Chapter 4: The Rock
Single-handedly defeating the strongest Dragon Slayer, proof available!
Leon and Roswiser headed to the Holy Temple’s backyard.
Sure enough, just as they expected, a special feature was being performed at the Silver Dragon Temple—
“His Royal Highness is Back from the Dead!”
Every time Leon and Roswiser left home for more than three days, this special feature was guaranteed to air upon their return.
This time, the leading actors were none other than the Eldest Daughter, the Second Daughter, and the First-time performer, the Third Daughter.
The supporting cast, of course, was not to be outdone, as dozens of maids from the Silver Dragon Temple filled the scene.
Then, amidst the lively atmosphere, the “ritual” began.
The old pro, Moon, took center stage, holding a plate of steak, and plopped down on the grass, bursting into tears.
But to be honest, Little Moon wasn’t crying all that earnestly; she was more like “all thunder, no rain.”
“Mommy, Daddy! How could you just leave Moon like this? Boohoo~”
“I miss you so much, Mommy and Daddy~”
“When are you coming back to see Moon, huh?~”
“Boohoohoo~ This steak is so good, boohoohoo~ Sister, who on earth do you think invented this grilled steak thing, huh? Boohoohoo~”
Moon had honed her skill of crying while eating through multiple performances.
Noia stood with her arms crossed, quietly watching Moon.
Little Light obediently stood beside her.
Of course, “obedient” was just a surface appearance; underneath, Little Pink Hair was completely dazed.
Earlier in the day, the Eldest Sister came to tell her that there was something very important happening today and they needed to gather in the backyard.
So, Little Light came.
She had thought that the important thing the Eldest Sister mentioned would be some magical training.
But who would have thought it was just standing here watching the Second Sister chomp on steak while crying for their parents!
Little Light couldn’t comprehend what was going on but she was deeply shocked.
“Eldest Sister, I’m three years old this year, but this is my first experience with this kind of thing, so it must not be our Silver Dragon Race’s tradition, right?”
Noia nodded, her little face serious as she explained,
“To be honest, this should be classified as a… random event.”
When Dad and Mom randomly disappear for anywhere between three to ten days, it makes sense that “Moon crying for Dad” could also be seen as a random event.
Little Light scratched her forehead and turned to the Second Sister,
“But the Second Sister is eating so deliciously; I want to eat too.”
Noia didn’t answer right away; instead, she looked to a nearby maid,
“How long until it’s your turn to say your lines?”
The maid respectfully bowed, “Reporting to Your Highness, about thirty seconds more.”
Noia nodded and then looked back at Little Light,
“Hang in there; Dad and Mom will be back soon.”
Little Light was taken aback, glancing around; she saw no sign of Mom and Dad.
How could the Eldest Sister be so sure?
“But Dad and Mom didn’t say when exactly they’d be back! How do you know, Eldest Sister?” Little Light asked.
Noia took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and said seriously,
“Experience.”
“Ex… experience……”
Even someone who loves a good laugh would find it hard to chuckle in such a bizarre situation.
Having been born into this family for three years, Little Light still felt like she couldn’t catch up with the thought processes of her Eldest and Second Sisters, or her parents.
Could it be that she really had to take over Auntie’s Red Dragon Holy Temple in the future?
That wouldn’t do; they’d have to change ‘Red Dragon’ to ‘Pink Dragon’ then—
That doesn’t sound intimidating at all!
Little Light’s thoughts began to wander as she attempted to redirect her attention from this strange atmosphere.
And it wasn’t just Little Light who was puzzled and dazed.
“Funerals are serious and dreary affairs; they represent mourning and remembrance for the deceased, a tradition followed by most races on the Samail continent. However—”
“What on earth is going on here!”
“It’s one thing for the maids to be giggling, but why is your sister stealing food meant for offerings!”
In the realm of consciousness, the Ancestor was clearly shocked by the ways of the youth.
The grievances that had lain dormant for thousands of years were reignited; if it weren’t for being out of touch with the modern era and suffering from vocabulary shortages, Noia would be complaining nonstop.
Noia calmly corrected,
“She’s not stealing.”
“Then what is she doing?”
“Eating in broad daylight.”
“…… So what’s all this fuss about? To honor your invincible father? But he’s just been gone for a few days, not to the extent of holding a funeral.”
“No, it’s not a memorial; it’s… a summoning.”
The Ancestor was even more baffled, but upon reflection, thousands of years had passed since her time, so the magic had naturally evolved many times over.
