Chapter 608: A Critical Hit from the Father’s Generation
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 608: A Critical Hit from the Father’s Generation
Volume 5
“Finally, it’s all over.”
Supported by Celicia’s Authority, Muen lay back in mid-air, gazing up at the azure sky.
The morning sun was newly born, and the sky was as clear as if it had been washed clean. It was the kind of sight that instantly put the mind at ease, making the recent confrontation with the Evil God feel like nothing more than a terrible nightmare.
“It felt so long, even though not much time has actually passed. Wouldn't you agree, Your Majesty?”
Muen looked toward the woman beside him with a smile. He used the title intentionally, though his tone lacked any real "reverence." He even had the audacity to lean in, attempting to rub against Celicia’s smooth, supple thigh, only to be pushed away by her look of utter disdain.
“It has come to a temporary close, yes. But to say it is completely over is premature.”
Celicia raised a hand and beckoned. A breeze fluttered by, but it was no mere wind. Under the Emperor’s Authority, invisible ripples began to radiate outward from her, meticulously scanning the sky for any lingering traces of the Evil God’s corruption.
This was why the black curtain shrouding the sky had not yet dissipated and why the two of them remained in the air. After all, an Evil God had personally descended directly above Belland. At such close proximity, if they failed to notice something the deity had left behind, the common citizens of Belland might suffer a catastrophe under the cover of some deep-seated pollution.
This was Belland, a city with immense population density. Even the slightest speck of corruption could lead to horrific consequences.
Thus, Celicia’s inspection was incredibly thorough. She would not retract the black curtain until she was absolutely certain of their safety.
“Don’t worry. Once I’ve recovered a bit, I can use my Black Flame to help you. No lingering corruption can escape being devoured by it. Oh, right.”
Muen offered her some thoughtful comfort, but speaking of recovery... he suddenly remembered something he had received earlier. He reached into his robes and pulled out two exquisite small vials, tossing one to Celicia.
“Here, this is for you.”
“What is this?”
“The Guild Master of the Royal Mage Corps gave it to me. She brewed this healing potion herself.”
“The Guild Master... Miss Phyllis?” Celicia’s brow arched, her expression turning slightly peculiar as she looked at Muen. “She gave this to you?”
“Yeah, why? Is something wrong?”
Muen blinked and said, “Miss Phyllis seems like a pretty good person. She taught me how to use the Forbidden Spell Core and gave me such a precious potion. Even though it was our first time meeting, I honestly don't know how to repay her.”
“A good person to you...”
Doubt flickered in Celicia’s eyes. She opened the vial and took a sniff. “It really is just a healing potion... Could it be that she’s completely moved past what happened decades ago? Or was that whole affair just a baseless rumor made up by that fellow?”
“Is there a problem?”
Muen caught the shift in Celicia’s expression and performed his own check on the potion.
However, based on the knowledge he had gained from his Senior, this truly was just a healing potion.
Besides, it didn't make sense for there to be a problem. This medicine was intended for the Empress of the Empire and the future Prince Consort; how would she dare to lace it with poison?
Unless she was looking to have her entire lineage wiped out.
“It’s nothing.”
Celicia suppressed the strange look on her face and said tonelessly, “I simply heard someone mention that Phyllis and your father, the Duke Campbell of his youth, were once quite close. Perhaps that is why she helped you.”
“I see.”
The slight tension in Muen’s heart immediately vanished. He had actually been a bit wary, fearing that Miss Phyllis’s enthusiasm had some hidden agenda—perhaps he had accidentally offended her somewhere and she wanted to teach him a lesson by adding something embarrassing to the potion.
But hearing Celicia’s explanation, Muen understood.
So it was because of his father’s old connections. That made sense.
Miss Phyllis really was a good person!
With the last shred of doubt gone, Muen stopped worrying. It would be quite rude to harbor suspicions after someone had kindly gifted him something so valuable.
Muen tilted his head back and downed the potion in one go.
Beside him, Celicia watched him, stroking her chin in thought for a moment. Then, her gaze suddenly pierced through the black curtain, landing on a point far in the distance...
She, too, drank the potion.
Instantly, it felt as though she had swallowed a ball of fire. A searing heat spread from her esophagus and abdomen to her entire body. Before the potion even reached her stomach, its immense medicinal power had already merged into her form, circulating automatically through her limbs and bones.
A powerful surge of vitality began to mend the internal injuries.
In truth, neither of them lacked ways to recover from wounds, but the potency of this potion was slightly different.
It didn't just heal standard injuries; it reached into the most hidden parts of the body, mending old, subtle scars that were usually impossible to detect.
This was the true strength of the potion. The more a body was wounded and healed, the more the new tissue differed from the "original," creating "recovery aberrations" that manifested as hidden injuries.
These hidden wounds were often hard to find, but once they accumulated and flared up, they caused irreversible damage.
