### Chapter 3: Sneaking Tastes of the Offerings!
A few days after the war in the Empire wrapped up, the cleanup operations were finally handled.
Currently, the internal affairs of the entire Empire were in the capable hands of core members of the Lionheart Association and officials who previously didn’t want to get their hands dirty with King Cant and his gang.
And yes, Martin’s father was among them.
It’s worth mentioning that at first, there weren’t enough hands on deck, and even compiling data became a Herculean task.
Fortunately, Rebecca had a lightbulb moment and suggested, “Since we’re looking for good officials and clean bureaucrats, why not check the prisons?”
Sounds a bit hellish, right? But I have to admit, it was actually a genius move.
So, after several sleepless days of hard work, the Empire managed to get back on its feet without King Cant and his corrupt cronies.
As for the election of the new king, that would have to wait a bit longer.
From methods to candidates, everything had to be considered carefully before a final decision could be made.
In the meantime, given the military strength of the Empire, there was no fear of other nations taking advantage of the situation.
Once everything was in order, Leon was finally ready to head home with Roswiser.
“Are you really not staying a few more days, Captain? After all, you just built this empire for us!” Rebecca exclaimed at the Empire’s gates, alongside Martin and a few other members of the Lionheart Association, seeing the couple off.
“What empire? My old man always told me to steer clear of politics. Being a hero is way easier!” Leon replied with a dismissive wave.
At this, Rebecca rolled her eyes so high it might’ve hit the heavens.
What’s with Captain Leon? Spending years with his sister-in-law and the only thing that’s changed is his newfound talent for acting like a gigantic show-off!
“But the Silver Dragon Temple is so far from here! What if anything urgent comes up? How will we reach you in time?”
Sure, after Cant’s fall, the Empire hadn’t weakened much—they didn’t have to worry about being mugged in the street.
But a new system and society needed time to establish themselves. Aside from internal bickering, there were still outside threats to consider.
As Rebecca pointed out, the Empire was too far from the Silver Dragon Temple. Even Roswiser would take at least five or six hours of nonstop flying.
If there was any real emergency, by the time they sent someone after Leon, everyone might’ve turned to dust!
“I’ll send a trained Message Dragon to you once I’m back. If anything urgent happens, just send a message with it,” Roswiser said. “These dragons are super fast; they can fly to my temple from here overnight.”
Rebecca blinked her pretty eyes, filled with questions. “Message Dragon… what’s that?”
“Oh, it’s like a carrier pigeon for you humans, but dragon-style! They’ve evolved over time and are now responsible for communication between the Dragon Race.”
Rebecca nodded, processing this new information. “Oh, okay! Thanks, sis!”
“No problem!”
“Then we’ll get going!”
“Safe travels, Captain!”
“Safe travels!”
“Hopefully, by the next time we meet, you won’t need a wheelchair anymore, Leon!”
“Take care! See you next time!”
“…”
Everyone bid farewell to Leon one by one.
Leon waved and left the Empire with Roswiser.
The Silver Dragon soared into the sky, disappearing into the clouds.
Rebecca shaded her eyes with her hand, watching the couple fade away into the horizon, feeling sentimental.
“Men with families are just different, huh? Instead of sitting on a throne, they’re rushing home to hug some kids.”
“When you have your own family, you’ll understand the Captain better,” Martin said, sounding all wise.
Rebecca shot him a side-eye. “You act like you’re some relationship guru. If I’m not mistaken, you’ve never even been on a date!”
Martin froze, caught off guard by the revelation of his dark history, feeling a bit embarrassed. “W-What if I haven’t? Have you?”
“Nope.”
Rebecca paused for a moment, then broke out into a sly little fox-like smile, “How about we give it a shot?”
“Who wants to chase after you?!”
“Oh~ Little Martin is scared now~”
“I’m not scared…” Martin tried to argue.
But the double-tailed girl had already seen through it. She turned and patted Martin’s chest, “Since you’re not scared, I’ll give you a chance to pursue me.”
“Uh… wait, who said I wanted to pursue you?!”
The boy and girl bantered, laughing all the way into the city.
Nacho trailed behind them, hands on hips, sighing helplessly, “I can hardly believe I’m here playing revolutionary with a bunch of kids. Ugh.”
Walker stepped up and patted Nacho on the shoulder, “Alright, mentor, we still have a ton of work to do.”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
As the sun rose over the horizon, it illuminated this new nation and the bright future of the Lionheart Association.
…
“I bet the first one to hug the girls when we get home will definitely be me.”
“No way, it’s going to be me.”
Nacho would never have guessed that not only was he working with a bunch of kids, but that his boss, who was already married with three kids, acted like a slightly older ‘kid’ himself!
What kind of adults spend their days bickering over such trivial things?
Only this pair of clueless lovebirds could be so engrossed in it and never get tired of it.
“I’m totally going to win this, Roswiser, and I’ll beat you three times!”
“Oh? And you’re so sure that all three daughters will hug you first?”
“No, what I mean is—”
Roswiser tilted her head, eager to see what kind of tricks the Dog Man had up his sleeve.
“As long as any one of Noia, Moon, or Little Light hugs me first instead of you, that counts as my win.”
“Okay, and then what?”
“You have zero wins, I have one win, that makes two wins.”
Queen: ?
“You have zero wins, I have two wins, that makes three wins.”
“…”
“All three rounds won, Mother Dragon, what’s your take on it?”
“I’m starting to think maybe we should let Cant out of the slammer. The revolutionary leader of the strongest nation shouldn’t be such a dog person.”
Roswiser was seriously beginning to suspect that Leon might have a second personality.
Every time there was a critical moment—like heroes making grand entrances, turning the tide, defending their homeland—his serious, determined, no-nonsense alter ego would make an appearance.
Yet most of the time, his utterly ridiculous primary persona took charge.
Call it a contrast, right? Because ever since he met Roswiser, he’s always been like this;
But to say he hasn’t changed at all? Nah, because he’s clearly gotten bolder since their first encounter.
After analyzing it, Roswiser concluded:
This Dog Man was becoming too familiar with her.
He didn’t even treat her like an outsider anymore!
It seemed that five years of married life had made him forget his prisoner status. So, when they got home, forget about who the daughters would hug first—
She’d have to teach him a lesson first, so he’d know who the real boss of the house was!
With that thought, Roswiser flapped her dragon wings and sped toward the temple.
…
Around noon, the couple returned to the Silver Dragon Temple.
Oddly enough, no maids came out to greet them.
In fact, the front courtyard of the temple was devoid of people. If they hadn’t seen guards patrolling the borders earlier, Leon might’ve thought that some crazy dragon tribe had come to raid their home.
As they stepped into the courtyard, looking around, they truly found no one.
No maids, no daughters.
“Where did everyone go?” Roswiser asked softly.
Leon blinked, suddenly realizing something—“Oh! I got it!”
Roswiser jumped, “Got what? How to get out of that wheelchair?”
“No, no! I mean, I know where Noia and the maids went!”
Leon looked at Roswiser, and she met his gaze.
The couple locked eyes for a second, then, in perfect harmony, exclaimed, “They’re sneaking tastes of the offerings!”
