Chapter 95 (continued)
--I was so startled I flinched and almost instinctively summoned my second teacher!
"Yes!" Tears streamed down Her Majesty the Dragon Emperor's pale face once more (how could she endure such a long imprisonment, continuous battles, and still cry without her makeup smudging? And she can cry whenever she wants; no wonder the dramas Her Majesty the Dragon Emperor stars in are so popular), "The kind-hearted Black Mage saved me! You can't imagine, in my despair, I suddenly saw boundless Hellfire blooming before my eyes, and Lord Flame of Fury descended from the sky. At that moment, I was utterly shocked..."
At that moment, I was also incredibly shocked!
I listened in horror as the Dragon Queen began to exaggerate my heroic act of saving her. In her description, I felt like I had become a righteous knight like Lusien, risking my life to rescue the kidnapped princess... uh, no, I mean, an actress, even at the risk of getting hurt...
"... And I must also thank the great 'Evil Shadow Manipulator'!" the Dragon Emperor said, nodding weakly at Mel, a glistening tear clinging to his long, curled eyelashes. "The Evil Shadow Manipulator, all by himself, shot down so many magical warplanes. It was he who, with his superb magical skills, protected the sacred skies of my Holy Dragon..."
I could sense that Mel was trying hard to hold back, not wanting to cast a curse on the Dragon Emperor and become an accomplice to the kidnappers.
"Wow!" The reporters all turned to Mel in unison, and then they... um, didn't you recognize Mel? Were you all just looking at me? Surely not! So they raised their cameras and video camera lenses again...
Oops!
After landing, Mel and I instinctively hugged each other!
"Excuse me, what is your relationship with these two? Are you a couple?" a reporter immediately asked.
Mel blurted out before I could, "She's already proposed!"
"Congratulations to you two!!! You are such a perfect match!" The reporters showed genuine surprise, and their cameras kept snapping away, making me extremely nervous.
"So, who pursued whom?"
I opened my mouth, but then I caught a glimpse of Mel out of the corner of my eye... Mel glanced at me shyly, then lowered her head, took my hand, and said, "Xipei is so outstanding, I'm deeply attracted to him, so of course I'm pursuing him! And I have to work extra hard to be worthy of him!"
I...
Don't do that, Mel! You can't, you can't praise me like that on camera without any principles!
My brain couldn't control my mouth for a second, and I heard myself say, "No, you're clearly the better one! I've watched those videos of you single-handedly fighting off the orc army so many times online! And I didn't even dare to express my feelings for you; I was so worried that I wasn't good enough for you!"
"No way! Xipei is the most amazing dark mage in the world! All these years later, I only have that one incident that I can barely bring myself to do anything respectable, but you... Xipei, everything you do every day is so meaningful. You're constantly learning, improving, and exploring new knowledge!" Mel held my hand, her blue eyes filled with unwavering determination, and said loudly, "Being with you is the greatest achievement of my life!"
Stop talking, please stop talking, Mel! I...
Huh?
... We didn't use Petrification Spell on the reporters, did we...?
The Dragon Emperor, seemingly out of nowhere, approached Mel, took Mel hand, and even placed my hand in Mel's palm. Tears welled in his eyes as he said, "Waaah, Lord Madsen, I'm so happy—you're finally with my idol—Lord Flame of Fury! I can't believe that such a despicable scumbag could deceive Lord Fury of Flame of Fury's feelings! Oh, it breaks my heart! So, although my idol is too good-natured to hold a grudge against such a scumbag, please, you must seek justice for him, and you must cherish him dearly!"
"Of course I will! Thank you, Your Majesty." Mel immediately lost the will to throw the curse at the Dragon Emperor.
Forehead...
Etc...
Your Majesty, how did you find out about this?!
I think I've been Petrification Spell too! Wait... no!
--At that moment, I suddenly realized that I needed to use some "torture" and "interrogation" techniques on Moli and Anna! These two kids—didn't they say that none of their published novels and comics mentioned our real identities? I already confiscated the one they wrote in the kidnappers' cage last time!
If those two secretly published this without the teacher's knowledge, and even lied to the teacher according to the "virtues of dark elves," then I will let them know what the virtues of a dark mage are!
"... And those ignorant politicians at the Federation Research Institute, waah! They actually bullied my idol because of that scumbag! They even went so far as to say that my idol got into the institute by being kept by a sugar daddy... Haha, that institute? My idol could have razed it to the ground with a wave of his hand!" The Dragon Emperor cried as he spoke, "If it weren't for the fact that my idol is so incredibly gentle, the Federation would have been destroyed long ago!"
Wow!
That's not an exaggeration! I'm not interested in the destruction of a nation! Dragon Emperor, you're overacting! Doesn't Her Majesty the Dragon Queen care at all?
I stared wide-eyed at Cynthia, the Dragon Queen, who was supporting her wife, her face completely blank... I...
I could only watch in despair as the Dragon Emperor spouted nonsense, the reporters nodding solemnly, looking as if they were united in their hatred, while the Federation reporter... well, he had already fainted...
"So, what would you like to say to the Federation now?" A reporter suddenly shoved a microphone in my face.
Um... I really don't have much to say about the Federation, because I really don't understand politics! But I still have a question for you reporters—how do you manage to get to the scene so quickly, no matter what's going on?
As a result, all the reporters swarmed around me, asking what I planned to do next regarding the Federation... What to do? Your choice of words is very inappropriate!
I... sigh... I really am a law-abiding black mage, okay?! Can you believe me just this once?
I... I stared awkwardly at the camera for a long time, completely unable to utter a single word, because I was so nervous! I simply couldn't be like Reynold, able to speak fluently in front of the camera; that's harder than restoring a broken ancient magic circle! I... Oh, right!
I said, "The kidnappers just threw the hostage down, I need to go down immediately and rescue her!"
With that, I quickly pulled Mel up, and we jumped off the cliff together. The reporters behind us shouted and yelled as they followed, yelling, "Ahhh! You two archmages, you forgot to chant the incantation for Flight Spell?!"
I feel so helpless... Why do I have to chant Flight Spell? These reporters are incredibly skilled at interviewing, but their magical knowledge is absolutely terrible. I'm falling, not ascending to high altitudes. Why do I have to chant Flight Spell? And Flight Spell isn't some ancient, dangerous, forbidden spell. Do I have to stand on the ground and chant the spell before I can cast it?
The other reporter, who was somewhat more skilled, yelled, "Feather Fall! Feather Fall!!!"
... Unfortunately, he's only a half-baked amateur.
Mel and I used gravity to quickly plummet from the cliff. The terrain here is very undulating. Although the Radiant Fortress we just explored is "underground," due to the difference in elevation, the place where the five-star slime was thrown is still very high. If we used Feather Fall this quickly, it would take us a year and a half to float!
Yes, we can see the ground now!
Mel and I exchanged a smile, then simultaneously used Teleportation. The next second, we had steadily crossed the final distance and were standing on the ground.
Oops!
What a coincidence!
--On the ground, where we landed, was a gooey green slime! Its twitching, transparent flesh was still swaying. Mel used her Mage Hand to pick it up and examine it. She found that the slime was just deformed from the fall. The Bouncing Spell and protective spell Mel had cast on it when she bounced it last time hadn't worn off, so it bounced for a long time after landing—because it had trampled the grass into a mess, I figured it must have bounced for a long time before finally stopping!