Chapter 97 (continued)

The situation was completely out of control. Although Mel had a cold face, I was sure he was deliberately trying to mess with Reynold. I was so angry that I glared at him twice. Mel obediently lowered his head and squeezed my hand to calm me down. Well... after all, Mel isn't always so willful.

But the reporters were like drunken goblins, gesticulating wildly and grinning from ear to ear, making one wonder if they had some kind of rusty clockwork in their brains causing their thinking to become chaotic. Look at the stupid questions they were asking! Didn't they want to go and check out the intelligence on the Machine Zealots?

... The media industry is leading the way in neglecting its proper duties, and they even dare to write reports criticizing the lack of awareness among citizens to participate in politics?

This was so frustrating! I was so angry that I grabbed Mel and tried to leave, but the reporters swarmed around us, which made me even angrier—didn't you all think of me as a terrifying dark mage?! In my anger, I waved my hand, and all the reporters were instantly blasted away by my Air Shield. Then I cast a spell, and all the reporters were left hanging upside down in mid-air, unable to land for a while.

"Wow--"

I was pleased to hear a scream, but then... and they were still filming me!?

Are all journalists these days so unprofessional yet incredibly dedicated?! It's both hilarious and exasperating!

I decided to ignore them and flew back to the cliff top with Mel. We landed and saw the others leisurely cleaning up the scene, while Her Majesty the Dragon Queen was busy with other things— the Dragon Cavalry Corps had arrived and were searching under her command, while the Dragon Emperor was drinking a beverage on the side, and...

Moli... what's wrong with you? Moli stood before the Dragon Emperor, looking wilted and dejected, her head bowed!

As soon as my apprentice saw me, he rushed over with tears in his eyes, hugged my waist, and cried out, "Teacher, save me! Save me!"

I hugged my apprentice in bewilderment. The girl tugged at my clothes and started wiping her tears again. This time, I was even more confused. What was she crying about? Goliath couldn't be... Could it be that Reynold bullied her? Reynold —wait, when did Lady Crow arrive? She's talking to Reynold. Judging from Lady Crow's expression, I guess they're discussing some important matters, so I decided not to ask Reynold for now.

"Sigh..." Dragon Queen Agnes sighed, then said to me, "This ignorant little girl is really causing you trouble!"

Hmm, it's not troublesome. That's how it is for all apprentices of mages. As a teacher, you have to protect and teach your apprentices. At the same time, before the apprentices are granted permission to graduate, they belong to the teacher... and so on!

I stared wide-eyed, even Mel was surprised--

"My daughter not only rejected all the dragons who wanted to be her battle partners, but she also ran away from home to become a mage!" Agnes slammed down her cup, puffing out her cheeks in anger. "Luckily, you weren't lying to me; the teacher you found really is a powerful mage. If she had found one like that slime..."

Moli hid behind me, peeking half her head out from under my arm. Seemingly emboldened by her teacher's support, she started to talk back arrogantly. "Then why don't you become an actress! Don't ask Mother to approve your official documents; handle state affairs yourself!"

"No way!" the Dragon Emperor shouted, "Who wants to approve official documents! It's such a headache!"

"Then why should I go back to be the crown prince and approve official documents for you?!" Moli wiped away her tears and roared, "No way! Go have another one and be the crown prince!"

"You think it's like pulling up radishes? They're everywhere, you can just pull them up anywhere! You think applying for assisted reproductive technology is easy?!" the Dragon Emperor shrieked. "The sperm bank must have lied to me! We clearly applied for sperm donation from knights back then! I went through so much hardship, worked myself to the bone, why did I give birth to a mage?! It must be a genetic problem!"

"..." The Empress, who was running around in circles, suddenly turned around and said helplessly, "The child was born from my belly."

The Dragon Emperor immediately fell silent, lowering his head and curling his hair.

... I... I feel like I'm about to faint too! I feel like I need to catch my breath!

"Moli!" I asked the apprentice, looking down at him, "Are you the Crown Prince of the Holy Dragon Empire?"

Moli looked up at me pitifully. "No, I'm just a princess now, I didn't agree to be the crown prince... So teacher, please, please take me home, okay? I want to be your apprentice! You said you wouldn't send me away!"

Honestly, I knew Moli was rich, but I never imagined... she was actually a princess! And a princess of the Holy Dragon Empire at that! Countries like our Federation and the northern Karena Country, while they have princesses, I remember the news broadcast once explained that these countries are "modern political systems," where the royal family is merely a symbol of the state. So, all things considered, the only princess with real power on the entire continent is now this one, and she's my apprentice!

When did princesses become so worthless? They'd casually run off to a research institute as assistants and even willingly become cheap apprentices?

While I was catching my breath, the mother and daughter were still arguing.

"... You're still hiding from me!" After a moment of silence, the Dragon Emperor perked up again and continued to berate his daughter, "You actually hid from me just now! If it weren't for your mother's sharp eyesight, you would have slipped away again!"

"You still refused to give me your autograph!" Moli retorted from behind me!

"You think I don't know you'll sell my autographed photos for money?"

"I'm talking about my school report cards!" Moli jumped out angrily and shouted, "When have you ever signed a report card that a teacher asked parents to sign?"

The Dragon Emperor immediately lowered his head guiltily. "... Back then, I was studying at film school... and my own transcript was even signed by your mother..."

I...

Caught between the mother and daughter, I suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of admiration for that Dragon Queen!

"You stole money from the national treasury to study at film school, and it was only because your mother paid her own salary to keep an eye on you, otherwise she would have arrested you, the emperor, for embezzling public funds!" Moli became increasingly angry as she spoke. "So, what's wrong with me learning magic! What right do you have to tell me what to do! You love acting, and I genuinely love painting and magic too! So, if a minister has urgent business and comes to you, Mother Empress, for a decision, instead of going to me, and if the first thing you do every morning is read official documents instead of memorizing lines, then I'll come back to the palace with you to be the crown prince. Otherwise, don't even think about it!"

Wow... is being an emperor really that terrifying now?

After I asked her this, the Dragon Queen and her daughter surprisingly answered in unison, "Of course it's terrifying! Being an emperor is very busy; there's no time for painting (acting in movies)!"

I glanced at Moli, who quickly corrected herself. "An emperor wouldn't have time to practice magic!"

"No one wants to inherit the throne; this is probably the biggest scandal in the Holy Dragon Empire's human royal family." Queen Cynthia turned back, giving the mother and daughter a helpless look. "You know, knights uphold the code of chivalry. In ancient times, knightly nations even had stories of crown princes challenging their fathers to prove their strength and seizing the throne early. But in today's Holy Dragon Empire, it's become: the Dragon Emperor always wants to challenge his children, and the loser is captured and forced to inherit the throne... So over time, the Dragon Emperor's martial prowess has become remarkably high..."

I...

With an emperor like this, the people of this country must be having a really tough time!

Moli was clearly tired of arguing, so she pulled out a magic potion to quench her thirst.

"Teacher! Let me take you and Teacher Mephistopheles to the city!" Moli ignored her mother and said to me, "You've never been to Holy Dragon before! We don't have anything to do here anymore, so let me take you sightseeing! We can fly to the capital. I secretly asked my mother to bring the little Ruiduo to the palace, and we can even take her shopping!"

Hmm, that's a good idea, and... speaking of which, I suddenly thought of... maybe... um...

Mel then spoke up before I could, saying very naturally and generously, "Okay, let's go buy a dress!"