123 Gained a Bit More Weight Again
Leon thought to take advantage of lunchtime to finish off some leftover cake. Cream is one of those foods that can go bad quickly, so the faster he ate it, the better.
He walked into Roswiser’s room without knocking, just casually pushing the door open.
Roswiser was lounging on the sofa in a light, airy nightgown, soaking in the cool breeze coming from the balcony. It was pure bliss.
When she heard footsteps, she didn’t even bother to turn around. After all, there was only one person in the entire Silver Dragon Temple who would waltz right in unannounced.
Roswiser had given Leon a fair amount of “adjustments” for this behavior in the past, but that was a long time ago.
The little Leon used to be as helpless as a kitten in her hands; now the grown-up Leon was like a lion—tough enough that Roswiser couldn’t just lay down the law. Otherwise, it risked shifting the balance from a fair fight straight into a steamrolling situation.
So, she let him be. Besides, she was usually out during the day, and at night, she just locked the door.
“Hmm? What are you doing here?”
Leon paused for a moment at the sight of that stunning figure sprawled on the couch.
During lunchtime, Roswiser usually handled work in the Holy Temple hall, and by mealtime, she’d head straight to the dining hall.
Roswiser cracked open one eye, giving Leon a sidelong glance before squinting it shut again. “Is it normal for you to barge into someone else’s room and then ask why they’re here?”
Leon shrugged it off, unconcerned. He knew this would irk Roswiser, so why not? The more she disliked what he did, the more he’d do it—a solid case of teenage rebellion extended into adulthood.
With her eyes closed, Roswiser let out a huge yawn, a few tiny tears escaping the corners of her eyes.
“Ah, so you’re slacking off, huh?” Leon teased.
“I work eight to five, year-round, and today I just wanted to take a quick nap. So what?”
“Not a thing. Go ahead. I’m here for the cake.”
Leon’s gaze shifted from Roswiser to the coffee table, where a small piece of leftover cake lay, with all the cream scraped off and tossed aside on a piece of tissue.
“You really hate cream that much?” Leon feigned innocence.
In truth, he wasn’t a fan either; after all, the stuff left a lasting impression on the couple.
But this pair of lovebirds had always subscribed to the “wound a thousand enemies, harm yourself eight hundred” relationship plan. Asking this question was merely him venting tension that had built up.
Surprisingly, Roswiser didn’t bite back this time; she simply responded, “Eating cream makes you gain weight.”
While saying this, she pinched her thigh through the thin fabric of her nightgown.
Well, it seemed she’d put on a little weight again.
Not that it was much; it didn’t show on the outside, but she was a master at body awareness—when she said she gained weight, she meant it.
She found it puzzling, considering she had paid attention to her diet and exercised regularly for decades, and her weight had always been stable.
Yet lately, it felt like those extra pounds had popped up like mushrooms after rain.
Was it possible she’d developed some bad habits without realizing?
Roswiser racked her brains and came up empty; everything was just as it had always been.
But…
If she had to pinpoint a difference, it was…
Her “homework” sessions with Leon had become less frequent.
Oof—
At this thought, Roswiser squinted her eyes tightly, shaking her head to dispel such ridiculous ideas.
Doing “homework” could help you lose weight?
What kind of logic was that? Never heard of it!
Feeling a little flustered, she sat up to say something, but sitting up too quickly made her a bit dizzy, and her vision swam for a moment.
Leon, chopping the cake into small pieces for the plate, glanced over at her.
She looked a little strange.
“Sick?” he asked casually.
“No, just a bit… dizzy,” Roswiser rubbed her temples lightly.
“Oh… drink more hot water,” Leon suggested half-heartedly.
Roswiser shot him a glare but said nothing.
Once she felt a bit better, she stood up from the sofa, threw on a jacket, and walked out.
After Leon finished cutting the cake, he followed her to the dining hall.
The three of them sat around the table, and the cake was temporarily set aside as dessert.
Moon sat across from Roswiser, not too far apart. She blinked, looking at her mother, and suddenly asked, “Mom, you look like… you’re not fully awake.”
Roswiser looked up, tidying her hair near her ear, and smiled back, “Really? I doubt it. It’s probably just that I didn’t put on makeup today, so I seem a bit groggy.”
“Mom needs to take care and rest, okay?” Little Moon said with concern.
“Yep, Mom knows, let’s eat now. Aren’t you going to study with Dad this afternoon?”
“Mm-hmm!”
Moon dove into her food with gusto.
The couple exchanged glances but didn’t say anything, silently eating their meals.
After a while, Roswiser chimed in with “don’t study too hard, remember to relax,” before getting up and leaving.
Leon noticed her plate still had plenty of food left.
Was she on a diet?
He looked back at Roswiser’s departing figure.
Tall and graceful, with long hair cascading like a waterfall and those perfect comic book legs and a slim waist—no need for a diet at all!
Women, honestly, were a mystery.
Leon snapped his attention back to Moon. “Moon, eat more; you need the energy to study.”
“Yes, Dad!”
After finishing lunch, father and daughter took a half-hour break in the backyard before kicking off their afternoon study session.
Moon had a good grasp of things and learned quickly; Leon felt quite proud.
Though little Moon often played the role of a good luck charm, when she actually focused, her learning efficiency rivaled Noia’s.
It all depended on Moon herself.
Noia was a genius + overachiever; her minimum was many people’s maximum;
But Moon only put in the effort when she wanted to achieve something specific.
She had told Leon she wanted to keep up with her sister, so she worked hard.
The old dad felt immensely proud; her motivation wasn’t just to cook steaks but was genuinely positive—no wonder she was my daughter!
Leon was already looking forward to the day Moon awakened her talent.
If such a great kid ended up with the Thunder Element like Noia, then there wouldn’t be enough words to describe Leon’s joy.
He’d be busting out the dance moves over Roswiser’s head!
“See that, Mother Dragon? My daughters are amazing, all thanks to my genes!”
Ahem—
Let’s not pop the champagne just yet since it’s too early to celebrate.
Leon shook off those wild thoughts and got back to seriously teaching his daughter.
Around three in the afternoon, Leon got a chance to take a short break, letting Moon handle some practice questions on her own.
He stood up and went back to the bookshelves to sift through books that might help solve his magic depletion issue.
Noia had said that the winter break at Saint His Academy would start in a little over a month, and he needed to recover his magic by then to teach Noia more Thunder Magic.
Time was tight, and the task was heavy; Leon couldn’t delay.
But under the current circumstances, he’d tried every possible method he could find and still made no progress.
Leon leaned against the bookshelves, frowning deeply as he held an ancient tome.
“Where exactly is the problem…?”
“What’s the reason for magic depletion? Is it… somehow wrong?”
“I can normally condense a weak magic flow, the magical circuits are fine; both physical and mental energies are at normal levels, and there are no outward seals. The side effects of bl**d confusion only cause fainting—magic isn’t involved.”
“Tsk—all possible issues have been considered, yet the reason remains elusive.”
“Is it possible I’m headed in the wrong direction with my research…?”
As thoughts spiraled deeper, the atmosphere in the library grew heavy. Leon raised a hand to loosen his collar.
Just then, as his fingers brushed his chest, he froze mid-movement.
A sudden flash of insight illuminated his mind.
