13 Casmod, Hero of the Dragon Race! (Two-in-One)
“Wedding…gift?”
Roswiser was a bit puzzled.
She could grasp the concept of a wedding gift, given that her strict grandmother Veronica had always treated her and her sister Isar well. Back in the day, during important holidays, the sisters would receive gifts from their grandmother.
When she and Leon “tied the knot,” they kept it super… low-key, so much so that their grandmother only found out later.
So, getting a wedding gift now was not surprising at all.
What really puzzled Roswiser was:
Why was her grandmother having Principal Aulete pass it on to her?
As far as she remembered, other than the two sisters graduating from Saint His Academy, there hadn’t been any further interaction with Principal Aulete.
Staring at the exquisite, sparkling pendant necklace, Roswiser’s eyes flickered.
“Principal, when did you and my grandmother meet?”
After some thinking, Roswiser decided it was better to just ask directly.
As the head of Saint His Academy, Aulete was a neutral figure, so Roswiser didn’t need to beat around the bush.
“Well… if we’re talking about when we got acquainted, that was a long time ago.”
Aulete smiled and said, “When you were still a student at Saint His Academy, I met Veronica. At the time, it was just a casual acquaintance. Later, I happened to encounter your grandmother again during an exploration project in the Extreme North Land.”
Extreme North Land? Exploration project?
Roswiser had some vague recollection of that.
The last time her grandmother returned with intel about the Space Dragon King Rave, she mentioned spending years in the Extreme North Land for some kind of exploration project.
However, her grandmother didn’t elaborate further, and Roswiser didn’t probe.
Now, Aulete was bringing up the so-called exploration project again, which piqued Roswiser’s curiosity.
“Principal, you’ve been working on this… exploration project in the Extreme North Land for all these years?” Roswiser asked.
“Yes. This is quite a sizable endeavor—I can hardly return home once every few years.”
Aulete adjusted her glasses and chuckled, “I thought my academy would be turned upside down by that old rascal Wilson, but surprisingly, he’s managing things quite well, especially discovering a genius student like Noia.”
“Managing things well” meant ignoring the perfectly good vice principal and inciting the whole faculty and student body to become shipper fans of the Melkway couple!
Principal, you’re really missing out!
Leon had been quietly listening to his wife’s chat with the principal, not interrupting.
He was not well-versed in Dragon Race internal matters, so it was best for him to listen more than speak.
This was one of the small tips Roswiser had given him while educating him about power dynamics.
Plus, the “Extreme North Land” they were talking about was a place humans couldn’t set foot in—a location that only existed in historical texts.
Leon thought it was probably a place where only the rugged, tough-skinned lizards known as dragons could survive in such harsh and unforgiving conditions.
“The vice principal really… does manage well, um.” Roswiser agreed.
Leon glanced at her.
He knew that when Roswiser said something insincere, she had a habit of ending her statements with an “um.”
For example:
“Leon, do you think I dislike you? I hate you to d*ath! Um!”
“Leon, your cooking isn’t tasty at all, um, not tasty.”
“Leon, how could you think I like you? You’re crazy! Um, you’re crazy.”
And so on.
But even though Leon could tell his wife was just putting on a facade, he kept a straight face.
“So what exactly are you investigating in the Extreme North Land?” Roswiser inquired.
“Something very ancient—so ancient that it doesn’t belong to our era,” Aulete replied. “However, the exploration project has now been terminated.”
“Terminated?”
“Yes.” Aulete nodded, “The project required the assistance of a Space Dragon King like Rave, but it seems he was an undercover agent mixed in with our exploration team, trying to steal our results. Only recently did he suddenly leave the Extreme North Land, and the next news we heard about him was… during that battle at your Silver Dragon border.”
As she spoke, Aulete’s gaze slowly shifted from Roswiser to Leon.
Leon raised an eyebrow, glancing between Aulete and Roswiser before adjusting his sitting position. “What is it, Principal?”
“Although I just returned from the Extreme North Land, I still heard that the prince of the Silver Dragons prevented Rave from causing the final space rift disaster. Some dragon scholars say that if that rift hadn’t been stopped, the devastation would have affected more than just the Silver Dragons.”
