36 Don’t Be Awkward, Black
Only kids like to play with toys!
Thanks to his master’s training back in the day, Leon’s physical fitness wasn’t too shabby. No matter how tired or drained he felt, a few days of rest would have him back up and running.
Sure, he couldn’t engage in heavy labor, but taking a stroll or reading with his daughter was totally achievable.
One sunny day, while Noia was off doing some physical training, Leon found some time to spend with his little girl.
If Leon didn’t make an appearance at Moon’s side soon, his sweet daughter might genuinely start thinking her old dad had flown the coop.
He took Moon to the back garden of the Holy Temple.
“Daddy, let’s play Dragon Rider again~” Moon suggested.
“Sure thing!”
Leon bent down to scoop up Moon and lift her onto his shoulders.
But halfway up, Moon suddenly wagged her tail and said, “Wait a sec, Dad!”
“What’s up?”
“Mom says your body hasn’t fully recovered yet, so Moon can’t play Dragon Rider with you, or it’ll mess with your recovery.”
Leon paused, surprised by his thoughtful little dragon girl.
With a chuckle, he reassured her, “It’s fine, Moon isn’t that heavy.”
“Nope, still not okay.”
Moon declared stubbornly, kicking her legs, signaling Leon to put her down.
Having no choice but to comply, Leon set her down.
He crouched in front of her and asked patiently, “So, what game should we play then?”
Moon pouted, stuck in deep thought, trying to come up with a fun yet low-energy game.
Noticing her struggle, Leon suggested, “Since you can’t think of a good game, how about I make you a toy?”
Little Moon’s eyes sparkled, “A toy!”
“Yep!”
“What kind of toy?”
“You’ll find out once it’s done. Come on, let’s go to the storage room and find some materials.”
“Okay~”
For Moon, whether it was playing games or making toys, there wasn’t much of a difference.
In the end, all she really wanted was to be with her dad.
Kids are like that—just being with their parent makes everything fun!
Leon took Moon to the storage room at the temple and searched for some bits and bobs.
After gathering things, he weighed them and counted the parts.
Thinking for a moment, he grabbed a few extra pieces.
Finally, he picked some paint in different colors, declaring his preparations complete.
“Alright, let’s head back.”
“Uh-huh!”
The father-daughter duo returned to the garden, found a clear spot, and settled down.
Leon laid out the collected pieces on the ground.
Rubbing his hands together, he declared, “Okay, Daddy’s starting now.”
“Go, Dad!”
Leon methodically began assembling the jumble of parts.
Some could be directly fitted together, while others needed to be cut, polished, or involved more complex operations.
He worked with focus.
Moon closely observed him, taking it all in with great seriousness.
She had always thought her dad was cool.
But for some reason, when she watched him smoothly connect gears and deftly handle those intricate pieces, he looked… even cooler.
Moon didn’t quite understand charm or charisma, but she just felt her dad was street-smart cute compared to all the other dads—no contest.
“Almost done.”
Leon inspected the object in his hands.
It was a black square, each side divided into nine little squares.
“Is it done, Daddy?” Moon leaned in for a look.
“Not yet—just one last step.”
Leon brought out six pots of paint, dipped a brush, and asked, “Want to give it a try for the last step, Moon?”
“Eh? Can I?”
“Of course! Go ahead, give it a shot.”
“Thanks, Dad!”
Whether playing games or crafting toys, the most crucial thing for kids is that they feel involved.
Leon sat Moon on his lap, gently guiding her wrist from behind, teaching her how to color the cube.
Even if some areas got a little messy, Leon didn’t mind; he patiently helped rectify her brush strokes.
Eventually, with cooperation, they completed a colorful cube sporting six different colors.
Moon held it up with both hands. Despite not really knowing what it was, she was sure it was super awesome because Dad made it!
“This little toy is called a Rubik’s Cube. You can twist it around; give it a try.”
“Oh, okay!”
Moon started twisting it a few times, and sure enough, the little colored squares jumbled around, jumping into different positions.
“The goal of the Rubik’s Cube is to get all six colors back to their original faces. It might be tricky at first, but you’ll figure it out as you play.”
Leon had enjoyed figuring out toys like this when he was in school.
