167 No Problem
Even Little Ones Are Cute
For Leon, the amount of information he held was minimal. He had absolutely no clue how Constantine found out about his human identity and was at a loss for where to even begin pondering that riddle.
It was like being handed a bunch of fragmented clues along with an ambiguous riddle that he was expected to magically piece together into a cohesive story.
Even with Leon’s sharp mind, that was entirely impossible.
As for Roswiser, she had considered a few things: Taige’s yearly promise and that Constantine had started making waves a year ago. Still, she couldn’t see how those two events connected with a clear thread.
Overloading herself with useless clues and speculations would only weigh down her thoughts.
So, Roswiser decided to sort her thoughts out first before discussing it with Leon.
Leon, on the other hand, wasn’t losing sleep over this seemingly aimless problem.
Sure, he liked to ponder and research, but with a riddle like Constantine—endless and without a clear beginning or end—he simply had no desire to figure it out.
If he had known it would come to this, he would have spared a breath for Constantine, asked some questions, and only then taken the axe to him.
But what’s done is done; time to look ahead.
Leon sighed and turned to Roswiser. “What’s for dinner?”
The queen paused. “Isn’t that a leap from discovering your human identity to what we’re having for dinner?”
“Man is iron, and food is steel! A full belly gives the energy to solve riddles, doesn’t it?”
Leon declared with great conviction. “Besides, it’s been over ten hours since I killed Constantine; you Silver Dragons treat a life-saver this way?”
Roswiser shot him a glare.
Alright, alright, you’ve done great, you’ve worked hard. This queen knows her priorities and won’t argue with you.
“What do you want to eat?”
“Dragon meat.”
Roswiser was speechless. She knew Leon was intentionally trying to rile her up.
During her ten-month pregnancy, that Dog Man had kept his claws retracted, playing the role of a “husband” faithfully, satisfying all of Roswiser’s needs.
And he almost never argued with her.
Now that their little daughter had been safely born, it seemed like he was finally free to let loose.
But even without bickering for so long, Roswiser was still sharp as ever. She casually replied,
“Ha! Constantine is so big, he would feed you for a year! Go for it.”
“I don’t eat dead meat.”
“Now you’re picky?”
In her irritation, Roswiser stretched her tail right to Leon’s mouth. “Here’s some fresh dragon meat. Eat it, go on, why aren’t you—ah!!! You actually bit me?!”
“You brought it to my mouth! If I don’t take a bite, that would be rude!”
“Casmod! I swear I’ll get you for this!!”
And the baby: Wow, here I am, freshly born, and I get to see such a riveting performance. Totally worth the ticket price!
…
A few days later, it was a sunny morning, and Roswiser decided to take their little girl out to bask in the sun.
Compared to human infants, dragon cubs adapted much better to the environment. Even though it had just been a short while since the little one was born, she could still go out for a stroll and get a breath of fresh air.
This was her first time leaving Roswiser’s bedroom, and her big eyes sparkled with curiosity about the brand-new world.
The couple settled on a bench in the backyard.
The little girl lay on Roswiser’s lap, her tiny hand gently tugging at Roswiser’s hair. Her lively eyes flitted between her mom and dad, letting out a cute little coo.
Leon couldn’t decode baby language, but from the baby’s expression, she looked pretty pleased, right?
“Speaking of which, how long until she can speak?” Leon asked.
“A little over two months, and she can start talking,” Roswiser paused before adding, “Noia called me ‘Mom’ when she was just over one month old.”
Wow, way to start a competition from day one, huh?
Roswiser gently swayed their little girl and then glanced up at Leon, “What about human babies? How long does it take them to start talking?”
“Books say eight to twelve months.”
The reason he said “books say” was that Leon had never been a hands-on dad for a human baby. He could only glean knowledge from various educational materials.
Roswiser let out a smug little huff. “Humans are so slow. And what about you? With your brilliance, did you speak the moment you were born?”
To her teasing, Leon retorted calmly, “Wrong! I was busy slaying dragons the moment I was born.”
“Ha, idiot.”
Just as they were bickering, a pair of excited little footsteps came bouncing towards them.
The couple looked up to see Noia and Moon.
“Good morning, Dad and Mom!”
“Good morning, Daddy! Good morning, Mommy!”
After exchanging greetings, Moon deftly hopped onto Leon’s lap with a “Dragon Leg Lift.”
She was Daddy’s little cuddle bug; he was her personal leather chair, and the two of them melted warmth into one another.
Meanwhile, Noia sidled up to Roswiser to check out her new little sister.
The baby was already able to open her eyes, which were a light pink, different from those of Mom, Dad, Moon, and even Noia.
Looks like Auntie’s genes are pretty strong! While Mom and Dad were arguing, Auntie snagged the deal!