Aulete looked at Leon with appreciation. “So, from a certain perspective, Mr. Leon, you saved more dragons.”
“…”
It was supposed to be a compliment, but why did it sound so weird?
A Dragon Slayer saving dragons? What kind of alternate universe were we in?
But that hadn’t been Leon’s intention; he just knew that if he hadn’t stopped that rift, his wife and kid would have been done for.
As for saving more dragons…
Well, let’s just say one life for another was a fair trade-off.
After all, the number of dragons he indirectly saved that time probably didn’t add up to the number he’d directly slain before. So, say whatever you want!
“There would’ve still been someone else to stop the rift, Principal,” Leon humbly stated.
That’s what he said, but if they had waited for someone else to stop the space rift, the situation would’ve already gone south.
“Principal, you mentioned Rave might be an undercover agent in the exploration team?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know who sent him?”
Aulete shook her head. “That’s unclear. But it’s certain that besides Rave, there are others in the team with ill intentions.”
Upon hearing that, Leon raised an eyebrow and thought to himself:
Principal, your team is quite something! How many dragons are there in total? It seems half of them are undercover agents! Want to hire me to help you catch them? I’m really good at it.
“After Rave left, we could only slow down the exploration progress. However, even with the slowed speed, we still achieved significant results,” Aulete continued. “But before we could celebrate, the Iron Wing Dragon King Fair snatched a portion of our findings, whereabouts unknown.”
“Fair, huh… um, the Iron Wing Dragons are just as swift as my Silver Dragons, making it easy for them to shake off most pursuers,” Roswiser commented.
“Oh, this is really troublesome,” Aulete paused, a hint of gloom settling over her face. “Oh, I’ll go get you some tea.”
“Ah, sorry for the trouble, Principal.”
“No problem.”
Aulete got up to find the tea.
Taking advantage of this moment, the couple leaned in to whisper conspiratorially.
“Do you think this Iron Wing Dragon King is also working with the human Empire?” Roswiser asked quietly.
Leon frowned slightly. “Are you saying he stole a part of your grandmother’s exploration results and handed them over to the Empire?”
Roswiser nodded. “That’s a strong possibility. After all, Rave is one of the Dragon Kings collaborating with the Empire, isn’t he?”
“Indeed.”
Leon’s eyes shifted thoughtfully, adding, “But from what Principal Aulete said, while she sensed that Rave and Fair were working for some organization, she didn’t realize that this ‘organization’ was actually the human Empire.”
“Yeah, exactly. But if the Principal discovers that Rave and the others are collaborating with the Empire, she might easily connect the dots that the Silver Dragon Temple has been hiding a certain human.”
Roswiser looked at Leon and continued, “Because from Constantine to Star, Rave, and the recent Blay, these guys wouldn’t attack the Silver Dragon Temple for no reason—they definitely have a shared goal. And once it’s revealed that this common goal has the Empire lurking behind it, it’s easy to guess who they are working for.”
Roswiser’s analysis made sense and was easy to understand.
So far, only a handful of people were aware of the secret collaboration between the human Empire and the Dragon Race.
And once this secret leaked out, chaos would ensue, not just for the Empire but for everyone.
Even Leon couldn’t predict how things would unfold, which was why he didn’t recklessly expose the conspiracy, opting instead for a covert investigation. He wanted to gather solid evidence and advantages before completely overturning the Empire’s ridiculous rule.
As for the Dragon Race, if they learned that people like Constantine and Rave were the “Dragon Traitors” working with humans and that they repeatedly attacked the Silver Dragon Temple, it wouldn’t take much for them to suspect that the Silver Dragons must have some sort of relationship with humans.
At that point, it wouldn’t just be Leon; even Roswiser and the kids would become targets for the Dragon Race.
General Leon wasn’t worried; he’d just slay as many dragons as came after him.
But his wife and kids were different.
If anything happened to them, what good would it do for Leon to be such a powerhouse?
