31 Treasure
We need to pay more attention to Dad.
Leon stood on the balcony, gazing gravely at the dark clouds in the distance.
“It’s going to rain.”
Noia hadn’t come for tutoring today. Roswiser mentioned that Noia was off for physical training, so the tutoring session was postponed until tomorrow.
Just perfect—this gave Leon a whole day of personal time.
Earlier in the morning, he had attempted to brew Dragon Strength using the methods outlined in his herbalist’s book.
But unsurprisingly, every attempt ended in failure.
Well, to be honest, Leon had anticipated the failures and had already analyzed what went wrong.
As the book stated, whether it was high-temperature separation or physical separation, both were extremely difficult. If anything went slightly off, it would all go down in smoke.
Too high a temperature would deactivate all the nutrients in the herbal residue;
Too low a temperature couldn’t extract enough residue at all.
As for physical separation, it required specialized equipment. Leon had tried shaking it manually for half an hour, and his arms felt like they were about to fall off, yet there was still no sign of separation.
The dark clouds rolled closer, bringing a heavy atmosphere along with them.
Leon closed the window and returned to his bedroom, pulling out a chair to sit down at the desk, deep in thought.
“How can I effectively separate the final herbal residue…”
Sitting cross-legged in his chair, he absently picked up a pen from the desk and began to chew on the tip.
This was his thinking habit, much like how some people had the habit of cracking their knuckles or tapping their fingers rhythmically.
Leon’s quirk was chewing on pen tips.
Though not the most hygienic of habits, it strangely helped him focus.
His mind wandered as he chewed, “Didn’t Noia also have a habit of chewing on pen tips while she was working on homework?”
Thinking of this made him chuckle, “That’s my girl!”
After making a little joke to himself, he dove back into his thoughts.
In a daze, he recalled the old guru’s advice.
It was many years ago when Leon had been trying to learn a spell straight out of the textbook.
No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t get it right.
The old master had observed him and said:
“If you’re following the book precisely and still can’t get it right, then why not try your own methods? Books are static, but you’re alive. If one path isn’t working, look for another one, kid.”
Leon murmured the master’s words, “If one path doesn’t work… look for another one…”
While contemplating, a sudden flash of light erupted from outside the window.
About three or four seconds later, a loud explosion echoed.
Boom—
As if it could shake the sky apart.
Leon tilted his head slightly to gaze at the lightning that pierced through the clouds and the sky.
“Lightning… thunder…”
Leon mumbled, his eyes widening slightly, “Perhaps… I could try using Thunder Element, which the book never even mentioned?”
If high temperatures and spinning couldn’t separate the herbal residue, maybe taking an unconventional route and experimenting with Thunder Element would work.
And just so happened, Thunder Magic was Leon’s specialty.
Without further ado, he grabbed a test tube in one hand and placed the other on the bottom edge of the tube, his palm slowly glowing with a faint blue light.
Though his body felt weak, using this small scale Thunder Magic was still within his capabilities.
Leon had initially gained recognition from various teachers and professors for his delicate control over Thunder Element.
Thunder Magic was usually employed for offense.
But as long as the intensity and range were controlled, it could also be used for finer tasks.
Being adaptable is a basic quality of an excellent Dragon Slayer.
Crack—crack—
As the magical energy surged, sparks of electricity began to light up around the test tube.
The powdered herbs inside also began to react.
Leon’s eyes lit up,
“It’s really working.”
He wanted to pour more magical energy into it.
But he soon realized that his frail body could only manage so much at the moment.
Using a spell meant to torment enemies at this level would probably just be mistaken for a tickle.
Leon sighed inwardly, settling in for the long haul.
After about forty minutes, the herbal powder in the test tube had visibly separated into two layers.
He poured it into water and waited patiently. After a moment, the useless residue floated to the top.
What sank to the bottom was the Dragon Strength raw material he had been pondering over!
Leon scooped out the residue from the water’s surface and filtered out all the raw materials from the bottom.
Next, he proceeded to dry and mold it.
This process couldn’t be rushed, and Leon was quite patient.
Half an hour later, a shiny piece resembling a chocolate candy was ready.
Leon compared it against the illustrations in the herbalist’s book.
Yes, this was exactly what he wanted—Dragon Strength!
“Success.”
With minimal resources, in the simplest of alchemical conditions, he had successfully concocted this little pill with craftsmanship that could rival a makeshift operation.
He pinched the pill with his thumb and forefinger, examining it carefully.
“Brewing Dragon Clan’s medicine is simpler than I thought.”
Just as he was marveling at his accomplishment, a knock came at the door.
Leon tucked the Dragon Strength pill into a drawer and stood up to open the door.
It was Moon.
“Dad!”
She exclaimed happily, raising her arms in a “pick me up” gesture.