He recalled the first alchemy mechanics class when the teacher assigned them to create a simple mechanical linkage device.
What he turned in was a basic version of a Rubik’s Cube.
The teacher was quite pleased and joked that even if Leon didn’t become a dragon slayer, he could always run a toy store for kids—definitely a hit!
Who would have thought the alchemy mechanics teacher was spot on? Leon really was playing the parent role now—
And honestly? He was nailing it.
While Moon listened to Leon’s tips, she fiddled with the cube in her hands.
Leon patiently guided her with tips and formulas.
In the midst of this, he suddenly looked up, glancing around suspiciously.
Dragon Slayers are sensitive to being “watched.”
Especially when it’s a dragon doing the watching.
Leon thought maybe Roswiser was peeping at them from the balcony.
But there was no sign of the mother dragon up there.
He glanced around quietly.
Clearly, the gaze observing them was coming from behind.
Leon didn’t turn, mentally mapping the layout of the Silver Dragon Temple.
In the current location they occupied, it seemed like… a training area?
Where Noia did her physical training.
With that thought, Leon chuckled.
That kid wasn’t the type to just come over and join him and Moon.
He looked at Moon; she was still focused on figuring out the first face of the Rubik’s Cube.
Seizing the moment, Leon continued tinkering with the parts they had gathered.
He was glad he had taken some extra since it was perfect for situations like these.
In less than half an hour, a second Rubik’s Cube was complete.
Just like before, Leon didn’t paint it but quietly set it aside, along with the paint pots.
Just in time, Moon was feeling a bit worn out.
“Daddy, let’s head back and rest for a bit. Then you can really teach me—I just can’t get it back together.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
Leon stood up, took Noia’s hand, and they walked out of the garden.
After they had gone a bit of a distance, Leon took a sly glance back.
From behind the flower beds, a tiny figure peered out.
Leon chuckled and returned his gaze.
Noia had snuck over to the spot where Leon and Moon had just been.
On the nearby bench sat an unpainted Rubik’s Cube and several cans of paint.
Noia walked over, picked up the brush and paint, and began coloring the cube just as Leon had done earlier.
Before long, she had created a not-so-pretty, yet functionally sound, Rubik’s Cube.
Trying it out, she twisted it a couple of times, feeling the satisfying mechanical clicks at her fingertips.
Noia paused for a moment, “Wow… this seems… pretty fun.”
Next, inspired by the techniques she had eavesdropped on, she scrambled every face of the cube, then slowly started piecing it back together.
Her comprehension and learning ability were speedy; in under ten minutes, she was almost finished.
As Noia was about to keep solving, she heard someone shout from afar:
“Princess Noia! Break time is over; we need to continue with the training!”
Panicking, Noia hurriedly shoved the cube into her pocket while bolting off toward the training area, “Coming!”
…
That evening, in the sisters’ room, Moon knelt on the bed, still fiddling with the Rubik’s Cube Dad had made her earlier.
She’d been at it all day but still hadn’t managed to solve it.
After a couple more failed attempts, she tossed the cube aside and, in frustration, gave it a swift tail whip.
“I’m done! Moon’s so dumb, can’t even fix one side!”
Seeing her sister starting to lose her cool while preparing for the next day’s lessons, Noia put her books down and leaned in.
“I’ll teach you.”
“Hmm? Can you do it, Sis?”
Noia didn’t respond but instead picked up the cube and began explaining the trick.
“To solve it, you shouldn’t try to fix it face by face, but layer by layer, like this.”
Watching Noia move with confidence, Moon was left baffled.
“Sis… how come you’re so good at this?”
“Ah? No, it’s nothing special.”
“Have you played with it before?”
“Of course not! I have no interest in those babies’ toys. Here, take it back; did you learn it?”
Moon happily received the fully solved Rubik’s Cube, hugging it close before diving into bed.
It wasn’t long before her steady breathing filled the room.
“Moon?” Noia called softly.
Seeing no response, Noia tiptoed off the bed.
Then she pulled out her small wooden box from under her bed and opened it.
Inside was a piece of black metal and a slip of paper with her name on it.
She took out her own little Rubik’s Cube from her pocket and carefully placed it inside the box.
