Today, Leon's plan was to help Hera get familiar with her current surroundings.
After leaving Rebeccaâs place, the two walked side by side down the bustling street.
Along the way, plenty of residents greeted Leon warmly. Some street vendors even handed over free snacks and drinks.
They hadnât even walked three blocks before Leonâs arms were piled full.
Hera looked at him in mild surprise.
"So youâre this popular, huh?"
Leon gave a casual smile and raised his eyebrows slightly.
"I didnât expect it at first either. But now, every time I go out, I feel like some kind of celebrity."
Hera laughed lightly.
"And do you like that feeling?"
They continued walking leisurely shoulder to shoulder. Leon gave it some thought, then shook his head.
"Wouldnât say I like it. Compared to being recognized everywhere I go, I prefer a quieter lifeâdoing my own thing."
Hera nodded thoughtfully, then added,
"Every outstanding noble leader goes through something like this. Before Dimo manipulated me and framed me as a traitor, the people of the Golden Thunder Clan treated me the same way."
Hearing that, Leon paused mid-step and turned to look at Hera.
"Iâm a direct descendant of the Elemental God Zeus. That relationship is kind of like what Tiamat the Dragon Goddess had with Noah the Primordial Dragon King."
It was just that, when it came to ruling and manipulating hearts, Hera was clearly no match for Dimo.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have been tricked, nor forced to flee to the ends of the world.
But in that respect, Leon and Hera were very alike.
Both had power and status within armâs reachâbut neither wanted to put themselves above others.
Simply put, Leon and Hera were both non-indifferent, deeply involved people.
At least this time, Hera had found the root of the Whiteblade King's corruption.
Right in her own grandmother.
So everything had its reasons, Leon mused silently.
He brought Hera to the lower districts, handing out the snacks he received from vendors to the elderly and children left behind.
And he made a point to mention which shop had donated what, explaining everything clearly and transparently.
He didnât try to pull a âburn incense on othersâ behalfâ scheme to rack up fake good karma.
He ran around with the kids tooâkicking a soccer ball while they cheered and tugged at him. He didnât refuse a single time.
Watching this grown man play and roughhouse with a bunch of kids, Hera couldnât help the small smile at the corners of her mouth.
"Youâll make a great dad somedayâstuff like that."
Then she blinked and suddenly remembered something.
She pulled the little notebook sheâd brought from Rebeccaâs house out of her pocket and flipped to the last page.
Then she gave a cheerful âOh~~ Just woke up, brainâs still a bit foggy. Almost forgot... he already is a dad."
Back when Rebecca was about to fill Hera in on Leonâs daughters, Leon had shown up and knocked on the door.
So Hera hadnât actually gotten to hear the details about them yet.
She closed the notebook and sat quietly on a bench, watching Leon play soccer with the kids.
About thirty minutes later, Leon waved goodbye to them and jogged back over.
"Sorry for the wait, senpai. Want to head somewhere else?"
"Sure. Lead the way."
The two left the lower district.
They chatted idly as they walked, the atmosphere natural and unforced.
Leon quietly felt a bit relieved.
"Teacher Caroline was right. Just be genuine and let things flow."
"You..."
Heraâs voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Hmm?"
He turned to look at her.
"Why havenât you ever mentioned your daughters?"
Leon stopped walking.
He really hadnât mentioned Noa or the others once in the past two days since reconnecting with Hera.
So...
"Wait, how do you know? Oh... Rebecca told you."
Rebeccaâs two favorite hobbies: assembling guns & stabbing the captain in the back.
Leon was starting to regret temporarily placing Hera at Rebeccaâs place.
Who knows how much of his embarrassing past they mightâve chatted about all night long?
"Yeah. Though she didnât get to tell me the detailsâyou showed up before she had the chance."
Hera paused, then asked,
"How old are your daughters?"
Leonâs thoughts stirred. He didnât answer right away.
Hera raised a brow.
"You donât even remember how old they are? Wow, how negligent can you be?"
"Thirteen, eight, four," Leon rattled off quickly.
Hera blinked in confusion.
"Wait, wait, wait. I asked how long ago your daughter was bornâand you throw four numbers at me?"
Leon shrugged.
"The oldest two are twins. Theyâre thirteen this year. The third was a surprise. The fourth is a love childâsheâs four."
"Eight years old. Thirteen. Four years old."
Hera: ?
"Youâyou seriously have four kids?!"
Sheâd thought two daughters at his age would already be a stretch.
She didnât expect that number to double.
"You and your wife... what, just pop out kids nonstop whenever you get a moment?!"
Leon calmly watched Heraâs expression morph from shock to speechlessness.
Over the years, heâd gotten used to this exact reaction whenever someone found out he had four daughters.
"What? So what if I had a lot of kids? Healthy kids. Beloved kids!"
It took Hera a few minutes to fully process the information.
She let out a long breath and asked again,
"So, back to the original questionâwhy havenât you mentioned them at all until now?"
This one was easy.
"Because you just woke up from the seal, and youâre still adjusting to the world. I didnât want to overload you."
Leon said:
"But if youâd like to meet them, theyâd be fine with that."
He paused, then smiled and added,
"My wife really wants to meet you too."
Heraâs eyes lit up. "Really?"
She straightened her hair and adjusted her clothes like a nervous girl, then said a little shyly,
"I... I didnât have time to dress up. These clothes are from thirty years ago, kind of old... I hope I wonât make a bad impression on your wife and daughters..."
Leon shook his head.
"You wonât. Donât worry, senpai. So, if you feel ready to meet more peopleâthen Iâll call them out now."
Hera hesitated, but eventually nodded.
"Alright. Thank you, Leon."
Leonâs care and consideration had been spot on.
Heâd purposely shielded Hera from too much stimulation after her awakening, giving her space and time to adjust.
That gave her the buffer she needed to recover.
And now, she herself was asking to meet his family.
Even Leon felt a bit nervous now.
Rosvisser had been rightâthere was no telling what kind of sparks would fly when those little cotton-padded jackets met Hera.
Leon remembered very clearly: the first time Noa ever met her father, under his... unique influence, she uttered a line that shook the heavens:
"Thatâs the waist the Lord blessed my master with!"
â
Hopefully, nothing like that would happen today.
Leon sent members of the Lionheart Order to inform Rosvisser and the girls at the inn.
"Senpai, Iâve arranged to meet them at the Imperial Academy. Letâs head over there."
"Alright."
The two made their way to the academy.
It was summer break, so the campus was quiet.
Hera turned into a curious cat again, looking left and right, asking Leon questions about everything she saw.
And Leon patiently answered every single one.
"Ohh~ You graduated from here, right?"
Leon nodded. "Yeah."
"What did you do after graduation?"
"Slayed dragons."
"And your wife?"
"She is a dragon."
"...What a bizarre family dynamic."
Every time General Leon talked about his career and his wife, he carried this natural abstractness and unshakable confidence.
It was one of his signature hell-joke setupsâsecond only to the infamous "Old Constantine & the Resurrection Tournament" saga.
But it only made Hera more intrigued.
What kind of woman could be Leonâs wife?
And what kind of daughters would a dad like Leon †NĐŸvĐ”â ight †(Read more on our source) raise?
"Hurry up and bring out your wife and daughters! I can't wait anymore~"