Rossweise smiled faintly, then asked, "Oh right, do you still remember the song they danced to back then?"
"Eh... it was a long time ago."
Rebecca tried to recall. After a moment, she clapped her hands, "Got it! Though I can't remember the name of the tune, I can hum it for you."
"Mhm, okay."
Rebecca then hummed the little melody.
Rossweise listened carefully, and before long, said, "Okay, I know which song it is."
"Hmm? Sis-in-law, you've been with the dragon race all this time, yet you've also heard human songs?"
"Mhm, not long ago, I started trying to learn about and understand human culture."
That part was indeed true.
Back when Leon studied in her library with Little Light, he had seen those human books she had collected.
"Ohhh, I see."
Rossweise reached out and gently stroked Rebecca's small head, "Thanks for telling me all this. Anything else? Like... what he's afraid of, or not good at?"
Rebecca thought for a bit, "Actually, yes! Sis-in-law, did you know that back in school he had a nickname? It was 'The Strongest Man on Land.'"
The Queen blinked, "He's strong... that I do know."
And she knew it very thoroughly.
"No no no, sis-in-law, the key part of the nickname isn't 'strong,' it's 'on land.'"
Rossweise frowned, "'On land'? What do you mean?"
"It means, the captain is a landlubber. He aced every kind of academy assessment and test with full marks, but the one thing he can't do is swim."
"That powerful guy... can't swim?", Rossweise recalled briefly.
The last time the whole family went on a beach vacation, over all those days, she really didn't see Leon swim even once.
"Mhm mhm, really. That's why everyone called him 'The Strongest on Land.'"
Rossweise nodded thoughtfully and murmured, "I see..."
'Looks like it's time to buy a few more swimsuits, my little lion~'
———
When they returned to the cave, the master and disciple were still chatting about all sorts of recent matters.
Hearing footsteps, Leon turned his head to look.
He saw one tall and one short figure walking side by side while chatting, with bright smiles on their faces like old friends reunited after years apart.
Leon was stunned.
'Weren't these two not that familiar half an hour ago?'
'How did they become besties in just twenty-something minutes?'
"Captain, Old Man, we're back!"
Rebecca trotted over, "Have you guys finished talking?"
"Almost."
Leon looked at the inexplicably excited Rebecca, then looked up at the mother dragon behind her, "What did you say to her?"
Rossweise innocently spread her hands, "I didn't say anything to her."
'It was all her talking to me, hehe.'
Leon pursed his lips and mumbled "So weird," then resumed talking with his master about the Empire.
He went over the matters of the next six months again.
Then asked about the sea dragon race and the Nine Gates Hell.
"Nine Gates Hell was written by the sea dragon race? Huh? I didn't know that. I just had someone casually steal a physical technique manual from the Empire. Didn't expect it to be such a badass one."
As expected, the response was "I didn't know."
Leon didn't press further.
Though he vaguely sensed the old man was hiding something, he'd already asked directly. Since his master remained tight-lipped, there must be a reason.
"Oh, also, Master, look into these three people."
As he spoke, Leon handed over a list.
Tigger took a look, "Blade One, Blade Two, Blade Three... just by looking at the names, these three don't seem ordinary."
"Mhm. In the future, they become the Empire's 'Blade Special Forces,' very strong. Over more than ten years, they kept hunting dragon kings. But I feel like their power is a bit weird, not quite like normal human magic."
Leon said, "If there's a chance, try to uncover the origins of these three."
Tigger nodded and put the list away carefully, "Okay. I'll begin investigating as soon as I get back."
In the future, Leon had only briefly encountered the Blade Trio, and even that barely counted as a fight.
Yet even so, the strength they displayed made Leon take them seriously.
And it wasn't just Leon who thought their power was strange, even future Noah and Little Light had said those three had mysterious origins.
So Leon felt it was definitely necessary to investigate them.
Preferably snuff out that unknown threat in the bud.
After all, who knows what other world-breaking tricks the Empire might pull off?
"Anything else to investigate?", Tigger asked.
Leon had brought back quite a lot of intel from the future. They had to make full use of it.
The key was leveraging the information gap.
Catch that damn emperor off guard.
Leon thought for a moment, then said, "Then also check out someone named Nacho Salaman."
"Nacho Salaman?"
