After twenty years, Rebecca, a pure-bl**d human who has never crossed a spatial rift, has naturally grown old in this world where “Leon Casmod doesn’t exist.”
Gone are the days of her manic, neurotic energy; just a simple “Long time no see” radiates with an air of calmness and restraint.
While she hasn’t grown taller, her fashion sense has taken a quantum leap, flaunting fitted trousers and a chic black trench coat that enhances her figure.
And that iconic double ponytail? Yeah, now it’s a single ponytail—much easier to manage, I guess.
Leon never expected to reunite with Rebecca under such circumstances.
He opened his mouth, suppressing surprise and excitement, “I thought after Master left, you weren’t in the Empire anymore.”
Rebecca holstered her g*n and stepped closer. “Dad’s too old to be gallivanting in the Empire, but I’m still sprightly, so there’s no need for me to leave. Plus—”
She tilted her head slightly, her gaze drifting past Leon to the three girls behind him.
Leon followed her line of sight and realized Rebecca had never met his daughters—she’d only seen childhood photos of Noia and Moon.
So he introduced them, “Oh, they’re my—”
“Daughters,” Rebecca interjected blandly. “I know.”
“Eh? You’ve… met?”
Before Rebecca could respond, Noia sauntered over, naturally positioning herself next to Rebecca with a smile and a cheery, “Aunt Rebecca.”
A flicker of annoyance crossed Rebecca’s eyes as she sighed, “How many times have I said, don’t call me ‘Aunt’? It makes me sound old.”
“But you’re the same generation as Dad; we have to call you Aunt!” Aurora chimed in from the back, hands in her pockets, explaining at a leisurely pace.
“Yeah, yeah, Sister and Little Light are right!” Moon added, nodding vigorously.
Rebecca crossed her arms and looked up at Noia, who stood a head taller at around five feet seven. She drily remarked, “In a few years, have you three only been focused on getting taller? What a mess is swirling in that head of yours.”
Her roasting skills may have dropped a notch.
But Leon, eavesdropping on the banter between his old teammate and his daughters, suddenly pieced something together.
“Noia, that reliable informant you mentioned… is it Rebecca?”
Noia nodded. “Twenty years ago, when you vanished into that spatial rift, news traveled fast in the Empire. Grandpa Taige and Aunt Rebecca took the risk of contacting Mom after learning about it—we met then.”
“Still in that mountain cave, Dad and I decided to stick around the Empire to see if we could find a way to reopen the rift. If not, we’d take revenge our own way.”
Rebecca continued, “For twenty years, the bounty on me and Dad never disappeared. A couple of times we got caught, but thankfully Martin was working inside the Royal Family to help us break out, making it look like an accident.”
“Martin… how’s he doing now?” Leon asked.
In Leon’s memory, during those years when he was a captive of the Silver Dragon, Martin had reverted to that cowardly boy he once was.
He truly hoped Martin had learned to be strong and brave without him around.
After all, being born to a noble family meant weakness only inspired more bullying from enemies.
“Martin changed a lot after dealing with Victor twenty years ago.”
Rebecca said, “Maybe it’s because he found out his favorite captain is still alive, or maybe for some other reason. Either way, your little fanboy has been thriving since taking over his dad’s position.”
“He… took over his dad’s position?”
“Yep. But no worries, Martin hasn’t lost himself to power, and thanks to him, I got wind of the latest intel from the Royal Family, which I passed on to Noia.”
Rebecca asked, “So, did you manage to snag the Heartguard Dragon Scale?”
Leon shook the hefty black bag in his hand.
Rebecca raised an eyebrow, clearly shocked. “You didn’t actually pull out all the dragon scales, did you?”
“Thieves don’t leave empty-handed, right?”
“That’s a serious crime—ten executions minimum!” Rebecca exclaimed.
“What’s the difference between ten executions and one?” Leon shrugged. “I mean, I’ll be dead after the first; the next nine would just be a meat paste.”
“I hate meat paste,” Rebecca replied.
After exchanging a few quips, the two old friends looked at each other, and a moment later, they both embraced.
Rebecca nestled into her captain’s warm, solid hug, holding back tears as she muttered, “Twenty years ago, I wanted to hug you, and you stepped back half a step!”
“Different circumstances now,” Leon replied.
Moon blinked and chimed in, “How’s it different?”
Leon: …
You really want to know, sweetheart?
Because back then, your mom and I were practically in love, and I couldn’t just be hugging other pretty girls without losing my honor!
But now, your mom and I are just an old married couple—what’s understood between us is clear. A hug with an old teammate shouldn’t be an issue!
“Second sister, don’t ask what you shouldn’t; that’s just how men are after a long time married,” Aurora stifled a laugh.
Rebecca released Leon, turning her attention to the jokester with a casual, “So, Little PInk Hair, have you considered becoming my goddaughter?”
“But you just said we shouldn’t call you Aunt! Now you’re bringing up the goddaughter thing!”
“Aunt is Aunt, and goddaughter is goddaughter. So, how about you give me a call, ‘goddaughter’?”
Aurora stomped her foot and turned to her big sister for help, “Big Sis! Look at her, she’s bullying me!”
Noia waved her hand, signaling not to involve her in such matters.
She had no strategy against Rebecca’s sharp tongue.
Leon blinked—now he got it.
What goes around comes around, huh!
When two sharp-tongued individuals collide, it’s a contest of who can jab the hardest with words.
Clearly, Rebecca had knocked Little Light flat!
“Are you all planning to leave the city before dawn?” Rebecca asked.
“Yep, time’s tight and the mission is heavy; we still need to perfect the reversal magic when we get back.”
Leon paused and added, “Oh, the reversal magic means—”
“I know; Noia explained the basics when we exchanged intel,” Rebecca interjected. “Though I didn’t quite grasp the theory, I get it… Captain, you’re off to save the world again, right?”
“Ugh, I don’t want to, but I can’t help it; it’s just the way it is.”
Got it.
The return of the B-King, same familiar recipe, same old taste.
After not seeing the captain in such a long time flaunting his heroism, Rebecca felt like something was missing in life.
Now, life was whole again.
“But before saving the world, we need to get out of the Empire first,” Rebecca said.
“Right, but just hours ago, we kidnapped Nacho to extract the Heartguard Dragon Scale’s exact location, and that already alerted the Empire. So if we want to leave… the risk is huge.”
Leon said, “I plan to sneak to the city gates under the cover of darkness, then have Noia and the others transform into dragon form for a hard exit. The Silver Dragon race has a natural speed advantage, so shaking off pursuers shouldn’t be too hard.”
Rebecca pondered, weighing the situation.
“But the Empire has raised quite a few flying Dangerous Species over the last twenty years. While most can’t match our overall abilities, in pure speed… they could give Silver Dragons a run for their money. If the Empire dispatches such Dangerous Species in pursuit, your escape would be tough.”
“Is that so…”
Leon found himself at a loss.
Getting in was easy; getting out was hard.
If they could find a temporary hideout in the Empire, the duration of that “temporary” was uncertain.
Now, less than three months remained from the six months Aurora initially mentioned.
Time was of the essence; they couldn’t waste it wrestling with the Empire.
They had to leave the city quickly.
“How about this, I’ll have Martin arrange a royal transport carriage to sneak you out of the city.”
Rebecca suggested. “Even though the whole city is under lockdown, it’s not entirely hopeless. We can take the gamble, and if we get discovered, then we can charge through later.”
Leon mulled over Rebecca’s proposal; given the circumstances, there seemed to be no other option.
“How long do you think it’ll take for Martin to set it up?”
Rebecca raised an elegantly arched eyebrow, “How about… now?”
