Vol. 5 Ch. 12

After finally finishing all the autograph signings and photo ops, Leon and Rosvisser turned around, only to see an amusing scene:

Konstantin stood there with his arms crossed, wearing a stern yet helpless expression.

On either side of him were Hefei and Muse.

Hefei: "I will defeat you."

Muse: “That won't work.”

Hefei: "I will defeat you."

Muse: “That won't work.”

Hefei (clenching her fists, wagging her tail, shouting with all her might): "I will defeat you! Can’t you say anything else?"

Muse (tilting her head, blinking earnestly): “That won't work.”

The two little girls repeated their lines like broken records next to Konstantin, who looked even more exasperated than usual.

"Leon, does your youngest daughter only know how to say those three words?" Konstantin finally asked, his tone deadpan.

Leon quickly scooped Muse into his arms and laughed awkwardly.

"She just learned this phrase this morning. I think she finds it amusing, so she keeps repeating it."

Dragon hatchlings develop fast during their early years.

Just this morning, Muse could only babble a fuzzy "Na bu hing." But by now, she could clearly articulate "Not hing," so much so that even Konstantin and Hefei seemed close to losing their composure.

As Leon and Rosvisser approached, Hefei, who had just been playing verbal ping-pong with Muse, quickly hid behind her father. Peeking cautiously from behind Konstantin’s leg, she observed the two adults.

Leon glanced at the little red-haired girl.

"Has Hefei fully recovered now?"

Konstantin nodded slightly. "Yes."

"Leh!" Hefei shouted indignantly, which earned her a light smack on the head from her father, who gestured for her to come forward.

Hefei obediently stepped out from behind him.

Though she looked visibly tense, it was clear she was making an effort to seem less nervous.

"Hefei, thanks to this uncle here, your injuries were able to heal," Konstantin said gently.

"Thank you, Uncle!" Hefei said sweetly, her voice full of gratitude.

"Oh, it was nothing, really," Leon replied, crouching down. He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a lollipop, one that a clerk had randomly handed him earlier at the baby store. He offered it to Hefei.

Hefei hesitated, her hand hovering for a moment before she glanced back at her father for permission. Only when Konstantin gave her a small nod did she finally smile and accept the lollipop.

"Thank you, Uncle!" she said again, her tone even sweeter this time.

Leon couldn’t help but praise her.

"What a polite and well-behaved little girl. So adorable."

Rosvisser, standing beside him, naturally felt a sense of pride for such a courteous child.

Leon ruffled Hefei’s hair before straightening up and turning to Konstantin.

"So, what brings you to Sky City?"

Konstantin pulled a gold card from his pocket.

"An invitation from the Tower Master. I heard you’ll be fighting Odin here in three days."

Seeing the identical gold card in Konstantin’s hand—the same as the "shopping card" he’d just been given—Leon couldn’t help but smirk and think to himself,

Do these gold cards grow on trees? How many of these is the Tower Master handing out?

"So you just came because of that?"

"Of course. Watching you struggle is one of my greatest joys since reincarnation."

Leon huffed, rolling his eyes.

"And what makes you so sure I’ll struggle against Odin?"

"I don’t know. I just hope you do," Konstantin replied bluntly.

Leon shot him a glare before his expression grew more serious.

"To be honest, I already told the Tower Master last time that this fight against the Black Dragon King isn’t about winning or losing. It’s to gauge the background and strength of Sky City. Frankly, I’m not entirely confident I can beat him."

The mere rumors Rosvisser had shared about Odin had already made Leon wary. After further digging through dragon clan history books, he found that nearly every account spoke highly of the Black Dragon King.

"Odin is undoubtedly one of the strongest among the dragon clans," Konstantin said, his tone steady. "According to what’s written, just fighting him once is enough to earn respect throughout dragon society."

"I already get respect in dragon society," Leon quipped.

"Even more respect," Konstantin replied dryly.

"What does ‘even more’ mean?"

"Are you an idiot? You can’t understand something so simple?"

"Hey, hold on—"

"Can the two of you not have such cryptic conversations in front of children?" Rosvisser finally interjected, unable to listen any longer.

Konstantin snorted dismissively, unwilling to bicker further with Leon. Instead, he circled back to the topic at hand.

"You don’t need to pressure yourself too much. Even if you lose, no one will think you’re weak," he said calmly. "To put it plainly, Odin represents the pinnacle of dragon strength."

Leon raised an eyebrow, studying Konstantin.

"I didn’t expect you to speak so highly of someone else. I thought the Red Flame Dragon King bowed to no one."

"And yet, your praise for Odin is surprisingly fair. It’s a little unexpected."

"Odin isn’t just anyone, Leon," Konstantin replied seriously.

"If dragon kings were divided into tiers, they’d be:

Quasi-Dragon King, Dragon King, Super Dragon King, and… Odin."

"Do you understand what I’m saying?"

Seeing Konstantin’s earnestness, Leon fully grasped the strength of his upcoming opponent.

"I understand. I’ll give it my all when the time comes."

Konstantin nodded, then casually asked, "What have you done to prepare for this fight?"

Leon shrugged nonchalantly. "What do you expect me to do? Sneak attack him when he’s laughing too hard?"

Konstantin chuckled lightly.

"To be honest, I don’t have anything that could significantly boost your strength in such a short time."

Leon blinked.

"What do you mean? Didn’t you say you wanted to see me struggle?"

"Oh, I do. I just mean that even with a temporary power boost, you’d still struggle against Odin."

"Yeah, that’s about right."

"And there it is."

"The signature stubbornness of dragon kings," Leon said with a smirk, dropping the subject.

Just then, a familiar voice called out from a distance.

"Daddy! Mommy!"

Everyone turned to see a small figure waving and running toward them.

Konstantin couldn’t help but smirk.

"Leon, your power-up buff has arrived."