This was why many martial artists possessed bodies as strong as steel, yet in their later years, they often suffered from physical deformities and unbearable pain.
“As expected of a potion brewed by a Truth-Tier mage. This powerful effect of wiping away accumulated hidden injuries in one go is something those overpriced potions on the market can't even touch. Don't you think so, Your Majesty?”
Muen sighed in admiration as he turned to ask Celicia.
But... there was no answer.
“Hmm?”
Muen turned his head in confusion. He found Celicia sitting cross-legged, revealing a significant amount of her fair, snowy thighs. Her small head was slightly bowed, and it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.
“Your Majesty?”
Muen tried calling her again.
“...”
“Your Majesty?”
“...”
“My dear Empress, are you aslee—”
“Don’t call me Your Majesty!”
Celicia suddenly snapped her head up and shouted.
Muen jumped, startled. After a moment of stunned silence, he tentatively tried, “Celicia?”
“Don’t call me Celicia either!”
“Huh? Then what should I call you?”
“Call me... call me... call me by my nickname, Thea!”
“The... what?”
Muen froze again. The ultimate tsundere Celicia was actually taking the initiative to let someone call her by her nickname?
What was happening? Had she accidentally injured her head during the fight with Albert?
No, that couldn't be right. This was a recovery potion. If she were actually hurt, how could she start acting up after taking the medicine?
Could it be...
A thought struck Muen, and his heart skipped a beat. He quickly picked up the empty vial and sniffed it.
He still didn't find anything unusual—only a strong, pungent medicinal scent.
But... thinking about it, it was because the medicinal scent was so pungent that if someone had added that stuff... even with his high level of alchemy knowledge, he wouldn't have been able to detect it.
No... way.
They had no grudge; why would she...
“Call me Thea!”
At that moment, Celicia whipped her head around to look at him.
Her face was as exquisite as ever, more beautiful than the azure sky or the flawless morning sun. But now, a distinct, abnormal crimson flush had crept onto her pale cheeks.
And those eyes, which should have been as cold as an icy lake, had long since melted... and not just melted; it was as if they had been baked in the warm sun all day, turning into the gentlest spring water.
A single glance from her was enough to make a man’s bones turn to jelly.
Fine.
It was confirmed.
There was no poison in the potion, nor was there anything meant to make Muen look foolish.
It was just laced with a little bit of the omnipotent Empress Celicia’s only weakness...
That damned alcohol!!!
In other words... Celicia was drunk again.
“The... Thea?”
Muen’s voice trembled. “Can I ask... you said 'someone' mentioned that Phyllis and my father were close. Who exactly was that 'someone'?”
“Mmh?”
The usually brilliant Celicia tilted her head, thinking for a long time before squeezing out a single word:
“Bear?”
Fine, understood. The Pink Bear.
And any past event mentioned by that annoying Pink Bear certainly wouldn't be about hot-blooded youth, friendship, or the power of pure love... it was almost certainly some melodramatic "unrequited love," "missed opportunity," or "I was here first" kind of nonsense.
Which meant...
Dad, you screwed me over!
Muen was so angry he felt distorted. He had previously thought this was some mess he had accidentally caused himself, but now the truth was out. He never expected his dignified, upright father to have left behind such a karmic disaster!
Pah! Scumbag!
When I get back, I’m definitely telling Mom on you, otherwise...
“What are you... thinking about?”
Suddenly, a wave of heat and fragrance hit him simultaneously. Muen felt a warm, delicate body slowly leaning in.
Snapping back to reality, he found Celicia already pressed close to him, gazing at him. Her long, frost-flower eyelashes brushed against his forehead, sending a ticklish sensation through him.
His heart felt ticklish, too.
Celicia was still in her white dress, her hair slightly tousled. With the alcohol’s influence, she looked adorably charming. Her Reason had dropped by a hundred, her Tsun attribute had dropped by a hundred, her Dere attribute had increased by a hundred, and her sex appeal had increased by ten million.
Perhaps because their favorability had increased, she seemed much softer than the last time she was drunk, and not nearly as difficult to handle.
Consequently, with the two of them alone and their breaths mingling, the dry heat in the depths of his heart was naturally ignited.
But...
Muen glanced at the empty space behind him and subconsciously swallowed.
Doing this ten thousand meters in the air... no matter how he thought about it, it was a bit too stimulating.
What should he do? Should he resist? Strike first while she wasn't paying attention and knock her out?
Muen was considering it.
Then, before he could move, he felt his entire body stiffen.
The Emperor’s Authority instantly pressed down on him "gently," making him clearly realize that for a mere Fourth-Tier Martial Artist, resisting a Crown Bearer was absolutely impossible.
He didn't even have the right to say no.
“My dear consort~”
Celicia reached out a finger, playfully tilting Muen’s chin upward. Her eyes shimmered with a watery light.
“You look quite tempting. Mind if I take a bite?”