Chapter 99
The women, laughing, carried the mountain of clothes. One of the highest-ranking employees, a woman, chuckled heartily, "Haha, we're a big brand! Profits aren't measured by a single store's turnover, so all things considered, we benefit more! In the future, if you two are willing to try on our new styles and help us take exquisite buyer's show photos, all the styles you choose will be given to you for free! You can even sign a contract to be professional models, and the designer can specially..."
She mentioned some of the advantages of being a professional model, but Mel and I had no intention of doing so, so we accepted the offer to take photos and change clothes, politely declining to be models. The shop assistant was quite disappointed and kept asking to add our contact information.
Hmm... I wonder what she would think if she discovered that the two clients she had her eye on as potential "female models" were actually "male mages"...
In short, I left Moli's contact information, and the shop assistant said they would schedule a time for the photoshoot once the designer and photographer were ready.
Now, Mel and I are walking down the street. Mel has picked out some elven ornaments from the bottom of her spatial ring for us to wear. Many elven ornaments are delicate and exquisite, unlike the dark elves, whose women are tall and voluptuous while the men are slender and short. The white-skinned elves on the surface have very little difference in body size between men and women. Many elven ladies are about the same size as me now, maybe even flatter. The men don't have the muscular physique of Goliath either. So their ornaments are very androgynous. Once Mel and I put them on, we completely became two female mages.
My hair was styled by the banshees; they styled it like the hairstyle of the High Priest of the Moon from six thousand years ago... But when I looked at it, I realized it was alright; it was quite different from the hairstyles of modern priests, so I didn't have to worry about anyone mistaking me for a dark priest of the Shadow Moon Temple.
Next...
"Let's go have lunch first," Mel said cheerfully. "I've heard that the couples' meals here in Holy Dragon are very romantic, unlike those in the Federation, where they all serve the same random plant reproductive organs. So why don't we give it a try?"
I readily agreed. The dead don't need to eat, so they actually planned to continue shopping. Anna and Moli couldn't tear themselves away when they passed an internet cafe, so I made an exception and gave them a holiday to have some fun.
Mel took my hand and kissed and licked it repeatedly, making me a little embarrassed. I quickly said, "Okay, let's go!"
Mel's eyes crinkled into a smile, and it was so beautiful. His long, curled eyelashes were like a kitten tickling my heart, and I unconsciously licked my lips.
Hmm... I feel a little thirsty.
Chapter 99
Mel and I stared at each other for a long time, then both of us blushed, turned our heads away, and walked away silently, hand in hand, without saying a word.
As we walked, Mel started causing trouble again, his soft fingers poking around in my palm. I couldn't help but glare at him, but it didn't seem to have much effect. Mel blushed and smiled; to me, he even looked a little shy. I couldn't help but glare at him again, and then... and then...
Hmm... Then a few young people came over and walked alongside us, showing off the muscles in their arms.
Although it's not a bicep as big as my head, it still surprised me a bit...
Well... The Holy Dragon Empire, as a nation of dragons and knights, has an open and enthusiastic culture that reveres strength, so these young men dressed as warriors might... well, even though this is my first time in the Holy Dragon Empire, I felt like they were drooling when they stared at Mel's chest.
Shallow.
Shouldn't knights be more elegant and dignified? Oh, although our Federation is known as the strongest magical nation, not everyone is a mage. The vast majority of people are still ordinary people, just without any reservations about using magical products. I think the Holy Dragon is probably similar. Although there are more knights than in other countries, there are probably fewer white-collar workers in office buildings. Dragon knights are probably even fewer, after all, the dragon population is limited. We all know that the human population is the largest of all races, while dragons, a species with long lifespans, great strength, and high intelligence, laying a nest of eggs is a joyous event worthy of being reported on the news.
However, Mel's excellence is not reflected in her appearance. Whether Mel is male or female, or whether she has large or small breasts, it will not affect the fact that she is an excellent mage. I know that many young people nowadays blindly pursue physical beauty, but I particularly disagree with this kind of extreme behavior. I remember Moli once told me that this situation is particularly serious in the entertainment industry. As long as you are good-looking, you can become popular even if your acting skills are terrible.
This kind of thinking is very detrimental to academic progress. Imagine a mage who doesn't practice magic properly but wastes his energy thinking about how to make his body more perfect every day—what research results can he possibly produce?
But when I turned to look at Mel, I couldn't help but laugh. My Mel is just that charming; even if she uses Transformation Spell to become a fake woman, she can still attract admiration on the street.
"Beautiful lady, what's your name?"
The moment the young man who was leading the group spoke, I felt uncomfortable, because he even whistled at Mel, which seemed very frivolous.
Before Mel could react, I instinctively wanted to call out to Damala, but my movements faltered—
"Rude!"
Suddenly, a shout came from ahead, and we all looked up to see a girl in a trainee knight's uniform standing before us. Trainee knight uniforms are easy to identify; all knight academies across the land have the same regulations. This is a tradition passed down from the knightly rank. Trainee knight uniforms are white, adorned with red epaulets and tassels, representing the passion and loyalty in the knightly code. No other patterns are allowed, and the hem is shorter than that of a regular knight, making them easy to spot.
"It's you again!" The young men wagged their fingers. "Get lost, we're not interested in you. You have no breasts, you only wear pants, you have no femininity whatsoever, and you're just wandering around with that broken sword. Get lost, or we won't show you any mercy this time!"
"You spoke frivolously to these two ladies and repeatedly provoked me. Come, for my honor, I challenge you!" The girl drew her sword with a swift motion, then bit off her left glove with her teeth and tossed it into the group of young men, asking arrogantly, "Which of you will accept the challenge?"
Mel and I were immediately intrigued and stopped caring about what the young men were saying—this was a formal knightly challenge! Throwing your left glove to your opponent is not just a knightly challenge, but a deathmatch. It means that the loser either dies for honor or can never be a knight again. Moreover, the challenged person cannot refuse; if they do, no one will recognize them anymore!
--Although this girl is only a trainee knight, she can still challenge for a fight to the death. From our perspective as mages, Mel and I can't quite understand why this child is so impulsive. But if we put ourselves in the girl's shoes, as a knight who values honor and morality to an extreme, it's not unimaginable that she would be so angry if she were humiliated to her face.
The knight's street challenge certainly attracted a lot of attention, but under the watchful eyes of so many of us, the young men looked at each other and burst into laughter.
The man in the lead, who had a small mustache, stepped on the knight's glove.
"You--"
"Hahaha, you naive little girl, go home and play this childish game!" The man laughed loudly and spat.
"Yeah, right!" his companion exclaimed, blowing a bubble from his chewing gum with a popping sound. "What the hell era is this? Some immature little brat comes up to us with a toy sword and asks, 'What, challenge for honor?' Hahahaha--"
These words enraged the young knight, her face flushing red. She swung her sword fiercely, leaping nimbly into the air, letting out a loud shout, and a layer of pale red Dou Qi rose from her blade.