Although she knew that saying this would once again leave her facing several women alone, she remained completely fearless.

"Do you think I'm like you shameless people, always relying on those despicable little tricks?"

"......"

Sure enough, the instant those words left her mouth, the entire corridor fell silent.

Even the two who had been pulling each other's hair stopped at the same time and turned toward her with unfriendly expressions, as though all their proper coordination had instantly returned.

But contrary to Celicia's expectations, what came next wasn't a joint counterattack.

Anna alone swayed her slender waist as she walked leisurely over and stopped in front of her.

"Tricks? Interesting. Yes, we admit it. No matter what sort of tricks they were, we've probably used some before. After all, that guy always falls for them. But are you saying Your Majesty has never used any tricks yourself?"

"Never."

Celicia's tone was firm.

"I'm different from all of you. I don't need to rely on cheap little tactics like that."

"Oh? Is that so? I seem to remember Your Majesty enjoying those little tactics quite a lot."

Anna's smile deepened until her beautiful eyes nearly curved into crescents.

"If you think some baseless slander is enough to shake me, then you're still far too naive."

Celicia met Anna's gaze calmly.

"Or is this really all you're capable of now?"

"Gege."

Anna covered her lips and suddenly leaned close to Celicia's ear.

"Since we've already gotten this far, then I really do have one tiny question for Your Majesty."

"Ask."

"Your Majesty is already a true Crowned One now, correct?"

"What? Are you frightened? Thinking about surrendering? If you admit defeat now, perhaps I'll leave you a few scraps in the future. After all, that guy has been getting more and more impressive lately. Even I would probably have a little left over eventually."

"No, no, no. That's not what I mean. What I want to ask is......"

Anna tilted her head and stared into Celicia's eyes.

"What sort of constitution does Your Majesty actually have? In the past, perhaps it was understandable, but why is it that now, even after becoming a mighty Crowned One, you're still afraid of a little alcohol?"

"......"

Cold erupted instantly.

Frost spread from beneath Celicia's feet, quickly covering nearly half the corridor floor. Even the nearby walls turned frost-white.

The temperature of the air dropped at the same time, as though they had gone in an instant from the warm southern lands to the frozen plains of the north.

A faint killing intent mixed into the chill as well.

At this moment, even the most vicious demonic beast would probably have trembled beneath that interwoven cold and killing intent.

Unfortunately, this level of pressure held absolutely no deterrence for the women gathered here, all of whom were already veterans of countless battles.

They merely widened their eyes curiously and waited for an answer.

"That is none of your concern."

Celicia suddenly became calm.

The chill around her vanished as though it had only been an illusion.

She walked straight past Anna, then brushed by the others. Her high heels, reflecting the crystalline light, struck the smooth floor with a sound like clashing blades.

"You're leaving just like that?"

Ariel wiped her face, and the nail marks on it quickly disappeared.

"What about the alliance we agreed on before? Does it still count?"

"The alliance......"

Celicia stopped.

"For the time being, yes."

"Oh?"

An looked surprised.

"Proud as you are, you're actually willing to continue tolerating an agreement like that?"

"This has nothing to do with pride. The problem with that dragon has still not been resolved. I believe all of you understand that clearly. And besides......"

Celicia glanced back.

"Although I hate to admit it, a certain someone was right. With so many things already settled as they are, continuing to fight among ourselves has no meaning. It would only give outsiders an opportunity to take advantage."

"Exactly!"

Liya rubbed her chest while puffing out her cheeks.

"Instead of fighting among ourselves, we should be guarding against outsiders. If this keeps going, seven days in a week won't even be enough!"

"......"

Everyone fell silent.

Nearly everyone here had experienced the phenomenon of suddenly discovering one more woman the moment they let their guard down.

If things continued like this, it really would become a serious problem.

"Then it's settled. The alliance continues. Until the problem with that dragon is completely resolved, and until we've thoroughly locked his heart within a certain range, we'll remain temporarily united."

Anna's smile faded.

Her gaze swept across everyone present.

"Let's make this clear in advance. Since we've formed an alliance, everyone has to abide by its rules. During this period, no getting a head start, no underhanded little tricks. Everything must be fair and impartial."

"Tricks? Who would use tricks?"

"What a boring thing."

"I'm the Saintess, you know. I would never use underhanded methods."

Their gazes crossed.

Every one of them spoke with absolute conviction and complete sincerity.

Every word carried the same weight as their alliance itself.

Unbreakable.

"What about Your Majesty?"

"Heh. I've already said it. I never use cheap little tricks."

Celicia scoffed at the question.

She turned and walked away, having no desire to remain there any longer.

Staying around these women made her feel as though her entire body was being marinated in the foul scent of gaudy perfume.

"Leaving already?"

Anna looked at her retreating back.

"Aren't we going to discuss who stays beside Muen during this period?"

"Since everyone has their own matters to attend to, then for fairness, none of us should stay."

Celicia waved a hand, her manner aloof.

"That guy isn't a child. Does an injury like this really require someone watching him twenty-four hours a day? Besides, given his current condition, there probably isn't much that can be squeezed out of him for the time being anyway."

"I meant in another sense. That guy has already gone so far as to lay hands on a dragon. We can't afford not to guard against it."

Anna sighed softly.

What are you thinking about?

Seriously.

"Don't worry."

But when faced with this most serious problem, Celicia merely gave another cold "heh."

"I already gave him a proper warning just now. Unless he's suddenly grown the courage of a bear and a leopard, he probably won't go fooling around with some random woman again for a while."

......

......

"Haah......finally quiet."

Muen lay back against the soft pillow, staring at the spotless white ceiling as his entire body relaxed.

He had survived yet another difficult trial.

It truly hadn't been easy.

Why were those women all just like Pink Bear?

Instead of believing in the sincere heart of Belrand's number one good man, they chose to believe all those bizarre, completely untrue rumors.

"Seriously. The way they talk, you'd think I'm some scumbag who flirts with a different woman every single day."

Muen let out a long sigh.

But with Celicia gone, he could finally relax for the time being.

Miss Dragon had stormed off in embarrassment and anger. For a while, she probably wouldn't be able to recover from the psychological blow of being a mighty calamity who had somehow been defeated by a "holy sword."

As for the others, they all temporarily had their own matters to deal with.

Which meant......

"I can finally get some proper rest?"

Muen blinked.

Then suddenly became excited.

Heavens have mercy.

Goddess bless him.

After being "tormented" for such a long time, he could finally relax completely!

Freedom!

Long live freedom!

However......

Just as Muen began happily imagining what wonderful things he could do with this rare stretch of single time......

"Get your ass to the Sea of Flowers."

A completely unpleasant little-girl voice shattered every one of his fantasies.

"Eh? Seriously? Right now?"

"Move your ass. Faster."

"Oh......"