Leaning down, Leon expertly scooped her into his arms, “Good morning, Moon! What made you think to come find Dad today?”
“Sis said she was going for physical training today, so Daddy should have some free time, that’s why I came to find you.”
Oh~
No wonder Leon hadn’t seen Moon around except at dinner in the past few days.
Turns out she was afraid of interrupting Leon’s teaching schedule!
Who said only the eldest daughter was sensible?
This little girl was still Daddy’s little sweetheart!
Leon carried Moon into the house, and the father-daughter duo chatted about interesting things from the past couple of days.
As they were chatting, Moon sniffed the air, “Dad, why does it smell like medicine in your room?”
Leon was speechless.
I mean, do all you Dragon folks have super sensitive noses?
Roswiser noticed the smell yesterday, and now you’ve picked up on it too.
“There’s no smell of medicine, Moon. You must be mistaken,” Leon said.
But Moon stubbornly shook her head, “Nope, I’m not mistaken. It’s definitely the smell of medicine.”
She jumped down from Leon’s leg, following the scent straight to the drawer, then yanked it open.
Leon wanted to stop her, but it was too late.
Moon pulled out the freshly brewed Dragon Strength. Cocking her head, she asked, “Dad, what is this? Is it chocolate candy?”
Seeing the way her eyes sparkled, Leon hurried over and gently grabbed her little hand, “This, this isn’t chocolate candy.”
“What is it then?”
Leon’s brain raced, crafting a reason that might pass as somewhat reasonable.
After stumbling for a moment, Leon finally said seriously, “This is medicine I made for Mom.”
Moon’s eyes widened in shock, and she immediately sobered up, asking worriedly, “Medicine for Mom? What’s wrong with her? Is she sick?”
“No, Mom isn’t sick. She’s just been a bit under the weather lately; she’s probably just overworked. So I made her this medicine to help her recover. I’ll take this to her tonight.”
Moon nodded, still trying to process everything, “Then Dad, you must take good care of Mom!”
“Yeah, Dad will.”
After chatting a bit more, Moon scampered off.
She mentioned that Dad had been busy with her sister’s entrance exam preparations recently, so she couldn’t keep bothering him.
She had only come this time because she missed Leon after not seeing him for so many days.
How infuriating.
This little dragon girl really knew how to hit the old dad right in the heart.
It was even warmer than wearing the Black Gold Battle Armor!
(Black Gold Battle Armor: I burn your dreams, Casmod!)
…
Later that evening, Roswiser finished a busy day and headed to Moon and Noia’s shared room.
Noia was still at the Holy Temple’s training ground doing physical training.
Though it was getting a bit late, Roswiser understood her eldest daughter’s nature; she wouldn’t stop unless she was too tired to get up.
Only Moon was in the sisters’ room, sitting on the carpet fiddling with her big tail, looking a bit bored as her toys lay discarded to the side.
Seeing her mom enter, Moon immediately jumped to her feet and ran up.
“Mommy~”
She had switched from calling her “Mother” to “Mommy.”
Just as Leon had mentioned, she preferred a more affectionate title.
Moon dashed to Roswiser’s skirt, hugged her leg, and looked up, “Mommy, are you feeling better?”
Roswiser blinked, puzzled, then squatted down to ask, “Mommy has always been healthy; why would you ask that?”
Moon paused for a moment, then replied, “Dad said you’ve been working too hard lately, and you’re not feeling well. He even made you some medicine to help!”
Roswiser raised an eyebrow, “He made me medicine? What kind?”
“Um… it’s dark brown and looks like chocolate candy, very shiny.”
“Dark brown… chocolate candy… for recovery…”
Roswiser mulled over these keywords, then murmured in disbelief, “That guy managed to concoct something that even a master alchemist couldn’t manage, in a baby’s room…?”
“Mommy?”
“Oh, nothing.”
After a moment, recalling that a few days ago she had remarked, “You aren’t as healthy as you used to be,” she had a suspicion about Leon’s motives for brewing Dragon Strength.
A little mischief brewed inside the queen’s mind, and she looked at Moon.
“Mommy’s perfectly fine—what’s not fine is Daddy.”
“Daddy?”
“Yep, Daddy is a man, and men have to support the family, so they can’t admit they’re sick. Therefore, we shouldn’t call him out on it. Instead, let’s pay more attention to him, okay?”
Moon nodded, her little head bobbing, “Got it! I’ll pay more attention to Daddy!”
Roswiser smiled and lightly pinched her daughter’s chubby cheek, “Good job, Moon. Now Mommy’s off to check on Daddy; you be a good girl and wait for your sister to come back, okay?”
“Okay, Mommy, you must take good care of Daddy!”
Roswiser stood up, smiling softly,
“Don’t worry, Moon; I’ll take good care of your Daddy.”