“So, Dad, Mom, have you decided on a name for little sis yet?” Noia asked.
Roswiser shook her head. “Not yet. There’s no rush; your and Moon’s names were both settled over a month after you were born.”
Noia nodded, her little head bobbing. “Oh, okay.”
After chatting about little sis, Noia joined Leon on the bench. “Dad, I’ve mastered the Thunder Strike you taught me during last winter’s break. I want to learn something else now.”
Learning magic isn’t a simple feat. It can take three to five years to master one spell, and Noia was only a little over two years old! Yet she’d learned A-level magic in just a year—she wasn’t just “grinding” her way through; talent played a role too.
I bet she was thinking about how amazing Dad was when she saw him handle things during Constantine’s invasion the other day.
With dual hands, he tore through the enemy horde like it was a walk in the park.
“Handmade Lightning Sword” didn’t quite capture how cool Dad was anymore!
So, if Dad was this cool, wouldn’t learning one more move make him even cooler?
“Well, Noia, what do you want to learn?” Leon asked.
“Um… the last move Dad used to defeat Constantine the other day!”
After a pause, Noia came up with a fitting description, “Handmade Holy Sword!”
Leon thought for a second. Handmade Holy Sword?
Oh, she must be talking about “Thunder Sword Transformation.”
That move isn’t difficult to learn; in human terms, it’s only B-level.
As long as you grasp the condensation and shape-shifting of the Thunder Element, it’s all good.
As for the ultimate effect? That depends on the user’s own strength.
For example, that B-level spell in a regular person’s hands might serve only as a temporary weapon;
But in Leon’s hands, it had enough power to take down the Red Flame Dragon King!
If his sweet girl wanted to learn it, no problem!
The issue was… on that particular night, to take care of Constantine swiftly, Leon had emptied his power reserves accumulated over a year.
He had been busy taking care of the newborn little girl, leaving no time to accumulate magical energy.
After a moment of contemplation, Leon decided it would be best to hold off on teaching Noia that move for a few days.
However, just as he was about to speak, Roswiser interjected,
“Noia, Daddy’s been a bit worn out, so let’s wait a few days for him to teach you, okay?”
Noia blinked and nodded, understanding, “Alright, Dad’s health is the most important!”
Leon looked at the Mother Dragon with slight surprise.
Well, well, the sun must have risen from the West today because she’s actually defending me?!
But before he could feel too touched, Roswiser continued,
“But your dad can still give you a demonstration, right, honey?”
She turned to Leon, her eyes sparkling.
Leon narrowed his eyes, surveying her. Curse it, why does it seem like this Mother Dragon knows something?
Yet Leon was sure he had never mentioned anything about his inability to gather magical energy to Roswiser.
Seriously, why do you dragons have this knack for saying things I can’t figure out?
“Really? Dad, it would be great to see a demonstration!” Noia beamed.
“Yay! I want to see Daddy’s Handmade Holy Sword too! So cool!” Moon chimed in enthusiastically.
Roswiser smiled sweetly at Leon. “All the girls want to see, honey, so go ahead and put on a little show.”
Seemed like he was a bit cornered here…
There was nothing else he could do. Now that this Mother Dragon had shoved him into the fire pit, Leon had to bite the b*llet and give it a go.
Let’s just hope it doesn’t flop too badly!
“Alright, I’ll show you.”
With that, Leon stood up, spreading his legs slightly and pressed his hands together, channeling his magical power.
Sparkles of electricity flickered between his hands.
Slowly, he opened his palms, and a bolt of lightning coalesced into a sword shape.
B-level Thunder Magic: Thunder Sword Transformation.
With a firm voice, Leon directed the sword towards Noia. “Here you go.”
Noia stared at the lightning sword in awe, and couldn’t help but gulp. “Dad, I want a sword, not a toothpick.”
Yes, after depleting his power reserves, our great Dragon Slayer Casmod had plummeted from the level of slicing through Constantine with one sword strike to struggling to create what can only be referred to as a “Thunder Toothpick.”
Noia sheepishly took the “Thunder Toothpick” and held it up to her little nose for a closer look, trying to glean some details from it.
But it was barely bigger than a spark of her Thunder Strike—impossible to see clearly!
Leon coughed a couple of times to mask his awkwardness, just about to explain.
But Roswiser jumped in first.
Standing up, she gently placed their little baby on the bench.
Then she walked over to Leon, lightly resting her hand on his arm, gazing into his eyes with warmth, and tenderly said,
“It’s alright, dear.”
Leon pursed his lips, cautiously eyeing her mouth. Experience told him that what this Mother Dragon was about to say would be nothing short of explosive.
“Even the little ones are quite adorable~”
“……”
Curse you, Mother Dragon! Just wait until the next time!