So, in a sense, Leon, the Empire, and those “Dragon Traitors” were all tied together like grasshoppers on the same string—their self-destruction wouldn’t benefit anyone.
This was a dangerous game, with both sides walking a narrow tightrope, trying to push the other while securing their own foothold.
“Understood.”
Leon nodded. “But… your grandmother and Aulete are both quite cryptic, going round in circles without revealing what exactly the results of their exploration in the Extreme North Land are. If they’d told us, we might be able to predict the Empire’s next move.”
Roswiser shrugged helplessly. “Maybe, like you and me, they have their reasons for not being able to speak plainly about this.”
“Good point. Well, it doesn’t matter; after all, the Empire still has Master and the others acting as insiders, so it shouldn’t be too hard to get intel. Let’s wait until our next meeting to see if Master can figure out what that ‘thing’ is that the Empire put in so much effort to get.”
Roswiser smiled. “Yes.”
“Sorry for the wait, the tea is here.”
Aulete returned with three cups of hot tea and continued chatting with the couple.
She revealed very little about the happenings in the Extreme North Land.
When Roswiser asked where her grandmother was now, Aulete simply said she’d be back in some time.
“By the way, your grandmother specifically instructed me that you must wear this wedding gift,” Aulete said.
Roswiser’s gaze landed on the pendant necklace. “Wear it all the time?”
“Yeah, it’s supposedly made of some kind of magical crystal stone, which, if worn regularly, can absorb impurities and toxins from your body, leading to a whitening and beautifying effect.”
“…I’m only a little over two hundred years old; I’m not at the stage for such elaborate maintenance yet.”
Roswiser chuckled ruefully, shaking her head, but still agreed to comply. She reached for the necklace, stored it safely, and said, “I’ll do as Grandma instructed. If you happen to see her, please pass that message along.”
“Sure.”
After that, Aulete chatted a bit more with the couple about Noia’s studies and some family matters.
After one cup of tea down, the conversation wrapped up pretty much.
“Sorry for the bother, Principal, please take care.” Roswiser nodded slightly.
“Yeah, take care, both of you.”
The couple turned and exited the principal’s office in succession.
Once they were gone, Principal Aulete let out a sigh of relief.
Confirming the sound of their footsteps had faded, she walked over to the bookshelf in her office, gently turned a nearby chandelier, and suddenly, the bookshelf swung open to reveal a hidden chamber.
Aulete stepped inside.
In the chamber stood a silver-haired woman.
“I’ve given the Original Crystal to your granddaughter.”
Aulete said, “Oh, why can’t you just hand it to her yourself and explain what it is?”
Veronica Melkway stood quietly at a magic circle, facing away from Aulete, softly responding, “Have you forgotten what I told you before? Little Luo’s husband is quite mysterious; I don’t want him knowing too much about the Extreme North Land.”
Aulete walked over to join Veronica, both gazing at the milky-white energy sphere floating within the magic circle.
“Do you… not trust him?”
“It’s not that I don’t trust him. Anyone Little Luo chooses must be decent. It’s just… I don’t know him well enough yet.”
Aulete nodded thoughtfully. “What about the Original Crystal for Isar? Will you personally deliver it?”
“Uh-huh.”
Aulete’s mind began to wander, and she asked, “Are you really okay with passing Noia’s power to these younger generations?”
Hearing this, Veronica slightly squinted her eyes, not directly answering the question, but instead countering, “Interesting, do you know how humans pass on their knowledge?”
Aulete shook her head.
“Humans only live a short few decades, with even the long-lived ones barely hitting a hundred. Compared to dragons, it’s truly negligible.”
“Yet they continue to expand their understanding, constantly learning new knowledge.”
“They live their short lives so diligently, leaving behind their hard-earned results for the next generation to inherit.”
“Humans grow and progress like this, generation after generation.”
“So I think, perhaps this increasingly absurd and chaotic era doesn’t belong to us old folks.”
Veronica looked at her longtime friend, smiling as she added, “Let’s entrust our ancestors’ achievements to our descendants, so they can bring an end to all this. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?”
