Chapter 95: The Prophecy
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They checked out the next day, just around noon.
In contrast to their arrival last night, where they had firmly decided “distance makes the heart grow fonder” and insisted on two separate rooms, this time, the couple was inseparable, stuck together like two pieces of tape.
The husband had his arm wrapped around his wife’s slender waist, while she leaned on him like a little bird depending on her branch.
Who would have guessed that these two had arrived last night with a game plan for separate rooms? One might think they were on their way to a divorce or something!
The front desk was still manned by that cute waitress from last night.
With her years of experience, she could tell from their refreshed demeanor that their night must have been fiery and passionate.
And given that it was already midday, it could mean they were either too wild last night to get up early, or they had a repeat performance this morning—
Shaking her head, the waitress decided to stop speculating on the couple’s private life.
She wasn’t usually like this.
Having worked in a hotel for so long, she had seen all types of couples before.
But this couple was particularly… strange.
Yet amidst that strangeness, one could really feel the deep affection between them.
And honestly, they looked so perfectly matched that it was hard not to wonder what their daily life was like.
“Your check-out is complete; we hope to see you again!” the waitress said politely.
Roswiser nodded, following Leon out of the hotel lobby.
Once they hit the bustling street, they stopped being glued to each other and switched to holding hands instead.
Each time they had a wild moment together, they shed their usual tough-guy facade, embracing, holding hands, and chatting like a bona fide couple.
So, you see—
Regular “homework” totally helps solidify post-wedding romance.
That statement couldn’t be more accurate.
“Are we heading home now or…?”
“Let’s grab something to eat first.”
To be honest, Roswiser’s legs felt a little wobbly.
Leon had worked extra hard last night—oh no, who are we kidding? He worked hard every night—so much that even her Dragon King physique was feeling a bit weak, and she desperately needed some food to recharge.
Sighing in her heart, the Queen found herself reminiscing about the days when she used to drain a certain most powerful Dragon Slayer dry instead of becoming his cream puff.
Shaking her head, Roswiser dismissed those chaotic thoughts.
She and Leon turned a few corners and headed to the food street.
However, both of them suffered from a mild case of indecisiveness.
Faced with a dazzling array of restaurants, they suddenly didn’t know which one to pick.
“Ah~ which one should we choose? They all look pretty good,” Roswiser said with a hint of melancholy.
Leon, too, was losing his grip on his decision-making.
Scratching his head, he suggested, “Why not get some chicken?”
“I don’t like eating chicken.”
“No, no, ‘getting some chicken’ means—”
While talking, Leon raised his hand and started pointing to a few restaurants in front of them, mumbling to himself, “Little, chicken, let’s, pick, whoever, I, end up, with—OK, this one!”
Roswiser: …
You childish man!
But how cute.
Hehe : )
Huh?
What?
Are you saying this Queen has a soft spot?
Stop kidding around; ‘cute’ is an insult in dragon culture.
“Well then, let’s go with this one.”
Just as the couple finally settled on a restaurant and prepared to step inside, someone suddenly blocked their way.
Looking up, Roswiser recognized the figure.
Leon sized him up and remembered,
“Aren’t you the one who hosted that meeting at the Twilight Tower yesterday?”
Dressed in a crisp suit, neat hairstyle, white gloves, and black leather shoes, you could either be a hotel bellhop or a big-shot’s aide.
And the guy did claim to be “the servant of the Tower Master of the Twilight Tower.”
“Indeed. It’s good to see you both again.”
The couple exchanged glances and shook their heads, perplexed.
They didn’t understand why the Tower Master’s subordinate was seeking them out after the Dragon King’s secret meeting.
“Is there something you need?” Roswiser asked coldly.
“My lord invites you for lunch. May I ask if you have the time?”
The Tower Master wants to have lunch with them?
This isn’t some shady trap, is it?
After all, during yesterday’s meeting, several Dragon Kings, led by Arlais, wanted to oust Constantine under the pretext of “maintaining stability for the Dragon Race” and seize his Primal Power for themselves.
According to Thunder Dragon King Odin, this whole under-the-table maneuvering for personal gain was something that group of Dragon Kings never shied away from.
As the instigator of the Dragon King’s secret meeting, it was very likely the Tower Master was involved in all this.
So now he was sending someone to approach Leon and Roswiser, presumably about this very matter.
Leon glanced at Roswiser.
Clearly, she had come to the same conclusion.
Their eyes exchanged information as they switched to their internal communication.
Leon: 【What say you? Go or not?】
Roswiser: 【If it’s really about Constantine, I think we should go. The Primal Power isn’t a trivial matter; if it falls into the hands of some scheming individuals, the consequences could be dire.】
After the meeting, Leon shared his thoughts about old Constantine with Roswiser.
