41 The Grim Reaper is Here? Little Light is Here!
Until the moment he stood at the podium, Leon couldn’t believe any of this was real.
Before the entrance exam, he and Roswiser had stayed up all night researching techniques to lower scores, all so their daughters could pass the tests while avoiding being this year’s model family.
To prepare, they simulated at least twenty different interview environments and compiled nearly a thousand questions that interviewers might ask.
They even tried a brief separation, attempting to dampen their passion for each other — though it ended up being utterly pointless.
Because this couple of dunderheads had no clue just how good their relationship was; a simple separation definitely wasn’t going to do anything!
After all that effort, they thought victory was within reach. Even if Moon ended up in second place, they’d still dodge the Grim Reaper, right? They’d never be pushed toward the abyss of social d*ath!
But!
Just as the couple was about to stand atop their victory mountain and pop champagne in the Grim Reaper’s face, the Grim Reaper took off its mask —
And revealed Little Light’s face!
Leon felt like his life was a coffee table, cluttered with tragedies.
“Daddy~ Daddy~ Little Light got first place! Why aren’t you happy?”
Little Pink Hair tugged at his sleeve, looking up with her big, beautiful eyes.
Leon looked down and rubbed her little head, “Daddy is super happy! Look, Daddy is smiling—ha, ha, ha—”
“Daddy, your smile sounds worse than a cry,” Little Light shot back.
“……”
“Just look at Mommy, she’s so happy but still keeping it cool.”
Keep it cool?
Leon glanced over at Roswiser.
This Mother Dragon didn’t seem to have an explosion of emotions at all!
At first glance, she still wore that icy expression, but upon closer inspection, there was a barely noticeable curve at her lips.
Clearly, she was smug about this!
What the heck, lady!
We totally flopped! Our carefully devised plan went up in smoke before our daughter, like sand blowing in the wind!
“Maintain your composure, Leon. Even though we failed, think of the positive side.”
Leon raised an eyebrow, “What positive side?”
“Your daughter helped you snag a championship.”
After a brief pause, Roswiser delivered the final blow, “Oh, and a second place.”
“Thanks for the reminder!”
In this situation, while the first-place model family was made of [Little Light + Leon + Roswiser], Moon, as the second-place overall winner, was also granted a special appearance on stage by Vice Principal Wilson.
After all, they were family; it wouldn’t do to let the poor girl stand alone at the bottom, would it?
That would be terribly inhumane!
Once the whole family was up on stage, Vice Principal Wilson approached.
As per tradition, the first interviewee was Little Light.
“Hello, Aurora.”
The Vice Principal bent down, half-kneeling beside Little Light, wearing a delightful smile.
It was clear he genuinely liked the young dragons from the Melkway family; they were all sharp and smart, exactly what Saint His Academy needed.
Leon cast a sidelong glance at Old Deng, muttering to himself:
“Uppercut! Uppercut! Give him a nice, loud uppercut!”
But that was just Leon’s inner monologue; Little Light’s uppercut ability might be easily triggered, but it was all about timing and context.
If she sent the Vice Principal’s glasses flying at the entrance ceremony, their family would surely become the topic of discussion for years to come.
“It’s well-known that the difficulty of this year’s exam questions has increased significantly, but you and your sister Moon still achieved remarkably high scores. Could you share what your study methods are?”
Little Light answered in her adorably serious voice, “I listen to Daddy.”
“Oh? So you and your sister got such good grades thanks entirely to your daddy?”
“Yes.”
What a good daughter. Why does it feel like you’re stabbing me in the heart, even though you’re speaking the truth?
Had I known, I wouldn’t have taught you so well! —
All because Dad is just too awesome (covering mouth to stifle laughter).
Leon quietly tried to ease his embarrassment with some internal dad jokes.
The Vice Principal stood up satisfied and sauntered over to Leon, casually throwing an arm around his shoulder like they were old pals.
Leon glared at the hand resting on him.
Really don’t like boundary-less dragons!
“I believe everyone has heard of Mr. Leon’s name to some degree. A few months prior, he thwarted the crisis of a rift, saving many nearby tribes from peril. Our Principal Angelina Aulete even fondly referred to him as—”
“The Hero of the Dragon Race!”
As soon as he finished, there was a thunderous applause from the audience.
But up on stage, General Leon was already drenched in sweat.
What the heck!
Who was the first to clap? Was it you?!
I’m going to chop off your dragon horns and brew them into liquor later!
When Principal Aulete had called Leon the Hero of the Dragon Race in her office without any outsiders, Leon had felt a wave of discomfort wash over him.