"Mhm. He used to be a minor civil official in the Empire's Dragon-Slaying Army. After sending me into the space rift, he somehow got promoted all the way into the royal court. The Blade Trio I just mentioned are closely tied to him. We might find something through him too."
"Understood. Anything else?"
"Mmm... the rest isn't related to the Empire."
Tigger chuckled, "Just say it anyway."
"Master, do you know about primordial magic?" Leon asked.
"Primordial magic..."
Hearing the two mention primordial magic, Rossweise, who had been silently waiting nearby, immediately looked over.
She was a little surprised, because before coming here, Leon hadn't told her he'd ask his master about primordial magic.
But now that she thought about it. Ever since she decided to practice primordial magic, her progress hadn't exactly been smooth.
Just as she expected, records of primordial magic were extremely rare. All she could do was piece together scraps from ancient texts and documents, then try to synthesize them.
It was a very complex and patience-demanding task.
"I've heard of it, but don't know much. Why? You want to train in primordial magic?"
Leon blinked, "Yup, I want to give it a shot."
"You already finished training in the Nine Gates Hell I gave you?"
"I said just now, didn't I? In the future, your little granddaughter already taught me most of it. Besides, more skills never hurt. Who would complain about being too capable?"
The master reached out and poked Leon, "You brat, so greedy. Fine, when I get back, I'll ask some old friends and see if I can find any books on primordial magic. I'll give them to you next time we meet."
"Great! Thanks, Master!"
They had mostly finished discussing serious matters.
Leon then asked about his master's wife.
"Oh, your mistress... after you disappeared into the space rift, she and I met once."
His master said with emotion, "She beat me up and told me not to come back until I found Leon. Speaking of which, I really have to thank you. Good thing you came back, or your mistress might've divorced me."
Divorce was a bit of an exaggeration.
But Leon could tell that his mistress had been genuinely worried about him.
"Then bring Mistress along next time. I haven't seen her in ages either," Leon said.
"Well... hard to say. Her family is quite... cautious. Knowing that you and I have stirred up trouble with the Empire, they don't want her getting involved too."
Leon quickly nodded, "Oh oh, I understand. No pressure. We can find her after we settle everything."
"Mhm. If there's nothing else, then let's leave it at that."
"Alright, Master."
"Be careful on the way back. Train hard. No slacking," The master reminded.
"Got it, Master. You, Rebecca, and Martin take care too."
"Mhm."
Rebecca came running over.
"Captain, I wish you and Sis-in-law a happy and harmonious life together."
Leon froze, "You, why'd you suddenly say something like that... And what's with this weird 'Sis-in-law' title? Rossweise, you actually let her call you that?"
The queen elegantly sat on the nearby wooden chair, legs crossed, and said leisurely,
"Why not?"
'Well, damn.'
'Haven't known each other long, and now you two are besties sharing pants or something?'
Leon smiled and poked Rebecca on the forehead, "Crazy girl, don't talk nonsense. I'm not close with your 'sis-in-law.'"
Rebecca: ?
'Alright, alright. You two just keep pretending you're 'not close.''
"See you next time, then."
Leon waved goodbye to the old and the young, then headed toward the cave entrance with Rossweise.
The queen spread her dragon wings, turned her head halfway, and secretly winked at Rebecca.
Rebecca also raised her hand and made an "OK" gesture.
Tigger, watching the interaction between her and Rossweise, couldn't help asking,
"Are you two passing some kind of secret code?"
Rebecca bared her teeth in a smile, speaking mysteriously, "Old Man, your disciple's married life... is about to get a lot more colorful."
———
Midnight, the Empire, Nacho Salaman walked into a posthouse, covered in dust from travel.
After exchanging a code with the posthouse owner, the owner led Nacho to a private room upstairs.
Nacho stood at the door of the private room, raised his hand and knocked on the door, cleared his throat, and respectfully said,
"Lord Elanti, I'm back."
Immediately, a low male voice came from inside the room, "Enter."
"Yes, my lord."
Nacho pushed the door open and entered, and the posthouse owner tactfully closed the door for him, then turned and left.
After entering the room, the man called Elanti was sitting beside the tea table on the balcony, legs crossed, gazing at the heavy night.
On the table was a pot of tea, wafting with steam.
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