He’s ruthless, chatty, vindictive, and violent.
But he has principles, doesn’t harm children, and avoids involving outsiders.
Even Noia, in Constantine’s view, had nothing to do with his vendetta against Leon.
So, as long as the Primal Power remained with Constantine, he’d only use it against Leon and the Empire.
If someone else got their hands on it, who knows where it might end up?
The former was something Leon could manage; the latter… well, he had zero confidence there.
So if the Tower Master really wanted to discuss this matter, it was important for Leon and Roswiser to attend.
“Alright, lead the way.”
“Please follow me.”
The servant gestured for them to go ahead and promptly led them away from the food street.
About half an hour later, they arrived at a quaint standalone loft.
“I can take you only this far; my lord is waiting for you inside.”
“Okay.”
The couple walked into the loft.
They expected some extravagant, over-the-top interior design inside, but surprisingly, the large room only had one simple dining table.
In the vast emptiness of the loft, that single, simple dining table stood out rather… weirdly.
It was as if the loft was built solely for this lunch.
Looking further, a middle-aged man sat behind the dining table.
He was refined in demeanor and composed.
Upon seeing Leon and Roswiser arrive, he stood up and said,
“Thank you for waiting. Please, have a seat.”
On the other side of the table were two chairs, clearly prepared for them.
Leon and Roswiser walked over, took their seats, and Leon quietly asked,
“You’re the Tower Master?”
“Yes, Mr. Casmod.”
The Tower Master simply acknowledged his identity without introducing himself further.
That left the couple feeling a bit blindsided.
But they weren’t too shocked; after all, everyone said that the Tower Master of Twilight, the founder of Sky City, was incredibly mysterious.
“Let’s eat first, shall we?” the Tower Master smiled, looking friendly.
However, neither of them even glanced at the delicious dishes on the table.
“If there’s something to discuss, let’s get straight to the point, Tower Master.”
Leon took the initiative, not wanting to let the conversation slip into the Tower Master’s hands.
The Tower Master seemed momentarily taken aback, then chuckled, shaking his head, “Well, the Prince of the Silver Dragons is direct; it aligns perfectly with everyone’s impressions of you.”
“Everyone?”
Leon scoffed, leaning slightly back in his chair, “So a lot of people are reporting back to you about me?”
“Don’t make the atmosphere so serious, Mr. Casmod.”
The Tower Master removed his scarf from around his neck, placing it on the table as he switched to a more serious negotiation mode,
“I brought you here to talk about yesterday’s Dragon King secret meeting.”
Just as expected, this guy was indeed here to discuss yesterday’s meeting.
Since that was the case, Leon and Roswiser were ready for what came next.
“What does the Tower Master want to discuss?” Roswiser asked.
“I heard that the proposal you made against Constantine received support from Odin and most others, and has been finalized for execution, correct?”
“Indeed.”
The Tower Master made a point to separate ‘Odin’ from ‘most others’ when discussing the voting results, indicating that he was aware of Odin’s stature among the other Dragon Kings.
Leon caught this detail but refrained from commenting, waiting for the Tower Master to make his next move.
“Actually… Mr. Casmod, according to the usual practices at the secret meetings, the final action plan and measures are generally set by the Mountain-Sea Dragon King, Arlais.”
Arlais—this is the old geezer who advocated for taking the Primal Power for himself.
“What do you mean by that, Tower Master? Are you suggesting that this private negotiation is meant to get us to support Arlais’ proposal?”
The fox’s tail was starting to show; Leon saw no need to keep dancing around him.
But the Tower Master shook his head, surprising Leon with his response,
“I don’t care whether Arlais’ proposal can be executed; I’ve never pursued him for using the Dragon King secret meetings to further his own interests before.”
“Because the Tower of Twilight is strictly neutral; we merely provide a platform for the Dragon Kings to communicate and discuss.”
“As for how they act in the end and what kind of situation arises, that’s entirely on the Dragon Kings themselves.”
“And that’s why… for a thousand years, the already fractured Dragon Race has become even more tumultuous.”
“But does anyone care?”
At this point, the Tower Master shook his head mockingly, sneering,
“Everyone still lives for themselves.”
Leon pondered; this Tower Master wasn’t part of Arlais’ crew?
Even so, Leon figured it was best to test him a bit more.
“Looking out for oneself is only natural; I don’t need to elaborate, do I, Tower Master?”
“Of course, looking out for oneself is natural. But, Mr. Casmod, one can look out for oneself, but that doesn’t give one the right to influence others or make others bear the consequences, does it?”