He had joined the Dragon Slayer Army at age fifteen, having encountered and slain a myriad of evil dragons.
Yet, he never expected that merely a few years later, the dragon slayer hero would be transformed into the hero of the Dragon Race—
Ah, how unpredictable life can be.
Unpredictable as all heck!
Now, the Vice Principal was shouting this illustrious title right in front of hundreds of dragons.
You’d be better off roasting me on a spit!
Being celebrated as a hero by a bunch of top-notch and first-class dragons… it’s all just thoroughly bizarre.
“And Mr. Leon has also raised three exceptional seedlings for our academy.”
The Vice Principal continued passionately, “His eldest daughter is currently the top student in the Young Dragon Department—Noia K. Melkway. I’m sure all the students here have heard of Sister Noia, right?”
“Yes~”
“Sister Noia is super amazing!”
All the little dragons chimed in.
“Great. And after Noia, Mr. Leon has also enrolled his equally outstanding second daughter and youngest daughter into Saint His Academy. Without exaggeration, we can say that Mr. Leon’s contributions are unparalleled to the great future of the Dragon Race!”
After a dose of embellishment from the Vice Principal, applause erupted from the audience once more.
Just as the Vice Principal was about to continue, he suddenly felt the warmth of Leon’s shoulder beneath his hand.
Looking down, he muttered to himself, “Why is my palm getting sweaty…? Am I too excited?”
Leon shot a glare at the old fogey, internally begging for this dang ceremony to end sooner!
Next, the Vice Principal lavished praise on our hero of the Dragon Race—Casmod.
Then he allowed Moon and Little Light to hug their old man, who had worked hard to help them get into the academy.
The old man could weep tears of sorrow, but what else could he do but hug them?
Once the hugging was over, it was time for a classic reenactment.
“Mr. Leon, since the daughters’ segment is done, may I ask if you remember what other things you did here three years ago?”
Leon swallowed hard, sneaking a glance at Roswiser standing next to him.
The Mother Dragon still gazed ahead, a soft smile playing at her lips, seemingly uninterested in joining his conversation with the Vice Principal.
Leon redirected his gaze and played dumb, attempting one last stand, “F-forgotten, Vice Principal.”
“Oh well, let me remind you. Three years ago, you stood here and kissed your wife, Ms. Roswiser.”
Leon narrowed his eyes with a smile, “Oh? Haha, I was just a kid back then, playing around.”
“Well, Mr. Leon, as this ceremony approaches its grand finale, please recreate that kiss to end today’s event on a high note!”
“Uh…”
“Is that alright with everyone~?”
The audience of spectator dragons was getting quite excited.
“Yeah! We support it!”
“I’ve heard the Silver Dragon couple is extremely loving; finally, we get to see them be all lovey-dovey! Kiss! You gotta kiss!”
“Kiss! Kiss!”
“……”
Cheering surged from the crowd.
Leon momentarily couldn’t distinguish whether this was an entrance ceremony or a wedding!
“Oh~ Daddy’s gonna kiss Mommy now~” Little Moon chimed in to join the fun.
Leon sighed internally—there was no escaping this!
He turned to face Roswiser.
Roswiser’s smile grew wider, “Just a kiss on the cheek, okay?”
Leon slightly squinted, sizing up her smug expression.
Why that smile, huh?
Does she think Leon won’t dare to kiss her?
Does she think kissing this “fake” wife in front of everyone would shame him?
Or… is it something else?
Heh… Mother Dragon, you’re so childish.
We’re already ‘old couple’ status; what do I even have to fear!
Summoning his courage, Leon slowly leaned in toward Roswiser’s fair, exquisite profile.
Meanwhile, Moon had clenched her tiny fists in anticipation.
You see, Daddy and Mommy hardly ever get lovey-dovey in front of them.
Today was a rare occasion, so she was both nervous and excited!
Little Light felt the same way.
But…
After finally getting to see her parents sharing a moment in front of them, it would just be… a kiss on the cheek?
Little Pink Hair was definitely not settling for that.
Her eyes darted as Leon’s lips were just about to brush against Roswiser’s cheek when Little Light suddenly yelled,
“Mommy!”
“Hmm?”
Roswiser instinctively turned toward her daughter’s voice, completely overlooking the proximity of Leon’s face.
And then—
“Umm…”
The timing was just right for their lips to meet.
As Little Light observed her parents successfully sharing a kiss – completely lost in the moment – she proudly wagged her little tail.