Therefore… it wasn’t impossible for summoning magic to resemble a funeral!
“Such a big group for a summoning magic… It must be very powerful, right?” the Ancestor said, seriousness dripping from her words.
Noia scratched the tip of her nose, “Uh… actually, theoretically, you really only need one person.”
“One person? Who?”
“The princesses are piously calling for him! His Royal Highness is back from the dead!”
“OK, they’re back. We’ll chat again later.”
With that, Noia exited the realm of consciousness, and when she opened her eyes again, the familiar figures stood before them—
Oh, to be precise, only Mom was standing, while Dad inexplicably transformed into a wheelchair-bound person.
First came Moon—
“Dad, what happened to your leg? You used to come back just fine; why are you in a wheelchair this time?”
Little Moon hurriedly ran to Leon’s side. Though her earlier crying had been fake, her big, watery eyes now glittered with genuine concern.
“Is it because Little Moon stole your offering, and that’s why your leg got hurt?”
The Second Daughter’s sentiments were sincere, but her logic was something else.
Leon smiled helplessly, lifting Moon onto his lap.
“No, no, it was just that I tripped over a rock and fell while I was out.”
“Really, Dad?”
“Really, would I lie to you?”
“Then Little Moon will give Dad leg rubs every day, and you’ll get better soon~”
“Sure, thank you, Little Moon.”
As for Dad’s excuse of “tripping over a rock and breaking my leg to end up in a wheelchair,” Noia had her doubts.
She knew what kind of person her father was; a rock capable of tripping him and breaking his leg wasn’t the kind of thing that could happen naturally on the Samail continent.
But Noia didn’t say anything.
Next up was Little Light—
“Wow… Eldest Sister, you really do have a knack for magic. You said Mom and Dad would be back soon, and they really are!”
This revelation shocked Little Light for an entire year.
But amid the shock, Little Light immediately realized that the Eldest Sister’s precise prediction about their parents’ return time might have something to do with the ghost inside her!
Hmm~~
This seems like a pretty solid investigative lead to explore later!
“Come here, Little Light, Mommy wants a hug.”
Roswiser squatted down and opened her arms wide.
Little Pink Hair obediently rushed in, snuggling into the queen’s soft embrace.
Leon glanced at the mother-daughter duo and whispered,
“Ahem—Moon should hug me first.”
Roswiser shot him a glare, “Immature, not even going to argue with you.”
Leon rolled his eyes, knowing exactly how this little game went with the Mother Dragon.
When Leon came out on top, Roswiser would say:
“Immature, not even going to argue with you.”
When Leon lost, Roswiser would declare:
“I won, I won, I won! The strongest Dragon Slayer is just this, just this?”
To put it bluntly, it meant—
If you lose, zip it; if you win, flaunt it.
Leon wouldn’t stoop to her level!
Noia looked at the nearby maids,
“Thank you all for your hard work; you can go back to your tasks now.”
The maids bowed and exited the scene.
Noia finally walked up to the couple, looking at Leon’s leg wrapped in plaster, she asked with concern,
“Does it still hurt, Dad?”
“Not anymore; it’s just a small fracture; I’ll be fine in a few days.”
“Oh, with Dad’s strength, you’ll surely bounce back quickly.”
Though the Eldest Daughter had always been a loyal fan of General Leon—one might call her a ‘Leon fan club’ member—
Leon really wanted to tell her:
Sweetheart, the healing process in our race isn’t like the Dragon Race; it’s more about ‘a broken bone takes a hundred days to heal’—it has nothing to do with strength TAT.
After a few days apart, the family of five was finally reunited, chatting about the past few days while enjoying the gentle morning breeze on the grass in the backyard.
When Noia asked their parents what they had been up to during their outing, the couple tacitly chose to change the subject.
They couldn’t directly tell their sweet daughter that they went to stir up a revolution, toppling that dog emperor from his throne, and that they may have even caused a brutal war between humans and dragons to end a few years early!
So, with their unspoken cooperation, the conversation naturally shifted to Claudia and Helena.
Leon took this opportunity to share the good news with Noia.
“In a few days, Helena will come to visit us at home!”
Upon hearing this, the reactions of the three little ones were as varied as you can imagine.
Noia (●’◡’●):
My bestie is coming!
Moon (▼ _ ▼):
My ‘rival’ is coming.
Little Light (✧◡✧):
Fun times are coming!