At his words, Leon’s previously furrowed brows began to ease.
This Tower Master was decent; he was easy to get along with.
“Tower Master, since you’ve always quietly opposed Arlais’ actions, as the founder of Sky City with abundant resources, why do you tolerate or even indulge him?” Roswiser asked.
“Silver Dragon Queen, our Dragon Race needs neutral factions like Sky City; we need a station where we can sit down and chat without resorting to force. In other words… we need order.”
The Tower Master explained, “So if I show favoritism to any side, the scales of that order will be thrown off balance. When that happens, more Dragon Kings might seize the opportunity to instigate conflict, leading to a situation that’s far worse than what we have now.”
That made sense.
If those in power can’t be satisfied, the people below won’t be able to get a fair share either.
And as for Sky City, neutrality was neutrality; it remained a steadfast balance that would never tilt toward anyone.
So after all that, the Tower Master certainly expressed his dissatisfaction and helplessness toward Arlais’ actions, indicating that he wanted Leon to covertly help him?
But that wouldn’t quite align with the Tower Master’s staunch belief in neutrality.
“So, Tower Master, you didn’t just invite us here to say all this, did you?”
“No, Mr. Casmod. I invited you today because I have a request.”
“A request?”
“Previously, Thunder Dragon King Odin rarely attended the Dragon King secret meetings, and this is also your first time attending. But even under such circumstances, you managed to suppress an internal conflict within the Dragon Race under Arlais for now.”
The Tower Master continued, “There’s no need to elaborate on Odin; his status in the Dragon Race is even higher than Arlais, and many would look to Odin’s attitude when voting.”
“And you, Mr. Casmod, are completely opposite to Arlais.”
“The secret meetings need someone like you to balance out Arlais; that’s the only way the Dragon Race can move toward a more sustainable future.”
“Thus, I would like to request that you try to attend more of the secret meetings in the future.”
So it was about balancing Arlais.
That technically didn’t break the Tower Master’s principle of neutrality.
“Then couldn’t you just go directly to Odin? You said it yourself; Odin is experienced and has lots of supporters.”
The Tower Master shook his head, “I sought out Odin last night, but he said he only attended this meeting to express his gratitude to you.”
“Odin’s exact words were, ‘I find that kid interesting; if it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have bothered with such a boring meeting.’”
“So… Mr. Casmod, I could only turn to you, because if you don’t attend, Odin won’t show up either.”
Leon: “……”
So, I’ve become the Dragon Race’s prized possession, huh?
If it had been back in the day, slaying Odin would have guaranteed me a lifetime of comfort!
Alas, times have changed; now I have to sit down with this big shot to counter someone who only sticks his hand in his own pocket.
“So, Mr. Casmod, what’s your answer?”
Leon stood up. “I’ll go back and consult with my wife. You’ll have your answer at the next secret meeting, Tower Master.”
The Tower Master’s eyes flickered, and he nodded, “No problem, Mr. Casmod.”
“Then I’ll take my leave now; thank you for lunch.”
Though the couple hadn’t eaten a bite, a thank you was still in order.
As they left the loft, the Tower Master’s friendly smile gradually faded.
Replaced by a gaze full of cold detachment.
At that moment, the servant from earlier walked in and respectfully asked,
“My lord, how did it go?”
The Tower Master narrowed his eyes slightly, watching Leon’s departing figure.
“As Odin said, he’s an interesting fellow.”
“But being interesting isn’t enough, is it?”
“Since he could go toe-to-toe with Constantine, who’s received the Primal Power, under the ruins of the Extreme North Land, it shows his strength is formidable.”
The Tower Master recalled, “Moreover, the Silver Dragon Race has been invaded by their own kin multiple times over the past few years, and he single-handedly quelled those disturbances, proving that Leon Casmod is sufficiently qualified.”
The servant thought for a moment before asking,
“But Leon Casmod has an unclear background. From my investigations, he seemingly appeared out of nowhere in the Silver Dragon Race and married the Silver Dragon King. Could he really be the one prophesied?”
“Who knows?”
The Tower Master withdrew his gaze, looking down at the ground beneath him.
He felt the rhythm and vibrancy of this Sky City, briefly closing his eyes,
“Balance, neutrality, order… these concepts are far too abstract for most of the Dragon Race.”
“If it weren’t for the ‘prophecy’ and the ‘ultimate fear,’ I wouldn’t have worked so hard to maintain Sky City and the Tower of Twilight for so long.”
“Let’s hope, let’s hope that passionate guy named Leon Casmod…”
“Is indeed the one in the prophecy…”